Chapter 60
“It was a foolish decision. There was no need to take her and run, yet my body moved on its own.”
Though I wasn't even capable of protecting her.
Leon let out a hollow laugh, as if mocking himself.
None of the three listening to his story could call his decision foolish.
How could they?
It had been an act born of his own resolve and determination.
As if she had realized something, Aria asked as she listened to his story.
“Perhaps the reason you couldn't call another cleric was…”
“You guessed correctly, Miss Aria. He had the church under his control. He'd given orders to have me, a doppelganger, and Sir Edelis immediately detained if we showed up at a cathedral. Still, if Sir Edelis's condition became truly critical, I was prepared to be captured if necessary to get her treated. As it happened, I was lucky enough to meet you.”
“So that's why you were so desperate.”
Aria could finally understand the doppelganger's extreme behavior.
He touched his shoulder, looking embarrassed.
“I showed you a rather sorry sight.”
Aria glanced at Ashtein before replying.
“If someone precious to me had been hurt, I would've done the same. But I'm curious about something. I'm not an officially recognized cleric, so what made you trust me with her?”
“What ordinary cleric could recognize the complex structure of an ancient curse at a glance?”
“……I hadn't thought of that.”
Aria felt sheepish at how shortsighted she'd been.
Ancient curses were simply beyond the ability of ordinary clerics to lift.
You'd need someone at least on the level of the pope or a cardinal.
For a cleric to immediately recognize the mechanism behind an ancient curse like that, and declare the odds were fifty-fifty?
To the doppelganger, Aria must have seemed like a lifeline from heaven.
Ashtein rubbed his face with a hand.
Having heard the whole story, Ashtein realized Aria had done exactly the right thing.
What if she hadn't saved Edelis Bride?
It was impossible to know what the doppelganger might have done after losing her, but it surely wouldn't have led to anything good.
The Hero gathered his thoughts and asked,
“Do you have any idea who's behind this?”
“They're cautious and meticulous. I haven't even caught a glimpse of their trail. And I don't have anyone I can call on.”
He seemed to have made some effort to investigate.
Ashtein asked again.
“Leon, what do you want to do?”
He shook his head, trying to correct Ashtein.
“Ashtein, I'm not Leon. I'm his doppelganger…”
“Didn't Edelis say the same thing? If your memories, personality, and appearance are identical, then you're simply Leon.”
At that casual remark, the doppelganger—no, Leon—twitched the corner of his mouth.
“Between her and you, does calling a fake a fake give you tongue sores?”
At his self-deprecating remark, Aria looked at Leon.
She repeated a phrase she'd once seen.
“If you're a fake, so what? Does the fact that you were created bother you? Do you think all the feelings you have are wrong? I hope you won't think about it so negatively. Whether we like it or not, we're all shaped by other people and the environments around us. In fact, I hope you'll understand that those desperate feelings are what make you more Leon than anything else.”
It was unusually long for Aria.
She caught her breath and looked at Leon.
As he quietly listened to her long speech, his handsome face twisted horribly.
“……Thank you for trying to comfort me.”
Ashtein had no intention of sitting there watching a man cry, so he asked again.
“So what do you want to do?”
Leon wiped his reddened eyes with the back of his hand.
His blue eyes held a resolute gleam.
“I want to kill every last person who harmed Sir Edelis.”
Emotional.
But most motivations were rooted in emotion.
Ashtein looked at Aria and Azazel.
“I want to help Leon. What about you two?”
Aria answered as if she'd been waiting for him to ask.
“I want to help, too.”
Azazel glanced between them, then pursed her lips.
“We already have a majority. What difference would it make if I objected?”
Ashtein shook his head.
“You don't have to if you don't want to. No one's forcing you.”
“After hearing the whole story, it'd be pretty pathetic to bail now, wouldn't it?”
That was Azazel's roundabout way of agreeing to help.
As they talked, the night grew quite late.
