Episode 91
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 91
Despite her aggressive tone, the man’s expression remained unfazed.
“A spy disguised as a lover? Are you saying you’d be willing if I made an offer? I have plenty of money.”
“Did this bastard take a bullet to the brain—”
“In the eye, perhaps.”
With a placid look, Ian countered her outburst, his face devoid of any humor as he stared at Elysia. She glanced at the black eyepatch covering his eye and let out an irritated sigh. She offered a clean apology.
“My apologies.”
The man, maintaining his calm demeanor, apologized in turn.
“I also apologize for my earlier words. Still… may I call you Miss Hemming?”
“Do as you please.”
After a moment of thought, he seemed to decide on the address. Ian slowly opened his mouth to speak.
“I would like you to help me, Miss Hemming.”
“Look, I told you I’m not playing spy.”
“I intend to bring my younger brother back into the family.”
As if anticipating her dismissive reaction, he cut straight to the chase. Elysia lowered her voice and replied.
“Senior said he has no intention of returning to the battlefield.”
“My father has no plans to send my brother to the battlefield. In fact, from the very beginning, we…”
He paused, considering his words, then continued.
“Löwe is currently preparing for a truce.”
“A truce?”
“I came here to persuade him. This war has dragged on for over a century, with all three nations suffering nothing but losses. We’ve determined that if ending the war is impossible, we must at least call for a temporary halt.”
Elysia listened to his explanation, her brow furrowed. He was right. In a hundred years, none of the three nations had managed to gain a decisive advantage.
The only time the end of the war had seemed even faintly visible was during the brief period Evan was on the battlefield. Ian’s logic that the three nations would agree to a truce was, therefore, flawless.
However…
“That won’t be easy, will it?”
The System’s intervention was powerful. The moment Evan seized the upper hand and tried to end the war, the System had immediately annihilated his unit.
The war was an event designed to add dramatic flair to the story of <You'll Fall in Love>. Until the Player reached the ending, the war could not be stopped. This was an absolute condition.
While some elements changed fluidly according to the Player’s patterns, others were fixed, as if by fate. The Magnetite War belonged to the latter category. The System would hardly be favorable to Ian’s efforts to push for a truce…
“I have already reached an agreement with Lyne.”
Her jaw dropped before she could stop it. Two of the three nations have agreed? Then the accord is as good as done! Elysia wiped a hand over her face in confusion and spoke.
“I’m not trying to pick a fight, but let me ask you one thing.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Haven’t you had any… brushes with death?”
“Too many to count.”
Ian’s reply was nonchalant, as if wondering why she would ask something so obvious. Hearing his answer, Elysia muttered to herself.
“But none of them were fatal…”
“Well… I had a helper, but it was never a major threat.”
His answer gave Elysia her solution. The System’s power now was completely different from what it had been two years ago. It made sense. Strictly speaking, <You'll Fall in Love> only recognized her—an outsider, a foreign entity—as a Player.
It was even being rendered helpless while the system from <Panic in the City> exerted its influence on the world.
And this man, it seemed, was thoroughly enjoying the benefits of that weakened System. Ian glanced at the pensive Elysia and steered the conversation back on topic.
“In any case, he will not be going to the battlefield.”
Elysia recalled Evan’s description of the House of Sylvester. A family that made its children draw military formations the moment they could hold a pen and learn to read from books on tactics was sending a son somewhere other than the battlefield?
“…Then where?”
“Do you know what field my brother’s research focuses on?”
She had, on occasion, peeked at the books he was reading, only to quickly turn away, baffled by the incomprehensible jargon. But having watched him study so many times, she wasn’t entirely ignorant.
Recalling how he didn’t even flinch at the sight of a gruesome corpse, Elysia tossed out a word.
“Surgery.”
“You know him well.”
Ian continued, his tone unsurprised.
“Surgery is the slowest field to develop. Few people venture into it, and for the most part, treatment has solidified around amputating the injured area, preventing any further progress.”
Furthermore, while surgery required an immense amount of delicate skill, it wasn’t very profitable.
Most people who were injured badly enough to need an operation were poor. Sadly, many would rather have a limb cut off than pay for surgery. Naturally, the perception that surgery was a field not worth developing had taken root.
“Perhaps because of his experience on the battlefield, Evan has focused his studies on that area. And my father has read all the research my brother has participated in.”
