IDEFYEM - Chapter 80
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
There was a knocking sound again. From the window, not the door.
Just as I was about to get goosebumps, I remembered that something like this had happened before.
"No way..."
As I was walking away, I narrowed my eyes and turned around.
Immediately a scream came out of my mouth.
“Aaaah!”
"Shh, Enrica, calm down."
"This is a crime, Tristan!"
I was just thinking that Tristan might have sent me an exodus.
What I actually encountered was Tristan Dyke, who had climbed the large tree next to my room window to the second floor.
My eyes widened at the incredible sight. After quickly checking that no one was around, I opened the window and shouted.
"Are you crazy? What if someone sees it?"
It was so absurd that I even forgot the disturbing feeling I had just felt.
Tristan had definitely climbed this tree before. However, it was early morning when everyone was asleep, and I, who wanted to go to the information guild, personally asked him to do it.
Now this is clearly trespassing!
Tristan smiled as usual even after seeing my bewildered face. With a smile that was charming enough to captivate people, he took a long breath and spoke.
"Let's leave together, Enrica."
"What, what?"
For a moment I couldn't believe my ears.
He climbed up the tree and moved closer to the window with fluid movements.
"W-what. Tristan, it's dangerous!"
When I shouted out of fear that he might fall, the answer I got was also absurd.
"Are you worried? I'm happy."
"That's not important now!"
"It's important to me. I was only looking at you throughout the wedding."
It was a statement that came without warning, like a suggestion to leave without any context.
I didn't even know Tristan had attended the wedding. Because earlier I didn't have the presence of mind to look around or say hello.
'Now that I think about it, I don't think there was his name on the guest list.'
The last time we met, didn't you say you were busy today?
When I thought about it, it seemed like he even apologized for not being able to attend the wedding. While I was speechless and blinking my wide eyes, he continued.
"So I saw you crying."
The tears I shed during the wedding ceremony were so fleeting that no one noticed. So it's probably true that Tristan was watching me the whole time.
I tried to calmly listen to the increasingly unusual atmosphere.
"I repeated it several times. I tried to think that as long as you were happy, that was enough."
"..."
If I were to describe my current state, it would be that it is definitely far from happy. A bride whose life was played by her lover on her wedding day.
If you look at it from afar, wouldn't it be something that anyone would laugh at at least once?
I remembered the traces of tears that would still remain, and my ears turned red as if I had been exposed.
"So let's leave together."
Tristan spoke again.
"You can go anywhere, you can be anything. Even if you want to become royalty overnight, I will make that happen."
With no time to catch my breath, amazing words continued to penetrate my ears.
"Why?"
"Because I Love You."
It may not be something I plan on doing now, but it was a day overflowing with love. Unlike Raphael's confession, which sounded earnest, Tristan's was simple.
Considering the opposing tendencies of the two, it was a bit funny. I opened my mouth and then closed it.
Since when? Why me? All this time?
There were many things I wanted to ask. But the first question that came out was completely unexpected.
"What on earth is love?"
Most of them were abstract questions worth thinking about for a while.
However, he answered without any of the playfulness that was always overflowing.
"If you plunge a knife into my heart right now. I will gladly die remembering your smile."
A voice without worry or hesitation was filled with all the confidence in the world.
"That's what love is, Enrica,"
I could feel how much Tristan had been thinking about his thoughts.
"... Did you feel the same way about the nun you met when you were a paladin? The family's maids, village maidens, and noble ladies?"
"How did you... Ah, it's my sister."
Tristan frowned as if he was troubled.
At that sight, laughter burst out that did not suit the serious situation. Then Tristan answered my question with a puzzled expression.
"I don't know if you believe it, but yes. Foolishly, I have loved so many times because I didn't know love."
"Don't you feel sorry for your old lovers?"
"Sorry. But this feeling won't come again and again in your life."
Although he said it in a slightly teasing way, Tristan remained firm and unwavering. He was heavily armed with the weapon of love, with no room for escape.
"I love you for the first and last time."
"I got married today!"
"I don't care."
I felt nervous due to his serious appearance, so I swallowed for no reason.
Soon, Tristan reached out his hand through the window as if to grab it.
His blonde hair, which had become matted from the rush, still shone like the sun. The bright green eyes, as if they were stuffed from a forest, were sincere.
It was literally like the knight in the picture who came to save me. Enough to shake any woman in the world for a moment.
"Perhaps. I might become happy.'
Forget about the curse and leave the Grand Duke who deceived me forever. Take this hand, choose Tristan, and never come back.
But there was a crucial reason why that couldn't be done. I don't have the confidence to die while remembering Tristan's smiling face.
If someone comes to mind the moment I close my eyes at the end of my life, it will probably be him. The most resentful and hateful man in the world right now.
"..."
When I didn't say anything for a while, Tristan smiled as if he sensed something. He looked intently at my hand, which he could grasp if he stretched out his arm just a little.
Then, he looked resigned and looked away. He looked like a child trying to forget what he couldn't have
"As expected."
I didn't know what to say, so I just twitched my fingers.
After a complex expression, Tristan laughed as if he felt pathetic.
"All my life I thought questions like this were stupid. Still, I get to say it. I guess other people have felt this way."
"..."
"Just in case... Would anything have been different if I had met you earlier?"
It seemed as if he had shaken off every last bit of pride and asked a question.
I was speechless for a moment.
It was like I had that thought when I went to the night market with Tristan just a few months ago. At that time, I wanted to marry anyone to avoid the Grand Duke.
But now my thoughts have changed.
Thinking about the Grand Duke who had been deceiving me for months made me so angry that I almost died.
I wanted to run right away and beat him up. I wanted to scratch and hurt him all over his body and make him suffer as much as I was shocked. If I could, I would vent my anger for days, even years.
No matter how much I imagine it, the conclusion does not change.
In some form or another, I would remain by Raphael's side.
"You always shine brightly. There will be many people who will love that light."
After taking quite some time to organize my thoughts, I opened my mouth with difficulty.
"But I love his loneliness."
Tristan withdrew his outstretched hand after hearing my answer. And I began to say goodbye with my sincerity in each and every word.
"The moment you let go of this hand, it won't be the end, you know?"
"... Huh."
"I will continue to help you in the future."
Tristan glanced down to see if he was going to jump down again. Hesitation was evident on his face, and I could see it.
That didn't look like he was hesitant about jumping from a high place. It was the face of a man who was hesitant about our breakup.
"I'm sorry, Tristan."
I opened my mouth in a hurry, afraid that Tristan might leave first. He looked at me with eyes as deep as a forest after a rain.
"I'm happy, Enrica."
After muttering that, Tristan jumped down from the tree. A few light footsteps were heard and he disappeared from view of the window.
"I'm so sorry, Tristan."
I mumbled absentmindedly in the room I was left alone in.
"Thanks to you, I think I know how I feel."
He said that's what love is.
Even if someone sticks a knife into my heart, I die thinking of his face.
I quietly placed my hand on my chest. It hurt as much as if a knife had stuck in it.
I was thinking of Raphael's smiling face.
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