CHAPTER 64……………….
“Even if you don’t think of it that way, pain is still pain. Etch that into your mind like a word.”
As always, Linaria whispered firmly yet gently.
“You can remember that, right?”
“…Yeah.”
All Kaas could think was that he never wanted to let go of her hand.
But he obediently nodded.
If she said something hurt, then it was painful.
At that moment, Linaria lightly pinched Kaas’s cheek.
“And this hurts too.”
It felt as if she had caught him having an impure thought, and he flinched.
“Did that hurt a lot?”
She was surprised, since Kaas was the type of man who normally wouldn’t flinch at something like this—but this time he reacted.
Kaas blinked slowly.
And then—
“Yes.”
He was being childish.
“I think I finally understand what it means for something to hurt.”
With that, he rubbed his cheek against the palm of the hand that had pinched him.
“I–I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
A few days later, Noah muttered as they stepped into a busy street.
He tugged at the hood of his cloak as if convinced that blocking his vision would somehow hide him from view.
“Are you feeling very unwell?”
At Linaria’s kind question, Noah started to nod, then hesitated.
“A… a little too much…”
If it was “a little,” then it was a little. If it was “a lot,” then it was a lot. But “a little a lot”?
It seemed he had tried to soften his words as much as possible, but it only made things worse.
“Since it’s just the beginning, let’s look around a bit and then head back.”
“O–okay.”
“Kaas, would you help support Duke Ignas?”
“N–no! That’s not necessary!”
Though she asked because Noah clearly looked unwell, his reaction was extreme.
“I’ll try to manage…”
Noah had tagged along with Linaria, who was on her way to a dressmaker’s, along with her escort Kaas.
The three were walking together when—
“Noah!”
August spotted him from afar and came running with a smile.
Startled, Noah instinctively stumbled backward under his hood.
It seemed he hadn’t expected to be recognized.
“A–August. How did you know?”
“I heard news about you. And besides, you look just the same as when we were kids—there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize you.”
He left out the part where Linaria had let something slip.
Still, since Noah’s childhood face lingered in memory, it wasn’t a complete lie.
“You’ve grown so much since then. You’re way taller than me now.”
“Y–yeah, I guess.”
Noah stammered even more than usual, clearly nervous.
“You don’t look well—are you sick?”
“A… a little.”
“Then why don’t we step inside somewhere to talk? Linaria, would that be alright?”
“I don’t mind. We were on our way to the dressmaker—would you like to come along?”
“I can’t stay long.”
“Oh, right. Don’t you have something scheduled around this time, brother?”
“Yeah, that’s why. But for a little while it’s fine.”
Just then—
From the same direction August had come from, a man’s voice called out, oddly familiar.
“August! You slipped away again to fool around, didn’t you? This time I won’t let it slide.”
At first, Linaria tilted her head—Who could that be?—but as she listened to the complaining tone, she realized.
“All those times you were surrounded by girls, or vanished saying you were helping some old man carry his load—I had to handle all the work myself!”
It was the knight who often belittled August while freeloading off him.
So I hadn’t been mistaken—he really was jealous of August.
“And now what, you’re shirking duty over some woman again? Just because you’re Lord Brimstone’s son, you think you can get away with anything? You should just quit!”
The knight, Oliver, darted a glance at Linaria.
“Oliver, this is my cousin. I was just happy to see her and said hello.”
There had been a time when Linaria once flicked a coin at the back of Oliver’s head.
Not recognizing her back then, Oliver now flushed slightly at the sight of her face—only to meet Kaas’s hostile gaze.
Those eyes looked familiar, but he couldn’t place them. Quickly turning away, Oliver puffed himself up in front of the beauty.
“Fine, if she’s your cousin I can’t say much. But think about your behavior! If you joined the city guard just for reputation’s sake, you should quit.”
“…”
“If the safety of the people comes second to your vanity, then your very existence is a nuisance. Everyone else probably thinks the same as I do.”
“So that’s what you’ve been thinking. Sorry, Oliver.”
Truthfully, Oliver had never liked August.
So when August now responded humbly, he felt he had caught him red-handed.
“Do you think ‘sorry’ is enough? Decide. What are you going to do?”
“…Hmm.”
Looking troubled, August glanced at Noah. Only then did Oliver notice him.
“What, don’t tell me you’re going to claim you were questioning some shady-looking guy as an excuse?”
“He’s not shady. He’s my friend—”
“Your friend? You’re really going to call someone like this your friend?”
There was contempt in his tone as he looked down on Noah.
“I heard rumors you give money away in taverns—so now you’re doing charity work too? Anyone can see he’s a misfit—”
“Oliver. I just said he’s my friend.”
August’s voice was calm but firm.
Misfit.
At that word, Noah’s shoulders hunched.
“I always knew you’d befriend just anyone, but isn’t this going too far?”
Oliver sneered.
“I’m your friend, and that guy is your friend too? The gap’s way too big.”
Since Noah had his hood on, Oliver clearly didn’t realize he was Duke Ignas.
That’s too much.
Linaria thought she couldn’t let this slide.
Even the first time she met Oliver, she had hated the way he sneered like he was cursing. She wished August wouldn’t tolerate it either.
But knowing August’s nature, he probably would.
She had seen enough of him to know.
Linaria opened her mouth to step in—but at that moment—
“Why do you think you’re my friend?”
“What? Just the other day you said we were comrades, friends even. Why are you suddenly saying such nonsense?”
Though August still wore a smile, his atmosphere was markedly different from usual.
Linaria decided not to interfere and simply watch.
“Oliver. Someone once told me this.”
“…”
“Even if a person is kind, if they always treat me badly, then that person is just a bad person. Saying someone’s fine ‘except for one flaw’ doesn’t mean anything.”
It was something Linaria herself had said before.
“Looking back, I think I was like that too. So from now on, I’ll just be a bad person.”
“You keep spouting nonsense. What are you really trying to say?”
“I’m saying don’t go around bragging that you’re my friend. My only friend is Noah.”
He then gripped Oliver’s shoulder tightly.
“You’ve been using our supposed friendship to lure naïve young women, haven’t you? No wonder so many came to me complaining.”
“…”
“They said they drank with you, thinking you were my friend, only to wake up having made a mistake for one night. And afterward, you kept avoiding them instead of taking responsibility. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
“That’s… that’s a private matter!”
“If it were private, you should have resolved it properly instead of sitting back until I had to step in and cover the costs.”
“…”
“Not once or twice—but five times.”
The smile August always wore faded from his lips.
Oliver, clearly guilty, couldn’t argue back.
“From today onward, we won’t even be ‘comrades.’ You’ll be dismissed.”
“August…!”
Oliver shouted, trying to shake off the hand gripping his shoulder.
“You already have everything! So why torment someone like me who has nothing? What’s so wrong about asking for just a little of what you’ve been given?”
In that moment, Oliver realized the gulf of strength between them.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t shake off August’s hand.
Until now, Oliver had thought August weak, coddled only because he was Brimstone’s heir.
But now, he couldn’t even break free of his grip.
August had simply been letting him off until now.
“You’re right. I never thought it was wrong to share. But failing to protect what’s mine—that’s what’s truly wrong.”
Finally releasing him, August lightly patted Oliver’s shoulder.
“Oh, and about the money I covered for you—I’ll make sure it’s all charged to your name.”
