Chapter 169: The Flow of Time (1)

We set off for Stockpin.

I hadn’t seen Ner and Arwin since then.

Our parting had happened so abruptly.

As I headed towards Stockpin, I couldn’t get them out of my mind.

Even when I tried not to think about them, their faces kept appearing.

Since we became a couple, we had never been apart.

No matter what mission we completed, we traveled together.

Their warmth was always within reach.

But now, things were different.

‘Divorce.’

We were completely strangers now.

There was no reason to call each other lightly anymore, nor could we.

No more sharing a bed, no more going on walks together.

We couldn’t even hold hands, or hug each other.

I might never see their faces again in my life.

It was the obvious path I had chosen, and I was used to farewells... but the distance between us felt strangely awkward.

I had no regrets about my choice.

But it wasn’t something I was used to.

Even though I had given a heads-up, the members of the Red Flames seemed to find my divorce awkward as well.

Many of them looked at me, filled with confusion.

I didn’t bother to resolve their confusion.

Resolving it would inevitably mean explaining Ner and Arwin’s actions.

This was a secret I had to carry.

Gale and Sien followed us.

For some reason, it felt natural.

Gale, perhaps worried about me losing Adam Hyung, or my separation from my wife... no, my ex-wives, kept trying to support me.

He even promised to help stabilize the foundation of our newly established family.

Sien, having given up her position as a saint, had nowhere else to go.

I no longer had a reason to push her away.

Though she had relinquished her former status along with her role, having the hero of the human race in our territory wasn’t a bad thing.

...Honestly, I also felt a sense of reliance on her.

I needed someone to lean on after losing everyone.

Sien’s presence didn’t feel awkward.

Maybe because I’d known her since I was 11.

Or maybe because we were closer than anyone else at one time.

I couldn’t say for sure.

Sien seemed to have heard about my divorce belatedly.

Only then did she seem to realize why I had leaned on her a few days ago.

She looked at me with a pained expression from some point on.

As if trying to comfort me, she kept approaching.

As if expressing my pain on my behalf.

Seeing her prioritize my emotions more than anyone else, I felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

Gradually, it seemed like our long relationship was coming back to me.

After a long journey, we finally arrived in Stockpin.

Home at last.

The village was in a festive mood, having heard that I had been granted a title.

“Captain... Captain Berg, congratulations!!”

“So, we’re the citizens of Captain Berg’s territory now?”

“We trust you’ll lead us well!!”

I exchanged light greetings with the villagers, accepting their cheers.

Some people wondered about the absence of Ner and Arwin, but the looks from those around quickly silenced them.

Everyone seemed to implicitly understand what had happened to us.

****

Ner had been falling asleep from exhaustion after crying so much that she eventually found herself in the Blackwood estate.

Her tears had dried up by now.

She felt like she was in a dream, unable to accept the reality.

She couldn’t comprehend that Berg had left her, and she remained frozen in place.

“Waahhhh!”

As the Blackwood family entered their homeland, people erupted in applause.

Ner let the sound of their cheers pass through one ear and out the other as she sat inside the carriage.

At this moment, their words meant nothing to her.

Nothing could move her hardened heart.

As she sat there, her father called out to her from the front.

“...Ner.”

Gibson gently placed his hand on her knee.

When Ner weakly looked up at him, he spoke to her with a pained expression.

“...Listen to the cheers.”

“...”

“...They’re all calling for you.”

At his words, Ner turned her head to look outside.

She listened to the sounds of the citizens.

“Ner! Ner!!”

“Ner Blackwood!!”

“...”

Ner didn’t understand why they were calling her.

It felt like another element making her question if she was dreaming.

Gibson explained to the mildly confused and stoic Ner.

“Since you left for the Red Flames... the public opinion of you has gradually changed.”

“...”

“Everyone understands that it was thanks to you that we could rise again. They’re all grateful to you.”

“...”

Ner recalled the moment when she rode with Berg, being hailed by the crowd.

The cheers she received were because Berg had lifted her up.

The moment she rode beside him on the horse, flowers fluttering around them.

That beautiful moment faintly stirred her heart.

“...”

But soon, even that emotion quieted down.

She felt numb to everything, perhaps because she had cried too much.

She looked down at the floor, dazed.

The longer she remained silent, the clearer the cheers from outside became.

“We’re glad you returned safely, Ner-nim!”

“Now you should find someone new and be happy!”

“Congratulations on your divorce!!”

“Ugh...”

Those words began to shake Ner’s emotions.

Only then did she realize.

She realized it wasn’t that her pain had dulled, but that she had been avoiding it.

She hadn’t accepted that she had parted ways with Berg.

As Ner blinked through her sorrow and anger, Gibson continued to explain.

“They mean no harm. They’re just congratulating you on coming back safely... They were worried about you...”

