113. the way they walked (7)

Christine’s eyes full of dissatisfaction, and what those gazes were staring at was Adeline’s pure white hand, which was placed tightly on the back of Maxim’s hand. As if she was holding on to something precious, the way she was holding on cautiously but firmly, somehow didn’t like her. Of course, Adeline couldn’t understand Christine’s gaze, so she just raised her head in the direction where Christine’s voice came from.

“Are you Arsene’s lover?”

Adeline’s voice seemed intimidated, but it was a straight-forward question. Christine frowned and stepped back.

“… Nope.”

If you’re not my lover, it doesn’t matter if I hold this person’s hand or both cheeks. A protest that implies the meaning of. Christine clenched her fists, then opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

“But Arsene senior… Wow!”

Maxim, not knowing what Christine was going to say, quickly poked her in the side. Christine turned her face red and glared at Maxim with angry eyes. Maxim made an unspoken appeal, saying ‘I’m going to die from a headache, so please don’t say more than that’, and Christine sighed and had to stop what she was trying to say.

“anyway! You have to let go of senpai’s hand so I can see what state you’re in, so let go of senpai’s hand for a moment.”

Christine grabbed Maxim and Adeline’s wrists and almost forced them apart. Seeing Adeline’s fingertips open and then fold again, Christine’s expression turned to irritation again.

“Senior, can you step back for a moment?”

Maxim nodded and rose from his chair. Christine took the place of Maxim and sat down in the chair. Christine was watching Adeline across from her. As if conscious of Christine’s gaze, Adeline flinched and pulled her head back.

‘… It’s pretty.’

Although her eyes were covered by an eyepatch, it was not difficult to imagine her original face. A slim chin, a sharp nose, and beautiful lips. Rather, the eyes covered with a black cloth gave it a more mysterious charm.

‘Why do you think there are too many pretty people next to you? Same with the previous captain… I’m sure we haven’t met face-to-face yet, but the senior’s fiancé must be pretty.’

Christine put the disgruntled cheek back in and began examining it.

“Eye… did you say?”

Adeline nodded. What would the eyes covered by that black cloth look like? Christine asked cautiously, remembering the time she treated Maxim’s wounds.

“An eyepatch, can you take it off for a second?”

Adeline reached behind her head and untied the knot in the cloth. The black cloth unrolled silently and ran down Adeline’s face. Adeline had her eyes closed. Christine saw Adeline’s closed eyes with long eyelashes. Before asking to open her eyes, Adeline slowly opened her eyelids.

“… How is it?”

Christine couldn’t answer Adeline’s question right away. Those eyes weren’t looking straight ahead. The iris nestled inside the white, her iris was horribly distorted to the extent that its original color could not be discerned. Christine’s eyes trembled. In the face of extreme torture and curses, Christine should be glad that Adeline’s memories are not clear.

“You know, but it’s not very good. I need to look a little closer to find out.”

Christine tried to hide her agitation and answered calmly. If Maxim’s wounds feel like scars from a knight’s battle, the wounds in Adeline’s pupils are pain for the sake of pain. It was really just a wound for the sake of a wound.

“Is it okay if I look closer?”

“Please.”

Christine lifted her hand and began to observe Adeline’s condition closely, pouring mana into her eyes. As she did to Maxim while examining the traces of the curse, Christine had a golden scribal in her hand.

“for a moment.”

Christine’s hand touched Adeline’s cheek. Christine looked up at Adeline’s chin, frowned as she tended to her wound, and occasionally let out a sigh.

The examination took longer than expected. Christine removed her hand and crossed her arms again.

“There is one positive and one negative, which do you want to hear first?”

Adeline blinked her eyes. Adeline seemed very awkward about taking off her blindfold and facing people. His expression stiffened and he seemed restless.

“… Let’s hear the good news first.”

“Your curse has not yet fully settled into my body. To be precise, should I say that the curse that was on the verge of being fully established was distorted by some external factor… .”

Christine struggled to find words to explain.

“In conclusion, even if it’s not a complete cure, you can gradually reduce the effect of the curse on you. I’ll have to constantly come and go and take care of you, but… , I can’t even call this a penalty. These are the positives.”

Adeline tilted her head and asked if there could be anything negative here.

“The bad news is… .”

“Your eyes, you may never be able to fix them. No, you probably won’t be able to fix it.”

At Christine’s words, Adeline’s eyes widened for a moment, but soon returned to her original expressionless expression. Christine showed an expression of sadness and resentment, the opposite of her expression with Adeline. She’s probably fighting the guilt that’s weighing her down again.

