The pond Simon took them to was a large one. It looked more similar to a river rather than a pond. The villagers as well as big and small animals satisfied their thirst by drinking the water from this pond.
In summer, the water level would reduced in half. It was a considerable amount of water. Thus, to Simon, taking them across the pond was an easy task. Moreover, he was stronger than an average boy in his age.
As they sat down on the boat, the boys and girl observed the surroundings silently, immensed in their own thoughts.
After like an eternity, Heidith broke the silence.
"Will it take forever?" His voice was a bit impatient. No, no. A lot impatient.
Derek scoffed but didn't say anything. He decided to treat Simon as air because he couldn't win by arguing with him. Clearly he was angry with this dude.
Simon raised his eyebrows at his question before laughing. "Ha ha, can't you see how BIG this pond is?"
"Exactly. It's abnormally huge!" Mishila agreed right away. "I have never seen a pond as big as this. Isn't it weird?"
"There's a myth regarding this pond," Simon began. "It says this pond was actually a river in the past. It turned into a pond because of a curse."
"A curse?" Suzamine gushed. "Interesting."
"Yeah. Do you want to know the story?" Simon asked enthusiastically.
"No need," Derek rudely replied.
Simon rolled his eyes at him. "What's wrong with you, dude?"
'Dude?' Derek frowned. It was the first time in his life he heard someone address him like that. Not even his good brother called him dude. How disrespectful!
"Don't call me that," He bit out angrily. What a worthless guy! How could this poor boy treat a noble man like him so horribly? He should sentence him to death.
Simon brushed it off as usual as he began telling the story. His melodious voice rang through the air as the water made ripples, adding music to it.
"There was a lady called Cynthia. She was a duke's daughter. But instead of marrying a noble suitor, she eloped with a servant. But her destiny was truly filled with misfortune. That dude was a bad guy. He robbed the jewelleries and other valuable stuff she brought with her before leaving her."
"He left her?" Mishila gasped. "But why did he do that?"
"He didn't love her that's why. All he needed was a title and her wealth. Unexpectedly, her family cut her off of her property as well as her position as a noble lady. As a result, she became worthless to him."
"What a jerk!" Mishila glared at Gronald.
Gronald: "..."
The poor guy was flabbergasted. He wasn't the one who left Cynthia for goodness' sake!
"What happened after that?" Iven asked curiously. "Did she curse him?"
Simon shook his head. "She loved him too much. She couldn't bring herself to curse him. Instead, she chose the river that made them apart to vent her anger and sorrow. After robbing her, that dude took a boat and paddled it across the river, showing her his back."
"She cried and begged him to take her with him but to no avail. She cursed the river to become a pond and died on the spot, heartbroken by love. What a sad story, right?" Simon sighed as he finished the story.
"In the end, the river became a pond. Now everyone addresses it as pond Cynthia."
"This pond is called Cynthia?" Heidith was surprised and not surprised at the same time. "What about Nuciferas? Is there a story to Nuciferas as well?"
Simon pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Actually I don't know. You may ask my dad."
"I see."
Gronald felt bad for the teenager. He had been paddling the boat for more than an hour. As the oldest person there, he thought of carrying the burden from then on.
"Let me," He insisted. Just like that, the boys rode the boat one after another. Of course, Derek didn't take part in it. He didn't let Heidith ride it too. But others didn't mind it.
Simon assumed that Heidith was the leader. It was right for the leader to rest. As for the other dude, he didn't know what was wrong with him. He was so arrogant and unlikable despite his attractive figure.
Five hours later...
"Wow! Look!!!" Mishila exclaimed. "There are Nuciferas! So beautiful!"
She subconsciously extended her hand to pick one up. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and fell into the water.
"Aaah!"
Splash!
She didn't know how to swim. Her hands hit the surface, begging for help.
Without thinking twice, Gronald tried to jump into the water when Simon stopped him.
"You guys don't know how deep this pond is. So let me rescue her instead," He kindly requested.
Heidith also agreed with Simon and forbade him (Gronald) from jumping into the water.
Gronald could do nothing except nodding his head very reluctantly. He knew he shouldn't delay it further by throwing a tantrum. Plus, what Simon said actually made sense.
Simon easily saved the girl and put her on the boat before climbing up himself.
However, Mishila didn't breath. Her face turned pale and her body drenched in water. It was late in the evening and the water was cold. Gronald quickly took off his coat and wrapped it around her body.
His heart was in turmoil. "Why isn't she breathing?" He questioned, panicked.
Heidith put his ear on her chest and tested her heart beat. Fortunately, it was still working.
"Maybe water is blocking her breathing." Heidith lifted the girl into a sitting position before tightly hitting her back.
"Is it working?" Gronald asked anxiously. He was heartbroken to see her being beaten although the purpose was to save her life.
Heidith frowned. Ugh, It didn't work. What should he do?
There was only one way...
Before he could do it, Simon came forward. "Hey, lemme rescue her."
He made her lay down again before pressing her stomach hard. He did it several times but...
Simon wrinkled his forehead. Why wasn't it working?
"There's only one way," Heidith said with a sigh. "Mouth to mouth method."
Gronald lifted his eyebrows. "Mouth to mouth?"
Heidith nodded. "You should seal her mouth using yours before blowing air into her mouth."
"I know you don't know how to do that. Should I do it instead?" Derek asked. "Heidith has already taught me how to do it."
"No need, Thanks," Gronald stubbornly refused before sealing her mouth using his warm lips.
He followed Heidith's instructions and then...
"Cough, cough."
The girl finally opened her eyes, coughing continuously.
Heidith glared at her as he scolded. "Why did you act recklessly? See, you almost lost your life. Thanks to Gronald, you are alive."
"What?" Managing to stop coughing, Mishila asked in disbelief. "Gronald..."
Her eyes fell on his. "Gro.. I.. I mean sir, did you actually save me?"
Gronald felt a little uncomfortable. He wasn't the only one to take the credit. He helplessly looked at Heidith who gave a wink to him in return.
"Y-yes," he managed to spit out.
"Thank you so much!" She hugged him with tears in her eyes. Her heart again started dancing violently.
"But..." She slowly pulled herself away from him, looking sad. "You guys should have let me die. I'm an orphan. I don't have a family as well as a motivation to continue living."
"Then you'll have a family," Heidith said with confidence. "Someone is going to adopt you... As his sister."
Mishila felt her heart break into pieces. Was it Gronald? He wanted her to be his sister? Then... Then they wouldn't marry eachother in this lifetime. It wasn't appropriate to marry a sister!
She might lose her first love forever.
"Who's that lucky brother?" Derek asked with a smirk.
Heidith smirked too.
"You."