Chapter 129

The clown ran around excitedly.

Strumming a five-stringed instrument, he sang at the top of his lungs for all of Merion to hear.

No one scolded him.

Instead, they clapped, chattered, and raised their voices to sing along.

There was a maiden wearing a crown woven from stalks of wheat, and a freckled young man shyly extending his hand to her.

Children running around as always, old people with wide smiles on their faces.

Laughter and song, a clamor of pure joy.

Today is a joyous day for all

A day to celebrate Merion's harvest of the year.

Everyone laughs.

But Serena de Verchello could not bring herself to laugh.

“…….”

She quietly looked out the window.

She saw people who had become one mass of joy.

The flag decorations strung between the stalls were vibrant.

There were clowns everywhere, indicating a circus troupe had arrived.

A song could be heard even from a distance.

There was a path amid the crowd.

It was a path prepared for the highlight of the Merion Harvest Festival, the Parade of Seven Carriages.

Serena's face was deeply troubled.

She barely suppressed the urge to let out a deep sigh.

“…I am sorry, my lady.”

Dussell Duke could not help but apologize.

“If only I had protected the carriage from Brass Arm…….”

“Don't say that.”

Serena's voice was somewhat agitated.

Dussell Duke had been injured by Brass Arm and could not even hold himself up properly.

The doctor said he would have lost his arm if the wound had been just a little deeper and yet here he was, lying injured, apologizing for not being able to protect the carriage.

“You did your best.”

“But, what does that carriage mean to Verchello…….”

“Verchello has not fallen so low as to blame an injured person for something that has already passed.”

She said firmly.

Honor and duty were the last vestiges of pride for the ruined family.

“Focus on resting, Dussell. Unless you intend to worry Yeni even more.”

“…Understood.”

Only when his wife Yeni's name was mentioned did Dussell fall silent.

His piercing eyes soon closed.

He fell asleep in an instant as if he were dead.

How could he worry about anyone else when he was so gravely injured?

Serena swept back her black hair.

Her raspberry-colored eyes wavered with anxiety.

She had pretended to be fine to reassure Dussell Duke.

But she could not be fine.

In her hand was a piece of blackened wood.

It was a remnant of the carriage they had so diligently prepared.

‘Brass Arm’ Onseu Om had pulverized the Verchello carriage so finely that the largest piece was no bigger than her finger.

‘Father…….’

It was a carriage that had been passed down since her ancestors' time.

Her late father, in particular, had cherished it dearly.

The thought that such a carriage was now a pile of fragments, its original form unrecognizable, weighed heavily on her heart.

‘I can't... go on like this anymore…….’

She squeezed her eyes shut.

It was the only way she could hold back the thick tears.

She was simply sick of it all.

Sick of Del Conti tripping her up at every turn, of the impossibly heavy name of Verchello, and most of all, of her own powerless self.

She had tried to hope.

She had wanted the fluttering of ‘what if’ to become reality.

But, as always…….

This was always the result whenever she harbored even a little bit of hope.

Now, she was not just afraid to hope, but felt it was a sin.

The sound of mocking laughter, telling her she was getting ahead of herself with excessive expectations, echoed in her mind.

She couldn't even tell whose voice it was.

No, perhaps it was her own.

She had to be strong.

Otherwise, she could not survive.

But Serena de Verchello was only human, a girl who had just turned nineteen.

Even if she had dedicated her entire teens, which should have been as beautiful as silk, it was impossible to be perfect, wasn't it?

Wasn't it inevitable that she would have some weakness?

Rather, having pushed herself so hard, it was natural to have a heart worn raw, but to whom could she reveal this afflicted part?

Must she let it fester further because it was already rotting?

Was this truly her life, and if so, was it not a terribly cruel darkness……?

“I apologize for being late, my lady.”

It was as if a golden ray of sunshine was shining down.

“Please forgive me for coming only now.”

“Shion……?”

“Yes, it is I.”

Shion Pollinglight smiled gently.

“Were you crying?”

“…I wasn't crying.”

“It looks like you were.”

“…I said I wasn't.”

Serena hastily wiped her eyes.

A faint wetness, too light to be called tears, came away. Shion wore a playful smile.

His blue eyes had never been so welcome.

“I'm sorry, Shion.”

“Why are you sorry? I rushed here, so I don't know anything.”

“I wanted to do well, but it didn't work out that way.”

“Even you can sound so weak, my lady.”

“Didn't you know? This is who I really am.”

Serena de Verchello let out a deep sigh.

Only when Shion arrived could she finally breathe.

She finally found the courage.

A small bit of courage not to run away from the reality she had always avoided.

“…Shion, I've always been lying. But I don't think I can force it anymore.”

Her raspberry-colored eyes grew moist.

“It seems Verchello is finished. If it is a name that can only survive by someone getting hurt, then this must be right.”

She decided to accept the ruin.

It hurt so much she didn't know what to do, but she had to do something.

Because Serena was the master of Verchello. Before being a nineteen-year-old girl, she was the family head.

“Let's stop here, Shion.”

“I refuse.”

Shion Pollinglight shook his head.

Then he looked at her with his deep blue eyes.

Struck by a strange intensity, Serena fell silent.

Yet she couldn't look away, and met his blue gaze. It was as if flames were flickering blue within them.

The number was probably… seven.

“I have already become Verchello's sponsor, and I have my own plans for Verchello. Even if you don't like it, my lady, I have no intention of stopping.”

“…What are you going to do in this situation?”

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“Is there some kind of problem?”

Serena couldn't help but raise her voice.

“Did you just ask if there's a problem, Shion!?”

“Yes, I did.”

