Chapter 111. The Way She Loves (3)
Chapter 111. The Way She Loves (3)
3
I rushed to her and held her in my arms.
"Raviel."
Countless words swirled in my mouth.
I could have said, [I'm sorry].
Sorry for leaving a wound on you that cannot be washed away.
Truly sorry.
Perhaps I could have said, [Thank you].
Thank you for believing in me, thank you for waiting for me, and above all, thank you for loving me.
For loving someone like me.
But what I wanted to say was not an apology. Nor was it gratitude. This was not the first time I had apologized to her, nor was it the first time I had thanked her.
This moment.
On this night when we met again, I did not want to offer apology or gratitude.
'Words I have never spoken before.'
I wanted to say the one thing I could offer her only once. I wanted to give her a language I could speak only once in my life. My first. My last. I wanted to offer my time to Raviel Ivansia.
So. Therefore. Thus.
I took Raviel's hand.
"Let's get married."
A proposal.
"......."
Raviel slowly nodded.
"I am called by many names. His Majesty the Emperor gave me the name Silver Lily. The Empire has bestowed upon me the title of Lady of Ivansia. But my name, Raviel, will always be left vacant, reserved only to be spoken by you."
We kissed.
Deeply.
4
The two of us woke at dawn.
The window was pale with blue.
When I heard breathing and turned my head, Raviel was silently gazing at me.
"......."
"......."
I too silently gazed at Raviel. Then I moved my hand and clasped hers. Cool fingers intertwined with mine. A beautiful person. We shared our breaths, laced our fingers together, and pressed our foreheads against each other.
"Raviel, you're a genius."
It was dawn. At the hour of dawn, every meeting became a secret tryst, and every whisper became sweet nothings. And so those who shared the dawn together were those who loved each other.
I whispered.
"You're amazing. Turning my trauma-peeping against me like that. Using it to transmit memories to me... Truly, amazing. I never would have thought of a method like that."
"You have a tendency to sanctify the pain of others."
Raviel's touch grazed my earlobe.
"You are just as remarkable. How in the world did you persuade the Tower? To the many Constellations, the Tower is like an inviolable administrator. I knew your tongue was sweet, but I never imagined it could persuade the Tower itself."
"Well, honestly, I don't remember it well either. It comes back to me faintly, like a dream. I suppose meeting the Tower's higher-ups leaves a veil over your memories like this."
"The fact that you succeeded remains unchanged. My lover is quite capable."
"And the lover I love is a genius."
"An undeniable fact."
We pressed our foreheads together and nuzzled.
We could admire each other.
Without a speck of vanity or pretense.
This fact made me endlessly happy.
"When shall we marry?"
"Are you rushing me?"
"I think that way of speaking is a little unfair."
Raviel laughed softly. It was dizzying. Static electricity rose from my spine and burrowed into my skull. No music was as beautiful as the sound of Raviel's soft laugh.
"First, breaking off my engagement with His Highness the Crown Prince is the proper procedure."
"Ah."
Indeed.
Raviel nodded.
"His Highness and I are bound by betrothal. Marrying you in the current situation would be legally difficult."
"Well, honestly, a legal marriage doesn't matter much to me. Holding a small ceremony together, just the two of us, would be enough."
"No, it matters to me."
Raviel stroked my cheek.
"This is the world I live in. The Empire is the nation I serve and care for. If it is my world and my nation, then it ought to acknowledge my marriage. Even if you are of common birth here, you are my lover, and so every citizen of the Empire must bless you."
"Uh, but expecting that kind of reaction from people might be a little difficult, don't you think...?"
"It is fine, Gong-ja."
Raviel was calm.
"Any citizen of the Empire who does not bless us will die by my hand."
What do I do? She's so cool. I've fallen for her again. I want to keep falling for her.
"Understood. We'll hold the wedding in Raviel's world. But I have a condition too."
"Speak."
"Even if you break off the engagement with the Crown Prince, Raviel absolutely must not be the one who gets dumped. I cannot forgive people who know nothing whispering ill of Raviel."
If anyone points a finger at my lover, I'll snap that finger. If anyone badmouths her, I'll cut out their tongue. If anyone slanders her, I'll kill them.
This is not a joke.
I will show them hell.
"It must be obvious to everyone that the Crown Prince is the one at fault. Raviel, you be the one to break it off."
