Presepe did not say a word.
She just quietly stared at Fenrir.
It wasn't just because she didn't know how to respond.
She didn't know why, but... somehow she had a feeling that what he was hoping for might not be the answer.
So, Presepe quietly waited for Fenrir to continue speaking.
"I could tell at a glance. I knew that such a precious and noble person had absolutely no connection to me, rolling in the mud."
Even the unsightly ringworm that had bloomed, and the shadows scorched by the temperature of life that must be endured.
He could not find a single trace of such things on Presepe's face as she looked at him with concern.
Dazzling silver hair cascading down to the waist, violet eyes shining mysteriously like jewels. Skin white to the point of transparency, and even clothes that were monotonous and colorless, yet clearly expensive.
Fenrir quickly noticed.
That this girl was someone who lived in a completely different world from him.
The reason her clothes looked that way must have been to conceal her identity. Occasionally, there were such empty-headed, immature nobles. Curious about the festivals of the lower classes, they would come dressed in what they perceived as their own attire.
"Even the lowest class and commoners alike would all contort their faces in disgust whenever they saw me. It was probably even worse that day. It must have been quite a spectacle."
He was even kicked in the stomach and vomited blood, and his clothes were stained red.
"But she held my hand... She held it like that and helped me up. I found that truly..."
"...Really?"
"I thought it was funny.”
"..."
"Because I thought it was better to throw stones with a distorted face than to receive cheap pity filled with a sense of superiority."
It was childishness. It was also a baseless inferiority complex. So Fenrir pushed away Presepe, who had approached him, with all his might, but there was no way he could do so with his weakened body.
"So, I told them to get lost."
"...Get out of here."
"It was probably just venting anger. Probably."
"At best, what can a noble girl help?"
He thought she would run away.
Because it was obvious that a bunch of people like 'noble girls at best' would get scared at the mere mention of a single insult.
But that noble girl did not run away.
"I saw that you were right."
So, are you trying to mock me?
Saying, "How dare a beggar act so rudely?"
It was the moment Fenrik was snickering.
"I'm sorry. I was scared, so I couldn't help."
"What?"
"I'm not in a good position right now either."
"But far from being scared and running away..."
"It’s not that I’m doing this out of pity for you. I can’t explain it in detail, but right now, I’m not in a position to dare pity anyone."
"She was rambling on with strange things."
"I just wanted to help you. And you might not understand because you're still young, but if an adult offers to help, it's better to just accept it."
"They were very strange, and also very funny things."
Judging by her appearance alone, she looked younger than him. So he was taken aback by her talk of being an adult.
"I have to go, Dith... No, someone is waiting for me. We snuck out secretly, just the two of us."
Presepe rummaged through the bag she was carrying on her back. Then she gave everything she had brought to Fenrir.
Things like gold coins that Fenrir had never even seen once while begging.
And, also...
"I'll give you this too."
"Then. She gave a gift."
“A gift...?”
“It was priceless.”
"He said it’s a sword his mother gave him a long time ago, and he brought it because his companions suggested taking it for self-defense."
As big as her forearm.
She handed over a splendid sword studded with dozens of jewels.
"I don't know how to use it anyway. And... it might not be of any use even if I had it."
"Even so, you're giving me something like this?"
"Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen to me now."
"..."
"But I'm still going to try to hold on."
At best, what kind of ordeal could there be to endure for a noble girl?
Even while thinking that, Fenrir could not bring himself to utter harsh words as he had before.
Presepe, as she said those words, seemed to have a somewhat melancholic look on her face.
"So... you try holding it away too."
"...what?"
"You are the first person I have spoken to in here of my own free will. Until now, I have just kept my mouth shut, because I had no idea what might happen if I did something foolish."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"I don't even know who you are, and I might ruin things by doing something out of the storyline like this, but... just because. You're my first person. So I hope you get along well."
"..."
"...If you keep doing well and holding on like that, who knows, maybe I can manage too."
He couldn't understand what was being said, but he knew it was a story centered around her.
"I told you it’s not just a decorative sword, but one that can actually be used as a weapon. It is the most precious thing I possess."
Fenrir made a bewildered face, but Presepe continued speaking.
"It would only bring in a pittance if you sold it, but if you fight with this sword instead, many things will be different."
"..."
"It depends on your choice."
