Clarisse and Noah were on the roof of the Knights’ quarters.
There was a cloud-like cushion on the wide open seat, and when they lay on it, the starry sky came into view.
Noah seemed to know very well about the stars.
He told several stories while connecting the scattered sparkles around the brightest star in the sky with a line.
Clarisse knew of the existence of the moon and the stars, but she naturally fell deeply into Noah’s story because she learned for the first time today that there was a legend related to them.
However,
“Hrrrrk…”
Sir Benson, who was guarding them, suddenly began to snore and sleep.
The great sound was so loud that Clarisse and Noah burst into laughter.
“Sir Benson must be tired.”
Clarisse turned to Noah and said.
He looked up at the sky, and then, maybe because he could feel her looking at him, he turned back to Clarisse. A mask was placed over his face.
“Wouldn’t it be better for the girl to go to your room now?”
“Already?”
Clarisse had no regrets about this fun time. Being able to stay awake this late somehow felt a bit special.
“It’s too bad.”
“I don’t know if you doze off like a sick chicken tomorrow.”
“I won’t. Noah goes back at dawn. I will definitely get up and say hello before the sun rises.”
“I recommend saying hello in advance now.”
“You’re too much.”
Clarisse gave him a hard look and pursed her lips, then turned around and looked up at the sky.
“A little more.”
“….”
“Just a little longer, let’s stay together. Eung?”
Fortunately, Noah didn’t refuse her request.
It’s a relief.
In fact, Clarisse had something to say to Noah.
It was a very important story that couldn’t be postponed any longer.
‘The death penalty is scheduled for me at eighteen.’
When she became friends with Noah.
Clarisse couldn’t tell the whole story to the boy, who seemed to be in danger somewhere.
It was just the introduction that she was living here as a sinner because she was the princess of a ruined country.
She always thought she should tell him the details, but somehow it wasn’t easy to tell him.
The words of death row were so cold that she feared that Noah would turn away from her.
She didn’t want Noah to avoid her because he was her first friend.
So up until now, Clarisse hadn’t told him about her fate.
She may have been vaguely thinking that since Noah was wearing a mask, she might as well keep one of her secrets.
But now Clarisse knew his face.
The face with a nice red stone dug into the skin was really cool.
Clarisse turned to look at Noah.
‘The ugly cat mask.’
She hated the mask for no reason. She thought it would be too much to monopolize Noah’s handsome face for the rest of his life.
Truly, she had never seen such a pretty stone anywhere.
Although Noah seems to hate it…
“Didn’t you say you were looking at the stars?”
While scolding her, he still fixed his eyes on the sky.
“I like Noah’s face better than the stars.”
“…The girl has no shame.”
“There is nothing shameful or embarrassing about liking a friend’s face. Noah likes my face too.”
“….?!”
As he looked back, she could feel his surprise. He seemed to be asking how did she know?
“Of course I know, Noah is happy to see my face. Right?”
“That…”
Noah turned his head back to the sky.
“That’s true.”
“Look, I’m right.”
Now Clarisse looked at the sky again and took a deep breath. The stars were barely visible.
‘I must tell him. Today, I must…’
When she made the same resolution several times.
“Girl.”
Noah spoke first.
“Yes?”
“Are you keeping your promise?”
His voice was low, as if he cared about Sir Benson.
“…Eung.”
Clarisse also lowered her voice.
Clarisse made a promise to Noah that she would keep her ability to talk to stones a secret, and she has kept that promise up to this day.
“….That’s a relief.”
He replied with relief.
“The girl got along quite well with the Duke, so I thought it was only a matter of time before you got caught.”
“I’ll never tell him.”
Clarisse didn’t want the Duke and Duchess to treat her strangely.
But looking at Noah, who is very serious, somehow he seemed to have other reasons to keep a secret.
｢Anyway, it seems that the girl will not be able to survive… in the cruel wizard’s castle..｣
Because he has said something like this before.
“Perhaps… Does my talking to the stone have anything to do with the wizard’s castle?”
When she asked cautiously, Noah looked at her sharply.
So, even though it was always the same cat mask, it somehow seemed sharp.
However, Clarisse continued to ask questions without losing.
“It is about me. I want to know properly.”
“That.”
“It’s also strange that I don’t know the details of what might happen to me.”
