Lantern Against the Wind

Elena turned her head around to take in the vast estate. ‘The son of Duke Garcia… he was the heir to the duke’s family.’ With her head still leaned back, Elena closed her eyes and imagined a young Gareth riding a wooden horse and wandering around the estate.
She then remembered the dreams Gareth had mentioned, the nightmares where his family couldn’t recognize him because he had become a completely different person.

Elena lowered her head and opened her eyes to look at Gareth.
The man was at least one head taller than her and possessed a sleek, but muscular body that was littered with scars.
She glanced at his bandaged arm and was instantly reminded of the terrible wound she had seen earlier which looked as if his arm and shoulder had been shredded into pieces by sharp objects.
She began to think about what might have happened, then shuddered in fear.
After rolling off the slope in the forest, she had been unconscious for a while.
When she came to, she was back in the castle.
She wasn’t sure what had happened in the woods and who had brought her back, but after seeing Gareth’s scars, there was no need to ask such questions anymore.
Elena exhaled heavily from the realization of almost dying and the sacrifices that Gareth made to save her.

From the corner of his eye, Gareth could see what Elena was doing.
For some reason, when he saw her look up at the sky, then at him, his heart throbbed.
Although he had decided to ignore his emotions so that the training could continue, he couldn’t stay still when he noticed the change in the woman’s atmosphere and breathing.
It almost looked as if she was going to cry soon.

“Giggs, lead the rest of the training,” Gareth instructed.

“Yes, sir.”

Gareth roughly swept away the droplets of sweat on his forehead and strode towards Elena.

“Aren’t you cold? Do you want to go back in?” he asked when he reached her.

Elena kept her eyes on his chest and didn’t answer, leaving Gareth to pick her up in his arms without further questioning.
She could faintly smell his sweat, which Gareth had always been sensitive about.
Frankly, she had never minded his body odor and considered it to be natural for him since he was a mercenary.
Moreover, this distinctive smell had seemed to become diluted little by little ever since they started sharing a bed.
It was as if she was somehow changing Gareth’s scent.

“You’ll have to bear the smell for a little bit.
I’ll wash up as soon as we get back in,” Gareth murmured as he carried her back to the castle in his arms, knowing that the stench of blood in his body odor became more prominent when he would sweat.

“The king is going to attack his cousins and they’re planning on fighting back.
Both sides are trying to get me to stand at the vanguard,” Gareth explained blunty as he moved.
When he felt Elena start trembling, Gareth held on to her even more firmly and continued, “I’m not on either side.
I’ve recently learned that the king was the mastermind behind the extermination of my family, and I cannot forgive that woman who used my past to trick me.”

Elena listened to Gareth in silence as she felt his heart pound violently.

“I’ve learned my own ways to gather intel during my days as a mercenary.
Hansen is on the job for me now, and the information I’m waiting on hasn’t arrived yet.
I’ll make my decision on whether I’ll stand alone or form an alliance with others once I get it.”

After passing through the hall’s heavy doors and entering his bedroom on the second floor, Gareth carefully lowered Elena onto the bed and helped her remove the heavy coat and her socks.

“I’ll wash up,” he said before disappearing out the door.

Elena sat on the bed with a blank face for a long time after Gareth left the room.
His shocking remarks had caused her heart to beat violently like Gareth’s.
She raised one hand and pressed down on her chest in an attempt to calm herself.
She then thought about Gareth’s words once again.

‘The worst battle, the battle against the king.
And Gareth is going to be involved in the war allied with others, or even alone.’

Elena pressed on her chest even harder when she began to feel her heart twinge.