Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: True Eyes
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I shot him a glance and said,
"You're talking about separate beds, right."
"But what can I do? I'm curious about your expression when we talk about this."
"What the hell are you trying to say?"
It was a remark that scared me even before hearing it. Could I manage my expression well?
"It's nothing much. Just..."
Darsi's lips curved into a smile.
"Know that I'm telling you this because I trust you."
It was a statement that completely dissolved my suspicions.
A conversation we could have because we trusted each other. My highly tense heart relaxed.
In the end, I lay on my side facing him, just like he was.
It was a bed bigger than a king-size, so there was some distance between us, but we were facing each other in the same bed.
"We have plenty of time to talk, so I'll take it slow. For today..."
One of his hands moved toward his eye.
"How about I start by showing you my real eyes."
What did showing his real eyes mean? I couldn't quite understand what he meant.
Darsi, who had been lying down looking at me, lifted his hand and removed something from his pupil.
Looking up at him again, I froze at the changed color of his eyes.
Red and blue shimmered mysteriously together. He brushed back his hair, blinked, and asked. A faint smile lingered on his lips.
"Does this seem like a curse to you too?"
His voice, starting unusually silent, was profoundly low.
"Do I look weird or scary right now?"
I stared intently at his eyes.
"If you don't like it, just say so. I can't show it if you hate it."
"..."
"I wanted to tell you what I'm hiding. At least to the extent you trust me, I felt like I should show you something too."
But in the end, he didn't say he would distance himself from me.
He simply waited for my response.
That must have been why he wanted to see my expression change.
Even here, heterochromia was rare. Rare beings were outside the norm, and they were often targets of rejection.
Even I had only encountered them in books. But there was no sense of alienation. If anything, this suited Darsi better.
The silence as I observed felt uncharacteristically urgent to him. Was this one of the reasons he didn't want to meet people?
I smiled at him.
"It suits you well."
It was a pretty color, like a clear blue sky and sunset.
Darsi, who had widened his eyes at my words, smiled more brightly than a flower.
Letting out a soft breath, Darsi replied.
"I thought it would be okay even if you hated it... but I was a bit nervous."
"Oh, you noticed."
At my words, Darsi gave me a slight glare. It was a reproachful look, as if to say, 'You know me,' but I didn't dislike it.
"Anyway, I never knew hearing that my eyes are pretty would feel this good. Say it one more time."
"They're pretty. So, why did you come back?"
"...It doesn't feel as sincere as before."
"It is sincere."
As I shot him a glare in return, Darsi got up from his spot, saying he understood.
Leaning against the headboard, he continued.
"The plan didn't go awry. However... I've decided to extend my stay here."
"Why?"
He had seemed firmly resolved to leave, so there must have been a significant reason for changing his mind. I hoped it wasn't something bad.
"I overheard your conversation with the Marquis last time."
"The conversation with the Marquis..."
"The Emperor wants to pair you with Ryan."
Ugh. The moment I heard that, I let out a sigh. So that's why he left after hearing it.
But the next moment, I paused.
What did that have to do with Darsi?
Our relationship with Darsi was contractual. We both respected each other's boundaries appropriately, and that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Yet that became the reason he didn't leave.
Ah, was it related to calling Ryan his little brother?
"Because of Ryan?"
Darsi, who had been resting his chin on his hand, nodded.
"I can't say it's not because of Ryan."
"If he's your little brother..."
"Do I resemble him?"
"No."
I immediately denied Darsi's words. Darsi resembling that Ryan? Even thinking it felt like an apology was in order.
"You're too precious to say you resemble him."
Darsi smiled faintly at my strong denial, then lowered his eyes.
"Why? I could be even more of a scum than that guy."
"..."
"The side of me I've shown you is only a fraction, Marso."
"If I've seen sincerity in that small fraction?"
"..."
He knew I was feeling down and took me to the theater, let me listen to the music I like here. It was the same.
"Scum doesn't even know they're scum."
"Is that so."
Darsi, resting his chin and replying, looked in a good mood. Maybe because I was taking his side.
"We have the same father but different mothers. I was born first, so Ryan is indeed my little brother. I wasn't brainwashed or anything. It's just a fact I was hiding from you."
I recalled the palace we stopped at before teleporting here. Overgrown weeds, grass, and bushes in a place that was supposed to be maintained, a space worn out and unrepaired.
That's where Darsi had lived.
"I was a person who didn't exist in the world."
With those words, accompanied by a heavy sigh, I felt like I understood why I hadn't known about him.
"The reason I was going to leave."
The reason I couldn't see him in the book. The reason no one among the characters knew Darsi.
"It was because Kies was going to kill me."
Because he was already a dead man.
"Fortunately, I didn't die."
