By Zephyria It was about 15 hours before Signe’s enlistment that Leonardo and Signe boarded the train again. It would take only 3 hours to reach Belmeyer Port Station in Central, but they also had to consider the journey from the city center to the port, the main base, by streetcar and military convoy.
The problem was that it would take more than 10 hours just to enter the port. Within Belmeyer, which had become a remnant of the war, the old city of Lederpol and the new city of Kastelvel coexisted. All other areas were designated as military control zones. It was a desolate area that still bore the scars of war, and a dangerous area with millions of landmines buried in the ground.
As a result, the roads and transportation to and from the port were limited, and the enlistees scheduled to be assigned to the garrison were gathering in Kastelvel to board the convoy.
Signe, who had left Riverside two days before her enlistment date to prepare for the crowds, had also planned to spend the night in Kastelvel before entering the port. However, when she woke up on the bench, only half a day was left, so Leonardo could fully understand her anxious heart. That was why he had left the Station of Beginning and End to see her off, volunteering to be her guide since she was late.
He still had many unanswered questions about the ‘gift,’ but he believed that the castle wouldn’t disappear from there and promised himself to look into it later. First, he had to get the rookie enlisted on time, right? It didn’t matter if he sent her alone, but he felt compelled to take care of her since he was late because he had volunteered to be her guide.
Fortunately, Signe, who had been biting her nails, regained some composure after eating lunch and snacks as soon as she boarded the train. Although she glanced at her watch from time to time, she tried to reassure herself by saying that she would be able to get there with plenty of time to spare an hour before.
Leonardo responded to her words, but occasionally rested his chin on his hand and stared blankly out the train window. His mind was still in the ancient castle.
“So, we wandered in the field for almost 16 hours? In my memory, it only felt like about 2 hours had passed.”
Signe sat in her seat, chewing on a military energy bar, and recalled her memories of the field. Leonardo, who had been watching the quickly passing scenery, turned his gaze to her across from him. He didn’t know why she was eating things she would be sick of eating once she enlisted, but he didn’t particularly stop her.
“…I’m not sure either. I didn’t check my watch often.”
“Or was I just asleep for that long? Actually, I was so excited the day before that I hardly slept. But if that’s the case, didn’t you sleep next to me too? It doesn’t make sense that you would have just waited quietly for a dozen hours.”
“Hey, do you think I’m you? Falling asleep in such a suspicious place…”
Leonardo, about to retort in disbelief, trailed off. He was the one who used to sleep like a log even in the middle of enemy territory when his comrades were around. Bay had even threatened to leave him behind if he didn’t wake up because he slept so deeply.
When he paused, Signe giggled as if she had caught him in a weakness.
“You slept with me too, didn’t you? The breeze was nice there, and it was quiet. The weather was clear, so time flies by when you take a nap! Still, I’m glad you woke up first. We would have been really late if we had slept the whole time. Ugh… I don’t even want to imagine it.”
“……”
“I didn’t get to meet the person I was supposed to meet after all…. In my opinion, the fact that there was no one at the station means that the person I was supposed to meet had already gone somewhere else. Who would go and wait in that mist? We barely made it back after wandering around.”
Signe, who still couldn’t recall the events in the ancient castle, often made Leonardo fall silent. After his vision was covered in light, he even wondered if he himself had been having a long dream and had woken up in front of the stone slab. But if that were the case, his memories and the evidence in his pocket, the note, were too vivid, and it was strange that Signe couldn’t even remember the name ‘Theodor.’
“The station employee said that there have only been a handful of people who have visited the station recently besides us.”
She seemed to have forgotten everything about the key to entering the ancient castle.
However, the process of reaching the answer to the riddle could not be deduced without hearing the hint dropped by Signe’s sister. In other words, all the conversations that he and Signe had in the field were real, and the problem was not something that he could solve with his subconscious alone.
‘It’s definitely not a dream…’
Is this also a device created by someone? To prevent the gift for the Sun King from being damaged by others, it takes away the memories of those who enter.
If that were the case, why are his memories intact? There were other questions as well.
