Chapter 18: The Choice of Parting

The few days we spent in Norest were surprisingly peaceful—and enjoyable.

We ate delicious food, soaked in warm baths, and walked together through the lively streets.

Rowena seemed to have grown accustomed to city life, becoming attached to the inn staff and scurrying around the inn with her small adventurer’s backpack on her back.

I could not forget the look on her face that night under the lamp when she tried to call my name.

That earnest little voice.

What welled up in my chest when I heard it… it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

My new armor would take a little longer to finish.

I still had the money from selling the drake’s tail.

We could stay in this city for a while longer if we wished.

But we couldn’t remain like this forever.

I had helped Rowena because I could not bear the regret of abandoning her in that situation.

That decision had not been wrong.

However, I couldn’t keep taking her along with me indefinitely.

Travel was dangerous, and she deserved a more stable, safer place to live.

And for my own sake… getting too deeply involved with her was not good either.

If I thought about her future, now was the time.

Norest had an orphanage, introduced by the guard captain.

A safe place where she could at least receive a basic education.

Leaving her there would likely be the best choice for her.

I did not check out of the inn yet.

I still needed to collect my armor and prepare to leave the city.

After entrusting Rowena to the orphanage, I would consider my next route.

Having resolved myself, I took Rowena with me to the orphanage the guard had mentioned.

Perhaps sensing something, Rowena walked beside me as usual, but she was quieter than normal.

When we passed through the orphanage gate, it had a different atmosphere from the one in the capital, yet somehow felt familiar.

Children’s voices echoed from the yard.

I handed the letter of introduction from the guard to a nearby sister.

The one who received us was a kind-looking, elderly sister.

“Ah, this is from Captain Luis of the guard. Please, come this way.”

She led Rowena and me into a room that looked like a guest parlor.

“So this is the child…”

The sister looked at Rowena with eyes full of compassion.

Rowena hid slightly behind me, staring at her.

The sister listened as I explained Rowena’s situation.

That I had found her in the forest.

That she had no name.

That she struggled to speak.

“How pitiful… But it’s all right now. There are many children here. They are all the same as you. You won’t be lonely.”

The sister spoke gently to Rowena.

Soon, several children peeked in from outside the room.

They were curious about us.

The sister beckoned them inside.

“Everyone, we have a new friend. Come greet her.”

The children entered hesitantly.

Some looked to be about Rowena’s age.

“Hello.”

They spoke to her.

Rowena only stared at them silently.

The sister tried to guide Rowena into their circle.

“Go on, Rowena. Try playing with them. I’m sure they’ll be kind.”

As the sister touched Rowena’s shoulder to gently separate her from me—

Rowena suddenly clung fiercely to my arm.

For such a small hand, her grip was unbelievably strong.

A sob, almost voiceless, escaped her lips.

“Hi… ugh…!”

She cried while desperately trying not to be pulled away from me.

It was just like when she had fled from the drake in the forest.

The sister and the children were taken aback by her sudden reaction.

“Rowena… It’s all right. This is a safe place.”

I tried to soothe her gently.

But she clung to me even tighter, shaking her head violently.

She was telling me with her entire body that she did not want to go, that she did not want to be separated.

Seeing her so desperate, a sharp pain tightened deep in my chest.

I remembered my own time in an orphanage.

The anxiety of a new environment.

The fear of being abandoned.

Rowena was feeling that now.

“It’s all right, Rowena. This will become your home. We are your family.”

The sister tried to reassure her, but the words did not reach her.

Her eyes were fixed only on me.

Conflict churned violently within my heart.

Should I continue traveling with her?

Even though my own life was unstable?

That would be too dangerous.

But could I force her to stay here, frightening her like this?

Something deep inside me tried to hold me back.

What she needed was family.

Could I become that for her?

No.

I couldn’t.

I was alone in this world.

I never knew when or where I might die.

I couldn’t drag her into that uncertainty.

My rational mind whispered that I had to harden my heart.

It was for her sake.

This was the best choice—for both of us.

Rowena’s small body trembled in my arms.

That trembling felt like it was gripping my heart directly.

I’m sorry, Rowena.

This is the best path—for me, and for you.

Suppressing the pain in my chest, I slowly but firmly began to pry her small body away from me.

Her sobbing grew louder.

The sister reached out her hands to receive her.

Go on.

Start your new life here.

I pushed Rowena’s small body toward the sister.