Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 147

“I’m not going to just sit still and be protected by Damian. I told you, I have the power to protect myself. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? I immobilized those men! So, I’ll be careful, so don’t make that scary face.”

Lilliana poked Damian’s forehead with her index finger. Damian flinched at the touch.

He then realized that he was supposed to be acting nonchalant, but he couldn’t hide the tension in his eyes.

Damian belatedly removed Lilliana’s hand from his forehead and held her wrist.

“I apologize.”

“For what?”

“I was careless and put you in danger. I shouldn’t have…” Damian said in a low voice, his expression suddenly gloomy.

Lilliana quickly shook her head.

“Oh, it wasn’t your fault! None of us knew Beth would do that. And you were only distracted for a few minutes, and I was careless too. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me too.”

“That’s not true. I…”

“And you came to rescue me right away.”

“I shouldn’t have created a situation where I had to rescue you in the first place.”

“Do you think something like this won’t happen again? It was bound to happen sometime.”

But Damian’s expression remained gloomy. Lilliana and Casey exchanged glances and each patted one of Damian’s shoulders.

“I don’t know what would have happened to me if it wasn’t for you. So you…”

“Yes, I know. You could have been in real danger if I had been even a little late! That’s why I shouldn’t have created this dangerous situation in the first place! I told you to live your life normally, and yet I was careless, right by your side. I can’t forgive myself…”

“You weren’t late, were you? I’m perfectly fine.”

“But you’re hurt!”

“Ah, this?” Lilliana glanced at her arm, which was scraped.

“It’s nothing. It’ll heal quickly.”

“What if it leaves a scar?”

“What’s wrong with a scar?”

“Lilliana!”

Damian sounded as if he was scolding her when she shrugged.

“Ah, why…” Lilliana sighed.

“So, this is a wound that will heal quickly without leaving a scar. And it ended like this because Damian was there. Imagine what would have happened if you weren’t there. Isn’t it terrifying? So I’m not blaming you at all, and you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Weren’t you scared?” Damian asked, his expression still tense.

Lilliana put her free hand on her hip and lifted her chin. “Of course not! I wasn’t scared! Because I believed Damian would come and save me!”

“Liar,” Damian muttered, and Lilliana’s eyes twitched slightly. To be honest, she had been a little scared, so it was a lie, as Damian said.

But it wasn’t fear of the situation itself, but fear stemming from her not being prepared to harm others.

Lilliana spoke again with a confident look.

“And even if it wasn’t for Damian, I have some power to fight now…! I had more than one thing to rely on.”

Those words made Damian even more depressed.

“I even received help from Lilliana…”

If it weren’t for the wall of fire that Lilliana created, it would have been much harder to escape. That made Damian feel inadequate.

Lilliana, realizing that her attempt to comfort Damian had backfired, pulled at her hair in frustration.

“No! It wasn’t like Damian had to protect me without any help! I didn’t make that kind of contract! Whether you do it yourself or get help from others, you just have to protect me in the end! And you protected me today! Isn’t that enough?”

At Lilliana’s passionate words, Damian turned his head away like a sulking child. Lilliana felt like smacking him for not listening to her comfort at all.

Damian lowered his gaze and said, “I’ll make sure this never happens again.”

“Okay. But let’s not blame yourself too much for today, okay?”

Damian sighed and tightened his grip on Lilliana’s wrist. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

Lilliana didn’t know how to comfort the dejected Damian. Unlike herself, who recovered quickly after eating something sweet, Damian didn’t like sweets, and she didn’t even know what he liked.

“Damian.”

“…”

“Damian, aren’t you going to look at me?”

“…”

“If you’re going to keep protecting me, you have to look at me.”

“…”

“You were the one who told me not to worry and just live my life normally.”

Lilliana lowered her head and met Damian’s eyes. He averted his gaze and said, “I apologize. I’ll definitely protect you properly from now on.”

“Okay, then cheer up now.” Lilliana glared at Casey, signaling him to offer some comforting words.

