Daphne (2)
“Who… died?”
I heard the news while I was in the middle of reading through the enrollment documents at the Cola Safe Zone Military Academy.
Platon had clearly come running at full speed; he could not get another word out as he fought to catch his ragged breath. Whether it was from the sprint itself or from the news he had to deliver—her death—his eyes were red and swollen.
At last he steadied himself and spoke in a low voice.
“Lady Daphne… has passed away.”
What kind of nonsense was this?
In all the time since I had possessed this world, nothing had ever left me this stunned. Not even when Lieutenant General Radu had handed me that vicious violet-poisoned chocolate not long ago.
Daphne… is dead?
The first thought that rose was the possibility that someone had tried to poison her again. The next was—
“Meursault.”
“Pardon? Ah—yes, he’s at Lady Daphne’s mansion right now, but Director Meursault is… not in his right mind either, so I—”
Platon must have assumed I was asking after Meursault’s condition and began explaining, but none of it reached my ears. All I could see was the status window I had once opened on Daphne.
Name:Meursault's Wife
Conquest Route:Merry Bad Ending (Heyden)
Affiliation Zone:Cola
Equipped Item:Alluring Violet Eyes
It had clearly listed the conquest route as Merry Bad Ending—Heyden. I had brushed it off as nothing important at the time. But with this sudden death, I could not help thinking of a player who had died in much the same way: Anjeon8yeok.
Don’t tell me she ignored the route and married Meursault…?
There had been a time when I believed my own mother had been erased for failing her conquest. Yet Daphne had still managed enough time, after abandoning marriage to Heyden and leaving the zone, to care for the sick in the Slums. I had hoped possessors of otome-game characters were different.
I had wanted them to be different. Because she had been forced into an unwanted possession, forced to live Daphne’s unwanted life, I had not wanted her to spend her entire existence in this world bound by an unwanted marriage. Unlike my mother, I had wanted her to be happy.
Then a line Daphne had once spoken to me flickered through my mind.
—I married Heyden because of the quest… but I regretted it almost immediately. So I told him that even if it killed me, I would rather stay with Meursault, and asked him to help me divorce Heyden.
Don’t tell me…
Had Daphne chosen Meursault over Heyden even knowing all of this? But if she was already dead, I could not ask her.
“Lord Haydam, are you all right?”
Platon, who did not look all right himself, still asked me that. I snapped back to myself.
“Where is Anton?”
“Pardon? My father must be shocked as well, of course—”
“You. Go to Anton.”
“To… Father?”
“Go right now!”
I rose from my seat and barked the order. Platon flinched in confusion, then hurried out with a face that still did not understand why. Checking the truth of Daphne’s death was urgent, but looking after Anton had another reason entirely.
In the game, whenever Daphne was poisoned, Anton always took his own life as well.
In this situation I could not allow Anton to die too. Praying Platon would arrive in time, I headed for Daphne’s Mansion.
When I reached Daphne’s Mansion, the weeping of the servants filled the air. The staff who normally would have subjected visitors to a fussy entry procedure at the gate were nowhere to be seen—every one of them must have been at Daphne’s side.
I sprinted into the lobby and saw her: Daphne, pale, eyes closed. And Meursault, clutching her to his chest and sobbing.
Inspect Character.
I reflexively tried to open Daphne’s character window. The system gave no response at all. Strangely, a faint smile lingered at the corners of her mouth. The moment I saw that smile, an indescribable hollowness opened inside me.
She really… knew, didn’t she?
Perhaps the reason she had hesitated until the very end to confess her feelings to Meursault was because she had known it would come to this. Had I goaded her into dying?
A chill ran down my spine; breathing became difficult. Dizziness rolled over me, and then a familiar voice called my name.
“Lord Haydam.”
Meursault, still holding Daphne and weeping, looked up at me as though he had suddenly come back to himself.
“Meursault.”
I took a step forward to comfort him—and a smile touched Meursault’s lips. I stopped dead without meaning to.
“You’ve come. Thank goodness.”
Thank… goodness?
“Lord Haydam, something is wrong. This is all wrong.”
Meursault carefully laid Daphne down, then crawled across the floor toward me.
“If it’s you, Lord Haydam, you will surely find some impossible way to save Daphne. Isn’t that right? Lord Haydam…”
He dragged himself forward and reached for my collar. Just before his fingers closed on the fabric, another hand shot out from behind and seized his wrist.
It was Commander Heyden.
“Calm yourself, Meursault.”
The commander held Meursault’s hand and lowered himself until their eyes met.
“Explain what happened first.”
“Your Excellency…”
“I need to know what happened before I can help.”
“…”
At those words Meursault hung his head.
“…It’s my fault.”
“Your fault?”
