Farewell to the hero! chapter 18

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A death notice—the word signified someone’s passing.

I swallowed hard, holding my breath.

I instinctively knew that the letter had caused Kaindel’s strange behavior.

The letter was addressed to him, so the deceased must have been someone close to him.

Learning of someone’s death is never pleasant, and even more so if it’s a loved one.

So I could understand why Kaindel stood there, lost in the rain.

“…”

Though I knew I should shelter him with the umbrella, my body froze.

His face, up close, was eerily calm.

He wasn’t crying, hidden by the rain.

Instead, he seemed lost in deep thought, expressionless.

The atmosphere was still, yet more precarious than a glass about to shatter.

His usual confident, teasing demeanor was nowhere to be found.

And, normally, Kaindel would have noticed me approaching by now.

He should have heard my footsteps.

Yet he didn’t respond.

I glanced between him and the letter.

Suddenly, a sentence I hadn’t noticed earlier came into view.

‘Do what needs to be done.’

Do what needs to be done?

Was it referring to the great Catastrophe?

Why would a letter about someone’s death mention the Catastrophe?

I found it odd. ‘Do what needs to be done.’

Was Kaindel’s duty as a hero more important than mourning someone’s death?

A faint sense of rebellion stirred in me at the cold, indifferent command.

Just then, Kaindel finally noticed my presence, his gaze clearing from its earlier fogginess.

“Isa.”

“Why are you standing here in the rain? You’re getting soaked.”

Hearing him call my name snapped me out of my daze.

I moved the umbrella to cover Kaindel.

Given our height difference, I had to stand on tiptoes to fully shield him.

Kaindel glanced up at the umbrella above his head and let out a small, dry laugh.

The sound of his breath escaping cut through the damp air.

“Just felt nice and cool.”

“What if you catch a cold?”

“I’ve never caught one before.”

“What?”

I asked right away, unable to believe such an absurd claim.

“You’ve never had a cold? Even the healthiest child in the village has caught a cold at least once. It’s that easy to get. No matter how strong you are, even you must have had a cold at some point.”

“Seriously, I’ve never had one.”

Why won’t they believe me?

Kaindel responded to my disbelief with a mischievous tone, pressing his index finger playfully against my scrunched nose.

His touch was light as he casually rubbed my nose.

“Did you come to pick me up?”

“Yeah, you said you didn’t have an umbrella.”

“You’re so kind.”

With an unexpected compliment, his large hand brushed over my forehead and then rested on the top of my head.

Gently, he pushed aside the silver hair stuck to my forehead with his thumb and gazed steadily into my now-exposed eyes.

“That’s why it must be difficult.”

Kaindel suddenly dropped his hand and murmured softly, as if talking to himself.

His words were quiet, but clear.

It’s difficult because you’re too kind.

I mulled over his words for a moment.

I wasn’t sure what he meant, but “difficult” sounded negative.

Maybe because his compliment had come first, my heart that had been beating pleasantly started to slow down.

The sound of the rain began to feel distant.

“…Do you dislike it?”

My voice cracked as I slowly connected the words.

Unconsciously, I grabbed Kaindel’s arm.

The unfamiliar sensation of his firm muscles under my hand made me fidget nervously.

“Is it difficult because you dislike it?”

“That’s not it.”

Kaindel, who had been quietly listening until now, gave a crooked smile, lifting only one side of his mouth.

As he ran his wet fingers through his hair, my hand, which had been clinging to him, naturally fell away.

“It’s too much fun for that.”

How could I dislike it? His voice was flat as he took a step closer to me.

At the same moment, the letter that had been lying on the ground disappeared completely beneath his foot.

It was a deliberate move.

Even though he knew the letter was underfoot, he pretended not to notice.

I watched the letter lose its shape, then looked up.

As soon as I raised my eyes, Kaindel handed me something.

I hadn’t paid attention to his left hand until then, but there was a single flower in it.

“You like flowers, don’t you, Isa?”

“This…”

“I bought it on a whim.”

With a simple explanation, he gave me the flower.

It wasn’t a grand bouquet overflowing with the fragrance of spring. Just a single white flower.

Stark and barren, perfectly suited for the cold season.

“It was beautiful.”

But that casual gesture, the sudden kindness of buying a flower just because it made him think of me, overwhelmed me like a tidal wave.

“It reminded me of you.”

Ah.

I swallowed the gasp that almost escaped.

The sudden, unguarded realization hit me like a red alert.

My mind went blank.

He saw a flower and thought of me.

