Arien stared at John’s gasping stomach. She, who was in charge of singing in the circus troupe, had an extraordinary sense of pitch, and the unusual note that the drunk Yohan sang softly caught her ear.
She hummed as she looked at Yohan’s high nose. Like an older sister feeding her little brother.
But at some point, Yohan started adding lyrics to his humming.
It was the first lyrics Arien heard.
[If you have the guts to think that way
Life is also a game after all.
That genre is a rhythm game, not a fighting game.
therefore
anyone who comes to you
I hope it’s not an enemy you have to face and knock down.
everyone who comes to you
May it be a muse who will provide you with a musical score.]
Arien’s head tilted.
fighting game?
Rhythm game?
It was a term that Arien did not know.
“Didn’t you sleep?”
“… Just keep going.”
“What?”
Johann pointed at Arien’s mouth with his eyes closed.
Arien hesitated for a moment, then continued humming, and Yohan continued to sing along to the beat.
The title song of this game.
It was the lyrics to ‘Yohan’s stage’.
[Life doesn’t wait for our tempo.
The tempo keeps slipping,
Dissonance haunts you.
When trying to go down after throwing the instrument you were holding.
So the lights go off.
When people in the audience murmur gloomily… .]
Reciting the lyrics written by Miri, Yohan recalled the time when he and Miri broke up. The point at which game deliberation for individual developers disappeared and then suddenly revived again.
Miri’s lyrics were like consolation and support thrown at herself in those days.
[yet
the realization that nothing is over
to hold your ankles.
the stage,
The prize is ready
It’s not your life-]
John’s voice trembled a little.
[Because the curtain did not fall.
It’s still your life… .]
The image of himself right before his death was clearly drawn.
If life is a story, some stories are the records of losers. And at the time, he couldn’t possibly think of that moment as ‘nothing was over’.
himself in a chair.
And a round knotted circle floating in front of my eyes.
Like a tunnel to the other world, the world inside the circle and the world outside the circle were different places.
Before putting his head in the circle, Jeong Yo-han may have heard hallucinations. Miri’s voice saying ‘Let’s not give up’.
And Miri’s consolation and support couldn’t prevent Yohan’s death in the end. Breathing heavily, he pushed his neck into the circle and vigorously kicked the chair he was standing on.
When the song ended, Arien’s humming also ended.
John asked, lifting his wet eyelids.
“Who did you hear that song from?”
“This song? that… Just now, before the master goes to sleep, after drinking… .”
Ahh.
did i call
John sighed lightly and corrected only minor details.
“Not Master, John.”
“Ah yes… . I’m sorry.”
“Well, there won’t be anything to call from now on.”
“You don’t have anything to call?”
“I told you. you’re going somewhere else Someone much sweeter and kinder than me will take care of you.”
Arien’s expression became subtle, but Yohan didn’t understand her feelings.
“And from my backpack, get the inkwell and pen. It’s in the front pocket.”
Arien silently did as she was told.
Johann opened the ink bottle she had brought and smeared ink on the pen.
“And the clothes, down to the top of the chest… . No, it’s too low. up to the chest. above the chest.”
Arien pulled up the clothes she had taken down to cover her chest. Looking at the skinny girl’s bare body, from the shoulders to the upper chest, John slowly moved the pen.
“uh? I? Yo, John?”
“You take it off. and don’t say Because the lines are crooked.”
A scarlet in the shape of a ‘6’ that stands for the imperial brand.
The pattern expanded according to John’s pen style.
“It’s not suitable for a tattoo, so it will come off if you wash it. Do not touch the water for a while.”
Arien’s breathing became a little hot. With her chin pressed against her neck, she gazed at John’s work.
The leash that had held her all her life was turning into a fruit.
“When I wake up, I won’t be there for a while.”
“No, Master, where are you going?”
John neither corrected the misnomer nor answered her question.
“Of course that shouldn’t happen, but if something happens and you get caught, claim to be a slave to the Hermès family. Because it’s my friend’s family name. And if he responds in a way that he doesn’t know why, you can just say, ‘I’ve brought news from John.’”
Finally, her stigma became a desirable grape. The grape is the emblem of the family of Evangeles and Ida, that is, the Hermes family.
“Hey, Master… .”
“It’s difficult.”
“yes? I haven’t said anything yet.”
“no. I told you to keep it out of the water. Wipe away your tears.”
Arien said, wiping away the tears that flowed down her jawline.
“Just weeks… No, can’t John take it?”
“no. I am not someone who can protect anyone.”
It wasn’t self-torture. It was just a dumb toro.
He hadn’t been able to protect himself, let alone a lover who believed in him.
“And I have one final enemy to take down. I can’t carry you around doing something dangerous like that.”
“An enemy?”
“You wouldn’t know even if I told you. And the person who will take you in will be a good guardian.”
It was strange.
Apparently, Yohan ignored his own question, and his tone was stiff. But there are some things that can’t be covered.
It was a consideration overflowing with indebtedness to himself who could not provide anything.
John closed the lid of the ink and said.
“For now, just sleep well.”
Arien couldn’t do that.
