Shadowless Night

“Sister, would you tell us about the origin of the name Radwiell?”

It was Rosaline’s training class. Calyx sat down at a desk in his spare time to fill in her lack of common sense. Rosaline, who was usually obedient to her younger brother, hated study time. She ran and hid every time, but the adept Calyx always found her.

This time, Calyx caught Rosaline chatting with the chef in the kitchen. Sitting in front of the desk, Rosaline kept grumbling, but the confrontation ended when Calyx placed a crepe cake on the desk.

Macaron, who was watching the scene, clicked her tongue, thinking it was too much for him to educate his sister with food.

“The wheel of the battlefield,” Rosaline answered.

[T/N: Don’t forget that ‘Radwiell’ in literal raw is ‘of the Red Wheel.’]

“Great.”

The family's name came from the wheel of a cart stained with the enemy's blood. Rosaline, who remembered what she had learned in the past, gave him an answer right away. Calyx nodded his head and clapped while Macaron rolled over on the bed and smiled.

“It’s a family name that suits your father.”

While Rosaline was unconscious from her injuries, Macaron saw Count Fertan Radwiell. 

‘It really… really suits him well.’ Macaron kept muttering to herself, ‘Aiya, aiya, seriously.' 

Rosaline looked back at her while resting her arms on the back of her chair.

“There is another meaning: the wheel of many fortunes,” Calyx said. 

“It fits well. So it'll be shiny earrings if you put the wheel on your ears, and a pretty nose ring if you put it on your nose? So versatile. So funny.”

Calyx, who was sitting in the chair, looked at her flatly. The expression on his face was even funnier, making Macaron giggle more.

***

Before leaving for the capital, Calyx tried to find the mage that Rosaline had seen. The fight against the Black Moon is not over yet, and they still have the artificially made demonic force created by Fragment and the use of magic crystals as weapons.

No matter how strong Rosaline was and how much she could overcome Fragment, there was a limit to what she could do as an individual.

They desperately needed the power of mages who did not belong to the Black Moon.

But no matter how many they were at Vista, no one would write on their foreheads that they were mages, so Rosaline paid attention to the existence of the pickpocket boy whose face she saw. Calyx asked Rosaline and Macaron, who could sense magic powers, about the matter.

“There must be a reason for living in hiding.”

Macaron displayed a sarcastic attitude and flew out the window. However, Calyx did not pay much attention to it, as he had become accustomed to her uncooperative reaction and attitude. On the contrary, it would be strange if she is willing to help out obediently.

The problem was Rosaline’s cold reaction.

“No, Calyx, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ah, right. I’m sorry.”

The moment he saw her expression, words of apology came out of Calyx's mouth. What was Rosaline’s face at that time? It was like she had something buried deep in her heart. Yes, she was like a person.

Calyx was shocked in many ways, so he did not bring up looking for mages again.

Thanks to this, the preparation period, done generously, was shortened. By the time Calyx told Rosaline they could leave in the afternoon, Rosaline had on her usual face. Calyx sighed in relief.

“No, Young Lord!”

The knights of Radwiell looked at Calyx with worried eyes. ‘What do you mean you two are going up to the capital alone without escorts?’ The knights went wild.

“More and more people hide in the mountains and turn to robbery to avoid starvation. It’s dangerous, so we’ll go with you." 

Calyx looked at them absurdly, then turned his head to look at someone. The knights' eyes followed his and flickered.

‘Why are you looking at me? Hmm?’ Rosaline wondered.

The knights nodded their heads. ‘Oh, right. It doesn't seem dangerous.’

"I can't believe I'm so sad.”

Cecil Drythorne took time from her busy schedule to see the two siblings off.

“You promised to make a flower wreath for me and Calyx, Rosaline.”

When Calyx’s expressionless face showed a gloomy look, the Count smiled.

“I wish you a smooth journey. There are always accidents around you. Stay healthy until we meet next time."

The Count created a loving atmosphere as if Rosaline was her daughter. She took Rosaline’s hand, patted her body up and down, and hugged her tightly. The Count snuggled Rosaline into her arms. Rosaline patted her on the back clumsily.

“You, too. Hold your sister's hand well. Pass my greetings on to Fertan…”

The Count then gave a wave of her hand to see Calyx off. The send-off was vastly different, but Calyx didn't care.

