AME 58

Chapter 58

Kaon eventually ended up accompanying Alessia on the inspection.
When the unit members saw Alessia’s pale face, they were startled and tried to stop her, but when she even used magic to insist she was fine, they could no longer object.

The temperature had already dropped sharply after the heavy snowstorm, especially in the forest where sunlight barely reached. Kaon almost handed her the sable fur he had brought along but instead wrapped it directly around Alessia’s neck.

Alessia seemed a little taken aback by the overly kind gesture, but she didn’t resist.
Perhaps she still hadn’t recovered from her fever and couldn’t fully think straight, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

“Oh, this is just too sad… I suppose I really should find myself a partner soon.”

Morris, watching them, spoke in a mock-sorrowful tone. Kaon couldn’t see why he had to make such a pointless remark, but unexpectedly, Alessia smiled—not a polite courtesy smile, but a genuine one.

Come to think of it, she always smiled at Morris’s silly jokes. Kaon couldn’t see what was so funny about that nonsense, but it was still better than seeing her cry. So he decided to give Morris a casual response.

“Shouldn’t you have found one a long time ago?”

“I’m only twenty-six, what are you talking about?”

Twenty-six was already a rather late age for marriage, but Morris spoke as if he were still young. Kaon knew he’d had several chances to marry before, but each time, at the decisive moment, Morris had turned the offer down.

For all his talk about wanting to marry soon or wondering where his other half was, his actions were always extremely passive.

“You’re twenty-six, Morris? Goodness. I thought you were around twenty…”

Alessia seemed far more surprised by this revelation than anything else. She kept mouthing her astonishment as if she truly meant it.

“What? Hahaha! See? Did you hear that, everyone? Ah, this sinful face… Why would anyone wish for immortality when they could live their whole life looking young and handsome like Morris?”

Morris, thrilled by her reaction, began chattering on about his own charms. To be fair, he did look younger than his peers, and when his mouth was shut, he was indeed tall and good-looking—but boasting about it himself canceled out all the points he’d earned. In fact, putting his strengths and flaws together probably brought the score right back to zero.

“Behold! A twenty-six-year-old face that could pass for twenty! Not something you get to see every day, so savor it while you can!”

Kaon only shook his head and quietly glanced at Alessia. Her calm, gentle smile still seemed perfectly unaffected.

“It’s not like you’re the only one who’s said that to me.”

But that remark lingered in Kaon’s mind, stirring it up.

If not him, then who else had told her such a thing? How many times must she have heard it to react like that? The unanswered question sat in him like a thirst that refused to be quenched.

That winter had been unusually snowy. As Madeleine gazed out through the large window at the soft flakes of sleet falling, she spoke with a tone of admiration.

“It’s almost time to clean up the Branch Castle again. How does time pass so quickly…?”

“Thanks for always taking care of it, Madeleine.”

“No thanks needed, young master. It’s only right. The mistress cared for that place with such affection—how could I neglect it?”

Madeleine smiled warmly, her eyes drifting to the distant sky as though thinking of someone dear. Kaon thought he knew who it was.

“She spent more time there than in the main castle. The master even said he might as well move her room there.”

“Yes. But she was happy, and that’s what mattered—because it made your mother happy.”

“She really was a romantic woman, the mistress.”

Kaon nodded readily. His father, rare among nobles, had been a truly romantic man—so much so that he was willing to risk everything for love.

As a child, Kaon sometimes wondered—if his mother were to die first, would his father follow her right after? He hadn’t meant it seriously; he had just felt that his father’s love for her was that deep.

In the end, however, the opposite happened. Both of Kaon’s parents died in the same year. His father, whose health had been ruined in his youth, passed away first from illness, and his mother, her heart weakened beyond repair, could no longer bear to live on without him.

They had probably met again. His father would have waited for her no matter what, and then taken her with him. His love had been that unwavering.

Kaon visited the Branch Castle for the first time in almost a year, though it was only a short distance away. The place was filled with memories of his parents, especially his mother’s, which was why he usually avoided coming.

He both loved and hated his mother. She was the one who had given him not one, but two secrets he could never tell anyone. Thinking of her always stirred a complicated, painful tangle of emotions.

The castle was as quiet as ever. After a moment’s gaze at the crystal-clear sky, Kaon climbed the stairs, the key ring Madeleine had handed him jingling softly.

The paintings along the walls were all his mother’s work. His father had been so proud of her art that he hung her paintings both in the main castle and here. He had even personally chosen the frames.

