North x Northwest

Chapter 322

Lil asked that question, but she already knew that it was Linhardt who had told Ed. Because she clearly remembered saying this to him on their walk back from the forest, before entering Kano’s inn*.

“He said you would never let me go. That you would risk your life even if you could end up like me.”

“…”

“Isn’t that right? So, why did you let go of my hand now? Hold me.”

As Ed couldn’t afford to hold out the hand holding the cane, he fidgeted with his injured hand instead. Two of his fingers, which weren’t covered by the padding, stuck out of the sleeves of his shirt. His index and middle fingers twitched.

Out of astonishment, Lil questioned him.

“Oh come on, it’s closer to a lump of bandage. How can I even hold them properly?”

“…”

No matter how much she thought about it, the sight of her and Ed walking side by side while holding onto his knuckles was too weird. She didn’t want to do such strange things on the street.

In fact, the promise to hold hands on a busy street was actually a huge step forward for Lil, but Ed’s fingertips only shrivelled sullenly…

***

“Well, that’s it.”

Lil put down the barber scissors and looked at Ed in the full-length mirror in front of them. Now that his hair has gotten a little shorter, his otherwise scraggly face has become clearer.

Lil smiled, feeling satisfied with her work.

“I may not be as great as Butler Grits, but my skills can be considered pretty good, right?”

“…”

At her nod, Ed ruffled his hair with his habitual hand gesture. Lil then took off the cloth Ed had been wearing while cutting his hair.

“But is it okay to have short hair like this? From what I remember…”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying it’s awkward? Even after you’re the one who just cut my hair?”

“Well, I just trimmed the parts I roughly gathered…”

“…”

“Oh, forget it. Just go in.”

“..?”

Lil waved her hand and pointed to the bathtub. Although Ed glared at Lil disapprovingly when she suspiciously cut off her own words, Lil nonetheless continued to remove his gown and unfastened the belt that held his arms in place. She, however, didn’t hesitate to take a moment to admire his body which wasn’t covered with a single piece of cloth except for a thin pad supporting his arm.

“Go in.”

She nudged him on his back, and he reluctantly went into the bathtub.

There were several hotels in Simena for wealthy passengers, and they were built to mimic the same luxury as mansions, with private bathtubs in the bedrooms. The place they were staying was one of them.

As steam rose from the well-maintained, shiny white bathtub. Ed, submerged in the water and lazily leaned back. Lil sprinkled scented oil on the surface of the water and wiped his shoulders with a damp cloth.

Ed, who was watching each of her moves, opened his mouth.

“You don’t have to do this every time.”

“You broke your arm because of me. This is my way of taking responsibility.”

He raised his upper body and moved his head diagonally toward Lil.

“And how long are you going to take responsibility?”

“…”

His eyebrows quirked playfully.

“Could it be… forever?”

‘This guy’s teases are endless!’

Lil dipped her fingertips into the water and snapped her fingers at him. Ed, hit by the tiny drops of water, flinched and blinked at first, but then quickly retaliated by splashing the surface of the water toward Lil. As a result, Lil was splashed with an amount of water that was much more than what she initiated.

“Ackk!”

“Oops! Now you’re all wet, too.”

Lil swept her drenched face and looked down at her dampened shirt.

“Do you want to die?”

“Why don’t you come in too?”

“…Did you do this on purpose?”

Ed placed his arm on the edge of the bathtub and rested his chin on it. He answered confidently without any signs of revealing his true intentions.

“Who knows.”

“How treacherous.”

“Your judgement of me is getting harsher by the day. It’s becoming a big problem.”

When her expression remained the same, Ed’s hand reached from the bathtub and pulled on Lil’s shirt.

Lil unbuttoned her shirt while fixing her gaze on the drops of water sliding from Ed’s forearm to his shoulders bathed in the midday sun and down his body submerged in water.

When Lil stepped in and sat down facing Ed, the water level in the tub rose to the point where it almost overflowed. The water in the bath was warm, but perhaps because of the scented oil, her muscles felt cool and relaxed.

