The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 147

Bernard stood in front of the fireplace set up in the study. Flare, flare. The hot roaring flame burned the dry firewood. The expression on his face as he looked down at it was quite serious.

Knock, knock.

There was a light knock on the door. Bernard turned his head and looked toward the door. He already knew that someone would visit him, so he gave them permission to come in. Soon the door opened and his expected guest entered the room.

“Did you call me, Your Highness?”

Herietta asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. She looked at him wondering why he hadn’t shown up all day and suddenly called him at such a late hour.

“What’s the matter?”

“Herietta.”

Bernard turned to greet her.

“Don’t just stand there like that, come sit here. I have prepared your favorite tea and snacks.”

Bernard said, pointing to the leather sofa. As he said, simple refreshments were prepared on the table.

Herietta obediently followed his words. Seeing her sit on the sofa, Bernard strides over and sits down across from her.

“What kind of tea party is this in the middle of the night?”

“I just wanted to have a chat with you once in a while.”

Bernard answered as he poured the tea directly into the cup.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Herietta accepted the teacup he handed her. It hasn’t been long since it was brewed, hot steam was still rising from the clear tea water.

Herietta, who was drinking the tea while being careful not to burn her mouth, glanced at Bernard in front of her. He was wearing a stiff, angled uniform. Perhaps it was because she had only seen him dressed in armor for quite a few days, his appearance felt a little strange now.

“How are you feeling?”

Herietta asked. Then Bernard, who was picking up his teacup, raised his gaze and looked up at her.

“Much better. You?”

“Well, I…….wasn’t injured from the beginning.”

Herietta shrugged her shoulders and replied, shrugging it as insignificant. Then Bernard frowned.

“That was lucky. You could be seriously injured if you did something wrong. It may have cost your life.”

“…… Did you call me to scold me again?”

Herietta let out a deep sigh.

“I have told you several times. Even if I go back to that time, I will make the same choice.”

If Herietta hadn’t run into the battlefield that day. If she hadn’t attacked the Black Knight, if she hadn’t barged into the duel between the two knights. Bernard, the son of the king of Velicia, would not have been able to sit here now. He would have become a cold corpse and be buried somewhere in the cold ground.

And that’s a fact admitted not only to Herietta but also to Bernard.

“Herietta.”

Bernard, who was lost in thought, called out to her.

“What kind of existence am I to you?”

“…….”

She thought he was going to nag, but Bernard threw such a question out of the blue.

Herietta narrowed her eyes. What kind of trick is this again? She said as she narrowed her eyes.

“Arrogant, profligate, spiteful, stubborn…….”

“Don’t joke.”

Bernard stop Herietta’s words with a mischievous face.

“I want to hear your sincerity.”

Bernard said with a rather serious expression, without a single smile. The mischief faded from Herietta’s face when she realized that he truly meant it.

After pondering his question for a moment, she answered.

“You are a good person.”

“Good?”

Perhaps surprised by Herietta’s answer, Bernard raised his eyebrows. She nodded her head

“I don’t know what about the other people.”

“…….”

“You are also a very precious person to me.”

Herietta said with a soft smile. She couldn’t put a specific name on the relationship between the two. Still, she wondered if the word ‘a precious person’ would be enough to express her feelings.

“A precious person…….”

Bernard quietly repeated her words. A strange heat crept into his eyes.

“More than the person you said you must find?”

Bernard asked implicitly. In a tone that wanted to unravel her inner thoughts.

He didn’t say the name, but Herietta knew at once who Bernard was talking about. The completely unexpected question took her by surprise.

“That…….”

Herietta hesitated without answering. Then, Bernard, who had been looking at her, lowered his gaze down and let out a small sigh.

“No, that’s fine. You don’t have to answer.”

A voice full of bitterness. It seemed that he had given up, and was lamenting.

The air in the study became heavy. Feeling guilty for some reason, Herietta fiddled with the teacup.

More time passed like that.

“You must have heard that the Kustan army retreated, right?”

Bernard, who had been silent, spoke again. Herietta silently nodded. How could she not know? Because of that, the whole place has a festive atmosphere.

“As soon as the matter here is finished, I will go up to the capital again.”

Bernard said.

“A lot will happen in this country in the future. From the royal family to the central government and diplomatic relations with neighboring countries. The winds of great change will blow. How well we overcome that will determine the future of Velicia.”

Although they did not perish like Brimdel, they were unstable in many ways. Furthermore, as the crown prince, Siorn, was killed in action, a dispute over the succession to the throne would arise once again.

If they see it as an opportunity, it could have been an opportunity, if they saw it as a crisis, it could have turned into a crisis. Depending on how well they used this situation in the future, Velicia could prosper as a great power within the continent, or they could decline as a small country and disappear into history.

Bernard clasped his hands together and placed them on top of his legs. Then he inhaled and exhaled slowly.

“Until now, I had only tried to run away from the duties and rights given to me. If I stay still, everyone will be able to live in peace. I can avoid unnecessary disputes. I thought so. I tried to think so.”

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