Chapter 139 - <12>
Time flowed by peacefully.
Lying on the bed assigned to him, Franz stared blankly at the ceiling. Thanks to Anna healing all his injuries, there was no pain. But since a slender knife had pierced both his palms, scars remained.
It would have been cruel to ask Anna, who’d had to stop Jin’s bleeding, for any more healing than that.
When he refused Anna’s offer to erase the scars completely once he’d recovered, telling her he wanted to keep them, she gave him a puzzled look. But she simply nodded with a somber expression and said nothing more.
In truth, Franz hadn't been that badly injured aside from his hands. He'd been kicked in the stomach and promptly lost consciousness, and then the accumulated lack of sleep had caught up with him, leaving him bedridden. Jin, it seemed, had mistakenly believed he’d inflicted significant damage. Franz had scrapes, bruises, and cuts all over his body, but they were all minor.
After that, Jin had gone completely mad. Even after Anna stopped the bleeding and the villagers from Merite were carrying him away, he was muttering something unintelligibly. It was clear to everyone that he wouldn't be able to return to a normal life, let alone his life as a mercenary.
Franz felt he could vaguely understand the terror Jin had experienced. Even he, on the verge of blacking out from pain and blood loss, had been stunned by Ritz’s attack.
How terrifying must it be, to feel your own arms being severed while you're still alive? He couldn't imagine it, nor did he want to.
After a brief questioning of the villagers and cleaning up the scene of the incident, he had run into a sobbing Constanze in front of the memorial hall. It was then that he vaguely remembered his purpose had been to talk with her.
But seeing Constanze weeping with worry, he simply told her he would come to see her again another day, and then he and the others had returned to Ritz’s house in Ciedena. In this state of mind, talking with Constanze was too difficult. He had wanted to have a proper conversation.
She seemed to understand, agreeing to wait.
After dropping them off, Karl had hurried back to Merite. It was a major incident, so he had to handle the aftermath himself.
There was no sign of Ritz, who should have returned first; only Ciela was there, waiting with her head bowed. It seemed Ciela had watched the incident unfold using the spirits, and she apologized profusely, but Anna and Franz apologized in return, saying it was their own fault for trying to go to Merite on their own.
Since then, the three of them had been holed up in one room.
At the foot of Franz’s bed, on the spare bed where Ritz had slept, Anna sat with her knees drawn to her chest. She had buried her face in her knees and was silent and still, Ritz’s blanket, which Edward had thoughtfully draped over her, covering her shoulders. Her hair, which was usually in a braid, was now undone and messy, as if she couldn't even be bothered to comb it.
It was the first time he had ever seen Anna in such a state. Thinking she must have had a terrifying experience, he tried to comfort her, but like Ritz, he couldn't find the right words and just stood there silently. In the end, Anna was the one who ended up showing him consideration.
"It’s not that. I mean, it was scary, but that’s not it. Thank you."
When Anna, whose greatest asset was her cheerfulness in any situation, said that in such a mature tone, she suddenly seemed like an older woman, and he flinched. To be honest, a mature Anna was not his forte. Today, with sorrow hidden in her downcast eyes, she looked especially like a grown woman.
Franz had a vague idea of the cause. It was because Ritz wasn't here. Ritz had said he was going back first, and he hadn't shown his face to the three of them since.
The time was already approaching dusk. Franz sat up and asked Edward, who was sitting on the adjacent bed, flipping through one of Franz’s books.
"Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
"May I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"It’s about Ritz’s swordsmanship…"
"What about it?"
"His movements are far better with a rapier than with that greatsword, aren’t they?"
That was what Franz found strange. He had thought Ritz used that greatsword to his advantage because his strength allowed him to wield it as a form of armor. But seeing his movements this time, a suspicion had arisen that perhaps that wasn't the case.
"…I see. It seems your time in the royal castle has taught you a little about swordsmanship," Edward said, closing his book with a wry smile.
"Ritz has his reasons for using a greatsword. What do you think they are?"
"I don’t know."
"Think, Franz. If you were a swordsman facing Ritz, and he drew that greatsword, what would you think?"
"I would be terrified that he could handle such a weapon."
"Exactly. But what if you didn't know Ritz's true skill, and he was holding a rapier or a sword like mine? What would you do?"
He pictured it. A tall, good-natured, cheerful man, holding a sword and smiling…
"I would probably… charge at him."
