Chapter 8 - Despite (2/2)

Even though I know exactly what will happen to Nabel if I get dragged off to the temple.

Still, Ronee could not easily let him go. With just one more person in that desolate house that she could talk with, she had felt like she had been able to rest these past few months.

Ronée looked at Nabel. “I know this isn’t a happy place for you to live.”

That was why the words were hard to get out. Nabel, who was gazing up at Ronée silently, was still just a little bit shorter.

“You know how people treat those who are cursed. When I have to go to the temple, that’s when you have to leave here.”

Those few months had been such a sweet time for her. But they could not go on like that forever. Ronée was of the opinion that it was better to give up early than to cling on.

Before I get any more accustomed to happiness.

Ronée made an effort to say the words firmly. Nabel could not go against her orders.

Nabel, who had always followed Ronée’s words, that day stayed silent. As though he would not follow them. As though he did not want to. And paradoxically, Ronée liked it better that way.

Since that night, Nabel’s excursions gradually became more frequent. Ronée wondered just how he was able to clamber in and out through the window so well.

Perhaps he was always light-footed, she thought, and one day she happened to notice the countless results of his training underneath the thick bandages on his wrists.

“Don’t overdo it.”

When she said things like that, Nabel’s ocean eyes grew even darker. As soon as his gaze met hers, he briefly dipped his head.

He was looking at Ronée’s wrist, where not long ago a maid had intentionally left scratches on her. Ronée had pretended it was just an accident.

“Just a little more.” He hesitated and then continued, “It’s because I want to keep you safe.”

Another few months passed like that.

During that time, Nabel spent his time quietly, as he had said he would. There were no clashes with other members of the household, either. But to Ronée, he did not look like he was meekly lowering his head.

His gaze was certainly not meek. Just like the time when he had listened to her words and endured a moment of humiliation, he had the aura of a young beast keeping its head down while it waited for its chance to strike.

“I won’t do anything that might bring you harm,” Nabel had said calmly, on a day when the knights had kicked him in their heavy military boots. Ronée had felt it on that day, too. The rage of an injured young beast.

It was also on that day that she realized that he would leave her one day.

Many people had left Ronée in her life. Those who treated her well at first quickly changed their tune once they discovered her identity. That was how she knew. She could recognize it when someone was going to leave her.

It may not be because of me, but Nabel will leave this house eventually. The house was too cramped and unpleasant a place to keep him confined there.

While it made Ronée sad, it also brought her joy – she wanted Nabel to go somewhere where he could be at least a little happier. It would probably be the last gift she could give to him before she was eventually dragged off to the temple.

Some time after that, the man who had kicked Nabel was still alive. But the servant who had left scratches on the back of Ronée’s hand on the same day died.

They considered it a coincidence. A big coincidence.