Newfear

Savirus – A Small Carriage Moving Through the Wet Streets

Liana sat in the back of the carriage, her body hunched forward, her head resting on her knees. The light rain tapped against the wooden roof, and the wheels rattling over the mud sent faint tremors through her feet. She wasn't looking at anything... just staring into the void, her eyes glassy, lost in the darkness of her thoughts.

The driver was an ordinary man, a drunkard reeking of cheap wine. He held his cup in one hand while lazily flicking the reins with the other. His tired eyes carried a cynical look as he watched the nobles in the streets tossing coins to beggars as if throwing crumbs to pigeons. He sighed, then let out a faint, mocking chuckle as he raised his cup slightly before speaking.

"AAh… the nobles."

He paused for a moment, then continued, his voice hoarse from drinking.

"They have everything. Money, mansions, embroidered clothes, servants polishing their boots before they even get dirty… And yet, they look at us as if we were filth stuck to their soles."

He took another swig, then nodded toward a nobleman passing by, laughing alongside a woman dressed in a gown lined with gold.

"Do you see that man over there? He may look polite, elegant, a respectable man... but I've seen men like him laugh the same way while ordering their soldiers to burn down an entire house... just because the poor farmer living in it was a day late in paying his tax."

He waved his glass as if trying to dispel an image from his mind.

"They think we don't see, don't understand, don't feel. But we know... we know how they live in their palaces, how they eat from plates of gold while our children steal scraps from the mouths of starving dogs. We know how they frown in boredom if their service is delayed for a moment, how they believe we exist solely to bow before them, to break our backs so their tables remain full."

He sighed, then muttered, staring into his cup.

"In the end, we don't even have the luxury of dreaming of something better."

Liana listened without lifting her head. She said nothing, though she had met one of them. To her, Raymond was a different example... but he was merely an exception in a sea of nobles who lived in a world of their own. Her eyes remained fixed on the void as if his words did not touch her... but they did. They sank their claws deep into her heart.

She pressed her fingers against her knees, each word from the coachman sinking into her as if she were hearing them for the first time, seeping slowly into her depths. She knew well that many nobles were as he described. She knew the ruling class knew no justice, that the poor starved while feasts overflowed in the palaces. She knew... and at the same time, she had seen it with her own eyes in a dark moment.

And what terrified her the most… was that she could not deny a single word he said.

At that moment, the carriage suddenly halted, its wheels slipping in the muddy road before jerking to a sharp stop. The rustling trees swayed strangely in the damp air, and the coachman's voice rang out in startled irritation.

"You there, madman! What are you doing in the middle of the road?"

But the man standing before the carriage did not answer. He stood in the middle of the path as if he were a stone, unmoving.

Raymond.

His face was hazy beneath his cloak, unmoved, ignoring the world's rhythm around him, even as the coachman leaned forward, spitting out words laced with anger. Raymond did not care for the man's complaints. Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out two gold coins, and tossed them into the air, letting them land quietly on the carriage's threshold.

Then, he stepped back before climbing inside, his gaze fixed on the carriage.

In that moment, Liana saw the familiar face before her... the face of a man she no longer knew how to deal with. Her eyes narrowed suddenly, as fear surged from deep within her. Her fingers tightened around her bag, as if trying to hold on to herself before she slipped away.

Raymond, sensing her tension, did not move immediately. He closed his eyes for a second, as if taking a deep breath. Then, slowly, he took a single step forward.

Liana's unease grew. She froze, as if time itself had wrapped around her. She tried to remain composed, but his eyes… they followed her. Without a word, Raymond sat quietly across from her. His movements were slow, deliberate.

She struggled to steady her breath, but words failed to form. Her eyes, which had seen nothing but emptiness throughout the journey, were now drawn back to him... as if he had entered her world once more in an inexplicable way. She closed her eyes for a second, feeling a strange weight settle in her chest.

The coachman glanced at her, uncertain of what was happening, but Liana lifted her head slightly in a quiet gesture. He did not understand, but there was nothing to do except flick the reins and continue onward.

The horses surged forward, and as the carriage rolled farther away, Liana buried her head between her knees, as if trying to escape what she had just seen... to escape everything... as if peace itself was slipping away from her.

