The horse-drawn carriage we were riding in continued through the streets of San Estella. Soon, the carriage passed through the gates of the capital and continued on toward Aston Village.
Along the way to Aston Village, I often found myself daydreaming, looking out the carriage window. I was daydreaming because I was remembering my memories with the villagers of Aston.
Meanwhile, Irene was looking at Rid, who was lost in thought.
"Rid..." Irene said.
Then, as I was lost in thought, someone suddenly grabbed my right hand. I, lost in thought, immediately came to my senses and looked down at my hand. It was Irene. I immediately looked at her.
"Why are you daydreaming, Rid? Are you still thinking about your villagers?" Irene asked.
"Yes. I was daydreaming because I remembered my memories with them. Before I entered this academy, I spent all my time with them. Whether it was hunting, farming, gardening, or whatever else, I shared those activities with the people in my village. After my grandfather died, they all took care of me. But now they're all gone. I still can't believe it, even though I had a chance to see them at the courthouse."
"Now that they're gone, it looks like I'll be alone from now on. I also won't have a place to go back to, because my grandfather's house was destroyed by the people who attacked the village. Even if the village is rebuilt, it will still feel different without them," I said.
I tried to keep my expression normal as I said this, despite my current sadness. After I said that, Irene gripped my hand even tighter.
"You won't be alone, Rid, because you still have many friends at the academy. Even after you graduate, your friends certainly won't forget you. Besides your friends, there's still me. Also, if you don't have a place to go back to after graduation, you can come stay with me at my residence if you want," Irene said.
I fell silent after hearing Irene's words, but after a while, I spoke again.
"You're right, Irene. Even though the people in my village are gone, I still have you and my friends who care about me. Also, regarding your offer to come live at your residence, I thank you for it, Irene. But I won't accept it yet; I'll think about it first," I said.
"It's fine if you still want to think about it, after all, there's still plenty of time until we graduate," Irene said.
"Yes," I said.
Meanwhile, Miss Karina, who had been silent until now, began to speak.
"Oh my, you two are so affectionate. Well, your affection doesn't make me jealous," said Miss Karina.
"Affectionate what, miss? We were just talking normally," I said.
"From your perspective, maybe what you did earlier wasn't affectionate, but from the perspective of anyone else watching you, they would definitely say it was. Well, forget about that for now. Rather than that, I feel relieved to see another side of you, Rid," said Miss Karina.
"Relieved why, miss?" I asked.
"Normally, you seem calm and unworried. Back then, in the courthouse during your trial, you also seemed calm. Even though the outcome could have resulted in a severe sentence, you still managed to remain calm. You always had a happy expression; you never showed the slightest hint of sadness. But now, you seem worried and sad when you talk about your villagers. That shows you're just like everyone else, so I'm relieved to see this other side of you, Rid," said Miss Karina.
"Hmm, I see. If Miss Karina says that, does that mean you hinks I can't feel worried or sad?" I asked.
"Yes, to be honest, I did think that before. I apologize for thinking that way," said Miss Karina.
"There's no need to apologize, miss. Besides, I only think of you that way because I don't know. I can actually feel worried, sad, or anything else, but I never show it to others because I'm afraid they'll worry. That's why I always express myself normally even though my true feelings are the opposite of the expression I show. But I didn't expect you to know that I'm worried and sad, miss. Even though I've been showing a normal expression like usual," I said.
"Your expression may seem normal, as usual, but I can still tell what you're feeling. Well, consider it one of my specialties," said Miss Karina.
"I see. By the way, since you already know that I never show any other expression to avoid worrying others, I hope you won't tell anyone else about this," I said.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. There's no benefit in telling anyone," said Miss Karina.
"Thank you, miss. You too, Irene, please don't tell anyone else," I said.
"Yes," said Irene.
After that, we continued chatting in the carriage, while the carriage continued towards Aston Village.
-
Three hours later.
The carriage we were riding in arrived at the gates of Aston Village. All the buildings in the village had been destroyed by fire. Around the gates, there were also many knights wearing uniforms with peacock emblems. These knights were from the Silver Peacock Army. As soon as we arrived at Aston Village, the horse-drawn carriage stopped, and we dismounted. As soon as we disembarked, several Silver Peacock knights approached us.
"Ms. Principal, Rid Archie, and Princess Irene, what business do you three have here?" asked one of the knights.
