novelMemories are beautified and faded (5)
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Chapter 78: Chapter 78 Memories are beautified and faded (5)
She let out a sigh of relief with "Whew!", but she heard the thumping noise again.
Someone was there.
She freaked out.
Dylan's face flashed through her mind. She got goosebumps when she thought that he might have already found her house.
She got dressed urgently and went down to the first floor. After coming to the door, she tried to check who was outside the door. As if he noticed her coming down, the stranger outside the door went silent. She put her ear close to the door.
"Wendy, are you in?"
Stunned by someone's calling her name suddenly, she got scared and stepped back.
Soon, she caught her breath and laid her hands on her chest as if she felt relieved.
It was Lard's voice.
"What business has brought you here at this late hour?" She said with a low voice, opening the door. He was standing in front of the door, dressed in the same clothes as when he parted with her a little while ago. His face seemed flushed for some reason.
"I'm sorry. I've come here to tell you something urgently."
"...What do you want to tell me?" Wendy asked with an anxious look.
He said, "I'll tell you frankly. Just put aside your prejudice and listen to me."
She was nervous because she feared something went wrong.
Lard was silent, looking at her face seriously for a while. She grew more anxious when she noticed his face turned pale.
She grew impatient, "What are you going to tell me?"
"Wendy!"
When she first opened her mouth impatiently, he called her name loudly.
Frightened, she trembled.
"... I don't know anything about your past. No, I'm not interested at all. It doesn't matter to me at all..." He randomly babbled.
She frowned after hearing that. She thought to herself, 'Has he come over here to pick a fight with me in the middle of the night?'
Her eyes glowed with anger, "Why are you...!"
"What I only know is Wendy Waltz, just you. What really matters to me is you right now before my eyes."
"..."
"Wendy?"
She did not respond to his repeated calling. She looked down with an empty expression. She felt something touching deep inside like the setting sun over the sear, turning it red.
The name that he called repeatedly was stuck in the middle of her heart like a fixture.
"Actually, I decided not to say what was on my mind, but I couldn't help it today. Please understand me."
His voice was trembling a lot. She noticed his tense expression. She swept her forehead nervously.
"... I can't believe that you are the same person I met at Rajabude Museum, " she said with a curious expression. Lard looked puzzled at that, "I thought you were far from gentle and kind. I never thought you would tell me something like that..."
Hearing that, he unconsciously stroked the badge on his shoulder. Obviously, his words were not suitable for him as an imperial knight.
Lard, who never cracked a joke, spoke sincerely, "You can rest assured that I am the same person as before."
She reluctantly smiled gently like a farewell, "By the way...what you have said now is so obvious. How do you know about me other than Wendy Waltz? Who would know about me? I'm just Wendy Waltz. Thank you for coming. I want to say this to you today."
Returning to the room, she unpacked the bag and began to take out all of her belongings one by one. Like the hand of a sculptor embossing on a soft wooden board, her movement was serious. She emptied her bag as if she were going through a ritual.
After emptying all the bags, she felt as if she got something heavy off her chest. She felt surprisingly refreshed. She held her identity card with a relaxed expression.
She vowed that she would keep Wendy Waltz's name, and no one could take her name.
So, she had to meet Dylan in order to keep her name and identity.
She decided to find and visit him as soon as the day dawned. She thought he would find her within a day or two, but she could not allow him to spread her original name Olivia everywhere.
She vowed that she would never look weak and run away because of the fear he stoked in her mind.
With her eyes full of firm determination, she touched the name inscribed on her identity card.
The next day she went to the flower shop as usual and started work. She watered the plants in a hurry. She adjusted her clothes, waiting for a general store girl who agreed to watch the shop before she met the customers in the morning.
At that moment someone visited the flower shop. Wendy guessed the general store girl came, but she didn't.
Looking at the faces of the two entering the shop, Wendy stood up calmly. Melissa looked embarrassed, and Dylan was standing beside her.
"Wendy, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it ..."
"That's fine. Melissa...will you return home now? I think I have to talk with the customer for a long time, " Wendy said coldly.
Melissa checked her expression and reluctantly went away. After she closed the door with the clinking bell, Wendy opened her mouth finally, "Soon a girl will come here to watch the shop. So, let's move somewhere else to talk."
Dylan wanted to respond to her unusually cold voice but shut up with a sad expression.
She began to trim a bunch of flowers without making eye contact with him.
The waiting didn't take long. The general store girl with a face full of freckles arrived. Wendy left the shop after telling her something. Seeing the appearance of an unfamiliar imperial knight, the girl looked at him curiously, but the two disappeared silently.
Wendy started walking ahead of Dylan. After a long walk through the remote alleys, they reached an open space with long hills.
There were several small almond trees with withering flowers. Small dried petals fell and scattered on the green grass.
She walked into the grass, trying to find a space that would not be disturbed by anyone.
"Why did you visit me?" She asked, stopping and turning to him.
Dylan, who was keeping an eye on her back, paused a few paces away and looked into her face. He stood still as if he could not readily understand what she said in such a cold voice.
Suddenly, he closed and opened his eyes. The calm waves in his blue eyes turned into a black storm.
"Did you ask why I came to see you?" Dylan asked her with a sad voice. His face was distorted as if he was distressed. He continued, "Well, it would be easier to answer if you asked me why I would not come find you. Did you ask me why I came to you? Olivia... How could I not find you?"
Wendy looked down. As if she did not want to notice any piece of sorrow he showed, she coldly ignored him. As if she wanted to remind him that Olivia from the past didn't exist anymore, she hardened her expression further. Her lips were firm and tightly closed without any movement. Her face was cold as if it had frost on it.
"Olivia..." Dylan called her old name. There was palpable desperation in every syllable he spoke.
"..."
"Please, look at me."
She didn't lift her head.
"Olivia."
In the end she frowned and she shouted, furiously, who was indifferent to his repeated calling until now, "Don't call me by that name!"
"How dare..." Her lips convulsed with anger, and there was intense hatred in her eyes. The sight of it saddened him, "... It's a name I abandoned a long time ago. Don't call me by it with your disgusting voice."
"... I understand why you're reacting like this. What happened at Hazlet's mansion on that day..." His eyes trembled like a bruised animal, "...Yes, it's natural that you are mad at me."
He noticed her shoulders moving up and down with an uncontrollable anger.
"You understand me? No way, you'll never understand me! You ruined my world in that hellish place! You were the only reason I could live in that world...But you ruined everything! You were my everything, and I lost you that day! You made me lose everything!" Wendy screamed at him. Her angry rebuke was like a violent cry like a snowstorm."How can you say you've been looking for me? How can you be so shameless? How can you have the nerve to show your face as if you are the victim?"
"I'll explain why I acted like that on that day. Let me explain everything."
"Do you think you need to explain your deception?"
"I couldn't help it! I had no other option to save you." Dylan spoke eagerly like the defendant in court.
"... Did you do that to save me? What are you talking about? Are you crazy? You kissed Francis to save me?"
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