"Oh-ho, are you telling me to insult the heir to the throne? Me, the legitimate heir of the Ivansia Ducal House, who works in the shadows for the nation?"
"Yes."
"That is an easy task."
The two of us took a moment to kiss.
Life became a little richer.
"Do you have a plan?"
"Of course. Who do you think you are asking? Every time His Highness the Crown Prince has a secret tryst with Golden Thread Plum, one document is added to the drawer of my study. The documents I began keeping that way now number in the hundreds. I have prepared alibis and witnesses as well. If I drag him to court, victory is certain."
What do I do? She's so cool. I've fallen for her again. I want to keep falling for her.
"Of course, there is no need to actually go to court. The Imperial Household will not want such matters brought up. I need only bring the evidence documents and request an audience with His Majesty the Emperor."
"When do you plan to go to the Imperial Palace?"
"As soon as possible."
Raviel quietly brushed back my bangs.
"Gong-ja, once you marry me, you will be the consort (夫人) of the Ivansia Ducal House. The Imperial Household will bestow a title upon you directly. And I will become your lord husband (婦君)."
My heart pounded.
"At official functions, I will call you my consort. You will call me your lord husband. Is that acceptable?"
"This is a class society. The master of the Ivansia household is Raviel. I am nothing more than an outsider. Do not worry. I will simply follow the laws of the Empire within the Empire. I don't mind any of that at all...."
"I am glad you say it is fine. I knew you would be fine with it. So, as a test, try calling me your lord husband."
I froze.
"Why? Are you embarrassed?"
"......."
"You are embarrassed. I knew you would be embarrassed. Allow me to demonstrate first."
Raviel smiled with her eyes.
"My consort."
My heart.
"......."
I swallowed. Saliva clung thickly in my throat. I slowly tried to open my mouth, but it would not cooperate. Only after my upper lip slipped against my lower lip several times did I barely manage to make a sound.
"...L-lord husband."
Raviel blinked.
Silence settled.
My lover's red eyes stared straight at me. How should I put it? Her face looked exactly like someone who had just seen a hedgehog's paw. In short, I had no idea what kind of face she was making.
"Gong-ja."
"Yes."
"Say it once more."
"...Lord husband?"
"Just once more."
Hm.
"Lord husband...?"
Raviel's eyelashes trembled. Her shoulders flinched slightly.
'What kind of reaction is this?'
At first I didn't notice because Raviel maintained a blank expression, but soon I realized. No way. Perhaps? Could it be? No, even if the world crumbled, there was no way—or so I thought.
"Raviel, are you embarrassed right now?"
"Mm...."
Raviel let out a small groan.
"How maddeningly lovely. My man...."
The embarrassment was instantly contagious. Insane.
My face flushed red and my lips went dry. Still, my mind was racing. This was the moment to counter with [The Raviel doing that is the cutest in the world]. I could return all the damage Raviel had ever dealt me. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Because I was so embarrassed I could die.
Instead, I decided to compromise.
"Lord husband."
Rather than a one-sided attack, mutual affection. A draw with no winner and no loser. Perhaps she saw through my strategy. Raviel spoke too.
"...My consort."
"Lord husband."
"My consort."
"Lord husband!"
"My consort...."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"My lord husband...."
"My consort."
And so on, infinite replay.
When I came to my senses, dawn had become morning.
-You fucking dog of a bastard....
The guardian spirit muttered with his back turned to me. In his own way, it was a posture meant to protect our privacy.
-Dogshit couple. Insane lovey-dovey bastards. Double-insane couple. Fuuuck, do you have any idea how desperately I called out to you when you lost your goddamn mind obsessing over that butler bastard? Huh? The moment you come to your senses, without a single word of thanks to me, you just go all heart-fluttery with your lover? Huh? Do I look like a fucking pushover to you? Should I really just ascend to nirvana right now? Huh?
[Sparkle offers words of comfort to Sword Emperor.]
-Ahh, now you're all I have left! Sparkle!
The ghost and the sword built a mysterious friendship.
'I'm sorry and grateful to you two as well.'
But for now, I wanted to love my love just a little longer.
5
Within love, I reflected on the purpose of this stage.
[Prevent the destruction of this world.]
And the primary cause of this world's destruction lay in my lord husband's artifact, the fragment of the holy sword, and the rampage of its wish.
'In other words, if we recover the holy sword fragment, the danger of this world being destroyed by demons will disappear.'
But that was not the only cause leading this world to ruin.