‘The grandfather clock in the ancient castle rang at 4 AM. And now it’s 6 PM Riverside time. It took me more than 12 hours to get Signe out of the castle? That can’t be.’
The gap between the two times that he couldn’t understand only fueled the confusion. In his experience, it took at most an hour to get back to the station. He already knew that space-time was distorted, but the missing 12 hours or so added credibility to the hypothesis that time flowed differently inside and outside the castle.
If so, what era was the scenery of the ancient castle that he had seen and the memories within it passing through? Could he have gone back centuries to their romance, and does it even exist to this day? Complex thoughts sprouted and tangled in his mind.
In the meantime, Leonardo recalled the moment when he had gone on a mission with his comrades in the old days and counted the stars in the night sky on a grassy hill. He didn’t know why that day came to mind now. However, the story that Ian, who was alive at the time, had told him remained clearly in his memory.
‘Leo, you know what?’
‘What?’
‘Those stars you see in the sky right now. They may have already disappeared. We’re seeing the past of the stars.’
‘…….’
‘It takes tens of thousands of years for starlight to reach this earth. So, we’re watching a train of starlight that has already departed, chasing after the remaining souls and afterimages. Believing that the stars still exist.’
‘…What nonsense are you talking about? Did you hurt your head while fighting earlier?’
Leonardo pictured Ian, who was looking at the sky with shining eyes, holding the back of his head with his hands. He turned his head slightly and smiled softly at him.
‘I’m serious. That’s why you shouldn’t believe everything you see in front of you.’
‘That’s why I don’t believe what you’re saying now.’
‘Please believe me, Captain.’
Around that time, Leonardo frowned and closed his eyes tightly.
‘…Is this also one of those afterimages, Ian? If I had brought that scroll, whether it’s real or fake, would I have been able to hear you answer again?’
The ‘gift’ that Romance possessed might have been someone’s ‘Romance’ itself. An ideal that one chases like a dream, longing, a desperate wish. Things like the remnants of flowing time, thoughts, and obsessions that they held onto.
The unexpected journey that started with a note from Alex Siles made his insides feel uneasy. The problem was that nothing had been resolved. Where is the ‘clock room’ that he promised next? Is it also a specific space within the ancient castle? After being tormented by so many riddles overnight, he was now tired and didn’t want to look for him anymore. Someday, he would have to beat that guy’s face to a pulp for making him do dog training.
Leonardo half-opened his eyelids and idly basked in the sunlight to calm his thoughts. If it was something that he couldn’t solve right away, it was best to ignore it for a while. First of all, he had left that place, so shouldn’t he feed his distant junior something more before they parted ways?
Having come to that conclusion, Leonardo turned his head to Signe, who was unusually quiet.
“Are you full? Is there anything else you want to eat?”
“Oh, can I eat more? Are you buying?”
“I’ve been buying all along. Why are you asking now?”
Signe smiled her characteristic bright smile, saying, ‘That’s right.’ Perhaps because she was simple, it was good to get rid of distracting thoughts when he looked at her.
She said she was going to go to the next car to buy some snacks and got up from her seat. Leonardo took out his wallet from the bag across his chest and handed her a few bills.
Signe, who had received the money, was about to move when she suddenly looked back and forth between Leonardo’s face and his wrist and asked.
“Do you need a bandage or an ice pack? I wanted to say this earlier, but your hand and wrist are red.”
Instead of answering, Leonardo stared at the back of his hand, which he was about to put back in his wallet. Signe carefully added.
“Didn’t you overdo it carrying me on your back?”
There’s nothing on the right… The moment he checked the back of his left hand, Leonardo’s pupils reacted slightly.
‘…When did this happen?’
There was a faint red mark on the area from the back of his hand to his wrist. Rather than being swollen, the mark looked like it had been caused by some kind of pressure. Here and there, red spots appeared on the pale skin where blood was not flowing properly.
Leonardo tilted his head and covered the mark on the back of his left hand with his right hand. The area of the mark was much larger than the size of his palm. It was as if a large hand had tightly gripped his hand and held it for a long time. The afterimage of the finger joints crossing his skin was clear.