Shadowless Night

The boy had a strange expression like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He trembled and fully knelt, placing his head on the ground like a servant in awe of the master. The silence broke, and the crowd began to rumble.

Raymond also opened his mouth wide. Isn’t this the perfect example of what he said earlier?

 [Everyone will be thrilled and throw themselves at your feet!]

***

Raymond, Rosaline, and Hessa walked.

Ever since they led Hessa into the room and told him to sit down, he had knelt at Rosaline’s feet and looked up at her the whole time. Rosaline didn’t care much, but Raymond did.

“…Wouldn’t it be easier to have a conversation while sitting down?”

Hessa blushed, and he hurriedly sat down in an empty chair. Raymond frowned slightly and rubbed his forehead. ‘Not only does his behavior seem far from mannerly, but this kid is even from Roots. I don’t think his background will be helpful…’ 

From how the boy naturally knelt and bowed his head, one could guess how he grew up. Slavery is illegal in Illavenia, but that doesn’t mean people still aren’t treated like slaves.

Although the boy’s childhood was pitiful, you could not select an apprentice knight based on sympathy. After all, effort is effort; work is work. Raymond opened his mouth with a frown on his face.

“Apprentice knights who come under the service of a senior knight are nothing less than the limbs of their superior. Naturally, there are many responsibilities and obligations. Are you aware of this?”

Raymond coldly assessed the boy as not good enough to care for Rosaline. Unable to answer his question, Hessa ripped the rags in his hand and looked down.

“… I’ll try my best.”

“Effort alone is not enough. I don’t want an apprentice to damage the honor of a superior. I am talking about this unexpected act. Be cautious. Even if we haven’t formally signed you on, if you wear the name of White Night, remember that your every word and action does not only end with your accountability.”

Hessa lowered his head more and bit his lower lip. His flushed eyes twinkled.

“What do you think, Sir Rosaline? Do you think the apprentice knight Hessa will be able to fill the void of Sir Eberhard and Sir Leticia?”

‘You think he won’t be able to do it, right? So don’t pick him.’ Raymond spoke with a dissatisfied expression. 

Rosaline looked at Hessa. The boy, who glanced at her, lowered his gaze. The tips of his ears were red again. Rosaline grinned.

“If you don’t know, you can learn.”

“From whom…?” Raymond looked at her suspiciously. ‘Now, I have to teach another one too?’

“From Eberhard and Leticia.”

Raymond patted his chest and nodded in relief.

“Even so, they also have missions, so they cannot fully focus on schooling an apprentice. Will it be okay?” Raymond said doubtfully.

‘Oh, I don’t think he’s suited for this, Rosaline. Think again.’ 

“Yes, it should be fine.”

Hessa raised his head at Rosaline’s words. In this strange atmosphere, the boy rubbed his red eyes with one hand and blinked. Raymond took a deep breath. He had known for a long time that one could not easily break Rosaline’s stubbornness.

Raymond shook his head and stood up. He glanced over Hessa with an unyielding gaze of dissatisfaction, but he no longer spoke against Rosaline’s choice.

“Still so stubborn. I’ve known this since that incident when you secretly kept that puppy.”

Raymond pinched and pulled Rosaline’s cheek.

“I dwon wememmbahh.”

“Just because you don’t remember it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, Rosaline.”

It seemed that ‘Rosaline’ often picked up stray puppies. In any case, even though she didn’t do it herself, Rosaline got scolded, and now she was in a lot of pain. Hessa was staring at them when Raymond suddenly changed tune and spoke.

“Apprentice. Do a good job.”

“Yes, sir!”

Raymond ruffled Hessa’s hair. Hessa looked at Raymond’s departing back with a puzzled expression.

‘Uh… Is this okay?’

Hessa was happy that what he had hoped for in his dreams had happened. He gave Rosaline flowers recklessly, but he never thought she would accept them and himself.

Hessa was well aware of how the aristocratic world perceived the name ‘Roots’. As the power and prestige of the Knights of the White Night rose, the level and status of the prospective knight applicants also rose to high heaven. Which child from which great family? Someone’s daughter? Someone’s son…?

Among those great and very noble people, there were only four prospects from Roots. Out of hundreds of thousands of people— only four. To some extent, you could say that this number represents the general treatment of Roots: like a single plant root that was lucky enough to get stuck between the flowers in a bouquet— only that much presence.

