- Episode 12
About Dominic
Anton, who had laid a hand on Adelheid, went back as if nothing had happened.
Adelheid sat slumped over, her hair disheveled, staring blankly.
The hem of the clothes was all crumpled, and the legs, scraped against the floor, were covered in scratches.
Dominic looked at her with confused eyes. Why. Why.
The world says that the King fell in love at first sight with a member of the enemy royal family, bestowed a beautiful palace upon her... and cherished her so much that he never even showed her to the world...
But what was it that he saw with his own eyes? It was distant, as if cut by a knife.
His head felt like it was on fire, so he put the thought aside for now.
Dominic hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand to Adelheid. However, she just stared at his hand for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
"Dying."
The words stopped.
"...I almost died."
"..."
"I almost died."
After calmly concluding that, she got up on her own.
Dominic stared intently at Adelheid's face as if to find something, then withdrew his outstretched hand.
Dominic did not visit the study again after that day. The King said he would summon him soon.
Until then, I had to avoid doing anything that could be held against me. That was the only way I would return safely. Even as he thought this, a heavy, bleak feeling settled in his chest.
And one night.
A slightly cool night. A moonlit night. A silent night.
Dominic visited the study as if possessed for no reason.
Standing still, holding back all footsteps and breathing stood before the door. However, he could not enter because she was inside.
The gasping sobs flowing from the study, as if to prove their existence, held his feet captive and prevented him from moving.
He couldn't move an inch, as if he were completely buried by that sound. He can neither go in nor go back.
Dominic stood there quietly, listening to the crying that continued for a long time. Until the moon waned and the dawn broke.
So the lines drawn by reason became blurred and entangled; invisible tears felt as though a bell had fallen on his chest, leaving a deep mark.
By the time the sobbing subsided, there was no one at the door.
A few days passed. The sounds of that night lingered in Dominic's ears.
The sight he couldn't see inside lingered in his memory.
It neither left nor faded away at all. So Dominic waited for Adelheid in the study.
But she didn't come. The next day, too... He waited. She didn't come. He waited. She didn't come. Then she came.
"Your Highness."
Adelheid's shoulders twitched.
Dominic stared intently at her, who was almost completely submerged in darkness. Adelheid remained silent for a moment, then smiled and spoke.
"It's been a while. Did I disturb you? Ah... this feels familiar."
"..."
"I'll leave this time."
“...Your Highness.”
He had so many things he wanted to ask when they met, but when it actually came time, he was speechless.
Dominic managed to pull out one of the words he had barely thought of.
"Aren't you leaving the palace...?"
Adelheid seemed to hesitate for a moment, then answered neatly.
"Yes."
“Is it voluntary?”
“Do you want to sleep?”
A beautiful, splendid, and luxurious palace. He thought he was someone who grew up lovingly and was pampered inside such a palace.
One who is ignorant of the world and of people. One who is self-centered. One who is humiliated.
" It's just a joke, so there's no need to take it so seriously."
“Your Highness.”
However, nothing became known.
“Does His Majesty... love Your Highness?”
***
"Sir. I will call you in soon, so stay on standby. I feel it is a waste to let such talent rot here."
Dominic had a lot of things to do.
'...We will always be here. We will be waiting.'
There were knights waiting for Dominic, and there were things Dominic had to protect.
Even before the war, many knights, nobles who were also knights, and public forces who enjoyed popular support respected and followed him.
After the war, he became a symbol of knighthood. When he returned with the dragon's heart, all the people of Genomes chanted his name.
Because he was the first slayer in a thousand years and a war hero.
'I almost died... I nearly died.'
In just a little while, the King will call him.
To his original place. To where he belongs. To where the people waiting for him are.
"'The Art of Love' talks about several elements of love... I don't know this kind of way of loving. So, that is for you to decide, Captain. But it doesn't matter anymore.'
Therefore, you must not give any room to offend the King or get on his bad side.
He must not follow in the footsteps of the previous escorts. Dominic had to return honorably.
'The Captain is a hero of the times. A great knight has his own duty.'
Dominic had his own work.
Even in the study, he asked Adelheid one last time.
Whether she will not leave the palace, whether it is of her own free will, or whether His Majesty truly loves you—perhaps he know the answer.
However, he wanted to hear the answer directly from her.
Adelheid avoided answering. 'But it doesn't matter now.' And she cut Dominic off like a knife. That was it.
He thought it was actually for the best. Dominic worked like before. She didn't try to strike up a conversation, nor did she invite him to eat together; she just stayed holed up in her room or study.
It was something Dominic had hoped for someday.
***
When Anton arrived, Adelheid greeted him with a smile as if nothing had happened.
Anton also acted as if nothing had happened. Dominic was bewildered.
Adelheid. Isn't it humiliating?
Is it really nothing? Even after being treated like that, is it really okay? However, he couldn't ask.
He will return to the Knights Order without any trouble.
After the King left the palace, Adelheid came to find Dominic.
She sat in a chair and calmly greeted him.
Dominic didn't know how to respond, so he ended up just nodding his head.
Adelheid, who had been gazing into the distance for a moment, was about to bend over out of habit, but paused.
The flowers that had been growing sparsely around the table were all broken off. She straightened her back with an expressionless face.
Without realizing it, Dominic picked a flower at his feet and handed it to Adelheid.
She blinked in surprise and stared intently at Dominic. Their gazes met in the air.
Just as things were about to get a little awkward, a careful hand took the flower.
"...Thank you."
Adelheid smiled shyly, as if she were sad. It was not the smile usually seen.
She had a face that fit the world's definition of beauty.
Dominic also acknowledged that fact, but he had never truly felt it himself.
She was insensitive to beauty to begin with. However, now. Dominic thought that the sight of her lowering her eyes and smiling faintly was beautiful.
Adelheid did not break the flower stem but just gazed at it quietly. After a brief silence, she opened her mouth.
"Captain, which family are you from? I don't know because your surname follows the Knights' Order."
Dominic was momentarily flustered by her speaking to him and forgot what to say.
He wanted to guess her ulterior motive, but Adelheid merely smiled gently as usual.
“...I am Gerbok.”
"What does the Captain's mother do?"
"She was a lady-in-waiting to the late King."
"Ah, the late King's."
Adelheid covered her mouth with one hand out of habit, as if deep in thought. Her long eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyes.
“Why do you think His Majesty sent the Captain here? The first Slayer in a thousand years.”
“...I don’t know.”
"Why? Did you just follow orders? The Captain is a bundle of contradictions. To me, you said it was humiliating because it wasn't thought out, yet you yourself aren't thinking about that order. Whether it is the right order, whether it is a just order... It is perfectly natural to question the things around you."
"What do you want to say?"
Clear blue eyes reflected Dominic. Adelheid parted her lips and hesitated for a long time, appearing as if she were about to say something but not quite.
Dominic waited silently for what she would say next. Finally, she spoke.
"......Please give me just one dagger."
As Dominic narrowed his eyes as if he couldn't understand, Adelheid spoke again.
“Please give me a dagger. You carry a few daggers around, don't you? Don't you have any?”
"There is... but..."
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