Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: A Happy Day
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The next morning, Richer stepped outside and looked at Ariete.
"Ariete. Did you spend the night outside again? How pitiful."
Ariete smiled with a weary expression.
She seemed much calmer than the day before. No one knew if it was because she had slept or because Richer had held her yesterday.
Richer approached her and opened his mouth.
"Ariete. Will you grant me one request?"
At the mention of a "request," Ariete spoke with a desperate look.
"Anything, just tell me. I can do everything. I can even give my life."
Richer smiled lightly and spoke to her.
"It's not that harsh a request. Let's spend the day wandering the streets together. That's my request."
Ariete's eyes widened at the unexpected proposal. She stood there blankly, unable to even blink, as endless tears welled up.
No one knew if she took Richer's suggestion as a casual outing between master and disciple or a brief date between lovers.
Richer couldn't peer into Ariete's heart, and she had never experienced either.
Her first outing since birth. Her first date in life. Whatever it was, the fact that it was blissfully happy remained the same.
"Really? Really? Can I... someone like me?"
Ariete seemed to wail as she spoke. After enduring that long wait, she had longed for the day she could stand by Richer's side, even in misery.
No, more precisely, she had dreamed of prostrating at his feet.
"Even if I can't repay your long wait, I can at least do this much, can't I? I'm sorry. I left you alone too long. It wasn't easy to steel my resolve."
It was a plan he had devised while talking with Garam the day before, but Richer's expression held genuine sincerity.
Over twenty years of connection in Earth's time. And fifteen of those years were an endless wait.
Not an ordinary wait in daily life, but one on the battlefield where Richer had taken her hand and led her.
Even with deep sins weighing on her, shouldn't she be granted at least one day of happiness?
Ariete wept but smiled the brightest smile in the world.
"Thank you, Master. But I know almost nothing about the capital. This is practically my first time out on leave."
"It's been so long for me too that I don't remember. But not knowing can make it all the more enjoyable."
Ariete couldn't step forward right away. She collapsed to her knees right there and sobbed sorrowfully.
The simple dress she had carefully chosen to look pretty for Richer got dirtied, and her clumsy makeup smeared with tears.
A moment later, Ariete rose and smiled brightly.
"Okay. Let's take in as much as we can. Thank you."
Richer carefully wiped away her smudged makeup with utmost care. Her bare face looked far better than the awkward makeup.
The two headed into the streets.
Not the flashy districts for nobles, but the alleyways infused with common folk's lives.
Alleys where they might have built a home together, if fate had been just a bit kinder.
The two ventured into unfamiliar alleys. Unfamiliar shops, unfamiliar people—and strangers eyed Ariete and Richer with unfamiliar glances.
It was an astonishing experience for Ariete. The looks others had given her until now were, at best, those of a madwoman; at worst, ones of horror, fear, and curses.
Passersby glanced indifferently at Ariete and turned away, or offered a light greeting if their eyes met. Some even whistled and threw flirtatious glances her way.
Unfamiliar. The unfamiliarity felt good. Ariete had spent half her life in the Empire, yet she had rarely tasted its foods. Battlefield rations and hard bread had made up most of her diet.
As soon as they entered the back alleys, the two drank tangy, refreshing drinks in vibrant colors.
Unlike the lukewarm, foul-smelling water in canteens or the bland water conjured by magic.
It felt like tiny droplets from a flowerbed beside a fountain, or a gentle fox rain shattering finely in the sunlight.
Ariete wanted to cry from sheer happiness, but her tear glands refused to oblige.
As if telling her to just keep smiling now.
So Ariete smiled without pause. Her hand clung tightly to Richer's, but her gaze roamed every corner of the alley.
A blade of grass smaller than a fingernail blooming in the corner of a fabric shop was endearing.
A building with walls sloppily plastered by an unskilled mason was amusing.
Perhaps because it was spring, butterflies fluttered playfully through Richer's hair.
When Ariete offered the back of her hand, the butterfly brushed it lightly before soaring back into the sky. An illusion, maybe—but the breeze from its wings lingered on her skin.
The two bought meat skewers slathered in rich sauce and shared them. A sweet savor enveloped their mouths, while a cheap yet abundant aroma filled their noses.
Not an exceptional taste, nor a lavish dish. Yet Ariete devoured three skewers.
"Eating like that—you'll have no room for dinner later. You must be stuffed."
"It's fine. I'm just having so much fun right now."
Richer gave Ariete a small smile.
The two emerged onto the main street and took seats at a restaurant where commoners treated themselves once in a while.
Ariete had more than enough money and could have dined at the priciest spots if she wished.
