Chapter 61: The Light’s Rejection, the Darkness’s Hesitation
《Liese’s POV》
A room with a cold stone floor and dim Light filtering in.
This space, like a prison, is filled with anxiety and silence.
Still, I kept taking deep breaths to calm my trembling heart.
Kyl, he was gazing at me with gentle eyes. But I couldn’t help but notice something like a distorted sadness drifting in their depths.
“Liese, it’s safe here. Stay here for a while. I’ll protect you.”
A voice full of Kindness. However, his words carried a sense of unilateral determination.
“Kyl-san… why are you doing this?”
I asked him directly. But Kyl just turned his face away, as if hiding something.
“You’re more important to me than anyone else. To me… you’re my only Light.”
His words made my chest stir. It was somewhat sorrowful, like the cry of someone burdened by loneliness.
“But… I am already Lord Serios’s Tool!”
I told him clearly. Kyl’s eyes wavered slightly.
“You’re being deceived! Serios von Aegrid imposed heavy taxes himself, then used gold to save you and your parent when you were in trouble!”
I fell silent at Kyl’s words.
“You gave me the chance to return to being human from a broken Tool.”
“Saved you? That’s not…”
I shook my head. I don’t recall touching his heart. I just couldn’t leave Kyl-san alone when he was in trouble. That’s because I thought Lord Serios would do the same.
“You might think you didn’t do much. But to me, it was everything! I was… a doll that felt nothing. No pain, no joy, nothing. But… the moment I came into contact with Liese, I knew warmth for the first time.”
Kyl clenched his fists, desperately trying to string words together. He looked somewhat pitiful, and I couldn’t look away.
“I understand your feelings. But I don’t care about the reason Lord Serios imposed heavy taxes, nor the reason he helped me!”
I mustered my courage and told him.
“Kyl-san, I don’t know why you want to protect me, but please let me return to Lord Serios! Taking such measures is wrong!”
“Wrong…?”
Kyl’s eyes wavered anxiously. They were like those of a lost child who had lost the right path.
“Caring for someone isn’t built on suppressing yourself or hurting others. If you sacrifice someone to protect me… that doesn’t truly mean you’ve protected me.”
At my quietly spoken words, Kyl froze. He stood rooted to the spot, his gaze wandering as if deep in thought.
“Liese, you… you don’t understand. How ugly and cold this world is. For your Light not to fade, I have no choice but to bear all the Darkness.”
“Even so!”
I interrupted Kyl’s words.
“Kyl-san, please don’t sacrifice yourself! That would be denying your own worth to live for someone else.”
The Darkness within him. Staring at that Darkness, I held back my tears. Kyl seemed to be listening to my words. That alone gave me hope.
“I can’t fully understand what you’re carrying. But there must be a gentler way than this.”
Kyl closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Deep anguish was etched on his expression.
“…Liese, you’re much stronger than I thought.”
Kyl’s muttered voice had a tone somewhat resembling resignation.
“I don’t even know if your words are reaching me. But… if you say you’re right, there’s a part of me that wants to believe it.”
At those words, I smiled faintly.
“Thank you, Kyl-san.”
A faint Light within him. I felt like I had found it, and I was relieved.
“But this isn’t the end. I want to protect you. That much won’t change.”
“Then, let’s think together. About how we can proceed on the right path.”
At my words, Kyl showed a slight smile. It might have been his first heartfelt smile.
♢
《Kyl’s POV》
As I walked along the quiet night road, Liese’s words spun round and round in my head.
Her voice pierced my chest like a cold wind, but the pain was somehow comforting.
It was the first time. To be rejected so directly by someone. And it wasn’t just a simple rejection.
“‘I want to protect you, but your way of doing it is wrong,’ huh…”
Liese’s words lingered, refusing to disappear.
Thanks to that, I’ve started to lose sight of what I’m doing. I thought I was acting for her sake, but is it really for her benefit?
(There’s no answer. So, what do I do?)
My thoughts wandered into a dead end.
