Moonlight Like Water (Part Six)

Moonlight Like Water (Part Six)

Yes, he had once believed their love would last forever, so sweet and so passionate. He had been so pleased with himself when he moved out of his tiny student dormitory at the academy to live with Wenna.

Lorist was both a student and a swordsmanship instructor at Dawnlight Academy. The Silver Rank instructors disliked him, so he had never bothered moving into the instructor's quarters assigned to him. He had no desire to endure their scorn and had stayed in the student dormitory room he had occupied since arriving in this world.

When had things between them begun to change? Was it their first argument, when his Battle Qi stalled at the peak of Black Iron rank and he could not break through? Or was it the time she pestered him to design two evening gowns for her parties, and he called her vain? She had been furious. After that day, she began finding excuses not to return to their home in the east of the city. She bought a building behind the boutique, furnished it extravagantly, and made it the Windsor Chamber of Commerce's headquarters in Molent City. She lived there and often hosted parties, turning it into one of the city's best-known salons.

Then there was the last time they had made love, the year before. Afterward, as she lay languidly in his arms, she spoke of the future she had planned for him. She hoped he would soon break through to Silver Rank and become a knight of the Windsor Family. Then he could be sent to their old territory to command the resistance.

Things there were going well. Uprisings across their lands had left the new lords scrambling to put out fires with little success. The military cost of suppressing the unrest had far exceeded their revenues, so they had squeezed their subjects harder. Impoverished people were joining the resistance, making suppression harder still.

According to the latest news from Knight Som, the resistance had turned its attention to the new lords' original territories. By setting fires in their own backyards, it hoped to place the final, decisive weight on a balance of war already tipping heavily in its favor.

Miss Windsor wanted Lorist to become a Silver Knight of the family and win distinction in the war to reclaim its lands. Then she could marry him openly without being mocked for loving a mere Black Iron Swordsman. Afterward, Wenna could entrust him with governing the territory until her younger brother came of age. She would only have to manage the Windsor Chamber of Commerce and the boutique, providing the family with a steady flow of supplies. Before long, the Windsor Family would surely prosper again.

With the beautiful woman in his arms asking this of him, Lorist had nearly agreed. But a sliver of pride and conviction deep within him stopped the words. He seemed to see a sturdy nobleman leaning on a two-handed sword, proudly declaring, "Apart from the emperor of the Krissen Empire and our own elders, the Norton Family will kneel to no one."

That was Little Locke's conviction, the pride of the Norton Family etched into the soul of this body's original owner. Lorist hesitated. Becoming a knight of the Windsor Family would mean taking responsibility for its fortunes. It would also mean kneeling before the Mermaid Emblem.

Seeing her lover hesitate, the young woman stroked his face and spoke softly. "Locke, won't you think about our future? Once your Battle Qi breaks through Black Iron rank, you can become a Silver Knight of the family. Then no one can stop us from being together..."

Right. There's Battle Qi, too. Lorist could only smile bitterly. He could not tell the lover nestled in his arms that he now practiced the Golden Water Art passed down through his family in his previous life, or that he had stalled at the peak of Manifest Force. It was his deepest secret, one he could share with no one, not even the person closest to him. As for the hexagram-shaped blood circulation used to cultivate Battle Qi, it had become a sieve. It could not retain the slightest trace of Battle Qi. He might never break through Black Iron rank in his lifetime.

He could tell her that he held two Gold Instructor posts at Dawnlight Academy, that no one at Silver Rank there could beat him, and that he could complete mercenary missions alone that even three peak Silver Rank fighters could not. But what good would that do? She did not understand Battle Qi. She knew only the traditions of noble families: only a Silver Swordsman or Silver Knight was considered worthy of the family's hopes and capable of taking charge.

Unless a noble family had very few descendants, none would let a child who could not awaken Battle Qi, or whose Battle Qi was weak, inherit its title. So Miss Windsor took it for granted that her lover's gifts were his intelligence and talent, not his fighting ability. She would rather her Locke had never awakened Battle Qi than have him go around wearing a Black Iron rank badge. Whenever Lorist was not at the academy or the Mercenary Guild, she insisted he take it off so he would not embarrass her.

