North x Northwest

Ed feigned being downcast. It amazed Lil that he was able to afford such a useless act even while he was dying. His shrunken shoulders twitched before his hand took Lil’s wrist. Her skin was torn from her palm to her elbow with minor wounds densely spread along the arm. They were the wounds she sustained when trying to grab something while falling off the cliff.

Sensing his guilt, Lil frowned at him.

“It’s nothing.”

“Not to me.”

Lil tried to pull her wrist away, but Ed gently pulled her towards him. Lil, who was guided by her waist, slid into Ed’s arms as he sat up.

Ed muttered while hugging Lil from behind.

“…I should’ve been more careful…”

“…”

Ed dipped a piece of cloth in rainwater and wiped the affected area along Lil’s arm. Because they didn’t have alcohol for disinfection or herbs to help hasten the wound’s recovery, Lil had to suppress her groans as Ed cleansed her wound with only water. After, he skilfully wrapped the cloth around her wrist as if it were a bandage.

“I would’ve died if it weren’t for you…”

“That’s right. Are you finally realising that now?”

“…so that’s one more reason on my list to stay by your side.”

“…What?”

“It’s about what you said back then. Whereas I saved your life and told you things you’ve always wanted to hear, you haven’t done anything for me. You even asked why I did all that for you and you thought it was strange.*”

“Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

“At that time, I thought, ‘This is a confession.’ That’s why I didn’t interrupt you, I didn’t want you to lose that momentum by commenting on it.”

Ed pressed his lips against Lil’s cheek. For some reason, it felt like she could hear faint laughter coming from between those lips. Lil grunted, tilting her head to avoid him.

“How could that have been a confession?”

“Well, weren’t you listing reasons why you liked me?”

“I wasn’t.”

With a low chuckle, Ed wrapped Lil in his embrace to prevent her from moving away any further. His wet hair spilt over her shoulder and tickled her cheek. For a while, they both just sat in silence, breathing, rising and sinking together. The lips that occasionally kissed her gently on the shoulder were soft.

“Liloa.”

“…”

“I’m sorry. But I have no regrets.”

“…”

“No matter who wants to kill me, I’ll never regret not giving up on you.”

“…”

Lil stared at the fire inside the fireplace.

“What about you? Are you going to give in? Are you going to prove him right?”

The damp firewood was billowing a pitiful fire and futile smoke. It was only a small handful of light, but without it, Ed’s survival was difficult to guarantee in this shabby, dusty space.

The red light flashing between the fallen firewood was like a thin light of life.

“No.”

“…”

As it had stopped raining, the only sound filling their eardrums came from the burning fireplace, where tiny sparks bounced endlessly in the damp darkness. In reality, Lil didn’t think their situation now was that shabby anymore. The unquenchable flame’s beauty proved strong enough that not even the god of death dared to dwell in it.

The sound of life filled the forest where the rain had ceased. The sound of tiny creatures crawling out from under leaves, from their bases in trees or the tunnelled ones in the ground. Their lively steps bounced on the muddy soil.

Realising the forest’s strength that withstood the downpour, something inside her leapt toward the bright sunlight as well.

Lil replied, leaning her cheek against Ed’s ear.

“I don’t regret it either.”

***

Lil observed Ed in his deep sleep.

‘Mentally, he’s holding on, but he had to wade into the surf and walk all the way here, so his physical strength has been drained. In addition, his wounds aren’t properly tended to… Although the arrows in his upper arm and thigh have been removed, and his limbs are compressed with a towel, he’s still at risk of infection due to the poor conditions. His forehead is also covered with cold sweat as a sign of a beginning fever…

My mind had been filled with a strange sense of conviction before, but objectively speaking, things aren’t looking well. There’s so much more Ed needs; uncontaminated water, firewood to keep the fire burning, materials to disinfect his wounds, clean cloths to protect the affected area, not to mention properly cooked food… The problem is that I can’t move hastily. My patient is unconscious, and the smugglers may return at any given moment. Especially now that the rain has stopped, they might decide to return to their nook…’

Lil pondered while holding the hilt of her sword.

‘Should we leave now to resolve this situation, or should we wait for Linhardt, hoping he finds us here sometime soon?’

“..?!”’

But at that very moment, the sounds surrounding the cabin changed. The leaves on the trees were swept by the wind and shook off rainwater. Amidst was the sound of footsteps stepping in small puddles of fallen rainwater.

