May Every Wound Be Fatal - Chapter 75.2
…Did I just hear something?
Thinking it couldn’t be, she slowly turned around. After all, this was not a place just anyone could enter.
The sound seemed to come from beyond the fountain, from between the pitch-black bushes. And surprisingly, the rustling grew closer.
Someone was approaching.
“…….”
Foolishly, at that moment—though it made no sense—a corner of her heart swelled with the expectation that the owner of the presence might be Elizer. Startled as she was, she hadn’t even thought to scream, simply staring blankly at the bushes. Perhaps it was because she firmly believed this space was safe, even with an unfamiliar presence.
The next moment, someone burst out from the bushes.
“…….”
“…….”
Reyna froze in place and blinked her large eyes several times. The other party, who had come face to face with her immediately upon emerging from the bushes, was the same.
Silence stretched on, and Reyna’s eyes, fixed on the other, slowly narrowed.
A child who appeared to be about six or seven years old. It was too dark to tell whether it was a boy or a girl.
Upon encountering the child, Reyna’s first feeling was naturally disappointment. Next came bewilderment and wariness, and finally, a sense of relief akin to being drained of strength. The child, who had frozen in place as if frightened upon emerging from the bushes and meeting her, didn’t seem particularly threatening.
A lost servant, perhaps.
Reyna’s eyes slowly scanned the child from head to toe.
Soon, she noticed something strange.
The child’s hair, blown by the wind, was long. If it were a servant girl, her hair should have been short. Come to think of it, though the child was in sleepwear, their attire was somewhat different from the servants she had seen so far.
Above all, the child’s hair looked just like—under the moonlight—Elizer’s platinum blonde.
Reyna, momentarily confused, found herself asking.
“…Who are you?”
At that, the child, who had been frozen as if seeing a ghost, flinched in surprise. Then they shifted their feet as if ready to flee at any moment.
“Hey, I—”
Just as Reyna unconsciously took a step toward the child—
“Your Majesty!”
A voice calling for her came from afar.
Startled by the sudden call, Reyna turned around. In the distance, she could see orange lights moving about through the building’s windows, and commotion began. In the meantime, the child moved quickly.
“No…”
By the time Reyna turned her head back, the child had already fled into the dark bushes. She could only stand there, leaning on her cane, watching the child disappear into the distance. All the while, the commotion of those searching for her continued in the distance.
Snapping back to her senses, Reyna called out toward the garden entrance.
“Aileen, I’m here!”
Her gaze remained fixed on the darkness where the child had vanished.
Soon, familiar faces carrying glass lamps flooded into the garden. Aileen supported Reyna, making a fuss.
“Oh my goodness, Your Majesty. How did you come all the way here alone? I thought, I thought you might have again…”
Utterly frightened, she muttered something unintelligible, but Reyna, her mind elsewhere, didn’t notice anything amiss. Her head was filled only with the image of the platinum-haired child.
“Hey, Aileen.”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure I don’t have any children?”
Aileen, who had been on the verge of tears, stammered in confusion.
“Why are you suddenly asking that…”
“It’s just, no matter how I think about it, I can’t believe it…”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
Judging by Aileen’s flustered reaction, she didn’t seem to be lying. If so, perhaps that child really was just a lost servant. But still…
“…Never mind. I suppose I’m just feeling empty.”
Reyna, who had been about to tell Aileen about the child, quickly changed her words. She had a gut feeling that if she did, she might never see the child again.
For some reason, it didn’t seem as though the child had simply wandered in—it felt as though they had come here looking for her. Reyna wanted to meet the child again.
Just then, Aileen grasped Reyna’s hand.
“Oh, pull yourself together, Your Majesty. His Majesty has awakened.”
Reyna, who had been absentmindedly glancing toward the bushes, snapped her head toward Aileen.
“…Is that true?”
“Yes. I was sure he would be waiting for you, so I was about to tell you right away, but when I found your bed empty, I truly…”
Reyna nearly collapsed on the spot in relief. Aileen held her firmly and whispered.
“So for now, let’s hurry inside. The wind is cold.”
Reyna quickly nodded and began to move with Aileen’s support.
Before leaving the garden, she involuntarily looked back once more.
It seemed peaceful, as if no one had ever been there.
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