C722
Garden Terrace, Tikan Palace
"Oraboni, when did we become so close?" Mary asked, toying with the fruit juice in front of her.
The ice clinked against the spoon, producing a pleasant sound.
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
Dyfus pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
"I'm just curious. I don't seem to remember."
As he reached in, the cigarette case was empty.
"There’s nothing left. I don't feel like going to get more. Do you have any cigarettes?"
"No, but could you focus on my question?""Well, we probably became close naturally at some point."
"No, that’s not the type of answer I'm looking for. I've been uneasy about this for days. I haven't been able to sleep well."
"What’s bothering you so much?"
"You know, whenever something bothers me, all my attention focuses on resolving it. I can't let it go until it’s settled. Don’t you understand?"
"Fix your personality, punk. Sometimes you have to let things go without worrying too much. Hedo-nim."
Dyfus gestured to Hedo as he passed by, and he handed him a cigarette.
"You can pay me back with two next time."
"Of course, I’ll give you the best ones from Mila."
Pleased, Dyfus pulled a matchbox from his pocket and sighed.
There was no fire.
"When you have trouble, find me at the entrance. I'll have a lighter for you, Sir Dyfus."
But this time, as Jet was passing by, he quickly brought a lit match to Dyfus's lips.
"Jet, that’s very fitting. I’ve noticed during my stay here that you’re always a very fitting person."
"My lord hired me for a good reason, it seems. Do you gentlemen need anything else? Should I bring some specially made cookies from Lord Latrei’s shop?" 𝑅ΆＮȮꞖΕṢ
"Go fetch a hammer. And if possible, get one made by Picon-nim."
"Oh, Mary. A hammer? Why...?"
"You're really dodging my question, oraboni."
"Haha, have fun with that. Well then, I'll take my leave."
Phew...
Dyfus exhaled a puff of smoke, and a look of satisfaction crossed his face.
Irritated by Mary’s impatience, he gave her a stern look.
"Fine, okay. I get it, I get it. Let me think about it."
"Yes, think about it right now."
"Let’s see... Nanny Gilly! Wait a moment."
Dyfus called out to Gilly as she passed by.
"Yes, Sir Dyfus. What can I do for you?"
"When the nanny first joined the family, was I close to her?"
"Well... Honestly, I’m not sure. I think at that time I had to take care of young master Jin, so I didn’t pay much attention to that."
"Did I tell you to ask Nanny Gilly for answers?"
"But when the young master and I started living in the main house, your friendship already seemed very deep."
"Well, it’s understandable since we were both Flagbearers at that time. Thanks for answering. By the way, how’s your wound?"
"Thanks to the care of my comrades, it’s been improving. And Sir Dyfus, you no longer need to apologize."
"Well, thanks for saying that... Anyway, it’s better if you go rest instead of angering the younger one by working."
As Gilly nodded and walked away, Mary clinked her spoon against the plate.
"Hmm, hmm! We became friends when you graduated from the beginner class. Then you helped me pick out a sword."
"You carelessly picked out a sword for me. I remember your unfortunate phrase. Hey, use this. It’s called Viper, a chain sword. It suits brats with dirty faces like you."
"But how long did you actually use the weapon I carelessly picked out for you? Until it broke in Rikalton."
"Well, you misunderstood. I chose Viper back then to give you a jab, oraboni. After defeating you in hand-to-hand combat, I wanted to prove that I could beat you even with the sword you chose without any effort... That’s all I wanted to say."
"Unfortunately, I never heard that phrase. Since then, you’ve always come after me, but never won."
"Oraboni, you were already a Flagbearer then, so it would’ve been awkward to boast like that. But don’t you remember the time you underestimated me and got poisoned by a viper and suffered for days?"
"When you attacked me during a friendly duel in the bath? Completely breaking the rules. I still have the scar here. Anyway, you should be grateful to me. If I had made a fuss about it, it would’ve been a big problem. Oh, so we became friends only because I kept my mouth shut!"
"No, it’s not that. After that day, you looked at me like I was a plague."
"Mary, does that mean what you did was something a person would do?"
"It was something like that. I lost even after doing that."
"I think you’re a bit off track. I think... It was the day Joshua prepared dinner for all the siblings, I felt a sense of camaraderie while arguing with him. It was that day."
"Well, that seemed like it. Even after that day, it was the same during the long years we spent together, feeling the wall between us with Elder Sister Luna."
"That’s a story that applies to all siblings."
"But not to the younger one."
