Chapter 106: An Unforgettable Moment
- Reira ☾⋆⁺₊✧ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
- Nov 5, 2025
- 8 min read
“The task?”
“All finished.”
“That’s good.”
Cabelenus gestured toward the sofa across from him with his chin.
Gazeff carefully sat on the sofa, holding a bundle of documents close to his chest.
"For someone who’s completed the task, your expression doesn’t look very good. Is there a problem?"
"Sir Philip, who led the pursuit squad, said that the hardest part was trying to keep someone alive rather than killing them."
"Looks like you’re worried, huh?"
"Far from a sword, he’s never even lifted anything heavier than a brush. A person who can’t even take care of their own body could never accomplish such a thing."
"Fenrir liked that about him. He said the more incompetent someone is, the easier they are to fool."
Cabelenus crossed his long legs leisurely.
"Can we trust the young lord of Roaquin?"
"It wasn’t for nothing that he killed three of his older brothers. He’s quite cunning."
"That sounds like you’re saying he could take out the remaining two as well."
"One of them is already close to death. And that happened while their master remained in a foreign land."
Cabelenus exhaled and leaned back against the sofa.
The fact that there was no problem even with the master away meant Roaquin was under his firm control.
The young lord of Roaquin, wandering around with a careless laugh, had put down deeper roots than he had imagined.
"Shall we look into it separately? Unfortunately, ability and trust don’t always go hand in hand."
"No, it’s fine. Honestly, I don’t think he’ll betray us. It’s just that…"
"Is there anything about the plan that bothers you?"
"The plan isn’t bad. There were a few things that needed tweaking, but the overall framework was solid."
Cabelenus answered without the slightest hesitation.
He had been impressed by Fenrir’s scheme, though he hadn’t let it show.
The proposal from a seemingly inexperienced youngster was as bold as his youth and was equally as charming.
"Even so, your expression shows that something is troubling you."
"Is it that obvious?"
‘Looks like I’ve grown dull myself.’
Cabelenus rubbed his temple with his thumb and let out a short, mocking laugh.
"Rather than it being very noticeable, it's more that I've become accustomed to it. After all, I have served Your Highness for a long time."
"…Come to think of it, we’ve spent quite a long time together as well."
“Serving Your Highness for so long is my pride.”
A faint smile spread across Gazeff’s lips.
“You call that a source of pride? You must be awfully short on things to boast about.”
Cabelenus turned his head indifferently.
"When Your Highness saved my life, I resolved that I would devote my life to Your service. Thus, a life lived for Your Highness can only be a source of pride for me."
"When did I ever save you?"
“At the time, I was just a rookie. The only reason I was able to serve Your Highness was because all my superiors had fallen one after another.”
“...”
“In fact, I was on the battlefield where they died. I just stood there, frozen, watching them fall and waiting for death myself. If Your Highness hadn’t saved me that day, I wouldn’t be here now.”
Gazeff unconsciously rubbed his left wrist.
The young man who had just enlisted was full of youth and passion.
Everything seemed easy, and he spent his days imagining himself as a hero. But that didn’t last long.
It didn’t take long for him to realise that his fantasies were nothing more than the arrogance of youth.
Everything was different from what he had been taught.
Against enemies rushing in from all sides and swinging their weapons wildly, disciplined swordsmanship was meaningless. The desperate screams, the sensation of cutting through flesh, and the flood of blood and entrails made him nauseous.
When he came to his senses, the young man, once an outstanding student who had always received top marks at the academy, was nothing more than one more soldier running for his life.
“I don’t remember any of it.”
“I’m aware. I know that Your Highness didn’t intend to save me, and that you merely swung your sword because an enemy stood before you. I understand all of it.”
“Yet, you still call that something to be proud of?”
“It may have been nothing to Your Highness, but to me, it wasn’t.”
That day, the young man who fled felt no shame.
He had simply turned his back on his comrades to survive, thrashing through blood whose owner he didn’t even know.
But even as he ran, he was still on the battlefield.
There was no escape.
Once he realised that, all that followed was crushing despair.
“Your Highness cut down the soldier who was about to strike me, and then handed me that soldier’s sword.”
“...”
“And you told me this: if I wanted to live, I had to endure by any means necessary.”
Gazeff’s gaze fell to the uniform he was wearing.
Now, it was the outfit he felt most at home in, but he had never forgotten that dry, indifferent voice from his rookie days.
“When I grasped the sword Your Highness handed me, my life changed.”
"It was just a sword."
“But to me, it held great significance.”
A faint smile spread across Gazeff’s lips.
Cabelenus slowly turned his head and quietly gazed at Gazeff.
Though they had faced each other countless times over the years, this was the first time he had truly looked at him.
“So your eyes are brown.”
“They’ve been brown since I was born.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Jet-black hair fell slowly over Cabelenus’s forehead.
Through the strands, his golden eyes glimmered darker than usual.
“If not for today, I probably wouldn’t have been able to recall your face even after you died.”
“To be honest, I expected as much.”
"And yet you say such things?"
"It doesn’t matter if Your Highness doesn’t acknowledge me. I already believe that I’ve received enough from you, and I’m satisfied with that.”
Gazeff smiled, and Cabelenus’s eyes narrowed even further.
