Chapter 105 - The Way He Loves (3)

5

I am happy to be with you.

It would be an exaggeration to say I have lived my life for you. But it is no lie to say I will live for you. What a relief. To be able to say those words without a trace of falsehood.

"Are you crying again?"

I could be that kind of person.

"Let's make a promise."

I could be someone who lived for another.

"Tell me. I want to hear it."

"When one of us is crying, let's not deliberately ask if they're crying. Honestly, my lady, you're asking just to tease me. Aren't you?"

"Hmm. There is something about you that occasionally surprises me: you are unexpectedly clever. Yet it is equally obvious that, clever though you may be, you cannot outsmart me. Few people are this rewarding to tease..."

"I'd really like you to promise."

"No."

Ah. I liked my lady saying no to me.

I liked her so much...

I loved her...

"Aaaagh! Aack! Agh! My eyes! Agh! Aaaaaagh! My eeeeyes!"

The attendant spirit thrashed about wildly.

"Save me! Someone save this ghost! Why couldn't I just pass on in peace? Why do I have to suffer this shit even after I've croaked? Why do I have to watch your face turn red in real time? You bastard, my eyes! Give me my existence back, you f■cking, sappy Zombie!"

'Ah, Sword Emperor. I pity you for not knowing the splendor of love.'

"Shut uuuuup!"

'Raviel Ivansia, mistress of my heart...'

"S-stop. I said s■op...!"

Hmm.

Strangely, the attendant spirit's voice sounded a little more distant than usual. His voice, normally as deafening as if he had swallowed a locomotive whistle, seemed to have its volume turned down a notch.

'Is it starting to take effect?'

The attendant spirit wasn't the only one beginning to react.

Our kiss had frozen the ballroom. That frozen atmosphere was finally beginning to thaw.

"L-Lady Silver Lily. Wh-what are you doing...?"

Oh. How fascinating.

A clump of ramen noodles could talk?

On second thought, he looked like trash.

"I humbly apologize for causing a disturbance."

Lady Silver Lily gently rested her head against my shoulder.

"It was not a deed fit for a public gathering, Your Highness."

"Uh..."

"Through my rash conduct, I have, in the lesser sense, ruined Sormwin's ball, and in the greater sense, disgraced the heir to the throne. My offense is grave."

She spoke almost in a whisper. That was enough. Her voice had always possessed a chilly gravity that drew people's ears toward it. Everyone in the ballroom stared blankly at her.

"Since my offense is grave, please punish me. I shall accept it gladly."

"P-punish you?"

"Are you finding it difficult to decide what punishment to impose? Of course you are. Therefore, allow me to propose my own punishment. From this day forth, I shall not dare attend the academy and incur everyone's disapproval. I shall spend some time quietly reflecting on my conduct. And..."

Lady Silver Lily took a small paper envelope from her bosom. Still unable to gather his wits, the crown prince accepted it in a daze.

"What is this...?"

She slowly opened her mouth.

"My application to withdraw."

"..."

Just as the ballroom's atmosphere had begun to thaw, another blizzard swept through it. Shock colored the faces of the young ladies and gentlemen, particularly the blond piece of trash.

"As I have stated, I shall remain in seclusion until my withdrawal is accepted. I shall receive no private visitors, either. Your Highness, I humbly ask you to approve the punishment I have proposed."

"R-Ravi...?"

"I am most grateful for your approval, Your Highness."

Lady Silver Lily was still leaning against my shoulder. From that position, she bowed her head toward the crown prince. Looking closely, it was more a slight nod than a bow.

'Because of the sword embedded in the mirror, she must still have feelings for the crown prince...'

For a moment, I wondered whether this was all right.

But come to think of it, hadn't she captured the crown prince's spies and had them beheaded? It was fine. This was nothing compared to that. Above all, Raviel seemed happy, so it didn't matter.

Lady Silver Lily took my hand and pulled me along.

"Let's go."

"Oh, yes."

So what did we do, leaving the ballroom steeped in shock and horror...? We left.

We simply left.

What? Nobody could stop us.

They might be able to stop me. They could stop Lady Silver Lily, too. But not us. If we wanted to leave, we would leave. Still wanted to try stopping us? F■ck off. How were they going to stop a regressor couple?

"Death King! Death King!"

Only the Inquisitor made even a token attempt to stop us, scurrying after us as we left the ballroom.

"What about clearing the stage? And what did that smooch just now mean? I didn't understand any of it!"

The Inquisitor belonged to the camp that called a kiss a smooch. Astonishing. I'd heard such a faction existed somewhere in the world, but to think the Inquisitor was one of its followers...

