To The Eternal Knight (2 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
How happy the baron and baroness must be. Since she’s grown up so well, maybe she even has a lover now.
Nerea’s thoughts drifted foolishly, perhaps from the drink. In an instant, her gaze—just shaking her head—locked onto Alejandro’s hand.
It had bothered her the whole time. Though he claimed never to have held a sword, that hand was covered in calluses and scars.
So an unfiltered question slipped out.
“How have you been living all this time?”
“Living? I barely endured.”
His desperate expression rose, and Nerea instinctively reached out toward him—when suddenly, a soft *clap* echoed.
“But!”
Still clapping, Alejandro gave a faint smile.
“No matter how I’ve lived or endured, my lady need not know.”
Her words caught in her throat. A tangled surge of emotion choked her breath, yet Nerea could manage only one thing.
“…You’re awfully arrogant.”
Trying to dismiss it with a grumble, as if nothing mattered, she turned away—but Alejandro clung stubbornly.
“If I may beg just one thing of you…”
“…”
“I’ve been waiting—only for the knight to come.”
“…”
“That’s all I’m saying: that I’m still waiting. Please remember the promise you made to this servant.”
Promise.
His flat tone pierced her deeply. Nerea swallowed hard against her rising breath and said,
“…You’re wasting your life on a worthless promise.”
“It’s precisely that ‘worthless’ promise that’s kept me alive until now.”
“…”
“It wasn’t a waste—the promise alone gave meaning to my life.”
Then, if you take me away, what’s left for you?
A sharp, overwhelming sensation surged through her like a tide. Nerea bit her lip and fell silent.
She couldn’t bring herself to ask.
Because no matter what, I can’t go back. Nerea knew she couldn’t give Alejandro what he hoped for. She’d already failed—and seen the consequences clearly.
So—
Nerea stretched lazily, as if at ease. Perhaps because she hadn’t properly relaxed while Alejandro was around, her shoulder joints felt slightly stiff.
“I like my life now. It’s perfectly satisfying.”
Alejandro’s eyebrows lifted slightly at the sudden shift in topic. Nerea gave him a small smile and took a deep breath.
“To be honest, I never even wanted to become a knight. Cutting people down, killing them—territorial squabbles done in the name of ‘conviction’ held no glory for me at all.”
“…”
“Honestly, Alejandro, you must feel the same, right? Thank you for speaking so cheerfully about your wartime experiences, but you were dragged into serving as my squire against your will because of me.”
“…”
“So…”
Her mouth felt dry, as though filled with sand. Nerea’s vision blurred, then sharpened again, repeatedly.
“…Stop wasting your precious time.”
“I thought you only excelled at cutting people down with words—but it seems you’ve got a talent for tearing hearts apart too.”
When Nerea lifted her head again at those words, Alejandro was smiling.
“Does it ease your heart a little to say such things?”
Only the corners of his mouth lifted.
Alejandro let out a cynical laugh. His dark eyes, sharp beneath fiercely raised brows, looked unusually deep.
“Go on. Keep acting like a loser like that.”
“What did you say, brat?”
“What more could it possibly cost me than my own heart aching?”
Nerea exhaled sharply, as if baffled. That tiny thing—or rather, the one who used to be tiny.
“You can lie without even batting an eyelash.”
“A lie? I saw it all with my own eyes.”
“What did you see?”
“That the knight suffered more from failing to protect than anything else.”
Nerea clenched her teeth. Seeing her pain so clearly, Alejandro clicked his tongue inwardly in sympathy.
Then why do you keep lying? You’re not even good at lying.
Every time she’d gone out on a mission, she’d disappeared from the barracks for days, returning each time with a worn-out face. She’d had nightmares—endless restless nights forced her to learn drinking. And nearly…
Alejandro stared bitterly at the liquor before shaking his head.
After “that incident,” I’d urged her daily to bathe and rest—but now she’s drinking again.
His voice grew even more sulky from the bitterness in his mouth.
“My heart was already torn to shreds ten years ago. And you were right, knight—once a broken bone mends, it becomes as strong as steel and never breaks again.”
“…”
“Break, mend. Break again, mend again.”
His knight slowly lifted her head. How long had he waited for this moment—when the dazed, watery eyes would slowly focus on him?
