14 – 14. Prelude
Her obsession seemed to have intensified. No, it had deepened. Even now, if you looked closely, she was holding my hand and leading me somewhere.
Simply being apart had turned into contemplation, and until I left the room, she buried her nose in my chest and eagerly sniffed my scent.
…It must be Lepeti’s doing. Honestly, I felt jealous. What she liked was Lepeti, not me.
Her body belonged to him, and the one she fell in love with was Lepeti. He was in the midst of carefully choosing the words Lepeti would say.
Of course, he could say harsh words to her, and there were plenty of options available. But he didn’t want to.
Even now, isn’t he immersed in this absurd world with her?
But soon, he realized that these thoughts were pointless. If the quest went according to plan, he would grow old and die with her,
And if that happened, he could return to his original world with everything neatly wrapped up.
But something felt uneasy. Something.
Perhaps it was the raven.
And Count Lambert wouldn’t give up everything so easily.
She had the power to bring down a kingdom. It was impossible with brute force alone, but with a certain level of military strength and strategy.
As her lover, I was living with her, and she was unabashedly revealing her dependency on me.
But I’m not that smart. If I were, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this kind of game in the first place.
My only goal was to marry her and endure the marriage that could last who knows how long.
It was clear, even if I tried to think optimistically, that it wouldn’t go well.
The conspiracy of Count Lambert, her power, and the numerous nobles involved in it.
To go through all of that and marry her. It was impossible, no matter how many times I died and woke up. At least, not with my abilities.
So, the first thing that came to mind was… taking the money from the safe and running away to live secretly.
Anywhere would do. Deep in the mountains? Blending in with people?
I would figure out a way somehow.
As long as I didn’t separate from her, at least I wouldn’t die.
Everything weighed heavily on me, who just wanted to live a normal life.
And so did her obsession.
“Hey, Lepeti? Lepeti?”
“Yes, Irene. What’s the matter?”
“I… I found what I was looking for. Let’s go back now.”
In her hand, she held the halberd that had been abandoned by the knight in armor.
A halberd as tall as me.
“Isn’t it… heavy?”
“Well, um… I think I have more strength than most people… I can carry things that others can’t. Even if it’s heavy…”
As she reached out her hand towards the spear she was holding, she dropped it a little away from me.
As I reached out my hand, she lifted it above her head and moved it left and right.
“No. I can’t. I can’t… Foo.”
“I, I mean-“
Even though she was slightly shorter than me, she skillfully kept it far away from my hand.
Almost within reach, touch, almost within reach, touch…
But just as I thought I could reach it if I stretched a little more, she withdrew her foot.
And I fell into her warm embrace.
Without a single movement, she stood there.
Holding me tightly while leaving the halberd far away.
“hehehe.”
“W-Why did you do that on purpose?”
“…”
“Um, hey?”
Even with a series of questions, she just hugged me and smiled, without saying anything else.
Until the vibration came from her belly.
“…?!”
Her face turned bright red, and before I could say anything, she picked up the weapon she had put aside and crossed her arms.
Suppressing her laughter, she looked at me and pleaded in a voice that was barely audible.
“P-Please go quickly…”
In the end, because of the burst of laughter, I ended up begging her to release my painfully tight arm.
In the end, she was able to enter the room with a heavy heart.
Only the safe remained there, lying alone.
“So, now – “
Before she could finish her sentence, she casually swung at it.
And so, the loop of the lock was broken.
Leaving me dumbfounded, she lightly tossed the remaining loop aside and opened the door wide, picking up a purse of money.
As she opened it up to show me, the gold coins sparkled in the sunlight.
“What do you think?”
“With just one gold coin, a commoner can live for three months. Quite comfortably, too.”
Of course, in fancy restaurants, they would charge a few coins for a few items on the menu.
“Shall we take just a little then?”
“Let’s do that. As for clothes…”
Her clothes were still in a poor state. No matter where I looked, it felt like anyone could point out her attire.
