By Zephyria 
Eventually, we all ended up gathering for a meal. It wasn’t pre-planned, so the food was meager, and the setting was humble, with just a mat spread on the grass instead of a table, but laughter never ceased.
I watched the scene of people laughing and chatting as they ate the local specialty snacks that Aska brought. Some people came up to me and told me various stories.
Someone who lived somewhere became an artist. He even sent me an invitation to his exhibition, which was scheduled to open in a few months. Listening to him, I remembered a kid who liked to draw, who had been in the Harem and then left.
Someone else became a farmer somewhere, and he contacted me to say that this year’s harvest was bountiful and that he would send me some of his produce. And someone else is getting married next year…
“……”
The relayed news never ended. But I couldn’t listen to some people’s stories and not others’, so I munched on the snacks and fruits that Aska gave me and listened attentively.
“Ah, Sak…”
Just as things were winding down, I was about to bring up the story about the deceased to Sakira. I was going to tell her to compensate them sufficiently and prohibit entry to the Rollai Mountains for a while, but there was no need.
Sakira and Abyss were already discussing the matter, and they sorted out the situation on their own without me having to say anything. Thanks to them, all I had to do was decide whether or not to go to the capital and meet the King.
I had already decided that in my mind before coming here, so I decided to rest for a while and leave in a few days. I finished the meal, which was almost like a village festival, and returned to my room.
I washed up roughly, sat on a chair, and began to write a letter to Mahir.
[To His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor]
“……”
I hadn’t even written anything properly yet, but I couldn’t move my hand. Hesitating, I crumpled up the paper and unfolded a new sheet.
“Why?”
Aska, who was lying next to me watching me, asked with a puzzled expression.
“What?”
“Why did you crumple it up and throw it away? You haven’t even written anything yet.”
That’s true, but suddenly calling him His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, felt a bit awkward. So, after hesitating, I just wrote something simple.
[I’m not dead. I’ll be going with Aska soon.]
“Write that you’re healthy and doing well too.”
Aska gave me advice as I was about to put down the pen. With a reluctant expression, I added what Aska had said and asked.
“When did you buy those specialty snacks?”
“When you were sleeping.”
“Did they look that delicious?”
“I didn’t buy them because they looked delicious, I just bought them because they’re a safe gift to give.”
Why give a gift? It’s not my birthday, and there’s nothing particularly happy going on. I was curious, but Aska had given out raw stones he’d picked up in the mountains to people before.
“If you’re done writing, rest early today. You look really tired.”
Aska took the pen from my hand and forcibly pulled me up. Now that he mentioned it, my eyes did feel a bit dry. Being in such a lively place had drained all my energy.
Aska carefully closed the thick curtains to block out the light and lay down next to me. I turned to face Aska and closed my eyes. In an instant, my body felt heavy, and I felt like I was sinking further and further down into the bed.
“If you have any more dreams, tell me.”
I mumbled in response to the quiet voice I heard in my ear.
“Why am I having them? Popo isn’t even here.”
“I don’t know exactly either.”
“Is it because we went into the Ruins? We saw a lot of strange things together back then. Do you have those dreams too?”
“Yeah.”
He does? Then is it really because we went into the Ruins? I feel like I need to go back there, but I don’t know why there’s so much to do.
As I was thinking that, I fell asleep, and Aska put his hand inside my bathrobe. His careful touch passed over my stomach and ribs and reached my back.
Feeling his gentle caresses, I completely lost consciousness.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
“Are you sure you brought the right one?”
A sharp voice struck my eardrums. The woman, wearing a voluminous dress and covering most of her face with a fancy fan, had eyes full of annoyance and anger.
“Yes, I’m certain.”
The man kneeling was dressed in shabby clothes, but judging from his appearance, behavior, and way of speaking, he was definitely not a commoner. And next to him stood a small child with his face completely covered in bandages, only his red eyes showing, staring blankly.
It was a grimy and shabby sight that didn’t match the whitely carved marble, the dazzling chandelier, or the fragrant scent of flowers at all. Nevertheless, the gaze that looked up was as bright as a star.
I could easily tell that this child was Aska.
The woman, who had been looking at Aska with some expectation, hope, and favor, frowned.
“What is this smell?”
“The old woman said that she applied mud and wrapped bandages to cover his face.”
“So that’s why he looks like this. I can’t stand to look at him, he’s so filthy. Take him away and wash him clean.”
Aska’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her pretending to gag. He was holding his head up as if it would break, but the moment he looked at the floor, a drop of water fell down.
I moved closer and lowered my head to look at Aska’s face again. Thick teardrops flowed down his face incessantly.
