The Way of Love -2-
Morning arrived. Sparrows chirped. It was the kind of morning where Olivia's shouts about the empire's safety echoed through the room.
—Blink! Olivia's eyes fluttered open against the rising sunlight, and her lips began to twitch. "Ahem." After clearing her throat once to check its condition, she nodded firmly. Her body felt perfect. Her voice felt perfect. Resolved, Olivia widened her eyes and drew in a deep breath, convinced that today she could finally worry about the empire's safety…!
"...Air raid alarm?!" She tried to shout, but the strange sensation in her legs made her clamp her mouth shut. Something was resting on them.
"...Huh?"
"Koooo..."
"Huuuh...?!"
Ricardo. He was leaning against the bed, fast asleep, using her legs as a pillow. She'd wondered why she dreamed of being crushed by chocolate, but apparently there was a culprit right here. Olivia glared at the soundly sleeping Ricardo, yet...
"..."
His quiet breathing was so peaceful that she couldn't bring herself to wake him. "Mmmnya..." He looked half-dead.
With a pout, Olivia cautiously poked Ricardo's sunlit cheek with her finger. Pale skin. Red hair. A man whose skin seemed even better than her own. "Heehee...!"
"Ugh..."
"So soft...!"
—Poke. Poke.
"Heeheehee...!"
"Ugh..."
A laugh escaped her. It was strange—and oddly pleasant—to see the ever-scolding Ricardo like this. Ricardo was always busy. Cooking every day. Rushing her to the bathroom the moment she rang the bell. Never complaining when she whined about wanting to go outside, instead smiling and taking her anyway. He spent his days in constant motion. So...
It was nice to see him resting.
"..."
That was why she didn't want to wake him. Seeing Ricardo at rest was a rare sight. Olivia smiled faintly and stroked his hair for a long while. She wouldn't get breakfast if she didn't wake him, but what did it matter? Today, seeing him sleep felt better than any meal.
After petting his soft hair for another ten minutes or so, Olivia's eyebrows twitched at the growing weight on her legs.
"Nngh..."
"..."
"Nnnngh..."
"..."
"Ugh... It's heavy...!"
Her legs were going numb. Fearing they might turn into dried squid if this continued, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and began pushing Ricardo toward the bed.
"...Huh? My lady?"
"Mmmnya?"
Ricardo woke up.
"Hmm...? Why am I sleeping here?"
Olivia gave an awkward smile at his sleepy question. "I don't know."
She hadn't wanted to wake him. She'd wanted to let him sleep, but now she felt guilty.
"...Pfft."
Yet Ricardo simply smiled at her, as he always did. If their roles were reversed, she would have scolded him, but his calm reaction made her think he was remarkable.
"Did you have a good dream?"
"Yeah."
"What kind of dream?"
Olivia pouted, glancing at the leg he'd been using as a pillow. "A dream about being crushed by chocolate."
"...Ah. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. You're light, so I barely felt it."
"I could've sworn I heard you say it was heavy just now."
"Eek...!"
Ricardo smiled. Fully awake now, he stretched lightly and prepared to head to the kitchen.
"Going to make breakfast?"
"Yes."
"It's ten o'clock?"
"I can have it ready in twenty minutes."
"Oh..."
"Since we don't have much time, I'll make something simple—bacon and an omelet."
"Fluffy...!"
"I'll make it delicious."
"Mmmnya!"
Promising a tasty breakfast, Ricardo went downstairs. Listening to the clatter from the kitchen, Olivia lay in bed, staring at the same ceiling, the same view.
"..."
It wasn't boring. She'd grown used to this life. Maybe "resignation" was the right word. Ricardo had hung glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling so she wouldn't get bored staring at it all day. Before the mansion was remodeled, the ceiling had been covered in peeling wallpaper... and traces of where Mikhail's photos had once been stuck. Ricardo would tear them down, only for her to put them back up. Tear them down again, put them back... They were gone now, but those had been hard times for both of them. Of course, Ricardo had it worse. It had been a gloomy period. Sometimes, when the past overlapped with the present room, her face would fall. It had been so foolish.
Losing her legs. Losing her memories. Stabbing herself with a dagger. The room that still held the image of her villainess's end felt like a prison of reflection. Not that she hated it. Ricardo had layered good memories over it now. It was a small act of stubbornness. From the moment she used black magic, her time had felt frozen. She'd become a fool who could do nothing with her own body. All because of her, she'd stolen Ricardo's time and created a sad ending. The emotions welled up more. She had to move forward, yet couldn't, and sometimes she resented herself for it. Everything stemmed from her mistakes. Though she'd never been close to regret, looking back always brought it. The "what if" thoughts made her melancholy. But every time, Ricardo was there beside her—that much she couldn't deny. People hated the villainess. That was who she was. At the academy. Even in a reality where she'd lost everything. She was always grateful to Ricardo, who had reached out to her after she'd driven so many daggers into herself. If she were in his position, she never could have done what he did.
