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āYou donāt need to worry about it.ā\n\nāBut still, be careful though.ā\n
Cain once again voiced out his concern towards me before he finally left. I stared at his back as he walked away and clicked my tongue. I really canāt get used to his current behavior.\n\nAfter the departure of the āsuddenly-changed-Cainā, I continued my search for Captain Julliusā whereabout. I have come looking for him at his bedroom but he wasnāt there. I thought he might be in the training grounds so I looked outside through the window but all I saw was two men,-who I have never seen before-, were engaged in a sparing with their bodies covered in dirt. Where did he go? Iām still unfamiliar with the headquartersā buildings layout. I was considering whether if I should go and ask Ortzen, but then I saw a familiar looking young man from afar. Whatās his name again⦠oh, itās Lathy.\n\nāLathy!ā\n\nLathy who was licking his lollipop, turned his head to the direction where his name being called out.\n\nāAh, Older sister Silla?ā\n\nāDid you perhaps come across Captain Jullius?ā\n\nLathy lightly shook his head then replied,\n\nāI didnāt see him but I think I know where he is right now.ā\n\nāWhere is he?ā\n\nāThe underground pond. Whenever he encounters any problem, heās usually right there. I think heās much more comfortable in a dark place.ā\n\nā¦, I wonder whether if he was ever locked up inside the dungeon when heās still a child. Although at that time heās just a child, it didnāt mean the demon who received him as a sacrifice would fred him.\n\nāWhere is it?ā\n\nāFollow me.ā\n\nLathy beckoned to me to follow him and started walking ahead.\n\nThe young man who cheerfully lead the way, left me at the entrance and said he very much disliked the gloomy mood inside it because it suffocated him, thus I went down the stairs leading to the underground all alone by myself. At the end of the long staircase, thereās a wide empty space that seemed like it was used to be a natural cave in the past. The air was a bit damp but it was refreshingly cool though? Itās just a bit cold. If someone couldnāt withstand the summer heat, this place could be used as an escape place.\n\nāOh! Thereās ice!ā\n\nIceblocks! At the hollow corner of the natural cave, was stored many ice blocks. Whoah, so this place is an ice storage room! If I ask Miss Ira to make some ice cream, will she make it for me? After I looked at those ice blocks for a while without carelessly touching them, I recalled my original purpose for coming down here. I need to find Captain Jullius.\n\nāCaptain, are you here?ā\n\nAfter I left the ice storage room, I continued to go straight into the natural cave. As I went further inside, the humidity of the air increased, and I could faintly hear the sound of water flowing. Amongst the stalactites that hanged from the top, the mineral ores gave out some faint lights. The sound of the flowing water became louder as I walked, and soon after I could see a pond where all the clear underground water gathered. Captain Jullius was quietly curling up by the pond and he instantly raised his body up as soon as he noticed my arrival.\n\nāMiss Epheria?ā\n\nThereāre many puddles of water all over the cave ground so I lifted up the hem of my dress a bit and made some small leaps to reach Captain Julliusā side.\n\nāWhat are you doing here?ā\n\nāThereās something Iāve to think about.ā\n\nSomething to think about? What could it be? I wondered what things Ortzen said to him. Or maybe he told Captain Jullius to reflect on his mistake.\n\nāWas Ortzen mad at you? Did he scold you for doing something of you own accord? If thatās the case, Iāll look for him and take care of it.ā\n\nIāll fight him and be prepared to be kicked out from the headquarters because of it. Wait, Captain Jullius will become more troubled if I do that. Thereās no one to replace Ortzen. Umm, how should I torment Ortzen without suffering any setback?\n\nāItās not like that.ā\n\nāIs that so?ā\n
Thatās too bad. Captain Jullius looked at me when heās about to sit again, then he tore up a part of his sleeve. After that, he wiped down the wide rock next to the place where he sat before with that piece of torn cloth. Did he do that so I have a place to sit? How considerate of him! Look, Sofia! Captain Jullius is a very kind person!\n\nWe sat down next to each other while staring at the slightly waved water in the pond. Beneath the dark surface of the water, there appeared to be something white swarm inside.\n\nLooks like thereāre some fishes live in there.\n\nāThen, what are you thinking about?ā\n\nāOrtzenā¦ā\n\nAs expected, it must be something related to Ortzen. Captain Jullius seemed a bit hesitant then said,\n\nāHe asked me to seriously consider about marrying you.ā\n\nāIt has come to this, so I might as well get married.