“...”

The cheers, completely opposite to her feelings, continued endlessly.

“Congratulations on the divorce!”

“Thank you for saving us alone!”

“You’ll never have to sacrifice again!”

- Thud!

Ner covered her ears.

She couldn’t bear to listen to their words any longer.

“...No...”

She muttered to herself.

“...I...I didn’t get divorced...”

Tears flowed again from her swollen eyes, irritated from wiping them so often.

“...Berg will come back...”

She whispered her hope.

“...Berg will come back...”

****

Ten days had passed since arriving in Stockpin.

I didn’t know how time had passed.

Suddenly, I realized ten days had gone by.

Lying still in bed, I looked to my side.

Usually, Ner or Arwin would have been lying there.

“...”

The room was filled with empty silence.

Sunlight streamed through the window.

The white bed sheets, the faint scent lingering. The sound of birds chirping.

In this peaceful room, I gradually furrowed my brow.

I didn’t know how time passed, but the farewell was still hard on me.

No matter which path I chose, it would have only brought pain.

I thought parting from them would be the lesser pain, but it wasn’t painless.

The wound was still vivid.

I shook my head, trying to ignore the pain.

I had things to do.

I got out of bed and headed to the office, just like Adam Hyung used to.

Nothing had changed drastically for me.

I had raised my status and become a noble, but the things around me hadn’t changed.

The house was the same, the area we lived in was the same.

The way the members and the residents treated me was also the same.

This was comfortable for me too.

The only thing that changed was my sense of responsibility.

There was a new territory under my jurisdiction.

It was outside the forest, but it was undoubtedly our territory.

A new task I hadn’t thought of emerged.

I felt even more that this was Adam Hyung’s place.

An obligation that fell on me without any sense of direction.

My capacity was too small to lead.

In such times, Gale’s help was a great strength to me.

As I entered the office, Gale greeted me.

“You’re here, Berg.”

“...You’ve been working since early morning again.”

“Of course, I promised to support you.”

“...”

“...And it’s also my atonement for Adam.”

Gale seemed to blame himself for losing Adam Hyung right in front of him.

During this time, I heard more detailed stories about Hyung from Gale.

Even the names of his siblings and the locations of their graves.

The more I listened, the clearer my goal became to achieve the dreams Adam Hyung couldn’t.

I didn’t know how to change people’s perception of the human race, but I was determined to achieve it.

It was a dream Hyung dedicated his life to. I had the duty to fulfill it as someone he saved.

Thinking about the race... made me wonder if parting with Ner and Arwin might help achieve this dream, though it was a strange thought.

It might have been my excuse to dull the pain of separation.

“...Ha.”

I sighed again as I sat down in the chair.

Gale handed me a document and said.

“Berg. This is the list of people who applied to become your vassals. Take a look.”

“...Vassals?”

“Yes. You’ll need them now.”

“...But I have the members-”

“-The members won’t dress you, carry your luggage, or fill your cup.”

“...”

Was this the life of a noble?

Everything still felt unfamiliar to me.

...Honestly, I didn’t particularly want those things.

But accepting Gale’s words, I took the document.

I couldn’t read perfectly yet, but now I knew more than I didn’t.

Traces of what Arwin taught me remained.

Would I imagine these thoughts every time I saw writing?

“...”

As I was lost in thought, Gale spoke to me.

“Berg. Don’t skip the members’ training.”

I shook off thoughts of Arwin and looked at Gale.

Amidst the significant reduction in the number of mercenaries, he spoke.

As I looked at Gale, he explained.

“Mercenary groups that can’t see the future like Adam did will start to collapse one by one. Some disbanded mercenaries will find proper ways to live, but others won’t be able to give up their habit of wielding swords and will turn to banditry.”

I recalled the mercenary groups I had encountered.

It felt strange to think they would all disappear one by one.

Gale continued.

“And now, it will be your responsibility to catch those criminals. Of course, you could delegate it to Baran.”

“...”

“Besides, strong armed forces will be a strength, so there’s no reason to neglect training and give up that power.”

I nodded.

As I took over the land, I wrote several documents that needed to be prepared.

My mind was filled with recent partings.

Thoughts of Adam Hyung, Ner, and Arwin filled my head.

One by one, they stirred my thoughts and disappeared.

Amidst this, it wasn’t easy to do the unfamiliar paperwork.

How long had I been writing like that?

I looked for more documents to handle.

In the process, I noticed envelopes with various family seals.

“...What is this?”

“Check for yourself.”

- Tear.

I ripped open the envelope with my hand.

Gale clicked his tongue, ready to hand me a letter opener.

“...Seems like you need to change that habit.”

Ignoring Gale’s disappointment, I read through the letters.

It didn’t take long to figure out what they were about.

They were proposals for political marriages.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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