Since when had he stopped studying faces in detail?
There had been a time when the faces of those he had killed haunted him, giving him nightmares. But at some point, he no longer remembered them.
The more blood became familiar, the duller his guilt grew, and each day he became more indifferent.
In the end, it didn’t matter whether they were enemies or allies.
They were either lives that had to be killed or merely a means to an end.
There was no reason to give them any meaning.
Yet, looking at his subordinate’s face, a thought suddenly struck him.
When the day came that he could no longer feel the blind, devoted gaze following him, that smile might come to mind.
“…I suppose I’m becoming weaker.”
“I don’t think you’re becoming weaker; I think you’re changing.”
"Changing?"
“Has Your Highness not had a similar experience?”
"A similar experience… I see."
For a moment, Cabelenus’s gaze softened.
He could not forget the moment he had met the woman, drenched in blood.
"Back then, I never even dreamed I’d end up like this."
"So, does that bother you?"
"No. I like it."
Hearing that, a broad smile spread across Gazeff’s lips.
The man who once feared nothing had changed considerably, yet he didn’t look any worse for it.
The wolf of Schwarhan, once called a monster by all, now looked surprisingly human.
“As long as she’s alright, that is.”
“…Is the young lady in a very bad condition?”
“She’s getting worse by the day. It’s terrible.”
Cabelenus pressed a hand to his forehead.
Gazeff clasped his hands and lowered his head helplessly.
Despite his best efforts, the information he could gather was scant.
The Noitraira tribe had already vanished, so there were limits to what could be discovered about them, and with no other reliable sources, they had now reached the point of investigating every rumour and superstition imaginable.
“Have you had any success yet?”
"I’m sorry."
“Is there nothing that stands out?”
“The only lead worth hoping for is on the monsters’ side, but even after searching the entire Schwarhan region, we couldn’t find a single trace.”
Gazeff let his shoulders slump.
The monsters were so enormous that they could be spotted from afar, and their forms were bizarre.
It was almost astonishing that they couldn’t find any trace of them, even after all this.
"But that doesn’t mean we can just sit here and wait like this, does it?"
“For now, I’ll keep looking for other ways.”
“There’s no limit to the solutions we can think of.”
It was just that there was no time.
Cabelenus lowered his gaze and exhaled deeply.
He had deliberately concealed his unease in front of Alicia and Michael, not wanting to make them unnecessarily anxious.
The more unsettled he felt, the straighter he kept his back, striving to maintain normalcy.
Yet unresolved problems nagged at him like loose threads that hadn’t been trimmed.
It felt as if he had been thrown into darkness, unable to see even an inch ahead.
“...”
“I wonder just how far my patience can hold out.”
Cabelenus’s gaze landed on his sword.
He knew that swinging a sword in battle wasn’t the only way to solve a problem.
But seeing Alicia grow weaker day by day made it impossible not to think otherwise.
・・・・・
“Mum, were you sleeping? You said you’d watch me make a snowman.”
"Sorry. I must have dozed off for a moment."
Alicia smiled awkwardly and gently ruffled Michael’s hair.
Perhaps from running around the garden for quite a while, the child’s cheeks were bright red from the cold.
“Your face is freezing. You’ve been out here for too long. Let’s head inside now.”
“Can’t I stay out a little longer before going in?”
"Why?"
“I haven’t finished the snowman yet. I want to finish it before going in.”
“Isn’t it finished already?”
“Not yet. I need Mum’s help to finish it.”
Michael held out the carrot he had been carrying.
Only then did Alicia realise that the snowman Michael had made had no nose.
"Is it okay for Mum to decorate it? My little son loves decorating the snowman’s nose the most, though.”
"Of course it’s fine! I want to give only the best to Mum!"
"Really?"
“Mister said so. He said that if you don’t show what you like, you’ll regret it every day. So he told me to tell you how much I like Mum."
"…Mister said that?"
"Yeah. He did."
Michael giggled, seemingly tickled by Alicia’s hand rubbing his cheek.
Alicia watched him quietly for a moment, then hugged him tightly.
"What’s wrong, Mum?"
“I just love my son so much.”
"I love you too, Mum! More than anyone in the world!"
Michael, in turn, hugged Alicia tightly.
Alicia closed her eyes and gently stroked the child’s back.
If Cabelenus’s feelings toward her were false, so much would change.
And the repercussions could just as easily fall on Michael.
“You know, Michael. Can Mum ask a favour of you?”
"Huh? What kind of favour?"
Michael looked up at her with wide, curious eyes.
Alicia fought back the surge of emotion that welled up at the sight of her innocent child and forced a gentle smile.
“About the three wishes you asked Mister for. Would it be okay if Mum used just one of them?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“You’re giving it up that easily?”
“Since it’s you, Mum, it’s fine. I can even give you both wishes too.”
Michael grinned and nuzzled his face against Alicia’s neck.
Alicia tightened her embrace around Michael even more.
She had feared so much and was certain of nothing, yet in the face of the child’s rapidly beating heart, everything else felt meaningless.
That alone was enough to make it clear what answer she had to choose.
Alicia slowly lifted her head.
Perhaps it was because of the child’s high body temperature, but the bitter cold that had once seemed impossible to get used to now felt rather familiar.
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