Realization
Realization
As soon as he heard the story, Daniel ran to the room Lucy was in.
His thoughts raced as he ran.
Why had Count Kaledra decided to dispose of Lucy?
Having posed the question to himself, Daniel was able to arrive at the correct answer before long.
'It's because of me.'
In this world of memories, the sole contaminant was one man: Daniel Steiner.
If Daniel had never infiltrated this world, Lucy's disposal would never have occurred.
'Everything I did thinking it was for Lucy's sake...'
Had, in the end, led Lucy to her death.
Thinking he had to take responsibility somehow, Daniel climbed the stairs and sprinted down the corridor.
Ignoring the other servants who tried to stop him, Daniel managed to reach the room where Lucy was.
Taking a deep breath, Daniel opened the door without even knocking.
At which Lucy let out a bizarre sound and hid a doll behind her back.
As a bonus, her face flushed red as if she were embarrassed about something.
"Don't get the wrong idea. That doll just now, I made it because I was bored. It's not like I made it thinking of you..."
Lucy, sweating lightly as she made excuses, trailed off.
It was because Daniel was staring at her with an utterly serious expression.
"...What's with you?"
How was he supposed to explain this?
Regulating his breathing, Daniel agonized over it again and again before approaching Lucy.
"My Lady? You said you wanted to see the sea, did you not?"
Daniel knelt on one knee before Lucy.
And as he did so, he extended his hand toward her.
"The present moment seems to be the right time. Will you come see the sea with me?"
"Why the sea, all of a sudden..."
"There is no time! You must choose right now!"
When Daniel pressed her, Lucy was momentarily flustered but soon grasped the situation.
"...If it's not today, I won't be able to see it?"
At that trembling voice, Daniel nodded his head.
Only then did Lucy, understanding everything, take hold of Daniel's hand.
"I'll go. To see the sea."
*
With Lucy's consent, Daniel, holding her in his arms, fled the mansion without a second thought.
Since time to formulate a plan was markedly insufficient, he thought getting Lucy out of that hellish mansion came first.
But naturally, Count Kaledra was not one to stand idly by and watch.
Hearing the news that Daniel had fled the mansion with Lucy, Kaledra issued orders to the mansion's private soldiers.
To locate and immediately shoot to kill not only Lucy but also the man who had vanished with her.
Thanks to that, Daniel was now a man being pursued by Count Kaledra's private soldiers.
"He couldn't have gotten far! He'll be nearby, so search every last inch!"
"Permission to fire! I say again, permission to fire! Count Kaledra's orders were that summary execution on discovery is permitted, so all of you, load live rounds!"
"Tighten the cordon! Make the bastard show himself on his own!"
The voices of the soldiers echoed all around.
Catching his breath behind a fallen old tree, Daniel could see that wherever he looked, soldiers were blanketing the area.
The light of torches and flashlights filled every direction, leaving him unable to get his bearings on where to go.
"Goddamn it..."
As Daniel ground his teeth, Lucy, held in his arms, quietly opened her mouth.
"You know. I've changed my mind. It's okay now even if I can't see the sea. So... it might be better to hand me over to those people. If it's now, the Count will probably forgive you too..."
He didn't want to hear it.
"Don't talk like that now, not at this point."
So saying, Daniel forced strength into his body and rose.
His intent was to use a moment when the search slackened to gain even a little more distance.
But at the moment he tried to slip between the trees, a flashlight's beam locked onto Daniel's back.
"Over there! The bastard's over there!"
"Fuck! He's running! Fire! Open fire!"
Thinking he'd been spotted, Daniel kicked off the ground.
Behind him, gunshots rang out.
Bullets whizzed past, embedding in trees or grazing his body.
Each time, his body flinched, but Daniel did not stop running.
'Will we be able to survive?'
He posed the question to himself, but the answer was already clear.
'We cannot survive.'
If things continued like this, death was certain.
Even so, Daniel's feet did not stop.
'If it were just me alone, I'd give up...'
Right now, there was Lucy, curled up in terror, within Daniel's arms.
Unable to show any sign of resignation in front of Lucy, Daniel ran desperately.
But mindset alone did not solve everything, as was the way of things.
Tang─
A distant gunshot rang out, and simultaneously a blind bullet lodged in Daniel's shoulder.