“There must be spare ones… Ah.”
“Did the maids take your clothes too?”
“Since they were in your room… All gone, probably… Maybe…”
“In that case, let’s go and check. If you go out dressed like that, you’ll surely attract people’s attention.”
“Got it. I’ll do that.”
As the two of them laughed and chatted while walking through the mansion, a man with scars on his face watched the mansion silently.
With my hand still poking into my pocket, I spoke, my eyes sparkling.
*
There were quite a few things left in her room.
Cosmetics, clothes, and shoes, her belongings had not even changed position, they said.
“Could even the servants have been afraid of me…”
She didn’t have a very pleasant expression as she said that.
Seeing her like that, all I could do was offer empty words of comfort.
“Perhaps it was out of consideration. For you, who were left behind in this mansion. Weren’t they all kind people?”
“…That could be true. Thankfully.”
“Well then, if you change your clothes and come out, shall we go for a walk?”
“…Will you stay with me?”
“…?”
No, it must be my imagination. Even if it’s her, she wouldn’t say something like that.
Get a hold of yourself. What kind of thoughts are you having –
From Noble mtl dot com
“Um, I can’t leave you alone…”
“I can’t be with you while changing clothes! How can – “
“If, if that’s not possible… at least stay with me. So I won’t be anxious…”
Unable to bear her tearful plea any longer, I reluctantly nodded.
…Seeing how quickly she changed her expression, I wondered if the saying that women are scary might actually be true.
She brought out several clothes from the wardrobe, and soon showed me two options in front of me.
Both of them are black… Wait a minute, could it be…
“Which one do you think is better?”
The choices were extremely ambiguous. Both were simple without any elaborate decorations, and the colors were so identical that it was impossible to tell the difference.
Even the designs… there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference…
Damn it, women’s clothes are difficult.
I’ve never been in a situation where I had to ask about something like this before, so it was even more challenging.
“Hmm?”
She tilted her head and urged me on.
Cold sweat trickled down my cheek. With her sharp gaze fixed on me…
“Oh, right. This one has a pattern on the back, and this one is slightly scooped in the front.”
She extended her palm and showed me the characteristics of each garment, and only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
Since there were no other agents and it was just the two of us going out in the city… I’ll go with the first one.
“Then let’s go with the one on the left.”
She glanced at it once, then immediately smiled and hung the rejected clothes back in their place.
And then she unbuttoned the back button of my clothes instead of taking them off completely.
“Wait, hold on, I’m still here!”
“Uh, oh…”
As I quickly turned around, she opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but then started taking off the clothes again.
I had no choice but to try not to think about anything as I had to listen to all of that.
It was just the sound of the fabric brushing against the skin, but why did it fill my mind so much?
I tightly clenched my hand, enduring that moment while blood dripped.
“I, I’m done.”
She stood before me, holding my hand somewhat firmly, as if barely enduring that moment.
Even just that was enough to make her figure beautiful, too elegant to be described in words.
The fabric flowed along her curves, responding sensitively to every movement. Even the exposed shoulders sent shivers down my spine.
A woman who can bewitch with just one dress, truly…
“How does it look? Does it suit me…?”
As if reading my gaze, she draped her coat over my shoulder. She didn’t fully put it on, but the sight of her wearing it as is was truly beautiful.
After she cleared her throat, I was barely able to respond to her question.
“I-it suits you. Of course, it suits you.”
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she smiled and held my hand.
To be able to welcome such a person as my fiancée, it must be a clear stroke of luck.
We walked through the empty corridor and descended the chaotic central staircase.
Then, I opened the slightly ajar main door and welcomed the setting sun.
Caw. Caw.
“Whoa!”
“Eek?!”
Just before getting lost in that scenery, a crow flew and blocked our path.
With red eyes –
No, just dark eyes.
But there was something unsettling.
Something that gave an uneasy feeling…