But Raymond remained silent in his seat, his eyes fixed on the sky, where raindrops scattered against the carriage's roof... as if weighing their eyes with even more unspoken questions.

Time passed. The carriage moved. And inside, there was a deadly silence, as if nothing could ever return to the way it was.

Raymond: "You weren't the one who wrecked everything in the manor, were you?"

His words were quiet, yet they cut through the stillness of the carriage like an arrow.

Liana did not reply. Her body curled in on itself. She buried her head between her knees, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs as if they were a frail shield against the world. She was trying to escape... not just from him, but from the truth itself.

Raymond remained silent, his gaze piercing, unreadable. There was no anger in his expression, nor confusion. Just an unsettling calm, as if he were watching a familiar scene that no longer surprised him. Then, without warning, he exhaled slowly.

Raymond: "I knew that…"

Liana shuddered... not from the cold, but from the weight of his words. Something in his voice made her chest tighten, a strange sensation that she was completely exposed before him, despite her desperate attempts to hide everything. She lifted her head just slightly, enough for a fleeting glance toward him.

He sat there, unbothered, a small, almost sardonic smile on his lips... as if everything had been clear to him from the start.

Raymond: "When Rinus told me, I didn't believe it at first... until he said he went to my room and found you there. If you had done it, he would've told me about the damage to the manor, but there was nothing. Then I thought… what reason would you have to do such a thing?"

He paused for a moment, then lifted his gaze to her... as if delivering a final judgment.

Raymond: "Was it one of those men who chased us before…?"

She didn't answer. She only shut her eyes tightly, as if trying to push something out of her mind. But she couldn't.

Tears fell... not sobs, but a slow unraveling, a thread of pain spilling out beyond her control. With a trembling hand, she wiped her cheeks and murmured, her voice barely audible, as if confessing something she had been denying even to herself.

Liana: "They were with me… I was the one who planned it."

She spoke while staring at the carriage floor, unable to lift her eyes to him, as if afraid of what she might see in his expression. Then, after a heavy silence, she continued, her voice hesitant but laden with weight.

Liana: "When the first time I saw you… you looked ordinary, like any other aristocrat who ended up here, wandering the streets. But what made you different… was your lineage. No matter how penniless you seemed, you were still a noble of Vanheim."

She stopped. Her lips trembled slightly, as if fighting herself before adding:

Liana: "So, we planned to trap you back then."

The rain outside faded into a soft murmur, as if the world itself had paused at her words. She took a shaky breath, wiping her face in a futile attempt to regain composure.

Then, after a moment's hesitation, in a voice barely above a whisper... like holding something fragile, afraid it might break... she said.

Liana: "I deceived you… I stole from you… but the one thing I never lied about… was how I felt about you."

She felt her chest tighten as if the words were choking her, but she could no longer keep them inside.

Silence filled the carriage, heavier than any words could be. Raymond did not move, did not speak. He only watched her, his gaze impossible to decipher... not angry, not pitying… but something else entirely. Something that made her feel as if she had nowhere left to hide.

Then… Raymond reached for his cloak.

The fabric rustled softly, like a breeze stirring between trees. The sound made Liana open her eyes slowly, as if waking from a heavy dream.

And when she looked up… she saw Raymond drape his cloak gently over her shoulders... without saying a word. His touch was light, yet it carried an indescribable weight, as if it belonged to someone who knew exactly what cold felt like… and what loneliness truly was.

But what she was really looking at wasn't the cloak... it was Raymond's face right in front of her.

He was close enough for her to see his eyes, that flickering light within them, as if something inside refused to fall… a tear that wouldn't drop.

His features were calm, reassuring in a way she couldn't understand. There was no reproach, no anger… just presence. The presence of someone who didn't have to stay, yet chose to.

And at that moment, without thinking… she lunged toward him.

She held him tightly... not just a mere embrace, but a desperate grasp… a silent collapse in the rain.

Her hands clung to his clothes as if afraid he would disappear. She buried her face in his chest, and her eyes overflowed with everything she had been holding back. It wasn't just crying; it was as if she was releasing something that had been trapped deep within her for years… anguish, regret, sorrow, fear… and something she hadn't even admitted to herself.

When she held him, she hadn't intended to speak… but she broke down.

She gasped, like someone trying to breathe for the first time after nearly drowning, then began whispering, her voice fractured, trembling between sobs.