She was so bewildered, angry, hurt, and exhausted that she wanted to burst into tears.

No, a tear that had already welled up finally trickled down her left cheek.

By the time she realized it, she had forgotten that Dussell Duke was asleep and was half-shouting.

“The carriage passed down from our ancestors is in pieces, and Dussell was seriously injured protecting it! Without Dussell, not just the harvest festival, but the mill itself will come to a halt. What will people say? They'll chatter about how it's just like Verchello, how we tried something beyond our means and ended up ruining the business we just managed to recover!”

Shion let her rant. His attitude made her feel even more upset for some reason and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Fine, let's say that's that! Whatever they chatter about, it's only for a moment! What about the money? I don't even have the severance pay to give to Dussell, who was injured because of me, to his wife Yeni, to the workers and employees who have followed Verchello their whole lives. And you say there's no problem at all?”

“Hmm. It's not that there are no problems, but…….”

Shion tilted his head.

“They are all trivial.”

“…What did you say?”

Serena's eyes shot up.

For her, it was a matter of her life.

No, if it were just her life, it would be one thing, but many lives were at stake.

“Say that again, Shion.”

Her raspberry-colored eyes turned fierce.

“Because despite all the kindness you've shown me, I think I'm about to hate you.”

“I said they are trivial, my lady.”

“Ha…….”

She was so dumbfounded that she was at a loss for words.

“I can overlook other things, but to say that a person getting injured is trivial……”

“It is trivial.”

A deep sense of disappointment seeped in.

It barged into her heart with bare feet.

She had trusted Shion.

She had believed he was someone who treated people like people, a good person.

She glared at Shion.

It was filled with contempt. It hurt as much as she had hoped he might have feelings for her.

Still, because of all the kindness Shion had shown her until now, she bit her lip to keep from spewing curses.

Shion Pollinglight paid her no mind and walked past her.

Dussell Duke had woken up at some point.

The agent's keen senses did not permit a deep sleep next to a fighting man and woman.

Shion took out a small bottle from his pocket and held it out.

“Dussell Duke. Are you badly injured?”

“I can't say it's minor, Shion.”

“Drink this.”

“May I ask what it is?”

“No.”

“Understood.”

Dussell Duke obediently swallowed the bottle's contents.

As the slightly golden liquid went down his throat, vitality soon flowed through him.

Dussell Duke's already piercing eyes widened.

“My wound…….”

He dazedly lifted his arm.

The arm that had been on the verge of being severed, barely hanging on, moved without the slightest pain.

When he pushed aside the bandages, he saw that all his wounds were gone.

Not even a scar was left behind.

Could it be, this… Dussell Duke realized that the liquid he drank was ‘Golden Medicine,’ and a high-quality one at that.

It was a drug secretly traded around the Cordis Empire's Hobel Bay region.

Considering its terrifying efficacy and golden hue, there was no doubt.

Shion raised his index finger to his lips.

It was a sign not to speak about the ‘Golden Medicine.’

Golden Medicine was an item of the Empire. It was not something to be spoken of in the West.

“How is it, my lady?”

Shion chuckled.

“Dussell's very trivial injury is now gone without a trace. Now is it just the carriage problem that's left?”

He moved the index finger that had been on his lips.

Then he slowly pointed out the window, at the crowd soaked in the joy of the festival.

“Why don't you take a look outside?”

***

Sansio and Susanna, excited by the Harvest Festival, darted here and there.

It was around the time the fifth carriage in the Parade of Seven Carriages was passing by.

“Isn't it Verchello's turn after the next one?”

“Verchello is last, of course.”

Anticipation swelled within them.

It wasn't just their anticipation.

The people of Merion all but ignored the preceding carriages, waiting only for the last one.

One is not a person of Merion if they have no attachment to the Verchello family.

They all waited for the Verchello carriage, for its black, antique, and nostalgic form.

The sixth carriage also passed.

The driver showed no sign of disappointment despite being ignored by the people.

This was because the driver, too, was a person of Merion.

He hummed a tune as he paved the way for Verchello.

“Any second now……”

“Yeah……”

Sansio and Susanna gulped.

A silence fell over the crowd.

It was to prepare for a cheer.

They had to send their congratulations to Verchello, who had risen after overcoming a long period of hardship.

“…….”

“…….”

But the silence dragged on.

Even as the six preceding carriages disappeared into the distance, the Verchello carriage was nowhere to be seen.

The people waited, but they did not get what they wanted. Their swelling hearts began to crumple.

“Why isn't it coming……?”

“Don't tell me……”

Sansio and Susanna muttered cautiously.

Grumbling voices erupted from all over.

‘What, I heard Verchello was participating?’

‘I guess it was just a bluff.’

‘It's really over for Verchello.’

‘Agh, this just ruined the mood.’ Some even threw in curses.

“These bastards……!”

“Calm down, Susanna! What good will picking a fight do?”

“They're going too far!”

“It's because they had high expectations, because they hoped!”

“Tch……”

The size of disappointment is proportional to the size of expectation and with great disappointment, base feelings tend to mix in.

Especially things like ridicule.

A few drunkards loudly mocked Verchello, flaunting their rudeness, not caring whether they were spreading their unpleasantness to others.

Sansio and Susanna were displeased with this whole situation.

They wanted to see the Verchello carriage more than anyone.

But dwelling on their disappointment wouldn't solve anything.

Susanna thought it would be better to just leave.

“Hey, Sansio, let's just go get a drink. This year's festival is a bust anyway…….”

“…Hey, Susanna, look over there…….”

“Why? Is there anything more to see?”

“…No, I'm telling you to look over there.”

There was the sound of horse hooves.

“…Another carriage is coming.”