The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 70

Herietta had a dream.

It was a rainy day. The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and no matter how much she rubbed her eyes, there was no light. Everywhere she looked, there were only gray clouds.

A dark forest with no people. An urgent sound of horseshoes resounded. A figure, which seemed small like a dot, grew bigger and bigger, and soon became the shape of a rider on a horse.

It was a man in a black cloak. He was drenched in rain like a drowning mouse, but he didn’t care.

He roughly stopped his horse, and jumped off. It was common sense to tie the horse somewhere to prevent it from escaping unless it was urgent. But now he didn’t seem to have the time to take care of the horse.

“Miss Herietta!”

The man shouted.

“Miss Herietta!”

The man’s mournful voice echoed through the pouring rain. The rain kept running down his wet face. His hand trembled.

The man wandered around like a madman. His soft skin had scratches and bruises from sharp branches here and there, and muddy water splashed on his face and clothes.

But he didn’t care at all. The man’s clear blue eyes scanned the surroundings quickly.

For such a long time he wandered among the thick bushes, crawling on the muddy floor without hesitation. He looked like he was ready to dig a tunnel with his bare hands on the spot if he could find what he was looking for.

“Miss Heri…… !”

The man who tried to shout Herietta’s name once again did not see the tree roots protruding under his feet. With his foot caught in the root, his body leaned forward. The muddy water that had been still in the puddle splashed in all directions with a popping sound.

The man lifted himself up with both hands against the floor. As he was about to stand up, something caught his eye. About three or four steps away from him, there was a shiny object, half-buried in the soft mud.

The man hurriedly crawled towards the place where he could see the object. Then he took what had been buried in the mud and washed it with rain water.

“!”

It was a silver oval locket necklace. Coincidentally, it is very familiar with the man’s.

He clenched his teeth to keep himself from screaming. Still, a low moan leaked out through his tightly closed teeth.

He opened the lid of the locket with trembling hands.

Click. A small space hidden inside the locket was revealed. Soon, in his blue eyes, the colored hair pictured within the rocket shone.

Had it not been for the rain, the hair would have boasted a brilliant golden color.

It was as if he had seen a ghost, the man had a pale face.

“Ah…….”

The man’s face contorted.

“Aahh…….”

His hand holding the locket trembled even worse. His breathing became rough and irregular. Looking precarious as if he was about to collapse, he grabbed the locket tightly.

“AAAHHH!”

The man, who had been sitting on the ground, kneeling, seemed unable to bear it any longer, tilted his head back and vomited his anger toward the sky. It was more of a cry than a shout. It is so painful and difficult that it hurts her heart just listening to it.

Cold rainwater ran down the man’s handsome face. No. Obviously, it wasn’t all rainwater.

His broad shoulders shook. Between the sound of the wind and the rain, his desperate screams resounded one after another.

With that sound behind her, Herietta opened her eyes.

* * *

She saw a white ceiling. The ceiling was built much higher than that of the Mackenzie’s mansion. It was something she had seen every day when she opened her eyes recently.

‘It was a dream.’

Herietta, who had closed her eyes as she lay on the bed, sighed in relief. Her back was damp and it must have been that she was sweating while sleeping.

It was a weird dream.

A gray sky overcast with dark clouds. A landscape in the forest on a rainy day. And the figure of a man who struggled and screamed in agony. She remembered all the scenes too clearly to dismiss it as just a meaningless dream.

‘Edwin.’

Herietta’s face contorted a little. His screams were still vivid in her ears.

He started showing various emotions little by little while with her, but he was originally calm by nature. There are a few times she has seen him sad and angry, but it’s nothing compared to what she had seen in the dream a while ago.

Even though she knew it was a dream, it broke her heart. If possible, she wanted to go back into the dream and convince him not to suffer too much, and that she was fine.

‘It must have been because I was upset that I lost the necklace.’

Herietta struggled to shake off her anxious mind.

‘It’s a valuable thing, where did I put it?’

She bit her lower lip, recalling the lost locket necklace. When she wore the necklace around her neck, it felt like he was there for some reason. So she always tried to carry it with her whenever possible.

Herietta let out a sigh.

After all, it has been a little over half a year since she went to Lavant with Edwin. It wasn’t that long ago, but it felt like more than ten years had passed.

Because the size of her longing was great, her loneliness was also great.

Herietta inhaled and exhaled her breath slowly. By now, Edwin would have returned from Bangola with Hugo. And he would have noticed that she was no longer there.

A place she missed so much, Philioche. It made her feel even more gloomy when she thought that all the precious people except her would be gathered there.

‘I wish we could meet sooner.’

Herietta placed her arm over her eyes and closed it. Like cotton soaked in water, her heart was heavy.

* * *

The fragrant scent of flowers prevailed. Everywhere the eyes see, there are beautiful flowers in full bloom. It was a garden that was carefully maintained throughout the four seasons by a skilled gardener. And in the middle of it sat a pair of young man and woman facing each other.

“Did you get in contact yet?”

Herietta asked quietly. Bernard, who was sitting across from the table, sighed deeply. How many times already?

There was no need to ask what kind of contact she was talking about. It’s a question he had heard dozens of times since he sent a messenger to Philioche. Like a parrot, she asked and asked the question she had asked him before.

Aren’t women generally fond of flowers? He felt sorry for her for being confined to the room all day, so he brought her here on purpose, but nothing changed from usual.

“I told you before. As soon as I get contacted, I will let you know first.”

Bernard answered, struggling to suppress the growing irritation.

“I haven’t told you anything yet, so doesn’t that mean I haven’t been contacted?”

“I wonder if you forgot…….”

Seeing Bernard’s sullen reaction, Herietta shrugged and mumbled an excuse. Bernard let out a breath briefly, as if the words made no sense.

“Even if I try to forget it, I can’t forget it. Every day, someone next to me nags me.”

“Who told you to come? Even though I didn’t invite you, Sir Knight kept coming.”

“Look at that. Contrary to your appearance, you are quite cold.”

Herietta rolled her eyes and glared at him, and Bernard replied with a smile.

“I’m afraid that next time I’ll have the door in my face.”

Herietta frowned at Bernard’s words. Next time. He had so naturally scheduled his next visit.

“Will you come again?”

“Why won’t I come?”

Bernard responded to Herietta’s question with another question.

“You’ve got everything you need, so now I’m useless? You are being too much.”

Bernard looked pathetic for no reason. As if he had been mercilessly abandoned by his lover, whom he had devoted himself to for a long time.

Herietta looked at him with a shocked face.

“You know I don’t mean that.”

She said so.

“I don’t understand why you keep coming back for no reason. Even if you come to me like this, there would be no benefit to Sir knight.”

“I don’t mind. I do it because I like it.”

“You like it…… ?”

Herietta, who was repeating Bernard’s words, frowned. What kind of unexpected confession is this? This was very out of the blue.