45 – Seo Im-sik (5)

A person’s body temperature made my heart tickle just by touching it.

Winter.

What else can you compare a person’s body temperature with in this season that makes warmth more precious than ever?

It seemed that heat was gradually spreading across his face.

The wind filling my lungs was so cold, but the breath I exhaled was hotter than anything else.

The breath he exhaled with difficulty leaks out in white and scatters.

There were a lot of people scattered around, but I couldn’t think of anything because I was worried about the hands that were holding each other right now.

Escorts, although they put forward such a justification, they covered a much larger area than general escorts.

Irene frowned whenever her fingers tickled her palm.

To be honest, it was hard to bear.

However, there was no way I would let go of the hand I was holding.

Every time each other’s hands are about to fall, it’s funny how they move their fingers as if they made a promise,

I glanced at Irene and immediately smiled.

Her figure with her ears red hot, but her face, which still had an insensitive expression, looked cute.

Boo Woo-

A trumpet sound is heard. Countless people gathered to celebrate my inauguration,

Between the round tables in the huge garden were full of nobles dressed in fancy clothes.

From the 5 generations to the crown prince, however, I didn’t really want to run into them.

We took turns going round as if we had matched each other at some point.

In a garden with few people, the soil slowly wriggling in the setting winter seemed to show a bit of green.

A field of white snow. Stepping through the garden where no one comes and there is no footprint,

When I recalled the old memories like that, I burst into laughter.

“Come to think of it, didn’t we have a tea party here?”

I think it was at that time that Irene’s attitude changed a little.

She didn’t want to run into her even before that, she did it on purpose and even trained with Sir Chris.

Now I’m used to not being tinged with that gaze. Emotions are now reflected on her face, where she had no emotion at all.

The corners of her mouth, which had always drawn a horizontal line, were now slowly drawing an arc.

“…I did.”

It seems like just yesterday that I was caught talking about Irene and Lopena and was upset.

Looking back like this, in the end, all of them were memories.

Memories, when I heard that word, I felt my heart throb for some reason.

I can’t believe I’ve spent enough time here to make memories. Even at first, it was difficult, but

I was a little proud of myself thinking that I had gotten used to it and settled down in my own way.

“Even at the beginning, honestly, I thought I would be fired soon. The lady at that time was…a bit different from now.”

At that, Irene frowned. It seems to be a memory she doesn’t really want to recall,

She shook her head and opened her mouth as she stared at me.

“Isn’t that what I apologized for? You don’t have to bring me like that and embarrass me.”

“Rather than embarrassing me, I just said that.”

I first came here during the Middle Ages.

I don’t know anything, the only thing I know is that Irene is the one I escort and future events.

Thinking back now, she wondered if she would have to work as a mercenary once she was kicked out of the escort job.

I used to feel that it was a really ridiculous imagination.

Puddeuk-

Every time I stepped on the white snow, the memories I had experienced in this place passed through my head one by one.

When I first woke up in my room, when I realized that my name was Evan Fried,

When I first met Irene. When she knew what was in those eyes was her disgust and annoyance.

The scene she saw when she was heading to the Crystal Palace and the story she heard from the balcony of the Crystal Palace.

I still remember it vividly.

As if summer, which I always thought would be hot, turned into a snowy winter like this.

Irene also slowly changed. At the time, she didn’t notice.

I thought she was just a little strange, but Irene, whom she faced as time went on, was a completely different person to the extent that she was incomparable to that time.

The shadow that always casts on her face has been lifted, and now she knows how to smile.

Smile, when I thought of that word, a somewhat funny memory came to my mind, and I ate and laughed.

When Irene looked at me blankly, I shrugged her shoulders and opened my mouth in a playful voice.

“Remember? That’s why, on my birthday.”

“…Birthday?”

“I opened the door and went in, and the lady smiled while looking in the mirror… Ah, I see.”

From noble mtl dot com

As I waved her hand at her instantly chilled gaze, Irene frowned at her and let out a sigh.

However, it was true that it was still difficult to understand.

Could it be that he was really practicing while looking in the mirror at the words I asked him to smile?

However, rather than that, Irene was the first to go straight ahead and not even look at her.

Turning her head at all, on the subject of not even looking at me, though it was funny that her hand was still holding.

Still, I didn’t want to keep seeing him pout. It’s a podium soon, so we can’t part awkwardly.

“My lady.”

She quietly called for Irene, but Irene just walked away without saying anything.

