parentshiftbook Chapter 123 After everything is settled, I want to have a home with you.
Chapter 123 After everything is settled, I want to have a home with you.
The weather seems to be bright and sunny today.
The morning sky is a beautiful azure blue.
At this point, Mel had completed the third cycle of the breathing technique.
Sweat slid down his lean back and dripped onto the old floor.
He finished his stance and slowly exhaled a breath tinged with white mist.
The bottleneck for intermediate knights seems to be loosening somewhat.
This is not merely the result of daily hard work.
Mel knew that something was different.
He walked to the window and looked down at the street that was gradually coming to life.
An old woman selling soup, children running around, and sleepy-eyed workers.
His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the alley entrance.
The figure who always appears on time every day, with cheerful footsteps and blond hair, hasn't come today.
"Was it because I was too happy last night?" Mel murmured to herself, a faint but genuine smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
He remembered yesterday.
When Anne saw the business license, her eyes lit up like they were filled with stars.
She rushed over and hugged him. The kiss came unexpectedly, carrying the faint scent of soap and a hint of sweetness from her body.
Mel froze, his heart pounding.
He had never experienced that feeling before.
It wasn't the burning pain of hatred, nor the numbness of training to the limit, but a warm, helpless, and almost overwhelming softness.
And then at dusk, as he looked at her profile, gilded by the setting sun, he finally managed to squeeze out the words that had been churning in his throat countless times.
"After this is all over..."
What happens next?
Mel didn't finish his sentence.
But now, in this solitary morning, he completed that sentence in his heart.
"After this is all over, I want to have a home with you."
A home that doesn't need to be big, but is very warm.
Anne could work in her dream pastry shop, and Heather could go to school.
Ok.
High Priest Dog said that the Prophet would build a school in the new city and teach all the children to read.
What about him?
Perhaps he could continue working for the sect, or find a respectable guard job.
When I get home in the evening, I can enjoy a hot meal, listen to Annie chatter about the day's events, and watch Heather show off the words she's learned.
Very ordinary.
But for him, that was once an unattainable dream.
Now, however, it seems to have taken shape.
Mel wiped away his sweat and changed into clean old clothes.
He doesn't plan to do any extreme training today.
As old Jack said, there is a balance between tension and relaxation.
And... he was eager to see Annie soon, to see if she was still grinning like an idiot over that license.
Time passed little by little.
The sunlight climbed onto the windowsill and then slowly moved to the center of the room.
The alleyway entrance remained deserted.
Mel started to get restless.
Anne shouldn't have been so late.
Even if there's an occasional delay, one shouldn't be this late.
An uneasy premonition arose in Mel's heart.
He pushed open the door and walked down the creaking stairs.
Good morning, Mel.
"Are you waiting for your little sweetheart to bring you breakfast?"
The hotel owner greeted me casually.
Mel didn't answer, but quickened her pace.
He walked briskly along the route Anne usually took.
My eyes scanned every corner and every face.
No.
She no longer had golden hair, no faded linen dress, and no longer had those bright blue eyes that always found him first and then curved into a smile.
Anxiety is growing.
Mel almost started jogging.
He turned into the narrower, dirtier alley leading to Anne's place.
Then, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A large crowd had gathered outside Anne's low, dilapidated wooden house.
They were all ordinary people from the neighborhood, whispering among themselves, their faces showing sympathy, fear, and a numb indifference that they had grown accustomed to such things.
The buzzing of voices was like a swarm of annoying flies.
Mel's heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an icy hand, and suddenly stopped beating.
problem occurs.
His mind went blank, with only those three words echoing wildly in his head.
He parted the crowd, his movements somewhat rough. Some people grumbled in dissatisfaction, but seeing his pale face and bloodshot eyes, they shrank back.
The gate was wide open.
It was completely empty inside.
There is no Anne.
There is no Heysel.
All their clothes were still there; his old shirt, which Anne had mended last night, was still by the bed.
But the person has disappeared.
"Mel?"
A familiar voice sounded from behind, filled with anxiety.
Mel turned around stiffly.
It's Aunt Martha.
The washerwoman who always looked after Heather for Anne was now pale and her eyes were full of worry.
"Mel, did Anne and the others... come looking for you?" Aunt Martha grabbed his arm, her fingers icy cold.
"no."
"I've been waiting since morning... but she hasn't come."
Mel heard his own voice was dry.
"Oh no...oh no!" Aunt Martha burst into tears.
"That Anne, no matter where she goes, even if it's just to take on an extra job at the docks, she'll always send Heather over first, or have someone tell me!"
"This morning I waited and waited, but no one came, and my heart sank..."
"When I came over, the door was open, but the person was gone..."
The whispers of those around him reached Mel's ears more clearly:
"Sigh, a pretty girl like Annie should have known this day would come..."
"Yes, just like Mary the flower seller, she washed her face, let people see her true appearance, and the next day..."
"I heard that girl Mary didn't even get a proper burial..."
"In the eyes of those lords, the lives of us commoners are not even as precious as the dogs they keep."
"If you like something, you take it and use it; if you get tired of it, you throw it away..."
"What a tragedy..."
Every word was like a red-hot nail, driven deep into Mel's mind.
Mary.
Missing.
noble.
master.
I saw something I liked... so I took it and used it...
it's me.
A cold voice exploded in Mel's heart, carrying a destructive force.
It's my fault that they're in trouble.
If it weren't for me...
If this makes her think she has a future and something to look forward to, she might continue to carefully blacken her face and hide in the shadows.
it's me……
They were exposed to those greedy eyes.
Mel staggered, grabbing the rough door frame to steady himself.
My vision blurred and my ears were ringing.
The cold words he had investigated and recorded on rough paper now surged up vividly, carrying the scent of blood.
[Human Skin Drum]
Red leather boots
【collect】
【Bloodline of the Fiery Sun】
Anne...
Heather...
No.
impossible.
It can't be them.
Mel shook his head violently, trying to shake off those terrible associations.
But fear and despair, like a tidal wave, had already reached his throat.
He remembered that he only had the strength of a mid-level knight.
According to the records, the guards of Duke Blazing Flame's mansion were at least high-ranking knights.
Duke Frederick himself was a King-level expert, possessing domineering blazing sun battle aura.
He couldn't even get inside the outer wall of the Duke's mansion.
Even if he managed to sneak in, he wouldn't be able to withstand a single move from a King-level expert.
It's like an ant facing a giant.
All his hatred and all his training seemed so ridiculous and powerless in the face of such an absolute disparity in strength.
He once thought that as long as he worked hard enough, he could get revenge.
He once thought that as long as he was careful, he could protect his loved ones.
Now, reality has given him the cruelest slap in the face.
The revenge for his mother and sister remains unavenged.
The person he had just cherished was dragged into hell because of his incompetence.
The bright illusion of the future shattered completely before my eyes, turning into a dark abyss of despair.
Mel's fingers dug deep into the wood chips in the door frame, his knuckles turning white and trembling from the excessive force.
He kept his head down, his shoulders shrugging slightly.
It wasn't crying.
It was a more terrifying, teetering silence.
Then, he slowly, very slowly, raised his head.
Those eyes, which always held heavy burdens, were now bloodshot, all warmth, hesitation, and doubt burned away.
All that remained was a kind of almost beastly, cold, desperate madness.
He let go, turned around, pushed away Aunt Martha who was still wiping away tears, and pushed away the crowd of onlookers.
Not a word.
They walked out of the alley.
At first, his steps were a little unsteady, but they became faster and more steady.
He arrived at the banks of the Han River.
Without the slightest hesitation.
He jumped directly into the surging river.