Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Let's Go on a Trip
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I smoothly took the letter from Darsi's hand.
"Don't tear it up. We need to collect them as evidence."
Ryan at least had his wits about him—he hadn't suggested a private meeting. He gave some official excuse...
But thinking back to the last time I'd seen him, the invitation felt suspicious.
Either way, these would come in handy later. I carefully placed the letter on the table.
Darsi, lounging comfortably on the sofa, fixed his gaze on it.
"...He doesn't seem right in the head."
Darsi frowned and ran a hand through his hair.
"Should I just take care of it...?"
He looked up at me with a bright smile.
"It's annoying when someone far from your happiness keeps sticking his nose in, right?"
Was he serious? As I blinked, Darsi shrugged.
"I'm kidding. Don't make that face."
Darsi added in a gentle voice.
"Death's too easy a way out."
Was that why he'd never killed Emperor Kies or Ryan despite a lifetime of torment?
Being around Darsi made my words come more cautiously. Maybe because I sensed there were parts of his past I didn't know.
I sometimes worried I'd hurt him without realizing it.
"What should we watch today?"
Darsi stood and half-reclined on the bed serving as a sofa. He looked so relaxed—it was a bit unfamiliar.
I'd thought he was too busy to even show his face. Yet here he was again.
Finding time like this, just like before.
I'd told him I didn't want to meet like this, but the smile on his lips was beautiful.
I was glad to see him, but having heard about the order Emperor Kies gave him, I wanted to ask.
"Aren't you under house arrest?"
"It's not house arrest. It's a vacation."
There must have been a reason he'd obediently followed it.
The rumor that he'd assaulted someone on the street had already spread through high society.
I figured there was a good reason for his actions.
I sat on the edge of the bed where he lay at an angle and spoke to him.
"What happened? You're not the type to do something without reason."
"You're the only one who sees me that way."
There was a strange satisfaction in being the only one who truly believed in him. But it was selfish.
"If everyone knew what kind of person you are, they'd act like me."
"Why bother? You're enough for me."
He crinkled the corners of his eyes. It reminded me of a crescent moon in the night sky—shining serenely on its own, just like Darsi.
"I don't need anyone else."
My face flushed at his words. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, leaving me flustered.
His unpolished words and actions always caught me off guard. And because they were pure sincerity, it was even harder to read his intentions.
How far could I let this go, since it was his first time?
Did he see me as a romantic interest? Or was it just a fleeting impulse? Every time I met Darsi, I stood at a crossroads.
But not knowing didn't mean I wanted to back away. In a trembling voice, I replied.
"Me too."
I wanted to show him my true self, just as he was showing his.
Until he fully defined his feelings, I'd give it my all.
Darsi's eyes widened at my words.
After a brief silence, the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen bloomed on his face.
Not even a flower blooming alone in winter could compare.
Darsi sat up abruptly. The distance between us closed in an instant.
His hand gently stroked my flushed cheek.
"I'm glad the first person I met was you."
...
"Even if it wasn't..."
His fingers hovered dangerously close to my lips.
"I would have found you eventually."
Knowing it wasn't just the mood talking made me even happier—it was genuine.
But I knew the truth. In the book, he never even appeared.
That's why this moment felt so precious.
The miracle that connected us, who could never have met.
"I'm glad I met you too."
Because you were there in the darkest time of my new life, things could change.
He felt more vivid because he wasn't a character in the book, and that's why I wanted to know more.
Hoping my feelings reached him, I smiled with all my might.
Darsi stared at my smiling face for a long while before speaking.
"I want to see only your smiling face from now on."
"That's why I brought something."
"...Huh?"
Darsi strode to the corner of the room where he'd entered.
Only then did I notice the box stacked there.
'I didn't even see it.'
It showed how distracted I was by Darsi.
Darsi lifted the box with both hands and set it on the table. It felt heavier than expected as he slid it toward me.
"...What's this?"
"I heard you've been raiding shops lately. I prepared some things you might need."
"I was just about to bring it up."
He'd beaten me to something I'd only thought about.
