Chapter 246: All for the Sake of Her Little Sister
[Ruvian’s POV]
"So, how are you feeling now?" Ruvian asked as he glanced at Yerin.
The two of them sat just outside the cave Ruvian had found and turned into a shelter. Beside them, the [Stove Cube] quietly burned beneath a small pot, where the remaining soup continued to simmer.
Yerin let out a slow breath and gently rubbed the back of her neck.
"My head still feels like someone swung a hammer at it, and the rest of me isn’t doing much better."
Ruvian simply nodded.
Yerin looked at him, then lowered her gaze to the wooden bowl resting on her lap. There was something she wanted to ask, yet the words refused to leave her mouth.
Silence settled between them for a while, broken only by the gentle breeze that brushed past them, softly swaying her ash-brown hair.
Only after gathering her courage did Yerin finally speak.
"By the way, Ruvian... did I end up saying anything strange?" she asked, absentmindedly stirring the soup in her bowl.
"I... I heard what Horren and Arlok said while they weren’t themselves. They said a lot of things to me, so I can’t help but wonder..."
She let out a small sigh.
"What did I say to you?"
Since Ruvian was the only one awake when she regained consciousness, she naturally assumed he had been the one who saved the squad from the insidious Voidspawn and its twisted mist.
Which also meant he was probably the one who had heard everything she said while she was under its influence, including the words she had never intended to say aloud.
In fact, looking at him now, she wondered if he had even rested at all, because someone had to stay awake and look after the rest of them.
Ruvian set his wooden bowl aside and shifted into a more comfortable position on a flat rock.
"Honestly, I was pretty busy trying not to get beaten up by the four of you," he said with a faint grin. "It’s surprisingly hard to pay attention to people’s dream talk when they’re all trying to knock your head off at the same time."
Yerin stayed quiet, her fingers tightening slightly around the bowl.
Ruvian scratched his cheek.
"But... I did hear it."
He glanced at her for a moment.
"I heard what you said." (+300PP)
"I see."
Yerin drew in a slow, deep breath, holding it for a second before letting out a long sigh.
"So... what exactly did you hear me say?"
"You called me by someone else’s name." (+400PP)
The bowl in Yerin’s hands stilled, and she slowly raised her eyes to meet his.
"Was it... Rosalin?"
Ruvian simply nodded. (+200PP)
To be honest, Ruvian had been caught off guard as well. From everything he had seen, Yerin was the kind of person who got along with almost everyone, so it was hard to imagine why she would want to fight Rosalin.
What kind of history did those two even share?
And more importantly, what buried feeling had the mist pulled to the surface, enough to make Rosalin appear as the person Yerin wanted to face the most?
Ruvian was curious, that much was true, but if Yerin did not want to talk about it, then that was her choice. If he had been in her place and ended up saying things he never meant to reveal, he would not want someone digging into them either.
Some things were simply better left unspoken.
But to his surprise, Yerin slowly set her bowl down and took another deep breath. "Alright..." she murmured, hesitating for a long moment.
"I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me, or about why I might... have some unresolved feelings toward Rosalin, so I’ll tell you." (+200PP)
"Honestly, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to."
The moment those words left his mouth, Yerin gave his shoulder a firm shove.
"Ow, hey. What was that for?"
"I don’t know," Yerin replied with another sigh. "I just suddenly felt like hitting you."
She glanced at him from the corner of her hazel eye.
"Seriously, Ruvian, are you always this hopeless when it comes to girls? This is the moment where you stop talking, lend me your ear, and listen."
Ruvian rubbed his shoulder, his brows slowly drawing together.
’Huh? How did this become my fault? I was literally trying to make things easier for her.’
He looked at Yerin for a second, then quietly gave up arguing.
’Haaa... women are truly such bizarre creatures. This is why I don’t forward them.’
Ruvian let out a small sigh before giving her a small shrug. "Well, you already bullied me into listening, so go ahead. I’m listening." (+200PP)
A soft chuckle escaped Yerin’s lips.
Then her smile slowly faded, and her eyes settled on the pot of soup quietly simmering over the [Stove Cube], as if searching for the right place to begin.
After a while, she spoke:
"A long time ago, even before I was born, my father, Osric Solder, was the Knight Commander of House Varion."
A small smile found its way onto her face.
"He became the Knight Commander not because he was the strongest swordsman in Averenthia nor because he had won some grand war. It’s just because... he earned people’s respect. A young knight that always stood at the front no matter how dangerous the battlefield became, and never abandoned the people behind him."
"My father was always strict with himself, but never arrogant. He treated every knight under his command fairly, and always listened before giving any orders."
Her eyes softened as old memories surfaced.
"And Lord Varion... Father always spoke highly of him. The two of them grew up together after all, and were the closest of friends since childhood. Even after Lord Varion inherited the house, Father still served beside him, well... that was all he wanted to."
"Despite many offers from other noble houses over the years, higher pay, better titles, and even land of his own.... yet Father turned every one of them down without a second thought. That part, I respected him. My father was truly a shining example to the idea that a man’s loyalty could never be bought."
She smiled to herself.
"And the funniest thing, he actually came out with some good words too about it, saying that ’A promise made with your heart isn’t something you trade for a heavier coin purse.’ So he stayed, year after year, until he became the longest-serving knight House Varion had ever known."
Then, Yerin fell quiet.
For a few seconds, only the soft bubbling from the soup filled the silence.
"...But then Rosalin was born."
Her fingers slowly tightened around the bowl.
"I was still young back then, so everything I’m about to tell you came from Father’s stories."
Ruvian simply nodded and let her continue.
"He said the whole estate changed overnight. The day Rosalin was born should’ve been a day of celebration, but... it wasn’t. When the physicians found out she carried Darberg Syndrome, the news spread through the estate before sunset."
She lowered her eyes.
"Father told me the knights didn’t even know what to say. They had seen that illness before. And because of that... nobody believed she would survive."
Yerin forced out a faint smile, though it barely lasted.
"A newborn carrying that disease..."
She slowly shook her head.
"If that child managed to live, people would call it a miracle."
"...But miracles are funny things." she softly chuckled. "Everyone prays for one, yet deep down, almost nobody believes it’ll actually happen. Even Father thought Rosalin wouldn’t make it."
Her voice became quieter.
"After many discussions, House Varion reached the painful decision to put Rosalin to rest and end her suffering before it could begin. But then, one day, the entire House Varion fell into chaos."
"Rosalin’s older sister — Azphira Varion, had secretly made up her mind to venture the Dead Man Lands alone in search of a cure for her little sister. She hadn’t left yet, but someone discovered her plan before she could, and the whole estate erupted after Lord Varion fought with her about it."
Yerin shook her head with a helpless laugh.
"Honestly, every time I hear that part of the story, it still sounds completely insane," she looked toward the distant forest. "Because... who in their right mind would willingly walk into the Dead Man Lands alone, knowing there was a good chance they would never come back?"
"But the most crazy part; even after Lord Varion forbade her from going, Lady Azphira Varion still chose to venture into the Dead Man Lands—
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[Chapter 246: All for the Sake of Her Little Sister]
Plot Points= 11,400