"Right. And in that case, to demonstrate his skill, Ritz would have to cut down the enemy before him."
"Ah…"
Until now, he’d thought Ritz was just showing off his strength with the greatsword. But thinking about it this way, perhaps it was the exact opposite.
"It seems you've realized. Yes, he carries the greatsword primarily to crush the enemy's will to fight through sheer intimidation."
"I knew it…"
"Intimidation won't work on a battlefield, but that greatsword is useful for both defense and offense, so there’s no harm in having it. In all other cases, the bluff is effective."
Franz had always complained to Ritz about his “fraudulent bluffs.” But for Ritz, those bluffs were his greatest consideration for his opponents.
"Then, Your Majesty, does that mean Ritz is possibly…"
"Yes. Just as you suspect, his true strength lies in combat that utilizes his speed and agility. When he was on the battlefield with me, his weapons of choice were an ordinary sword and… a dagger."
"…"
"But with those, he kills too much. As an army in a civil war, that might be fine. But mercenaries are hired for even minor disputes. In that case, killing everyone is nothing more than a massacre."
"That's terrifying."
"It is. He always used to say, ‘My skills are suited for an assassin. But I'll never become one.’"
Then Edward sighed.
"Well, I suppose to you all, both he and I are nothing more than mass murderers. This is just an excuse, isn't it?"
"That’s not true, Your Majesty…"
"You want to say it's different? It isn't. It's the same."
Edward stated it flatly, then slowly turned to look at Anna. She still had her face buried in her knees. Confirming this, he let out a small sigh.
"I'm very glad that this country is at peace, you know. But everyone has forgotten that this peace is built upon the dead. The only ones who remember are our generation, who witnessed the war firsthand, and that man, who has carried it for hundreds of years."
Anna flinched. As if speaking to her, or perhaps to Franz, Edward spoke in a gentle tone.
"You see, even on the battlefield, I believe I must continue to carry the deaths of others. It may be impossible to remember each and every individual, but I must carry their deaths and strive to create a better world. That is solely because I was the king, and before that, the crown prince."
Edward declared this with resolve. He had gone to the battlefield prepared to bear that burden.
"If I am called a murderer, I will say yes, I am. I am indeed a killer. But I willingly accept that for the sake of my people. That is my way of life."
Then, letting out a small breath, Edward smiled faintly.
"But Ritz is a man who cannot fight for his country or his people. He always fought for me and his comrades. And after becoming a mercenary, he was probably… fighting to kill himself."
"To kill himself…"
The words were so heavy that Franz sighed.
"‘Unable to become one of the Spirit Tribe, unable to become human, what on earth was I born for?’"
Edward said this quietly. Anna’s shoulders trembled in a great reaction.
"He asked me that once, long ago. Do you think I could answer him?"
"No…"
"Seeing the village of the Spirit Tribe for the first time, I finally understood the depth of his loneliness. He believed he was a tainted thing, that no one would accept him, that he had no place anywhere. That is to say, 'No one acknowledges my existence.' Shasta and I acknowledge him. But we will die and leave Ritz behind. A person cannot live on memories alone."
Anna's shoulders trembled slightly.
"He was always searching for a place to belong, wandering, but in the end, he never found it and became suicidal. Perhaps that's why he wielded a greatsword, seeking more powerful enemies rather than those who would flee from a bluff. In any case, I don't know the real truth."
As he said this quietly, Edward looked at Anna.
"That man, upon meeting you, who has a longer lifespan than a human, had excessive expectations. That's all it is. Didn't Ritz say it? It's not Anna's fault. And he's right. It's his own selfish assumptions and selfish expectations. It's not something you should be so down about."
Edward’s words sounded gentle at first glance, but Franz felt that they were, in fact, pushing Anna away. Franz was not a party to this. So he didn't really understand why Anna was so depressed. But he felt he could read the words, "Don't worry about Ritz anymore," in Edward's statement.
If Franz could understand it, then of course Anna also knew the meaning contained in those words. She slowly lifted her face.
"You’re wrong."
"What is?"
"You're wrong, Ed-san. It’s my fault."
Anna slowly lowered her knees from the bed. Her expression was dark, but she was looking straight at Edward.
"It’s not that Ritz had excessive expectations of me. I… I wanted to be with Ritz. Because I’ll also be alone after everyone dies."
"…Anna."
"I was the one who said it to Ritz. 'Am I not good enough?'"
Biting her lip again, Anna looked down. A tear fell onto her knee.