ā\n\nāIs that so?ā\n\nCaptain Jullius heavily nodded his head in all seriousness. Itās unexpected, I thought he would readily agree to marry me without giving much thought. But of course, Iām proud of him that he can voice out his opinion now.\n\nāCaptain, do you hate the idea of marrying me?ā\n\nHe tilted his head to my question.\n\nāItās not that I hate it, butā¦ā\n\nāIf thatās not the case, then why is it?ā\n\nāIn the past, I was told that marriage is done with someone you loved.ā\n\nāWell, thatās indeed the best reason to get married and how itās supposed to be.ā\n\nBut of course, that kind of marriage is hard to come by. Thereāre just too many obstacles such as the difference in status, race, wealth, and other various reasons including the possiblity of getting opposed by the parents. And the saddest thing out of them is having an unrequited love.\n\nHis pale grey eyes moved sideways then looked at me.\n\nāMiss Epheria doesnāt love me, right?ā\n\nUhmm⦠thatās right.\n\nāI like you, but I donāt think itās love.ā\n\nMaybe.\n\nāHow about Captain Jullius?ā\n\nāI like you too, butā¦ā\n\nHe tilted his head again and this time he faced the opposite side.\n\nāActually, I donāt know what it means to love someone.ā\n\nLove. I also have heard of it a lot in the past. Just by the number of the love letters I received in the past, I bet there wonāt be anyone who can beat me in this matter in the entire Empire. But despite all of it, my dating experience is an abosulte zero.\n\nāI also have never experienced it myself, but Iāve heard many things about love.ā\n\nSo, if you fall in love with someone⦠I tried to remember the most frequently used expression that appeared in the love letters.\n\nāSome people said, when you see someone you love, you can see that the other person is shining in lights.ā\n\nāā¦, lights?ā\n\nāYes. They said itās twinkling and shining brightly.ā\n\nAt first I thought it was due to my blonde hair, but they denied it. I heard, if someone fall in love, the other person is shining in lights. The ladies around me described it very well, so I thought it should be right⦠Honestly, I couldnāt comprehend it well because how could the lights come out from an ordinary person. You know, theyāre not a Goddess.\n\nāLights, is itā¦?ā\n\nCaptain Jullius mumbled in a low voice then looked at me again.\n\nāAt that time, when I saw you jumped off through the window from the innās second floor, you were shining in lights.ā\n\nāEi, I think thatās the sunlight. That day the weather was clear.ā\n\n(T/N: ģģ“ (pronounced as āeiā. The same way as you pronounce āeitherā) is a Korean expressions/sounds used when youāre in doubt. I canāt think of any equivalent English expressions. I almost use āAwā but it sounds sooo cheesy.)\n\nāWas it really the sunlight?ā\n\nāOf course. It doesnāt make any sense at all to fall in love with someone you have never met before.ā\n\nāSo thatās how it is.ā\n\nāThatās right.ā\n\nAfter all, how could you fall for someone you donāt even know. In the end both of us nodded simultaneously.\n\nāThen, it means that Iām not in love with Miss Epheria.ā\n\nāI donāt love you either.ā\n
Even though thatās the fact, but somehow I slightly felt disappointed. Now that Iām not a clergy anymore and have an appearance fitted to my gender, Iād like to try dating someone even just for once. I want to date someone! That being said, I canāt mindlessly fall in love to anyone just because I wish for it.\n\nAfter we came into a conclusion, we fell into a deep silence and only the sounds of water flow could be heard. After a while, Captain Jullius opened his mouth again.\n\nāThen, it would be better if we didnāt get married. Perhaps in the near future, Miss will meet someone you love.ā\n
āAnd the same goes for you.ā\n\nāIām not sure. And alsoā¦ā\n\nInstead of continuing his words, a sigh was released from his mouth.\n\nā⦠Even if thereās someone I love in the future, itās unlikely that she will also like me.ā\n\nāWhy? I like Captain Jullius.ā\n\nāMiss is an exception.ā\n\nErmm, actually thatās indeed right. If itās any other woman, it would be hard to have a good impression on Captain Jullius. Even so, anyone could easily got used to him if only they put an effort to interact with him. I reached out my hand to carress the black hair whose owner was in a gloomy state.\n\nāWell, who knows. Donāt be too discouraged by it. Actually the nobles also find it hard to marry out of love. Most of them went through a political marriage while considering the gain and loss for their respective households.ā\n\nāā¦, Iāve also heard of it before.ā\n\nāIf I have to do a political marriage, I think itās fine to have Captain Jullius as my partner. Just by looking at how eager Ortzen suggested us to get married, I think the marriage will somehow benefited Captain Jullius.ā