"Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"...?"
Leonardo, who had pulled back his body out of discomfort, stared at him with an expression that seemed to ask what he was talking about. Seeing Leonardo's reaction, which seemed rather wary, Andreas, whose eyes had curved, added in a tone mixed with disappointment:
"I even got dragged out for defending you in the courtroom, so I'm asking if you have nothing to say–"
"Ah."
It was an exclamation as if he had just realized. His golden eyes shifted slightly to the side as if recalling that time.
Come to think of it, this was the guy who had even made excuses that his fractured arm was his own mistake to defend him. Though his first impression wasn't great, he had ultimately been one of the people who contributed to his release.
When he had raised his voice and caused friction with the higher-ups, Leonardo had felt quite reassured, perhaps because Agrizendro wasn't in the hall. It also made his feelings complicated as it reminded him of his comrades who had defended him in the past.
Leonardo rolled his eyes and looked at Andreas.
Then, with an expression that seemed reluctant, he lowered his gaze and answered:
"...Thank you."
At that moment, Andreas felt as if he had received a strong impact to his heart. The golden eyes hidden beneath the eyelashes seemed to be shy, which felt fresh and at the same time gave him a strange impression.
Could he understand the feelings of a wealthy person risking their life to tame a wild beast? It was a ticklish response that made it hard to believe this was the same person who had broken his avatar's neck in the imperial capital.
Leonardo glanced at the left arm of the opponent he had shattered.
"You... is your arm okay?"
Though his tone still lacked any trace of courtesy, it was fine. He could even take a slap on the cheek from a beauty.
"Of course."
Andreas smiled and lightly waved his left arm. Along with this, the signpost of his heart subtly tilted forward.
As if his lonely soul, which had been wandering for a long time, had finally found its destination...
"Frederick, look ahead. It's the Gorge of Peace."
Loren, who had been following, gave a subtle hint. It was partly to preemptively block her colleague's advances, but also because the scene before them was too beautiful to miss.
"Huh?"
Andreas, hiding his confusion, turned his head to look ahead. Then, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, he let out a short exclamation.
"Wow."
At the conversation between the two, Leonardo and Flynn also poked their heads out of the window. The grayish-white rock face not far away first caught their attention. Following it upwards, they saw two stone statues standing firmly on either side. Clouds like carpets woven with threads of light were draped over their shoulders.
The two statues facing each other were old and faded with time, their details worn away to the point of being unrecognizable. Nevertheless, perhaps due to their overwhelming size, one could immediately recognize that their forms were human. The statues, carved out of the cliff, seemed to be tens, no, hundreds of meters tall.
"To see that so clearly, we're lucky today."
Andreas muttered as if feeling a new sentiment. Even Leonardo, who had been particularly quiet, parted his lips and let out a small exclamation.
He had heard that the Gorge of Peace was usually covered in thick fog as it was where the different climates of old Raina and old Logia collided. But for some reason, today there were few clouds and the light penetrated directly, making the panorama of the gorge clearly visible at a glance.
The scattering of the sunset flowing thickly along the cliff decorated a solemn and brilliant moment of quiet and hazy history.
Leonardo, feeling the pleasant breeze brushing his cheek, looked up blankly at the massive statues that encouraged a sense of elation.
Those two figures must be the kings of the two countries that had made the agreement. One was the great emperor from mythology, the sun, whom he had seen in the secret fortress on the peninsula. The other... though he wasn't sure, must be the king of Logia who had a significant influence on the founding of Raina Logia.
"..."
Brushing back his hair that tickled his eyes, Leonardo imprinted the hazy image of his ancestors in his mind.
He didn't know why he thought it would have been nice to see this together with that person, who apparently commuted on this road every day. He hoped that person following behind them would feel the same way.
Meanwhile, the escort team smoothly entered between the gorges where twilight was flowing.
Far away, the western gate of the Agrizendro territory began to appear like a dot.
* * *
The western gate, with its sophisticated grayish-white pillars stretching on both sides, was not originally a place used for general public passage. Since old Logia had been downgraded from a grand duchy to a ducal territory, it had been one of the military strategic points kept empty so that support troops could be dispatched at any time in case of external forces invading the imperial capital.
Therefore, unlike other gates, there was no checkpoint inside to verify portals or passes. Only the majestic stone gate, which seemed to have been firmly closed for a long time, and the guard unit greeted the escort team.
The stone gate engraved with intaglio seemed sturdy despite the passage of time, its appearance preserved by magical power. Though he had never passed through this road before, Leonardo felt as if he knew this pattern. It was a strange sense of déjà vu.
'Have I seen it in ancient documents?'
It was a pattern he hadn't seen at the gates leading to other directions of the Agrizendro territory. Well, to begin with, there weren't many chances to see closed gates on that side as guards were always stationed there.
