Norn had been trapped and enslaved for around half a year. Though she received treatment for her wounds, her muscles had deteriorated terribly. She struggled to descend the mountainous path along the rocky hill, and Carlos patiently stood by her. He gradually lent her his hand, and ultimately practically carried her down to Roguebert. Norn was still terrified of men, but Carlos’s gentle tone and mannerisms, along with his thoughtfulness throughout the entire trip, allowed her to trust him quite a bit.
She gazed up at his wrinkly face and neatly trimmed mustache.
“I’m...sorry to trouble you,” she mumbled.
Carlos gently smiled down at her. “This is no trouble at all. And we’re here, my lady.”
Roguebert and the cobalt-blue ocean in the distance stretched before them. The scent of the sea breeze was nostalgic for her, and the cries of the gulls in the distance told her that she was home. She had believed, up until now, that she’d never see this place ever again, and tears welled up within her eyes. As Carlos gently set her down, she managed to slowly but surely walk ahead on her own two feet. Roguebert was bustling with people cleaning up last night’s banquet.
One resident noticed Norn and dropped the wooden box they carried.
“Hey... Are you...Norn?” they asked.
“You are!” another shouted. “Norn! I thought you were kidnapped and gone for good! But you managed to come back!”
At once, people began to crowd around her and shout with joy.
“Norn!” a small voice cried.
Lillia, the daughter of the innkeeper, pushed through the crowd and jumped toward Norn. The little girl wrapped her in a tight embrace, and Norn hugged her back.
“Long time no see, Lillia,” she said.
“Are you okay?!” Lillia cried. “Did people do horrible stuff to you?!”
“Lofus...saved me.”
“That so... Look at you... You’ve lost so much weight.”
Norn couldn’t deny these claims, and Lillia weakened her grip on Norn. The crowd then parted like the waves and made way for a wide-eyed Fol, who stood there in absolute disbelief.
✶✶✶
Norn was Fol’s childhood friend who had been taken away by Clinton’s troops around half a year ago. The monsters became more hostile and had destroyed a fishing ship; Fol, Log, and a host of other young, skilled sailors had left to repair the boat. Clinton’s soldiers took this chance to kidnap Norn. She was the first to be forcibly taken away from her home.
The monsters prevented the town from fishing, and when Roguebert couldn’t pay the unreasonable taxes, the soldiers showed no mercy and began to kidnap girls. When Fol returned with the other sailors and learned of Norn’s disappearance, she obviously became enraged. Fol burst into Clinton’s manor at the port and demanded Norn’s return, making quite the fuss there, but of course, her request was never granted. A few days later, Clinton retaliated by burning some of Roguebert’s houses to the ground.
The message he sent was clear: If Fol tried anything funny, others would have to pay the price, and they’d pay dearly. This threat was more than enough to stop her, and the soldiers continued their violent crimes, aiming for precisely the time when all the young sailors were out at sea. As more women were taken from their homes, Fol could do nothing.
Most of the victims were women and children, and the citizens, fearing for their safety, left Roguebert in droves, decreasing the town’s population. This was hell for Fol, and she could only curse her own powerlessness. Half a year had passed since Norn’s abduction, and Fol was certain that she’d never get to see her friend again; frankly, she’d practically given up on rescuing Norn, but when the girl appeared in front of Fol’s eyes once more, it was as though the world stopped for a moment. The morning after that banquet, Norn had returned.
“N-Norn?” Fol murmured.
Never did she think that she’d say that name again. Norn, in response, smiled with tears in her eyes.
“I’m back, Fol,” she said. “Long time no see.”
Fol slowly approached her friend and touched Norn’s cheeks to make sure that this wasn’t some kind of illusion. Norn’s skin was pale and soft, but she was certainly here. This was no dream or hallucination.
Norn laughed. “What’s with that bandana? You look like a boy. It doesn’t suit you at all.”
She giggled and smiled, just as she’d done half a year ago before her abduction.
Tears streamed from Fol’s eyes.
“Norn!” she cried.
She gently hugged her childhood friend, and Norn reciprocated the embrace.
“Norn!” Fol cried, only able to call out her name. “Norn!”
Again and again, the name left her lips, and Fol broke down like a child. The tears seemed to well up from deep within her soul and showed no signs of stopping. It was as though she were crying for the Faltiana in Lofus’s dream, whose friend had not been saved. Any anger and distrust toward Lightless and Lofus that slumbered deep within her soul was washed away along with her tears.
As Fol continued to wail and cry, Norn gently petted her friend’s head and whispered into her ear.
“You see, Lofus saved me,” Norn revealed.
Fol looked up. “Lofus did?”
“That’s right. Do you know him?”
Fol awkwardly averted her gaze. “Yeah. He’s Roguebert’s savior. He’s a noble, but he isn’t a bad guy.”
“I see... Um, is he perhaps, you know...someone you’re close with?”
Carlos’s earlier claims of making Fol a possible candidate for Lofus’s wife echoed within Norn’s mind. She’d heard it loud and clear.
