Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Rachel
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"Ah..."
She wept sorrowfully at his answer before leaving.
And about a year later, she came to see him again.
In a cheerful tone, as if something wonderful had happened, she spoke of her daily life, staying much later than usual before she left.
And as she was leaving, she said one thing.
"I'm getting married next week. It's been fun. Take care."
He couldn't offer any reply.
He couldn't beg her not to go, nor could he offer his wholehearted blessing.
A few days later, he received shocking news.
She had taken her own life.
Not long after leaving the manor, she had hanged herself.
And.
-To you.
He received a letter.
The letter, which began with "To you," was smudged in the middle, as if it had been caught in the rain.
-It's a shame I won't get to see your face when you receive this.
A confident tone, just like her. Her vivid voice seemed to echo in his ears.
"...This is a lie, isn't it?"
-Well... knowing my personality, you might think it's a lie. But unfortunately, if this letter has been delivered, there's no chance I'm still alive. You should have treated me better when you had the chance, shouldn't you?
"Yes... that's right."
I should have treated you better.
Those words, in particular, seemed to pierce him to the core.
His sleeve was damp, as if water had splashed on it from somewhere.
-I'm not trying to blame you. And I'm certainly... not trying to curse you.
"As if."
-Actually, I did think about it a little. How can you not open the door once, after all the times I visited? Did I ask for a cup of tea? Did I ask to go out? All I wanted was to see your face, so why...
"Yes, I was too cruel."
I regret it.
You could have just forced your way in.
-It's not that I didn't consider breaking down the door... but doing that would have felt like I'd lost, you know?
That's the kind of woman you were.
Proud, yet you always respected certain boundaries.
In his dark, single room, he conversed quietly, as if someone were there with him.
He smiled when she spoke of happy memories and his heart ached when she playfully blamed him.
Then, when the topic of her new fiancé came up, his expression hardened unknowingly.
-Ah. Your expression just turned stiff, didn't it?
He flinched.
-Don't look around. I told you, I'm not there anymore. I just... I just know. I know what expression you'll make, how you'll act.
At those words, at her reply that seemed to say she knew him better than he knew himself.
-So you should feel it a little too. What I felt. If it hurts a little, won't you treat me better when we meet again?
He could no longer hold back his emotions.
-Honestly, I can't imagine you going to heaven... so I'll do you a favor and wait for you in hell. So take your time getting there.
"...Alright."
-Get married, have kids, and as for the family... I'm telling you this as your fiancée, you won't become the heir, so just take a piece of land and go independent.
"I'll... think about it."
-I'm jealous of the new woman... but what can I do? She's the one who got you out of that dingy room, so I have to acknowledge that much. But make it clear that I'm your true wife.
"I promise."
-I want to write more, but a woman who talks too much is just pathetic, so I'll end it here.
Before he knew it, the letter was drawing to a close.
-Next time we meet, you prepare the stories. You know a man should never let a woman get bored, right? So... see you in a little while. I love you. Always.
The arm holding the letter trembled.
-From your fiancée, Rachel Granaph.
That day, for the first time since he began his research, he allowed himself to be idle.
He buried his face in his desk.
* * *
Lost in his reminiscence of the past, he found himself at the back of the manor, in a flower garden reached by a small path.
A small stone cairn stood there.
A stone grave he had built, believing his brother was dead.
In truth, it looked more like a pile of rocks, made so it wouldn't resemble a grave, but that didn't matter.
As long as he was the only one who knew.
As he sat silently in the garden, he wondered what he was doing. It was an event that had been erased. Something that would never happen again.
It was too ridiculous to let anyone else see him like this.
"Have I become too sentimental?"
He stood up from his seat.
Letting out a hollow laugh, he was about to turn back when...
"What do you think you're doing here?"
A voice called out.
A haughty, irritated voice, and...
"Rachel."
One of his few regrets, the woman he had missed so dearly.
He turned around and saw her.
The woman with ivory hair and sky-blue eyes. She was frowning, as if annoyed.
"I asked why you're here... Ahh!"