-The apostle of 'Ox that Harvests Ruins'.
-The apostle of 'Warhorse of the Eternal Plains'.
-The apostle of 'Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness'.
On the last day, the beings from another world who descended through the rift in the torn sky.
I clearly remembered the invasion of the apostles sent by other Constellations.
'They will definitely come.'
I could tell just from the fact that no stage-clear message had appeared yet.
'My lord husband had driven the holy sword fragment into her heart and awakened as a half-Constellation.'
As she said, a Constellation is the representative of a world. A barrier that protects the world.
In other words, this world had possessed a half-complete defensive wall.
But now my lord husband had not driven the holy sword into her heart. Therefore, there had been no awakening as a Constellation either.
In other words, in the truest sense, this world now had no Constellation.
"I will set the wedding for one month from now."
One month from now.
"That is exactly ten days after the point when I possessed her."
"Correct. I set it deliberately."
My lord husband had deliberately chosen the day this world was originally destined for destruction as the wedding date. It meant denying the hour that was the world's end and making it our starting point.
How gallant.
"It took considerable effort to arrange. Everything must go smoothly for the wedding to be possible one month from now."
"For example, what things must go smoothly?"
"Breaking off the engagement with the Crown Prince is the first. And inheriting my father's title is the second."
Raviel said it as if it were obvious.
"Marrying you as a mere young lady is difficult. Legally, it requires cumbersome procedures, and if word spreads that I took a commoner as my betrothed, the social circles will stir up a fuss for nothing. It is bothersome. It would be better for me to become the duchess and take you as my consort. Once I become the head of the household, there are a great many things I can handle as I please."
"Uh...."
I was at a loss for words.
"Raviel, I still have quite a lot of the butler's memories, so let me ask. That... isn't it quite difficult for a successor to ascend as head of the household? Let alone Ivansia. The noble and great Ivansia family. Just because Raviel wishes it, inheriting the ducal title is...."
"Yes. If I were not Raviel Ivansia, it would have been difficult."
Raviel said calmly.
"But I am Raviel Ivansia."
What do I do? She's so cool. I've fallen for her again. I want to keep falling for her.
"The vassals of my house have already sworn loyalty to me. Military authority is also mine. If my father ultimately refuses to relinquish power, his only option is to run to His Majesty the Emperor and beg."
Thud.
Raviel set a stack of documents on the table.
"I have more than enough evidence to prove His Highness the Crown Prince's infidelity. His Majesty is as capable as the special forces he commands. Rather than stand by my father, who holds no real power, out of loyalty, he will surely choose to defend the dignity of the Imperial Household."
"That sounds like a statement overflowing with loyalty, Raviel, but isn't that actually your way of saying you'll blackmail His Majesty the Emperor by holding his weakness...?"
"My consort."
Raviel looked at me seriously. At the resonance of the words "my consort," I flinched. The two of us had been deliberately calling each other [my consort] and [lord husband] even when alone, to grow accustomed to the new forms of address.
"Yes, lord husband."
"You hold a profession not in this world but in the Tower. I will understand if you rarely return to my world, to our Empire. Just as you understand that I cannot abandon my noble title."
Hearing it put that way, I sounded exactly like a husband working away from home....
"But there are times when you must be with me. Year-end events, New Year events, and the like. And the events of a ducal couple are always inevitably political. You will become the moon of Ivansia, and apart from the Empress, you will be revered as the noblest consort in this Empire. You must become somewhat seasoned in politics."
Hm. So, in other words.
"Loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and blackmail of the Imperial Household can coexist, then. Just because my lord husband becomes the master of the ducal house does not mean the Empire suffers a loss. Rather, the Empire is fortunate to have gained a noble as capable as my lord husband."
"My consort learns two things when taught one. Capable, clever, and magnificent."
"Of course. I am Raviel's man, after all."
"I love you."
"I love you."
The two of us took a moment to kiss.
Life became a little richer.
-Fuuuuuck....
For some reason, the ghost's face grew more and more gaunt.
-Who was it? Who was the one who taught this lunatic about love, I ask. Who gave this bastard's madness and bullshit the name of love.... Why does this bastard love? If this bastard had never loved, I could still have been happy....
[Sparkle points at Sword Emperor with a sorrowful heart.]
-I was the bastard who should have been killed. Me....
And so we came to spend busy days.
For the greatest happy ending... no.
For the greatest wedding.