"I'm sorry… I… I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…"

She repeated it as if there were no other words, as if that single word held everything she couldn't express. Her voice was filled with something deeper than regret… something akin to slow, inevitable collapse, as if all she had suppressed had come crashing down at once.

Raymond didn't move at first. It was as if he was processing what was happening, hesitating for just a moment… Then, with rare gentleness, he raised his hand and lightly touched her head.

It wasn't a forceful embrace, not sweet words, nothing excessive. Just… a touch.

He started to gently pat her, his fingers lightly brushing through her wet hair, as if she were a lost child who had finally found her way back.

Raymond didn't respond. He didn't try to stop her. He simply let her cry… let her pour out everything inside her, while he comforted her in silence, as if telling her that apologies no longer mattered.

The rain kept falling, the world outside the carriage kept turning… but in that moment, inside that carriage, time had stopped.

Savirus – After what felt like an eternity of silence, the carriage finally stopped in the middle of the city.

Both of them stepped out. The streets were crowded, but all the noise faded before what was happening between them.

Liana walked a few steps, then suddenly halted. Raymond, who had been walking ahead, stopped as well and looked back at her in silence.

She was frowning, gripping her bag so tightly that her fingers trembled. Then, slowly, she extended her hand toward him, offering him the bag.

She said nothing, but the way her fingers tightened around it told him everything she couldn't say.

It was that unspoken word in her eyes, in the way she stood, in the turmoil that gripped her.

But when she finally opened her mouth, her voice was quiet, shaky, barely audible.

The air was cold, but it wasn't the reason her fingers trembled as they clutched the bag.

She stood there, silent, hesitant, tense, as if everything inside her was waging a battle. She had to do it… to get rid of it, to hand it over to him. But why was it so difficult?

And finally, in a voice so faint it sounded like she despised saying it, she whispered:

Liana: "Take it…"

Raymond didn't move. He didn't reach out, didn't even look like he had heard her.

Instead, he glanced at the bag she held as if it weighed more than it should, then lifted his gaze to her.

His expression wasn't pitying, hesitant, or even surprised. It was calm… confident… decisive. Then, in a steady voice, he said without hesitation:

Raymond: "It's fine. You can keep it."

But Liana's fingers only tightened around the bag, as if she wasn't just offering it to him but insisting... strongly, stubbornly, with a hidden desperation.

Liana: "No, I won't take it."

Her words were strained, but not weak. Raymond saw it.

He saw how her determination wavered between defiant pride and a desperation she was trying to hide. He saw how fiercely she was trying to defend something she wasn't even sure existed anymore.

He stepped closer.

It wasn't a threat, not an attempt to impose his will. He simply stood nearer… so she wouldn't escape.

Then, in a quiet yet undeniable tone, he said simply:

Raymond: "You'll need it for your family."

The moment the words left his lips, they pierced through something inside her... something she wasn't ready to face.

Her… family?

It was quick... the tension in her brow, the way she inhaled sharply, how her face paled for a second.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to respond, to say something… but only unsteady breaths escaped them.

Then, as if grasping for anything to keep herself standing, she stammered:

Liana: "W… What?! No! My family is fine! Who told you that?!... Was it Wilder?!"

Raymond didn't answer immediately.

He didn't need to. Instead, he slowly extended his hand.

Her hands were trembling. They were cold. Her pulse was erratic.

Gently, yet firmly, he took her hands, as if she was about to collapse without realizing it. He lowered them slowly, as if she were carrying a weight she had never admitted was there.

Then, he looked at her directly. His eyes were calm… but they said everything.

It wasn't the look of a man trying to convince her. It was the look of someone who had already understood.

Raymond: "I told you… it's fine."

For a moment, she felt like her breath froze inside her. She hadn't expected anyone to notice what she was trying to hide. And she hadn't expected it to be him.

Then, the next words came… softly, yet carrying something else this time.

Raymond: "Also, did you forget? … I am the son of Duke Vanheim."

It was gentle… but it weighed more than she could bear.

Raymond: "This amount means nothing to me."

To him, this bag was just numbers. But to her…? It was something far greater.

It was her pride. Her refusal to admit. Everything she had been running from since the beginning.

She wanted to refuse, to lift her head and throw the bag in his face, to scream that she needed nothing from him.