The moment he confirmed it was her, he strode forward.
"...Rachel."
And then.
He embraced her.
"Ow, that hurts! Why did you lunge at me... Are you crying?"
He held her tight.
It was uncharacteristic of him, but he couldn't help it. That had been the end, the very last time. And now she had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
How could he possibly control his emotions?
"...No, I think something just got in my eye."
*I'm sorry.* The words lingered on his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say them aloud.
To force the feelings he had for the her before his regression onto the her of now would be a disservice.
The woman before him now was both the same person he remembered and a different one. That fact was unbearably... sad.
"Pfft, if you say so... I'll take your word for it."
She patted his back and smiled brightly.
"But... others might think you're crying, so you should stop soon. What would people say if they saw you?"
"...Right."
He remained still like that for a long while, holding her in his arms.
* * *
"Fine, let's do it. The annulment."
At his casually spoken words, the expression of the person opposite him went blank.
"A-annul the engagement? Are you serious? You?"
"You're the one who wanted it, aren't you?"
Julius thought of her family.
The Noblier family.
He knew they had built a decent reputation over several generations and that their family's secret arts were quite useful. They might be a well-known name here in the western kingdom, but...
'Still, they're a family that doesn't even qualify as a side character.'
As soon as he entered the academy, the stage for the early to mid-game, he would find countless families that were leagues above the Nobliers. So was there any reason to beg her not to annul the engagement?
'Her face is pretty decent, though...'
But that wasn't enough to make him change his mind.
It wasn't like she had the talent to justify it. His trait, [Rainbow Mystic Eyes (S)], activated, and for a moment, his eyes shimmered with various colors as he appraised her.
'Third from the bottom... blue.'
Such a pathetic talent.
Once past the mid-game, where disasters occur on a regional scale, most of the people he would meet would have talents far superior to hers.
"Are, are you really serious right now? You're going to annul our engagement?"
Her body trembled and her face was flushed crimson, whether from shame or something else. Her wide eyes showed just how shocked she was.
In contrast to her reaction, Julius called out with a nonchalant expression.
"Yeah, you came here to break it off too, right? Am I wrong?"
"You, to me right now...!"
Julius scoffed. How dare she try to tie him down with such a meager talent.
'I'm the one getting the short end of the stick.'
If she had talent on par with his brother's, maybe.
Julius recalled the swirling black color he had seen a few days ago.
He had no intention of dismissing it just because it hadn't appeared in the original story, wondering if such a case was even possible.
It was just a waste.
The one and only card he had: a political marriage.
Even if he could take more concubines, he didn't want to waste the single, unique position of the official wife so carelessly.
As if he saw no more reason to talk, Julius let out a huge yawn and stood up.
"Ah. Whatever, we're breaking it off, so I'm leaving now, okay?"
"Wh-what? How rude...!"
He wouldn't have acted this way if she'd had an incredible background regardless of her talent, or if she'd played a significant role in the original story despite her lack of it.
But.
'Is there any reason for me to care?'
A family whose name was never even briefly mentioned, and a fiancée who seemed to despise him.
On top of that, she had been the one to demand the annulment first. There was no reason not to accept, and certainly no need to beg.
"Your name was... Katarina? Catriel? Whatever, I'm leaving now."
Julius gave a dismissive wave, ignoring whatever she was saying, and left the drawing room.
"Y-you...!"
Catherine stood there with a dazed expression, as if her soul had left her body.
'I need to hurry up and take down the hidden boss nearby...'
Once this ruin tour was over, it seemed he would need to start investigating in earnest.
Before meeting the original protagonist, he needed to build up his strength as much as possible and gather talented supporting characters.
Who was that supporting character nearby who should be in a bad spot right about now?
I think there was one around here somewhere...
'Was it somewhere to the southwest?'
Behind him, Catherine's belated shout echoed as she finally came to her senses.
A passing maid flinched in surprise at the sound erupting from the drawing room.
But Julius, the one responsible, didn't give it a second thought.
'She'll find her own way out.'