The clusters of grapes that had formed on her chest rippled with violent cries. Yohan looked at her indifferently and thought of the most important thing.
It was about the main character of this game, Sabaki.
***
“Idaya, are you open? Your face is red.”
“No, no. Good night!”
From the first day, Ida had been open to most of the children in building A.
She greeted the children she met in the hallway and then rushed into her room. After taking off her dress and washing herself thoroughly, she finished the roll call feeling dazed.
And she looked out the window all night.
Dormitory A is on a higher hill than C. Like all other buildings, you can see the clock tower rising from the center of the village, overlooking other dormitory buildings.
Ida couldn’t sleep and looked at the C dormitory building. I wondered if John was sleeping right now.
And then a woman in a maid outfit entered her room.
Cleaning supplies in the hands of an elderly woman.
She mopped the floor with an ‘uh-hum’ sound, said ‘uh-hum’ to hang the laundry, and folded the bedding with an ‘ahem’.
Then he said to Ida, who was still looking out the window like a statue.
“We are, lady. What are you thinking about so intently?”
Ida was stunned by Haimer’s voice calling her.
“Uh, Haimer… when did you come?”
“Before hanging out the laundry. Are you not sleeping?”
In her room, the dress Ida had been wearing was running across the clothesline.
Ida restlessly moved back and forth between the bed and the window, then lay down on the bed. Then he stretched out his hand.
“Haimer, hug me.”
Haimer kissed Ida’s pretty, parted forehead, then laid down side by side on the bed and gave her a hug.
Haimer, who is approaching 50 this year, has been with Ida throughout her growing up process. She was Ida’s nanny when she was a baby, her mother-in-law when she was a toddler, her maid when she was older, and now her attendant.
In Haimer’s firm embrace, Ida already seemed to have calmed down a bit.
“Now, tell me. My lady, why are you not able to sleep?”
“Eh, that… .”
There were no secrets or lies with Haimer. However, Ida did not say that John had a tendency to collect underwear.
“Well… , A friend I’ve known for a long time said… . The older brother he knows, so… Well, I’m collecting women’s underwear.”
“Underwear?”
“yes… . But what… Aren’t men naturally a little weird?”
Haimer was not fooled by Ida’s ridiculous smoke screen. ‘Friends I’ve known for a long time’ cannot be made in one day after entering the academy.
“Does Master Johann Esperts have such a hobby?”
“ah… , You can’t spread rumors, Haimer!”
Haimer just laughed.
“Lady Ida, you seem to be talking about Master John a lot these days.”
“I don’t know… It’s just that I’m a bit of a trendsetter.”
Haimer said with a warm smile at her, who had a fresh look on her face.
“My lady, you have become a real virgin.”
Haimer kissed Ida’s forehead again.
Ida poked out her mouth.
“Then, I am Anne.”
Haimer’s shadow slid over the frowning face of the girl. Beyond the window of the closed girl’s dormitory room, it was dawn.
***
Adrin clearly understood John’s request. It was quite a distance from the dormitory to the prison building, but she did not use a carriage.
“It’s not bad to walk like this. Sunshine is nice too.”
“If your feet hurt, tell me, lady.”
“Then what will you do? will you pick me up? Then you’ll get more attention than if you came by horse-drawn carriage.”
Hoan sighed and nodded. In the army, there are many people who think of their lower body rather than their head, so walking side by side with Adrin would expose her to military-style harassing.
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Normal activity clothes provided by the academy.
And a woman with a rapier at her waist.
Even though she came out in plain clothes without any decorations, her beauty cannot be covered by plain clothes.
With a whistle, several soldiers spoke.
“Oh, freshman lady. Are you the pillar west standing far away from you?”
“I think the lower part is weak? Can I lightly cook it for you before you start cooking?”
Adrine has a habit of popping out whenever she gets annoyed.
She smiled lightly at the jokers and walked away silently.
Hoan gritted his teeth.
“Put out your tongue… .”
“I want to wash my ears too.”
In about an hour they arrived in front of the brig.
The brothel building looked rather dreary. The walls of the low-rise building had peeling paint in places, and the entrance leading directly to the basement was designed in the shape of a monster’s teeth.
After briefly appreciating this, the Guardian Knight spoke to John.
“Did you wait long?”
“I just came too. Let’s go.”
John led the way down the stairs. The footsteps of the three echoed in the quiet basement. Before long, a businesslike man’s voice was heard.
“stop. Please identify yourself.”
“My name is Johann Esperts. I had applied for a visit with Taro Sabaki yesterday.”
A woman’s cracked voice heard John’s words.
“what. There was only one applicant, why three? The two of them are off. Surely you wouldn’t claim that the three of you are one body?”
John, who knew the owner of the voice, swallowed dryly. The opponent is an executive at this academy who claims to be a prison guard.
At the same time, a wizard with a cruel personality who is also the mid-boss of this game.
However, the Guardian Knight, who did not know such a thing, raised his voice.
“Yeah two years! Avoid being cheeky! This is the princess of the empire.”
“What? Princess?”
In the next moment, the woman’s intense stimulation stung the tip of John’s nose.
It was the smell of death.
…. Screw it. I need a wholesome novel.