Chapter 107 (2/2)

【”…I do believe in Finegan. And I believe in you, too, sir Harold.”]

Perhaps because he was satisfied, Harold turned towards Finnegan’s bed without adding another word.

Once he readied the sword, the crystal started shining just like earlier. However, the light was clearly stronger than when Cody did it. This likely showed the difference in magic power between them.

The room’s atmosphere grew hectic. Although Cynthia could not use magic, even she could feel some sort of energy gathering around the sword’s light.

Once Harold looked like he had gathered enough magic, he held the sword with both hands and thrusted its handle towards Finegan’s abdomen. From there, there was an immediate change.

【”… Ah… ah!”]

Finnegan opened his eyes; the same hollow eyes that he had had every since he became bedridden; and he let out a small voice.

Finnegan and Harold were currently enveloped by a dazzling, pale green light. The scene looked like a painting of a god bringing about a miracle. No, for Cynthia, this truly was a miracle.

A blessing that came to wake her husband from his long slumber after she spent the last five years trying to cure him with no success.

That was what she was witnessing.

【”Hurry and return already.”]

When Harold suddenly muttered so, the crystal’s light instantly grew stronger before bursting away and vanishing entirely.

Afterwards, there was silence. The room’s candles were not longer lit. The weak moonlight coming through the window was the only light allowing Cynthia to see Finnegan in the darkness.

Waiting to see if he would wake up or not, Cynthia could not help herself from being anxious. Her heart was beating so fast that it like it was resounding all over the quiet room.

The silence lasted for several seconds.

And then it happened.

【”Uh…W…hat? Where am I…”]

Finnegan was talking. His voice was hoarse and weak, but he was actually talking.

Everything looked blurry through the tears gathering in Cynthia’s eyes. She had a lump in her throat and was on the verge of weeping, but she was doing everything she could to hold back and find the strength to greet her husband through the flood of emotions arising in her heart.

【”Dear..”]

【”…Cyn…thia? Why… are you crying……”]

【”Dear…!”]

Cynthia could no longer say a word.

Though Finnegan was awake, it did not seem like he could get his body up yet, but she still clung to his chest and openly cried as she felt his heartbeat and the warmth of his body.

Finegan was surely confused, however, there was no way for Cynthia to explain anything to him given her current state. All she could do was call out his name and sob with her face buried in his chest. With all the time he had spent in bed, he was likely so weak that just raising his arms would be painful. Even so, Finnegan silently moved his now skinny right hand to lovingly caress Cynthia’s head and cheek.

They both immersed themselves in this shared moment, to the point where they did not feel the passing of time. But after god knew how long, the sound of a knock came to interrupt them.

(Ah!) Cynthia raised her face to look towards the door, when she heard a voice coming from the other side.

【”Hey guys. Sorry for interrupting this emotional reunion, but for now, I should explain the situation to Finnegan, if that’s okay.”]

【”M-my apologies!”]

Cynthia hurriedly opened the door.

Looking at the room’s window, some hints of light were starting to come from the outside. It was already almost dawn.

After entering the room, Cody directly walked up to Finnegan’s bed.

【”Hey there, Finnegan. How are you doing?”]

【”Co… dy…? You look… older than… the last time I saw you, but…”]

【”That would be because you’ve been sleeping for the past five years. I guess I look a little dandy now.”]

【”…What?”]

【”I also want to explain that part to you right now, but first, tell me about your body. Do you feel anything abnormal?”]

【”Well… I can… hardly talk…. and… my whole body feels…. like it’s made of lead… but… if I’ve been sleeping… for all those years, then… I can see why…”]

【”If you’re in pain, we can talk about this another day if you want.”]

【”No, it’s fine… tell me. What happened… to me…?”]

【”Alright, then I’ll tell it in the order it happened.”]

Having said so, Cody started explaining.

He talked about a battle from five years ago, in the Bertis forest, which involved both the knight order and the Stellar tribe.

He explained that Finnegan was selected as one of the jury in the trial of a new recruit who was suspected of acting as a spy in that battle.

Then, Cody talked about how, when he asked Finnegan about the trial, he suddenly went mad and started hurting himself. He hadn’t injured himself too much, but after being subdued, he had lost consciousness and kept on sleeping for the next five years.

【”―― then, a little while ago, you finally woke up. And that’s where we’re at.”]

