The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#50

Oh, damn it.

Marcus Gerold’s face, who had been excitedly trying to show off his son in front of the platform, completely crumpled. For just one day out of the year, his son Hernin Gerold was supposed to shine brighter than that eyesore. Even at the birthday banquet, she was looking for Jersian instead of Hernin. Marchioness Elmerila’s favoritism was reaching its peak.

“…”

Won’t he just go somewhere and drop dead? Marcus glared at the annoying face of Jersian Gerold, who was climbing up onto the platform. Despite being only fifteen, the same age as Hernin, his presence shone wherever he went.

Marchioness Elmerila knew about Marcus Gerold’s feelings but ignored them. She extended her hand holding champagne to Jersian.

“…You called for me.”

Jersian said, lightly kissing the back of Marchioness Elmerila’s extended hand.

The crowd below the platform maintained silence, seemingly curious about why the Marchioness had called Jersian Gerold up.

“Jersian, and Hernin.”

Marchioness Elmerila slowly rose from her chair, calling the names of the two boys. Hernin, who had been staring at Elmerila and Jersian with a dumb expression on the platform, responded stupidly with a “Yes, yes?”

“You were both born in the same year, so you’ll soon come of age. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…Yes.”

The two boys standing on either side of the Marchioness had strikingly different appearances. While Jersian had dark black hair, red eyes, and a sturdy build for his age, Hernin was a typical adolescent boy with freckles spread across his face, looking even more diminutive due to his apparent nervousness.

Marchioness Elmerila continued with a kindly smile.

“Yes, it’s time for both of you to start formal heir training. From next week, start preparing yourselves.”

“Marchioness! Is this true?”

Marcus Gerold reacted first, his eyes twinkling. He had thought Jersian was surely marked as the heir, but it turned out his son still had a chance! Marcus quickly patted Hernin’s shoulder and said loudly,

“What joyous news! This will surely be the best birthday gift for our Hernin.”

“He-Hernin, quickly thank the Marchioness.”

Shane Gerold, his wife, also looked surprised. Elmerila, who was her cousin, had never once mentioned to Shane that she had been thinking about this.

Urged by his mother, Hernin, who had been blinking with a stupid expression until now, quickly composed himself.

“Oh, oh. Thank you! Marchioness Elmerila. I will study hard to live up to your expectations.”

His voice became strangely high due to extreme tension, but that wasn’t very important right now. Jersian, who heard Hernin’s ambition right next to him, responded in a calm voice unlike Hernin.

“…Thank you for this valuable opportunity.”

Marchioness Elmerila was staring intently at Jersian’s face as he responded. Compared to Hernin, who looked pleased, Jersian’s reaction seemed lukewarm. It was just as she had expected. Marchioness Elmerila grinned.

“Very well, do your best from now on.”

As she raised her champagne towards the air, the crowd also extended their glasses.

“Now then, please enjoy the rest of the banquet comfortably.”

The clear sound of glasses clinking filled the large ballroom as people toasted with those next to them. The atmosphere of the banquet hall instantly ripened with Marchioness Elmerila’s sudden announcement.

Only Jersian seemed detached from this festivity. After hearing the Marchioness’s announcement, he stayed on the platform for just a moment longer, then quietly turned and walked down.

Kain was waiting for him right at the bottom of the stairs.

“…Let’s go back now.”

Jersian muttered in a tired voice before leaving the large banquet hall with Kain.

Behind them, the sound of people noisily enjoying the party echoed.

Kain’s pointed ears perked up once before returning to their original position.

“…Is it alright to leave like this?”

Even Kain, who usually didn’t care about other humans’ gazes, asked Jersian discreetly. The noise was bothersome enough for him to do so.

Jersian climbed into the carriage waiting right in front of the ballroom and turned his head back.

“I only needed to show my face once anyway. Get in.”

Kain nodded obediently.

“Yes, Mr. Jersian.”

Creak- Thud. The carriage door closed lightly, and the carriage carrying the two quickly rolled its wheels and left, just as it had when they first arrived.

“…”

“…”

For a moment, only the sound of carriage wheels rolling filled the space between them.

Kain glanced at Jersian’s quiet face once before turning his head towards the window. Jersian seemed to have complicated feelings about the sudden notification he had just received from the Marchioness. No, it could have been because of the letter he discovered before that notification, or maybe because of the questions about the mark they had discussed before hearing the Marchioness’s words. Thinking about it, there were quite a few things.

‘…Yes, it’s understandable that his mind is complicated.’

Thinking this, Kain quietly waited for Jersian to organize his thoughts. After all, he wasn’t the type of person to step forward and soothe emotions or offer comfort before Jersian spoke. But he was confident in his ability to quietly keep the seat next to him.

“Ahhh-“

After a long silence, Jersian furrowed his eyebrows and buried his back into the carriage sofa. At the sudden sound, Kain’s gaze fell on Jersian sitting opposite him.

Jersian whined at Kain’s gaze.

“…My head hurts.”

Immediately, the reaction Jersian wanted came from Kain. Huh? Kain got up from his seat and sat right next to Jersian.

“Suddenly? How much does it hurt? A lot?”

“Hah… It seems so. My forehead is throbbing.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“…What? Why…”

Kain’s white hand moved towards Jersian’s forehead. Swish- Jersian’s jet-black hair flowed between his fingers. Flinch, Jersian’s eyebrows jumped in place. He really had a headache from worrying, and since he had already shown vulnerability to Kain Starchis next to him before, he spoke comfortably.

“Your forehead is very hot.”

Kain said in a serious voice, as if regretful. Jersian never dreamed that he would be so concerned. Or that Kain Starchis’s cold face could wrinkle like that.

“…Really? Is that so.”

Looking at his face reflected like a mirror in Kain’s lime-green eyes, Jersian nodded with a dazed expression. They were close enough that their noses could touch. Kain smelled like the breeze that occasionally blows in the forest, and the hand on his forehead was slightly cool, making him immediately comfortable. His eyelids drooped slightly.

Kain, sitting right next to Jersian, lightly tapped his own thigh and said,

“It will take some time until we arrive. You should cool your head for a while. It’s true that there were many complicated things today, but it’s okay to worry later.”

“…You want me to lie down there?”

Jersian’s eyes widened in surprise. Lying on his thigh was an order he had never heard before.

“Yes. Is there a problem? Since the carriage shakes a lot, this seems to be the best way to rest.”

“The problem is…”

Jersian mumbled, rolling his eyes from side to side. After all, this was inside the carriage where no one else was present. There was no need to worry about other people’s gazes saying they were doing something improper. Meanwhile, Kain Starchis was looking at Jersian as if wondering what the problem was.

“…There’s no problem.”

Oh, whatever. Jersian said that and then swiftly turned his body in the other direction and lay down with his head on Kain Starchis’s thigh. For some reason, it felt like it would be okay. Instead, he kept his eyes tightly closed, pretending not to care about this situation. And lying down, Kain’s thigh was as comfortable as he had thought. It was firm due to the muscles, but that made it much more comfortable to lie on.

‘It’s my first time lying down in a carriage.’

Jersian thought to himself, smiling inwardly as he folded his legs onto the seat.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

Kain Starchis asked softly.

“Yeah.”

Jersian replied gruffly and then folded his arms while using Kain’s thigh as a pillow. Despite the rattling sound of the moving carriage, Kain’s thigh remained steady and comfortable, and with the fresh scent of grass, his head cleared to the point where he couldn’t even remember when it had hurt.

“…It’s nice.”

He thought he could faintly hear Kain’s clear laughter from above. Jersian tried to ignore that laughter with his eyes closed.