Bab 276: [Chapter 276] I will definitely repay this debt
Neris and Rianon's pen pal relationship continued for a while.
Talprin continued to copy the two girls' letters, and Cledwin read them. He was aware that it was ridiculous to secretly peek into his wife's childhood, but he wanted to know what Rianon was up to.
Neris's letters were full of happy dreams and overflowing with affection for her secret friend, "Nona." Every adjective used to describe beauty filled the cheap stationery with her calm handwriting. Some of them even included the "grey-eyed fairy she had glimpsed by the lake," and how the protagonist in her favorite novel had sworn an oath of friendship with her friend.
Even though he was the one peeking, not the recipient, Cledwin laughed every time he read Neris's letters. She was adorable. The sharp-witted freshman Cledwin remembered, and the woman who became his wife, were different from this clumsy, imaginative girl, but their core was the same. Especially in their ability to love endlessly.
She might be clumsy with aristocratic customs and etiquette, but she was definitely intelligent. Even the noble ladies who received education from tutors from a young age often couldn't match Neris Tryud's accurate spelling and rich vocabulary. The difference was even greater when it came to the thinking reflected in their writing.
That was why Cledwin wasn't surprised when he saw jealousy on Rianon Berta's face, who was trampling on Neris's secret place.
"Go easy on her, will you?"
It was already too late to save Neris's precious flowers, but Cledwin said it anyway. Rianon, whose face was flushed from digging up and ruining the secret place Neris had confided in her letters, looked up at him with wary eyes.
"Senior?"
Rianon was too shy to ask obvious questions like "What are you doing here?" or "How far did you see?" She reacted the way a wary child would when a handsome senior boy approached her. In other words, she kept her mouth shut.
The courtyard, where hardly any sunlight reached and few people came. In that secluded place, a few flowers that Neris had been diligently cultivating with her small hands had bloomed, but Rianon, throwing away her aristocratic dignity, stepped on them directly and crushed them. It was a thoroughly malicious outburst.
Cledwin picked up one of the flowers that still retained its shape, relatively speaking. Then he took out the small fairy tale book he had been carrying lately and tucked the flower into its bookmark.
Rianon glanced at him as if she were seeing something very strange. The maid who was with her as Rianon's protector approached, hugged her in her skirt, and tried to leave quickly.
"Rianon Berta."
Cledwin stopped her before she could run away. Rianon froze, scared. She thought this terrifying senior was going to bully her.
"Yes, yes?"
"I'll make sure to repay this debt."
Rianon and her maid's eyes widened in unison. They both looked like they had no idea what they had done wrong and ran away quickly. Cledwin didn't stop them.
<That's so mean, Dad! Mom worked so hard to grow them! They were pretty!>
Yes. …I understand why you sent a fake letter to Nellusion Elandria in Rianon Berta's name.
Children's squabbles, disdainful glances, lies, and betrayal. It was childish bullying that an adult with enough self-assurance could dismiss as nothing, but it would hurt like a needle prick for someone their age. In fact, Neris grew gloomier every day.
What would she feel like seeing her ruined secret place? Cledwin felt a bitter taste in his mouth and anger. He could have his subordinates clean up this place and make a new flower bed. But if this place was ruined in Neris's memory, no matter what he did, this place would greet her in its current state.
"So, she found a place where she wouldn't be seen."
Recalling their first meeting in that hidden place in the library, Cledwin deduced the truth. His chest ached. He regretted his forceful attitude towards her back then, to death.
She just needed a place where she could feel safe and cherished.
At that moment, Cledwin's body moved on its own, against his will. He knew when this would happen, so he waited quietly. As soon as his body was securely hidden in the shadows of the building, Neris appeared, walking briskly.
Her expression was bright. As always, when she received a letter from "Nona."
Cledwin watched with dark eyes as her innocent face turned pale and hardened at the sight of the ruined secret place.
A moment later, after she left, Cledwin gestured with a cold face. Talprin appeared, his face downcast.
"I'm sorry, Master. That, it might sound like an excuse, but…."
"I know, there must have been unavoidable circumstances."
Talprin's face fell, as if Cledwin's words stung him even more. As a perfectionist with a strong sense of pride, he must have been deeply pained by his repeated failures to protect and help Neris.
No matter how hard Talprin tried to protect Neris, what was going to happen to her would happen. This was a world with such rules.
Cledwin, finally accepting that fact, sighed and said,
"From now on, you don't have to watch over Neris Tryud directly. I have something else I need you to do first."
"Yes, what is it?"
"I need to squeeze the life out of Duke Tipian."
"What?"
Suddenly? Talprin's eyes widened, wondering if he was being doubted. But his young lord didn't seem to be joking.
"It's not just him. I need to clean things up. I'm going to scrape away all the tumor-like masses I left unchecked when I was immature. I won't let myself be distracted by useless things."
Talprin had a feeling he knew where he would use the time he created. Was he trying to solidify his control now, so he wouldn't be uncomfortable following that little girl?
