After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 114 (THE END)

The gates of the Grand Duke’s castle swung open.

Leo, who got out of the carriage first, reached out and gently escorted Isla.

A somewhat chilly breeze brushed past her, but the changed appearance of the Grand Duke’s castle made her excited.

“Wow. The atmosphere is completely different.”

Who would have thought this was a castle that had been abandoned for decades?

Isla looked around at the changed landscaping and the much cleaner castle, constantly exclaiming in admiration.

“Is it at least presentable now?”

“Presentable? It’s absolutely beautiful!”

The servants who had come out to greet the two owners of the castle greeted them one by one.

After exchanging greetings and stories with them for a while, the two encouraged the servants, who still had a mountain of work to do, and entered through the main gate. Then, their admiration doubled.

The high ceilings and marble corridors sparkled without a speck of dust, and sophisticated paintings and decorations were carefully placed throughout.

The tapestries hanging on the walls were antique, and the sunlight streaming through the clean windows was warm.

More than anything, Isla was deeply moved by the fact that she now truly had a place to return to.

“Really. I love it so much.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Leo chuckled softly.

The knights, who were carrying the luggage brought from the Imperial City, went to the dining hall, saying they should eat first.

Isla leaned on Leo’s shoulder, taking advantage of the quiet moment, and said,

“I want to go to the spire. The spire where I met Artien.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

As she was about to turn around, Bam, who had somehow approached, was rubbing his cheek against her leg.

“Do you want to go too?”

“Meow─.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Isla, holding Bam in her arms, headed to the back garden with Leo.

The spire, located deep inside, was still quiet.

As they climbed the spiral staircase, Leo muttered in disbelief.

“You really met him here?”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything here…”

However, Leo had to doubt his eyes when he reached the top of the spire.

A warm scene unfolded beyond the half-open wooden door.

“Ah. It looks like you’ve arrived!”

Isla said in a welcoming voice and ran forward with quick steps.

Before he could stop her, she pushed the door open and soon tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

“Huh…?”

It was definitely the same as she had seen that day.

The spacious and cozy interior, different from what she saw outside, and the subtly diffused scent of herbs too.

The antique bookshelves lined up along the walls as well.

Even the two teacups with warm steam rising from them on the table in the center were the same as that day.

“The tea is warm.”

Leo scanned the interior with a sharp gaze.

However, no sign of anyone could be felt anywhere.

“That’s strange… The inside is exactly the same as before, but Artien isn’t here.”

“Perhaps he deliberately concealed himself.”

“Do you think so…?”

Isla nodded, swallowing her disappointment.

If the contents of the folktales were correct, he was already a being who had concealed himself from people.

“It’s a shame. I really wanted to meet him and thank him…”

At that moment, Bam jumped out of Isla’s arms.

Then, he went up to the table and looked at the teacups as if pointing at them, and meowed─.

“What’s wrong, Bam?”

“…Meooow─!”

“It looks like he’s crying at the teacups? Maybe he wants us to drink them…?”

“Meooow─!”

Bam cried out long as if her guess was correct, then settled down in that spot.

Isla looked at Leo, took his hand, and led him to the table.

“It seems Artien prepared this for us.”

“…If that’s the case, he really must be a dragon.”

“I’m telling you he is. Can’t you believe it even after seeing Father wake up?”

Isla, with a sulky expression, chided Leo and picked up a teacup.

A familiar tea scent lingered at the tip of her nose.

“It’s the tea he gave me that day.”

The corners of her lips gently lifted.

Isla gave her gaze to the empty air, smiled brightly, and greeted him.

“I’ll enjoy it, Artien!”

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was watching from somewhere.

She emptied all the teacups with Leo, thanked him for his help several times, and left the spire.

“It’s nice to see you again, Your Highness.”

“Oh my. Mr. Lucas?”

“Hehe. I’m lucky to see you two. I’m just dropping off the fabric you ordered.”

“I see.”

While Isla was smiling, Leo and Lucas were talking.

“The merchant guild has grown a lot.”

“It’s all thanks to Your Highness’s grace.”

“What did I do? It’s because you’re working hard and honestly.”

“Hehe. You repaid the one apple I gave you on credit at a high price, didn’t you? Thanks to working with that as a lesson, customers trust and entrust me with their business.”

“Stop saying that already.”

“It’s something I can’t repay even if I do it a hundred times. Anyway, I’ll be going now. I still have a lot of work left.”

Lucas bowed deeply to the two and walked away quickly.

Leo, who was walking without much thought, turned around.

It was because Isla was standing there as if nailed to the spot, not moving.

Moreover, her expression was somehow strange.

Seeing her looking strangely surprised, even shocked, he quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and asked worriedly.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“…Could it be, was it you?”

“Huh?”

“Black hair and red eyes… That’s right. Why didn’t I think of it?”

“Isla.”

“The child who gave me a stolen apple and said he would pay off the debt… The child who asked me if I would go with him…”

Isla’s eyes, realizing a secret she hadn’t bothered to reveal, trembled greatly.