In an instant, Daniel's body lurched violently.
On the verge of falling, Daniel barely held on and planted his feet on the ground.
The sharp pain made him clench his teeth, but it was still bearable.
Taking a deep breath, Daniel broke into a run once more.
Hoping desperately that heavenly luck would intervene, and that a possibility for both of them to live might emerge.
Running like that, dodging tree branches, Daniel felt his vision gradually blurring.
His labored breathing showed no sign of calming, and his body, having lost its sense of direction, kept tilting to one side.
He kept his body going on willpower alone, but that did not last long.
Tak! The moment his toe caught on a stone, his body pitched forward and his balance collapsed.
With Lucy in his arms, Daniel tumbled down the slope.
His vision spun dizzily.
Only after tumbling down the slope several times did Daniel slam his back against a nearby tree.
"Ugh...!"
A short groan escaped Daniel at the sharp pain from his gunshot wound.
Lowering his gaze, Daniel confirmed that Lucy, who had been in his arms, was unharmed.
A feeling of relief momentarily washed over him, but it was all for nothing.
"The bastard tumbled down!"
"This way! Everyone, rally up!"
Because the voices of the soldiers were already audible from not far away.
'Is this the result of my struggling?'
Strength left his body in despair.
Leaning her head against the tree, Lucy sobbed like a fool.
"Why... why go this far..."
Lucy's small, delicate hand touched Daniel's body.
"Why do you go to such lengths for me? Why on earth..."
Toward Lucy, who was on the verge of tears as if she couldn't understand for the life of her, Daniel wordlessly raised his hand.
Placing his hand atop Lucy's head, Daniel quietly opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry. I had promised to show you the sea..."
"It's not the sea I wanted to see!"
Crying out, Lucy lightly struck Daniel's chest.
It was a fist with no strength behind it at all.
"What I wanted wasn't to see the sea..."
Lucy had merely wanted to be together with Daniel, who understood her.
She had only said 'let's go see the sea together' out of a wish that, even when the day came to leave the mansion, he would stay by her side.
The important thing was not the sea.
To Lucy, the important thing was Daniel.
Daniel also knew well what Lucy was trying to say.
But it could not be undone, and even if it were, he would make the same choice again.
Because he could not overlook Hamilton's violence, nor could he stand by and watch Count Kaledra dispose of Lucy as he pleased.
"Target spotted! Everyone, aim!"
In the meantime, the soldiers drew closer.
Thinking now it was truly the end, Daniel parted his parched lips.
"Adjutant. It seems this is as far as I go. A pathetic end. I had clearly sworn to protect you..."
Lucy's eyes went wide.
Wearing a bitter smile, Daniel withdrew his hand from Lucy's head.
"Please, forgive your incompetent superior."
So saying, Daniel quietly closed his eyes.
He did not know well what dying meant in this world of memories, but now there was no choice but to humbly accept death.
However, even after waiting for some time, the soldiers' gunfire never came.
Wondering what was strange, Daniel slowly tried opening his eyes.
He saw that the world had stopped.
The soldiers were frozen with their triggers pulled, and the underbrush that had been fluttering in the wind also remained motionless, like a paused screen.
'And...'
Before his eyes stood Lucy.
Not the Lucy who was called 'My Lady' in her childhood.
Lucy wearing her military uniform, as Daniel Steiner's adjutant.
If the two shared a commonality, it was their red irises, brimming with tears.
"...Adjutant?"
Seeing what he thought was a vision before death, Daniel opened his mouth in a daze.
As if to stop that mouth, Lucy lowered her head.
Daniel did not avoid it, and so their lips naturally met.
Time flowed briefly.
Their scents mingled, their breaths were close.
In a colorless space where everything had stopped, only the two of them alone were colored in.
Having parted her lips at last, Lucy, her breath warm and quick, grasped Daniel's hand.
And then the world transformed.
Every visible thing was cracking.
As if about to shatter.
Yet Lucy and Daniel paid no mind to such things, only looking at each other.
After a short silence, Lucy raised her hand and caressed Daniel's cheek.
"Daniel Steiner."
As if determined never to forget again, Lucy moved her lips.
"I remember you."
Simultaneously, the false world began to crumble.