Chapter 33
Chapter 33
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A Wish for Mutual Happiness
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Darsi opening up to me about his ability honestly made me happy. It was proof that he trusted me that much.
During our short time together, I had worried that the bond we'd built might belong solely to me. It was also true that I'd insisted we couldn't get too close since he was someone who would eventually leave.
But now things were different. He wanted me to be happy.
It made me glad that he thought of me so deeply. I was pleased that the one thinking of me to this extent was Darsi.
That made me want to know more about him in return.
Why he hadn't become a main character, how exactly my words had saved him. There were still many unresolved questions beyond that.
"How exactly does the brainwashing work?"
"You have to call someone's true name while making eye contact. Using my mana is a given, of course."
His answer came much faster than I'd expected, surprising me instead.
I blinked in a daze, and Darsi raised an eyebrow before crossing his arms.
"So you should be careful about making eye contact with me from now on."
"...I don't think so."
Even knowing about Darsi's ability changed nothing. He was still the same person to me as from the beginning.
From our first meeting until now, the way I treated him had always been sincere.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't afraid at all, but I didn't want his power to come between us.
He shrugged at my words.
"That works even better for me."
"No restrictions on using the ability? It's way too overpowered."
Not only did he have the talent to instantly recreate magic tools from my descriptions, but if he also had brainwashing, he'd have everything.
If he could use brainwashing indefinitely, there's no way he could have stayed hidden all this time.
"...It's not a big deal. But aren't you scared of me?"
"Don't change the subject."
"It's really not. But seriously, what if I've already brainwashed you without you knowing?"
I knew he was deliberately dodging, but I decided not to press further.
If Darsi, who had been so forthcoming about everything else, was hiding this much, there had to be a reason.
He probably wasn't telling me because he thought I'd worry. In that case, I just needed to coax it out of him slowly.
We weren't parting ways after today, after all.
...Though I didn't know when the day would come that he'd leave again.
Pushing aside my worries, I shook my head vigorously.
"Not really. You haven't used it on me, have you?"
"How would you know? Maybe us getting this close is all because of my brainwashing..."
"That's a ridiculous hypothesis."
I firmly cut off his playful assumption. My feelings for Darsi from the start until now had changed purely through my own experiences. They couldn't have been caused by brainwashing.
As soon as I finished speaking, a faint smile formed on Darsi's face.
"Good to know you're really not scared. You're right, I haven't used it."
Seeing the relief in his eyes, I realized this must have been what he feared most when confessing his ability to me.
"Even without using it, winning affection wasn't hard."
Watching him tilt his head smugly as he looked at me, I understood exactly what he meant.
...Yeah, you're handsome.
His narcissistic remark, clearly referring to his own looks, suited him perfectly.
Anyone, not just me, would have agreed with Darsi.
Darsi continued.
"Brainwashing is an extremely rare ability, granted to only a few. This curse of a power..."
After calling his own ability not a blessing but a curse, Darsi raised his index finger and pointed to his head.
"It's the method my mother used to captivate the emperor, and the reason for the emperor's intense hatred toward mages."
The bright atmosphere darkened in an instant. This was the first time he'd spoken about himself like this.
He closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, speaking with self-mockery.
"Actually, it wasn't so much brainwashing as begging."
"..."
"She pleaded with the emperor to love her. He couldn't escape the swamp of his first love experience and eventually passed from this world."
I could see his longing for his mother in his bitter expression.
...So he grew up receiving his mother's love, I thought just then.
"And that desperate love became the greatest curse that started twisting my life."
"...Huh?"
What did he mean that his mother's tragic love was the beginning of the curse?
"My mother truly began wanting the emperor's love, and she made a contract with him for the time when he wasn't brainwashed."
Darsi's mother loved Kies. That's why the more she loved him, the more she wanted his genuine feelings, not brainwashing.
Seeing Kies become affectionate because of the brainwashing, she might have thought that perhaps he had started to truly love her.