“It is a separate issue from the curse. I don’t know what the heck the Count did to plant the curse in your eyes, but the trauma is too much. like… .”

Christine tried to say that it looked like the eyes had been burned separately, but she kept her mouth shut. You shouldn’t stir up Adeline’s bad memories by telling useless stories.

“I don’t remember very well. Why was I so loyal to Count Benning, and why I followed that order from the bottom of my heart. Why did I go blind?”

“… I’m rather glad I don’t remember.”

Christine let out a sigh as she answered.

“Then, let’s start Haeju from now on.”

Christine put a hand on Adeline’s cheek. Fortunately, that cheek didn’t seem as soft as her own.

‘No, my cheeks are softer, so what are you going to do?’

Christine brought her hand to the corner of her eye, reprimanding herself for making a pointless comparison in her mind. Adeline, who was raising her head towards Christine, opened her mouth.

“… Once this curse is cast out,”

Christine put her hands away for a moment and listened to Adeline.

“Is there no reason to point a sword at Arsene again?”

Adeline asked if deep down in her heart she had no reason to regard Arsene as an enemy, aim the sword at her, and take her life. Christine nodded in response.

“Yeah. The Count’s curse will no longer dictate your will and thoughts. Of course, the memories you lost won’t come back right away just by driving out the curse… .”

“Anyway, I’m glad. It’s okay if you don’t get your memories back right away, but… , I didn’t want to point the sword at Arsene again.”

A relieved voice and a relaxed expression. Christine, who was facing Adeline’s face, returned with a slightly disapproving look. After all, it’s not an opponent that you can relax with carelessly.

“It will take some time, senior, are you okay?”

Christine asked, turning her head. Maxim, who was looking at them from a distance of three steps, nodded and replied.

“I’ve said it many times, but don’t overdo it, Christine.”

Christine’s expression softened, as if all the dissatisfaction she had been harboring had melted away at Maxim’s worrying words. Turning her head to hide the corners of her mouth that kept twitching, Christine answered in a rather calm voice.

“What is a crowd? There is no need for me to overdo it this time. And… .”

Christine added in a hesitant voice.

“Because he is a senior, he forced himself to do such a thing, and it will never happen again.”

Christine was speechless. Maxim smiled bitterly.

“yes. Because I won’t let that happen.”

Christine was blushing enough to be glad her back was turned. Now the corners of his mouth drew an arc out of control. Christine, feeling better before she knew it, looked at Adeline and said in a voice that regained her energy.

“I will begin.”

A light shone in Christine’s hand. A warm, enveloping light reached Adeline’s eyes. Cozy like the warm sunlight of late spring. Adeline made a surprised expression.

“ah… .”

Admiration leaked from Adeline. Maxim fell behind and remembered the first time he received Christine’s treatment. Would he have had such a surprised expression at the time? Clearly, Christine’s magic was mysterious. Because it freed me from the pain of scratching my chest and heart with a razor blade.

But above all, the wizard’s magic was kind. It was a touch that touched my heart, and an understanding person who spoke to me kindly.

“… It is really warm.”

When Adeline spoke in a delightful voice, Christine coughed in embarrassment. I guess I didn’t expect to hear that from Adeline. In response to her candid attitude, Christine answered disingenuously.

“Please bear with me even if it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. It is a necessary process to drive out the curse.”

Adeline said it wasn’t so, and pursed her lips.

“It doesn’t bother me at all. rather… , I feel like it would be nice to continue receiving it.”

“… thank you.”

As if she couldn’t help being honest, Christine calmly accepted the compliment. The sun passes from noon to afternoon and casts a deep light. As if the treatment was over, the light faded from Christine’s hand. Christine removed her hand from Adeline’s face with a faint smile on her face, as if the treatment was over.

“Okay, that’s enough for today. It will take some time to progress to a satisfactory level, but… , I think it might be easier than I thought.”

Christine put the cloth that had fallen on the bed into Adeline’s hand.

“Nun, I will try to find the best way I can.”

“It is enough to drive away the curse. How should I repay this favor… .”

Christine took a quick bite. The word grace was too much for her to hear now.

“No, I don’t think I was gracious. So please, I hope you don’t think I owe you anything.”

Christine got up from her seat and fanned her hand. It seemed that he was not accustomed to such a warm and uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Senior, then I will go back to the carriage first. Finish what the two of you were talking about in the middle and come down.”