I’ve only known a life of being ordered by others. I never even thought for myself. That’s why I don’t know what to do now. But then, something came to mind—the time I infiltrated the Everett Dukedom.
Back then, the Duke didn’t just cast me aside as a mere spy.
“‘Someone like you is interesting. If you need help again, just say so.'”
It was mixed with scorn, but the reason I couldn’t ignore the Duke’s words was because I knew that man wasn’t made up of simple cruelty alone.
Duke Everett, that man might have some kind of answer.
(Rather than clinging to worthless pride, maybe I should take a gamble…)
I stopped walking and looked up at the night sky. I’d never been interested in a sky full of stars, but now, its coldness calmed my heart.
“I guess I have no choice but to go.”
I decided to head for Duke Everett’s mansion.
I stepped onto the vast grounds of the Dukedom. Naturally, I didn’t enter through the main gate; I easily scaled the rear wall and slipped into the premises, concealed by the Darkness. I knew the poorly guarded spots and times from my past infiltration experience.
“It’s been a while…”
Feeling a sense of nostalgia, I proceeded deeper into the grounds. The knowledge gained from my previous infiltration wasn’t useless.
Eventually, I reached the window of the Duke’s Office. Light leaking from within indicated that its master was there. I quietly placed my hand on the window frame and tapped it lightly instead of knocking.
“It’s me. Kyl.”
The sounds inside stopped, and a few seconds of silence followed. But then, the window slowly opened. There stood Duke Everett, exuding his usual composure.
“…Hmm. It’s rare for someone like you to visit me directly.”
The Duke’s eyes pierced me sharply. Exposed to his cold gaze, I responded head-on.
“I have something to discuss.”
“Discuss, you say? Someone like you, with me? Interesting. Come in.”
Surprisingly, I was let in easily. I stepped into the Office and gave a slight bow.
“Now then, Kyl. For you to come to me for a discussion, what on earth has brought this about?”
The Duke asked with keen interest as he sat down in his chair. His composed demeanor somehow made me feel a sense of relief.
“To put it simply, I don’t know what I should do anymore. I wanted to protect a woman named Liese, but I was told that was wrong.”
“Oh…? Liese, you say?”
“She’s just a good person. My Light.”
The corner of the Duke’s mouth twisted slightly. It was an expression that was neither a sneer nor mere interest.
“Light, eh? Quite a dramatic tale.”
“Laugh if you want. But that’s all I have.”
At those words, the Duke’s expression changed. He stared at me intently, his eyes showing piqued interest.
“Kyl, for you to utter such words… But what do you seek from me with that?”
I took a breath and looked at the Duke earnestly.
“I’ve only ever lived as a Tool. But the moment I came into contact with Liese, that changed. Still, I don’t know what I should do. Give me orders.”
The moment he heard those words, the Duke fell silent for a while. Eventually, he spoke.
“What you need isn’t orders. It’s to find your value as a human being, not a Tool. If you want to protect this Light named Liese, you must first become someone worthy of that Light.”
“A worthy existence…?”
“Indeed. If you wish to protect her, merely protecting her with strength is not enough. You yourself must change.”
At the Duke’s words, my shoulders slumped slightly. I felt as if I would be crushed by their weight.
“But how am I supposed to change…?”
“That is for you to figure out yourself. I have no intention of helping you with that. However, I can tell you this: earnestly look at what Liese desires. Not your desires, but hers.”
I couldn’t say anything back to those words. I just clenched my fists and looked down.
“Kyl, no matter how much of a Tool you were, that’s in the past. Your future is something you decide from now on.”
The Duke’s words pierced deeply into my chest. I stood up and bowed my head slightly.
“…I’m grateful.”
“Hmph, I don’t need your thanks. I just became a little curious whether or not you could change for that woman, Liese.”
I quietly left the Office and once again found myself in the cold night breeze.
(What Liese wishes for… I wonder if I’ll be able to find it.)
Mulling over the Duke’s words, I started walking again. Even I myself still didn’t know where these feet were headed.