“You remembered even that?”

Her mouth dropped open at Leo’s words, who was smiling awkwardly.

“Really, you’re that child…?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you know? That I was that child back then…?”

“I recognized you from the beginning, I did.”

He scratched his cheek, smiling sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why…?”

“That day, I couldn’t come to pick you up.”

“Ah…”

“It was the day the trip to the North was suddenly decided. When I heard that my mother had left the palace, I went to find her… I met a woman with blue hair outside the castle, and I only met my mother and was going to take you back… But it turned out to be a trap.”

“That’s…”

“So I couldn’t come to pick you up. When I barely returned to the palace, I was immediately put on a carriage heading to the North.”

Isla shook her head at his words, confessing as if he was sorry.

“I couldn’t wait either. My father came to pick me up.”

“I see… Even after that, I often thought about it. I was bothered that I couldn’t come to pick you up that day.”

“And in the end, you became a place for me to return to.”

She buried her forehead in Leo’s arms.

She couldn’t believe that the boy who had always been a guide in her life was the Leo in front of her, but she was uncontrollably happy.

“I love you, Leo.”

“I’ll love you more.”

“Let’s not compete with things like that?”

“I have a bit of a competitive spirit.”

“I can’t help you, really…”

The laughter of the two giggling filled the castle.

It was a sight that made anyone who saw them smile.

Epilogue.

In the central garden of the Grand Duke’s castle, decorated with colorful flowers and flags, the nobles of the North and numerous guests were gathered together.

On the window frame of the Grand Duke’s castle, which overlooked the garden well, the black cat Bam was lying lazily, looking down.

The wedding of the two, which had started early in the morning, was now coming to an end, and Bam, watching them greet the guests, stretched and got up.

Bam slowly moved his body and left the Grand Duke’s castle through the open window.

It was one of the windows that was always open for him so that he could come and go whenever he wanted.

Smelling the longed-for scent of grass, Bam moved his four legs and stopped in one place.

It was the place where Leo’s father, Friedrich, was resting.

Bam, who looked up at him for a moment, jumped lightly onto the table he was sitting at.

“Hmm?”

Friedrich, who discovered Bam, greeted him.

Bam, who approached with quick steps, rubbed his forehead against his arm, and Friedrich, widening his eyes, chuckled and gently stroked Bam’s forehead.

“You look like the cat I knew.”

Friedrich muttered to himself with a longing expression.

“There was a cat that often came to my garden. Even these green eyes are similar. It feels like I’m seeing that fellow again…”

“Meow─.”

“Hehe, yes. I’m glad to see you too.”

Friedrich, who had been stroking Bam’s forehead for a while, looked around the Grand Duke’s castle and added.

“Coming here reminds me of someone… She was a person with very pretty green eyes like you.”

A heavy sigh was buried at the end of his words.

He looked up at the sky for a moment, then turned to Bam and said.

“I should go too. Go back quickly.”

Bam stared at Friedrich’s receding figure for a long time.

Then, he got up again and headed to the back garden.

The longed-for spire appeared before his eyes.

Bam climbed the stairs without hesitation and reached the top floor.

A man’s voice was heard from beyond the open wooden door.

“You’ve come.”

A man with long black hair greeted her.

“Dorothea.”

He called Bam’s true name.

The soul of Bam, who was a black cat, gradually grew in size and transformed into a beautiful woman.

In the eyes of the dragon who pierced through the truth of things, Bam was seen as Dorothea with black hair and green eyes.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Artien’s smile, asking that, looked sad.

About thirty years ago.

The little princess, who became friends by chance, was a small joy to him, who had cut himself off from the world.

Even when she left as a hostage, he kept his determination not to interfere in the human world, but he couldn’t refuse her tearful request to help his son.

He was also a parent who had lost a child.

The child gained the power to survive, but Dorothea had to give up her life.

However, perhaps her life was not enough, the child gained the power to survive, but Bam was taken away.

Dorothea’s soul, frustrated by that, did not try to leave the child’s side.

In the face of the crisis where her soul would disappear if left as it was, Artien used some trick to keep her soul in the present world at the cost of some of his lifespan.

She was reborn as Bam over and over again.

It was the only thing he could do.

‘Thank you.’

While watching the child’s smiling face at last, Artien slowly released the string of the soul he was holding.

Five-year-old Dorothea, who smiled brightly at him.

Seven-year-old Dorothea, who suddenly came and cried and whined that she had fallen.

The image of fifteen-year-old Dorothea, who was going to be a hostage of the Empire but smiled and said not to worry, saying she would be strong, gathered in the air and scattered.

“Farewell, child.”

Artien, who had sent off another child like that, turned his head to the window.

He stared silently at Leo and Isla, who were looking at each other and being happy, and disappeared as if he had never been there in the first place.

Inside the dark spire.

Only a black cat was lying as if dead on the cold floor.

Above the corners of his lips, which were raised as if he was having a good dream, the deepening curtain of night fell faintly.

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