“…Huh? But he kicked him out. Why?”
Elysia’s dubious expression mirrored the one Evan had made when he’d heard the news. Ian lightly rubbed his brow and answered.
“I don’t know. Perhaps he’s grown sentimental in his old age… What is certain is that my brother’s research will be beneficial to Löwe.”
“How so?”
“Mercenary exports and the munitions industry are Löwe’s primary resources. We have many people with severe injuries, which translates to a national loss. There has never been anyone who has delved into that field as deeply as Evan. That is why we want to recruit him. However, this is also a type of business venture for the family.”
A brief silence fell. Elysia caught a flicker of exhaustion that crossed Ian’s face.
“…It means we can only plan for the future if we understand why my brother chose to disgrace our family’s name in the past. I want to put the past to rest. I truly do.”
The man’s impassive mask cracked for a moment. He took a shallow breath, exhaled slowly, and shook his head, pulling a pipe from his inner jacket pocket and placing it between his lips. Seeing the bitter expression on his face through the rising smoke, Elysia asked.
“What is it you want to know?”
“Why he did it.”
“Ah. Well, since Senior couldn’t tell you, I can’t either.”
Ian clicked his tongue as if her answer was disappointingly simple.
“I expected you to be uncooperative.”
“Well, I suppose I could offer a tiny bit of help…”
Elysia trailed off, lost in thought. Then, as if she’d made a decision, she snapped her fingers and asked.
“What is Your Excellency’s theory?”
Ian narrowed his eyes at Elysia, who now addressed him with the title ‘Your Excellency,’ a sign that her mood had softened considerably. He took a deep drag from his pipe and muttered nonchalantly.
“I trust it wasn’t a decision made emotionally. The brother I know is not one to act on simple pity. That’s why I want to know. Why he had to leave with such a ridiculous excuse.”
He must have asked his brother countless times, as he shouldered the blame for his adjutant’s collusion with the enemy and left the battlefield in disgrace. Why on earth did you make that choice? Whenever he asked, Evan would only shake his head, never giving a proper answer.
Even now, reunited after several years, his reaction was the same. Though he no longer wore the same troubled expression, as if he had come to his own conclusions, he still refused to give a straight answer.
Evan would not offer an explanation Ian could accept, only asking that the matter never be brought up again.
He couldn’t understand it. The brother he knew was not someone who would neglect his responsibilities, swayed by personal feelings. He was afraid that the image he had of his brother might have been a lie all along.
Noticing the flicker in his eyes, Elysia answered firmly.
“You’re right about all of it.”
“…Right about all of it? What do you mean?”
“It wasn’t an emotional conclusion, nor was it a decision made out of simple pity. He acted according to reason and conviction. I can’t give you the details, but that’s the bottom line. So.”
The woman, who had risen to her feet, looked down at him and continued.
“Your Excellency still knows his brother well. Trust your own judgment, not mine. From what I’ve seen, you have a good eye for people, since he’s exactly as you know him.”
With a faint smile, she left the room.
*
The return to Minerva was delayed longer than expected. Evan said he had already informed the school that Elysia would be absent for a week.
Her near-critical injuries were already fully healed, thanks to a level of devoted care that had overcome the condition slowing her recovery.
When she stretched her arm toward the ceiling, she felt a dull ache in her right shoulder where she’d been shot. You must have been the one who treated this wound, too. She continued to stare up at the white ceiling. As she did, his voice naturally came to mind.
“If you keep thinking, you’ll eventually come to me. Just as I came to you.”
She thought. That night, in that basement, why had she held on to the man who had lowered his lips to hers to share his warmth? And even before that, why had she regretted not telling him where she was going?
She was so used to moving alone, so why… For someone whose daily life was facing danger alone, why had she reached out to another?
She had thought that the way things were now was good. People who didn’t just move according to a pre-written script, and a kind companion who shared secrets with her and smiled. To her, who had lived alone in the gray city, this simple daily life felt like an excessive stroke of luck.
She only wanted to settle into the present forever, unable to harbor any greater desires. It seemed she couldn’t even imagine wanting anything more than this. So she had intentionally resisted change, trying to stay where she was.
This is the best it can get, does it really have to change?
