It's been a while since I was able to leisurely stroll through the city.
After the incident involving Miss Aira, I wasn't able to walk around like this. The solemn atmosphere of the city in the dead of the night and the gentle breeze washing over me, sends my heart aflutter. Nothing could be greater than this. Walking around like this in a place which is usually crowded in daytime, yet empty and devoid of people as soon as night falls, is amazing. It's pure bliss for nocturnal people like me.
Obviously, I'm not the only one that's enjoying the night.
There are also other people like me, however, unlike me, they tend to just sit outside their houses and do other things instead.
Though there are only a handful of them in the entire city, they neither bear any ill intent seeing me passing by nor accuse me of anything.
It must have been a common occurrence for them to care for anything. I just hope that things will continue as it is.
After finishing my nightly leisurely stroll, I decided to head back to the estate. Although I'm thrilled to be able to do what I enjoy, overindulgence is bad.
On my way back, I jumped over the estate walls like I usually do. And right after I landed on my feet, the little sound of my landing made me aware of my surroundings. And in that fraction of time, I pulled my head back. As I did so, I could hear their sword hiss as it cuts through the air. And at the same time, I felt a faint gust of wind brush my face. This just proves how close I was to getting my head slashed in two. Fortunately, I avoided a devastating blow that would most likely contribute greatly to my downfall, albeit narrowly.
Having evaded the attack, I jolted back to the wall and forced myself to put some distance between us. The attack caught me by surprise, and fortunately I was able to evade it. However, that's the least of my worries.
Does this person bear me ill will? Was an assassin sent to eliminate me? If so, how can a person infiltrate the estate? Moreover, this person knows that I can't see unless a sound is made. The timing of the attack is just so on point that if I was any slower, that would be the end of me. And considering the sound created by the weapon, it's most likely, almost certainly, a sword.
I'm sure, this person is certainly sent to kill me. The killing intent oozing from this person- no, even from the weapon they're holding is overflowing with killing intent to the point that it's disturbingly creepy.
After putting a distance between us, I expected the assassin to retreat having failed in their assassination attempt. But to my surprise, the assassin charged towards me. Their speed instantly closed the distance between us. Again, another surprising thing one after another.
I wasn't expecting to fight anyone, that's why I didn't bring any weapon with me. And even if there is, I would be able to easily apprehend my attacker with my bare hands. That would most certainly be true to most citizens of the city, however, the assassin attacking me right now doesn't fall in the same category.
This person is trained well, almost too well. If I had a weapon with me, I wouldn't be overwhelmed like this. And since there is the absence of my weapon to consider, there's only one thing left to do.
In order to put up a fight, I retreated into the trees while evading the assassin's attacks. I may not have a weapon, but at least, the assassin wasn't able to land a single attack.
I've already reached the place I wanted to reach. And considering the direction of the assassin's arms, they will surely swing their weapon. CHAK! The sword made that sound the moment it clashed with the hard and thick trunk of the tree beside me. Swords are not made to slash or cut down trees, so it would obviously send back a recoil.
The sword swung back from the direction where it came from. If the assassin wasn't holding their sword firmly, it would have probably flown out of their hands already.
Seeing how I countered their weapon, the assassin leaped back in surprise. However, I didn't let them have time to be composed and proceed with my attack.
SNAP! I didn't retreat into the trees only for the sake of protection from the attacks. Without a single weapon available to me, all that's left is to improvise one of my own with the things available around me. And the trees offer me exactly with the thing I badly needed, it opens a wide and varied arsenal of weapons. The branches could be used as spears, clubs, or a pole. Using the branch's length as an advantage, while also exploiting its durability, I can fight back.
I threw a makeshift spear from a tree branch, and just as I expected, the assassin deflects it with ease despite it's dark out. However, their weakness lies within their eyesight as well. Though human eyes could adjust to their surroundings, it doesn't actually mean they could see in the dark. Making it hard for them to move around as they want. They might be able to make out shapes of things around them, unfortunately, that's all there is to it. I, on the other hand, am able to discern things perfectly using my hearing.
After having lived in total darkness for years inside that dungeon, where a single mistake could cost me my life, I am far more adept in the dark. To me, their weakness is my strength.
That little opening made by the makeshift spear is all that I need. With the assassin disoriented briefly after being caught by surprise, I lunged forward.
