RAMBYM - Chapter 52

52. Was it a fox, not a puppy?


“Would you like to see that?”

Diarin pointed to a flashy sign that could be seen from afar.

“Men’s jewelry.”

“Yeah, yeah... Huh? You read well?”

Diarin nodded absentmindedly, then realized that Ceres had naturally read the sign.

Although learning to read, Ceres would only listen to the contents of a book if Diarin read it to him.

Even when she handed it to him and told him to read it himself, he always remained silent.

“...Mr. Ceres?”

"Yes."

“You can read?”

"Yes."

“...Then why didn’t you try to read the book?”

Diarin's smiling face was filled with a surge of anger.

He refuses to read books at all, so learning to read seems so far off. How should I teach him? What becomes of the deep worries I've carried every night?

“Because I like Diarin’s voice.”

“...”

This puppy is so smart.

She thought she could disarm a man in one shot.

Was it a fox, not a puppy?

Diarin looked up at the sky at the transience of the world.

“Setria Confectionery, Languiste Costume Shop, Sornten Avenue...”

Diarin ordered Ceres to read everything he saw.

Ceres read each letter naturally and fluently without having to go through the process of matching pronunciation.

No matter how many letters you learn, it takes time to get used to the process of matching them to pronunciation.

It takes children years to learn to read and write. The same goes for foreigners.

But Ceres read it fluently, without hesitation, as if he had known the written word his entire life.

“Wait, how did you read that?”

"How...?"

“I didn’t teach you how to pronounce that letter like that.”

Among the letters you see on the street, there are some combinations that are not commonly used.

Many signs are made arbitrarily and do not follow the correct spelling.

That's something you learn naturally as you live.

But Ceres read it.

Hypotheses swirled around in Diarin's head.

"Your handwriting was beautiful, and your signature was natural. But now you are unconsciously pronouncing things you never even learned."

There was only one conclusion to be drawn.

“Mr. Ceres, didn’t you already finish writing before you joined the 8th Unit?”

They say that even if there are no memories left in the head, the body remembers things.

No matter how much your memory is erased, you will never forget how to eat or how to walk.

Some people think that these are instincts, but surprisingly, eating, sleeping, and moving are all the result of learning.

The time it takes for a newborn to walk.

The time until a baby starts eating.

The time it takes for a newborn baby who doesn't know how to sleep on his own to go to bed at a suitable time.

All that time is learning and training.

“I don’t know.”

“If you know, then your memory has returned...”

It was a pointless question.

But she has a clue as to how to touch the memory.

He said something as if he was reminded of something because he was stimulated in the carriage earlier.

If so, then the memory is not 'deleted' but covered up.

“Let’s do more, Mr. Ceres.”

As he did this and that, and saw more things, she began to have hope that his memories might come back.

It would be cleanest if Diarin lifted the spell on his head, but if that's difficult, she could try taking them out one by one.

“You never know. Maybe Mr. Ceres turns out to be a formidable young master?”

Then, if one bean sprout falls, wouldn't it be a pretty huge bean sprout?

Diarin smiled with pure desire.

***

She was planning to go straight back to the mansion, but the shopping they started in the middle of the trip made the trip home longer.

Meanwhile, the festive atmosphere spread to this distant place, and the crowds grew.

The once deserted street was now bustling with people.

As they passed by, their shoulders brushed against people's, and they bumped into them.

“Mr. Ceres, are you okay?”

Diarin was extremely worried, but Ceres seemed fine.

Even people who aren't sensitive to crowds can find the crowds unpleasant.

“It’s okay.”

But Ceres surprisingly tolerated the hustle and bustle well.

It wasn't like he was enjoying the hustle and bustle, but it didn't seem like he was going to explode either.

He seemed like a really normal person.

Still, just in case, Diarin held onto Ceres' hand tightly.

“No matter what happens, you can’t let go of my hand, right?”

"Yes."

Ceres took Diarin's hand as if making a promise.

Diarin's hand was buried in Ceres' hand.

It was the first time she had ever been wrapped in such a big, strong hand.

Rather, it was Diarin who always held the injured soldier's hand.

A priest is someone who must protect everyone.

This experience of being wrapped up like this was unfamiliar to Diarin.

'This isn't bad either.'

It was also a strange feeling.

Diarin felt a tickle under her nose for no reason, so she rubbed it and turned her gaze towards the street.

