Chapter 73: My Healing
In the twilight, Sophia and Klaus received various souvenirs from the villagers they had bonded with and boarded the carriage, leaving the smokehouse behind.
At their parting, Diana said to Sophia.
“Sofia-sama, if anything happens, please come to the mountains to seek solace.”
Solace.
Indeed, Sofia had been seeking solace in those mountains all this time.
But now――
・・・
『”𝕬𝖜𝖊𝖇𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘.𝖈𝖔𝖒” – 𝕯𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖆 𝖈𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊, 𝖕𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖆𝖉𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊, 𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖚𝖑𝖌𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝖈𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 “𝖉𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖞 𝖚𝖕𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖘” 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖊𝖝𝖈𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖆𝖈𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖙𝖔 “𝖆𝖉𝖛𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘”.』
・・・
“It’s been a while since I laughed so much while talking to someone.”
Inside the carriage, Klaus, perhaps still under the influence of wine, spoke leisurely next to Sophia.
“In this unfamiliar land, it’s good to be treated roughly. Despite feeling reluctant after running away, they don’t seem to care about such things.”
“That’s true.”
“…Did Sofia clean the trout’s innards?”
“Yes. That time, I cleaned the fish’s innards for the first time.”
“That’s good. Sofia seems to be more skillful and brave than I thought. I used to go fishing a lot during my time in the navy…”
Sofia suddenly found Klaus’ vulnerable appearance endearing and gently held his hand.
In response, Klaus also held her hand and lovingly gazed into Sofia’s eyes.
At that moment, Sofia’s heart felt constricted.
“Um…”
With trembling lips, she whispered into her husband’s ear, hoping the coachman wouldn’t notice.
“Ojii-sama, tonight…”
As soon as Klaus heard that, his eyes widened.
“…It might hurt you again, but is it alright?”
Sofia nodded.
“Um, me.”
“. . .”
“I…recently, I’ve come to think that it’s okay to be hurt by you.”
“Sofia…”
Klaus embraced Sofia. Sofia’s heart raced unusually fast.
(When our hearts connect, it feels like we might just melt away like this)
Like two pieces of ice sticking together and slowly melting away.
The ice in their hearts melted and disappeared into the twilight.
Returning to the inn in Pabst village, the two of them dozed off in bed, reminiscing about their conversation in the mountains. They absentmindedly kissed each other. Then, Klaus suddenly reached his hand in an unexpected direction on Sofia’s body.
Sofia was inwardly surprised by the completely different flow. Despite both of them avoiding it for so long, they started without any preparation or proper trigger.
“…Oh, Ojii-sama. Today is a bit different…”
“What do you mean?”
“Not just a bit, but… um, it’s quite different from before.”
“Instead of Ojii-sama, can you call me by my name?”
“K-Klaus…”
Without any hesitation, Klaus reached for the tie at Sofia’s throat and skillfully untied it. At that moment, Sofia simply remembered her husband’s past as a long-time married man.
With eyes and arms that no longer held back, Klaus easily pushed open the depths of Sofia’s being.
Sofia accepted it nervously, thinking about what had happened before, and sniffled a little.
“. . .What’s wrong?”
Sensing something was amiss, Klaus asked. Sofia swallowed hard.
“It’s… nothing.”
“…You’re crying, aren’t you? So, you still hate it.”
“N-No, it’s not that.”
“…Then why?”
“…I’m… happy.”
Hearing that, Klaus smiled.
“…I love you, Sofia.”
“I-It’s unfair for you to say that now, Ojii-sama.”
“…Call me by my name.”
“Uhm… Klaus…”
“That’s right. You’re a good girl. Anything else?”
“…I love you…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Sofia was pinned down by Klaus, and her heart trembled under the weight that showed no restraint.
The “heaviness” that Sofia had longed for was right there.
The joy of being leaned on, the tangible warmth, their synchronized heartbeats. Everything overwhelmed them, warmly piling up.
(…)
Though she didn’t voice it, Sofia murmured in her heart as she gazed into her husband’s blue eyes up close.
(Maybe I’ve actually… liked this person for a long time.)
That night, Sofia received her first gentle wound from Klaus.
In that moment, the wounds in her heart quietly dissolved into darkness.
Surely, Sophia will never go alone to that mountain cabin seeking solace again.
Sophia snuggles her body against Klaus, who is sleeping next to her, and contemplates.
(What were all those worries for? I never imagined we could connect so easily.)
At that time, we were both cautious, and Klaus might have been confused as well. Now, I can see it that way, so why couldn’t Sofia at that time and ended up feeling cornered?
As Sophia is lost in thought, Klaus’s hand gently strokes her golden hair, calming her heart.
Like a puppy seeking comfort from its mother, Sophia leans closer to her husband and closes her eyes.
It’s time to stop thinking about complicated things.
In the borderlands, there is magic. That’s all there is to it.
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