Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Rumors and Revelations
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Anyone would have been unable to refuse his words.
I nodded as if I'd been placed under a spell.
And in the end, we rode back to the mansion in the same carriage.
It wasn't until we returned to the mansion and entered my private theater that I realized just how serious the situation was.
Darsi and I had watched the play together in a private booth, spent the entire day stuck to each other, and now we'd come back together. We were even alone in the same room.
Good lord, there had to be hundreds of people wondering what sort of relationship we had.
And the other party was a prince who had only recently appeared on the scene. Every move he made would draw people's attention.
...Darsi didn't seem to have noticed at all. It was probably the aftermath of having been cut off from people for so long.
One of us should have snapped out of it.
Reflecting inwardly, I took a deep breath.
"Darsi. There's something I need to warn you about."
"What is it?"
Darsi tilted his head slightly as he asked. I answered seriously.
"Because of what happened today, rumors about our relationship might start circulating."
"...Hmm."
"It's possible people will even say we're engaged or going to get married... High society loves gossip, after all."
Which basically meant that marriage between us was currently out of the question.
Swallowing the rest, I stared at Darsi with an awkward expression.
Truth be told, I wasn't all that disappointed. I'd never been interested in other people to begin with.
...And the fact that it was Darsi made it not feel so bad.
I realized I liked Darsi more than I'd thought. Maybe I'd been viewing him rationally.
But for now, this kind of relationship suited me. Above all, Darsi saw me as his first true friend. Until I knew the depth or nature of his feelings for me, I couldn't act rashly.
Darsi shrugged.
"It's fine. They're just strangers anyway."
Then he glanced at me sidelong.
"Actually, you seem the one who hates it. Does being linked to me bother you that much, Marso?"
"No, of course not."
My denial came flying out, and he smiled in satisfaction.
"Same here."
...I was the first person he'd ever truly connected with.
I had no idea where the line was, how far I could allow things to go.
And even if I asked, it wasn't something Darsi could answer right away.
Lost in thought, I watched as Darsi began examining the record discs one by one. It reminded me of the first time we'd listened to music together.
I hadn't expected us to grow this close back then, but now seeing him in my room felt as natural as something out of a photograph.
Darsi picked up one record disc and asked,
"Mind if I play the one I want?"
"Sure."
It didn't matter anyway, since all the records were filled with music I liked.
Soon, the melody of a violin began filling the room. It had a similar yet different atmosphere from the piano rhapsodies and nocturnes I'd heard before.
Darsi's silver hair swayed to the rhythm, like a veil of fine silk.
I stared at him blankly before lying down on the bed. Seeing the familiar ceiling made my body grow languid.
"Feeling better?"
Darsi, who had come over to my side, whispered. The strings playing behind him seemed to blend into his voice, conversing together.
Darsi perched on the edge of my bed and gently gathered the hair that had fallen across my forehead, brushing it aside.
"You always look the most at ease when you're here."
The consideration in his delicate touch, as if I were a piece of fine porcelain, soothed my heart more than the music.
Only then did I realize it. The reason Darsi had wanted to come here wasn't for himself—it was for me.
He'd said not to worry, but there was nothing to be done about the stress building up.
"I didn't realize you were this thoughtful."
"You're the one who makes me worry that much."
"I'm honored. That you're someone who worries about me this much."
"I'm the one who's glad. That you're the one who makes me worry like this."
Exchanging those carefree laughs felt good. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this relaxed talking to someone.
"But weren't you trying to keep the magic tool a secret?"
Darsi's question seemed to stem from what Pitol had said earlier.
'And someday, I hope the world learns of Lady Marso's grace, which made our theater troupe's infinite development possible.'
Recalling Pitol's words, I nodded slowly.
"I was originally... but now I'm thinking of changing that. I might use it to start a business."
I intended to take what Ryan had originally touched and make it completely my own.
"A business with magic tools?"
Darsi, not yet grasping my idea, furrowed his brow. I nodded.
"Yeah, the investment would be astronomical, but I could start by borrowing... and later bring in other mages for contracts."
Darsi was quieter than I'd expected. His smile had faded, making his expression harder to read than usual.
Watching his eyes, I continued softly.