“Shit.”

Lil quickly looked back at Ed, who was fast asleep without a care in the world.

‘If I wake him up, the two of us could fight together, but I don’t want to do that to him. His complexion is already gradually becoming paler… I can see that even in this darkness…’

Lil unconsciously rummaged through the pockets of her pants. Obviously, she had no money or goods to negotiate, leaving her with no choice but to stand close to the door, holding the hilt of her sword. The wet, bumpy log wall pressed against her back.

Lil’s nervousness even prompted her to take out her damp gun. Lifting the gun barrel to her temple, the smell of wet metal wafted up.

‘Somehow, the gun feels more reliable than my sword…’

Footsteps continued to approach, alternating between stepping in mud puddles, and on leaves and fallen tree branches.

‘There are two people… But why does it seem that they’re cautious about returning to their cabin? Perhaps they’re not the true owners of this lodging as well.’

Even with those doubts, Lil nonetheless remained faithfully vigilant.

One of the intruders grabbed the door handle. The hinges of the front door folded before Lil’s eyes, and a short man pushed open the door and entered. Like her, the man was also holding a gun.

‘If he moves just a little bit more, he’ll discover Ed…’

Holding the hilt of her sword tightly, Lil aimed at the back of this man’s head, where his hair was balding in an oddly familiar manner…

“Huh?”

The balding head began to turn towards her in full swing, revealing a face she knew so well.

Lil blurted out this person’s name like a groan.

“…Alain?”

Alain turned and looked at Lil. The rainwater that hadn’t yet been wiped away shone from between his wrinkles. His eyes were filled with nothing but confusion, probably not realising her identity. Suddenly, someone’s hand stuck out next to Alain. A sharp finger grabbed the door. Not wanting to be outdone, Lil quickly grabbed the door and pulled it wide open.

Lil recognised the second intruder as soon as he faced her with his back to the forest.

“Jericho?”

Lil was so perplexed that she even lowered her sword. Jericho, on the other hand, didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately pointed his gun at her.

“Who are you?”

Lil’s shock rendered her speechless. As she stood there blankly, Alain grabbed Jericho’s gun barrel and lowered it. The old man’s eyes, which were pressed against his voluminous eyebrows and eyelids, narrowed as his lips covered in a thick beard moved.

“…Captain?”

Without even taking the time to think it over, Lil grabbed Alain by the collar.

“What are you doing here!”

“..?!”

Jericho similarly stood wide-eyed in confusion, looking at Lil from head to toe. Ignoring him, Lil gritted her teeth at Alain.

“What happened? It’s been a while since the Bell Rock left port, so how come you’re here?”

After his initial shock, Alain came to his senses and responded to Lil’s interrogation naturally.

“The Bell Rock did set sail, but we chose to head back… No, the real question is, what’s the Captain doing here… what the hell is this?”

“…I kind of fell off a cliff… But what do you mean you headed back?”

“Well, that damned Lil Schweiz had been taken somewhere, but were we supposed to just head back south by ourselves? Do we look like such bastards? No, but that’s not the point…”

Jericho, who opened his mouth for the first time, muttered after he scanned Lil’s appearance.

“…You’re a woman, right?”

Alain looked at Lil and rolled his eyes.

“…Yeah… She’s definitely a woman… What the hell is going on…”

Lil placed her hand on her forehead, massaging her temples with her thumb and forefinger while processing the hundreds of thoughts that passed by in just one second. The fact that her gender was revealed was the smallest of her problems. Her topmost concern was that Admiral Retiro was lying behind her, dying.

“Shit.”

Lil couldn’t let go of her sword, but at this point she didn’t even know anymore why she was holding it.

“Captain?!”

Jericho shouted, his face revealing the fact that he still didn’t understand.

“…”

“Did you fall off a cliff and become a woman?!”

– – – –

Reference:

“That’s what you said back then. Whereas I saved your life and told you things you’ve always wanted to hear, you haven’t done anything for me. You even asked why I did all that for you and you thought it was strange.” = chapter 245 = This scene happened after Lil escaped Venua’s mansion, went back to the Retiro mansion and was reunited with Ed while writing a response to his letter. Lil was in a state of confusion, asking why Ed would go so far for her when she offered him nothing in return.