A large hand grabbed his slender wrist and dragged him away like a prisoner. In the steamy bathroom, there was a Servant who wrinkled his nose and frowned as soon as he saw Aska.
“Ugh.”
Aska, who had done nothing wrong, lowered his head like a sinner and stood awkwardly in the corner.
“Wash yourself thoroughly with this and rinse properly. Ugh, I can’t do it. If there’s even a little bit of dirt left, I won’t let you off, so wash properly.”
“……”
“Ugh……”
The Servant shuddered and quickly ran out of the bathroom. Aska picked up a cloth that had fallen on the floor and began to rub his wrist. His skin, which hadn’t even been properly wet, didn’t get any cleaner as the cloth passed over it, but only showed clear red marks.
Then I heard a sob in my ear. Aska was crying softly like a whimpering puppy as he unwrapped the bandages tied around his face. The sparsely cut hair made his dirty face look even more grotesque.
“Hic……”
Aska couldn’t even cry out loud, and he sobbed quietly as he reached out his small hand. He stirred the steaming water and washed his face, but no matter how much he wiped, the dirt didn’t disappear easily.
The clean water quickly became murky, and the narrow bathroom was filled with a damp, earthy smell. Aska, who had been wetting his face and rubbing his reddened skin with slow and awkward movements, finally collapsed.
He gathered his knees and buried his face between them, curling up his body.
“……”
Now I couldn’t even hear him sobbing. I could barely hear his breathing if I strained my ears. But the trembling of his small, slender shoulders grew stronger and stronger.
I just stared at his small body from a short distance away before approaching him. I carefully reached out my arm, but my translucent hand couldn’t reach him and passed right through.
Then, Aska, who had been crying silently for a long time, suddenly raised his head. His face was still red and wet with tears, but his eyes were more intense than before.
As if he had made up his mind, Aska picked up the cloth again and plunged into the tub filled with murky water. And like a wet dog, he shook his head and vigorously rubbed his wrist with the cloth in his hand.
The problem was that he rubbed so hard that he eventually started to bleed. But Aska didn’t seem to feel any pain, and he just rinsed the blood off with the dirty water and continued to rub the cloth.
There were bath products right next to him, but he didn’t even think about using them. Of course. What would Aska, who grew up in a slum, know? If you’re not going to wash him, at least teach him properly before leaving.
“……”
I recalled all the faces I had seen so far. I vowed that if I ever met them again in the capital, I would find them and exterminate their entire family.
The scene changed flickeringly without any warning. It didn’t unfold in chronological order, and it had no rules of its own.
“Don’t eat so greedily.”
Aska was eating just fine with a fork, but an old woman unnecessarily hit the back of Aska’s hand with a thin switch. The red mark turned into a blue bruise the next day.
On some days, a Servant kicked Aska, who had tripped over the hem of his skirt, as he walked ahead. Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t stomp on him and beat him, but he tapped Aska’s foot with his toe, urging him to get up quickly.
Some knight dragged Aska, who was less than half his size, like a dog. Helplessly dragged along, Aska couldn’t make a sound and just bit his lip, enduring the pain.
With each passing day, the expression on Aska’s face gradually disappeared. Some nights he cried silently, some nights he looked at the moon and called for his grandmother. And on other nights, he covered himself with a blanket and stayed up all night with his eyes open, and on other nights, he stared at the ceiling like a doll with a broken string.
And one day, he was dragged back in front of a woman who looked like Princess Aegis.
She had a much gentler expression than when she had first seen Aska.
“Your hair has grown a lot.”
Aska, who was terrified and looking at the floor with anxious eyes, raised his head. The expression on his face, as he touched the fluffy hair that had grown like a chestnut burr with his small hand, was full of confusion.
She sat Aska down on a chair and gave him a snack. We are family who were separated when we were young, and I am your sister. Father and Mother are busy taking care of state affairs, and blah blah blah, she went on and on.
“If you finish this task well, we can live together as a family. Do you understand? Whether we live together or not, everything depends on you.”
“……”
“I’ll let you meet your grandmother again too.”
“……”
Anyone could see that she was up to something, but Aska didn’t know. I couldn’t tell if he really didn’t know, or if he was suspicious but thought he should believe her one more time.
Even though he had been ignored and hadn’t eaten or drank properly, and had been struggling every night, Aska had started to have expectations again.
Hope began to appear again in his eyes, which had been sunken with anxiety, loneliness, and resentment, all tangled together like an unresolved ball of yarn.
“Together?”
A tearful voice escaped cautiously. The princess smiled and nodded, and the young child eventually smiled along.