Chapter 344
Chapter 344
CHAPTER 344
LOST SHADOW
A swirl of memories barraged Lino’s mind, tracing all the way back to the Umbra Kingdom, to where he took the very first, baby steps of his journey . He remembered the quaint night, the lonely and silent streets, and the silver-haired maiden he’d accidentally ran across on his stroll . He remembered the solemn and mysterious black eyes that peered through his soul and left him chilled for a moment, and he remembered the tranquility her mere presence brought .
He remembered saving her, remembered her faint blushes and innocent prying, and he remembered her jovial, youthful voice . An encore of moments the two shared blasted away at him, stunning him momentarily . All of them were distant memories, ones he buried deep in his heart as seeds of his motivation . He’d let go of her a long time ago, put her in a safe corner of his heart to forever be remembered, and moved on . Yet, in front of his eyes, she appeared like a specter, endowed in white sheen of ghastly origin . She still had same, black eyes, yet they lacked the luster and shine of youth and innocence; they appeared sagacious, aged and slightly conflicted .
Lines of her face spoke of her age, yet hardly diminished her beauty . Her posture, more so than everything else, had changed; she sat upright, one of her legs crossed over the other, confidence, indifference and faint bashfulness present in nearly every one of her movements . She had lost her innocent quiver, he mused, yet obtained something far more valuable: wisdom .
A faint smile hanging off her lips proved spectacularly enchanting, as though she were casting a magic spell on all those who beheld it . Everything about her has changed, yet he still managed to recognize her in a heartbeat . He suddenly reached with his arm and grasped at her head, confirming she wasn’t just an overdue demon projected from his heart . She was very much real and alive, sitting there, next to him, beneath the full moon and a sky full of stars, in a distant land neither of the two in their youthful days even knew existed . The moment seemed beyond ethereal and impossible, yet Lino accepted it quickly all the same .
" . . . you’ve changed too," he said, smiling lightly . "Though, considering I thought you were dead, any state but that one would have marked your change, well, remarkable . "
"Ha ha ha, no, no, I was wrong," Freya laughed bewitchingly . "You still have a way with words . "
"I better," Lino said . "If you took that away from me, what would I have left? Just my handsome looks, impeccable intellect and ability to set all women who look at me on fire? Psh, practically nothing . "
"Ha ha ha, yeah, you are still same old Lino," she said, her lips suddenly stretching out into a smile Lino recognized, one he’d seen many times many moons ago . "Indomitable . I’m happy to see the world hasn’t brought you down to your knees . "
" . . . not for the lack of trying . "
"Certainly not . " she nodded .
" . . . what happened?" Lino quizzed, the tone of his voice turning serious . "I thought . . . you died . But, well, clearly you didn’t . "
" . . . I was close to it," she said, sighing as a flash of pain appeared in her gaze . "After Yox captured me, he locked me inside a tower . . . where I truly thought my end would come . In a way, actually, you saved me . "
" . . . eh? I did?" Lino asked with curiosity .
"Yeah, heh . As I stood inside that room, looking out the window into the blackened mist . . . I thought of you, you know? I knew inside my heart I could never let him do the things he wanted to do . . . so I was merely readying myself for that leap . But, after I thought of you . . . I thought of a plan to escape . With a bit of trickery and luck, I made it seem as though I’ve leapt out of the window to my doom . Then I just waited with abashed breath in the darkness . . . until you showed up and blew it all away with a single spear . I saw you, you know?"
" . . . "
"Standing so far up in the sky, you appeared almost like the sun," she continued, lowering her head . "And you banished the dark . "
" . . . why didn’t you call out, then?" Lino asked . "I would have heard . "
"I know you would have . . . but I couldn’t . " she chuckled, glancing at him . "You needed the fire . . . and I needed to learn not to depend on others to survive . "
" . . . well, seeing as you’re here," Lino said . "I’d say that was a resounding success . "
"Ha ha ha, you could say so . I’m actually married to the Third Prince here . Can you believe it?"
" . . . tsk, you really can’t live without the royal title, can you?" he teased .
"No, I really can’t . Ha ha . . . "
" . . . how’d you find me?" he asked .
"Oh, I’ve been tracking you for almost five years now," she said . "Ever since I got access to the resources of a massive Empire . I knew where you were before even you did . "
" . . . oookay . . . that’s a bit creepy . "
"Aww, what? A cute girl is stalking you and it’s creepy?"
" . . . no, you’re right . It’s actually kind of empowering . Though, I do have to inform you that I’m a happily taken man . "
"I know," she said, smiling lightly . "To an Elysian, no less . I’d say I whored myself out for a better life, but boy, compared to you I’m a neat little housewife . "
"Oh? So you admit to having whored yourself out for a royal title?" Lino grinned, taking a sip of ale .
