Chapter 20: Under the Moonlight
One hundred years ago, a nobleman had fallen injured in the forest. Fortunately for him, an old woodcutter passed by him while on his way home, helped him, and sheltered him in his nearby house.
The nobleman was severely injured, but he possessed a unique body. When the woodcutter took him to the house, he was in a terrible state; nothing separated him from death except for the care of the old man and his daughter.
The woodcutter and his daughter took turns staying by the nobleman's side to check on his health until night fell. The woodcutter asked his daughter to stay by the nobleman and went to sleep, for as a woodcutter, he had to wake up early.
The girl stayed awake beside the nobleman until midnight arrived, and then, without any sign, all of his injuries vanished, as if he had never been exposed to them in the first place...
..
One hundred years ago... Duke Hakil Vallo had twelve sons and nine daughters, but he did not declare a legitimate heir to the succession after him and made his children compete to win the succession... and Vicothsort Vallo was the first of the dead... or that was what was supposed to be.
Half a year after Vicothsort's funeral, the one whose grave was in the manor appeared before the gate and requested to meet his father... After five hours, he came out of his father's office, having relinquished his right to inheritance, and became the first Count of the Vicoth family.
..
There was nothing in Count Vicoth's land except for the house of the woodcutter and his daughter, but it had expanded with the arrival of people until it became a village. Unfortunately, there was no hospital or even a clinic, until the Count paid from his modest money and opened the simple Vallo Clinic.
Despite the support of the Duchy of Vallo for the Vicoth family and their recognition of it as a Countal family, there were elders in the Council of Nobles who did not recognize them as a Countal family, for they lacked the most important condition... there was no city in their land to rule, so they were no different from Barons.
For this reason, the goal of the Vicoth family became to develop the village until it became a real city, and this was achieved during the rule of the previous Count when he accomplished all the requirements and developed the Vallo Clinic to become the Vallo Hospital... Through his efforts and the efforts of those who preceded him in the family, their rule expanded from that small house until it became this small city eight years ago.
Despite it being a small city, it was still a city, and at that time, despite his weakness compared to all the other Counts, he became a true Count despite the objections of the opposers.
...
A heavily built man burst into Vallo Hospital while shouting in panic, calling for the doctor for his wife Fiona, who was going to give birth early.
Some doctors came out of different rooms, and in a loud voice, one of them shouted as he emerged from his room with a medical bag in his hand, as if he had grown accustomed to these cases, "Laxas, come with us and drive a white carriage quickly, we must arrive as fast as possible, and you, Robent, hurry with me."
Laxas ran down the corridor and said before changing his path to another corridor on the right, "Wait before the gate, a minute and I will bring the white carriage."
Deco and the two doctors waited before the gate, waiting for Laxas to arrive with the white carriage... After the revolution of King Olym, and to ensure the support of the people, many laws were changed and important decrees were issued in various fields, until he came to be nicknamed by the people as the Second Ansot.
Among his decrees that helped many people was that he separated carriages into three types: a black carriage, a gray carriage, and a white carriage.
White carriages were designated for hospitals and clinics only. After many problems with delays and the obstruction of the carriages' path, this was the best solution to prevent delays. After this decree, people no longer obstructed the doctors' path, and reaching critical cases became much easier, such as Fiona's case.
The doctor noticed Deco opening and closing his fist repeatedly. He approached him, placed his hand on his palm, and said, "Sir, your wife will give birth in full health... With all our efforts, we will ensure this."
..
Deco entered Lumine's house and headed for the parents' room, which Lumine had given them permission to sleep in, as he said to the doctor behind him, "She is here, hurry." For Deco had lifted her from the floor to the bed previously before running for the doctor.
The doctor entered the room first before Robent, and his face frowned upon seeing Fiona's condition and her state.
The doctor turned his head to Deco and said, "Sir, stay outside, do not interrupt our work. Wait outside the room and we will try to save her with all our effort."
Robent nodded his head toward Deco and said, "Yes, rely on us, sir."
...
On a bright night under the sky of the white moon, and in the middle of the white snow on the ground, two men of similar height walked close together, and in the hand of one of them was a small, red-colored box.
The man with the box spoke, saying while mist came out of his mouth due to the severity of the cold, "Did you bring the camera?"
The other man nodded his head and said in an angry tone, "Yes, I convinced him with difficulty. He took it for three golden pounds, and the worst part is that he wants it back tomorrow, it's expensive."
The man with the box sighed and said, "Damn him, did he give you a limit for the pictures?"
The other man shook his head and replied in a calmer tone, "No, I will take dozens of pictures. You focus on your time with her and I will photograph you, but do not forget, before you two leave, give me a signal. I will follow you two everywhere. Give me the signal, and then our contract will end and I will return home, do not put me in an embarrassing situation."
The man with the box nodded in understanding and said, brushing the matter aside, "I am nervous."
The man beside him glanced at him and said in surprise, "Nervous about what?"
