Chapter 7

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 7

Chapter Title: Long-Awaited Reunion

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“Count, thank you for taking such good care of my wife and children all this time. Having received this great favor, I, Hail Peneus, will rush to your side anywhere you call, Agnes Count.”

It wasn't long after Hail's arrival that the Peneus family began preparing to head north, bustling about like beans frying in lightning.

Even though their belongings had piled up over a year and a half in the capital, they managed to pack everything in just a week.

There was an undeniable urgency to it all, but this was the long-awaited journey north. It wasn't as if they could complain about the haste.

“Herwin, so we're heading north now?”

“......Yeah.”

“Take care up there. And send letters regularly.”

“......Yeah.”

No matter how much Lucia and Lucas spoke to him, Herwin's responses remained lukewarm.

“Sis, sis! You come too?”

At that moment, Henry, who had been playing alone a short distance away, toddled over and threw himself into Lucia's arms.

Just like the days when he could barely speak and still planted kisses on her, Henry adored her as much as ever.

“No, I'm not going.”

Herwin's face hardened at the nonchalant words coming from beside her.

“Why? Go with Henny.”

“Hmm, that'd be a problem.”

Dissatisfied with the answer he wanted, Henry pouted in protest.

“Henny go with sis!”

“No, this little guy's at it again.”

Lucas chuckled and pried Henry away from Lucia.

Pulling Henry off Lucia was usually the job of Lucas and Herwin. But today, Herwin was just standing by, ignoring his little brother.

“Kids! Time to go!”

“Ah, looks like we're all set.”

Herwin's expression darkened even further.

“Alright, little guy. You have to take care up north too.”

“Waaah! Nooo, nooo! Wanna go with sis!”

Lucas scooped up Henry and headed off first. Lucia stared blankly at the two receding figures before turning her gaze aside.

“Not going?”

Herwin didn't answer Lucia's question. Instead, he shot to his feet. Then he began walking away in the slowest steps he could manage.

“Herwin, what are you doing? Hurry up!”

Scarlett's urging only slowed his pace more. Herwin, staring at the ground, finally came to a halt. Lucia stopped as well, following his lead.

“Herwin, are you feeling sick?”

“......Lucia.”

“Yeah?”

He looked up, meeting her sky-blue eyes. There was something lodged tight in his chest he desperately wanted to voice, but he didn't even know what this emotion was himself, so the words wouldn't come.

In the end, all Herwin could do was move his lips soundlessly.

“Herwin!”

“Let's go. Mother will get mad.”

Unaware of Herwin's turmoil, Lucia grabbed his hand and dashed outside.

Was it because of the sudden bright light? Herwin couldn't properly make out the Lucia in front of him.

“We're running late. Hurry up.”

Scarlett hustled Herwin into the carriage. Inside, Henry was sniffling, worn out from crying.

“Thanks for everything, Julian. We made such good memories thanks to you.”

“No big deal. Take care up there. Come visit again!”

Now it was truly time to part. Scarlett and Yohan exchanged final farewells with the Agnes couple and boarded the carriage.

Hya!

The coachman cracked his whip, urging the horses forward. As the carriage began to move, Herwin, who had been staring down at his hands on his lap, suddenly jerked his head up.

“Oh my, Herwin!”

Knowing it was rude but unable to help himself, Herwin climbed onto Scarlett's lap and stuck his head out the window.

“Lucia! Lucas bro! Don't forget me! Got it?”

“Yeah! Take care, Herwin!”

“We'll send letters!”

Thankfully, his voice reached the Agnes siblings. Herwin felt a wave of relief, but as Lucia grew smaller and harder to see in the distance, a pang of disappointment hit him.

She hadn't shed a single tear even after hearing he was leaving. He didn't want her to cry, but at least...

'I thought she'd feel as bummed out as me...'

It felt like he was the only one regretting the departure to the north, and it stung.

That unusually cool summer day at age six—he knew he'd never forget it.

Time seemed to crawl after Herwin left for the north, then raced by.

For days after his departure, Lucia often spaced out.

The spot beside her, always filled with someone, felt so empty now that nothing held her interest.

But that didn't last. Children's memories are short.

Still, she and Lucas didn't forget their time with Herwin.

Whenever they reminisced about those play-filled days, a letter would arrive from the north, delighting the Agnes siblings as they penned replies.

A month, two, three passed like that, seasons turning, and their correspondence gradually thinned.

Vivid memories faded into vagueness; they were too busy living the present to dwell on the past.

One day, after contentedly going about their separate lives, even the occasional letters stopped entirely.

It had been a year since Herwin left.

Time flowed on, and Lucia turned a proper eight years old.

“Heading north?”

