I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me - Chapter 212



212 – The Last Farewell (2)

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The Goldfields estate’s main source of income was extensive agricultural production, including the huge wheat fields that gave it its name.

The commoners mostly lived in wooden houses scattered around huge wheat fields or in small mansions with small fields, and a large market that ran along the edge of the large fields was always full of fresh crops and fruits.

Thanks to the stable climate, the estate and its residents had ample pockets, but as is often the case with estates centered on agriculture, most of the residents had a strong country bumpkin streak that could not be hidden no matter how hard they tried.

I liked those people in the Goldfield Estates.

They may not have been stylish, but they were full of human touch and affection.

The merchants and farmers who always welcomed our family warmly, both before and after becoming nobles.

The noisy atmosphere of a banquet where people from all over the land gathered to play and drink together in the bare wheat fields on the last day of the harvest naturally flowed into my mind.

However, unlike what I had imagined, the scenery outside the carriage that I saw was truly bleak.

Crops left in the vast, unkempt fields were half rotten and the other half had grown too large and withered, leaving the fields in shambles, and the once bustling market streets were now nothing but dust and scattered stalls.

Occasionally, a few corpses, seemingly long dead, would be strewn about the floor or hung ostentatiously from high, crude wooden frames.

Did a group of thieves sweep through?

Or maybe the inhabitants of the territory have become a group of bandits.

As Sister Alice said, this is what the human world has become.

I had already become accustomed to the scenery I had seen while riding in the carriage for the past few days, but when I saw that even my hometown, which I had longed for so much, had changed so miserably, I couldn’t hide the bitterness in my mouth and the crumpled expression on my face.

“…”

After sitting in a rattling carriage for several days, and only in the coachman’s seat, I kept my mouth shut and said nothing, as my back was starting to ache and felt like it would break at any moment.

Pia also looked quite shocked and looked around without saying anything, and Sylvia, who was observing my bewildered expression, also did not say anything out of consideration for me.

“under,”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Sylvia, this is my home. Welcome to my home.

I wanted to say something like that,

I wanted to show off my beautiful goldfield estate,

We were left speechless until the carriage reached the Count’s mansion.

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As we neared the mansion, I pulled the reins of the carriage and steered it sideways.

It was to go to the Count’s graveyard.

It was a suitable place to bury Laila, as Alice had to be buried next to the Count and Countess, and thanks to Alice’s consideration, my parents’ graves were also located there.

Although, there is nothing beneath our parents’ graves.

Soon the carriage stopped in front of a large iron gate blocking the entrance to the cemetery.

On either side of the iron gate were elaborate marble carvings depicting goddesses, but someone had apparently smashed them: one had a head missing, and the other had the entire upper part of its body missing.

I had already heard from Sister Alice that the people were enraged by the fact that the Demon King was alive and had destroyed the Goddess Church, but I never thought that it would have an effect on a rural territory like this.

I got out of the carriage, patted the horse’s head after it had suffered for several days, and slowly approached the iron gate.

Fortunately, the iron door opened fairly smoothly.

“…Sylvia.”

“okay.”

Without even saying anything, Sylvia nodded, opened the back seat of the carriage, and lifted out two large coffins.

She nonchalantly placed a large coffin on each shoulder and followed me into the cemetery without saying a word.

As it was the graveyard of a count’s family that did not have many siblings or relatives for generations, the number of tombstones was not that many.

Maybe a little more than the tombstones in Millwood Village.

Thanks to that, I was able to find my parents’ graves sooner than expected.

I slowly approached the grave and knelt down.

No, it’s more like he collapsed because his legs gave out.

“Mom… Dad…”

After I received the family title of Staff, I was warned to use polite expressions like Mother or Father, but for some reason, the names I used when I was young just came out of my mouth.

I raised my trembling hands and slowly traced my parents’ names engraved on the tombstone with my thumb.

“… came out.”

Unlike the rough gravestones I carved, the smooth marble texture, without the slightest sense of disparity, glides smoothly over my thumb.

The letters that were actually sunken inward had a sharp, eerie texture that contrasted well with the marble texture, and they showed off their presence as blank spaces.

I pushed the fleshy flesh of my thumb into the sharp gap.

I slowly trace their names, as if I were engraving them on my fingers.

“… I’m here… Layla… ugh,”

Hang your head.

There was nothing I could say to make excuses.

What right do you have to make excuses?

What can I say?

I didn’t even dare to open my mouth, but at the same time, no matter what I said, it would be meaningless.

Anyway, the two of you aren’t buried down here.

The tears that I thought would never fall again finally started flowing again.

“… but,”

Suddenly, Sister Alice’s face came to mind.

Finally, before she truly died after fulfilling all her missions, the last words she said to Sister Maria filled my mind.

“I really… did… my best… uh, really…”

I completely understood what Sister Alice felt when she said this to Sister Maria.

Could not stop it, could not protect it.

Because of that, I regretted it countless times, tried hard like crazy, and eventually achieved a result that could be called victory.

But the mistakes I made didn’t go away, the things I ruined didn’t come back, and most of all, my guilt didn’t get any better.

I know, no matter what I do, there’s no turning back.

But, I hope you believe this at least.

I really did my best.

I hoped my parents would understand that at least, and I bowed my head and buried my forehead in the dirt.

That was when.

As I lay on the floor next to me, I heard a sound like something hitting the floor.

I slowly turned my head to the side.

“nice to see you.”

Sylvia was kneeling in front of her parents’ gravestone.

Sylvia lowered her head as if bowing and opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

“My name is Sylvia, and I live with Ash.”

Perhaps because of the tension, her voice was not only trembling but also slightly locked.

After finishing the introduction, Sylvia took a moment to catch her breath, then slowly raised her head and looked straight at the tombstone before continuing.

“I have heard from my son how wonderful you two are. Although I am of humble birth and have no family name, I have received so much love from your wonderful son who resembles you, that I have come to greet you shamelessly so that we can build a happy family together.”

“…Sylvia.”

“I may be lacking in many ways, but I swear in front of you both that I truly love Ash. I will definitely make Ash happy.”

“…”

I was left speechless by Sylvia’s sudden remark.

The words that came out of her mouth were similar to what was usually said when asking for marriage approval among common people, not the nobility.

As Sylvia herself said, it was a very common-sense sentence.

Usually, nobles get into political marriages, so they don’t ask for permission from the other party’s parents like this.

My father, who was a commoner before my sister became a great wizard, may have done something similar to this to my maternal grandfather in order to marry my mother.

If the two of you had met Sylvia in person and heard these words, you would probably have found it cute and even delighted.

Did Sylvia really think that far?

Or maybe he just reacted like a commoner.

Of course, since my parents were already dead, Sylvia’s words were closer to a unilateral notification and declaration than a request for permission.

“… Ha, that’s cool! Sylvia.”

I looked at Sylvia, letting out a hollow laugh.

Her profile, with her lips pursed and her face frozen, looking confidently at the tombstone, was so beautiful.

Her face slowly turned towards me.

As soon as our eyes met, Sylvia’s face, which had been so beautiful and heroic just a moment ago, suddenly changed into that of a shy and cute girl.

“Hehe, I wanted to do something like this.”

“…Why? Isn’t that usually what men do?”

“No, the one who loves more does it. It’s to express gratitude for giving birth to such a wonderful lover.”

“…”

“Hey, don’t even think about saying anything. I love Ash much more than he loves me. No matter how eloquent Ash is, I can’t give in on this one thing.”

Sylvia said so with a grin.

She slowly reached out her hand towards me and wiped my cheek, which was wet with tears.

“I’m serious, Ash.”

“…”

“I’ll make you happy. So don’t cry.”

I nodded.

And then he hugged Sylvia without saying a word.

＊

I knelt down in front of the Count’s grave and paid my respects.

I have told you everything I know about Sister Alice’s activities without leaving out a single one.

I have yet to repay the Count for his kindness, and I don’t know how I can repay Sister Alice’s kindness either. I slowly got up after saying that.

Now it was my job to bury my sisters Layla and Alice.

Sylvia wasn’t there.

As she had been in conflict with her older sister Alice, she seemed uncomfortable standing in front of the Count’s tomb, so she drove the carriage and headed to the mansion first.

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Pia left with Sylvia to tell her where the mansion was.

He must have made room for me.

There was no problem.

Looking at the surroundings, it was obvious that the area around the mansion would be a mess as well, so it might have been better for Sylvia to clean up a bit first.

Besides, the care of the graves was something I had become accustomed to while living in Sylvia’s cabin.

I moved skillfully.

They dug up the dirt, buried the coffin, covered it with dirt again, and tamped the ground.

As my body was badly damaged, it took much more effort than when I built Layla’s tomb before.

Even then, he wasn’t in good health due to the carriage accident, but now he was in an even worse condition.

Every time I exerted myself, I kept coughing dryly.

Although it took a little longer, I was finally able to safely return them to their families.

Laila next to my parents, and my older sister Alice next to the Count.

As he slowly sat down on the floor, wiping the sweat covering his face with his sleeve, a sob burst out involuntarily.

“Oh my… Phew…”

I took a moment to catch my breath and looked at my sister Alice’s grave, which had just been covered next to the Count’s.

Is it because Sylvia isn’t here?

The last image of Sister Alice slowly began to fill my mind.

The last image of her confessing her love to me, with her body and face strangely torn.

The person I love may be Sylvia, but the look on Alice’s face that I saw that day is definitely a sight I will never forget until the day I die.

That mysterious expression that was sad yet happy, and at the same time deeply sad, but also gave off a strange sense of accomplishment and liberation.

A clear favor towards me swirling within it.

That love is so fragile, and that Sister Alice feels so fragile, that I keep looking back at her end.

I muttered with my eyes closed.

“If fate hadn’t twisted, would my wife have been my older sister?”

Of course, no answer came back.

However, a gentle breeze blew from somewhere and passed by, brushing my hair.

“Yeah, that would be great… I think I would be very happy.”

I said, slowly opening my eyes.

It was surprising to see that my hair, blowing in the wind, had grown much longer than when I first entered the forest.

The hair, which had been short enough to reveal the ears, was now just below the earlobes and about the width of a fingertip.

It grew a lot more than I thought.

But even my hair growing that long would be just the smallest change that has happened to me.

“But now I love Sylvia. Even if my sister hadn’t died… I would have chosen Sylvia.”

As I said that, I slowly put my hands together and prayed once more.

Did my sister reunite with the Count?

Will Layla be acting spoiled when she meets her parents again?

If the goddess still sees us, then she certainly will.

The foundations of religion had already collapsed, but I, a lowly human who had no choice but to believe in God, prayed earnestly and then carefully wiped away the dirt that had splattered on the tombstone.

Even though I had to turn over so much dirt, I was able to clean up the area nicely.

After the mansion is somewhat organized, I’ll rest for a few days and then make gravestones for my sisters Layla and Alice.

Fortunately, I had some experience and confidence in making tombstones.

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