Of course, he expected the wall of nobility would be high, but Hessa felt it more keenly after joining the group. When he got word that he passed the examination, his chest, which had swelled with happiness, was stabbed and torn by people’s sharp gazes and slowly caved inward.

Hessa, as always, let go of all expectations. Just by entering the Knights of the White Night, Hessa achieved his goals. But at least once, he just wanted to see the main character of that saga, the one that stirred up a lot of noise.

However, when he saw Rosaline, surrounded by the apprentice knights and protected by an enormous eagle, Hessa moved unknowingly. By the time he realized what he had done, he had already become an apprentice knight.

‘What kind of crazy situation is this?’

Logically, it didn’t make sense.

Rosaline drew much attention because she was a mage and held the 2nd Prince Ricardis’ trust. It was no exaggeration to say that those facts about her drove Hessa’s motives to be her apprentice.

Rosaline may also be aware of his situation as there was no reason for her to pick someone with a shady background from Roots. Is it simply because he is a mage? Is it because of a shallow sense of camaraderie? Of course, he wanted to be proficient at magic too, but honestly, he didn’t think it would work…

“Hessa.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Hessa replied, his body trembling.

“Can you move your magic power?”

Hessa calmed his startled heart and began to move his magic.

Rosaline looked inside him. The black, shining magic moved slowly: a giant, warm thing filled the boy’s body and pulsated. It was like looking at the night sky. Rosaline smiled, softening her piercing expression.

“It’s the first time I’ve met closely with a mage. It’s amazing.”

Hessa looked at her blankly. It felt like Rosaline was on his side just because she smiled at him. ‘Ah, so that’s probably why.’ Then he spat out a request that might be too arrogant for a subordinate to ask.

“Excuse me, can I see Sir Rosaline’s magic?”

Hessa immediately covered his mouth 0.1 seconds later. ‘Are you crazy?! Today’s behavior was so out of control. It’s true when they say that there will come a day when everyone becomes weird and crazy!’

“Sure.”

Rosaline’s answer was plain, making the boy think, ‘Oh, so it’s not a big deal after all?’ And Hessa regained his inner stability again.

The sunlit room suddenly darkened because of the giant body that covered the window. Sir Macaron flew in and sat on the window sill. The king of raptors stared at Hessa with sharp eyes. Rosaline, engulfed in the shadows, pushed her disheveled hair behind her back and closed her eyes. Soon, something huge that silenced the noisy world fell over them.

The boy’s body trembled.

It’s been a long time since the White Night fell over the continent. During this time, Illavenia suffered, and all the blame and resentment fell onto the demons. Hessa was branded from the moment he was born. Dirty. Ominous. Cursed people who block the light of Idelavhim and cast dark clouds on the continent!

Hessa lived a life always compromising because he didn’t get anything from fighting. Because he never got anything easily. So he accepted those brands as well. He agreed that his power was sinister, filthy, and cursed.

However, as soon as he felt the strong aura pulsing inside Rosaline, Hessa heard the sound of something that had hardened inside him crack.

An overwhelming force moved slowly within her. It felt like he was sinking endlessly into an immense wave or a whirlpool. Like the Milky Way was pouring out of the sky. It was scary. But it was also beautiful.

Hessa closed his eyes. The black sea was warm. The evening moonlight descended from above and glistened like a net along the waves. It seemed as if the gentle flow within it would float him to a better place.

Drops of tears ran down the corners of Hessa’s eyes.

‘Ah, it’s so beautiful…’

The cursed words he had heard countless times shattered and shattered again, like foam on the waves.

***

“H- Huh?”

Sometime later, Hessa, who had returned to Rosaline humming, suddenly felt like the sky had collapsed. His heart, full of expectations of learning and working hard to be loved, was broken.

“Originally, to join the Knights of the White Night as an apprentice, you have to be separately trained in basic skills before you can follow a senior knight. However, I heard that Hessa hasn’t been able to go through the process since you just came in. Is this correct?”

Rosaline was tidying up her uniform while looking in the mirror. Meanwhile, Hessa was weeping behind her back.

“T- That’s correct, but…”

“So they said there’s nothing I can do to help right now.”

Hessa bit his lip from behind her. ‘What kind of nonsense is this…’

“But, there’s Sir Eberhard…”

Eberhard… Hessa pondered over this name.