With those words, Presepe looked down at Hannah, who was trembling beside Fenrir.
She silently wiped Hannah's tear-soaked and dirty cheek, then asked gently.
"By any chance, were you selling this flower too?"
"..."
"Then I'll pay for everything, as long as you're okay with it."
However, having just given all her money to Fenrir, she had no money left to buy flowers. Presepe seemed to ponder for a moment, then took off the ring she was wearing.
However, Fenrir shook his head.
He thought it was ridiculous to do this when he had already received everything he was supposed to, but he just wanted to give that flower.
No, perhaps he just wanted to be stubborn with nothing more than a cheap, wilting flower. To say that just as she gave him something, he also gave her something.
Anyway, it was certain that that was the only thing Fenrir could give to Presepe at the time.
"Just take it."
"Uh?"
"Since you gave me the most precious thing, you take it too."
Presepe did not say a word.
She simply accepted the flower Fenrir offered quietly.
"After giving me something so precious as a gift, she seemed to be trying to leave without a second thought."
"So what...?"
"I held on. Because my pride was hurt."
"Don't give alms."
“I said I would pay it back.”
"I will definitely pay it back."
At those words, Presepe smiled sweetly.
"...yes."
Then she answered.
"I'll wait. Until you come to pay me back."
"Name."
"What?"
"What's your name?"
"...Presepe."
That was the last time.
His thirteenth birthday, which he can still recall vividly.
Since that day, no one had seen Tom, who had mercilessly tormented the begging children and inflicted ruthless violence on Fenrir.
From that time on... since Fenrir held a sword.
As Presepe said, he chose.
Not money you can hold in your hand right now, but a change that can completely transform your life.
"Thanks to that precious person, I have become a completely different person. Because I have a goal."
"If the goal is..."
"Because I said I would pay it back."
So, he intended to visit that noble girl again someday and repay her for everything.
What kind of emotion is that? Did you want to raise your voice and say that since you returned what I lent you, that's the end of it?
Or perhaps I wanted to appear proudly, as if to show them. Was that noble girl the only one I could show her that I had ended that wretched life and come this far on my own two feet?
However, Fenrir soon realized. That Presepe was not just a mere noble girl, and that she was enduring a life even more wretched than his own.
"So, did you pay it back?"
"..."
"To that noble person."
No trace of past memories could be found on Presepe's face as she asked the question indirectly.
Fenrir understood it.
Perhaps, it might have been more natural not to remember. For someone who dies miserably and wretchedly well over several hundred times, and returns to the starting point while retaining all those memories.
...She probably couldn't have harped back on something that had just passed by.
“I’m trying to pay it back.”
Fenrir pursed his lips in a low voice.
"However, it is not simply because I dislike being indebted."
"Sure?"
Fenrir did not answer.
As always, he simply wore an inscrutable expression and smiled slightly.
"Lady Presepe, everything will be alright."
"... Yes?"
"I know you must be anxious and confused. But that is all just part of the process. So don't be afraid all alone like that. Just like before."
"..."
"Because now, Lady Presepe, you are not alone."
...You're not alone?
Presepe paused briefly at Fenrir's unexpected words.
In this insane game, not a single person said such things to her. Likewise, no one existed to pull her out of the endless cycle of pain.
Yes. Perhaps.
Maybe, just as the Grand Duke said, she might not be alone anymore.
...At the very least, Grand Duke Fenrir protected her in this round, through all those events.
It felt as though that single thought was enough to make the depression vanish without a trace.
"If things continue like this, someday the time will come when Hannah’s words are not a lie."
"... Yes?"
"Won't there come a moment when you sincerely think it's a relief that I'm here?"
"Uh, it’s not exactly a lie! I am truly grateful to the Grand Duke. Of course, Hannah did exaggerate a little, but... no, that’s not the important part right now. Anyway, what I mean is that I am genuinely grateful...."
Fenrir chuckled softly as he watched Presepe rambling incoherently. Presepe, feeling embarrassed belatedly, felt the same way.
She felt like she had put her mind at ease.
At the very least, the Fenrir I saw was...
Since he did not appear as insidious as he did at first, and thus as someone who had to be wary of...
... As she faced Fenrir like that, Presepe did not know.
In the dark, quietly.
Someone's blue eyes shining very quietly.
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