Intermission
Zeke walked under the moonlight until the Yohaiden family departed.
Yuri was beside him.
It seemed as though she was determined to pour out all the gratitude she couldn't express in front of others.
"Thank you."
"You can stop now, Yuri Gilbert."
"You called my name. Thank you, Instructor."
"Stop it. Aren't you tired of talking?"
"Ah, are you concerned about my mouth? Thank you."
"It's been an hour already."
"Thank you, brother..."
Suddenly, a strange word slipped into his ear. Zeke frowned.
'...?'
When he turned to look at Yuri, she tilted her head and spoke again.
"Dad?"
"The instructor is neither your brother nor your father."
"But I don't have a family anymore."
"..."
Zeke was troubled.
'I don't understand how a girl's mind works at this age.'
Yuri furrowed her brows and opened her mouth.
"Hmm... I think I prefer brother after all."
'Is she experiencing delusions due to the loss of her family?'
Suddenly, that thought crossed Zeke's mind.
His conscience began to prick him.
In a way, it was Zeke, himself, who had driven away Yuri's family.
Duke Yohaiden, who had been tasked with investigating Count Gilbert at Zeke's request,
had prioritized Yuri's protection above all else.
As soon as the investigation was completed, he submitted all the evidence of the abuse to the Imperial family.
Currently, the investigation was still ongoing, but with clear evidence and testimonies, it was only a matter of time before they were legally separated.
So, it was safe to say that Yuri had now severed ties with her father, Count Gilbert.
Of course, Duke Yohaiden had offered to be her sponsor,
so she could continue to use Gilbert's surname and maintain the same standard of living as before...
'Well, blood ties aren't something you can sever just because you want to.'
No matter how terrible a person might be, family is still family.
No matter how horrible the place she grew up in was, it might be too much for an ordinary girl to overcome all the time she had spent there.
"Yuri."
"Yes, brother."
"Do you resent me?"
"...I've been thanking you since earlier..."
Zeke stared intently into Yuri's eyes.
He wondered if her compulsive expressions of gratitude and her calling him 'dad' or 'brother' were perhaps due to a sense of loss she wasn't even aware of.
"Ultimately, it was me who took your family away from you. Because of me, you're alone now. If you resent me, you can be honest. I'll take responsibility for it."
Yuri slightly turned her head away from Zeke's gaze, avoiding his eyes.
She seemed to be fine with looking at him, but not with him looking back at her.
"To be honest... I want to tell you to take responsibility right now..."
Yuri quietly spoke, scraping the ground with her foot.
"But that would be a lie. I don't want to do that. I truly don't resent you. Even if I did, it should be directed at my father, not you..."
Yuri's expression remained unchanged, but her voice was laced with sadness.
"My father... well, Count Gilbert, you see..."
"Hmm."
"He never once called me by my name."
"..."
"Of course, when introducing me to others, he would say, 'This is Yuri Gilbert, my daughter.' But he wasn't really talking to me... So... Do you understand what I mean...?"
Yuri let out a deep sigh.
As expected, she wasn't used to expressing her inner thoughts at length.
But now, Yuri felt like she wanted to pour out everything.
To this man who had taken her side for the first time in her life, to whom she could never express enough gratitude.
"Hmm... Instructor. I... I grew up in the Gilbert family without knowing what family, affection, or warmth were. And I still don't really understand... Instructor. Do you think I'm pitiful?"
"..."
Zeke simply remained silent and looked at her, but Yuri took it as a sign of affirmation and nodded.
"To be honest, until I came to Ramielli Academy, would you believe me if I said I wasn't unhappy...?"
"I thought all the other children grew up like me. That it wasn't that I was unusual, but that everyone lived like this. But when I came to the academy, I realized that wasn't the case, and that's when I became unhappy. But at first, it was okay. I had finally escaped that house, so I thought I could live normally, just like everyone else. I was even a little excited, thinking that I could finally live a proper life. Hmm, I thought that way... But at some point, I realized that the First Prince had taken my father's place."
"Can you imagine how much despair I felt then?"
Yuri poured out her words quickly and awkwardly.
Had she ever spoken so much in her life?
Yuri felt frustrated by her lack of eloquence.
But she had to say this much.
"So, Instructor. No, Zeke, brother. I don't resent you. On the contrary... I'm very, very grateful. Really... I can't say it enough times..."
Yuri finished speaking in a small, thin voice.
'What should I do...? Did I say something unnecessary? What if he thinks I'm a bothersome, strange child...?'
She glanced at Zeke, trying to gauge his reaction.
She had spoken her mind, but she was afraid of how he would respond.
Her fingertips trembled.
Yuri clasped her hands and stared at the ground.
Thud.
A rough hand rested on Yuri's head.
'Ah...'