Noah sighed deeply as he adjusted his mask several times.
“…Okay.”
It was clear that he didn’t want to explain, but it looks like he has chosen to stop avoiding the question.
“The ability to talk to stones means that the girl has the qualities of a golem master.”
“Eung?”
Even though the unexpected title surprised Clarisse, he continued to explain.
“No, I can already call you a Golem master. You breathe life into stones and uses them as servants.”
“Mallang is not a servant. So I am not a Golem Master.”
Clarisse had always thought that the Golem Master was a great being who could control a huge rock at will.
So she thought that her little ability to talk to pebbles was clearly different from them.
“Even if you say it’s a friend, it doesn’t change that its existence is a life force due to your magic.”
“B, but…”
“A person with the ability to find stones that absorb magic, find their mates, and combine them into new shapes and sizes. That is the definition of a Golem Master.”
“….”
“It has already been proven that the girl created that little friend. You are already a great Golem Master.”
Clarisse couldn’t lie down any longer, so she sat up on a cushion.
“And.”
Noah was still looking up at the sky.
“The Wizard’s Castle is frantic because they haven’t been able to find the Golem Master for several years. If they find out about the girl…”
After he paused for a moment, Clarisse became somewhat nervous and urged him to continue.
“What …will happen?”
Noah, who rose from his seat after her, slightly brushed off his mask and stared directly into Clarisse’s eyes.
“They will try to take the girl to the wizard’s castle. If Sheridan doesn’t respond… even if it means going to war.”
“W, war?”
“A war to claim the one and only Golem Master in the world. In the first place, the royal family and the wizards aren’t on good terms, so they won’t hesitate too much.”
What do you mean by war?
It was one of the words Clarisse consciously avoided.
Because of the scenery that is drawn right in front of her just by thinking of that word.
“….”
Sapher’s soldiers rushed in, and death piled up in front of them.
Clarisse sometimes thought that the scene of the slaughter she had seen might not have been real.
It was too cruel to be true.
But when Noah said the sad word “war” a little while ago, for some reason, the awful smell of blood she had smelled that day seemed to wrap around her.
The domination of the senses continued as it was, and Clarisse immediately recalled the vibration of the footsteps of the Saphers Kingdom army and their sad eyes.
Even the savage hand that dragged Clarisse to the place of execution.
“…Girl.”
She could faintly hear Noah’s voice, but it was muffled, as if she was calling from outside the water.
Still, Clarisse wanted to answer, so she slightly opened her lips…
‘Slash!’
Her ears were filled at that precise moment with the sound of a sword stabbing someone.
It wasn’t something she imagined from a novel.
She knew the real sound because she had been through the war.
The sound of someone’s last breath clung desperately behind that cruelty.
‘Such a war…’
If it happens in Sheridan…
Imaginations that she didn’t want to think about continued on their own.
One by one, the blade that Clarisse’s fear had created started to kill everyone in the mansion.
Grandpa Gardener and Rosalie, Sir Benson and the Chef, and at the end…
In the middle of her imagination, the Duke and Duchess of Sheridan appeared. With a sword aiming at them.
‘No!’
Clarisse tried to run towards them.
However, the arms and legs were firmly on the floor and didn’t move at all.
“Clarisse!”
In an instant, along with the voice that filled her ears, her vision turned white.
“Haaa, haaa….”
How long has she been trying to breathe so hard that she wheezes?
“It’s okay.”
She couldn’t calm down, and she felt someone pat her shoulders.
“Nothing will happen.”
With the kind words that seemed to soothe her heart, Clarisse finally returned to her normal breathing little by little.
Little by little, the white field of vision gradually becomes colored, and the faint light and deep darkness that a small star gives… and Noah’s robe caught her eye.
Clarisse leaned her cheek completely against his soft robe.
When his long light blue hair tickled the tip of her nose, for some reason it smelled incredibly good.
It reminds her of ink and paper…
It was a calming scent.
“I shouldn’t have said that, I’m really sorry.”
At his apology, Clarisse shook her head while covering her face.
“It’s not Noah’s fault.”
“I was the one who brought back the painful memories. Your war… I knew you had experienced it.”
“That’s not even a memory Noah made.”
“….”
“I see, the war…”
Clarisse was a little afraid that those horrible words would cast a long shadow over her fate once again.