He just wondered if that picky Count likes his sister a lot.

Rosaline rejected the three carriages prepared by Count Drythorne. They were too slow. Carriages carrying food, water, clothing, and people are inevitably slower than a horse, but Rosaline was talking about throwing it all away now. As they get closer to the capital, there will be more villages, so they probably won’t need to stay in the wilderness, but it was clear that they would suffer quite a bit.

“You really won’t bring them along? It will be difficult…”

“No,” Rosaline answered confidently, and Calyx wanted to cry. 

He felt those memories of running from Radwiell Castle to Vista come to life again.

"Let's go, Calyx."

He could read the excitement in her flat voice. Calyx swallowed a sigh and followed her with dragging steps.

Rosaline got on her horse and looked behind her one last time. She could see the Count still standing in the same position.

“I feel like we will be tied together for a long time,” the Count blew a kiss to Rosaline. 

Rosaline did not understand what the act meant, but she clumsily mimicked the Count's actions. It was so cute that the Count laughed for a while longer.

***

Rosaline never got tired. They ate the same thing, her quantity of food was a bit more, but it was the same thing anyway. Even so, Calyx wondered what his sister ate to be able to run around like that.

Understanding her impatience, Calyx did his best for a day or two and drove the horse at Rosaline's pace. But before a few days passed, he soon reached his limit. Calyx groaned with a pale face. As he sat on the running horse, his eyes turned yellow, and his stomach felt like it had turned upside down.

Born to be strong and trained by his father, Calyx had been through wars, and he's continued training by deliberately tormenting his body. Therefore, Calyx had only had a handful of colds throughout his life, and he was never seriously ill. It's only been three days, and he has reached his limit — only three days.

Rosaline stopped the horse in a hurry. After not paying attention for a while, her younger brother has turned into a half-corpse. She looked up at the sky, and the sun was going down the mountain. 

‘Come to think of it we’ve been running before the sun came up. So, it’s been quite a while?’ 

It was difficult to speak, so Calyx merely spat out a harsh snort. ‘What do you mean it’s been quite a while. It’s been a long while…’

As Rosaline got off her horse, Calyx also came down, but it looked more like he rolled down.

"Are you okay?”

Instead of saying he was okay, Calyx had no choice but to let out a shrill groan. Rosaline opened her water bottle and brought it to Calyx's lips. One of her other hands stroked her brother's back, and she swept the grime off his forehead. But, to do more than that, she was at a loss.

“Now you know how to make that kind of expression. Should I be deeply moved…?”

Calyx took the water and drank it with trembling hands. Macaron, who hovered in the sky, landed lightly on a branch.

“What, why are you still here? Are you sick?”

“You can see for yourself,” Rosaline replied.

"Where? What's wrong?

‘This is what happens when you are homeless for three days, barely sleep for more than three hours, and run like crazy day and night,’ Calyx wanted to say. 

Even if you rule out Macaron, his sister is a human being, but still. They had no idea why Calyx was sick. Knowing the reason and empathizing with it was another matter.

‘Maybe there is such a fragile creature?’ Their eyes said these unspoken words. Macaron came down to tease Calyx as a weakling, but she became serious upon seeing his face. 

‘Come to think of it, humans are a race with a talent to die from even the smallest wounds made with cutlery.’

 “Don’t die.”

The eagle's eyes filled with sorrow. Calyx laughed at the bird's joke but realized that her voice was infinitely serious. ‘She was serious…’ His laughter cut off.

A horse and a woman bustled and fussed over calling a doctor or finding a medicinal herb good for the body.

"Calyx, you must not die…!"

It was a voice so mournful that a carriage passing by at the same time stopped. The owner showed kindness by saying that he would help. Calyx declined with a face filled with shame. He said that his condition was only caused by riding for a long time.

The owner, who had gray hair, rolled his eyes as if Calyx was very pathetic and advised that it would be good to exercise for about 30 minutes every day. Calyx trembled. Despite Calyx's words that he was okay, Rosaline bought a few pills with monstrous names from the owner. What the hell is a dried and ground-up snake tail?

Calyx frantically rebelled against taking the drug. However, the rebellion became meaningless with Macaron’s intrusion as a disguised human woman. Calyx was captured by two women much thinner than him, and he was forced to eat the pills without even leaving the powder.