But she simply wanted to follow in ordinary people's footsteps. The prices weren't exorbitant, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere lively.
The two finished their leisurely meal and stepped out.
Darkness had fallen over the streets, and Ariete didn't know what to do. Would Richer head back now that the sun had set?
But Richer's words were different.
"Let's go, Ariete."
"Yes?"
"We've walked all day together—you should at least see me off. Let's go to your place."
"Really?"
The two strolled the streets at an easy pace. Their steps grew slower and slower. Ariete didn't want to go home. Would the happiest day of her life end just like this?
When they reached her house, Richer stepped inside without hesitation. Ariete said in surprise.
"You're coming in?"
"To make the day perfect, we need to spend its last moments together. You'll put me up for the night."
At this point, Ariete couldn't hold back her tears.
"I'm... so happy. I never dreamed a day like this would come."
She felt an inexplicable anxiety but couldn't voice it. Afraid that speaking it would make it real.
"Life isn't always just sorrow. Come here."
Richer took a pill from a container and handed it to Ariete. A potent sleeping pill, for someone like her who struggled to sleep.
Like a good child, she swallowed it without protest. Then she said to Richer.
"Master, let me rest on your arm."
"Alright."
Richer lay beside her and extended his arm. She pillowed her head on it, wearing a catlike smile.
"I wish today could be the last. How wonderful it would be to fall asleep this happily... and die?"
It wasn't mere rhetoric. In that moment, Ariete truly wished for death with all her heart.
Richer gazed at his pitiful disciple and murmured softly.
"Why talk of dying? You have to live long for the good days to come."
"Will tomorrow be as wonderful as today?"
Richer repeated inwardly. A good day.
Ariete was asking if she could see him tomorrow too. To her, any day with Richer was good; all others brimmed with suffering.
Tomorrow can't be a good day—the words rose in his throat.
But before his pitiable disciple, he couldn't utter such cruel truth.
Yes, even if just one day in a lifetime. You deserve a day of perfect joy. A day filled only with happiness, from the moment you open your eyes to the moment you drift off.
A carefree day that other children experience endlessly in their youth.
And so, Richer whispered softly into Ariete's ear, like a father soothing the child in his arms.
"Yes. Tomorrow will be a good day too. A happy one, free of any worries."
By the time Richer spoke, Ariete had succumbed to the sleeping pill. No one knew if she fell asleep after hearing his answer or before.
But she slumbered peacefully, a happy smile on her lips.
Richer put Ariete to sleep, gathered a few strands of her hair, and left. Her red, long curls were easy to spot.
Garam had asked Richer for two things: put Ariete into a deep sleep and bring back her hair.
As he slipped out of her house, Richer glanced back. His gaze lingered, reluctant to part.
Garam took the hair and bound it delicately with gold thread. His thick fingers moved with unbelievable precision.
Then Garam laid out a few items on the floor. Renata, witnessing shamanic ritual for the first time, watched him with wide-eyed curiosity, while Tae-jin voiced his doubts.
"Is this how it's usually done? Last time with the werewolf, you just grabbed stuff roughly in both hands."
"That was urgent. Now we have time to do it right. Don't talk. It throws me off."
Once the group backed away, Garam began muttering slowly. Just like before, in a whispery undertone.
As time passed, the space around Garam grew dimmer bit by bit. The air thickened dozens of times over, or it was as if the lights had gone out only around him. Renata watched, eyes wide, at the astonishing sight she'd never beheld.
And after more time, Garam's voice split in two. As if one throat produced dual tones.
One muttered gloomily, the other exhaled a long sigh of lament.
Then, at the incantation's crescendo, the midair darkness coalesced, clumped, and descended to devour the offerings placed around Garam.
But the offerings fell short. The darkness enveloped Garam, circled him, then veered toward his right hand.
Garam held his right hand as far from his body as possible. The darkness wrapped it, writhed, then dispersed faintly. Below his right wrist remained only bone and shriveled skin, parched dry.
Garam's face contorted. As if bearing intense pain.
"A shame it wasn't the left hand, but better than a leg."
Renata posed her question to Garam.
"Is it over?"
"Yeah. Ariete won't wake for two or three days."
Garam shouldered his bag with a light motion, despite his discomfort.
"Come on. Let's move fast."
The five left the house. Imperial intelligence agents might be watching the surroundings.
Yet they neither cast invisibility magic nor snuck away. Since sneaking all the way out of imperial territory was impossible, moving openly was better than suspiciously.
Once at a suitable spot, they could hide and slip out.
The night carriage bearing the five rattled southward.
Richer's gaze kept drifting backward, as if tethered to something.