Suddenly, an unpleasant memory flashed through Olivia's mind—one of the many the blue window had shown her.
—I hope the memories we shared were enjoyable.
—Why are you saying that all of a sudden...?
—I just feel sentimental today.
—No... Something's different.
—It's the same as always.
—It was a good life.
—Tightly...
That fool wouldn't have even given her a chance. Olivia let out a deep sigh and lowered her head. The unwelcome memory made her breath tremble. She had to move forward. She couldn't stay in place. She wanted to ease even a little of the burden on Ricardo's shoulders. She had no intention of leaving his side. She couldn't anymore—not because her body was weak, but because Ricardo had become part of her life. Imagining sending him away was unthinkable. She knew it was a burden to him, but her selfish stubbornness made it impossible to let go. Greedy. Unwilling to give up. That was the essence of the woman named Olivia. She squeezed her eyes shut and stepped toward the dizzying cliff.
"..."
Perched on the edge of the bed, Olivia closed her eyes at the sheer height. It was the first time she'd tried to walk since losing her legs to black magic. The last time had been long ago, when Ricardo suggested rehabilitation and she'd fallen. This was the first time she'd tried on her own.
—Don't do it! Your legs are useless anyway!
—My lady! You should at least hold on to some hope...
—It's embarrassing!!! I'm just going to fall anyway! Just let me live as a cripple and die!
—...Please take my hand.
—Let go!
—Let's try just once.
—...
—Thud!!!
—...
—One more time...
—Don't touch me. It's pathetic.
—...I'm sorry.
She'd been terrified. Broken. Unable to find courage. Now standing at that same dizzying cliff, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled. She knew she'd fall again. The same outcome, the same pathetic sight of herself sprawled on the floor, was vivid in her mind. Yet today, the desire to show him a changed self was stronger.
"..."
Olivia gathered her courage. She placed her hand on the bedside table. The helplessness of her unresponsive legs was almost laughable in its misery.
"..."
Her trembling hands shook like aspen leaves, mocking her courage, and her breathing grew ragged. It was as if they whispered, "You can't do it."
"...Don't make me laugh."
The soft bed seemed to reach out, refusing to let her go, but Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled.
"I'm a villainess."
"A villainess who does what she says she'll do."
"I'll do it... Even if I'm scared, I'll do it...!"
The table shook. It trembled under the weight of her resolve. Her legs, stuck to the floor as if glued, refused to move, threatening to tear apart her courageous heart. But Olivia's hands kept asking her legs if they could be useful.
'You can do it.'
She felt like crying. It was disappointing that her hard-won courage wasn't rewarded with results. She'd dreamed of a miracle where her spirit stood tall, but in reality, she was just sitting on the bed, grunting at her reflection in the mirror. It felt foolish to challenge the impossible. Pathetic, like a cripple dreaming of running. But...
"...Sniff."
Even if she fell, Olivia wanted to overcome it. Just once. If she could face it even once. If she could show Ricardo this changing self, she could ask him to indulge her stubbornness.
"Hic..."
Even as tears fell to the floor.
"Sniff..."
Even as her shoulders slumped in humiliation.
"Huuu..."
Olivia wanted to move forward.
*
—Crash!!!
At the sound from upstairs, I untied my apron and ran to my lady's room. It was a dull thud. Like someone falling.
"My lady!"
What had she done? Had she rolled off the bed? Worried, I burst through the door.
"Hic..."
I saw my lady sprawled on the floor. My chest ached. She hated falling. She never showed it usually, but when she hit the floor, she always looked so dejected. I squeezed my eyes shut. But...
"Heehee..."
My eyes trembled at the sight of her smiling.
She was smiling.
"...I did it."
Fallen on the floor, my lady smiled with teary eyes. As if asking me to believe in this small hope.
"...Huh?"
A stupid sound escaped me. My lips moved like a goldfish's, but no words came out. My lady smiled and spoke.
"Ricardo."
"My lady..."
"I stood up."
—Drip.
"Huh...?"
—Drip, drip...
"Why... Why is this happening?"
Tears fell. Without my realizing it. Plop. Tears fell.