She sat down again to see the corners of her mouth drawing her straight line, and her mood subsided for some reason,

I pulled the hand that was holding her and pulled Irene towards me.

It was only when they got close enough that they couldn’t hug each other, enough that a small pebble could barely fit in the gap between them, that Irene’s eyes wide open came into her eyes.

“Evan, what the hell are you doing-“

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Raising her other hand that wasn’t holding hers, he tugged at her slightly, placing her finger on the corner of Irene’s mouth.

Seeing her ridiculous face, with only one corner of her mouth raised awkwardly, she sighed and laughed again.

I looked at her shimmering blue eyes, then looked at her flushed cheeks, smiled lightly and opened her mouth.

“You look good when you smile.”

“……What, what. You never said anything like that.”

“Then I will do it now. A smile suits you much better.”

She was also the kind of person who was trying to unleash her pout, but in reality, it was also a good fit.

Wouldn’t it be much better to smile lightly than the corners of the mouth that are leveled like this?

After meeting her eyes for a moment, Irene narrowed her eyes, then looked away and carefully removed her finger from her face.

“Okay…so, put your hands away.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“I never pouted in the first place. Did you think that I was not some kind of Lopena, and that I would vomit over something like that?”

“I heard you didn’t answer when I called.”

I shrugged her shoulders, and Irene, who had glared at me for a moment, let out her sigh and slowly moved away from me, putting her apart.

Irene looked at her own hand, perhaps worried about her hand that had just touched her chest, then raised her head and slowly opened her mouth.

“…Now that I’m feeling better, let’s go again.”

“If you want it, I will.”

It took a long time to walk like that. The awkward air that enveloped Irene and I for the first time had long since dissipated before I knew it.

The cold wind blew her face away, but the warmth of the person she was with made her forget the cold.

However, I didn’t think that this moment would last forever. Looking at the platform seen from afar, I slowly opened my mouth.

Irene was the only one who went up to the podium.

Unlike Irene, I had to walk from the opposite side, where there were a lot of people.

Irene also looked at me as she let go of her hand, as if she had remembered that.

Are you regretting it? However, there was no sign of regret in that insensitive expression, so I smiled bitterly once.

As if she was about to say something, Irene pursed her lips and closed hers again before she turned her back.

She would have said something, but all she could do was watch her leave without saying anything.

I stared blankly at Irene leaving.

I have a little bit of regret, but maybe she’s okay. But she couldn’t ask openly.

So.

I touched her empty hand for a moment, then turned her back and started walking slowly.

I thought it was a fairly short road when we came together, but it turned out to be an incredibly long road when we walked alone.

Walking in the snow. Stepping backwards on the small footprints created by Irene’s steps, she again engraves large footprints on them.

The wind was cold.

#

Inauguration Ceremony.

It is the ordination ceremony of the youngest knight in the empire,

Numerous nobles flocked to watch the ordination ceremony of the most talented knight and hero who defeated the warlock.

Medivh, Kilrogg, and Hattan and Roman.

The five families that defended the empire and numerous other celebrities came, but of course the most noticeable was the dragon flag that symbolized the imperial family.

There was an instant in the eyes of the prince standing under the flag.

“You are finally here.”

Puuu-

People’s attention is focused on the sound of the trumpet, which is louder than ever.

When Evan Fried, the protagonist of the swearing-in ceremony, appeared, the lined up knights began tapping their spears on the floor in time.

Kung- Kung-

Heart beats. A lot of people, the hot eyes they send.

And the expectations and pressure poured on oneself. The attention from the 5 generations and the imperial family was by no means light.

However, with my chest straight, I started walking forward with the gait I had practiced.

She thought that if she was disturbed here, wouldn’t Julis be disturbed now?

It was a bit burdensome, but at this moment, I poured all my concentration into my posture.

He touched the sword at his waist, the sword engraved with the symbol of Julis, the thorn shield in the middle.

I slowly controlled my breathing. The first time I opened my eyes as Evan Fried was vivid, but from now on, it was like the beginning of everything.

The name Annihilation, and the Warlock. There are four years left until the original heroine appears.

If she tries something, and if she wants to change the future, she has to do something within those four years.

Today becomes a knight for Yuris and an escort for Irene. The beginning of the preparation will probably be made today.

From far away, I felt the gaze of a person looking at me.

A sign that can be clearly felt even among these numerous people.

And laughed. I smiled lightly so that only one person would notice, so that only one person from far away could see it.

‘Irene.’

When the red carpet was over, and soon we reached the stairs in front of the podium.