They decided to give Leon and Edelis the three-person room Ashtein's group had reserved.
Even with the curse weakened, Edelis needed to rest.
And Leon must have been exhausted from life on the run.
Leon expressed his deep gratitude.
Azazel grumbled a little, but she meant no harm; that was simply her personality.
Aria said,
“Then we'll have to book another room.”
Ashtein replied,
“Right. I'll go find a suitable room.”
It was an utterly awkward exchange.
As if to escape that awkwardness, Ashtein went down the stairs to ask an employee for a room.
At that moment, Azazel hurried after him and stopped him.
Then she whispered in his ear.
“Hey, I'll sleep alone, so share a room with Big Sis.”
“……What?”
Azazel pointed her thumb at Aria, who was watching them anxiously from over there.
“You need to apologize, idiot.”
Apologize.
Ashtein couldn't think of anything to say against that.
Looking back, he really had overreacted.
“………You're right.”
When he said it with an uncharacteristically dejected air, Azazel's lips curled up and her cheek twitched.
“It's ridiculous that I have to set the stage for you just to apologize. Are you a child?”
“Hearing that from you is a real shock.”
“Maybe that's because you acted like a total moron.”
It was an incredibly blunt remark.
But Ashtein accepted it.
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
“You dumbass.”
Why did Azazel seem so mature when she was clearly hurling low-class insults?
Ashtein decided to say exactly what he was thinking.
“You're so mature, Azazel.”
“Maybe getting dumped by some asshole gave me a lot to think about. Now go book a room.”
She hid her embarrassment and kicked Ashtein in the shin.
Aria, horrified to see Azazel kick Ashtein, rushed over.
“A-Azazel! What are you doing?”
Azazel smiled sweetly and tugged Aria's cheeks.
“You're silly too, Big Sis. Honestly. You can just kick a guy like this to the curb.”
“Oww, s-stop it.”
Ashtein stared blankly at the scene, then walked on.
When he went downstairs, Leon was waiting.
‘There sure are a lot of people who want to talk to me today.’
Ashtein wasn't particularly pleased to see him, having just been chastised by Azazel.
So his words naturally came out rather reluctantly.
“Leon, is there something else you wanted to say?”
He smiled amiably.
It was the usual Leon.
“I can't sleep.”
“Still having trouble sleeping, I see.”
“Would you keep me company for a while?”
“I'm busy too. I've been sent on an errand.”
“An errand?”
“Someone took the room I'd gone to the trouble of reserving.”
“Sorry about that.”
“I wasn't saying it to get an apology, so don't worry about it.”
Leon replied, looking fondly at Ashtein as he waved his hand dismissively.
“Anyway, I won't take up too much of your time.”
“I've never met anyone who kept it short after saying that.”
When Ashtein started to leave, Leon hurriedly spoke up.
“It's about Miss Aria.”
It must have hit the mark, because Ashtein's expression twisted sharply.
His body, which had been turned away, had somehow straightened to face him again.
It was an easy reaction to read.
“What about her?”
“Aren't you worried? Anxious?”
Leon didn't specify what he was worried or anxious about.
He kept it vague and ambiguous.
Even so, Ashtein understood exactly what he meant.
He'd been thinking about it the whole time.
He'd been about to ignore him and leave, but leaned against the wall and answered weakly.
“Yeah. Maybe because it's a new feeling, it's even worse.”
Because he didn't want to lose her like he'd lost his sister.
He didn't want to lose her twice.
And so he found himself trying to restrain her actions too aggressively.
He'd also seen Aria hurt by it.
He hated that.
He should be cherishing her, comforting her, and loving her—and even that wouldn't be enough.
The thought of carving the wounds into her himself made him shudder with disgust.
“I felt the same. I was anxious and worried about Edelis. Of course, I'm talking about my original self.”
Ashtein retorted at Leon's words.
