Chapter 105. The Way He Loves (3)
Chapter 105. The Way He Loves (3)
5
I am happy to be with you.
To say I have lived my life for you would be an overstatement. But to say I will live for you is no lie. I am grateful. Grateful that I can say these words without a single shred of falsehood.
"Crying again?"
I could have been that kind of person.
"Let's make a promise, you and I."
I could have been someone who lives for another.
"Speak. I wish to hear it."
"When the other person is crying, don't deliberately ask if they're crying. Honestly, my lady, you're asking on purpose to tease me. Aren't you?"
"Hmm. There are times when you surprise me. Namely, that you are unexpectedly clever. But while you may be clever, it is equally obvious that you cannot be clever with me. People worth teasing this much are rare indeed......."
"I'd like you to make that promise."
"I refuse."
Ah. I do like it when my lady tells me "I refuse."
I really like you.......
I love you.......
-Aaaaack! Caw! Ack! My eyes! Ack! Gwaaaaack! My eeeeeyes!
The guardian spirit thrashed violently.
-Save me! Save this ghost! Why couldn't I just pass on peacefully, and now I have to suffer this misfortune even after death?! Why do I have to watch you blush in real time? You damn—my eyes! Save my existence, you damn ■ cringey zombie!
'Ah. Sword Emperor. I pity you, for you do not know the splendor of love.'
-Shut uuuuup!
'Raviel Ivansia, mistress of my heart.......'
-S-stop it. I said st■p it......!
Hm.
Strangely, the guardian spirit's voice sounded a bit farther away than usual. It felt as though the voice that normally boomed as if it had boiled a train whistle and eaten it had turned its volume down slightly.
'Is a reaction starting to come?'
The guardian spirit wasn't the only one beginning to react.
The ballroom had frozen at the kiss between Lady Silver Lily and me. That frozen air was only now beginning to thaw.
"Uh, Lady Silver Lily. Wh-what is the meaning of this......?"
Oh. Fascinating.
The ramen noodles can talk?
On second look, he really was trash.
"I apologize for causing a commotion."
Lady Silver Lily gently rested her head against my shoulder.
"It was not something to be done in a public place, Your Highness."
"Uh......."
"By my rash conduct, I have on a small scale ruined the Sormwyn ball, and on a large scale damaged the honor of the heir to the throne. My crime is great."
Lady Silver Lily spoke as if murmuring. That alone was enough. Her voice possessed a natural gravity—cool, yet drawing the ear. Everyone in attendance at the ballroom stared blankly at Lady Silver Lily.
"My crime is great, so please punish me. I shall accept it gladly."
"P-punish you?"
"Is it difficult to gauge what punishment to bestow? It must be. Therefore, I shall volunteer a punishment in your stead. From today, I shall not dare attend the academy and draw disapproving eyes, and I shall quietly reflect upon myself for a time. And."
Lady Silver Lily produced a small paper envelope from her bosom. The crown prince, still dazed, received the envelope in a stupor.
"This is......?"
Lady Silver Lily spoke slowly.
"A withdrawal application."
"......."
A blizzard swept through the ballroom once more, just as the air had barely begun to thaw. The faces of the young ladies and lords—especially that blond garbage—were dyed with shock.
"Until my withdrawal is accepted, I shall remain in self-confinement as I have stated. I shall not receive private visitors, so I beseech Your Highness the Crown Prince to grant the punishment I have volunteered."
"Ra, Ravi......?"
"I am honored that you have granted it, Your Highness."
Lady Silver Lily was still leaning against my shoulder. From that posture, she inclined her head toward the crown prince. If one looked closely, it was closer to a slight nod than a bow.
'Because of the sword lodged in the mirror, she must still have feelings for the crown prince.......'
For a moment, I wondered if this was all right.
But come to think of it, Lady Silver Lily had already had the crown prince's spies captured and their heads lopped off, hadn't she? It's fine. This much is nothing. Above all, Raviel seemed to be in a good mood, so it didn't matter either way.