Talprin couldn't understand what it was about Neris Tryud that had caught his lord's eye. She seemed smart and kind, but wasn't she just a child with nothing?
But his lord often made choices that others couldn't understand, and those choices were always right. Therefore, Talprin bowed his head in obedience.
"Yes, sir."
***
Fighting with knowledge of the future was both easy and difficult.
Cledwin quickly expanded his influence by cutting down those who had secretly joined forces with the Imperial family and by exploiting the weaknesses of the treacherous elders. He protected subordinates he wouldn't have been able to protect before, and he grasped tightly onto what he had lost due to his immaturity. It was not a difficult task for him, who had always had a lot and had gained experience.
However, some of his actions overturned obvious expectations and brought about inexplicable results. Those who were destined to die lived, and things that seemed to have succeeded crumbled as if they had never existed from the beginning, for absurd reasons.
Cledwin guessed that these events were probably fixed information in Neris's memory. And he learned how to plan, taking such variables into account.
Even though he had been sufficiently cautious, the injury he sustained from almost falling victim to Duke Tipian's scheme seemed to be one of those "predetermined" events.
Experiencing the pain in his memory, Cledwin looked up at the night sky. Under the starry sky, he had originally been prepared to die alone here. But this time, the ball of light was floating around him, sobbing.
<Dad! Dad! Are you in a lot of pain? Don't die!>
I won't die. Don't worry. He wanted to say those words, unlike himself. But his lips wouldn't open. As always, when he appeared in Neris's memory, even as a fleeting supporting character.
Could it be that Neris's past self had died here? Or had he been in a state that was almost death? If so, it explained why his body wouldn't move on its own, even though she couldn't see him.
And he wasn't sure. In his memory, Neris had chased away Joseph and Ralph, the two knights who were Abelus's and Nellusion's confidants, and brought him to Ren Fayel that night. But would Neris in this life have that ability?
What was Neris's attitude like when she talked about the past? She didn't mention whether Cledwin was alive or dead. Was it because she wanted to hide the fact that he had died, or was it because it was so obvious that he was alive?
Considering that she was nonchalant about her attitude, he thought it was more likely to be the latter, but Cledwin suspected the former due to the circumstances. His head was spinning from the fever.
The sound of Joseph and Ralph walking came from beyond the dark forest. Cledwin's body instinctively held its breath. He was truly in a state where he couldn't take a single step on his own, and even collapsing inside the forest was more of a desperate measure than a disguise. If they looked this way, it would be the end.
"Where did he go?"
<Bad guys! I'll beat them up!>
The ball of light kept trying to charge at Joseph's voice, even though it knew it couldn't be seen by the people in this memory, or exert any influence over them.
Cledwin waited. For death to come.
But what came was a girl's frightened voice.
"I, I, I, seniors. Is this the Remnant Hall?"
It was clearly a voice that had hesitated and hesitated again before mustering its courage. The approaching footsteps stopped. Joseph asked back, sounding confused.
"You asked me?"
"Yes, yes… I, I'm a first-year, and I have to go to a social skills supplementary class, but it's a different classroom than usual, so I got lost…."
Ralph, Abelus's knight, snapped back gruffly, as if he was annoyed.
"This is a building for upperclassmen, so get lost. I'm busy, and I don't have time for this nonsense."
"Wait, Ralph."
Joseph quickly whispered something to Ralph, using words like "our family," "Nellusion," and "eyes." After a brief argument, Ralph spat out in disgust, and Joseph spoke kindly, in his own way.
"Remnant Hall? I'll take you there."
The footsteps of two boys and one girl slowly faded away. A moment later, Cledwin felt his body regain its freedom.
As if his role in Neris's memory for today was over.
Enduring the excruciating pain and his fading consciousness, Cledwin somehow made it back to his dormitory. Aidan, whose eyes were swollen from crying, and Talprin, who was pale as death, greeted him.
Cledwin thought. There was no way Neris in this time would have known he was in the bushes. The place he occupied in her life was so small that she hardly needed to pay attention to him. He had realized this painfully, as he had been able to act freely almost all the time.
Perhaps Neris in this time had truly gotten lost. He had already seen her snap out of it in a completely different place than her original destination several times, as she was always engrossed in books. She wouldn't even imagine that she had saved someone's life by chance.
But his heart ached. Half because he was happy about the connection between them, which had been forged in this way, and half because he was angry that he, in this time, couldn't save her from misfortune.
"I, I'll call a, a healer. What a state you're in."
Talprin said, wiping his wet eyes. As he lay down on the dormitory sofa, Cledwin quietly said,
"Call Ren Fayel. This wound is difficult to treat unless it's someone of his caliber."
"Ren Fayel? What ability does that recluse have?"
"Don't argue. Bring him here. Tell him I'll buy him all the Pezalcho he wants if he heals me."
He didn't actually plan to buy him anything, but Cledwin said that much and fainted. He couldn't hold on any longer.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone