I Wish You Well In Your Next Love, My Love - Chapter 87
Gerard let me go right before I fainted.
All my energy and strength had been used up, so I couldn’t move even a finger. Forcing open my eyes, which were trying to drift shut, I stared at his abdomen.
“Your injury…”
“I’ll treat it with excessive care, so rest. Check it for me after you wake up.”
A large hand covered my eyelids. Before I could refuse, a deep sleep overtook me.
* * *
There is a scene I cannot forget.
Any memory is bound to fade as time passes, so why does the scene from that day only grow clearer?
It was the one I wanted to forget most, but I could not forget it. As if I must not forget it.
Clusters of gray clouds covered the sky. Though the sun had not yet set, the clouds covered it, making the air bleak.
“Should we just run away? Leave everything behind, and go somewhere no one knows us.”
“Behind the building with the green roof, there’s a pier where dozens of oak barrels are stacked. Get on the fishing boat there. I’ll follow right after you, so don’t worry.”
How could I not worry?
In truth, it was nothing particularly difficult, but I was so nervous that it felt as if my heart would leap out of my mouth.
“Did you understand? Answer me.”
At the hand gripping my shoulder, I reluctantly nodded.
Perhaps still uneasy, Gerard tore out a page from the book he had been reading without the slightest hesitation.
[ Bellota Harbor, green roof, oak barrels, fishing boat ]
Over the tiny print of the book, his elegant handwriting was written on top. After even drawing a simple map, Gerard placed the note in my hand.
“You mustn’t forget.”
“Mm.”
I had vaguely imagined it sometimes.
A normal fantasy where I could freely date him and go around with him, without being conscious of anyone’s gaze.
But unlike me, who always stopped at imagination, Gerard had the decisiveness and power to make it concrete and push it forward.
It was something I had always wished for, but once the day actually drew near, unease began to sprout inside me.
Was this really the right thing to do?
Did we have to run away even if it meant deceiving the temple, deceiving Madam Marcella, and furthermore deceiving the people of the empire?
Did our love have that much right?
It was far too difficult and heavy a thing for me, a mere commoner, to bear.
“What are you thinking about.”
Gerard asked as he lifted me under the chin.
“Mm? Nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
Our lips lightly touched, then parted. His steady eyes were persistent, as if piercing through every corner of my thoughts. You were someone who noticed and interpreted even my smallest way of speaking, the sound of my breath, and the temperature of my gaze.
There was no way you wouldn’t know my hesitation.
“It’s just, I’m suddenly a little nervous.”
“There’s nothing difficult about it. There won’t be anything that puts you in danger either.”
“And after we get on the fishing boat?”
“……”
“Is there really anyone in the empire who doesn’t know you? If we’re caught running away, then…”
“The empire is vast, Louize. There are few places like the capital where newspapers are printed every day. There are still many people who think the current Emperor is the previous one.”
“But…”
Gerard took my hand. Whether I was cold or he was hot, the temperatures of our touching hands were starkly different, as if they stood at opposite ends.
“I’m sorry for making you anxious. But, just this once…”
Strength entered our intertwined hands.
“Louize, I don’t want to say this to you, but please endure just one time.”
“……”
“I want to use the rest of my life entirely for you alone.”
His voice trembled as he spoke as if pleading.
It was not because he feared the consequences like I did, or because he was nervous. He was anxious that he might not be able to turn back my uneasy heart.
How could I possibly shake my head at you like this?
“Okay.”
* * *
And then, the day I had promised Gerard arrived.
According to his plan, a false alarm will spread that a monster had appeared at Bellota Harbor.
The civilians living nearby evacuated in a hurry, and the Awakened were dispatched to the scene. Naturally, Gerard was included among them.