A comforting touch that warmed her heart.
"You must have been lonely."
"..."
Yuri bit her lip.
"Was it hard?"
"..."
She didn't want to show this side of herself in front of him.
She just wanted to talk calmly and express her gratitude.
"Were you hurt?"
"...Yes."
Tears welled up in Yuri's eyes.
Once they started flowing, they wouldn't stop, streaming down her cheeks and dripping off her chin.
Her trembling body was beyond her control.
I wasn't supposed to be like this.
Emotions and such.
I thought they had become numb.
"Yes... Yes... Yes... I was really lonely, and it was hard... And it hurt... Yes... Hiccup. Sob!"
Suddenly, Yuri wanted to hug Zeke and cry her heart out.
But she didn't want him to hate her, so
she suppressed her urge with the desperate patience she had cultivated over the years.
"Is that so...? Hmm... I'm sorry to add another dependent... But since Duke Yohaiden has decided to be your sponsor... It would be best to ask him to take full responsibility..."
"...What did you just say...? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
Yuri wiped her tears with her fingertips.
"Don't apologize. Yuri. Hmm. Will you come with me?"
Zeke extended his hand to Yuri.
Her eyes fluttered.
Perhaps she had been waiting for this moment so desperately.
So earnestly.
Perhaps all those moments of suffering had been for this very moment.
Such thoughts crossed her mind.
Under the moonlight, the black-haired girl carefully grasped the man's pinky finger.
* * *
Zeke led the way, and Yuri followed, holding onto his pinky finger.
Tear stains still lingered on her face.
'Wh-where are we going...? Is it a suspicious place...? No, that can't be. The instructor wouldn't do that.'
However, Yuri, who had finally escaped the swamp of distrust after so long, couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety.
She followed Zeke, but she didn't know where they were going or what he intended to do.
She forced her feet to move along the dark path.
They arrived at a massive gate.
Beyond it, voices that eased Yuri's anxiety drifted out.
"So, Cliff, why are you out here!?"
"I'm waiting for Zeke. And Flowerbed, shouldn't you be lying down a bit longer?"
"Hmph! I know what you'll do if I leave you alone with the instructor!"
"Why don't you just go to the Yohaiden estate with your dad?"
"We already said our goodbyes before they left!? And stop misunderstanding! This is our house. Why are you still here when you're not even sick anymore? If you're all better, go back to the Eustia estate now!"
"I'll go anywhere if you let me go with Zeke."
"Hmph!!!"
The lively voices of two girls welcomed Zeke.
"Th-this is..."
"Hmm, it's a bit noisy, but it's livable."
Creak—
The gate opened, and Iriel and Selena's gazes turned towards the entrance.
"Instructor! Eh...?"
"Zeke! Uh...?"
The princesses, who were welcoming Zeke back, stopped mid-sentence and widened their eyes at the sight of the girl beside him.
"“Yuri...?””
As their eyes met,
Yuri finally grasped the situation.
Her mind raced.
She grabbed Zeke's entire hand, which she had only been holding by the pinky finger,
and with her other hand, she slightly lifted her skirt and bowed her head.
"Greetings, Princesses. I am Yuri Gilbert, and I will be staying with brother Zeke from now on."
"...Instructor is"
"...Brother...?"
Iriel and Selena exchanged glances.
Black hair and black eyes, just like Zeke.
If they were siblings, it wouldn't be that strange...
'But they have completely different surnames!'
Selena and Iriel narrowed their eyes, demanding an explanation from Zeke, but he had nothing to say.
"Well, get along from now on."
He could only say that much.
"Brother, should we share a room?"
* * *
"Khehehe. Dark Mage-nim. Dark Mage-nim. Dark Mage-niiiiiim!!"
A man with both hands stained crimson with blood was running through the forest path.
Disheveled hair, drool dripping from his mouth, and unfocused eyes.
Once, he was called the leader of the loan shark group, Lust,
but he had abandoned that name long ago.
The one Zeke had sent away to procure magic stones after the clash with the Eustia assassins.
The Dark Mage's subordinate, Teeth of Lost Hope.
Only cruel violence fueled him.
He roamed the mountains, killing the beasts he encountered.
He killed bandits.
He even killed monsters.
Clatter, clatter.
Countless magic stones rolled around in the large pouch tied to his waist.
"Hehehe... If I kill more lives, he'll come find me."
The scene of madness he had witnessed that day was still vivid in his mind.
Teeth wandered, avoiding the eyes of the Empire, searching for places where many monsters, humans, and beasts gathered.
As is often the case with those who evade the Empire's gaze,
they eventually end up in similar places.
Teeth stood before a mountain range.
It was the gathering place of the 'real' Lost Hope members that Zeke had handed over to Eustia and Yohaiden.
The Lyos Mountains.
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