"But I'm not sure if I need to meet them in person."
I ignored his sidelong glance at my face. I couldn't let him decide this part.
Things were going smoothly with meeting the mages.
Instead, I examined the magic tools one by one.
"Wow, this color is pretty."
The first thing I picked up was a pouch. It was made of silk, densely embedded with magic crystals.
Was this what I thought it was?
I turned to Darsi, and he explained as if he'd been waiting.
"A pouch that can hold anything."
As pretty as his face—and his heart.
I gazed at him steadily and made a suggestion I'd wanted to for a while.
It felt like the right moment.
"...Darsi, want to go on a trip together?"
"A trip?"
"Yeah, just the two of us."
*Cough.* Darsi, who had been sipping tea, choked.
...Oh.
Realizing how my request might sound, I frantically waved my hands.
"No! No! Not like that!"
"I didn't say anything. The cough was just tea going down wrong. No big meaning. Really."
He explained slowly, looking at me.
Only then did I realize I'd overreacted. His lengthy explanation only added to my embarrassment.
Unable to face him, I bowed my head. Laughter came from above. In a petulant tone, I said.
"You should've just let it slide."
"Your reaction was too fun to pass up. But why the trip?"
"Yeah. I want to take some photos."
"Photos?"
I explained my plan to Darsi.
"We'll meet the kids there, right? Their experiences must be so limited. I want to give them something more."
Things I could do that they couldn't.
I couldn't suddenly change the mages' situation, but it was the best I could think of.
"I've taken photos around here while wandering, but other countries would be nice too."
"You're really dedicated."
"Of course."
I wanted to wrap up the contracts with the mages well.
To help those trapped by prejudice.
And above all... I wanted you to shed your guilt toward them, feel lighter, and be happier.
Just as you wish for my happiness, I wish the same for you.
"You could just shove contracts at them."
He wasn't wrong. They were desperate enough.
"But I don't want to."
Even if we met through contracts, I wanted to see each other as people, not superior and subordinate.
"We're all the same, just in different circumstances."
...
"And I empathize with them too."
Darsi looked at me, furrowing his brow—the face he made when lost in thought.
Angry or confused, it was like a child experiencing something new for the first time. Maybe it fit perfectly.
He, confined away, couldn't have been much different from those mage-blooded children.
I imagined Darsi's childhood.
Alone in a ruined palace.
Unable to reveal who he was, stripped of everything—a child robbed of all.
A boy whose life was mostly black darkness of battles and the palace.
I regretted my words. I shouldn't have suggested it to him.
"Darsi, let's go on that trip."
I needed to give a firm answer.
To add new colors over the black filling his life's canvas.
Like the children, to pile up new experiences for him.
Darsi's pupils dilated slowly, sparkling in different colors like a rainbow's hues.
"Yeah."
Darsi nodded as if he'd been waiting.
I wouldn't be lying if I said I was surprised by his ready agreement. A prince's schedule couldn't be that free.
"No need to check your calendar?"
"I'm under house arrest, remember?"
His bold excuse was audacious, but his actions prioritizing me brought a smile.
"What? Really. How much time can you spare?"
Considering the interrogations and time to go to another country, plus the rumors it'd stir, a long trip was out.
I needed to meet the mages soon and continue the business.
"I'd love to be gone for quite a while, but..."
Darsi, chin in hand, grinned.
"We should probably avoid overnight stays, so let's go from early morning till late evening."
His words made my face heat up again for no reason. Calm down.
"I can't prepare much anyway. The time I can slip away without being seen isn't long."
"Right, and..."
I casually brought up what I'd wanted to say.
"No need to fuel rumors about us."
"Huh?"
"The rumors defining our relationship."
He clearly hadn't expected that. Darsi's eyes widened, then he touched his chin.
The brief silence felt endless because I was waiting so anxiously for his response.
Darsi stared at me firmly.
"Anyway, if it's not you, I don't need anyone."
He touched the ruby in the center of the necklace around his neck, then narrowed his eyes at me.
"So it's fine like this, for me."
His sidelong glance asked for my opinion.
What about you?