I saw them staggering back as if they had lost their footing. It may have been because I decided to take the initiative to force the assassin to swing their sword, forcedly. However, it was already too late as I was ready to deflect their attack before they could put more strength into it. I was a step ahead.
CHAK! I swing my makeshift sword upward with all of my strength. It may only be a tree branch but if I put enough strength into it, it could best even a sword. That is especially true if the opponent is disoriented and wasn't able to gather their strength properly.
And just as I hoped, their sword flew out of their hands. And before the assassin could escape, I grabbed their collar and pushed them hard to the ground, slamming them heavily to erase any thoughts of escaping. And in the event of committing suicide, I immediately place the makeshift sword between their teeth, using it as some sort of gag to keep them from biting their tongue off.
After successfully pinning the assassin to the ground, I proceed with my interrogation.
"Who sent you?"
"Mfff….. Mfffff.."
All I could hear was their muffled voice. I couldn't understand a single thing at all.
Should I take the branch off? What if they bite their tongue off then I wouldn't be able to find out who sent them.
While contemplating on what to do, I felt the assassin tapping my shoulders. Only then that I realized that the assassin wasn't exerting any force to fight back.
Have they given up?
In order to find out, I reluctantly removed the tree branch from their mouth. And right after I did so, a familiar voice reached my ears.
"Wow… you don't hold back… even when fighting a woman… Do you?"
My eyes usually shut under the blindfold, opened wide along with my gaping mouth.
Now that things have calmed down, I realized that the person, the assassin, that was trying to kill me is a woman. And right now, I'm on top of that woman. And that woman is none other than my senior's wife, Madam Mylene Valter!
I immediately jumped back, losing my composure because of the sudden realization.
Due to the intensity of the situation, I overlooked the bodily features of the person attacking me. My head was filled with thoughts of defeating the assassin that all other unnecessary thoughts flew straight out of my mind. I immediately bow my head.
"I apologize!"
"What are you apologizing for?" Madam Mylene got up, "I was the one who attacked you first, didn't I?" and patted the dust and earth from her clothes.
She's got a point. But still, I was also at fault for not being able to recognize the person before me.
Although it hadn't been long since we got acquainted with each other, with only the fact that she's my senior's wife should have clicked something in my head. However, my instincts override all the other things in the face of danger. Somehow, I was at a terrible loss.
After that small blunder, I only responded to her barrage of questions with little and minimum words. I still couldn't wrap my head around why Madam Mylene would ever want to do something as reckless as this. Or maybe she had already stated her reason, however, since I'm still out of it, I may have overlooked it and went on autopilot for a while.
It was only after we were making our way towards the garden that I was able to snap out of it. I couldn't remember why we were going to such a place in the middle of the night, but right after she spoke a few words, I was able to determine the reason.
"It seems like you and I are not so different in this aspect. I did not expect to find a kindred spirit after I returned from my trip," said Madam Mylene, and sat on the grass without any regard to her dignity as the Madam of the Valter family.
Ah, so that's why.
I brought up her status, knowing that people might see her even if it's midnight while she sat on the grass. It was midnight and almost all the people should have already gone to bed, but the chances of her being seen are not zero. However, my worry fell into deaf ears as she just looked at me and brushed it off like it was not a problem to begin with.
"I see… so you are thinking of something like that, huh?" Madam Mylene smiled, and lay on the grass, "Don't be. Most people here in the estate already know about this. And even if they didn't know, who would dare criticize me?"
Right. I guess I was worried over nothing. Isn't she kind of similar to my senior in this aspect?
Well, I can't say for sure. But I can see why they would fit well together.
As I was dreading my blunder from earlier, she brought up the same matter. And I turned stiff, thinking that she might have held a grudge against me. However, I didn't know I was utterly off the mark.
"Your movement was incredible..." Madam Mylene turned over to me, "to be able to move so agilely around, just how sensitive are your ears?"
I could see the outline of her face really well and I could tell that she is excited to hear my response. I didn't understand how it works myself, so I kept the explanation to a minimum.
"I don't know much about it myself. All I know is that I could discern objects around me within a certain range," I told her and added, "I couldn't see colors, though."