" . . . a little bit, yeah . " she replied with a coy smile, taking away the bottle from Lino and taking a sip herself . "Ugh, I still can’t get used to alcohol . . . how can you drink it so much?"
"Oh, it’s actually fairly simple," Lino said . "Just realize that you have too many issues to deal with, so instead you use booze to lock ’em up inside, neatly . Works wonders for your enjoyment of terribly bitter or sugary booze . "
"You’re a grown man now," she said . "I’d have thought you’d have dealt with your issues by now . "
"Oh, I did . The problem was that just more and more issues kept appearing that I was previously unaware of . Did you know I for some reason have fear of the edges of the forests? Like, anytime I stop at the forest’s edge, I get chills all over and a desperate desire to run away . "
" . . . what?"
"I know! You’d think they’d at least make sense, but sheesh . . . how can I fix something when I don’t even know where it came from in the first place?"
" . . . pfft, ha ha ha ha . . . yeah, you’re still a bundle of weird and bizarre I remember you as . I’m glad . "
" . . . so . . . you’ve stalked me all these years . Did it ever cross your mind I might enjoy finding out you were alive?" he asked .
"It has," she nodded . "But, the timing always felt . . . lacking . If anything, I was closer to approaching Lucky several times before . She’s had it way worse than you anyway . "
" . . . oh, yeah . That’s true . She’s here as well . "
"I know . "
" . . . of course you do . So, why now?" he asked .
" . . . it was time . " she said, taking a deep breath and glancing at the sky . "After all, you’ve made it all the way here . In my heart I knew it was time to meet you . "
" . . . are you happy?" he suddenly asked, surprising her .
"E-eh?"
"Are you happy?" he asked again .
" . . . yeah . " she replied with a warm smile . "I know I joked before, but I really do love Titus . We have two kids, you know?"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, twins . Samuel and . . . Aeala . "
" . . . "
.
"Why’d you ask?"
" . . . because that’s all that matters," he said, suddenly patting her head . "And, that glee in your eyes says you’re even holding back slightly . "
" . . . heh . " she chuckled meekly, lowering her head . "Thanks . But . . . the reason I wanted to see you wasn’t simply to let you know I’m alive . "
"Oh?"
"It was to offer you my help . "
"Your help? With what?" he asked .
"Whatever you want," she said, smiling . "One of the reasons why Titus and I fell in love was our mutual adoration of a single person . You . "
" . . . yeah, I don’t get it . " Lino said .
"Well, for me it was you," she explained . "For him it was the Empyrean . "
" . . . oh . "
"I never told him, don’t worry," she quickly added . "But, it was one thing that brought us closer together . Him talking about your adventures for hours on end, and me listening, desperately trying to imagine you in those scenarios and repeatedly failing . I never had heart to tell him that his favorite hero was a cheeky, sly-tongued pervert more broken than that rose garden I’m supposed to be tending to . "
" . . . aww, how sweet of you," Lino chuckled . "You kept a fan happy, that’s what really matters . But, since you’ve offered a helping hand, I’m not going to say no . "
"Speak up . "
"I’m planning on opening up a smithy here," he said, glancing at the city . "And I hear paperwork’s a bitch . "
" . . . it really is . " Freya grinned .
"I bet knowing a Prince or a Princess might magically speed up the process, huh?"
"You bet correctly!"
"Oh, goody me . Can you believe how lucky I am? To accidentally run into a Princess in the middle of the street -- for the second time in my life, no less! Someone must be up there looking out for me!"
"Ha ha ha ha, perhaps, perhaps . . . "
"Now, I do need to bid you farewell," Lino said, suddenly shuddering . "Because you are very beautiful, and there is a very jealous bride-to-be currently murdering me with her eyes . "
" . . . you two are perfect for each other," Freya said, glancing back and meeting a pair of beautiful, emerald-green eyes; she smiled warmly, much to Hannah’s surprise as she didn’t recognize the girl . "Though they say two burning flames will merely clash till the time ends, they fail to realize they stay together till the time ends . I’m happy you found someone so perfect for you . "
"As am I," Lino said, getting up and glancing back, chuckling wryly as he met Hannah’s fiery and questioning gaze . "Though she can truly be a pain in the ass from time to time . . . "
"Yeah, like you’re perfect," Freya rolled her eyes . "Just be happy there’s someone out there willing to abandon her very own blood for you, Lino . "
" . . . " Lino watched Freya for a moment as she departed, her steps even and graceful, before turning and facing Hannah . His expression mellowed out, lips curling up into a gentle smile; though he appeared calm on the surface, his mind was a storm of turmoil and questions . An unexpected union provided far more question than it had answers . . . though in his heart he knew now was not the time to get to the bottom of everything . Now was the time to treasure what he already had .