As he was thinking about various things, the carriage stopped in front of the stone gate, and Flynn opened the carriage door and got out first. The guard unit seemed to know Flynn, as they saluted with resounding voices.
As Leonardo was about to follow and get out, Flynn extended his hand, saying to take it. Awkwardly.
"Do that for your lover. This kind of thing."
He threw out a light joke as he stepped down on his own. Flynn's hand was withdrawn with an embarrassed laugh.
As soon as he got out, Leonardo tilted his head back and looked up blankly at the stone gate.
"...It's really big."
It had seemed quite large even from a distance, but up close, it was even more overwhelming. Moreover, the intricate magic circles engraved on the pillars on both sides and the surface seemed to have such outstanding historical value that any quasi-scholar he knew would go crazy over them.
Looking closely, something was written in ancient language in the middle. Leonardo's eyes narrowed.
'The gate that... sees the sun?'
He turned around for a moment to gauge the direction. Wasn't this the western gate?
It's not an appropriate position to see the sun. As his thoughts reached that point, Leonardo recalled another sun he had just passed by. Then this gate must be a relic made at least a thousand years ago.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Flynn, who had come back after briefly talking with the guard unit, casually struck up a conversation. Leonardo glanced at him and then raised his head again.
"You're lucky. Seeing this every day."
"Hm? Ah, I don't come here often either."
"Why?"
"Usually, we enter the territory through a temporary portal before passing through the Gorge of Peace. This place is only used when there's an important matter or when distinguished guests come from the imperial capital."
"Hmm–"
Leonardo nodded nonchalantly, saying "I see." That meant, in other words, that he was being treated as a distinguished guest here.
Originally, the planned sequence right after the release verdict was for him to walk out of the Council on his own and leave the imperial capital. But for some reason, Flynn had said that the final release location was not the imperial capital, but the gate of the Agrizendro territory. He didn't explain the detailed reason, but said it was the Commander's order. Leonardo didn't particularly ask further there.
However, that Commander who had ordered him to be escorted to his own territory still hadn't shown up.
Leonardo was about to grumble while looking into the distance when:
"Blaine."
Loren, the 2nd Battalion Commander, who had dismounted from her horse, approached first and offered a handshake.
"Let me say goodbye before the Commander arrives. You've been through a lot. I hope you'll forgive the discourtesy from before."
The discourtesy she referred to was probably the moment when she had subdued him by stabbing her sword near his neck while arresting him in the imperial capital. It was a terribly unpleasant memory. But from their perspective, it was an action faithful to their duty, and in the end, they had raised their voices for him, so he decided to let it go moderately.
"Alright. Thanks for what you did in the courtroom."
Leonardo grasped Loren's hand and shook it lightly. Just as he was thinking how mature he was being, a gentle smile spread across her lips. Then, as if he had been waiting, Andreas squeezed between the two and grabbed Leonardo's hand.
"Am I forgiven too? I've already forgiven you, you know."
He brought his smiling face close along with the arm that had been broken. Leonardo stepped back one step with an uncomfortable look.
Noticing the sign, Loren pulled Andreas's arm.
"That's enough. Unless you want to be under house arrest again."
She spoke as the one who had found and rescued the guy who had been exhausted, trapped behind ice bars on a rainy day. Andreas seemed to remember that time too, as he let out an awkward laugh. However, not giving up, he emitted the most charming gaze he could muster to appeal to Leonardo.
Eventually, he leaned his upper body and whispered in Leonardo's ear:
"Still, we don't know when we'll see each other again."
At the impure hand movement that dared to try to scratch his palm, Leonardo firmly grasped Andreas's hand and raised the temperature as if about to burn it.
The unsightly man's scream echoed in front of the gate. It was such a satisfying sight that even Loren, who rarely laughed, let out an audible chuckle.
Then, as he was exchanging appropriate eye greetings with the escort team members, Leonardo paused and quietly looked back at the road they had come from.
Loren, who had been watching curiously, also turned her head. After a moment, she made a shade with her hand and murmured lowly:
"He's here."
Along with the sound of horse hooves striking the ground, the sound of hoofbeats grew closer. Andreas, who had been waving his stinging hand, clicked his tongue.
"He must have been in quite a hurry. To ride even that famous horse."
On top of a snow-white horse running at full speed and raising dust, a man wearing a white uniform similar to it was approaching rapidly with his cape fluttering. Blue eyes that didn't yield to the haziness of the dust and the intensity of the sunset fiercely fixed on one person.
Leonardo reflexively took two steps forward, parting the crowd. Soon, the well-built snow-white horse stopped near the escort team. The knight on the white horse landed lightly on the ground with agile movements, flipping his cape behind him.
Then, without even taking time to receive greetings from his subordinates, he headed straight for Leonardo.
He cupped Leonardo's soft cheek and lowered his head to gently bump their foreheads together.
"Did you wait long?"
It was an unprecedentedly affectionate question that could swallow even the smallest complaint.