"Well, there are things that you gain whenever you lose something," she turned her head away and gazed at the stars, seemingly wondering about something, "I can see why my husband is quite fixated on you. Even after a long time has passed, I could still hear him talk about you. Wondering where you've gone, what you were doing, or how you were doing."
This is the first time I've heard something like this. No one, not even Arnod said something like this.
"Looks like I've troubled my senior for a long time even before we managed to meet again." I scratched my cheeks, disappointed in myself.
"Yes. It is indeed quite troubling to the point that his own daughter would be jealous of someone who might not exist," she then turned back to me, and I could vaguely see the outline of the corner of her lips rise, "Fortunately, you existed. Otherwise, I would have thought that my husband finally lost it,"
That's quite troubling. Is that something you say with a smile on your face?
I just turned my head away, not wanting to meet her eyes even though I couldn't see with my own eyes to begin with. Even though I don't detect any malice from her words, I could tell that there is something that she wants to say but can't bring herself to do it.
As the silence continued, the atmosphere between us grew more and more awkward. I, who is usually silent most of the time, could not come up with any subject to strike up a conversation.
I don't want to touch anything sensitive since I might trigger something I wouldn't want to be a part of, thus making it even harder for me. Not only is striking a conversation difficult, I know next to nothing about her. Despite being my senior's wife, he didn't really talk about her that much. It is as if he is trying to avoid mentioning her that much.
I thought it was strange, and so it led me to believe that they are not on good terms. However, my assumption all changed the moment I saw them interacting with each other.
They don't particularly strike me as a couple whose relationship has drifted away. They both have similar aspects and personality, after all. So, now, being on bad terms is now out of the equation.
Just as I was busying myself, drowning myself in my thoughts. She called out to me in a rather calm manner. And I immediately turned my attention towards her. Based on the sound of her voice, the matter she's about to bring up must be of importance that requires me to be serious as well.
"Jakob…" said Madam Mylene, "... say, is there anyone you're interested in?"
What?
Unable to comprehend what she just said, I tilted my head.
She must have immediately understood what my gesture meant. So, she immediately reiterated her words and made it very clear to me.
Hearing her repeating her question made my head hurt. I wasn't expecting such a trivial question behind her utterly serious voice. I didn't expect something like this at all.
".....Uhm, why would you be interested in that?" I asked, holding my head.
"Well, it's normal for someone your age to be interested in a woman. No- some even started liking someone even before reaching your age."
She really had to emphasize me being strange for not doing the same thing most young nobles do.
Well, it's not that I blame her. It's just that I wasn't used to those kinds of things. As I grew up and spent most of my time hidden from others. Forget about playing with children around my age, I couldn't even take a single step outside our house.
I have been in prison ever since I can remember. And it's all thanks to the contract I inherited from our ancestors that I didn't get to experience what normally a child from a noble family usually experiences. All I could remember vividly is the cold and dusty walls of my room that's separating me and the outsider world.
Yes. All I could do was appreciate the world outside my window, unable to enjoy it like normal people could.
"I'm afraid, I'm not normal like the people my age," I told her, keeping the fact a secret.
When I said those words, she didn't move. The wind that constantly sweeps the grass in the garden makes a rather calm and relaxing sound, enough to show me the world through my ears. And it shows me everything that I need to know about her current expression. She seemed sad.
"I don't know everything that you've gone through and I don't plan to pry on your past. However, right now, you have the chance to experience what you've missed after all those years," said Madam Mylene.
The grass made a series of subtle sounds, telling me that the other party had changed her posture without looking. And right after the sound gave me a clear imagery, Madam Mylene was sitting on the ground.
"You should know that your senior, my husband, wants you to enjoy your life as a young man. Now that you have returned, I now feel a sense of relief. Knowing that my husband will finally have peace of mind," Madam Mylene stood up, "Let's go back. Despite us being night owls, there is a limit on how we stay up all night. Not sleeping well can bring harm to our bodies."
I nod my head as he leads the way back to the mansion. Without speaking to each other, we went our separate ways.
As I lay on my bed, Madam Mylene's words kept repeating in my head. She is the second person, next to my senior, who wants me to enjoy my life.
But how? How should I enjoy my life when all I've ever known was hide in my entire childhood, and hold a weapon after almost losing my life?
I gazed upon my weapon that's leaning against a wall. I wonder when I'll get the answer.