Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Ariete (8)
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Time passed. The front lines had stagnated, settling into a lull.
A war mage had been dispatched to the adjacent frontline that had advanced to its objective, granting the two of them a brief respite. If they moved diligently, they could spend a few days in the capital before heading back.
Richer headed toward the carriage to leave the battlefield. It was a carriage meant for war mages and high-ranking officers, but since it traversed rough terrain, it wasn't ornately decorated.
There was a presence behind Richer as he moved to board the carriage. No need to say who it was. Ariete.
"Ariete. Are you planning to follow me?"
The tone in Richer's voice had changed from the triumphant return ceremony. Back then, he'd spoken as if it were obvious she should come along.
But Ariete wasn't disappointed. The mere fact that he hadn't outright told her not to come told her just how much Richer loved her. She smiled brightly.
"Yes. Of course I have to follow."
"Do you even know where I'm going?"
Richer responded curtly, but it was too easy a question.
"You're heading to the capital, right? You have to see Mila."
"This time, don't follow me all the way home."
Rarely, Richer gave a firm answer.
"Aww, why not? Last time you told me to come find you whenever I wanted~."
Ariete replied with a lisping coquettish tone, but this time Richer didn't yield.
"Don't forget. I agreed to accept you only when I'm far from Mila."
Right, she remembered. She'd begged him not to give her love that would be discarded as worthless. As expected of her master—he didn't forget even the smallest things.
"Got it. But in exchange, I have a condition."
"What condition?"
"I want to at least say hello to Mila."
"What if you do something rash?"
"I absolutely won't. I won't bring up anything weird, just a simple greeting and then I'll leave right away. Won't Mila think it's strange if I don't come say hi?"
It wasn't entirely wrong. Mila liked Ariete, after all.
Still, it worried him a bit. He didn't know what unstable actions Ariete might take.
"Fine. But if you act strangely, know that I'll never see you again."
Richer issued a stern warning. Even so, he couldn't be certain himself.
No matter what situation arose, could he really let go of the poor girl's hand? The hand of the child he'd thrown into hell?
The two boarded the carriage, and without even a moment's wait, it began to move.
"Of course. I won't do anything strange. Just a quick hello and I'll leave. But I have a condition too."
"Condition? Don't talk nonsense. And no saying we should do it in the carriage or anything like that."
Richer cut her off firmly before the talk could begin, but Ariete spoke confidently.
"No. That's not a condition. It's a given. Your voice doesn't reach Mila from here, does it? You promised me. You said you'd give me love that's discarded."
So was she about to make an even more awkward demand? Richer's head throbbed.
"I don't want to hear it. Isn't that already more than enough?"
Ariete put on a flirtatious act, fawning sweetly.
"It's a request from your poor disciple who has to let go of her beloved master for a few days. It's not complicated or difficult at all."
Richer turned his head toward the window without answering. Ariete climbed onto his lap and took his chin in her hand.
"Just pick one of three. Whichever you like best."
"...What?"
Not all three, just one of three. It might be a slightly better proposal.
"With your lips. Just do one of the three with those lips. It doesn't have to have any feeling behind it."
"Tell me what they are first."
"Say you love me."
"No."
"Kiss me."
"No."
"Then do it with your mouth."
"...Do what?"
Ariete spread her legs wide and hiked up her skirt. Her undergarments were gone—though she hadn't taken them off just now.
No, she hadn't worn any. She'd planned to ride in the carriage with Richer from the start.
She'd claimed to have lots of experience, but it was surprisingly pristine down there. Must be natural.
Richer had been intimate with Ariete dozens, hundreds of times, but this was the first time he'd seen her there since their initial encounter. They'd always done it in dark rooms, averting their eyes until it was over.
Say he loved her, kiss her, or do it with his mouth.
It was a loaded proposal. The first two weren't much different from acknowledging her as his second lover.
Ariete had said feeling wasn't necessary, but every action carries emotion. The soul constrains words and deeds, but words and deeds bind the soul.
Knowing that, Ariete had offered two simple yet meaningful choices alongside one awkward and embarrassing but relatively clean option.
But there was no reason to pick one. There was the most obvious solution.
Richer replied in a cold voice.
"I hate all three. My promise didn't include any of that."
"Really?"
Ariete pouted, looking sulky.
It was a cute, playful expression. Most men would have found it adorable and pulled her into an embrace.
But as her fellow war mage, Richer could see it. Beneath that playful facade, madness swirled clearly in her eyes.
Paradoxically, Richer knew Ariete was a kind and patient girl.
She never hurt others for her own fleeting satisfaction, especially not those she was close to.
She always hid and suppressed her desires. Only when they were about to burst did she pour out her heart to Richer like a scream.
It had always been that way. It tormented Richer, but it must have tormented Ariete even more.
If Richer rejected her proposal, ruin would come.
He didn't know from which direction. She might destroy herself, wedge between him and Mila, or in the worst case, attack Mila.
In the face of this ruin, only Richer was safe. Paradoxically, that's why he couldn't stand by. He could endure his own pain, but not others'.
Richer let out a deep sigh. In the end, he had to choose one of the three.
"Just this once."
He lowered his head, and Ariete let out her usual loud moan of pleasure.
But the coachman stared straight ahead, silently driving the carriage.
I wish he could have seen me being loved.
Ariete felt a little disappointed by that fact.
The carriage entered the capital. The tiresome moans were still emanating from inside. Excluding time for meals and sleep, the sounds hadn't stopped for days.
