Uncle's Past II [LEON]

She…was a mute.

I realized why she didn’t scream for help or said anything until now. It wasn’t that she didn’t rather it was that she couldn’t.

That was something foreign to me. I realized her condition, I realized that this was the first time I encountered something like that. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to interact.

I was flustered.

I don’t know whether she probably understood by flusteration but she then grabbed a thin broken branch beside her and wrote on the ground. It was a language that I understood.

It relieved my hesitation a bit.

She wrote…Thank you for saving me.

I didn’t know how to answer welcome but amidst the confusion, she wrote that she could somewhat understand what I was saying by reading my lips. Though it was more confusing than others it was comprehensible.

I was relieved and sighed.

She wrote about whether she could follow me to another town then we could part away.

I agreed.

We moved on to the destination.

It would take about 2 days to reach the other town on foot. We walked. I never realized myself but I kinda become softer towards her company.

I was used to walking but I was a little hesitant about whether she could keep up but surprisingly she did. She followed me silently and whenever I looked back to check. She would just give off a gentle smile.

We encountered multiple monsters amidst the travel. Rather than before where I would mindlessly think of slaying quickly and going away, this time I decided to take it a little slow by protecting her. I acted as an escort for her.

Often, she would look a little grim probably thinking of herself as a burden but I ensured that wasn’t really a problem.

The night fell, and we decided to camp beside a river. She wrote in the ground asking me about whether she could freshen up in the river. I nodded as It wasn’t something she needed to ask me for.

Though, the way she asked me about little things, concerned me a little. This girl…Just what kind of life was she living until now? From the carriage she was in. It was like some sort of noble family yet I was not familiar with either the fallen knight’s armor or the crest. She probably lived her life being instructed always.

I hear the noise of splashing water from the river. Curiosity took over me and I glanced at the river.

Black, silken hair shimmered under the moonlight. Droplets clung to each strand. Her slender figure, veiled modestly by the rippling current, glowed ethereal under the moon’s cold light. In that fleeting moment, she seemed almost like a moon goddess.

My eyes widened.

Then, she noticed me.

I was flustered and hurriedly looked away.

As I glanced once again, I could see a faint blush over her cheeks.

A new emotion stirred within me.

I instructed her about sleep and food. She complied, she didn’t question anything at all.

This way two days went by. She followed quietly. I don’t know what really happened in these two days but our relationship had gotten a bit closer than before.

We finally reached the town.

“I will book the inn for today so let's discuss other things later”

She nods.

It was a borderland town. So, it was much quieter and had fewer people than other cities. There were travelers from across the borders, traders, and merchants who traded between the kingdoms, etc.

I booked a room for two at the inn.

After having dinner, we went to our respective rooms.

Amidst my sleep, my eyes snapped opens up. I sense something. A malice, a murderous intent. I dashed out of the room reaching her room.

And…I guess my right. I confront a scene of her about to be killed by an unknown assassin.

The assassin is alerted, he quickly tries to finish off his job but I dash and take him down.

I take his own weapon and shove it up into him, slaying him.

She was frightened. She was shivering. Again, thoughts appear in my mind. Who was she? What was her actual situation?

I didn’t know what to do, I hesitantly embraced her. She was a bit taken aback yet accepted it.

The next day. I decided to investigate a little. I asked her to stay at a safe hidden place.

It was not that difficult to learn about as it was quite well-known in the town I guess. In a certain bar, I heard the conversation among the drunkards.

They were talking about a noble family of a neighboring kingdom. Apparently, there lived a renowned noble family in the neighboring kingdom. However, one of their daughters was born differently.

She was a mute. So, the family decided that she would end up shaming their name. Though, apparently she was pretty talented herself. Even then, the family couldn’t accept a child with a disability. To make it worse, she was an illegitimate child of the lord of the family.

All these years, she was safe because of her father but with his death, she was exiled to a neighboring kingdom.

But it didn’t satisfy their heart so they hired assassins and bandits to completely erase her existence.

I clenched my fist. An unknown anger spurred in my heart. I return to her side.

“I guess I never really knew your name,” I asked

She then holds out my palm. She traced deliberate letters across my skin.

“Her name was Rosaria…”