The Banished Black Swordsman Wants a Peaceful Life with the White Saint in the Frontier ~Huh? You Want Him to Come Back with the Saint? It’s Already Too Late~ - 61

Chapter 61: Just a Little Longer, Our Special Morning for Two

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The birds’ voices rolled faintly in the distance. The wind that swept over the cliff tops sounded softly as it passed through the gaps in the window. The blanket on the bed still held the warmth of the night as it received the morning light at a slant. The first thing he noticed was the scent. Dry cotton, the smell of freshly washed hair, and somewhere within it, a faint hint of sweet grass.

And then—inside the arms wrapped in front of his chest, there was a much clearer warmth. Warm, soft, and with a definite weight right there. What his fingertips brushed against was astonishingly smooth, so pleasant that he wanted to keep touching it forever. As he surfaced from the depths of sleep, something soft touched his cheek. With each quiet breath, a shoulder rose and fell gently.

What is this…?

When he forced his eyelids open… The first thing that leapt into his vision was a pair of pale blue-green eyes. Then silver-white hair, and white skin.

Lusha Catomiar. She was the most important person in Lloyd’s life.

“Eh!?”

A startled cry escaped him on its own. After all, the girl in Lloyd’s arms was completely naked. And with a soft smile on her face, she was simply staring at him with evident curiosity. Startled, he almost pulled his body back, and his fingertips grazed her hip bone. The smoothness snapped him back to his senses.

“Ah…”

He thought it was a dream. But the silky feel of hair brushing his cheek, the body heat beneath the blanket—those were real. And… The feel of this soft skin was certainly the same one he had touched so much last night.

Then his memories came back, as if he were picking up particles of light one by one. Her sobbing and the words they had hurled at each other. The trembling of her body when he embraced her. Forgiveness, wishes, confession. The moment their lips touched, the mark on his right hand beating with a different pulse. Black and white melting together and becoming one.

At the time, he hadn’t been able to think about it but surely, that had been “Resonance.” For Lloyd, it was the first resonance of his life. And for Lusha, it was probably her first as well. That lingering happiness still faintly remained deep within his body.

“Good morning, Lloyd. I woke up earlier than you today, didn’t I?”

Lusha showed him a smile tinged with just a little teasing intent. That alone made his chest tighten. She was dear to him. More than usual, he found himself thinking that.

“…Yeah.”

Lloyd gave a wry smile. Normally, Lloyd woke up just a little earlier than her. Before stirring the ashes of the campfire, it had become his habit to look at her silver-white hair from the side and check her sleeping face. It seemed that role had been taken from him today.

“I got to see a lot of your sleeping face, Lloyd.”

“Stop it. I’m sure I looked like an idiot.”

“That’s not true. You were cute, you know?”

“C-cute…?”

That should be my line…!

He thought about snapping back, but he swallowed the words. If he said it, she would realize he watched her sleeping face every morning. Whether she knew his true feelings or not, Lusha gently placed her hand against Lloyd’s cheek, looking fond. Her palm was surprisingly warm, yet her fingertips were cool, and for some reason that made him feel oddly at ease.

Since when had he forgotten what it felt like for someone’s palm to touch his face like this? He felt as though it had happened once, long, long ago when he was a child. He only remembered the scent. The face itself had already faded into a haze but even so, it felt somehow nostalgic.

Lloyd wrapped her fingers with his own hand. Slender, beautiful fingers. These were the hands that had unfastened the chains around Lloyd’s chest last night. They held each other’s hands and looked at one another. For no reason at all, both of them burst out laughing.

“This feels kind of embarrassing. Maybe because it’s so bright.”

“Yeah… I kind of get that.”

In the darkness, in a way, they hadn’t been able to see each other’s expressions that clearly. There had only been warmth confirmed by touch, closeness of breath, and their pulses beating together. But morning showed everything. The light streaming in was gentle yet merciless, revealing the flush in her cheeks, her loosened hair, her white skin, and her shy smile. As he pinched the edge of the blanket and draped it back over her shoulders, something restless leapt deep in his chest.

Outside the window, the remaining frost began to sparkle in the sunlight. The light through the glass illuminated the room, softly flattening the grain of the floorboards.

“What shall we do today?”

Her question sounded like a signal to turn the first page of everyday life. What had happened last night needed to be connected here to “the continuation of the usual.” Otherwise, the two of them would probably spend the entire day right here under the blanket. Somehow, he was certain of that.

“Let’s see… We’ll eat breakfast, do the laundry, and then… We should go collect yesterday’s reward.”

Saying it out loud, it sounded like an extremely ordinary day. But that ordinariness looked new. The position of the table, the cold feel of the well handle, the narrow stairs leading up to the second floor of Cron’s office… He felt, somehow, that everything would look a little different. She narrowed her eyes and nodded.

“That’s a lot on the schedule.”

“Yeah.”

After he said it, silence fell between them. The warmth beneath the blanket gently rose and fell in time with their breathing. From the gap in the window they had left open, the outside chill brushed against his ankles. The sun was higher than usual. He vaguely understood that he had woken up later than normal. If he didn’t get up, he couldn’t do laundry or make breakfast. He knew that, and yet his body wouldn’t move.

No. That wasn’t it. He didn’t want to move.

This morning was surely just one of the countless “mornings together” that would come in the future. They would sleep in the same bed again tonight, and wake up like this again tomorrow morning. Even so… This “first morning” they greeted together like this would only ever exist today.

He sensed that she was thinking the same thing. When their gazes happened to meet, she looked like she was about to say something, then closed her lips. Her silver-white hair spilled from her shoulder to her chest, creating a single streak of light atop the blanket. For the first time, he learned the contradictory sensation of being so full it hurt.

Before he realized it, Lloyd was already opening his mouth.

“Hey, Lusha.”

“Yes?”

“I want to stay like this a little longer.”

As he said it, he thought about how childish he was. Such foolish talk would surely be easily crushed by hunger or a pile of laundry. But just for now, he didn’t want to give it up. She blinked in surprise, then her face softened into a gentle smile.

“…I was thinking the same thing.”

As if relieved, the tension fell from Lusha’s shoulders. Finding her so dear, Lloyd gently pressed his forehead against hers. Through their skin, a quiet warmth passed back and forth. Beneath the blanket, her hand moved as if searching, then intertwined their fingers. Her slender fingers gripped Lloyd’s hand more tightly than he expected. Without words, it told him everything he needed to know.

“Lloyd…”

Murmuring his name affectionately, Lusha closed her eyes. Her long eyelashes caught the light, casting a faint shadow. Lloyd closed his eyes as well. Her breath brushed his cheek, and a sweet scent reached his nose. Slowly, they closed the distance and their lips touched. It was a brief kiss, just a touch. Yet somewhere deep in his chest, something remembered last night’s melody and trembled faintly. Only the sensation of black and white overlapping silently continued on.

Once their lips met, as if it were some kind of signal, they began to meet again and again. Strength flowed into the arms holding her, and in response, Lusha wrapped her own slender arms around Lloyd’s neck.

Outside the window, the wind sounded again. The birds’ voices rolled once more, scattering morning over the roofs of the abandoned village. Everyday life was waiting just ahead. But just a little—just a little longer, they wanted to extend this special morning they shared. Because the first morning they shared together was unbearably gentle, and within it, there was unmistakable happiness.

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