Became the Escort Knight of the Villain in the Romance Novel

16 – Festival (6)

The fireworks that colored the sky fade.

Shadows once again cover the sky that used to be colorful,

The starlight leaking through the cracks in the shadows began to quietly reveal itself.

The fireworks in the magical world were much more beautiful than I thought,

I couldn’t take my eyes off the flashy fireworks I saw earlier because they were in my eyes.

It was a scene that captured my heart so tightly that I wondered if I could see the flame again in the darkness of those closed eyes.

However, that splendor is gone, and what remains is a rather large emptiness.

I gently closed my eyes, then opened them and let out a sigh.

I was worried that I might have asked Irene to go to the festival.

It was just to put down the heavy burden that was piled up in her heart, and to encourage her mind to be at peace for a while.

After coming here, Irene’s expression was obviously a shadow.

She seemed far from the light.

Just like when the sun rises she stands opposite it, she always feared herself under the dark. As if he thought he was different from that brightness.

Looking at Irene, who didn’t say anything or answer anything, I realized that she frowned whenever the people around her laughed.

I didn’t make that expression because I didn’t like it or because I was annoyed.

As if such people are uncomfortable, they are instinctively reluctant, like oil mixed with water.

It seems that I have a vague idea of why that expression came out, so even if I laughed, I wasn’t laughing.

I just laughed because I was afraid that if I frowned, the gloomy atmosphere would completely subside.

As I took a deep breath, a cool breeze blew through my nose and filled my lungs.

Even so, as I let out a heavy breath from the stuffiness that didn’t go away, Irene glanced at me and opened her mouth.

“You don’t look very happy.”

Thanks to someone, I feel a little uncomfortable. However, I couldn’t bear to say that, so I shrugged my shoulders with an effortless smile.

“I feel regretful.”

“……”

“Just, on a better day. I could have gone with a better atmosphere and better memories.”

The fact that I couldn’t do that only felt regretful to me. Could it be her own fault for thinking Irene would just enjoy this festival?

Or is it her fault that she saw only the negative in this hotbed of pleasure?

Because I knew it was no one’s fault, the emotion I had was a line of regret.

The regret stemmed from the fact that I spent the last fireworks that can be seen once every five years, probably for this week, in vain.

Shaking her head and smiling bitterly, Irene, who had been looking blankly at me, took her eyes off her and looked at the sky.

“I don’t know if I will get another chance.”

“Yes?”

“I’m talking about coming back the next time the festival is held.”

I couldn’t understand her sudden motive, so I stared blankly into her blue eyes, and Irene calmly opened her mouth.

“If Evan were still there, I wouldn’t think of complicated things like I do now, clear her head, and buy skewers sold by the roadside and eat them.”

“…Yes.”

“Just come out like that, and enjoy it lightly.”

Irene, who was looking at the sky, immediately turned her gaze to me.

Unlike her earlier, she was surprised by her pretty face, and for a moment, she stared at me and opened her mouth.

“So, let go of that expression. If anyone sees it, it looks like a broken heart.”

“…Is my expression that bad?”

“Yes, very much.”

I thought you were laughing. The twisted corner of the mouth was actually not a smile, but rather a funny look.

He pats his lips and lets out a light sigh.

She doesn’t know what caused her sudden change of heart, but should she at least be glad that she’s okay?

There was no longer a shadow on her pale face.

With no worries or worries left, that face looked much better than before, so I smiled and looked up at the sky again.

“Did you see the fireworks?”

“I saw it. The spreading green light was quite beautiful.”

“…Was there a green flame?”

I don’t remember any fireworks like that. When I asked while looking at her, Irene just looked up at the sky without saying anything.

She must have just been mistaken. She must have been distraught, and she might have misunderstood the color of the fireworks floating in the sky.

My green eyes in the mirror suddenly came to mind, but then I shook my head and looked at the sky again.

The sky, with stars instead of fireworks, looked very beautiful nonetheless.

#

“My lady, where have you been?”

With a skewer in one hand and the sleeping Lopena on his back, Sir Chris strode towards us.

Perhaps Loh Pena enjoyed her festivities so well, she seemed to be watching her baby bear as she slept well clinging to her broad shoulders.

“With Evan, I just wandered around.”

“…I want you to say something and leave. No matter how much Evan is there, he is not an official escort knight.”

“Be mindful.”

Sir Chris sighed at the expression of not paying attention at all, looked at me and squinted his eyes.

It’s a scary face, but it’s like that every time you see me these days.

As I shrugged her shoulders, he pointed at the ropena hanging from her shoulder and opened her mouth.

“Carry it up.”

“…Yes.”

Lofena was quite light, probably because of her small stature.

I didn’t feel much weight even though I was on my back, so I don’t know where all that weight goes when I eat sweets every day.

“Are you okay? Even if you move like that with Lopena on your back.”

“It’s light, so it’s okay. Fortunately, Lopena is on the light side.”

Irene looked at me blankly, and soon turned her head and began to move her steps.

Now people seemed to be slowly going home, and some were waving cloths and blowing air to clear the smoke that had risen in the sky.

I guess I’ll have to go back to the duke’s mansion now.

When she thought of her duke, she remembered the stack of papers on her desk, but she shook her head and brushed her thoughts away.

It’s not like I can help with that, but today she just wished she had a break.

I walked around the city all day without looking at anything, so even if I look fine now, I’ll be quite tired later on from the accumulated fatigue.

Again, I didn’t want to see him collapsing while reading documents.

“Go to bed early tonight, and do your work tomorrow morning.”