【”I see… Cynthia… I’m sorry for… all you’ve been through…”]

【”It’s alright, you’re awake now, dear, so everything is alright…”]

【”And Cody… You’re the one… who saved me?”]

【”I wish I were, that would have been pretty cool of me. But the one who saved you is Harold Stokes. Remember him?”]

【”…Aah, yes. The one on death row… I do remember… So he’s…the one who…saved me.”]

【”W-what do you mean?”]

【”It’s a long story, but basically Harold fell into a trap in the battle I mentioned earlier.”]

According to Cody, Harold was framed and suspect of being a spy, and someone pressured the court to make it so he’d receive the death penalty for it.

But in reality, far from being a spy, Harold had exposed the Sarian empire’s schemes and had put his life on the line to prevent the start of a conflict between the knight order and the Stellar tribe.

Even so, he was still sentenced to death, but that turned out to be only a pretext to use and exploit him. As a consequences, Harold’s life was still at risk now, after all this time.

【”Finnegan, correct me if I’m wrong, but did someone threaten your family to make you agree to give Harold the death penalty?”]

【”That’s…right… If I didn’t do it… my family… would have been… in danger…”]

【”But that’s…! Is mister Harold aware of-…”]

【”Yes, he knows. But he doesn’t hold any grudge against Finnegan.”]

【”…Harold… is he here…? If so… I’d like to apologize… and thank him…”]

【”Well… Actually, he had an emergency to take care of, so he went out of town immediately after curing you. I stayed to explain everything to you and check your condition.”]

Cynthia was shocked, she didn’t get to thank Harold at all.

He had given her kindness, courage, happiness with the man she loved, and a mind that now aimed to be stronger.

And yet, he had just up and left right after. And based on what Cody had said, there was no guarantee that she’d ever meet him again in this life. In other words, he had done all of this knowing that he was possibly going to leave for good afterwards and would never even get a thank you.

【”But he did have a message for you two. “From now on, you’re free to live as you will.” That’s all he said. I know, he could have said something a little more thoughtful.”]

【”…No, there is nothing wrong with these words, they are more than good enough.”]

【”Is that so? Well, that’s great then.”]

The sun rose and the room’s window fully let its white light in. It was excessively dazzling, but to Cynthia, it looked similar to the light that Harold radiated with. At the sight of this morning sun, she spontaneously looked down to the ground. Though she thought she had stopped crying, she found there were new lines of tears running down her cheeks.

She knew her words would not reach him but she could not help herself from saying it. “Thank you, for everything.”

【”Mommy, why are you crying? Are you hurt?”]

【”Mihai…”]

Seeing cynthia cry and rub her eyes, Mihai tried to console her with a hug. He had apparently woken up early.

【”Don’t worry Mihai, mommy is fine. Go greet your father, okay?”]

【”Yes, mommy… Good morning, papa.”]

【”…Mihai? Oh, you’re all… grown up…”]

【”Ah! Papa! You’re up!”]

Mihai jumped into the arms of Finnegan, who had raised himself up with Cody’s help.

When Cynthia thought about it, Mihai was born right after Finnegan fell ill. So this was the first time the father and son had ever interacted with each other.

Mihai was talking to his father with an innocent smile, and Finegan listened to him attentively while smiling and tearing up at the same time. This was it. This was the sight of happiness that Cynthia had been waiting for all these years.

As she thought of that, Cynthia noticed that Cody looked like he was thinking of something.

【”Cody, is there a problem?”]

【”Don’t worry, it’s no big deal. I was just wondering, how many children do you have?”]

Cynthia did not understand why Cody was asking that. It had certainly been a little while since the last time he came here, but in the last five years, he had come to visit many times. Why was he asking about the family’s composition after all this time?

While wondering what was up with the odd question, Cynthia answered like it was obvious.

【”What’s wrong all of a sudden? Mihai is our only child, Cody.”]

Author’s note: I wouldn’t go as far as to call this foreshadowing, but if you remember, in chapter 51, Finegan did not have any children yet, he said that he was going to be a father soon.

The child he was about to have was Mihai. Of course, he couldn’t have any children in the meantime, and especially not one who was so much older than Mihai. After all, these events happened five years before the current events.

There might be some of you who remembered and thought “Wait, what?” after hearing of Sarah’s existence.

So these last three chapters were not about the heartwarming rescue of Finnegan. They were about little Sarah raising new death flags on Harold’s path.