The coachman had once peeked inside, wondering just how impressive the man's stamina was. It wasn't hard. The woman hadn't covered the window, and she was always too engrossed to notice her surroundings.
When the coachman glanced in, the man was simply asleep. The redheaded woman was just playing with his sleeping body as she pleased, panting away.
'That guy's in trouble.'
Until they reached the capital, Ariete demanded Richer endlessly. The closer they got, the more the emptiness hit her. Even filling her body with his couldn't fill her heart.
Only body can fill body, and only another's heart can fill heart.
Ariete gazed at the brass brooch on Richer's chest. The one with Mila's portrait inside.
Even in the midst of their acts, Richer would take out the brooch and stare at the portrait. The brass frame was even shinier than the last time she'd seen it.
It was the cruelest courtesy to show while being intimate with another woman, but knowing it was Richer's best effort, Ariete didn't reproach him. She just envied Mila a little.
'How wonderful it would be if my portrait were in that brooch.'
Just imagining it made her heart tremble. Richer looking at her portrait wherever he went.
"We've arrived."
The coachman spoke briefly, shook his head, and left. Mentally exhausting passengers.
"Get down."
Ariete reluctantly climbed off Richer, and he wiped himself with the hem of her skirt.
"I'll say it again. No rash actions in front of Mila. Unless you want to sever ties with your priestess."
"Yes. Got it!"
It was easy. Just stay quiet, give a polite greeting, and leave.
The two headed toward the small wooden house from memory. It was very close. The pleasant aroma still lingered around the house, topped with its cute red roof.
And as always, Richer knocked on the door with trembling fingertips.
"Who is it?"
The woman's voice, full of anticipation, rang out just like last time.
"It's me."
Magic-like happiness bloomed on Richer's weary face, the door opened, and Mila appeared. Her complexion was a bit better than last time.
"Darling! Ariete, so nice to see you!"
Richer pulled Mila into a tight embrace.
"Hello?"
Ariete bowed her head and smiled brightly.
"My guess was right. I figured you'd come together, so I prepared three servings. Come in quick!"
"No. I have somewhere to go."
"Is it urgent?"
Of course not. Ariete had no schedule or plans.
To be precise, her vacation was the period from returning to the capital with Richer until heading back to the front lines.
Lazing blankly in the capital without him wasn't vacation—it was hell without Richer. Time spent writhing in loneliness alone.
"No. Not really."
"Then come in quick. The pie will be done soon. Eat it while it's warm."
Ariete tried to decline and pull away, but Mila reached out and gripped her wrist firmly. Ariete glanced at Richer's expression, and he let out a small sigh as if he had no choice.
"Then, I'll just stay for the meal."
"Yes. Come in."
And so the three entered the house.
"Um, is there anything I can help with?"
"No. Sit there and rest. You must be tired from the long trip. The kitchen's cramped—more people would just get in the way."
Ariete sat beside Richer, staring intently at his face.
Richer didn't even notice Ariete watching him. His gaze was fixed on Mila, unmoving.
Ariete realized belatedly. Not acting rashly in front of Mila was far more difficult than she'd thought. Especially seeing Richer gaze at Mila with such a happy expression.
It wasn't doing nothing—it was suppressing a churning sea to mirror-like stillness.
A torrent of imaginings flooded Ariete's mind.
She wanted to climb onto the table right then, hike up her skirt, and shout at Mila.
'Mila, look here. See how soaked I am? Master did this to me. Don't believe me? Feel his thing. It'll be warm and wet. Really.'
'Master kissed me earlier, but I'm jealous of you. He won't kiss me. He kissed here, though. Someday I want him to kiss me too.'
Ariete's heart pounded wildly. Should she? It might work out somehow. It felt like she could. Yeah, just do it.
Richer noticed Ariete's state was off. Her body trembled faintly, twitching occasionally, and burning madness shone in her eyes.
"Ariete. Pull yourself together. If you do anything foolish in front of Mila, I'll never see you again."
"Mmm. Yes. Got it."
But Ariete couldn't endure it. She had to leave the house right now. If she stayed, who knew what she'd do.
In this state, she couldn't eat pie with them. She needed to separate from the two as soon as possible.
"Um, Mila. I'll head out first. Sorry."
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"I rode in the carriage too long. Feels like I'll get indigestion if I eat. Sorry."
"Oh no, what to do?"
"Next time, I'll definitely stop by. Pie then, okay?"
"Yes. You have to come."
Ariete etched the sight of Richer sighing in relief into her eyes.
She bowed her head deeply and rushed out of the house.
Ariete stepped into the street and inhaled the autumn air.
The cool air filled her lungs, but her mind didn't clear.
Now, even burning people on the battlefield or arrows whizzing past her ears left her unfazed.
Yet the few days apart from Richer terrified her so much that her body shuddered.
If there were no Mila, there'd be no risk of rash actions in front of her. Then she could stay with Master forever.
Then Master would fill her every day, and before long, the fruit of love would bloom again.
If the second fruit couldn't come into the world, then the third, fourth, fifth.
Repeating it, someday it would succeed. Trial and error were inevitable. Easy paths offered only small rewards. The more failures, the more precious the fruit.
Master. Leave the seed of love to me. I can give you anything.
My soul, my body, the greatest things, the smallest things. Everything precious, everything worthless, without holding back a single one.
Look at me the way you look at Mila.
Say you love me just once. Even a fleeting brush of lips would be fine.
See me not as your disciple, but as your lover.
Just once in your lifetime.