Perhaps because of my stiffened expression, Darsi's serious tone lightened as he continued. But I couldn't smile along with him.
I had vaguely suspected it. But separately, hearing it directly was quite a shock.
The person who breathed and talked with me, shared memories with me, had truly been a man facing death.
"Thanks to you, I survived."
"What did I even do."
"You provided the magic crystal and gave me a hint."
Darsi pulled something from his back pocket. Its surface, made of magic crystal, gleamed like a yo-yo, resembling a pistol.
"In the end, it's something I made using magic thanks to you, but now I have a weapon that doesn't require my power."
"...You didn't intend to make a weapon?"
"Weapons like this don't even exist here. It was a brilliant idea, Marso."
"...You're too kind."
I felt relieved that my offhand remark had saved his life. And Darsi, who had realized it just from the hint about a gun, was far more impressive than I was.
He was the greatest genius among the people I knew. If such a man was the hidden prince, he could certainly threaten Ryan's position now.
"But you're still in danger, aren't you? As long as His Majesty the Emperor lives. Don't you need to leave again?"
The fact that he hadn't left and returned here to talk with me meant he had overcome the crisis of death.
"No, it's fine. He won't be able to kill me."
"...Huh?"
Just because he survived once didn't mean Kies, who hadn't acknowledged him until now, would suddenly come to his senses.
"He swore to recognize me as a prince from now on. We'll even compete for Ryan's spot as Crown Prince."
"Don't you need to leave again?"
"No, I stayed here to become a prince."
"...But he tried to kill you?"
"He won't be able to kill me from now on. I've got a solid weakness on him."
He answered with a radiant smile, but I could already guess his circumstances weren't entirely comfortable.
I decided not to pry.
Darsi had his own situation. I needed to respect that.
So, with the crisis averted, he decided to stay. That made sense given his current position.
Unrecognized as a prince and having overcome a death threat, he probably wanted to reclaim his rights now.
I could understand why he kept needling Ryan about his little brother earlier in front of him.
"But that's not the reason I stayed here."
But that sudden denial left me dumbfounded.
After talking about Ryan all this time, and now saying that wasn't the main reason?
"I couldn't bear to see you marry Ryan."
His narrowed eyes stared intently at me. Slightly
"I thought about why..."
My breath caught for a moment. I had to clutch my pounding chest and wait for his answer.
Why?
Why couldn't he bear to see the connection between Ryan and me?
Even knowing the obvious fact that he could harbor ill feelings toward his half-brother, I still posed the question.
And I had to question myself too.
Why am I asking this?
What exactly did I want from my relationship with Darsi?
"I couldn't stand to see you suffer."
As if to resolve my doubts, he continued.
"You're the first person I've ever truly connected with."
Being first carries deep meaning. If Darsi had been in hiding, proper interactions with others wouldn't have been easy.
Thinking about it now, my demands must have piqued his interest. Discussing confinement in front of someone who had lived confined.
Somehow, I felt embarrassed, and my face flushed hot.
"You're also the best person among those I know."
His praise made me feel like someone extraordinary, even though I was just ordinary. I replied awkwardly.
"How long have we even known each other?"
"At least know that I've figured you out to the extent that you call me a good person."
I could see he wasn't yielding a word, but it didn't feel bad.
"Ryan is too much of a... no, unreliable guy for you."
Laughter escaped at the sight of him catching the curse about to slip out. Even dressed like that, he was still the person I knew at heart.
Only then did Darsi's return feel real to me.
Understanding each other and deeming someone a good fit in such a short time isn't easy.
I needed to be grateful for it.
"Thanks for worrying about me. But I don't want to burden you too much. The Marquis House isn't weak, and Ryan has a lover too."
Even if he followed the Emperor's wishes now, I knew best that Ryan would ultimately choose Resuan.
No matter what part of the original story changed, this fact wouldn't.
"It's ridiculous that a xx with a lover even steps into that position."
I paused at Darsi's mutter under an expressionless face. It was completely different from the man I knew.
A remnant of long-suppressed emotions flickered briefly and vanished.
Darsi widened his eyes, gently covered his mouth with his hand, and apologized.
"Sorry for the vulgarity. Anyway, that's why I didn't leave right away."
Not leaving right away implied he would leave someday. But once recognized as a prince, people would naturally learn about him?
"Then when do you plan to leave?"
At my words, Darsi lowered his eyes and reached out toward my face. It was so natural I didn't feel the need to stop him.
He lifted the corner of my firmly closed lips with his index finger. An awkward smile formed on my mouth.
"When you become happy."
He whispered in a low voice.
Staring into his eyes, I swallowed the question rising to my throat.
'Not watching over you through me?'
"I want to see you become happy, Marso."
Because it felt like he was projecting himself onto me.