Soon, Kaon reached the third floor. His eyes instinctively turned to the right—specifically, to the third door down. That was his mother’s room, which he had gifted to Alessia.

After a moment’s hesitation, Kaon approached. There was a spare key on the ring, so he could enter anytime—but if Alessia was using the room, barging in would be rude.

He didn’t think about it for long. He decided he’d turn the handle—if it opened, he’d look inside; if not, he’d leave. An unlocked door would mean she wasn’t using it.

Click.

The handle turned far too easily, making his hesitation feel pointless. Kaon stepped inside and looked around. There were faint signs the room had been touched, though it might just have been from years of disuse.

He searched more thoroughly, but saw no obvious changes. He had given her the room, and whether she used it or not was her choice—but for some reason, the thought left him feeling oddly lonely.

As he was about to leave, he wandered over to the window. There, in front of it, was the armchair his mother had loved to sit in. As he reminisced, he sat down—and then noticed two sheets of paper resting on the window frame.

“A calendar?”

They were two months’ pages stacked together: the first for Nobrios (the Month of Harvest, equivalent to November) and the second for Decarios (the Month of Slumber, equivalent to December).

Looking closely, he saw small notes scribbled in some of the date boxes—short entries, almost like a diary. Just brief lines written after the day’s events.

She had written in it two or three times a week, which meant she must have visited this room at least that often. Since he had deliberately kept himself from thinking about the room after gifting it, the realization felt strange.

He flipped to the second sheet, his finger tracing to the last day of the third week. Today. The square was empty. Yesterday’s was blank as well.

Wondering when the last entry had been made, Kaon scanned the page—then froze. His hand began to tremble, and his eyes followed the words letter by letter, as though reading them aloud.

Alessia, happy birthday.

It was a birthday message written in Alessia’s own handwriting—not to anyone else, but to herself.

Kaon looked at the date.

“…”

And then he closed his eyes, at a loss for words.

Alessia’s birthday had been exactly one week ago—on the very day she had stood alone, enduring that snowstorm.

“Do you have something to say?”

“No. Nothing.”

Sensing his gaze on her, Alessia turned her head to look at Kaon. He replied casually and continued staring at her.

She frowned as if to say he was acting strange, then turned away again—likely because they were about to enter the forest.

What, does saying something make the sky fall or something?

Kaon swallowed the words he wanted to say and stepped into the forest. Now that he thought about it, he’d never celebrated her birthday before. This time last year, they had just uncovered each other’s secrets, so there had been no time to think about such things—meaning he hadn’t even known when it was until now.

It wasn’t that birthdays were especially important to him; after his parents’ deaths, he hadn’t celebrated his own much either. Still, at least he’d always heard some kind of greeting from others. He had never been in the position of needing to wish himself a happy birthday.

But this foolish Alessia Ingellos hadn’t told anyone—choosing instead to spend it alone in silence. It was as if she were trying to make him feel like the worst person alive. If she’d only said something, he would have celebrated it a hundred times over.

Madeleine will handle it well.

He had quietly told Madeleine, as well as Lily and a few other maids. Madeleine had been distressed at how little she knew about the young lady, but promised to put her skills to use, while Lily and the maids prepared a room for a small party.

Kaon had also gotten her a present. It had been a rush, so he wasn’t sure if she would like it—but if not, he could always get her something else.

He’d already wasted enough time waiting for the gift to be ready, so he planned to hold the party for her tonight before it got any later.

“Ivon, you have to come to the knights’ gathering this year. Promise me. You skipped last year and the year before.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now quiet down.”

“That’s exactly what you say every year, which is why I can’t be quiet. Right?”

At the front, Morris clung almost pathetically to Ivon, who was trying to shake him off. Both seemed used to this routine.

“Lady Alessia! I firmly believe you’ll attend this year as well. I know you couldn’t last year because you were unwell.”

Morris, not content with pestering Ivon, naturally pulled Alessia into the conversation. She only gave a vague smile, though she seemed concerned about Ivon.

“If the two of you don’t come, I’ll cry—truly cry. I’ll drag the knights’ honor straight into the dirt. But if you do come, you can start the year alongside a handsome man. Isn’t that a wonderful advantage?”

Thus, Morris’s voice filled the forest that was supposed to be quiet, as he alternated between useless persuasion and half-serious threats.

“Wait—everyone stop.”

Something strange was emanating from the forest.