That day, Leorino awoke before dawn.
He slowly raised himself and stood up, rousing his weakened legs. He had recently recovered enough to be able to walk on his own within the confines of his room.
The wounds in his head and abdomen had closed up. His abdomen ached only occasionally. His chest still throbbed with pain when he moved. He was told the pain would continue for a while longer until the bones were fully set. A thin, curved board was placed around his chest, with bandages holding it tightly in place.
With every passing day, the sky beyond his window took on the dull hue of winter. It was still dark, even though dawn had already broken. As he approached the window, he saw that it was snowing hard enough to obscure his view.
The same snow would be falling in the forest beyond Zweilink.
At that thought, Leorino was suddenly struck by a strange impulse.
He picked up his dressing gown, put it on, and slipped out of the room.
The corridor was cold.
With his atrophied body, he still struggled to walk. Of course, he had not been allowed to leave his room yet. He knew it was irresponsible to sneak out of his room alone in his current state without assistance.
But his heart would not stop screaming that he had to go right now.
Leorino staggered along the freezing corridor.
A few dozen steps outside of his room, he was already out of breath. His broken chest ached, his breathing shallow. His legs had completely wasted away while he was in a coma and were already shaking. His only comfort was that at least it didn’t hurt.
But despite his body’s immediate complaints about its limitations, the urge to go, to move, would not subside.
With his hand against the wall, he managed to move his legs and reach the stairs to the entrance hall.
But with his weakened limbs, descending the stairs felt like a major obstacle.
He made up his mind and sat on the first step. Using his hands, he slid down the steps, one by one.
The bandage wrapped around his hand was slowly growing dirty. Rubbing against the stairs, his buttocks were likely suffering the same fate.
“…Almost there.”
With labored breathing, he encouraged himself.
Why was he doing something so irresponsible? Leorino instinctively understood the reason behind this urge.
I’m coming for you.
Finally, his feet reached the floor leading to the entrance. With nothing to lean on, he crawled forward, moving only on his hands, but still making his way toward the entrance.
Just when he had finally made it halfway down the hall, he heard a cry from behind him.
“Master Leorino?”
He turned around to see a maid carrying a jug, staring in surprise at Leorino dragging himself down the hall.
The brass jug slipped from her hands. It made a horrible noise as it hit the stone floor in the quiet early morning air.
“My lord, you’re still recovering! What are you doing here?!”
It happened just as Leorino was about to make an excuse.
A loud creak suddenly echoed through the hall as the grand doors opened. Powdery snowflakes came flying in through the crack.
“Ah!”
His vision was suddenly tinged with white.
Shielding himself from the snow with his arms, Leorino cast his gaze beyond the door.
The world outside was even more hazy white. In that world of white stood men armed for winter warfare.
As Leorino gazed at the men in surprise, they in turn stared in disbelief at Leorino splayed on the floor.
His eyes met those of the taller man in the center of the group.
“…Leorino?”
The next instant, Leorino resumed his valiant crawl. He struggled forward, relying only on the strength of his arms. His mind screamed at him to move faster, but there was only so much his arms could do.
A large shadow fell in front of him. In an instant, the man closed the distance and knelt in front of Leorino.
The scent of a midwinter forest enveloped Leorino.
Oh…
He was lost for words.
The man also smelled like a wet beast. The thick animal pelt he was wearing was damp with snow.
His damp black hair was a little longer than Leorino remembered, and his cheeks were sharper.
“…Leorino.”
The man removed his gloves. The moment his cold, trembling fingers touched his cheek, Leorino’s whole body exploded with joy.
Truly, he could find no words to express how he felt. Instead, Leorino looked up at the man with all the affection in the world contained in his gaze.
Something dripped at him from above. Remnants of the snow that had dampened the man’s bangs. And then, spilling from his starry-sky eyes, countless tears.
Leorino felt the tears wetting his cheeks. One by one, they soothed his heart.
Finally, he called the man’s name with his entire heart.
“Vi…welcome back.”
Gravis embraced his thin body on impulse and pressed his cold lips to Leorino’s.
“Leorino…”
With his lips, with his fingers, Gravis made sure that he wasn’t dreaming—that Leorino was truly there.
He gently lifted Leorino’s skinny body. He was as light as a twig, but his flesh was warm, his heart pumping fresh blood all over.
A smile bloomed on his gaunt face. The smile that Gravis thought he might never see again was now right in front of him.
Overwhelmed with emotion, his words failed him.
Gravis closed his eyes and embraced the irreplaceable half of his soul.
Leorino resolutely wrapped his arms around the man’s back and hugged him with all the strength he could muster.
The squeeze was painfully feeble. The moment Leorino’s fingers tugged at his cloak, Gravis let out a shuddering exhale from the pit of his stomach and remained motionless, his forehead resting on Leorino’s shoulder.
At long last, the two filled the missing halves of their hearts with each other’s presence.
Everyone left Gravis and Leorino to themselves.
Gravis accepted the hospitality with gratitude.
Still recovering, Leorino could not remain out of bed for long, and Gravis would soon have to return to his command on the front. Although distance was hardly an issue for Gravis, they would be given little to no time together until the war was over.
As Gravis accompanied Leorino to his bedroom, Lucas and Auriano took over reporting on the progress of the war to August. Gravis’s second-in-command, Dirk, was also present.
On Brungwurt’s side, in addition to August, were Lev—the commander of the Autonomous Army—and his son, Josef.
“With the help of Lord Auriano and the Brungwurt Autonomous Army, we were able to defeat the enemy in the forest. On behalf of the general, I would like to offer you my deepest thanks.”
“I am glad my son and my troops were of use to you,” said August. “Auriano, you did well.”
Auriano nodded silently. He still carried a wild air about him from his time in the war, but now that he had returned to the castle, he seemed to be regaining his earnestness and reticence.
“Gdaniraque is a mercenary nation, and each unit is a formidable opponent,” said Lucas. “But faced with a large-scale operation, they were no match for Fanoren and Brungwurt.”
Auriano nodded and continued. “The fact that we had Francoure reinforcements was also a major factor. By attacking from both sides, we were able to take most of the Gdaniraque soldiers as prisoners of war.”
Gdaniraque’s national asset was people. The country was poor, and most of its citizens earned foreign currency through selling their mercenary services. The country would not be able to survive if most of its soldiers were taken captive.
“Will bail negotiations for the prisoners of war be underway?”
“Francoure will represent us in negotiations with Gdaniraque. At the same time, we will inform Zwelf that we and Francoure will jointly take effective control of the area leading up to the Gdaniraque border.”
August breathed a sigh of relief.
The war with Zwelf would continue, but eliminating the threat of Gdaniraque from the enemy’s arsenal was significant. The Brungwurt side of the border had escaped the ravages of war for the time being.
“The next major battlefield, then, will be up in the Baedekers. I presume the mountain troops will take it from here.”
Lucas nodded. “We will leave about a third of our forces at Zweilink to handle the remaining work in cooperation with Francoure. From now on, the majority of our army will be deployed to the northwestern mountains, where I will take command.”