Lucas startled mid-tea with their parents, blurting out the question.

“Yes. Do you remember the Peneus family that stayed with us before?”

“Oh... yeah! Herwin and Henry, right?”

“Exactly. They've invited us to spend the summer up north.”

“They say the north stays spring- or autumn-like even in midsummer, unlike here. And there are places where the snow never melts.”

“We'll get to see Herwin and Henry after so long.”

“Herwin, huh... it's been forever. Right, Lucia?”

“Huh? Oh... yeah......”

Lucia trailed off, sipping her orange juice quietly.

He figured she'd be thrilled—they'd been inseparable best friends as kids—but her reaction felt off somehow.

Lucas frowned, then his eyes widened as realization dawned.

“......Wait, do you not remember Herwin?”

“I do remember who he is, but......”

“Maybe 'cause you were so young? But you lived together over a year.”

“No, I remember. Just not everything clearly.”

“Fair enough. Good that you remember at all. I barely recall anything before I was seven myself.”

Lucas patted his sister's shoulder understandingly.

Lucia munched on the cookie Lucas offered, pondering her hazy memories of Herwin.

'I definitely thought he was like an angel.'

Details escaped her—only fragments surfaced.

Black hair, red eyes, features so refined she thought him angelic, a bit prickly maybe...

She recalled him snapping when kids teased him.

'Hated being called girly or pretty, right? Probably.'

Putting it together, he didn't seem to have the best personality. Yet thinking of him only brought fond feelings.

According to her parents and Lucas, he'd looked after her a lot, so they must've been close.

Lucia strained to picture Herwin's blurred face.

“Hee, I'm curious.”

Brimming with excitement, she kicked her legs. She couldn't wait to see what days awaited in the north.

“Bro, whatcha doing?”

“Homework. What's up, Henry? Need something from me?”

“Yeah, just missed you.”

Henry beamed, his round eyes crinkling. Herwin chuckled softly and set down his quill.

Creeeak—

Stepping down from his chair, Herwin rubbed his stiff shoulders.

At eight, Herwin had grown strikingly handsome—no one would mistake him for a girl anymore.

Two years into serious sword training, his frame was sturdy beyond his peers despite his youth. Thanks to his tall parents' genes, he towered over other kids too.

Tall, handsome, excelling in sports and studies—Henry adored his brother.

To five-year-old Henry, Herwin was his greatest pride.

“Oh! Right! Mom said guests are coming from the capital today!”

“Yeah? So they'll be here soon?”

“Yep! She said sis too—wonder who? You remember, bro?”

“......Of course I do.”

“Were they nice?”

“Seemed like it. I don't remember details myself, so we'll see when we meet.”

“Gotcha.”

Herwin listened patiently to Henry's endless chatter without a hint of irritation.

As the brothers strolled hand in hand down the hall affectionately, noise erupted from the stairs to the first floor.

“Sounds rowdy.”

“Wonder what's up.”

Exchanging glances, the two headed toward the commotion.

“You've all grown so much. Time flies.”

“It's been too long, Madam Peneus.”

“Lucas is all grown up. How old are you now?”

The guests from the capital had arrived already. While Henry bounced excitedly at the news, Herwin stared blankly at the people in the hall.

Faces once blurred in memory sharpened before his eyes.

The kindly Agnes Count and Countess who'd doted on him, Lucas whom he'd trailed after, and...

“Oh? There they are. Kids, come down and say hello.”

Spotting Herwin and Henry on the second floor, Scarlett looked up.

She stepped aside, revealing the girl who'd been hidden behind her.

His eyes met clear blue ones, bright as a cloudless sky.

“Herwin?”

The voice from his memories overlapped with the one she spoke.

“......Lucia?”

“Wow! It really is Herwin!”

The girl he'd once mistaken for a fairy at their first meeting, Lucia, grinned with unbridled joy.

Herwin unconsciously felt long-submerged memories surfacing.

“Whoa... so pretty.”

Snapping out of his daze, Herwin glanced down to see Henry staring wide-eyed at the hall.

Before any ominous premonition could settle, Henry let go of Herwin's hand and hurried down the stairs.

“Whoa, this is Henry? He's gotten so big.”

Lucas, watching from beside Lucia, marveled as Henry approached.

Henry's chubby cheeks jiggled as he barreled forward.

“Eek!”

“Pretty sis!”

And suddenly lunged at Lucia. Herwin arrived a step too late, watching Henry hug her.

“Henry......!”

“Hahaha, Henry still loves Lucia, I see?”

Herwin called out, but his voice drowned in Scarlett's laughter.

“He's the same as ever. Remember, Lucia? He was crazy about you.”

“Was he?”

Lucas nudged Lucia from the side.