Chapter 55 (1/2)
When I exited the room, accompanied by Leon, I found Aira outside She was dressed as an ordinary maid
The moment she saw me, her eyes ith shock
“Big Sister! You woke up!”
“Mn, I’ you worry”
When Aira threw herself at me, just as she had last time, I could only catch her in my arms as I spoke
For now, it looked like Aira was alright As I absently stroked her head, I felt a sense of relief Though the truth is, the one orried her was me, so even shamelessness had its limits
After burying her head init for a ti
“B–Big Sister Palmira is — ”
“Yeah, I know I’ve got the gist of it”
We’d had our roo Me, Palmira, and Aira, in that order
And right now, Palmira was in hers
In other words, the fact that she dreord on Leon had al the keyword Unsurprisingly, her sword, at least, seeestion
That night, following the disturbance, Palmira had been in hideously low spirits and would not leave the room It was a shock, but even so, Aira, as in relatively better shape, had been checking up on her several times a day
“I see… it’s like you’re the only one who’s being burdened with all the worry I’m sorry”
“Not at all It’s fine More i Sister Palmira…”
“I know I’ll take it from here”
When she learned of Leon’s true identity, Palmira was not her usual self I never expected that she could possibly have had such a violent response
In other words, she couldn’t forgive the ones responsible for destroying her country in the past
To be honest, it’s not like I don’t understand
When I think about the fact that er exists, I’m not sure whether I’d be able to control dom were to stand before me
“Sorry, Leon I’ by myself from here”
“I understand”
Even as he sighed, Leon sently
Seeing that, I suddenly reachedhis cheek
“Wha… Is so the matter?”
“Ah, no It’s okay I’m off”
I pulled back ht away
I simply remembered, for some reason, that I wasn’t able to touch Leon before I blacked out that night Leaving Leon behind in his discoainst my palm, I knocked on the door to Palmira’s room
“Pal in”
My tone deliberately nonchalant, I turned the knob
The door wasn’t locked Not from the outside either, of course It opened easily with just a turn of the knob
It was pitch-black on the other side of the door
Well, it was just that the curtains inside were drawn Faint sunlight caap between the into total darkness
Pal on the bed
She was co slightly Though her eyes were open, their usual penetrating gleaone, and they stared dully at the joint betall and floor
Her hair was a le shi+ver, she was like a broken doll She even seehtly emaciated
“—-”
The scene, too painful to look at, made the breath catch in my throat Even now she looked so unstable, like she would crumble at a touch
This is dangerous So my intuition told me
After shooting Leon and Aira a brief glance and a nod, I stepped inside I closed the door behind ain, but I paid it nostimuli
I sloalked over to Palmira, who still showed no reaction at all And so, without speaking, I smoothly sat down beside her
“Palmira”
Softly, I called out to her profile
No response
” — Palmira”
Once ently speak up This tiaze, its focus indefinite, pulled together and slowly turned to me
“…Chris?”
Our eyes , I smiled and replied,
“Yeah Morning, Palmira”
Palure back then, her sword drawn The emotions she couldn’t afford to harbor, even in her chaos But she ainst the Empire, even so
‘I don’t want to go to the capital’
Palh she still said she would co herself
She secluded herself in the carriage without looking at the city Though I’d thought that it was as she said, that she didn’t want to go,inside her that her behavior was meant to suppress
Would I have been able to figure it out?
Well, I didn’t Taking her curt words at face value, I intended to just leave it at that
That wasn’t it, though
I never even ied honesty
“Chris, I…”
“Yeah”
“I…”
Pal But perhaps unable to express it well, she didn’t say another word
Her eyes were conflicted
She s she wanted to say She wanted to cos she wanted me to know
Too et across to me She hesitated on her next words
That’s how it seemed to me
The long silence flowed on
Palaze busily jumped between the inside and outside
She couldn’t help but be anxious It was in her expression
So
“Palmira It’s okay Say whatever you like I’ll listen No matter what, I’ll listen”
Even if I say so myself, ’s that for empty platitudes? But I wanted to hear what Pal to tell me I wanted to knoanted to understand
I get it I can’t say for sure that I’ll understand it all
But still
But still, I want you to talk to me
Because I’ll definitely be able to understand farat all
“I — ”
–
–
” — I had a big sister I never knew my parents So she was all the family I had By the time we understood the world around us, ere in the middle of war, and as a ht the enemy”
Maybeup her an to speak
Those were herout the story she’d shared before
All the saave her my ear
“It was a fact of life, so that was the only thing we could think about We had nothing other than ourselves For laughter, for co sister died Before my eyes, just like that Because she protected me Because I was unprepared Because I was reckless She died because ofto me… Her face is already hazy I can’t remember it anymore”
She had an older sister?
I was hearing it for a second time, but Palmira’s past truly was brutal
War as a fact of life It was everything She witnessed the hule between life and death as an everyday occurrence
That’s why her one and only older sister would have been her precious refuge