As I spoke, Irene glanced at me for a moment before opening her mouth.

“You say it very easily. I am the one who handles that.”

“…I’m telling you in case you collapse again. You might catch a cold if you sleep at your desk.”

That’s why I didn’t even cover you with a blanket.

With that added, Irene immediately narrowed her eyes and turned her head away again.

I don’t know what kind of rhythm she has to match. She is a very picky woman even though she is my escort.

As I shook her head, Lopena, who was on her back, groaned and rubbed her cheek against her back.

Are you even talking in your sleep? As she smiled at the soft touch of her back, she heard it, and Pena muttered something and twitched her hand on her shoulder.

Lo Pena did she enjoy the festival in her own way. Perhaps she gave in to Lopena’s complaints, seeing that Sir Chris still had a skewer in her hand.

Contrary to her rugged appearance, she is warm-hearted, and treating Pena with wonder was like treating her own daughter.

Sir Chris, who looked at me for a moment, perhaps feeling me looking at him, raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth.

“What are you staring at?”

“I was just wondering what you did at the festival.”

“What are you doing? Lopena kept whining about what she wanted to eat, so she only spent money for nothing.”

As if she didn’t like it, she distorted her face and smiled at that face.

She wouldn’t even spend the money if she really hated it. She’s mean to me, but strangely kind to Lopena.

As I laughed, Sir Chris, as if he didn’t want to see me like that, started glaring at me fiercely.

Looks like you’re taking out your anger on me again. However, that angry gaze was short-lived, and Sir Chris smiled and turned his head again.

Prick-

Soon, silence spreads all over the place. The silence of the Middle Ages that could not be felt in modern times.

The wind blowing through the streets with no tall buildings or neon signs blocking the stars was cool.

There was no fumes, and there was no scent of tobacco that naturally made me frown.

The scent of the wind blowing from the forest was that of grass, and occasionally a faint fishy smell would tell us that there was a river in that mountain.

The chirping of insects, the rustling of wind in the grass.

There was a strange sense of rhythm to the sound of stepping on the pebbles whenever I stepped on the ground, and it seemed that my heart was calmed by the white noise that passed through the silence.

Of course, I liked the noise of the festival, but this silence wouldn’t be bad either.

After walking for a while, feeling the wind gently enveloping my face, I began to see a huge mansion in the distance.

A mansion painted blue, probably the closest to the sky around here.

When I finally reached the main gate, I saw the captain of the guard,

Recalling the not-so-good memories of the previous experience, I followed Irene, leaving Lopena back in the care of Sir Chris.

She must have noticed that I was by her side. As she was almost close to her, Irene opened her mouth.

“…Are you tired?”

Tired? I don’t know why she suddenly asked such a question, but as soon as I shook her head, Irene stared at me.

As if she had something to say, she pursed her lips, but stopped in front of her own door and let out a sigh.

“…Ha ha.”

“My lady?”

Have you forgotten something? But she didn’t bring anything, so maybe that’s not the reason.

I looked at Irene in her anxiously, then she turned her gaze to me and opened her mouth.

“Now go in and rest.”

“Yes?”

What does that mean?

As I frowned at her, Irene narrowed her eyes disapprovingly and ran her hand over her forehead as she continued.

“…Today, I had a hard time.”

The blue eyes that can be seen through the squinted eyes shimmer for a moment, then hide between the tightly closed eyes.

As if embarrassed.

“I mean, I had a hard time constantly talking to people who didn’t answer, and paying attention to me walking around.”

Did he know what he was like?

On the one hand, her heart was touched by the fact that I did it, so I just stared at her.

She didn’t say anything, until she met my gaze straight at her.

Soon, the closed eyes slowly opened, and now untrembling blue eyes met mine.

“I’m fine-“

When I opened my mouth, Irene firmly cut her off and answered.

“I’m not okay. Don’t make people worry about you. Let’s get some rest now.”

After saying that, she looked at me again with a cold gaze and turned her back toward the door.

She was dumbfounded by her completely changed attitude as if she had finished talking here, but after opening the door and entering it, she looked at me and murmured softly.

“You can go now. Lopena will be back soon.”

Kung-

Then the door closes. Not listening to what I said, I just stared at the door that had been closed so cruelly with a bewildered look.

The lady-in-waiting who passed by occasionally glanced at me, and the gaze was quite stinging.

If this is the case, what are you asking me to do? It was Irene’s heart to go back like this.

I wonder if he’s still looking into those documents. Then I wonder if I will fall asleep again.

Frowning my eyebrows at the sudden concern, I finally knocked on the closed door cautiously.

And after a while, Irene’s voice was heard from beyond the door.

“…I’m going to bed early too. So relax.”

When I heard her voice, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

I felt like I could breathe a little more comfortably now that my stuffy stomach was relieved a little bit.

Her own steps standing in front of the door of her room, however, did not easily fall off, so she smiled bitterly and stared blankly at the door where she was.

-Don’t bother people for nothing, let’s take a break now.”

The words she said, don’t bother me for nothing, strangely lingered in my ears.

Why does that word make me feel better? Is it because her attitude, which was harsh at first, has become docile?

Or was it because Irene was just genuinely happy when she said she cared about me?

The words probably didn’t mean much, but for some reason, it seemed that the languid voice kept hovering around the hallway.

I don’t know why I’m doing this.

She ran her dry hand over her face once, then sighed and moved on.

Maybe it’s because he’s tired.

It was a feeling I would soon forget after taking a nap.

Obviously.