But the moment Evan stumbled into the basement after her, she finally seemed to realize. That she wanted this man for more than just being with him…
The bedroom door creaked open. A smile on her face, Elysia turned her head and greeted the man who entered the room.
“You’re here.”
“Should I come back in a bit?”
“No, come here.”
Perched on the edge of the bed, as if about to get up, Elysia patted the spot next to her.
“Have a seat.”
The man obediently sat where she indicated. Then he asked playfully.
“Aren’t you letting me get a little too close?”
Elysia shot him a look and poked his arm.
“Are you going to keep this up?”
“Alright, I’ll stop.”
Though they were chuckling, both of them were tense. Elysia could feel Evan’s steady gaze on the side of her face.
She checked her own condition. The drug that had persistently weakened her mind was completely gone, and she had no headache. In short, she was perfectly sane. She decided it was finally time to discuss the things that had been bothering her with him.
“You saw the body.”
“So you heard. Yes… he was already dead when I arrived.”
“Actually, Alma told me something strange. It’s so strange that I’m only telling you, Senior.”
Turning her head to meet his eyes, Elysia spoke.
“She said… that man died because of me. That he was executed for having injured me… but it didn’t sound like that woman was the one who gave the order.”
“Why do you think she wasn’t the one who gave the order?”
“Because she was furious.”
Elysia answered without hesitation, then muttered with a confused look.
“She looked like she wanted to kill me. It felt less like she wouldn’t kill me and more like she couldn’t… that kind of… feeling…”
His green eyes grew cold.
“There’s someone else above her.”
“Ugh, this feeling is just…”
She scrubbed a hand over her face and shook her head.
“It’s weird, isn’t it? Why didn’t they kill me? I don’t get it. If they were in their right mind, they should have killed me. I’m not angry that they didn’t, of course. But it’s just… it’s like I’m…”
“Like you’re what?”
As if nauseated, she could only move her lips without forming proper words. Finally, she managed to force the words out, one by one.
“It feels like… they’re pro-tect-ing me… and it feels disgusting. Who the hell do they think they are, to—”
“Be careful.”
Evan’s expression had darkened. Elysia lowered the hand that was rubbing her forehead and looked at his face. He bit his lip, looking troubled.
“The fact that they’re not killing you means they want something from you.”
“…”
“Not knowing what that is… is frightening.”
Evan, who had confessed his fear so honestly, held out his hand. The hand of a man who once held a sword now bore the marks of calluses, along with scars from a scalpel.
Her heart felt unsettled, as if being tickled by a feather. Slowly, Elysia lifted her hand from her lap and placed it over his. She closed her eyes, feeling his warmth.
“Oh, and…”
His gaze was warm, silently urging her to continue. Hesitantly, Elysia finally got to the point.
“I’m saying this so late. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“You said you were captured too, but you really came all that way because of me, didn’t you?”
“I told you I’d always be by your side.”
The warmth of their joined hands seemed to increase. No, it felt as if the temperature of the entire room had risen. Elysia froze, unable to look away from his direct gaze. Before she could think, a question about the very essence of it all slipped out.
“Why?”
“…”
“Tell me. I want to hear it.”
He turned his body completely to face her, gently fiddling with the hand he held. His fingers, with their neatly trimmed nails, stroked the back of her hand. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
“I thought you were someone too precious for feelings.”
He had considered her too good to be drawn into emotions that might flare up and vanish, leaving only cold ashes. To him, who had been fumbling in the pitch-dark, she had shone a light so bright it was blinding, only to tell him with a straight face that it was all a fabricated stage.
The woman who had pulled him from a stage awash in brilliant lights into a distinct, dark void had then casually led him off-script. The deepening emotion, contrary to all reason, was suffocating.
“I became curious about the path you walk, and I wanted to walk it with you. You’re kind, and you do things others can’t easily do. Some might call it madness… but I found myself wanting to commit even that madness with you.”
The man lightly bit his lip, then continued.
“The list of things I want to share with you keeps growing.”
“…”
“Now, there’s nothing I don’t want to do with you.”
Lowering his head slightly with a smile, Evan gazed at her endlessly wavering silver-gray eyes and added.
“I’m saying that I’ve even come to want to kiss you.”
Elysia’s face, which had been barely maintaining its composure, flushed crimson, her impassive expression shattering. Watching her, Evan continued.
“I spoke with my brother.”