I racked my brain.

Had I ever mentioned to Kaindel that I liked flowers?

Had I even subtly hinted at it?

Of all the flowers, he chose my favorite.

But no matter how hard I thought, there was no way I had asked him for a flower.

Yet here he was, giving one to me.

And today, of all days, when I missed him so much.

The umbrella I had been holding slipped from my hand and landed in a puddle with a splash.

Where the umbrella had been, the pouring rain rushed in, drenching me from my shoulders down to my ankles in an instant.

It wasn’t a drizzle, but a downpour.

The rain, as relentless as Kaindel’s expression, was refrIsangly cold.

I fixed my eyes on him, watching him pick up the umbrella.

With it gone, his clear face came into focus.

My heart swelled uncontrollably, a tightness starting at the pit of my stomach and rising through my body.

My ears buzzed, on and off, in waves. I couldn’t hide the heat rising in my cheeks.

My lips stretched into a wide, uncontainable smile.

My face twitched with a surge of emotions.

It finally hit me, fully and completely.

I love Kaindel.

The deep feelings I had mistaken for fondness had transformed into love in a single, fleeting moment.

“Thank you.”

“…”

I conveyed my gratitude, filled with sincerity.

For now, I had to release the overwhelming emotions welling up inside.

Whether or not Kaindel noticed my true feelings was a problem for later.

I expected him to brush it off with a smile, but instead, he remained silent.

His gaze, unfocused and a bit unsettled, scanned my face as though he’d been caught off guard.

His expression was strange—he seemed both flustered and slightly angry.

What’s going on?

Just as the silence started to feel uncomfortable, Kaindel abruptly covered my eyes.

Startled by the unexpected move, I grabbed his wrist.

In a low voice, he whispered,

“If you don’t like it, stop me.”

Before I could even process the warning behind his words, something warm touched my lips.

Though my vision was dark, I instantly knew it was Kaindel’s lips.

…What’s happening right now?

It felt like my brain had short-circuited.

I couldn’t think straight. Heat kept rushing to my head, and it was overwhelming.

The sheer amount of sensation felt like it might make me explode.

Meanwhile, Kaindel gently bit my lower lip.

The kiss, which had started so cautiously, gradually grew more intense.

If I had wanted to, I could’ve pulled away.

But as soon as I understood what was happening, I found I didn’t want to.

Instead, I surrendered, closing my eyes fully.

Instead of pushing him away, I let myself sink deeper into the kiss.

His lips pressed against mine, over and over.

Just when I thought I had a moment to catch my breath, his wet lips enveloped mine again.

After exploring the outside of my lips, his tongue slipped into my mouth.

It slowly grazed over the spot I always chewed on absentmindedly, then teased my teeth.

I couldn’t stop the saliva that spilled from my mouth, while Kaindel, far more skilled than me, swallowed it as if it were honey.

His tongue, eager for more, devoured mine with a hunger I couldn’t match.

“Slower… just a little slower…”

“Open your mouth wider.”

“Nn.”

“Good.”

My chin hurt from tilting it up to meet his height, but at least Kaindel was supporting my back.

He pulled my body closer to his, completely enveloping me in his warmth.

Our bodies pressed together, making it hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

There was no space between us.

“Nngh.”

“Haa.”

Only after a soft whimper escaped my lips did Kaindel pull away, letting me breathe.

With our foreheads still touching, I took in shallow, shaky breaths.

The lingering tremors in my body took a while to settle, my stomach twisting with unquenchable desire.

Finally, Kaindel broke the silence.

“Why didn’t you stop me?”

“…Because I wanted to.”

By the time I had accepted his kiss, I no longer felt the need to hide my feelings.

When I answered honestly, Kaindel grinned and planted small kisses across my face.

His hand gently brushed through my hair, wet with rain and sweat, with a tenderness that felt so natural.

“It seemed like it was your first. Was I right?”

“You seemed pretty experienced though, like you’ve done this a lot.”

“It was my first too.”

“Liar.”

It was a lie, of course. There’s no way someone could be that skilled on their first try.

Sure, I hadn’t seen him kiss anyone else, but still.

“Come with me, Isa.”

Kaindel suddenly spoke, cutting through my lingering doubts.

I carefully stepped out of his warm embrace, regaining my balance on my wobbly legs.

I almost nodded, nearly swayed by the comfort he offered.

But before I could answer, there was something I needed to make sure of.

After taking a deep breath to steady myself, I asked,

“Why do you me to go with you?”

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