Chapter 6: Farewell (1)

Even if there was a chance to meet again, Merlin had no idea when Mashina would return.

He had only heard that Mashina had returned in triumph, welcomed by flowers and applause, riding in a carriage.

He had only heard that the award ceremony was over, and that the brilliant Evening Gala had ended as well.

There was only so much news to be gathered in the slums.

Might as well take a walk, just like before, and see what materials he could scavenge.

Merlin let out a sigh and left his little hut.

As he got older, the old hole he used to live in had become too cramped for him, so he had moved to a simple, one-story hut.

It wasn’t as though Merlin hadn’t considered moving to a better house, to welcome the triumphant return of Mashina.

But having seen luxury and splendor, even the finest house in the slums would seem like junk to Mashina now.

So Merlin resigned himself to just making do.

The route he patrolled was much the same as ever; after all, there was no need to wander into someone else’s territory and invite trouble.

There was nothing good to be found tonight.

Merlin looked around at the streets and sighed.

Maybe he should go check on the roses.

Somber clouds drifted slowly across the sky, and the broken moonlight, like diluted wine, spilled sporadically over the ruined streets and crumbling ruins.

Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin noticed a second shadow appear in the moonlight. Sensing no hostility, he turned around at a leisurely pace.

Maybe it was another friend looking for him.

“Long time no see.”

It was the person Merlin had dreamed of day and night.

She stood just a few steps away, on a street littered with shattered stones and debris, drawing near without making a sound.

“Mashina…”

Merlin almost called out her name instinctively, a part of his chest that had lain dormant for so long suddenly stirred. His mind went blank, but his body reacted before his thoughts.

Merlin reached behind and plucked a starlight-colored rose.

This was the only thing of value he had to offer at the moment.

He believed that even in the Imperial Capital, no one had starlight-colored roses.

At last, Merlin allowed his gaze to greedily trace the features of the person he had missed for so long.

Mashina, whose neat black short hair he remembered, had quietly grown it out—it now hung smoothly to her shoulders, flowing with a glossy darkness beneath the moon.

And her eyes, once like pink gemstones—was it a trick of the moonlight?—now showed a faint ring of icy blue at the edge of the pink, like a circle of ice crystals.

She was no longer the ragged girl who had needed his protection in his memories.

Now, she wore a well-fitted white shirt, its collar and cuffs delicately embroidered with the Talan Family Emblem.

Over the shirt, she wore a finely made dark-blue jacket, the fabric soft and lustrous—something never seen in the slums—with the Talan Family Emblem embroidered over the chest.

Her lower half was clad in a black and blue plaid skirt, paired with fine black tights that hugged her slender legs, emanating a reserved, alluring sheen in the moonlight.

On her feet were dainty, high-heeled ankle boots, the heels clicking softly on the ground as she approached.

Every step measured the distance that had grown between them over the past two years.

Merlin looked down at himself—plain black linen shirt and trousers.

Standing before the radiant, transformed Mashina, he felt shabby, like a clown who had strayed onto the stage.

His fingers tightened unconsciously around the starlight rose.

“Merlin… have you been well?”

“I—I’m fine. Life in the slums is pretty much the same every day. What about you?”

“As you can see, I’m all right.”

Merlin quickly realized that the Mashina before him was a little different from the girl in his memories.

Now, Mashina’s eyes were cold, her expression indifferent.

She was nothing like the gentle, affectionate girl from two years ago who had clung to him every day, declaring her love.

Merlin wanted to say something, but his mouth opened and closed again.

Why didn’t you reply to my letters?

How have you been these years?

Did you get hurt on the battlefield?

Why didn’t you ever find time to see me?

But Mashina had changed; the distance between them had widened again, and those words stuck in his throat, impossible to ask.

After that, the two of them fell into a long silence.

“Do you want to come to my place for a while? I’ve moved, though.”

Merlin instinctively didn’t say “our home,” because he simply couldn’t.

“No need.”

Mashina’s cold manner felt even more unfamiliar than when they’d first met.

Back then, she’d kept others at arm’s length, but she had just been a weak girl longing for warmth.

She’d seemed like a cute kitten, softly hissing.

But the Mashina before him had grown strong, mature, and beautiful.

She no longer needed to rely on anyone—her coldness now was seamless.

She was like a cold, aloof lion.

“I didn’t expect you back so soon. I only just heard you finished the award ceremony.”

“Yes. I came back alone after it ended. I was waiting here for you.”

“What?”

Mashina continued, her voice calm and devoid of emotion.

“I came today to end our past.”

“What? End it?”

Merlin repeated the word, his throat tightening. But when the words truly left Mashina’s lips, the sharp pain was far worse than he’d imagined.

Was it because her eyes, once filled with dependence and warmth, now showed only calm detachment, with not a trace of their old affection?

Then what did those nights they had huddled together, those clumsy attempts at comfort, those countless letters filled with longing—all mean?

“Yes.”

Mashina’s affirmation was brief and cold, cutting off all of Merlin’s hope.

“I’m already the Duke’s Family’s adopted daughter—not the filthy orphan from the slums anymore.”

“Congratulations… on being adopted by the Duke’s Family.”

Mashina turned her gaze to the towering building in the distance—the Talan Family Mansion.

“After living in the Talan Family Mansion and seeing the Imperial Capital, I truly feel that my days in the slums were nothing short of hell.”

That mansion—

To Mashina, it was an everyday sight.

To Merlin, it was a starry sky he could only gaze at from afar.

“I don’t need you anymore. I already have a new engagement.”

“What!? Why?”

Even though he thought he’d prepared for the worst, Merlin still felt as if his heart had been gripped by an invisible hand, squeezing so tight he could barely breathe.

Mashina tilted her head.

She seemed a little puzzled by Merlin’s reaction. Tilting her head gently, though she had only recently been adopted by the Duke’s Family, there was already a hint of a ruler’s ruthlessness in the gesture.

“What do you mean, why? Now that I’m the Duke’s Family’s adopted daughter, now that I’ve earned great merit on the battlefield, there are more people wanting to form an engagement with me than I can count.”