"'Can't I live with you?' I asked."
He was surprised. From a man's perspective, Anna's words were practically a marriage proposal. But Franz immediately understood that Anna had said it without any such meaning. Ritz would have realized it right away, too.
But Ritz, wanting a place to belong, took her hand.
"Ever since then, Ritz has been protecting me. He was kind and warm like my foster father, and I was so happy. But what made me even happier was when, just sometimes, he would depend on me. Without the ability to use spirits, I’m just a naive, helpless child who doesn't even know her parents… and yet he said he believed in me."
More tears spilled onto her lap.
"And yet I… I pushed Ritz's hand away."
"Anna, you couldn't help it."
Franz might have done the same thing in her position.
"I was scared too. It was overwhelming power."
That's how terrifying he had found Ritz’s overwhelming strength and his unerring, inescapable attacks. He offered this as support, but Anna shook her head violently.
"I could have helped it. Wanting Ritz to trust me more, I just ran off on my own. Ritz didn't want his past known and kept quiet, but I went and uncovered it myself. And then, even though he saved me, I got scared and pushed him away."
Suppressing a sob, Anna continued.
"I'm so selfish. Instead of secretly digging into Ritz’s past, I should have just gotten angry and asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?!’ I did something unforgivable."
In the quiet room, only Anna's suppressed sobs continued in a steady rhythm.
Franz fell silent, not knowing what to say. But it was only in this situation that he first realized it.
I am… a human who will die.
Edward had said you can't live on memories alone. But wasn't it also true that you couldn't live without them?
Ritz, who had lived in solitude, and Anna, who would live a long time from now. They were both important companions who had rescued Franz from the shell of his own making, Saradio. He, who would die and leave both Ritz and Anna behind, thought for the first time if he, as their companion, could leave something for them.
After a while, Anna stood up.
"Do you know where Ritz is?"
Anna asked Edward, her voice thick with tears.
"This time, I don’t know."
"I’ll go look for him. I'll find him… and I'll tell him I'm sorry."
But to this Anna, Edward threw harsh words.
"Stop that."
"Why?"
"Anna, Ritz's loneliness is not something that can be supported by mere companionship. Even we couldn't do it. To accept him, you need a certain resolve."
"…"
"Give him one night. If you give him time, he will return as the usual cheerful, easygoing Ritz Alster. He'll cast aside all his expectations and reliance on you, and just be your companion on your journey. He decided that and asked me for time."
Anna seemed quite shocked by those words. She was speechless, the color completely draining from her face. She forced out a whisper, her lips trembling.
"I don't want that."
"Are you dissatisfied with being companions?"
"I don't know. But… but I don't want that."
"Do you know, Anna? Sometimes it takes another person's entire life to fill one's loneliness. He is, you see, that kind of helpless man. Your lifespan is likely much shorter than Ritz's. Can you give that short time to him? Even if it's a short time for Ritz, for you, it's your entire life."
What Edward was demanding was far too heavy a choice to ask of Anna.
"To a blood-soaked murderer of a man, one that you yourself feared."
He could tell Anna gasped.
"You must not casually say things like 'living together.' To live together means to know everything about the other person and still strive to love and understand them, Anna."
This is heavy, Franz thought. Anna was older than him. She had already lived for thirty years. But considering her appearance, she wasn't at an age to make life-altering decisions. Of course, she wasn't a human who would die in less than a hundred years like Franz, so her way of thinking and her perception of time were different.
But whether it was less than a hundred years or several hundred years, a lifetime was a lifetime. Franz couldn't throw his life away for someone else. He wanted to live freely, without being tied down.
They all fell silent. It felt strange to think that only Ritz himself was unaware of the thoughts of these three people, spending time alone somewhere. It was all about Ritz, after all.
How much time had passed? Outside, it was already getting dark. The long, difficult day that had started in the morning was coming to an end.
"Come now, let's have a meal, take a nice bath, and sleep today. A lot has happened, after all."
Edward, perhaps judging that the time was right, spoke to Anna, who had been completely still and silent for some time. He gently patted her shoulder.
"It's all right. Once he's back to the old Ritz, you'll naturally forget what he was asking of you. It might be a little painful, but he truly trusts you in his heart."
"…"
Anna muttered something.
"What was that?"
"…I don't want that. I really, really don't want that."
"Anna."