“I dared to covet Lady Daphne… and that is why this happened.”
On the surface it sounded like ordinary self-reproach for failing to save her. But to ears that knew a player who failed their conquest was erased, it sounded as though Meursault knew something as well. The commander would also know that a player like Daphne could not simply drop dead without reason.
“A moment. There are too many ears here.”
As expected, the commander rose and addressed the servants.
“The family will need a moment alone. All of you, withdraw.”
Family.
Come to think of it, he and Daphne had once been husband and wife, and I was the child between them. Daphne and I truly were family. This was the same man who had smiled so brightly when he believed my mother had regarded him as a friend.
Even my mother yielded Heyden to this man…
Had I ruined that?
The servants shot resentful looks at being told to leave their mistress, but they could not disobey the commander’s order and withdrew. Only after confirming the lobby was empty did the commander turn back to Meursault.
“Now tell me. What happened?”
After Daphne accepted his proposal, Meursault had been living at her mansion. The servants remained wary of him, yet Daphne looked so thoroughly happy that they limited themselves to a little sniping and did not oppose the remarriage itself. Having served her most closely, they knew better than anyone that the commander and Daphne had never held any real affection for each other. Some of them even felt relieved that their mistress had at last found a man who cherished and loved only her.
Daphne and Meursault sat leaning against each other, talking in quiet, wandering voices. In truth, Meursault had never spent much time with her before; he had expected there would be a great deal they still needed to learn about each other. Yet Daphne already knew an astonishing amount about him—so much that Meursault almost felt as though she had been watching his entire life from the sky above.
Gazing up at him with those dreamy violet eyes, Daphne said,
“Why did we never talk like this before? If I’d known it was this easy, I wouldn’t have hesitated.”
“Sitting here speaking with you feels like a dream, Lady Daphne.”
“Just call me Daphne now.”
“Pardon? H-how could I possibly—”
When Meursault stammered in panic, Daphne took his hand firmly.
“Meursault. The divorce papers will arrive soon. Once I sign them, I am your wife. Marriage is an equal partnership.”
“Even so…”
“Are you refusing my order?”
“Pardon? Just now you said marriage is equal… Never mind.”
The pretended anger melted from Daphne’s face and she laughed softly.
“All right. Try it.”
“D-Daphne…”
“Again. Louder.”
“Da-Daphne!”
“Good boy.”
He half wondered whether this was truly marriage or whether he had simply become a dog in training—yet Meursault thought he would not mind being Daphne’s dog at all.
“Meursault, you’ve been smiling this whole time.”
“Because talking with Lady Daphne… no, with Daphne, is simply that enjoyable. How do you know so much about me?”
“Because I’ve been watching you. For a very long time.”
“R-really?”
The words sounded as though Daphne had held him in her heart for years, and Meursault’s pulse quickened. Then the cascade of who he actually was flashed through his mind, and he began to make excuses.
“Th-the rumors that I was mad are lies. They were fabricated by people who envied and resented me. Of all the things I’ve done, very few were things I truly wanted. The matter with Lieutenant General Batom—His Excellency ordered it; I had no choice—”
“Meursault.”
Daphne soothed him and spoke gently.
“I already told you. I know Meursault very well.”
When she said it, her gaze seemed to pierce straight through every part of him, and Meursault felt as though he might drown in those violet eyes.
“I accepted your proposal knowing everything. So don’t lie to me. What I liked about Meursault was his honesty.”
“…Then I will be honest. I am not the person Daphne imagines.”
“What person is that?”
“The honest, simple, earnest young man Meursault.”
“Ah… mm…”
For some reason Daphne wore a troubled expression for a moment, then offered an awkward smile.
“Well… I never once thought of Meursault that way… but it’s all right if you’re different from what I imagined.”
“It’s all right if I’m different?”
“I’m different from the person Meursault imagines, too.”
She fell silent for a while, then carefully began again.
“This may sound insane… but Meursault—what would you do if I weren’t really Daphne?”
“I find myself curious who the woman I would marry would be, if she weren’t Daphne.”
“If you can listen to what I’m about to say… and then forget it, I’ll tell you.”
Meursault felt something odd about her, yet an inexplicable certainty told him he had to hear this story right now. He nodded.
“Tell me who you are.”
At Meursault’s permission Daphne drew several steadying breaths, then spoke.
“The truth is, I wasn’t born in this zone.”
“You came from another zone?”
“My parents weren’t the commander. They were entrepreneurs. Do you know the word ‘chaebol’?”
“Chaebol?”
“It’s a concept that disappeared from this world a long time ago.”
Meursault’s interest sharpened at the idea that Daphne knew a concept long extinct here. Then the next words left her lips.
“And I have a younger brother with a weak constitution.”