MLHRGD 121

MLHRGD | Greeting (3)

Posted by Ruby, Released on September 17, 2025

#121. Greeting (3)

Even as his life faded away, Dmitri’s worries did not end.

The people harmed by the growing number of monsters.

The subjects who would struggle to rebuild the ruined lands.

Those who would be shaken and confused by his sudden death.

The ones he had to protect.

Pavel, who felt all of Dmitri’s thoughts and emotions, felt his chest tighten.

Why does he only think of others?

Nowhere in Dmitri’s heart was there grief, regret, or sorrow about his own death.

There was no yearning for life.

Instead, he was—

“Relieved.”

Like a man finally receiving a gift he had long desired.

Why?

Pavel didn’t need to think long. He knew at once.

“Until the very end… it wasn’t me, but Mother you thought of.”

Pavel clenched his teeth—

Boom!

An enormous shock struck his whole body.

“Haah!”

Like taking his very first breath in this world, Pavel gasped for air.

“—sir! Young master!”

Igor’s faint call rang clearly now.

Pavel grabbed his throbbing forehead.

“Just now, that was…”

He was confused.

But instinctively, he knew—it was a memory. Something he had already realized before, and did not forget.

And he also knew clearly whose memory it was.

His father, Dmitri Volkov.

“So then… that last part was…”

Pavel realized why he had woken.

That tremendous impact he had felt. It must have been Dmitri’s body crashing into the ground after falling from the cliff. No matter how well-trained, no normal human could survive that.

Death had claimed him instantly.

“Damn it.”

Pavel shut his eyes tightly.

Because he had woken the moment before Dmitri hit the ground, he had not felt the unbearable pain.

But he could still imagine it.

During the entire fall, he had felt everything Dmitri had.

Not perfectly—yet vivid enough for someone who wasn’t the true owner of the memory.

Was it a blessing or a curse to feel his father’s death so vividly?

With sunken eyes, Pavel gazed down the cliff.

The abyss gaped open like a beast, as if unsatisfied, licking its lips for more.

But Pavel didn’t retreat. He stepped forward boldly, as though daring it to swallow him.

Rustle—

A dry leaf carried by the wind crumbled under the violent gusts.

But no matter how fierce the wind, it could not push Pavel’s back.

Looking down into the endless cliff, Pavel finally spoke.

“Father.”

His voice was calm, without a tremor. But it took him a long time to choose his next words.

Exhaling slowly, closing his eyes, Pavel began his final farewell.

“Do not worry about us.”

He recalled Dmitri’s last thoughts.

“I have Sasha, so I will not be lonely.”

A father who had thought only of his son until the very last moment.

“And I will never let Sasha be lonely either.”

He wanted to ease his father’s worries.

“Thank you… for letting me meet Sasha.”

Pavel paused.

Sasha…

He thought of his wife, wishing she were here beside him.

Alexandra.

Once an Arvan, now a Volkov.

Back when she was still an Arvan, Pavel had hated her.

Because it was a marriage arranged by his father, he hated even the faceless bride.

At that time, Pavel had no one he liked—but he especially hated the idea of a woman chosen as his wife.

The disgust of being tied to someone he had never met. The discomfort of being bound to a woman who would surely hate him. The annoyance of having to marry while he was dying anyway.

For all those reasons, he had once sworn he would never accept her.

But that was only the arrogance of a childish boy.

Now, Pavel knew better.

“Sasha becoming my wife… was the greatest fortune of my life.”

His confession was plain, but sincere.

“You’ll understand, Father. You must have felt the same.”

Even in this final farewell, Pavel committed what some would call filial disrespect—saying that meeting his wife was his greatest blessing.

But he didn’t care.

He knew his father wouldn’t be offended.

He had known for some time, but Dmitri’s memories had confirmed it.

“For you, marrying Mother was also the greatest fortune of your life.”

Pavel smiled faintly.

His father’s love for his mother, whom Pavel couldn’t even remember, had been so absolute it was suffocating.

“When I was little, I hated it. If you hadn’t loved her so much, maybe after her death you wouldn’t have hated me so strongly.”

Yes, he had truly thought that.

If Dmitri had loved his wife less… if he had valued his child more than his wife… perhaps he would have loved Pavel more.

“But now, I no longer think that way.”

Pavel’s steady eyes proved his sincerity.

“Because your love showed me how to love Sasha with all my heart.”