"It seems the knight knows about us. I'd expect him to know about Miss Karina and Irene, who are the daughters of a Duke, but I didn't expect him to know about me and call me by name. Could it be that I'm more popular in this kingdom than I thought, that so many people know about me just by looking at me?" I thought.
After that, Miss Karina answered the knights question.
"Actually, I have no personal business in this village. I just came here to accompany Rid. He wanted to visit after receiving news that it had been attacked," said Lady Karina.
"I also came here to accompany Rid, as his girlfriend," said Irene.
"Ah, that's right. Today's newspaper mentioned that Aston Village is Rid Archie's hometown. So, you came here to pay your respects to the villagers who died?" the knight asked.
"Yes, sir. But first, I'd like to ask: have the deceased villagers been buried yet?" I asked.
"They were all buried about an hour ago," the knight said.
"I see. It seems I'm late. Then, could you tell me where they are buried? I'd like to visit their graves," I said.
"They're buried in a cemetery near Aston Village. That cemetery is where Aston villagers usually bury their deceased. Let me take you to the cemetery," the knight said.
"Thank you, sir," I said.
"But before that, I'd like to report to Commander Keira. Commander Keira is currently in the center of Aston Village with Viscount Ivan," the knight said.
"So, Sir Ivan is here too, huh?" I said.
"Yes, he even attended the funeral of the fallen Aston villagers. I'll take you to meet them first," the knight said.
"Yes, sir," I said.
Then the knight and several others walked toward the center of Aston village, while I followed behind them, along with Irene and Miss Karina. After a while, we arrived at the center of Aston village. I noticed there were more knights in and around the village center than at the village gate. Among the many knights, I spotted Commander Keira, whom I had met earlier in the San Minerva city. Commander Keira was talking to a man who didn't appear to be very old, around 30-40 years old. The man was Viscount Ivan Julion Louis, a leader of several villages in the San Minerva region, one of which was Aston Village.
Then, we walked toward Commander Keira and Viscount Ivan, who were chatting. Commander Keira seemed to notice us walking toward her and immediately turned to us.
"Commander, I'm here to see off some guests," said the knight who had escorted us.
"Guests, huh. Ms. principal, Princess Irene, and Rid Archie. I didn't expect to have unexpected guests. What brings you here?" asked Commander Keira.
"I came here simply to accompany Rid, who wanted to visit his village after receiving news that it had been attacked. Since the academy is currently on break, I allowed Rid to go visit his village," said Miss Karina.
"I also came here to accompany Rid," said Irene.
"Hmm, I see. Rid Archie, this is our second meeting after we met in the San Minerva city. At that time, I didn't know who you were, and you probably didn't know who I was either. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Keira Rauch, and I am the commander of the Silver Peacock squad, assigned to guard the southern region of the San Fulgen kingdom. Nice to meet you," said Commander Keira.
"Yes, nice to meet you too, Commander," I said.
"I already knew that Aston Village was your hometown before you became an academy student. I'm sorry for the attack on your village and the deaths of all its residents. I apologize for not knowing your village was under attack. When I received a report from Her Majesty the Queen that she couldn't contact the knighta assigned to deliver supplies to your village, my knights and I immediately rushed to your village. But by the time we arrived, your village was already burned and everyone in it was dead," said Commander Keira.
"It's ok, Commander, you don't need to apologize. I understand that you didn't know my village was under attack, as the San Minerva region is vast. You wouldn't have known right away that something was happening somewhere in San Minerva, just as you wouldn't have known right away that my village was under attack. Even if you had known, you might have been too late to help," I said.
"What you said is true. But I still want to apologize to you," said Commander Keira with a slight bow.
"Very well, I accept your apology, Commander," I said.
After that, Viscount Ivan approached me.
"Long time no see, Rid," Viscount Ivan said.
"Yes, long time no see, Sir Ivan," I said.
I knew Sir Ivan because when I was still living in Aston Village, he often came to Aston Village.
"My condolences for the deaths of all the villagers of Aston, Rid. You were patient and steadfast, Rid," Viscount Ivan said.
"Yes, thank you, Sir," I said.
"And I also want to apologize for not being able to prevent or help Aston Village when it was attacked. I only learned about the attack on Aston Village when I received news that the village had been burned and all the villagers had died. I apologize," Sir Ivan said, bowing slightly.
"You don't need to apologize, Sir. This was not your fault at all. Please raise your head," I said.
"Very well, Rid," Viscount Ivan said.
Viscount Ivan slowly lifted his head.
"By the way, Rid, is one of the reasons you came here to attend the funeral of the villagers?" Viscount Ivan asked.
"Yes, sir. But I've been told that all the villagers have been buried," I said.
"Yes, all the villagers are buried in the cemetery near Aston Village," said Viscount Ivan.
"I'd like to visit their graves, sir," I said.
"Very well, then let me accompany you," said Viscount Ivan.
"I'll come along to see you off," said Commander Keira.
"Thank you, Sir Ivan, Commander Keira," I said.
"Yes. Then, those of you who just escorted Ms. principal, Rid Archie, and Princess Irene, please return. Thank you for escorting them here," said Commander Keira.
"Yes, commander," said the knights who had escorted us here.
"Let's go," said Commander Keira.
Then we walked to the cemetery near Aston Village, to the south of Aston Village. After a short walk, we arrived in front of the Aston Village cemetery. We stopped and looked around. On the other side of the cemetery, there were many new graves, each covered with flowers.
"Those new graves are the graves of Aston villagers who recently died, Rid," said Viscount Ivan.
"Their graves are already covered with flowers. I don't think I need to put any more flowers on them," I said.
After that, I began walking toward the new graves. Meanwhile, I heard footsteps following me from behind. I immediately turned around. It turned out that the people who had accompanied me to the cemetery had also followed me when I went to the new graves.
"I apologize, everyone. I ask that you please not follow me for now. I would like to visit them alone first," I said.
"Ok, Rid," said Miss Karina.
"Are you sure, Rid?" asked Irene.
"Yes. You don't need to worry, Irene," I said.
"Ok then," said Irene.
Then Irene and Miss Karina stopped following me and decided to wait for me where they were. Commander Keira and Viscount Ivan did the same. Then, I continued my walk towards the new graves. After arriving at the new graves, I stopped right in front of them. Then I looked and studied the graves one by one. There were graves inscribed with the names of Uncle Bill, Uncle Dean, Uncle Isaac, Eric, and others. I recognized all the names on the graves.
"Everyone, I'm home. I decided to return to Aston Village to visit you all. Not long ago, some of you came to the courthouse to cheer me on as I was about to face trial. I never thought we'd be separated so soon. I thought I'd see you again, but I never thought our meeting at the courthouse would be our last."
"I want to apologize if I've done anything wrong to you all. I also want to thank you for taking such good care of me after my grandfather's death. Even though we're separated forever, I will never forget you all."
"It's a shame you couldn't see me when I realized my dream of making this world peaceful. I haven't even been able to make changes in this kingdom to show you. Even so, I will continue to strive to make my dream come true. I will make my dream come true for those of you who are already elsewhere."
"Then..." I said, starting to close my eyes.
After that, the air around the cemetery suddenly felt heavy. Miss Karina, Commander Keira, Irene, and Viscount Ivan, who were looking at Rid at the cemetery, were shocked to notice that the air there had begun to change.
"This is..." said Commander Keira.
"This pressure, don't tell me..." said Miss Karina.
The air in the area slowly began to grow heavier, making it difficult for Commander Keira, Miss Karina, Irene, and Viscount Ivan to breathe. The heavy air wasn't just felt around the cemetery; it spread throughout Aston Village, making it difficult for all the knights in Aston Village to breathe.
"This is... the pressure Her Majesty the Queen usually emits when she's angry. Did she come...here?"
"Indeed, but I don't... know if Her Majesty the Queen did this or not," said the knights in Aston Village.
They spoke haltingly, struggling to breathe.
Meanwhile, back at Miss Karina, Commander Keira, Irene, and Viscount Ivan, the four of them seemed to be struggling to breathe.
"This pressure is similar to the aura pressure Her Majesty usually exerts. However, this aura pressure seems different," thought Commander Keira.
"This isn't the aura pressure my sister usually exerts. This aura pressure is stronger than her usual aura pressure, making it difficult for me to breathe. And what's even more surprising is that it's coming from Rid. How can you exert this much aura pressure, Rid?" thought Miss Karina.
"Rid..." said Irene, also struggling to breathe.
The four of them, struggling to breathe, continued to stare at Rid, who was standing in front of the new graves.
Meanwhile, I began to continue my previously delayed sentence.
"...regarding the person who attacked the village and killed you all, you don't need to worry. I will take care of it," I said.
Then I slowly opened my eyes.
"I promise to avenge those who attacked the village and killed you all. I will avenge myself by killing everyone involved in your murders," I said.
-To be continued.