When That Door Opens - Chapter 59
‘If we succeed in smuggling Lord Lakian out, I will contact you once we find a place to hide.’
‘No. Sending letters back and forth might get us caught. No matter how long it takes, I will find you myself, so it’s best not to contact me.’
‘Do you have any message for Lord Lakian?’
‘This time, we did as you wanted, so next time, I will do as I wish. If you really want to save me, make sure to survive. Please convey this message.’
After that, I used all my strength to break the remaining shackles of Astel. After months of effort, I finally achieved complete freedom.
I moved towards the address written on the note. It was a small smithy at the end of the port city.
I didn’t know if Lakian had regained consciousness or if this was really the place he had chosen to take refuge.
Despite that, I was sure I would meet Lakian. I would never give up until I met him.
When I saw the old smithy, I stopped in my tracks. There stood Lakian, the man whom I had missed every moment.
True to his role as a blacksmith, he held a blade in one hand and a hammer in the other. He looked much healthier than the last time I saw him.
Lakian, who hadn’t noticed me, stopped when I spoke.
“Hello.”
His head slowly turned, and he stared at me in disbelief.
“It’s been a while.”
I mustered all my strength to smile. His eyes widened. I wanted to show him only my smiling face, but I couldn’t help it. I rushed to him and threw my arms around him. The stiff Lakian barely managed to speak.
“Adela?”
“I missed you.”
“Ah.”
With a suppressed groan, his strong arms wrapped around me. I nestled even deeper into his embrace. He tightened his hold as if he would never let me go.
My heart swelled with his warmth, which I had longed for so much.
At last.
Completely free from all the shackles that bound us.
We had reunited.
* * *
The bed in the smithy was very narrow. It felt even narrower than the bed in his room that I remembered. But it was enough for us to share our love. In fact, I liked being closer to him.
While leisurely enjoying the afterglow, he wrapped his arm around my bare shoulder. With his other hand, he caressed the back of my hand. I spoke nonchalantly to him, who was concerned about the burn scars.
“There was no proper way to remove the marks. But it didn’t hurt that much. I had smuggled some usable painkillers from the temple beforehand.”
“It wasn’t completely painless, though.”
“Nothing compared to a stab wound.”
With the scarred hand, I touched the wound on his chest. A long scar, about the size of a palm, ran under the last rib.
“I was fine too. The wound was clean, so it just needed stitching.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you talking about? Thanks to you, I survived.”
“You were worried when you heard I was dead, weren’t you?”
His sole blue eye softened.
“Did you believe that I would follow Grand Duke Roman to death? Of course not. I always thought you were safe.”
“I’m glad.”
“…In my mind, at least. My heart couldn’t stay calm, though.”
His smile faltered a bit. The distress of the past was clearly etched in his now twisted gaze. I gently cupped his cheek, feeling a pang of sorrow.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
“No, I should be sorry. I never knew being left alone could be so terrifying.”