Casey, who thankfully understood her message, scratched his head and said, “Well, I don’t think today’s incident could have been helped. It’s been too peaceful lately. It was a moment where we could have let our guard down… But in the end, Damian resolved it well, so isn’t that enough? Damian, you did a good job.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right, Damian,” Lilliana said with a bright smile, nudging him with her elbow.

Damian, swaying slightly from her nudges, spoke, “I was scared.”

He pulled Lilliana’s wrist and pressed his forehead against it. His voice was trembling slightly.

“I was really scared that I might be too late.”

Lilliana raised her free hand and stroked Damian’s hair.

“Then I’ll train harder so you don’t have to worry.”

Damian let out a deep sigh, and his warm breath brushed against Lilliana’s fingertips. She unconsciously flinched. On the other hand, Damian’s grip tightened.

“That’s not what I meant… No. I’m the one who won’t cause you any worry, Lilliana.”

“Okay. Are you feeling better now?” Lilliana asked, gently stroking Damian’s hair with her fingertips.

Damian released her wrist. His expression was much more relaxed than before.

Lilliana smiled brightly, and Damian, although still looking a bit down, managed to smile back.

Then, he looked curiously at Casey, who was spreading his arms towards him. Casey said in a warm tone, “Let me hug you.”

“I’ll have to decline…”

But Casey was faster. He reached across the table and pulled Damian into a hug. Damian had to be patted and comforted in the arms of Casey, who was smaller than him.

***

So what happened to the princess in the story of the brave knight Stern?

Lilliana lay in bed, thinking.

The princess must have bravely overcome the hardships of life on her own, even without the knight. It must have been a difficult path, just like Sir Stern’s adventure, but the princess chose that path.

Lilliana thought she now understood why.

Having someone to lean on was, of course, a good thing. She thought it was foolish to be reckless alone.

But more than that, she knew there were times when she had to face the hardships that came her way alone. Moments when she couldn’t receive help from anyone.

Cultivating the courage and strength to stand on her own in those moments was the way to live life. The way to do what no one else could do for her. It was knowledge and a weapon that everyone needed.

That’s why the princess chose to leave Sir Stern, wasn’t it?

Her knight, who loved her but only knew how to serve and protect her. The time had come for her to become independent from him.

Lilliana didn’t intend to become like the princess in the story of Knight Stern. She and the princess were different.

But by understanding the princess, she felt like she had found a clue to the path she should take. Lilliana didn’t pity or admire the princess. She simply understood her.

And then, suddenly feeling sad, Lilliana cried a little.

***

Meanwhile, that night.

With the acrid smell of ash, Casey, like a stray cat, stealthily entered through the window. He flinched when he saw Damian sitting on a chair.

Damian frowned and asked, “Did you kill her?”

“I didn’t.”

“That’s unlike you…”

“I thought it wouldn’t be fair if only she died while that Geoffrey bastard and Sigmund Sutton were still alive.”

The two were talking about Beth. Damian was relieved and somewhat dissatisfied that Casey hadn’t killed her.

Damian also felt like he would do something if he saw that girl’s face again.

“Then what’s with the smell of ash?”

“Ah, this?” Casey took off his ash-covered shirt and dusted it off.

“Lilliana hurt her arm, so I had to make her pay.”

It meant he had roasted one of Beth’s arms.

“And I made her promise never to appear in front of us again. And she wasn’t really a ‘Lion’s Heart’ member. She did it for the money. She said she was in debt and they promised to pay her if she did as they told her.”

Casey picked up fresh clothes and a towel, seemingly about to wash up, and said to Damian, “Anyway, that’s why I didn’t kill her.”

That seemed to be enough. Damian compromised with reality and got up from his seat.

“Good job. I’ve told you before, don’t kill too many people.”

“But they’re bad guys. Don’t you think they deserve to die, Damian?”

“Let’s talk about that later.”

Damian was tired of discussing this topic with Casey.

Casey’s ideology wasn’t something Damian could easily change, and there were aspects of it he couldn’t blame him for. It was precisely because he understood Casey that Damian found it so difficult to reach a conclusion.

“You’re too complicated,” Casey muttered, and Damian wanted to throw those words right back at him.

—————

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