"First, I'd need to meet with the mages... and offer them terms they'd accept. But I think this could be a successful venture."
"Is that the way for you to be happy?"
It was what Darsi said after blinking. He seemed unable to connect this business to my happiness.
"Yeah."
"How so?"
The biggest reason was revenge on Ryan, but since Ryan hadn't started making magic tools yet, that would be hard to say.
And revenge wasn't the only reason.
"I want to give the same kind of time to people who might be in a similar situation as me."
Surely I wasn't the only one who'd had this.
Everyone must have had times when they wanted to escape from people. Times when they needed to hole up at home and heal.
But in the world I lived in now, there were so few things one could do alone. Reading books or embroidery, maybe?
I wanted to let them enjoy leisure activities without even stepping outside.
Beyond that, I hoped they could capture and relive their memories through video recording and photography.
I'd holed up because I was tired of people.
But it was people who had drawn me back out.
I'd been hurt by people, so I wanted revenge. And because I'd been comforted by people, I wanted to help those going through the same emotions.
Of course, that included the mages too.
"Yeah. I think I'd be even happier then."
Since it hadn't happened yet, I couldn't be completely sure.
But this was the conclusion I'd reached. And I decided to trust it and move forward.
Darsi, who had listened silently, had his lips trembling faintly. I couldn't pinpoint why.
"...To do that, you'd have to go through a lot of hurdles, I imagine."
Darsi said in a somewhat lowered voice.
"And before that, there are things about my past you need to hear."
I was startled by the sudden shift in atmosphere from moments ago, but figured there was a reason.
"It'll be a pretty long story. Mind if I lie down next to you too?"
It had to be a story he hadn't easily shared with others. More than that, I wanted to watch Darsi's expressions while he told it.
Voices alone wouldn't let me properly guess his emotions.
"Sure."
He sat by my side, then lay down at a distance.
Like the day we'd listened to music together, we faced each other. Hair spilled down beside our sideways-tilted bodies.
Our differently colored hairs spread out like tangled threads. As if we'd always been together from the start.
And so, Darsi's story began.
Just as Ryan had thought, Emperor Kies was in the imperial palace. Astonishingly, he was in an easy-to-find location.
He'd been thrown into the deepest part of the underground prison in the palace.
Whether this was Darsi's intention or arrogance, Ryan couldn't tell.
In any case, now that he'd found the emperor, Ryan had to discuss the current situation and plans to overcome it.
Ryan ruffled his hair in irritation at how things had come to this.
"If you'd handled things properly..."
None of this would have happened.
Gritting his teeth, Ryan moistened Emperor Kies's lips with the water he'd brought. With a coughing fit, Kies opened his eyes.
"Your Majesty—no, Father."
Ryan deliberately changed his form of address to remind him that he was his true son.
"You have to deal with that bastard."
No need to name him; they both knew who it was.
Kies let out a thin breath as he gathered his thoughts.
Ryan had no idea how far the brainwashing went—it was maddening. Brainwashing people came with huge risks, so he probably hadn't done everything possible...
He had no choice but to try.
"I can't do it alone. There's an imperial treasure that can break the brainwashing. We need to find it."
"With that, he won't be able to brainwash anymore?"
"Yeah."
There weren't many mages who used brainwashing as their main ability. He'd kept that woman—Darsi's birth mother—close while she was alive, but after that, he'd let his guard down. That had been his downfall.
He'd planned to kill Darsi anyway.
He couldn't handle this alone. He needed allies.
"To bring him down, it'd be best to make something similar to the weapon he used. Ideally, something better."
Ryan didn't know where Darsi had gotten such a clever idea, but good ideas were meant to be used.
"And..."
After a pause, Kies continued.
"We make a deal with the Epekle Marquis House."
"...The Epekle Marquis House?"
Ryan was shocked at the unexpected name. Kies nodded.
"If I offer the terms I'm thinking of, they won't refuse. The marquis needs magic crystals constantly."
Kies's eyes gleamed wildly as he burst into laughter.
Needing more magic crystals despite having mines? Ryan couldn't understand.
"What do you mean...?"
Seeing Ryan, Kies abruptly stopped laughing and muttered lowly.
"If things continue like this, the magic crystals will run dry."