Leaning back comfortably, Lil stared at Ed’s upper arm, which was secured by the splint. The skin where the arrow had pierced him was stitched up, leaving a mess not only on the affected area but also around it.

‘He fell on his left arm with me being wrapped between it before rolling on the rough forest ground. No wonder the skin looks torn and scraped away. Even the naval symbol has become almost unrecognisable.’

“Your tattoo is completely ruined.”

Ed glanced down at his arms.

“It doesn’t matter. Rather, it’s even better this way.”

“Why? Because you’re going to quit?”

“Everyone has their own shameful history. And usually, it cannot be completely erased or proudly looked away from.”

“Why is it a shameful history for you?”

Lil recalled the admiral’s epaulettes.

‘Three stars so brilliant that they would never be forgotten. Knowing the military, no one would not admire the golden stars on Ed’s epaulettes.

The pirates of the Anatole Sea, whom Ed had eradicated, had a different approach from the League of Southern Pirates, which has a strong defensive nature. The western pirates plundered merchant ships travelling to and from the Western Continent and, above all, ravaged the western plains of the mainland and the Western Alsace Islands. Sailing up the river in a sailboat, plundering villages, and exterminating civilians were their most notorious crimes.

Of course, I know that Ed had his own separate motives. However, even though it was a complex of incalculable interests, his history, if one would ask, is a glorious one. The history of victory that even I wanted to achieve.’

“Well… I don’t think you’ll ever understand.”

“Why?”

“The misunderstanding between a genius and a killer is not one or two.”

“So, who is the killer and who is the genius?”

“Of course, …”

“..!”

Both Lil and Ed looked back at the door simultaneously. This was because the sound of someone’s footsteps was getting closer, followed by a knock on the door that confirmed it.

“Excuse me, Sir Edgar.”

“…”

It was Shail. When Ed didn’t answer, he spoke again.

“Someone would like to see you.”

“Me? Who?”

“Yes.”

‘This certainly isn’t good news. Ed didn’t go around announcing he’s Edgar Retiro, so how did this visitor know that Ed is staying here?’

Ed looked at her and asked with his eyes if she had the same thoughts as him.

“Who is it?”

The familiar polite voice of Shail announced the name of the uninvited guest.

“It’s the Duke of Mireille.”

Lil muttered with her eyebrows pulled together.

“…How does he know we’re here?..”

Shail added as if he had heard her voice through the door.

“He wanted me to convey to you that it has been months since you signed an important contract, but he hasn’t received any news. He also said he’s going to request for His Majesty’s mediation.”

‘I guess that ‘important contract’ refers to Ed’s retrieval of me in exchange for the necklace. Mireille apparently uses the contract as an excuse for seeing Ed now… but avoiding a meeting here will only intensify suspicions. It would’ve been convenient if the Duke’s only purpose was to hand me over to Venua, but that thought isn’t really convincing when things would work out as easily as this…’

Ed asked Lil.

“What do you want to do?”

“Go meet him.”

“Really?”

Lil nodded her head and Ed responded towards the door.

“I’ll be out soon.”

“Yes.”

They heard Shail walking away. As soon as his presence disappeared, Ed wrapped his arm around Lil’s waist. As Lil was led by him, the water’s surface fluctuated. Lil stared blankly at the floor, leaving Ed rubbing his lips against her cheek.

Of all that could’ve bothered her, she was most concerned about the rumour the Duke would hear first.

‘Edgar Retiro is travelling with his mistress…

I stayed at the residence of the Marquess of Roahn and went on this trip all without a clear identity. Anyone who heard such rumours of a mysterious unnamed woman would be curious about this mistress’ real identity, but since even Sagastar kept his mouth shut, no further information became known…

…A mistress with nothing to be proud of.’

– – – – –

Reference:

‘…Because she remembered saying this to him, on their walk back from the forest, before entering Kano’s inn.’ = chapter 308

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