"At some point, you found a bundle of magical explosives and said you’d blow up my room, and I discovered it by chance and stopped you. The day you waited for our father to go to the bathroom to challenge him and I stopped you."
"No, you discovered it by chance, right? I felt like you saw me as a troublesome kid and kept an eye on me. Now that I think about it, there were no coincidences. It was all the result of oraboni looking out for me."
"You did crazy things more than once, so maybe it was that day when I..."
Even after that, Dyfus cheerfully recounted numerous past anecdotes with Mary.
No, precious memories.
It had been a long time since they had spent such a relaxed afternoon.
They were so delighted and comfortable that Dyfus didn’t even realize he had finished smoking the cigarette and was still holding it between his fingers.
Mary was smiling too.
Sometimes, when Dyfus brought up embarrassing stories from the past, she covered her mouth and laughed, occasionally shedding tears.
"Jeje... Hehe, sniff. Yes, there were times like that, agh! I was surprised!"
"Hehe."
"Yona! How long have you been there?"
"Since Hedo-nim gave Dyfus oppa a cigarette earlier."
"No way."
"Hehe, both Mary unnie and Dyfus oppa are so silly. I wonder why you two don’t know what I know."
"Ah, so you know when we became friends, Yona?"
Yona smiled shyly and pointed outside the terrace.
In the endless expanse of the blue sea, Mary’s flagship and Cosmos’s fleet were floating.
"Ah...!" Mary and Dyfus exclaimed as if they had finally realized.
"That’s right! It was that day. The day Oraboni named my ship!"
"Yes, it was around the time you became a Provisional Flagbearer and left the Family. But how did you know, Yona?"
When they turned around, Yona had already disappeared and was nowhere to be found.
The two of them looked around for a moment and recalled the same moment.
-You are a Provisional Flagbearer, so there will be no one else committed to protecting your ship.
-Since we’ve fought a lot on land, I might as well intimidate the sailors too.
-Yes, return after experiencing various things and becoming an adult while sailing on that ship.
-Yes.
-But if becoming an adult turns out to be too difficult, come back safe and sound, even if you survive with that ridiculous personality of yours. The fact that you haven’t died until now is solely because of me.
-Ah, it seems that the arrogant Fourth Flagbearer wants to provoke me. Shall we make a bet then? I bet that I will become stronger and return. You bet that I’ll become a corpse. What will you give me if I win? Just so you know, I can’t give you anything if I lose. I’ll be dead.
Looking back, it was that day.
Although at first, Mary responded sarcastically to Dyfus’s sincere concerns, that day was when the accumulated bond between them, unknown to them, was directly conveyed through words.
"When you return, I’ll start watching your back again. If you get into trouble, I’ll cover your back as I always have. If you recklessly put yourself in danger, I’ll stop you... That’s what Oraboni told me that day."
"You said I’ve gotten used to watching your back like it’s my hobby. Well, you showed a glimpse of tenderness by leaving me a note telling me to keep the promise. But it seemed like the first and last time."
"Maybe it’s because I was still a troublemaking kid back then, but why did oraboni do that? Why did he say such uncomfortable things to me, who was a nuisance?"
They weren’t just words. In reality, Dyfus had always cared for Mary more than himself.
And Mary still didn’t know the reason.
Why Dyfus had been looking out for her since then.
"Is there any big reason behind this? At first, I just felt a strange attachment to you, but as I spent more time with you, it became truly pleasant for me. Since you became a Flagbearer, you’ve become more human. As your elder brother, I feel great satisfaction."
The reason wasn’t important either.
The two of them laughed like children.
"Now, do you feel relieved? Can you sleep well from now on?" Dyfus asked, and Mary nodded her head, but then fell into deep thought.
"...No, there’s still one more question I want to ask you, oraboni."
The smile disappeared from Mary’s face.
"Why did you do it? Why... why did you betray me, the younger one, the family, the world, and receive the power of the evil god?"
Dyfus pulled the cigarette, which had completely burned out, from between his fingers.
"Gilly said you no longer need to apologize. Even the other comrades... Even though Oraboni came to his senses in the end, I still can’t accept it. So tell me now. There must be a reason why it had to be this way."
"Mary, let’s take a walk."
"Don’t try to avoid answering again. I must hear it today. If I don’t hear an answer from Oraboni, I..."
"Follow me, let’s talk while we walk."
Dyfus suddenly rose from his seat and started walking.
Mary, still lost in thought, stood up and followed him.
-
KO-FI:
https://tinyurl.com/SHADOWK
-
( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs)