Chapter 54
54. 21 Years Ago (2)
The Seven Families immediately pursued him. Knight Hinton failed to escape and was captured by the Seven Families' soldiers, losing his life.
“Then…”
Klima's suffering began there. That was also when Liene's confusion began to sprout.
“Did Prince Fernand escape? Or did he die with him…?”
-I saw the men who killed my father.
Black said he watched Hinton die before his eyes. Was Hinton planning to help his family escape with Prince Fernand? Was that why he took his second son with him, only to be tracked down and killed by the Kleinfelter Family's soldiers?
“I don’t know. I was at home with my mother at the time.”
“Ah…”
It seemed Knight Hinton couldn't get his whole family to escape. So, he only took his youngest, second son.
“So, what happened next?”
“The Kleinfelters… came. And…”
The Seven Families' rebellion was secretive. They carried out their plan while the King was away hunting. They left the King's body for the beasts to devour. No one knew that the King had been stabbed to death, not killed by a wolf's bite. Those who guarded the King died with him on the spot. Hinton, who alone survived to smuggle Prince Fernand out, became an enemy of the Seven Families. Klima and his mother were supposed to die because of that. But for some reason, Lyndon Kleinfelter spared him. Both his mother and Klima. Klima was, in effect, hiding from the six families excluding the Kleinfelters. In return, Kleinfelter used him as a errand boy to do whatever he wanted. To prevent Klima from disobeying, Kleinfelter hid his mother in his house. His mother was a hostage and collateral.
“What a pitiful life.”
Liene quietly expressed her sincerity. That was why Klima, who had killed thirteen people, didn't seem like a villain. He had fallen into the hands of villains before he became an adult, and he had to act as their hands and feet before he could properly realize what was right and wrong.
“I don’t want to punish someone like that. Especially someone with the name Hinton.”
Hinton had now become a precious name to Liene, like Arsac.
“Th, then…”
A flash of hope flickered in Klima's eyes.
“Y, you’re going to… save my mother?”
“Of course. The Seven Families are the ones who committed the wrong. They should be punished.”
“……”
At those words, Klima closed his mouth. The hope disappeared from his eyes, replaced by conflict and confusion.
“You can trust me. I know your brother.”
“……Yes?”
“He is very important to me. So is his family.”
Klima opened his mouth blankly.
“How… how…? My brother died that day…”
“No. He didn't die. He's alive and back in Nauk. Without knowing that his remaining family is alive.”
Liene thought he might cry again. He looked like he was about to cry, clutching his head as if he couldn't believe it. Liene was going to hug him gently and tell him not to cry, but to go see his brother with a happy, smiling face instead.
“My brother… is dead.”
But Klima didn't cry. He was clutching his head to recall his memories.
“My father killed him. He said that if he was left alive, he would die at the hands of the Seven Families. So, he would kill him himself.”
“No… that’s not true. Your brother is alive. Alive and with me…”
“He dressed him in Prince Fernand's clothes and stabbed him in the heart with a knife. He put the knife in my hand and told me to make his face… unrecognizable. My mother fainted because she couldn't stop my father, and I… I did as my father said to my brother…”
Klima's hands trembled. Liene, who was watching him, was the same. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably.
“His face… blood…”
Lyndon Kleinfelter, who had burst into Knight Hinton's house, saw Klima crying while holding the body of a child of just the right size, dressed in Prince Fernand's clothes, with a ruined face. A bloody knife lay beside him. Klima was out of his mind. Lyndon Kleinfelter realized that he was half-broken. That was why he wanted to use him as a errand boy.
“Then… then… the person who escaped…”
“Is not my brother. My brother is dead.”
“Prince Fernand…”
Liene bit her lip tightly. Otherwise, the sound of her jaw trembling would be too loud and deafening.
-When I left Nauk, my name was Hinton.
That's what it meant… He was saying that he escaped as Knight Hinton's second son. So… that's why I was betrothed to him. When that man was a Prince.
-The person closest to home for me is the Princess.
That literally meant that I was in his home. That man wanted to come back. To where he belonged. Without ruining anything. That's why he said he would forget his revenge. What kind of feeling was that? Liene felt like she could finally understand Black completely.
“Still… my opinion hasn't changed. Knight Hinton saved Prince Fernand, so he is also my benefactor. I will treat you and Knight Hinton's wife as the family of my benefactor. Please let me do so.”
“……? Why is that?”
Klima asked as if it was very strange.
“Because Prince Fernand is my fiancé.”
“Wh, what…?”
Klima's pupils shook wildly. For no reason, her own heart seemed to become uneasy.
“What's wrong?”
“Wh, why…? Why?”
“Lord Tiwakan was Prince Fernand. If not your brother, then that's definitely…”
“The Princess is an Arsak.”
“……?”
An inexplicable chill ran down her spine. Perhaps her heart had been guessing since Klima first mentioned the number 'seven'. Why the Seven Families? There were only six families in Nauk who would commit treason. Kleinfelter, Ellaroiden, Verrey, Cherkes, Armendaris, Rosadel. To make the number seven, one more was needed. The family that benefited the most from the rebellion. The family that became the new ruler of Nauk. The Arsak Family.
“Ah… ah… ahh!”
Liene understood how Klima felt when he clutched his head. She wanted to stop her mind from spinning like crazy. Liene clutched her head with both hands and opened her mouth. A stuffy, suffocating groan escaped, but it sounded like a crazy roar in her head. It was me. The man's enemy. It was me. Not someone else. It was me. The person that man had to kill. It's me…….
* * *
“……”
Liene blinked. In the dark, dry place, she couldn't guess what time it was.
“You’re awake.”
She heard Klima's voice and realized that she had lost consciousness again.
“……”
“I didn’t know what to do… so I just stayed here…”
Klima's small, creeping voice instantly brought back the story they had shared. Fernand. Fernand Gainus. That's that man's name. So, what should I do now…? As Liene remained silent, Klima fidgeted and kept clenching and unclenching his fists. It seemed he had stopped crying now.
“Th, then what now…? Shall I take you back to the castle…?”
It seemed he had given up on living as Kleinfelter's errand boy. It was fortunate, but she only thought so, and felt nothing.
“Why did that man propose to me?”
“……Yes? Yes?”
-I didn't want to be taken away by someone else.
Black in her head answered. Yes, I understand that now. From that man's point of view, it would be right to say that he was being taken away. Nauk, me, and the power I had were all originally his.
“Then he could have just… proposed. He could have just married me and taken the power.”
“……Yes?”
Klima, who was bewildered, pointed at himself with his finger and looked around. But Liene had no intention of looking at him, no matter what he did.
“Why did he act like he wanted me… like that?”
-I wanted to find my home.
Maybe that was true. Maybe it was sincere when he said he forgot his revenge to come back. He could have crushed Nauk at any time. But he didn't.
“Did he just want to come home and rest…? Was he just trying to stay like that?”
“……”
Klima listened silently. It was because he realized belatedly that Liene wasn't talking to him.
“He didn’t lie to me… except for his name.”
The reason he hid his name was the same reason he didn’t lie about anything else.
“That man really didn’t want me to know.”
Because if he had told me his name… he knew I wouldn’t trust him in the end. I would have been anxious about when he would try to cut my throat, and I would have brought in the six families under the guise of keeping Tiwakan in check. Even though I knew it was the same as releasing a viper in my own front yard. Yes. That must be it. Then it all makes sense. Maybe wanting me, treasuring me, and wanting to protect me at all costs is all real. Yes, it must be…
“I’m going back to the castle.”
Liene got up. It was as if she hadn't been listless just a moment ago. Liene stood on her own two feet and looked down at Klima, who was crouched on the floor.
“Everything I said was sincere. I have no intention of punishing you for your sins.”
She didn't have the right to. Not as a Daughter of Arsak who killed the King of the Gainus Family and stole Prince Fernand's crown. …Come to think of it, there was another person who lied. The man who called Black, Hinton. The old beggar in front of the temple. He knew something too. But he lied. For Prince Fernand. A bitter smile appeared. At first, he tried to tell me the truth. The fact that he changed his mind meant that the man intervened in the middle. This will continue to happen in the future. As long as there is something to hide, small lies will continue to arise to conceal it. I did too. I had to keep lying to that man. Maybe that man and I will live like that for the rest of our lives… Liene intended to keep Black's secret. It wasn't because she was afraid of how the six families would react to the return of Prince Fernand. If that's what you want. I will be deceived for the rest of my life. If that's the kind of relationship that can be maintained.
“Stay hidden as you have been. It won’t be long. In the meantime, even if someone else delivers Kleinfelter's orders to you, you don't have to follow them.”
“Th-then… what will happen to my mother…”
“I will take care of that. Once Mrs. Hinton's safety is secured, I will somehow let you know. I will leave the subsequent choice to you. If you want, you can leave Nauk, or if you want to stay, I will give you a new identity with a new name. I will make sure that no one knows your name is Hinton.”
“But… is that okay? I… I’m so… I have so many sins…”
“I will take on those sins. They are sins that would not have been committed in the first place if it weren't for the Arsak Family.”
Once she made a decision, her mind worked surprisingly calmly.
“Tell me the way back to the castle. I will go alone.”
“I need to guide you. The path is dark and like a maze…”
“Is that so.”
Still, exposing Klima near the castle was too dangerous.
“Tell me in detail so I can find my way. That's better. The Sectarian never received Kleinfelter's orders, and therefore never kidnapped me.”
“It’s dangerous if you get lost. This place is…”
“That is also my responsibility.”
As the old beggar said, the Daughter of Arsak may not bleed. But instead, she had to bear a great many sins. With a heavy, sunken face, Liene learned the way back to the castle.