He felt dizzy, as if his head would spin off. Alejandro gave a faint smile.
“So it’ll be quicker for you to stop acting like a loser than it would be for me to give up.”
“…”
“Because you’ll never understand—not in your whole life.”
“What else don’t I understand?”
“That my hardest days began the moment your light went out.”
Light.
Nerea swallowed dryly. As she did, Alejandro let his eyebrows droop sadly.
“And ‘against my will’? Both now and back then, I volunteered to become your squire.”
“You’re lying.”
“It’s true. I missed you—so, so much.”
His jet-black eyes curved lazily like a well-polished gem.
“Of course, I didn’t expect you’d look at me and immediately call me a burst loaf of bread.”
Alejandro stuck out his tongue playfully and pressed his hand gently against Nerea’s fingertips.
Startled by the sudden warmth, Nerea looked down—and saw the wine cup she’d been holding was tilting dangerously.
Instinctively, she offered him the cup. Alejandro grinned and drank from it.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Downing the entire cup at once, he handed it back to Nerea with perfect courtesy.
“I’ve accepted a cup of wine. Next time, please let me know when you’d like a toast.”
After Alejandro left, Nerea recalled a memory that had been hidden away.
“Knight, your drinking habits are really strange, you know?”
Though complaining about the smell of alcohol, Alejandro had carried a soft, warm scent when supporting her.
His peach-colored cheeks, clear evidence of a cherished upbringing. That day when their shadows stretched long and swayed together.
“It’s because I never learned properly. So I’ll teach you—real good wine.”
Alejandro’s cheerful voice as he pouted and held out his finger came back vividly.
“With super delicious wine! You promised me, knight!”
Even his excited tone returned clearly.
But as her vision blurred and her eyes grew heavy, that joyful voice gradually turned into weeping.
“Please take me with you. You promised—you’d keep me as your squire forever, forever.”
His heartbreaking cry piercing through the pouring rain. Nerea couldn’t comfort him.
The nightmare was kind—pinning her down, rendering her utterly motionless, yet gently reminding her:
It’s better not to harbor futile hopes.
[This is the timeline separator]When she snapped her eyes open, the world looked like hazy darkness smeared across everything.
Nerea blinked several times. Only when tears rolled down her temples did she finally recognize her room, lit by the bedside lamp.
Her heart pounded anxiously, sounding as if it thudded right next to her ears. Nerea quickly sat up.
Through the dim light filtering in from the window, she descended the stairs. Her half-awake body staggered, bumping into the stairwell wall—but she felt no pain.
That sorrowful sob kept circling in her ears, leaving her unable to tell dream from reality.
Nerea had only one destination.
Alejandro’s room.
And when she opened the door, there he was.
In the silent room, at the sight of his bed, the breath she’d been holding escaped as relief. Nerea slowly approached. Pale moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Alejandro.
Beneath his tousled, raven-black hair—darker than the night sky—he slept peacefully. His long eyelashes fluttered gently with every steady breath.
She’d never noticed before, always seeing only his gaze fixed on her—but even his eyelashes were truly beautiful. Staring at his long, refined eyes, Nerea clenched her fists tightly.
Waves of feeling surged within her, yet only faint breaths escaped her lips.
Not even the slightest cough should disturb his peaceful sleep. Before him—like a sacred painting—Nerea stood motionless, losing all sense of time.
It was Alejandro’s slight shift that broke the stillness.
The thin blanket, which had covered his chest, slipped down as he let out a dry cough.
It was still only April—perhaps a little chilly. Without thinking, Nerea reached out to fix the blanket, then froze.
Under the bright, clear moonlight, her shadow fell upon Alejandro—once pure and unblemished. Nerea held her breath.
It was she who cast a shadow over this peace.
Then, and now.
Over Alejandro’s soft cough, she recalled a painful memory of his childhood coughs—when young Alejandro, burning with fever, couldn’t even call for a physician. His sunken cheeks appeared vividly in her mind.
Simultaneously, crimson memories surged back. Blurry figures drew closer, and Nerea covered her mouth with her palm.
Baron Zenax, the baroness, Johann, and their retainers.
So many faces she’d failed to protect.
“The knight suffered more from failing to protect than anything else.”
Alejandro had been right.
On those border nights, under skies blazing with fire and endless cries, she’d been crushed by guilt.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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