Lady Silver Lily took my hand and pulled.
"Let's go."
"Ah, yes."
And so, leaving behind the ballroom plunged into shock and horror, what did we do? We left.
We just left.
Well, you know. No one could stop us.
They might be able to stop me. They could also grab Lady Silver Lily and hold her back. But not "us." If we want to leave, we leave. And yet, would they try to stop us? X that. How do you stop a regressor couple?
"Death King! Death King!"
Only Heretic Questioner at least made a show of trying to stop us. He came trotting after us as we left the ballroom.
"What about the stage strategy? And what was the meaning of that peck just now? I did not understand it at all!"
Heretic Questioner was of the faction that called a kiss a peck. Astonishing. I had heard that such a faction existed somewhere in the world, but I never imagined Heretic Questioner would be under its banner.......
"Heretic Questioner."
"Yes, Death King! Ah. For reference, ever since earlier, whenever I see Death King and that young lady together, the area around my heart keeps pounding. Hmm, what symptom could this be......?"
"It's a myocardial infarction. Be careful."
"I see. A myocardial infarction."
"Yes. And I'll be handling the stage strategy separately. Heretic Questioner, consider yourself on vacation and take it easy. I'll call you separately if I need you."
"Ah. I see."
Heretic Questioner smiled brightly.
"Understood! I shall judge freely and act accordingly!"
That boundless brightness was unsettling.
"...Heretic Questioner."
"Yes!"
"You must not kill people."
"Ah, understood!"
"No torture either."
"Understood."
"And no kidnapping or imprisoning people while claiming you're extracting information."
"Death King."
Heretic Questioner looked at me as if troubled.
"Then there is nothing left for me to do?"
"Just go hole up in a corner and read fairy tale books or something."
"Hm. Yes. Understood......."
Heretic Questioner wilted. He looked exactly like a dejected Welsh corgi with drooping ears, so I sighed and patted his shoulder.
"There'll be work for you later. Just stay quiet until then."
"......."
Heretic Questioner stared up at my face. He tilted his head three times, then spoke.
"Death King. I am hearing that your immersion rate has risen just now. What could this be?"
"It's a myocardial infarction."
Just stay put, please.
6
"Starting tomorrow, the entire empire will be in an uproar."
As we stormed out of the academy, Lady Silver Lily spoke calmly.
"Really?"
"I am a celebrity, after all."
We were riding in a carriage. It was Lady Silver Lily's carriage. The lady had said, 'Since we've decided to live recklessly for once, I'd like to leave the academy if we're at it,' and naturally, I had no reason to object.
"First, about 200 letters will pour in from the social circles in the capital. Another 20 will come from the social circles back home, and of those, 10 will be from my father. Lastly, His Majesty the Emperor may send a messenger as well. Gong-ja, propose a solution."
"Hm......."
I started to speak, then stopped. Wait. Did the lady just call me [Gong-ja] instead of [butler]? It was the first time she had called me by my name.
"What is the matter?"
Lady Silver Lily's eyes were crinkled at the corners.
"Your face is red, Gong-ja. Have you caught a cold?"
"......."
"The night air is cold in spring. Gong-ja, even if your body temperature runs high, you must be careful. Only then will you be able to answer my questions quickly, Gong-ja."
Ugh.
I have to counterattack at least a little.
"Wh-when did you write that withdrawal application? Writing something like that in secret while I wasn't around. Wow, I know you were planning to repeat today, but that's a little cute."
"Cute, Gong-ja. Do you think I would be flustered by hearing the word cute from you? Gong-ja, is that what you call a counterattack against me right now? That, itself, is a cute thing. Did you want to be called cute, Gong-ja?"
"......."
"I shall accept that as your surrender."
My lady scored another easy victory that day.
Even I could see that this was booking me a future of being utterly whipped, but the thought that occurred to me was, 'If being whipped by my lady isn't a genuinely victorious life, then what is?' At that point, I was already done for.