But she knew the truth. She knew it painfully well, without needing to hear it from him.

Her family needed this money.

But… to take it? To admit that?

That was harder than she could bear.

And then… he said it.

In a soft voice that left no room for retreat.

Raymond: "Don't worry. Just go to them. And if anyone asks where you got the money from…"

He paused for a moment.

It was brief, but to Liana, it felt like the silence before a storm, as if the entire world had waited with him.

Then, as if his words were just a passing remark, he said it with his usual calm, with that quiet weight that left no room for debate:

"Tell them it's from your husband."

The tension shattered.

Suddenly, Liana's head snapped up, her eyes wide, as if she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.

She stared at him, searching for any hint that he was joking, testing her reaction, trying to provoke her.

But Raymond wasn't smiling. He wasn't joking. He wasn't even waiting for a response.

He was… too calm. Too confident. As if what he had just said was completely obvious.

And then, as if that wasn't enough…

He lifted his gaze to her, his tone still composed, as if he were discussing something entirely ordinary.

Raymond: "As for me, I'll be going now. There's something I need to take care of, and I'd also like to check on Rinus. I'll return later to meet your family."

He said it with the same simplicity one might use to announce a meeting time or a short trip, as if his previous words hadn't been an earthquake that suddenly shook her world, leaving her amidst the rubble, struggling to catch her breath.

Then, with complete calmness, he turned and walked away, leaving her suspended between shock and confusion.

It felt as if something inside her had stopped working... or perhaps had started working in a way she had never experienced before. Her heart was pounding wildly, not out of fear, but because of something else… something she had yet to comprehend. A strange warmth crept into her cheeks as her mind screamed with questions that had no answers.

But she couldn't let him leave so easily.

Liana: "Wait!"

The word escaped faster than she expected, stronger than she intended, carrying all the tension she had fought so hard to hide.

Yet, he did not stop. She felt the blood boiling in her veins, the anger wrestling with confusion, and that unnameable feeling pressing on her chest with a suffocating weight.

Liana: "Who said we're getting married?!"

This time… he stopped. There was no rush, no shock, not even a moment of hesitation.

Just a brief silence… calm… assured. But he didn't turn around. He didn't need to. Because the smile that formed on his lips… was enough.

Soft, subtle, yet carrying something deeper than mere amusement. Something that felt like an acknowledgment... or perhaps a promise... without the need for words.

Then, without saying a single word, he lifted his hand in a simple farewell gesture… and stepped into the carriage. As if, to him, the matter had been settled from the very beginning.

As if she needed no answer beyond that smile. As if he had left her to drown in the chaos he had ignited within her… and walked away as if nothing had happened.

As for her… she remained standing there. Paralyzed between anger, tension, and denial… when suddenly, something crept into her... a feeling she couldn't quite define. A strange warmth. And her heartbeat, quickening without permission.

Heat rushed to her face even more, and when she turned to the street, she noticed a few people watching her.

Her face flushed completely. Embarrassment. Frustration. A whirlwind of emotions all at once.

And yet… despite everything… in that moment, without realizing it… a smile formed on her lips.

Not just any smile... but one of those rare smiles that come from deep within, despite all efforts to suppress it. A smile carrying traces of shyness, hidden happiness, and perhaps… something close to an unspoken confession.

A beautiful smile.

Then, As Time Passed…

Varlom, Northeast – In the high balcony of the castle.

The night sky loomed over the land, cloaking it in darkness, while the cold winds howled through the horizon, as if mourning the sorrow that engulfed the earth. Among the dark clouds, a raven carved its path like a black shadow against the frigid air, its wings beating steadily until it reached its destination.

The raven descended onto the high balcony of the Castel's upper floor, where Rinus stood waiting. He gazed into its eyes for a moment... eyes untouched by the warmth of life, yet seeing everything with a clarity akin to an unspoken truth.

Rinus's eyes widened the moment he saw the red seal, marked with the emblem of the serpent. His expression reflected a crossroads, a pulse of restless anxiety. His fingers trembled briefly, as if hesitating to touch it or even acknowledge it. But in an instant, he understood, his eyes sinking into that bitter clarity. He turned sharply, his swift footsteps echoing through the dimly lit marble corridors, his gaze steeled with a haunting resolve, heading straight outside.