16 – 16. The Blood-Red Love Blooming in Pain
The time spent with him was undoubtedly precious, like no other.
It was the first time since I was born that I felt joy in doing something.
Training with the sword, following the orders of Count Lambert, and the occasions when I had to go out for sleep and rituals.
The time when I could let go of everything and do what I wanted with the person I desired in the place I wanted.
And then, I was clearly going to share a bed with him.
When our lips touched, it sent shivers down my spine.
When I ran my tongue over his lips, it felt like my hands and feet were going to fly off.
Every time I looked into his eyes in that state, it was good to know that he was flustered but didn’t dislike it.
Everything was good. Just hearing his voice was good, seeing his smile was good. Just being in the same space as him was good enough.
Whether it was a fancy restaurant or a long stroll on the street, anything was good.
I just hoped that he would be a little happier when he was with me. Maybe he would have the same thoughts as me.
If I did that for him, maybe he would come a little closer to me.
I was already falling for him. I needed him so much that I couldn’t be without him.
I believed that it would be like that, I thought my thoughts wouldn’t betray me.
But when those thieves who dared to touch and insult him were about to be cut down,
A great swordsman appeared and stole my time away.
…It didn’t take long to cut down that guy.
No, it took too much time.
The people who aimed their swords at me as I passed through the fallen thieves were dressed in black.
It must be sent by Count Lambeau. Surely.
When I clashed swords with them, I didn’t think of the most precious thing.
Even when I took away their arms and legs and ended their lives, I was forgetting about him.
Even when I watched the fire spreading, I was forgetting about him.
After seeing the sparks being scattered by the wind, only when everything finally fell silent did I remember him.
But with just memories, with just thoughts, nothing could be changed.
He was lying there.
Even when I called his name, he didn’t respond.
He always smiled at me and called my name.
So, I said his name.
Then he will get up.
Please, get up.
Why can’t he open his eyes?
Why is his face so cold?
Why are his lips as cold as ice?
Why, even when I hug him, kiss him, hold his hand, smell his scent, why, why doesn’t anything feel?
There must have been something when he was here.
Something warm flowed through my body.
I can’t do anything. Nothing.
Why? Why?
There must have been something I could do even when he wasn’t there.
If I stay close to the fire, will it be a little warm?
If I cover myself with a blanket in the room, will it be a little warm?
Wake up, Lepeti.
Quickly…wake up. That’s right, like that.
I’ll lend you my shoulder. You seem really tired.
Is it okay for you to lean on me like this?
We haven’t even gotten married yet, like you said.
Please, please…try to walk. Please…
Hold my hand. Can’t we walk down this corridor together?
How did I find you again? How did I become able to be with you?
How…
*
“Ugh, ugh!”
Shivering from the strange sensation that covered my entire body, I stood up from my seat.
The chilling cold that enveloped my fingertips and toes was definitely not a pleasant feeling.
The sensation of a knife still stuck in my back, even when I moved my hands and feet, was not a good feeling at all.
Yeah, it feels like I’m dead. Right here.
From Noble mtl dot com
But where is this? Where am I –
“…This can’t be.”
Looking around, I realized I was in Lepeti’s room inside Gail Ga’s mansion.
Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, or my eyes are lying.
Did I get stabbed by a knife and die that day? Or did I survive?
Was it really possible for me to come back to this mansion alive? Or was it not?
What happened?
Knock, knock.
Startled by the unexpected sound, I quickly turned my head to the side.
The sound of someone knocking on the door.
Who could be behind that door? A messenger?
Is this the afterlife, or someplace familiar to me?
“Young master, breakfast is ready.”
But what I heard was the voice from the day I first arrived here.
Yes, the day I woke up to that sound and turned the whole room upside down.
Surprisingly, everything was exactly as it was. If my memory hadn’t failed me.
Neatly lined up personal clothes and hanging blue suits. The Le Petit family photo. Writing utensils, and so on.
The bedroom layout and the bathroom were also just as I knew them.
From the first day, I turned this place upside down. I couldn’t accept the situation itself.
But now, it was different. Now, I couldn’t accept the fact that I was alive.
I must have died. I felt the blood draining from my entire body.
I distinctly remembered that chillingly cold sensation of something piercing my back.
It must have been a knife, surely. And naturally, the one who stabbed me would be Count Lambert.
There would be no one dressed in black robes who didn’t look like a thief in that position.
The only thing that puzzled me was why I was alive.
Knock knock.
“Master, are you still not awake?”
The maid knocked on the door again, asking if I had woken up.
Clearly, that day, I had said I would open the door and find out what was going on because of the commotion I caused.
But for now, I decided to push her away.
“No, I am awake. I will get ready and go to the dining room soon.”
“I apologize for the intrusion. Very well.”
I thought that if I checked the message, I might be able to find out something.
And my death was proven so clearly.
The title of the first message that appeared was “Repeat,” well, that says it all.
“Repeat”
– Lepeti has faced death. But it’s okay. The protagonist will get another chance.
– Death is not game over. As long as you don’t fail the quest, you can have as many chances to retry as you want.
– Let’s revive the experiences from the previous round and capture the heroine.
Yes, surely this kind of content was not originally in the game.
That raven probably didn’t exist originally either. Did this game have such abilities from the start? Was it not just a simple dating game?
But as I closed that message window, countless messages were filling up the screen.
Damn it, when am I supposed to read all of this?
However, the problem was that all of those messages, which were horribly related to her favorability, didn’t have a single thing about the new skills.
I was wrong to even expect, even for a moment, that I could gain something new if I died.
However, the affinity system seemed to be completely broken.
Why is it written as “-“?
*
I opened my eyes.
Ah, so I must have died after all.
Otherwise, there’s no way the world would be this dark even with my eyes open.
But it wasn’t the darkness that scared me, it was whether he was here or not.
If only we could be together even in death.
Rather than being disturbed by anything, we could stay together in a place where love could grow even more.
…A crow?
Why a crow?
“I am from the Malbus family.”
A crow with red eyes spoke.
It opened its beak and made a voice.
…A voice? From a crow?
“Uh…?”
“I am from the Malbus family. I have a proposition for you.”
The crow stood in front of me and whispered to me.
“If you allow me to covet what you possess, I will lend you my power.”
What do I possess? I didn’t possess anything. I couldn’t even hold him in my arms.
The crow turned its head once.
Another crow flew over and opened its beak.
“He is here. What you want is here.”
“He’s dead.”
I saw it with my own eyes, his lifeless body, and I felt it.
I held his cold hands, cheeks, and lips countless times, but his body never warmed up.
Another crow flew over and whispered in my ear.
“He’s alive. He’s alive. In a small mansion in the Gailga territory. I saw him in a room there.”
Now it whispers the exact location. It flutters and fidgets in front of me.
“He’s alive. He’s alive. That child you treasure is alive.”
“So give us what will fill our hunger. Then we can protect him.”
“We can’t let him die again. If you don’t fill our hunger, he will die because of our hunger.”
“…Explain in detail, explain in detail.”
If, if what these black birds are saying is true.
If what they whisper to me is true, if he really is alive…
There is nothing I won’t do. There is nothing I can’t do. This time, for real.
I won’t let myself fall again. I will protect him by my side.
Every time I fall, I die, so I have to be by his side.
Only then can I see the color blue again. Only then can I feel warmth…