Clarisse and Noah were on the roof of the Knights’ quarters.
There was a cloud-like cushion on the wide open seat, and when they lay on it, the starry sky came into view.
Noah seemed to know very well about the stars.
He told several stories while connecting the scattered sparkles around the brightest star in the sky with a line.
Clarisse knew of the existence of the moon and the stars, but she naturally fell deeply into Noah’s story because she learned for the first time today that there was a legend related to them.
However,
“Hrrrrk…”
Sir Benson, who was guarding them, suddenly began to snore and sleep.
The great sound was so loud that Clarisse and Noah burst into laughter.
“Sir Benson must be tired.”
Clarisse turned to Noah and said.
He looked up at the sky, and then, maybe because he could feel her looking at him, he turned back to Clarisse. A mask was placed over his face.
“Wouldn’t it be better for the girl to go to your room now?”
“Already?”
Clarisse had no regrets about this fun time. Being able to stay awake this late somehow felt a bit special.
“It’s too bad.”
“I don’t know if you doze off like a sick chicken tomorrow.”
“I won’t. Noah goes back at dawn. I will definitely get up and say hello before the sun rises.”
“I recommend saying hello in advance now.”
“You’re too much.”
Clarisse gave him a hard look and pursed her lips, then turned around and looked up at the sky.
“A little more.”
“….”
“Just a little longer, let’s stay together. Eung?”
Fortunately, Noah didn’t refuse her request.
It’s a relief.
In fact, Clarisse had something to say to Noah.
It was a very important story that couldn’t be postponed any longer.
‘The death penalty is scheduled for me at eighteen.’
When she became friends with Noah.
Clarisse couldn’t tell the whole story to the boy, who seemed to be in danger somewhere.
It was just the introduction that she was living here as a sinner because she was the princess of a ruined country.
She always thought she should tell him the details, but somehow it wasn’t easy to tell him.
The words of death row were so cold that she feared that Noah would turn away from her.
She didn’t want Noah to avoid her because he was her first friend.
So up until now, Clarisse hadn’t told him about her fate.
She may have been vaguely thinking that since Noah was wearing a mask, she might as well keep one of her secrets.
But now Clarisse knew his face.
The face with a nice red stone dug into the skin was really cool.
Clarisse turned to look at Noah.
‘The ugly cat mask.’
She hated the mask for no reason. She thought it would be too much to monopolize Noah’s handsome face for the rest of his life.
Truly, she had never seen such a pretty stone anywhere.
Although Noah seems to hate it…
“Didn’t you say you were looking at the stars?”
While scolding her, he still fixed his eyes on the sky.
“I like Noah’s face better than the stars.”
“…The girl has no shame.”
“There is nothing shameful or embarrassing about liking a friend’s face. Noah likes my face too.”
“….?!”
As he looked back, she could feel his surprise. He seemed to be asking how did she know?
“Of course I know, Noah is happy to see my face. Right?”
“That…”
Noah turned his head back to the sky.
“That’s true.”
“Look, I’m right.”
Now Clarisse looked at the sky again and took a deep breath. The stars were barely visible.
‘I must tell him. Today, I must…’
When she made the same resolution several times.
“Girl.”
Noah spoke first.
“Yes?”
“Are you keeping your promise?”
His voice was low, as if he cared about Sir Benson.
“…Eung.”
Clarisse also lowered her voice.
Clarisse made a promise to Noah that she would keep her ability to talk to stones a secret, and she has kept that promise up to this day.
“….That’s a relief.”
He replied with relief.
“The girl got along quite well with the Duke, so I thought it was only a matter of time before you got caught.”
“I’ll never tell him.”
Clarisse didn’t want the Duke and Duchess to treat her strangely.
But looking at Noah, who is very serious, somehow he seemed to have other reasons to keep a secret.
｢Anyway, it seems that the girl will not be able to survive… in the cruel wizard’s castle..｣
Because he has said something like this before.
“Perhaps… Does my talking to the stone have anything to do with the wizard’s castle?”
When she asked cautiously, Noah looked at her sharply.
So, even though it was always the same cat mask, it somehow seemed sharp.
However, Clarisse continued to ask questions without losing.
“It is about me. I want to know properly.”
“That.”
“It’s also strange that I don’t know the details of what might happen to me.”