If the contract with the emperor tied into the curse of his life, it had to be one centered on him.
"Was that contract about me?"
"Yes, my mother didn't have much time left to live."
It was an uncanny timing. I paused in doubt. Her words about not having much time left caught my attention.
"...What were the terms of the contract?"
Was she really that frail, or was there a reason she became weak? As I pieced together my deductions like some lone detective,
"In exchange for the emperor loving my mother, she turned me into the emperor's dog. If I didn't obey him until I came of age, I would die."
"...What?"
"Exactly as it sounds."
...My god. I was at a loss for words.
I couldn't openly curse in front of him, but hearing such an irresponsible story about Darsi made me resentful.
If she truly loved him as her son, she never could have done this.
It had been a long time since I'd had such a deep conversation with someone, so I agonized over how to respond.
Should I comfort him? Or would silence be better?
"Marso."
He called my name. I looked up to meet his gaze.
As if telling me not to think otherwise, he placed a finger on my forehead and gently pushed.
"I'm not looking for pity. The reason I'm telling you my past is because you saved my life."
"..."
"The palace has always banned weapon imports."
But the gun I mentioned was a completely new concept, so they didn't realize it was a 'weapon.'
"You've done more than enough just with that. Thanks to you, I won't die."
I'd made assumptions close to certainties, but this was the first time Darsi had spelled it out so clearly.
Realizing that my judgment had truly saved Darsi filled my chest with emotion.
After possessing Marso, I'd made many choices to break free from the original story's framework. Finally, one of those choices had altered the original plot.
Only after throwing everything away.
Maybe he mistook my silence for something else. Darsi gazed into my eyes before murmuring lightly.
"If it's too much pressure, you don't have to think of it that way. Even if it wasn't you, I would have left this place anyway."
No, I knew he couldn't have. Because I knew the original story.
That's why this moment of us talking now felt even more precious.
His choice to seek me out instead of leaving.
The question arose in an instant.
I cherished Darsi.
I wanted to spend more time with him.
The wish emerged like a freshly sprouted bud.
Just as Darsi wanted me to be happy, I wanted him to be happy too.
I hoped he could be with me through my process of change.
Watching Darsi intently observe my reaction, I smiled as widely as I could.
"Thanks for telling me everything. Can I ask one last question?"
"Of course. What's on your mind?"
I sat up and faced him directly.
"You said you wouldn't leave until I became happy."
"That's right."
"Then, are you happy now?"
Caught off guard by my question, Darsi's eyes widened before he propped his chin on his hand.
"Happy? I've never thought of it as something that could be mine."
"You want me to be happy, but your own happiness doesn't matter?"
"I don't have the right to it, either."
"Darsi, you deserve happiness just as much as I do."
"No, considering all the people I've imprisoned, tortured, and taken lives from over the years, it's impossible."
At my words, Darsi shook his head gravely. The fleeting expression and tone were completely unlike his usual self.
It was a time I hadn't experienced.
"I don't deserve happiness."
"...You were being used."
"That doesn't change the fact that I did it."
His tone was light, as if it were obvious. Soon, he closed his eyes gently and smiled. That familiar smile carried an entirely different meaning.
I stared at Darsi quietly.
How deep was the shadow hidden behind that smiling face? What kind of time had he gone through to make this decision?
In the final moment, instead of bloody revenge against Kies, he had chosen exile.
Rather than staining his life with hatred by punishing the emperor who had ruined it, he wanted to let everything go.
Even though he must not have wanted to abandon revenge entirely.
And in that final moment, instead of leaving, he turned back for me.
'He chose my happiness over his lifelong wish.'
This was my chance. I realized.
What I had to do was clear. I called to him.
"Darsi."
Just as he had offered his hand to me when I didn't want to go outside.
"Darsi, if you want me to be happy, there's something you need to do."
I willingly extended my hand to him as well.
"You need to be happy."
Wishing I had the same brainwashing ability as him.
"I can't be happy until you are."
Or casting a spell in hope of a miracle.