Garrot Julis, the head of Julis, began to slowly walk forward.

A moment of silence spreads in the tumultuous crowd. Silence. When the surroundings became quiet, the Duke opened his mouth.

“Evan Fried.”

“…Yes.”

“The second son of Count Fried, the one who has the light of Evangelium, the knight who poured blood on the thorn of Julis.”

A shudder ran through his body every time he uttered a word.

What we are doing right now is a kind of oath to pledge allegiance to Julis prior to the ordination ceremony.

From the moment I finished this oath, I was to become a knight of Julis.

Kung-

As the knights thrust their spears into the ground again, the duke opened his mouth and continued his words.

“Your blood has been common until now, but from now on, it will become iron blood, as strong and brave as steel, and above all, cold and sharp. Can you swear by this sword?”

“I can swear.”

With his head bent on his knees, he reaches out and brings his hand to his heart.

A beating heart, and mana rising. Eventually, when white flames rose from his body,

The duke shouted loudly as he stretched the sword in his hand to the sky.

“Look! Iron blood continues. Iron blood began to flow to one knight again today. Bless you! As the number of shields to dedicate their hearts to Evangelium has increased again today, let the Empire’s shield be strong forever.”

Kung-

The crest on the chest of the uniform he was wearing began to glow white.

The pledge prior to the swearing-in ceremony, the present moment after completing the pledge.

A magic circle made of magic is engraved on my body and a pattern is engraved on my body.

When the shield with thorns and the pain of burning the flesh in my chest disappeared, I could see that the sentence had been engraved on my body naturally.

As the light emitted by the crest on the chest of the uniform faded,

I started to hear the familiar footsteps in the distance. Lift the bent knee

Looking at the now clearly visible crest of Julis, she quietly approached me.

A fleeting moment. However, I did not miss her smile.

I smiled again at the very faint smile that I showed briefly as if to reciprocate the smile I had on my way up to the podium.

Chuck-

Stepping on the stairs, going up slowly like that. People’s eyes were only on me.

The mana he raised, and the flames that splendidly bloomed as a result, drew people’s attention.

However, my eyes only focused on one person. Irene Uris, remembering her name, moved her steps again.

And when I climbed all the stairs. I face the blue eyes looking at me.

It resembles winter. As always, it was cold, and at times it was a cold gaze, as if it could see through people’s hearts.

Nevertheless, the eyes contained something warm. When you laugh, your eyes curve beautifully, and when you are sad, your eyes shed tears.

Sometimes it snowed, and it was winter to endure the bitter cold, but in the end, isn’t there a warmth that can only be felt in winter?

I knelt down looking at the winter-like snow.

Suddenly, the sword Irene was holding touched her shoulder.

The sword on my shoulder meant the responsibility I had to bear in the future.

It hit the head.

The sword that touched my head meant everything I always had to think about to escort.

It touched my chest.

Because it meant an oath in the future, an unbreakable heart.

As I straightened my knees, I stood up in front of Irene.

Hurry up, mana is raised again. The flame that rose from his body enveloped the surroundings, and soon began to stain the platform in pure white.

“I swear.”

From now on, I am a knight of Julis.

With iron blood flowing, he became a member of the shield that protects Evangelium.

But there was something more important than that, so I’m quiet.

He quietly whispered in a small voice that only Irene could hear.

“I will protect you from now on.”

I swear. At the same time as he did so, firecrackers exploded.

I looked blankly at the pure white petals that didn’t go well with winter, the petals fluttering like snow, and then I turned my gaze to Irene.

I thought it was pure white.

Even though she just saw the petals falling like snow, Irene’s pure white hair caught her eye first.

Even though the petals decorate the surroundings so splendidly,

Irene was the first to come into sight.

…Recognizing it was a lot harder than I thought.

She realized that her feelings toward the girl who came into her sight from sometime ago were not just sympathy.

Pity, pity, and love.

How long can you hide it? No, is it really a mind that can lead?

However, I didn’t intend to reveal it right away. Just when this winter passes and spring comes again.

And when that spring passed again and again, she was completely free from tragedy.

Maybe I can tell you when the time comes.

I clenched her empty hand. Remembering that warmth from earlier, I smile again like that.

For now, I am satisfied with this. At least, I was satisfied that we could be together like this.

I hope the sparkle in those blue eyes doesn’t dissipate, and I hope the faint smile doesn’t disappear.

That’s how I looked at the sky again.

Spring is coming.

And when that spring came, I would be by her side.

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