“She's a knight, isn't she? She's perfectly capable of fighting, so what are you worried about?”
“Wouldn't being a knight mean she faces danger more often? Regardless of someone's abilities, it's natural to worry.”
It was an obvious thing to say.
The sort of thing that was utterly obvious and natural.
“Are you going to lecture me?”
“What right do I have to lecture you? I only ask that you not push Miss Aria too hard. Do you know what she said to me when she came along?”
Ashtein watched Leon as if telling him to continue.
‘Honestly, I don't trust you, and I don't like this. But if I turned my back on someone who was hurt for that reason, I wouldn't be able to look anyone in the eye. I don't want that, so I'm going. I want to be able to face that person without shame.’ That's what she said. At the time, I didn't know who that ‘person’ was. Now, I think I do.”
It felt as if he'd been struck by a hammer.
She wanted to be able to face that person without shame.
Those words, that term, those syllables—
They tormented Ashtein.
“………….”
“Why do you look like that, Sir Ashtein?”
Smack.
He slapped himself across the face.
The blow was so forceful that blood burst from his cheek.
Leon watched him calmly, unruffled even by Ashtein's sudden behavior.
Ashtein spoke slowly.
“I was just thinking I'm still an idiot.”
Leon chuckled.
“No one's perfect. We all make mistakes and spend our lives correcting them.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“In all my life, I never thought I'd see the day you thanked me. I guess nothing's as lethal as love.”
“………For someone who can't even say anything halfway decent to Edelis, you've sure got a lot to say.”
“…How is it fair to hit me with the truth like that?”
The two glared at each other with sour expressions, then burst out laughing at the same time.
For some reason, they couldn't help but laugh.
They really were a foolish prince and an idiot hero.
Ashtein rubbed his neck and asked,
“I heard you protected Aria.”
“I merely prevented her from coming to harm while she was accompanying me.”
“That doesn't change the fact that you protected her. Thank you.”
“Are you truly grateful?”
His tone was inscrutable.
“……? Of course I am.”
“Then, Ashtein, could you do me a favor?”
“A favor?”
“Tomorrow morning, take Edelis to my original self.”
The warm atmosphere from a moment ago stiffened at once.
Ashtein frowned.
“Why?”
“I've given some serious thought to what it would be like if I were the original. Fortunately, our thought processes are similar, so it didn't take long to figure it out. In a royal family where he can trust no one, he's lost the one knight he trusted. He must be mired in despair and misery. You've met him, so you know his condition isn't good.”
It was true.
Ashtein neither confirmed nor denied it, but Leon smiled as though he already knew.
“I don't want to fall apart. I doubt anyone would, but being separated like this has only strengthened that feeling.”
“Wouldn't it hurt without Edelis?”
“She told me not to give up. So I don't intend to give up on myself, either.”
He was a strong man.
Not physically, but mentally.
Perhaps even stronger than his original self.
His growth must have been thanks to the presence of Edelis, the knight.
“You might never see her again.”
“If she's safe and well, that's enough for me. Besides, I have you to help me carry out my grand revenge, don't I?”
It was a mischievous smile.
Ashtein looked at him with pity.
“Leon. I should warn you in advance, but a doppelganger's lifespan isn't very…”
“Long?”
“You knew?”
“I had a feeling that was what you were going to say. I was already prepared to die anyway. There's nothing to fear.”
There was a poignant, resolute beauty to someone who had accepted death.
Ashtein quietly said to Leon,
“I'll see your revenge through.”
“Stop. The way you say that makes it sound as though I'm already dead.”
“You're trying to kill yourself, so it's not exactly wrong.”
“I'll take that as you agreeing to my request.”
Ashtein didn't reply and turned around.
Leon walked in the opposite direction.
The two men parted naturally.
Ashtein roughly booked a room with the employee and went upstairs, only for Azazel to ask if he'd gone and built the room himself.
So much for not taking long.
You took fucking forever.