Musicians and performers also took their places on the crowded streets.

When the musicians played music, the people around them got excited and started dancing.

It was a real festival atmosphere.

Diarin, who was watching the dancers, suddenly looked back at Ceres.

“Mr. Ceres, can you dance?”

If Ceres had truly been a noble young master, he would have learned to dance.

Dancing is a basic skill of the nobility.

Diarin didn't know how to come out because he was a nobleman who didn't even have the basics.

“I don’t know.”

Of course, he won't remember it.

But somehow, Diarin felt like Ceres could come out.

“Want to dance?”

“I’ll try.”

Ceres did not shy away from the challenge.

Ceres, who had been quietly watching the people around him dance, finally turned to face Diarin.

He lifted the hand he was holding and pulled her around the waist to hug her.

Diarin flinched.

She thought it was just a dance, but the moment Ceres' hand touched her waist, the moment that hand pulled her body closer, something in her heart sank.

'What, why?'

Diarin looked up at Ceres, not knowing why her heart sank.

Unlike Diarin's wavering gaze, Ceres looked straight at Diarin.

Without blinking an eye, as if he wouldn't miss a single moment.

Her gaze was hot, and her face was flushed.

Even her breath was burning like steam.

The moment her chest tightened, and she took a sharp breath, Ceres began to move.

At first, it creaked awkwardly.

“...Are you doing well?”

But after taking a few steps, he started moving his body as if I was used to it, just like the people around him.

Naturally, leading Diarin, who doesn't know how to dance.

“Are you doing well?”

Ceres seemed to think that he was just imitating the people around him.

But he danced much more gracefully and skillfully than the people around him.

Diarin looked up at Ceres blankly.

This wasn't something you could see and do right away.

'Memory.'

It was Ceres's covered memory.

The dance gave Diarin complete confidence.

'He was a nobleman.'

He couldn't have been anything other than a nobleman.

The fragments of covered memories that had been visible until now were pointed in one direction.

'Why did Ceres, who was a noble child, become like this?'

Was it necessary to have one's memories forcibly erased and be sold as a slave?

Haven't some people wandered around looking for Ceres?

As the aristocracy enjoys much, there is also fierce competition within it.

Of course, there are cases where people live like greenhouse flowers, like her brother, but there are also frequent cases where people stab their relatives in the back for their own benefit.

'Did I get caught up?'

In that case, wouldn't it be dangerous to bring up Ceres' memories?

Diarin's mind became complicated.

“Mr. Ceres.”

"Yes."

Ceres answered with a flexible step.

Like someone who has been dancing since the moment they were born.

That kind of leisure wasn't something you could learn by watching and imitating.

It is something that can be achieved only through constant effort to the point of becoming embodied.

“Mr. Ceres, don’t you want to go back to your previous memories?”

“I never thought about it.”

“...Then think about it from now on.”

"Hmm."

Ceres thought carefully about Diarin's orders.

It wasn't long.

“Should I turn it back?”

“...It’s not like it has to be that way, but....”

It's not that Ceres is currently in trouble because he has no memories.

The hardships of being a member of the 8th Division have come to an end.

Now, all he has to do is become a master and live happily.

“Parents or... family or... There might be someone like that. Aren’t you curious?”

“I’m not curious.”

Ceres answered simply, as if it was nothing to worry about.

But is it really that simple?

Even though Diarin was so betrayed and heartbroken, she couldn't completely abandon her family because she was afraid of the isolation that would come from being left alone in this world.

“Mr. Ceres, aren’t you afraid of being alone?”

“It’s not scary.”

“...This seems like an answer that came out because the military discipline was not so good...”

Hmm.

No matter how deep in his memory the master was, the warrior on the surface was stronger.

“Isn’t there anything scary about Mr. Ceres?”

"...Hmm..."

It took quite a while to answer this question.

...Yeah, there isn’t any.

But Ceres stopped and pondered, perhaps thinking that he had to create an answer, even if it was just a non-existent fear.

“Wow! The march has begun!”

At that moment, people started to rush to one side and shout.

Diarin also turned her head in that direction.

On the main road in the distance, people who appeared to be guards lined up and blocked the passage of people.

It looked like it was going to be a pretty long march.

She didn't know she would be able to see the march, but she was lucky.

“His Highness the Second Prince is coming!”

A magnificent instrumental music resounded along with loud shouts.

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