"It's small."
Lady Silver Lily spoke suddenly. She was gazing out the carriage window at Sormwyn Academy growing smaller and smaller.
"Sormwyn is an institution deliberately established for the purpose of strengthening imperial authority. It semi-forcibly enrolls the children of noble houses and influential families that could otherwise proliferate unchecked across the empire. By sharing the same education, the same language, the same schedule, it instills the identity of [one united imperial people]."
"That's a heavy topic."
"I stayed in that place for too long."
Lady Silver Lily murmured.
"Past that small school gate, jealousy, vanity, arrogance, monopoly, lust—everything lies in wait. They barely conceal their true faces under the names of tradition and order. In the end, the empire we are to govern is not in there. It is outside. I wonder if His Highness the Crown Prince knows that......."
"Raviel."
Lady Silver Lily flinched.
"Worry about the empire later. You're overworking yourself."
"......."
"For now, just think about me. That alone will make my head explode."
The carriage jolted.
"Gong-ja."
"Yes."
"If you scar my heart, I will kill you."
A chill ran down my neck.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Tell me what you understand."
"Never. No matter what happens. I will not wound your soul. If I truly wound it without knowing, I will apologize."
"You will need to understand a little better than that."
Lady Silver Lily rose and sat down in the seat beside me.
Press.
She placed her palm over the back of my hand. My heart pounded, but the nape of my neck was still cold. The person I had fallen in love with held fire in her eyes and ice in her voice.
"If you ever betray me, Gong-ja."
"Yes."
"Strangle me to death with your own hands."
"......."
"Do not use aura or anything of the sort. Kill me using only your hands. Kill me, and kill me again, until the fact that you and I ever met is erased from this world. Whether it takes hundreds of days or thousands, it does not matter. I shall sentence myself to death at your hands."
Lady Silver Lily lightly clasped her hand. She brought my hand to her own throat. White skin. Cold temperature. At the very center of her throat, I could faintly feel the ice of her, knotted around her vocal cords.
"And live forever, remembering that I will never forgive you."
"......."
"You can live forever. If you wish it."
I swallowed.
"Yes."
"Know that the moment you betray me, you are exiled to an eternal hell."
Lady Silver Lily whispered.
"Do you understand?"
I spoke.
"I understand, Raviel."
"If you have a secret you must tell me, confess it now."
"I have a skill called Hundred Ghost Reincarnation (百鬼還生)."
I confessed without a moment's hesitation.
"Those who die by my hand are summoned by me even after death. Even if the summoned cannot inherit the abilities they had in life, as long as I wish it, they can inherit their appearance and memories."
"Is that so. Then you could summon me as well."
"Raviel has died with me nine times, so summoning nine Raviels is also possible."
"I forbid it."
"Yes."
I had never intended to summon Lady Silver Lily in the first place. No matter what happened. But once more, through her voice and her words, I sealed off that possibility.
Love was a sacred promise, a contract.
We were writing a code of law (法典) for just the two of us.
"I shall add one more thing you must do if you betray me. Tear that skill apart and erase it."
"I will."
And then, I chose my words. She was the person I loved. The person who would love me. I had to cherish and treat her more carefully than anyone else in the world.
"I'm sorry for not telling you in advance."
"Make one promise, and I shall forgive you."
"I'm listening."
"Do not take your own life without my permission."
"......."
"Even when the time comes when you could easily escape through death, do not die. You are my lover. You are not someone who may throw away your life carelessly. Even if you truly cannot avoid death, struggle until the very end."
I was silent.
Engraving the promise I had made with her onto my heart.
"Yes."
"Tell me what you wish of me."
"When I ask you to trust me, please trust me."
"I will always trust you."
The carriage jolted. Using the small vibration as an excuse, Lady Silver Lily and I leaned against each other. And our lips met.
From that day on.
We became each other's love.