The man with the box sighed and said, "I am afraid she will reject me, I don't know if this is the right time to marry her..."
The two stopped talking and continued their way to the lake. After a while, the man with the red box raised his head to the moon and said, "The moon is white today, she loves the color white."
The other man nodded his head and said, "You will confess to her beside the lake, in the middle of the snow and the atmosphere she loves, and under the white moon... hehe, everything is in your favor. If she rejects you, it will be because of your personality."
The man with the box stared at the other's face and said seriously, "Lumine, seriously, do you think she will agree?"
Lumine nodded his head and replied confidently, "Yes, I don't doubt it, it's obvious she is like you, she harbors feeli—..."
Lumine stopped walking and tapped the shoulder of the man with the box before pointing his hand to a girl standing beside the lake and continuing his speech, "Deco, she is there. Don't be nervous, Fiona will worry if she sees you nervous and your confession will fail..."
The girl wore a red suit mixed with white wool to warm herself against the cold, and she wore her deceased mother's purple scarf, wrapping it around her neck.
Standing under a stark white moon and above the soft snow, and behind her the frozen lake and distant trees covered in snow, with the color of her red suit, she formed a breathtaking scene that Deco swore he would never forget in his life.
The girl smiled while she was looking at the frozen lake before her and thought, 'I wonder why he asked to meet me? Does this relate to the house he wants to buy? He could ask for my help in the morning... why at this time? He really is a fool.'
She sighed and raised her head to the white moon above her and said in a low voice, "The moon is more beautiful when it is white, I hope it does not turn red anytime soon."
And her face flushed as she thought, 'At least until... I go and con—...'
The girl heard the sound of footsteps behind her, turned herself around, and said in a sharp tone when she saw Deco, "Decooo!! Why are you late? I apologize for being la—..."
The girl wanted to hide her extreme embarrassment by focusing on Deco being late, for she was intensely embarrassed because he had arrived at the exact time she was thinking of him, but she stopped doing this when she noticed the small box in his hand, and an idea came to her about what it was, 'An engagement ring...'
Her thoughts escaped through her mouth in a low voice that Deco could not hear, "No..."
Deco barely heard her voice, but he could not make out what she said. He ignored this and said, "Fiona, when we were young, there was no one with me. My parents died when I was young, and I barely remember them now... but I felt my time stop with their departure."
Fiona knew her situation and was able to know what Deco intended to do. She wanted to speak, but Deco interrupted her, continuing, "I remained alone in the house and ignored the attempts of the neighbors and the Count to help me. I thought their actions were just pity for me, and I wanted to disappear from the world... I did not wish for death, for it is painful, but I wanted to disappear quite simply, as if I had never been born... then my parents might not have had to sacrifice for me."
"At that time, you were the new neighbors. There was no relationship or acquaintance between us, as you came after my parents' death, but you burst into the house when you heard about my story. You helped me go out of the house, you asked your parents to help me and shelter me, you considered me your friend despite the fact that I was rejecting you, and you helped me out of my isolation."
"Fiona, my time was stopped at the moment I saw the killer kill my parents... but when I met you, it moved once again..."
Tears fell from Fiona's eyes as she was hearing Deco's true feelings, "Thanks to you, I was able to free myself from my loneliness. Thanks to you, I am still here. No one knows how grateful I am to you, no one knows how much I loved being with you, Fiona..."
Deco lowered one of his knees to the ground and knelt, while he raised the box before his face and opened it to reveal two rings of silver, and each part formed a half of the moon, and by joining them together, they make a full moon, "Fiona, I love you, I adore you, I worship you, will you accept to marry me?"
Fiona held back her remaining tears and could do nothing but smile after hearing his confession to her. She breathed a sigh of relief with joy and reassurance, then she extended her hand to one of the two rings and said with joy, "Fool, I wanted to confess first."
...
Deco leaned on the couch and waited for the doctors, nervous. At times he would stand on his feet and roam the room, at other times he would sit on the floor with his head on his knee, and at other times he would approach the wall and strike it with his hand.
He was sitting on the couch and resting his head on his hand, nervous, until the doctor came out of the room and approached him hurriedly, "Sir, please calm down and do not get agitated. We are at a critical and important stage. At this stage, I cannot guarantee both lives. There is a high probability of losing one of them. Sir, to whom should I give priority?"
Deco froze in his place as if he had not comprehended what he heard. He felt the doctor's hand holding him by his shoulder and pushing him back.
Before his eyes, the doctor was speaking, but he did not comprehend his words, for he had to choose between the life of his wife and his son.
He watched the doctor bite his lips and return to the room. He wanted to choose, but the words did not come out of his mouth.
He watched the door close before his eyes, and slowly he walked to the door, tears falling from his eyes.
When he reached the door, he struck it with force and said, shouting, "Save her!"
His sense of guilt was eating him away, for he had chosen the life of his wife over the life of his son, but he did not stop striking the door and shouting, "Save her, please!"