Before Maxim could catch her, Christine got up and left the room, as if running away. Maxim looked at the spot where she had left, sighing, and turned his face to Adeline.

“I’m sorry that my junior is selfish.”

Adeline shook her head.

“You have good juniors. It’s embarrassing.”

“… He is an undeserved junior for me.”

Maxim laughed bitterly and sat down facing Adeline again. Perhaps it was because she had relieved a burden on her heart, and her face was much more comfortable than when she first entered the room.

“There is something I want to ask you.”

“Do whatever you want.”

“The reason I was able to face you alive like this is because Your Majesty, Arsene, listened to your request… What kind of request did you make to His Majesty?”

Maxim shrugged.

“It wasn’t that big. It was just a request to save a knight who was caught by the Count’s trick and fell under a curse.”

Adeline bowed her head. Did he think he was treated undeservedly, or was it just that he didn’t understand? The corners of his mouth, which had always been expressionless, trembled slightly.

“Why did you save me?”

What came out of her mouth was a question she had been harboring from the beginning. However, a word I did not ask because I was afraid of knowing the truth. It was the heart of a knight who said that he would not look at himself as an enemy from one day.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. But no matter how much I think about it, there’s no reason for you to save me… You could have thought of me as an enemy and just let me die in that dungeon.”

In a somewhat uneasy voice, Maxim spat out a laugh. At that familiar laugh, Adeline hardened her lips, but Maxim did not give a proper answer.

“The reason is… there is. For a very clear reason.”

I can’t hear you yet That I was subject to the same curse as you, and that I could have been in the same situation as you. I don’t know what you lost, but I wanted to save you because I knew how painful and frightening the process of being cursed was.

So, when I can stand in front of you again as Maxime Appart and not as Arsene Bern, I will tell you why again, so bear with me for now.

“But, I can’t tell you right now.”

“why?”

“When the time comes, I will let you know first. So, don’t be too anxious. We will never meet as enemies again.”

Adeline agreed with Maxim’s words, but seemed dissatisfied with Maxim’s last words.

“… I wasn’t anxious.”

Of course, a lie that won’t even get eaten. However, Maxim decided to be fooled by the lie and let out a low laugh.

“Are your eyes okay?”

Maxim asked, worried about Adeline’s eyes that might never recover. Adeline nodded as if nothing had happened.

“It is invisible, but there are many things that can be known. Life is not that uncomfortable. That’s why, I don’t think you’ll be very heartbroken even if you can’t see the future forever.”

As a blind person, I was able to feel more than a person whose eyes see, and I was able to see the world differently.

“You don’t have to worry too much. but… .”

but? Maxim looked at Adeline with worried eyes, wondering if he had any other uneasiness left.

“If I can’t see you forever, Arsene, I think the fact that I can’t see your face will remain as a regret.”

Adeline said in a sad voice. Maxim raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard the unexpected words.

“my… , look?”

“Yeah. therefore,”

Before I knew it, Adeline’s fingertips were touching her chin. cold feeling. Maxim pitifully looked down at Adeline, who raised her head towards him.

“Now, I want to know your face. what shape do you have? Also, what kind of expression will you make?”

Maxim froze for a while, then nodded his permission.

“… Yes. good.”

“then.”

Adeline’s fingertips, which had been resting around her chin, moved. Maxim’s face, which had changed into Arsene’s, was traced by Adeline, one by one, as she grasped its shape. Adeline engraved each sensation in her hand into her heart. The shape of the face, the shape of the nose and the scars across it, the shape of the lips slightly dry in winter, the shape of the forehead and hair, the shape of the ears, and the shape of the eyes that are slightly closed.

Adeline ‘looked’ at Arsene with her hand for a long time. When the face finally took shape in the darkness and became imprinted on her as a clear image, Adeline lowered her hand back to Arsene’s chin and nodded.

“… That’s a sharp impression.”

“This is something I hear a lot. Wasn’t it ugly?”

Adeline shook her head at Maxim’s question as if it were a joke.

“It wasn’t ugly at all. But even if you were ugly, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Maxim laughed awkwardly as if he was in trouble. Adeline, who had heard Maxim laugh, spoke quietly.

“You had that face.”

Adeline’s voice trembled a little, like a person who had a strong lingering attachment or a wish fulfilled. And,

“So that when I open my eyes again, I will know that you are you.”

For the first time, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, creating the shape of a smile. Maxim couldn’t help but put on a dazed expression when he saw that natural, soft smile. Adeline, who took off her blindfold and smiled, was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but stare blankly at her.

“I will always remember you.”