Noah sighed deeply as he adjusted his mask several times.
“…Okay.”
It was clear that he didn’t want to explain, but it looks like he has chosen to stop avoiding the question.
“The ability to talk to stones means that the girl has the qualities of a golem master.”
“Eung?”
Even though the unexpected title surprised Clarisse, he continued to explain.
“No, I can already call you a Golem master. You breathe life into stones and uses them as servants.”
“Mallang is not a servant. So I am not a Golem Master.”
Clarisse had always thought that the Golem Master was a great being who could control a huge rock at will.
So she thought that her little ability to talk to pebbles was clearly different from them.
“Even if you say it’s a friend, it doesn’t change that its existence is a life force due to your magic.”
“B, but…”
“A person with the ability to find stones that absorb magic, find their mates, and combine them into new shapes and sizes. That is the definition of a Golem Master.”
“….”
“It has already been proven that the girl created that little friend. You are already a great Golem Master.”
Clarisse couldn’t lie down any longer, so she sat up on a cushion.
“And.”
Noah was still looking up at the sky.
“The Wizard’s Castle is frantic because they haven’t been able to find the Golem Master for several years. If they find out about the girl…”
After he paused for a moment, Clarisse became somewhat nervous and urged him to continue.
“What …will happen?”
Noah, who rose from his seat after her, slightly brushed off his mask and stared directly into Clarisse’s eyes.
“They will try to take the girl to the wizard’s castle. If Sheridan doesn’t respond… even if it means going to war.”
“W, war?”
“A war to claim the one and only Golem Master in the world. In the first place, the royal family and the wizards aren’t on good terms, so they won’t hesitate too much.”
What do you mean by war?
It was one of the words Clarisse consciously avoided.
Because of the scenery that is drawn right in front of her just by thinking of that word.
“….”
Sapher’s soldiers rushed in, and death piled up in front of them.
Clarisse sometimes thought that the scene of the slaughter she had seen might not have been real.
It was too cruel to be true.
But when Noah said the sad word “war” a little while ago, for some reason, the awful smell of blood she had smelled that day seemed to wrap around her.
The domination of the senses continued as it was, and Clarisse immediately recalled the vibration of the footsteps of the Saphers Kingdom army and their sad eyes.
Even the savage hand that dragged Clarisse to the place of execution.
“…Girl.”
She could faintly hear Noah’s voice, but it was muffled, as if she was calling from outside the water.
Still, Clarisse wanted to answer, so she slightly opened her lips…
‘Slash!’
Her ears were filled at that precise moment with the sound of a sword stabbing someone.
It wasn’t something she imagined from a novel.
She knew the real sound because she had been through the war.
The sound of someone’s last breath clung desperately behind that cruelty.
‘Such a war…’
If it happens in Sheridan…
Imaginations that she didn’t want to think about continued on their own.
One by one, the blade that Clarisse’s fear had created started to kill everyone in the mansion.
Grandpa Gardener and Rosalie, Sir Benson and the Chef, and at the end…
In the middle of her imagination, the Duke and Duchess of Sheridan appeared. With a sword aiming at them.
‘No!’
Clarisse tried to run towards them.
However, the arms and legs were firmly on the floor and didn’t move at all.
“Clarisse!”
In an instant, along with the voice that filled her ears, her vision turned white.
“Haaa, haaa….”
How long has she been trying to breathe so hard that she wheezes?
“It’s okay.”
She couldn’t calm down, and she felt someone pat her shoulders.
“Nothing will happen.”
With the kind words that seemed to soothe her heart, Clarisse finally returned to her normal breathing little by little.
Little by little, the white field of vision gradually becomes colored, and the faint light and deep darkness that a small star gives… and Noah’s robe caught her eye.
Clarisse leaned her cheek completely against his soft robe.
When his long light blue hair tickled the tip of her nose, for some reason it smelled incredibly good.
It reminds her of ink and paper…
It was a calming scent.
“I shouldn’t have said that, I’m really sorry.”
At his apology, Clarisse shook her head while covering her face.
“It’s not Noah’s fault.”
“I was the one who brought back the painful memories. Your war… I knew you had experienced it.”
“That’s not even a memory Noah made.”
“….”
“I see, the war…”
Clarisse was a little afraid that those horrible words would cast a long shadow over her fate once again.