Was it because even as a baby, he had “heard” his father’s desperate love?

Or was it something inherited, this instinct to love one woman obsessively?

Whether it was inborn or learned, Dmitri’s influence on Pavel’s love was immense.

Just as the one who comes after cannot help but walk the path left by the one before, Pavel could not escape his father’s influence. Especially when that father was someone he could never surpass.

“So don’t worry about us…”

Pavel lifted his head, as though his father might be there.

“Now, live happily with Mother.”

With that, the farewell ended.

The heavy weight on his heart, which had lingered since he learned of Dmitri’s death, finally lifted.

As Pavel turned, Igor, who had stood silently behind him, bowed his head.

“Shall we go?”

“…Yes.”

Though short, Pavel’s voice carried a trace of tears.

“You may stay longer if you wish.”

“It’s fine.”

Clearing his throat, Igor raised his head.

His eyes were red, though no tears fell. Perhaps he had shed them in secret.

When Pavel’s gaze lingered on him, Igor forced a smile.

“Heh, forgive me. An old man like me, choking up like this.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Pavel’s reply was firm.

“And it’s not foolishness either.”

“….”

At those words, Igor clenched his teeth and turned his head away. He even shifted his whole body to hide it.

Pavel quietly looked at Igor’s back, noticing the faint trembling of his shoulders.

“…Shall we stay a little longer? The weather is nice.”

Hardly.

Though it was early spring, here in the far north it was still winter.

Dark clouds hung heavy, fog was thick, and little light reached the ground.

No one could honestly call it “nice.”

But Igor, moved by his young master’s rough attempt at kindness, did not point that out.

Sniff.

The sound of his nose echoed like a beast’s cry across the cliff.

Only after a long time did the two men finally leave.

They had said farewell to death now past, and returned to live the present—for a better future.

Whooosh—

The wind blew over the foggy cliff.

But it was not the usual bitter wind of the north.

It was a gentle breeze, as if to send them off.

That night.

For the first time since leaving Bellicordo Castle, Pavel took out the locket he shared with Sasha.

Click.

Inside was a portrait of Sasha. Just an ordinary painting, nothing unusual.

But after a brief hesitation, Pavel pressed the small jewels on the locket’s side in order.

“Sasha.”

When he called the locket’s other owner, the portrait moved.

[Pavel?]

Sasha’s surprised face looked back at him—the locket’s communication magic had worked.

“Were you asleep?”

[Hm? No.]

“Sorry.”

[Don’t be. But what’s wrong? Your voice sounds weak.]

“Mm.”

The portrait changed expressions like a real person. Her worried face was on the verge of tears.

[Don’t cry.]

“It’s not me crying—it looks like you.”

[Me? Crying?]

“Yeah. Your face.”

[Really?]

She touched her painted face awkwardly. Pavel quietly watched the tiny movements.

[If you felt that way, then I must really be making the same face as you.]

Pavel frowned slightly. So I look like I’m crying now…

[I wish I could be there with you.]

Her voice was soft, full of regret.

[If only I could hold your hand.]

Even though Pavel had suddenly called her with the locket’s rare magic, Sasha asked for no explanation.

She only regretted not being able to be by his side, to comfort him.

That alone made Pavel open up.

“…I gave Father my final farewell today.”

Without preface, it might sound sudden. But Sasha accepted it at once.

[I see.]

Blinking slowly, lost in thought, she looked back at him. She still didn’t press him.

Thanks to that, Pavel could keep speaking.

“I might return there someday. But somehow, it felt like that was the last chance. The last chance to say goodbye.”

[If you felt that way, then it must be true.]

Her voice was heavy.

[It’s a pity. I had so many things I wanted to say to the Grand Duke too.]

Pavel looked at her gently.

“He would have wanted to hear them from you as well.”

[Do you really think so?]

“Yes. He cherished you.”

Pavel could say it with certainty—because he had felt Dmitri’s emotions at the edge of death.

At those words, Sasha’s face clouded. Pavel didn’t want her to feel sad, so he quickly changed the subject.

“…Truthfully, I called because I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep otherwise. Would you sing me a lullaby?”

[A lullaby?]

“The one you used to sing, back when I couldn’t fall asleep.”

Not long after their marriage, Sasha had tried many ways to help him sleep: telling old stories while holding hands, or singing lullabies in a language he didn’t know.

Remembering those times, Sasha smiled softly.