Lorist wished the woman he loved most could understand that his Black Iron rank did not have to matter. They were happy together; why care what others thought? But he could not persuade her. In her world, wealth was something to flaunt. The more ostentatiously she displayed it, the more prestige the family gained. As head of the Windsor Family, she believed that was how she kept people from forgetting them. She could not tolerate any slight to the family's reputation. She wanted Lorist to stand beside her openly as a Silver Knight, not as a Black Iron Swordsman people would laugh at.

Three years earlier, after Madam Winsor gave birth to a boy whose father was unknown, Miss Windsor had ordered the baby taken away that very night and given to some farming household. Madam Winsor had not even had a proper look at her son. Grief had nearly driven her mad after the birth. When Lorist learned of it, sympathy for a mother moved him to track down the child and arrange for her to visit him. Only then did she gradually recover.

Lorist slowly shook his head. He told his lover he would brave any danger for her. He could even leave at once for the Windsor Family's old territory—not to command the resistance, but to help Knight Som and Knight Hurd direct its war against the new lords. But he cultivated his family's Battle Qi and could not switch to another method. Having lost contact with his family, he could only wait. He feared he would disappoint her: he could not break through Black Iron rank anytime soon.

Nor could he agree to become a knight of the Windsor Family. Even if his own family had exiled him, he had to await a summons from the Norton Family and could not serve another. Of course, that was only Lorist's excuse. Having come from another world, he loved freedom by nature and recoiled from the rigid hierarchy of the nobility. He could not accept its rules and restrictions. As he had once told Fatty Shi at the academy, he wanted to buy a large house on scenic Mount Brin in Molent City and live there freely and happily with Wenna. That was Lorist's wish.

After hearing his answer, she said nothing. She got up and dressed. Only at the door did she turn back, her voice cold. "Lorist, you know the truth. You don't really love me. You're like those other men—so good with words, but words are all they are. The person you truly love is yourself. You've never considered what I need..."

Lorist collapsed onto the bed. Do I love her? Of course he did. In two lifetimes, she was the first person he had truly loved. In his previous life, his parents had pressured him into matchmaking because he was getting older. He had married a woman after knowing her less than two months. A year later, they had a son. Husband and wife had treated each other with respect, but there had been no passion. Life had been quiet and ordinary. Only after arriving in this world had he understood that the love described in books was not fiction. Love was a fierce, ardent fire that made a person willingly step in and burn to ash. A soft word could touch the heart; a secret glance could say everything. Love meant seeing no one but each other.

When did love become something only one of us gave, with nothing in return? Must I change my deepest convictions and principles for love? Shouldn't love mean understanding and leaning on each other? Am I selfish, or has her heart changed? Lorist could not make sense of it, and he was too weary to try. Perhaps it would be best to let them both calm down before talking properly.

But Lorist had not expected that he would never see her at home again. Even when she needed new designs, Susie came to collect them. When he went to the Windsor Chamber of Commerce's headquarters, Wenna claimed to be busy or gave him a hurried, perfunctory greeting before leaving. He thought she was merely sulking. Then one evening, in the garden at the headquarters, he saw her leaning against a middle-aged nobleman, smiling brightly at him, her eyes shining.

That same night, she formally asked to end their relationship. The pain in his heart was indescribable. He could barely breathe. It felt as if his heart had split in two, the agony carved deep into his soul.

All Lorist remembered was staggering up to them that night. Her smile froze, and her face turned deathly pale. The middle-aged nobleman, on the other hand, stepped in front of her with impeccable courtesy and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Sir, are you all right?"

The man glanced back at the woman behind him, then turned to Lorist again, his expression growing serious. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Lorist could not speak. He only pointed at her.

Her expression shifted. After a moment's hesitation, she finally stepped out from behind the nobleman. "Locke, you've truly disappointed me. You have your principles, and you've never been willing to compromise them for my sake. You've helped me more than anyone, and you saved both me and the Windsor Family. But I've thought about this for a long time. We aren't right for each other. For the Windsor Family's future, I have to end this. You're a good man. Please understand."

