Chapter – 34
In a typical relationship between a man and a woman, it would be natural to worry about the woman.
But Biretta Medlidge was a woman infinitely removed from such generalities.
She was someone who, upon first meeting, could resolutely decide to go hunt a dragon.
There was no way ordinary concerns would affect her.
As someone who set herself apart from ordinary people, Biretta did not deny Lanken’s words.
Still, she felt unsatisfied letting things pass just like that. She puffed her cheeks slightly and pouted.
“Aren’t you worried about me? What if Iola reaches out to me?”
“That’s fine. You’re not going to avoid it anyway.”
“What do you mean by that! How do you see me? We’re engaged before marriage. At least I’d put on a show of avoiding him.”
“Sleep well. Ring the bell if anything happens.”
Seeing Biretta’s true feelings spilling out, Lanken shrugged his shoulders. He left, leaving only a parting word for Iola.
Once Lanken had vanished like a storm, leaving only traces behind, Iola regained his composure. He, who had been dazed, laughed softly and flopped onto the bed.
“Haha… Lanken says the funniest things.”
“Y-Yes… ahahaha. He’s a friend who jokes too much.”
“To have such a familiar bodyguard… I hope by the end of our journey I can get a little closer to him.”
Iola, speaking warm and tender words, rested his head on the pillow. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and exhaled comfortably.
Seeing Iola already ready to sleep, Biretta panicked. Her cheeks were still red.
“Are you really going to sleep?”
Iola nodded and lifted the blanket slightly. Seeing his gesture inviting her to lie beside him, Biretta fidgeted, unsure what to do.
“Here? Together? Really?”
They had shared space in the back of a carriage or by a campfire, but sleeping together in the same bed was a first. Lying beside him in a room set up for the occasion made her cautious.
Seeing Biretta’s almost bouncing behavior, Iola smiled gently.
“A little awkward, are you? It’s okay. We’re engaged. It’s not like any bad rumors will spread.”
“Well, we are engaged, but we plan to break it off.”
“That’s the plan, but that’s something for after we’ve caught the dragon.”
Suddenly, something struck Biretta’s heart.
Her flushed cheeks returned to their normal color.
It felt as if the cold night air had seeped in. Biretta slowly traced the unease in her mind and reached a certain possibility.
She took a very slow breath and sat properly beside where Iola lay.
“Iola… do you perhaps not believe that we’ll break off the engagement?”
“…….”
A calm silence fell. Iola slowly blinked and swallowed before answering. He spoke slowly.
“Of course, I trust your will, Biretta.”
“But you can’t imagine a future where we actually end the engagement and are no longer fiancés, right?”
Once again, Iola smiled.
Biretta’s suspicion was confirmed by that reaction.
The fact she had been wondering about crystallized into reality.
Sometimes, there had been a subtle discord in Iola’s attitude.
When someone truly trusts another, they wouldn’t be unsurprised if that trust were betrayed.
Even if a farmer discovers someone he trusted is actually a wealthy noble or a count, he would view that person differently.
If he truly trusted them, he would be shocked or disturbed when the truth came out. Iola showed none of that.
Even when new truths were revealed and the facts he knew sank beneath them, he remained unshaken.
This was not the reaction of someone naive or unworldly. It was closer to indifference.
He clearly showed trust and respect for others’ words, but his reaction behind that was peculiar.
Iola had a subtle expression, a helpless smile as if he never expected to hear such words.
“…Objectively, I suppose that could be said. No one can be certain of the ending, after all.”
Still, he spoke the truth honestly.
“I will catch the dragon.”
“Yes. I trust that Biretta intends to do so. But that’s your position. That’s your determination.”
Iola carefully held Biretta’s hand as she sat beside him.
“Do I trust the outcome? Well… I can’t say that.”
“But you said you believed.”
“How can I be certain of the outcome? I trust your words, but trusting all your words as objective truth isn’t what I mean. I only believe that it could be so.”
It was a difficult statement. Biretta couldn’t immediately grasp what he meant.
She had thought Iola trusted her completely, but it seemed he didn’t have such deep trust, and it upset her.
There was only one thing she wanted to confirm.
“Do you think it’s impossible for me to catch the dragon?”
“No.”
He said it firmly. That alone comforted her, so she did not pout.
That was enough. If he believed in her ability to catch the dragon, she couldn’t blame him. Differences in minor details were understandable.
“If someone has the resolve of Biretta, catching the dragon is possible. But…”
He paused briefly, keeping his lying posture, and pressed his lips together.
His straight lips hid for a moment, then reappeared. Iola lifted Biretta’s hand to near his lips without changing his posture.
“But the chance of failure is high. I assumed you were aware of that.”
“I know. The chance of failure is high. But unlike ordinary people who don’t believe in success if the odds are low, I’m different.”
Biretta believed in her success.
Even if it began as a boast, once spoken aloud, it became truth—and a categorical imperative she had to achieve.
It was a kind of innate trait. Biretta could genuinely believe in even the most absurd things.
Because it wasn’t impossible.
Because it could be done.
If there was a possibility, it was natural to believe.
In other words, Biretta was the type who believed firmly in success even knowing the odds of failure were high.
It was like people in a casino betting their entire fortune, thinking, “This time, with a 0.03% chance, I’ll win!”
“I don’t really know you well, Iola. I thought you always trusted others.”
“I do trust.”
He said so.
“I trust. I will believe in anything. I decided to. I—yes.”
Conversely, Iola predicted failure but could not abandon hope.
Like someone buying a lottery ticket, thinking ninety-nine out of a hundred times they won’t win, but still clinging to the remaining one chance.
That was the nature of Iola’s trust.
The unique part was that he believed every possibility sincerely.
Any words shone like a star as a potential in his heart.
“You may find it odd. Since this is a rare chance, I should tell you my story. Biretta, as my fiancée, you have the right to know.”
Iola sat up, leaning against the headboard, and pulled Biretta toward him.
Even if they couldn’t lie down together, it was hard to refuse sitting beside him.
Biretta climbed onto the bed and sat side by side with him. They pulled the blanket over their laps, leaving only the nightstand lamp on, creating a serene atmosphere.
“First, I should tell you why I ended up engaged to you, Biretta.”
“Ah! Could it be…”
Love?
Or a scheme?
If not, a plot?
Her heart raced at the intriguing prelude. Iola, with a serious expression, shook Biretta’s heart.
“I was originally destined to become the son-in-law of a prestigious Saha family.”
Of course. Iola would not reveal things easily.
The ominous prelude suggested that marrying Biretta might have been a mistake.
Yet, the gentle way he smoothed his hand over her lifted her spirits, and discomfort sank beneath the surface.
“My name is Iola, son of Jin. I am of the bloodline that rules Najin, the mercenary city of Saha.”
In the eerie darkness, he began his story.
“When my father, captain of the Twilight Mercenary Corps, met my mother, from a noble family, everyone blessed the two of them. They all expected a remarkable child to be born.”
Iola’s face, illuminated by flickering light, was tinged with melancholy. Biretta soothed the sadness reflected in his expression.
“Born into such expectations, I satisfied them for a while. I was born into an honorable bloodline, talented as a warrior, and, though modest to say, fairly educated.”
“That seems true.”
Even from a brief encounter, she could be sure. Iola Jin was exceptional.
“The great nobles of Saha wished to take me as their heir through marriage. No one would have imagined at the time that I would be betrothed in an arranged marriage to the second daughter of a foreign merchant family.”
