The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 80
There was nothing to hide. He wasn’t even lying. He was a man who had lived a life of superiority and nobleness to others from the time he was born. It wasn’t that difficult to express and realize what he wanted.
Herietta looked at Bernard with trembling eyes. She felt as if she had been stabbed by his words. Unexplained embarrassment and anger came at the same time. She clenched her fists.
“It’s because you don’t know what they are. They’re not the kind of person who I can easily get revenge on just because I want to.”
“Of course, I didn’t say it would be easy. No matter how hard you try, you may fail.”
Bernard shrugged his shoulders and murmured.
“But at this point, is it that important?”
“What…… ?”
“If you were to throw away your life like this anyway, even if you fail later, you won’t have much to lose.”
Hearing Bernard’s words, Herietta got quiet. She opened her mouth several times to say something, but she ended up closing it back without her saying anything. She felt as if she was faced with a fact that she had never thought of.
Little by little, her breathing lengthened. Rolling her eyes to and fro with a thoughtful face, she lifted her head and looked at him.
“Even so, my strength alone is not enough.”
Herietta gave her his view.
“I wouldn’t be able to touch even a single hair of theirs by myself.”
“Who said that? Do you have to deal with it on your own?”
Bernard raised his eyebrows and asked back. It was a question, but it has more meaning to it. Herietta hardened her expression.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m saying I’ll help you.”
Bernard said. Then his lips curled upwards and he gave a supremely gentle smile.
“I, Bernard Cenchilla Shane Pascourt, the second prince of Velicia, will help you, Herietta Mackenzie of Brimdel.”
* * *
Herietta slowly recovered. Unlike before, when she was reckless in eating and drinking, she ate her meal on time and full. She was trying to go out and participate in activities rather than spending her time in her room and wasting her time. did. Her thin body, which only had bones left, began to gain weight little by little, and even her pale complexion began to turn bright.
The light of life fell upon Herietta’s face, that used to have the shadow of her death. The royal doctors who had been shaking their heads, saying she was hopeless, saw her change and said she overcame a big hurdle and put a very optimistic prognosis in their mouths. Everyone tilted their heads and wondered at her sudden change, but the person standing at the center of the change kept her silence.
“Your Majesty really makes me raise a white flag.”
Jonathan said, shaking his head softly.
“Why would you make such an absurd promise without a plan?”
“Why do you think it’s absurd?”
Bernard asked without moving his gaze.
“I didn’t say that I would pick up the stars in the sky, and I didn’t say that I would split the sea in two.”
Bernard stood by the window of the study, looking down at Herietta as she strolled through the garden in the sunshine. There was a faint smile on his lips. Even from a distance, she was clearly in an incomparably healthier state than before.
Hearing Bernard’s words, Jonathan’s complexion darkened.
“No way……. You’re not trying to keep your promise, are you?”
“How can I do that?”
“Isn’t your opponent a Duchy of Brimdel? Moreover, the royal family of Brimdel may have intervened directly. Are you going to undermine the friendly relations between the two countries?”
Jonathan asked with a puzzled look. Then Bernard laughed it off.
“Why, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
“Your Highness!”
Astonished by Bernard’s dangerous remarks, Jonathan jumped. It was not the kind of behavior that could be evaluated as calm and cool. Bernard grinned as if his knight’s reaction was interesting.
“Calm down. It doesn’t mean I’m going to Brimdel and mess around right now.”
“Then, aren’t you saying that one day it could happen?”
“Well. What will happen in the future, no one knows.”
With Bernard’s natural answer, Jonathan’s complexion turned blue. His master was a bubbly person who joked about something so serious. He still looked relaxed, as if enjoying the cool breeze of the early evening, but Jonathan didn’t know what he was thinking inside.
“…… I feel like my life has been cut in half because of your jokes.”
“Oh no. I wasn’t joking.”
Bernard mumbled to himself.
“Sir, which do you think is more dominant, Velicia or Brimdel?”
“Isn’t that, of course, Velicia?”
Jonathan answered with a straight face.
It wasn’t out of patriotism. It wasn’t something Bernard said so it would be nice to hear. Velicia, who has risen to the ranks of an Empire, and Brimdel, a small kingdom on the outskirts of the continent. It wasn’t something that could be compared from the beginning.
Bernard smiled bitterly.
“I mean. I think Velicia might be eaten by Brimdel sooner or later.”
“Velicia is eaten by Brimdel?”
“Yes. Although Velicia is now considered a more powerful country than Brimdel, the positions of the two countries may change soon. Although the country is small in size, Brimdel is surrounded by sea on two sides and is rich in mineral resources. On the other hand, Velicia is an open land, half of which is an uninhabited wasteland.”
To Jonathan, who looked at him with a bewildered face, Bernard explained step by step.
“In terms of resources alone, we will never be able to keep up with Brimdel. Exchanges and trade activities with other countries cannot be matched by Brimdel and their sea routes. Sir Jonathan. In the future, Brimdel will develop more and more national power. On the other hand, Velicia will not develop and will fade away in isolation from the old days.”
“Then…… In the future, Velicia’s national power will inevitably decline, are you saying this?”
“No way.”
Bernard chuckled.
“If something is missing, fill it in. If you need something, you can get it.”
“But with the resources and years you mentioned, to get what you want to get…….”
Jonathan, who had been speaking as if he was complaining with a grim expression, clouded his words. If you need something, you can get it? Realizing something, his expression changed suddenly.
Hard, stiff facial muscles. Jonathan’s neck moved slowly.
“Don’t tell me…… you are going to break the peace treaty with Brimdel and invade them?”
Jonathan asked.
“It has been more than 100 years since the two countries signed a peace treaty and remained friendly. The consequences of breaking a long-standing treaty are unpredictable on Velicia. Don’t you know?”
“Sir Jonathan. Nothing is forever. A peace treaty, a friendship only lasts until one of the two countries breaks it first.”
Bernard said firmly. Then he looked forward and saw the Velicia capital stretched out beyond the walls. The image of the country where he lived was reflected in his gray eyes. The sun was setting. The appearance of the capital city at dusk is beautiful and lonely, as always.
“The treaty will be broken someday anyway. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be a bad idea to make the first move from our side first?”
“…….”
Jonathan looked at Bernard without a word. It was neither happy nor sad, it was an ambiguous expression. Sensing his gaze, Bernard turned his head to look at his knight.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your Highness looks different all over again.”
Jonathan answered.
“Even though I have been by your side for over ten years, I didn’t know that you had such great ambitions.”
It was as if he was looking at someone other than his master. He was full of surprise and worry. However, his admiration for a man with great aspirations and unstoppable determination is not small. Suddenly, Jonathan felt like he wanted to watch the country where he reigned and ruled as king by his side.
Bernard laughed lightly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just making a small talk.”
A golden twilight fell upon his head.
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