Was this what betrayal felt like? His heart felt torn apart.

He had never imagined that his first "you're a good man" rejection would come in this other world. Lorist wanted to collapse and gulp down air, but the suffocating sensation would not let him breathe. A faint thread of pride held him upright. He gave a stiff nod, turned, and stumbled away.

Lorist could not remember how he got home. He only knew that Rina had been badly frightened when she opened the door to find him standing there like a corpse.

The next day, Lorist was still lying in bed in a daze when Rina came in to say he had a visitor. The middle-aged nobleman who had been with Wenna the night before appeared before him.

The nobleman spoke gently. He told Lorist that he knew the whole story. Though he sympathized with him, love was selfish. He loved Wenna and could not blame her, so all he could do was apologize to Lorist. Wenna had now asked to break up with him, and though Lorist had said nothing, he had not objected. Under the circumstances, the nobleman felt it would be inappropriate for Lorist to continue living in her house. He had come to ask what compensation Lorist wanted and would grant it if he could.

Only then did Lorist notice the gold Battle Qi badge pinned to the nobleman's chest. It bore a firebird. Gold signified Gold rank Battle Qi; the firebird could be a family crest, but it also signified the Fire Attribute. He had not expected this polished nobleman to be such a powerful fighter.

Lorist shook his head and said hoarsely that he needed no compensation, though he appreciated the offer. As for moving out, he would have done it that day without being told. After they exchanged courtesies, the nobleman politely took his leave.

Lorist packed a few clothes and left the place where he had spent three years. It held their laughter, their sweet words and vows of eternal love. It also held their arguments, their strained silences, the pain carved into his soul—and, at the end, that "you're a good man."

Lorist moved into the Red Raven Tavern and rented a room on the third floor. Then he asked his friend El to look into the middle-aged nobleman.

Before long, the man's background lay before Lorist. His name was Rophie Fosta. He was thirty-eight, a Gold One-star fighter, and a marquis of the Kingdom of Chigda held in high regard by the royal family. Notably, his father was a cousin of Qigda's king. He commanded the Kingdom's Imperial Guard and was both a powerful military noble and a prince of the kingdom.

Marquis Rophie had come to Molent City the previous year under royal orders, bringing a shipment of gold and silver to discuss coin minting with the Commercial Alliance. Drawn by the boutique's reputation, he had taken his wife there to buy clothes and met Miss Windsor. Since they came from the same kingdom, they got along well. After finishing his official business, Lord Rophie had found a pretext to remain in Molent City for half a year, pursuing Miss Windsor ardently.

"His wife doesn't know?" Lorist asked.

"She knows," El said. "She even supports him. What's more, Miss Windsor and his wife are very close friends. They tell each other everything."

Damn. What's wrong with that woman? Lorist thought.

El shook his head. "Forget it, brother. I've seen plenty of this sort of thing. When a man's heart changes, the woman suffers, but he might still come back. When a woman's heart changes, she's usually gone for good. She'll walk straight into a wall before she turns around. Besides, how can you compete with that marquis? Family? Wealth? Strength? You can't match him in any of them. He's brilliant and charming, and everyone sings his praises. He's only thirty-eight and already a Gold One-star fighter. His future is limitless. No wonder your lover fell for him."

"To put it bluntly, he isn't like those noble wastrels who chase a pretty face and hope to get her fortune too, then hire men to ambush her lover or challenge him to a duel. He won't give you a second thought. In his eyes, you aren't on his level. Even if you challenge him, remember that he's a Gold One-star fighter. You're a Black Iron Swordsman who can only push around Silver Rank people like us. You can't beat him." El's warning was earnest.

Lorist said nothing. Three days later, he signed up at Dawnlight Academy for an expedition to explore the Ruins Archipelago. Perhaps some part of him still hoped things would change in the six months before he returned. But when he came back, disappointment was all that awaited him.