"I don't know about life, or a lifetime, or anything like that. And I don't know what Ritz wants from me, or what I can do for him. But I…"
With eyes full of determination, Anna looked at Edward and Franz. Her green eyes shone straight ahead, without a hint of hesitation.
"I want Ritz, too."
With that, Anna opened the door.
"I will absolutely find him. And I won't let him forget the precious time we spent together."
Leaving those words behind, Anna closed the door and left. The light sound of her footsteps paused once downstairs, then the front door opened, and she ran out into the twilight forest.
The two left behind in the room stood frozen in place.
"Hahahahaha."
Suddenly, Edward burst out laughing.
"Your Majesty?"
"Hahaha, well, well, I'm impressed."
Edward was rolling with laughter, as if he couldn't stop. Not understanding what was going on, Franz could only stand there, stunned. After laughing for a while, Edward wiped away the tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes.
"‘I want Ritz.’ That’s a masterpiece. I didn't expect her to come at it like that."
"Your Majesty?"
"It’s Edward. I'm no longer king."
Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he corrected him like that for the first time in a while.
"Um, I don’t understand what you mean…"
"Don't you find it amusing?"
"What is?"
"That girl, you see, she doesn't know how she feels about Ritz herself. Whether he's important as a companion, whether she treats him the same as her foster father, or whether she's in love with him."
"L-Love?!"
That Anna, with Ritz? That was truly unexpected for Franz.
"Even without understanding her own feelings, that girl decided she wouldn't mind giving her life to Ritz. Don't you think that's amazing, Franz?"
"It is amazing, but isn't it too rash?"
"Rash? Or perhaps reckless?"
"But Ritz is going to think of Anna as just an ordinary companion…"
"He certainly intends to."
Edward tried to put on a serious face, but it immediately softened.
"But you know, if Anna throws herself into his arms like that, his resolve will crumble in an instant, and he'll sweep her up in his arms without a second thought."
"…Huh?"
"In the end, he wants Anna so badly he can't stand it."
What a strange turn of events. Ritz having excessive expectations of Anna, wishing to live with Anna… and on top of that, wanting her so badly he can't stand it?
Come to think of it, the two of them had been touching each other more often lately than in the past. Anna was often holding onto the hem of Ritz's clothes, and Ritz had developed a habit of pulling Anna into his arms at every opportunity.
There was some important keyword he was missing, something he didn't know. Edward seemed to finally notice the puzzled Franz and clapped him on the shoulder, laughing.
"Come to think of it, Franz, you hadn't realized, had you?"
"Realized what, exactly?"
"About Ritz."
"Ritz?"
"Think about it. Would a man try to kill another man for laying a hand on a mere companion? Wouldn't just beating him up be enough?"
"Well, I suppose…"
"He even unconsciously said 'my woman.'"
"Now that you mention it…"
"And what's more, he said the man had touched his 'imperial wrath.' Do you know what that means?"
As he was told this cheerfully, Franz finally realized.
"Don't tell me, Ritz…"
"You've finally figured it out. You're just as dense as Anna."
"No way, because, Anna is still a child…"
"Oh? Don't you sometimes sense the mature woman in her too, Franz?"
"But… no way."
"Yes way. The full-grown adult Ritz is seriously in love with the girl named Anna, as a woman."
"…That's ridiculous."
Unable to believe it, he muttered the words unconsciously.
"He's sometimes itching to touch Anna. But it seems he absolutely can't forgive or accept himself for feeling desire for the still-young Anna."
"…You’re lying…"
"I'm not lying. Think about it. He never stays in the same room as Anna, right? On top of that, he seems to get vaguely anxious when you and Anna are in the same room."
"Hah…"
"Well, according to Patty, judging from the girl’s size and figure, her development isn't exactly that of a child. She just looks young because of her baby face. She herself insists she's the equivalent of a sixteen-year-old human. But it's polite to keep that from Ritz."
"Your Majesty…"
"He'll realize it eventually."
If Ritz thinks his own feelings are a crime, just telling him that would probably save him a little. But Franz was not one to say, "Don't you think that's a bit mean?" to Edward.
"Men truly are troublesome creatures, aren't they?"
Edward said this in a strangely enlightened tone. It felt like he was in some bizarre dream. But finally, all of Ritz's past actions, which had felt slightly off, made sense.
"Life is full of surprises, isn't it?"
When he said that with a sigh, Edward winked playfully.
"Isn't it? That's what makes it interesting."
Truly, life is interesting… perhaps.