“H-Huh?!” Fol shouted, clearly panicking. “Why in the— What, did Lofus say something?”
Norn shook her head. “He didn’t say anything like that, but when I was crying, he told me to quit acting spoiled because there was someone back home waiting for my return. He got so angry, and that’s when he mentioned your name.”
“That jerk...”
Fol gave a weary sigh. In truth, after Norn was rescued and given treatment for her wounds from Yusurika, the former slave had at first refused to head back home to Roguebert. She’d cried and claimed that someone as defiled as her couldn’t possibly show her face there anymore. She was afraid of the way people would look at her.
Norn had been stripped of any dignity as a person and even lost any hope of being alive. She didn’t mind dying on the spot as tears streamed down her cheeks, but Lofus neither empathized nor sympathized with these circumstances. Instead of trying to calm her down, he scolded her. His tone was cruel, harsh, and biting, but when he mentioned Fol’s name, Norn oddly regained her will to live. She saw hope in her friend. Had she not been saved here, she would never be able to meet Fol or anyone in Roguebert ever again, and the mere thought of that sent shivers down her spine.
“Lofus is a very nice person,” Norn said. “He saved me, after all.”
“I don’t think he’s nice exactly...” Fol muttered with a straight face.
Norn giggled, but she noticed that the corners of Fol’s eyes were red.
“Fol, your eyes are so red,” Norn said. “Were you crying all night?”
Fol averted her gaze awkwardly. “It’s nothing.”
“What happened? Is it... Is it about Lofus?”
“I said it’s nothing!”
As Log watched the two girls reunite, his eyes grew wide. Had Fol heard their conversation the night prior? Cold sweat ran down his back.
“Fol, about last night...” he started.
But before he could finish, Carlos knelt beside the two ladies.
“I do apologize for barging into your heartfelt reunion,” the butler said.
“You’re the butler...” Fol said, looking a touched surprise.
“Do call me Carlos. You’ve no need for formalities, Lady Faltiana.”
Fol felt awkward for being addressed so politely, but she glanced around at the crowd in search of a certain boy.
“Where’s Lofus?” she asked. “He was gone when I woke up this morning, and now I see that Norn’s back. I just don’t get what happened...”
She frowned as she couldn’t find the boy within the crowd of people.
Carlos kept his head bowed as he quietly said, “My lord...won’t be returning. I doubt that he’ll ever come back to Roguebert.”
“Huh?” Fol asked, her face turning blank.
✶✶✶
Fol ran as fast as she could. She subconsciously channeled her mana into her legs, making her faster than a normal person. Carlos’s words upon her reunion with Norn never left her mind. When she was told that Lofus would never return, it wasn’t loneliness or sadness that struck her heart first—it was wrath. This boy had saved her life, Roguebert, and even her childhood friend Norn, and yet he would never be seen again.
These debts were hefty and impossible for her to repay, but Lofus didn’t even accept a single word of gratitude. Instead, he’d opted to leave without prior notice. Truly, he was selfish and self-centered to no end. Fol, naturally, knew how illogical her feelings were, and pushing these emotions on him was an equally selfish act, especially toward someone who had done so much for her. Even so, she didn’t want to watch him go without ever speaking or meeting with him again.
Norn, perhaps noticing her friend’s predicament, had smiled.
“Go on, Fol,” she had encouraged. “Go to him.”
Just like that, Fol had run. Log and Greig called out to her in the distance, but she didn’t stop; she ran right out of her village and propelled her legs as much as she could, not once pausing to catch breath. She didn’t know where Lofus was headed to, but she was certain that she was somehow headed in the right direction. It was as though she were being guided by some sort of unknown force.
She rushed through the rocky mountain, through the forest, and reached the vast hill that stretched in front of her. A single carriage was clattering along the road, sporting the unmistakable crest of House Lightless—a symbol that Lofus had hammered into her brain. The coachman was the dark-haired female healer who had treated Lofus’s injuries yesterday, Yusurika. There was no mistaking it. Lofus was almost certainly in that carriage.
Fol, overjoyed that she had caught up, huffed and puffed as she once again dashed toward the carriage.
Yusurika noticed this and stood in Fol’s way.
“Halt,” she ordered. “You’re from Roguebert, are you not? Have you any business with the Young Master?”
“I want to speak with Lofus,” Fol said. “Please, let me through.”
The knight frowned and shook her head. “I’m terribly sorry, but he has ordered me not to let anyone through. Unfortunately, I cannot let you pass.”
“Please! I... I haven’t said anything to him. I haven’t even given him a word of thanks.”
Fol bowed respectfully, but Yusurika only sadly looked away.
“I’m very sorry, but I cannot go against my orders,” the knight said. “However, please be assured that I shall relay your words to him.”
Fol wasn’t surprised at being rejected. She took a deep breath, and with renewed resolve, she grabbed the cutlass by her waist, sheath and all. She pointed her covered blade at the knight.
“Then I’m sorry, but I’ll force my way through,” she said.