"Inquisitor."

"Yes, Death King! Oh. Incidentally, whenever I see you and that young lady together, my heart keeps pounding. Hmm, what could that be a sign of...?"

"A heart attack. Be careful."

"I see. A heart attack."

"Yes. And I'll be working on clearing the stage separately. Just think of this as a vacation and enjoy yourself. I'll call you if I need you."

"Oh! I see."

The Inquisitor smiled brightly.

"Understood! I'll make my own decisions and act freely!"

That boundless cheerfulness made me uneasy.

"... Inquisitor."

"Yes!"

"You mustn't kill anyone."

"Oh, understood!"

"No torture, either."

"Understood."

"And no kidnapping or imprisoning people to extract information."

"Death King."

The Inquisitor gave me a troubled look.

"Then there won't be anything left for me to do?"

"Never mind. Just stay in your room and read fairy tales."

"Hmm. Yes. Understood..."

The Inquisitor grew dejected. He looked just like a Welsh corgi with its ears drooping pitifully, so I sighed and patted his shoulder.

"There'll be something for you to do later. Just keep quiet until then."

"..."

He gazed up into my face. After tilting his head three times, he spoke.

"Death King. I'm hearing that my immersion rate has risen. What could this mean?"

"A heart attack."

Just behave yourself, please.

6

"The whole empire will be in an uproar starting tomorrow."

Lady Silver Lily spoke calmly as we left the academy behind.

"Will it?"

"I am a celebrity, after all."

We were riding in her carriage. "Since I've decided to throw caution to the wind for once, I might as well leave the academy," she had said. Naturally, I had no reason to object.

"First, roughly two hundred letters will pour in from high society in the capital. Another twenty will arrive from high society back home, ten of them from my father. Lastly, His Majesty the Emperor may send a messenger as well. Gongja, propose a solution."

"Hmm..."

I started to speak, then stopped. Wait. Hadn't she just called me [Gongja], rather than [Butler]? This was the first time she had addressed me by name.

"What's wrong?"

The corners of Lady Silver Lily's eyes curved upward.

"Your face is red, Gongja. Have you caught a cold?"

"..."

"The night air is chilly in spring. Gongja, even if your body runs warm, you must take care. Otherwise, how will you promptly answer my question, Gongja?"

Ugh.

I had to fight back, even a little.

"Wh-when did you write that withdrawal application? Writing something like that in secret while I wasn't around. Wow, even if we're planning to repeat today, that's rather cute of you."

"How cute, Gongja. Do you think being called cute by you would fluster me? Gongja, are you offering that as some sort of counterattack? That is what's truly cute. Did you want me to dote on you, Gongja?"

"..."

"I'll take that as your surrender."

My lady had scored another effortless victory today.

Even I could see I was booking myself a future under her thumb. But the moment another part of me thought, 'If it's her thumb I'm under, doesn't that mean I've truly won at life?' I was already done for.

"How small."

Lady Silver Lily spoke suddenly. She was looking through the carriage window at Sormwin Academy, growing smaller and smaller.

"Sormwin was deliberately established to strengthen imperial authority. The children of noble and powerful families, which might otherwise proliferate as rival powers across the empire, are all but forced to enroll. By sharing the same education, the same language, and the same schedule, they pass on the identity of [a united imperial people]."

"That sounds complicated."

"I have spent far too long confined to that place."

She murmured the words.

"Beyond those little gates lurk jealousy, vanity, pride, possessiveness, lust—everything. They barely conceal their true faces beneath the names of tradition and order. In the end, the empire we will one day have to govern is not in there. It is outside. I wonder whether His Highness knows that..."

"Raviel."

Lady Silver Lily paused.

"Worry about the empire later. You're overworking yourself."

"..."

"For now, please think only of me. That alone will make your head burst."

The carriage rattled.

"Gongja."

"Yes."

"If you scar my heart, I will kill you."

A chill ran over my neck.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Tell me what you understand."

"Never. No matter what happens. I will not wound your soul. If I hurt you out of genuine ignorance, I will apologize."

"You will need to understand a little better."

Lady Silver Lily rose and sat beside me.

She pressed her palm firmly against the back of my hand. My heart raced, but the back of my neck was still cold. The person I had fallen in love with carried fire in her eyes and ice in her voice.

"If you betray me, Gongja."

"Yes."

"Strangle me to death with your own hands."

"..."

"Do not use aura or anything of the sort. Kill me using only your hands. Kill me, and kill me again, until the fact that you and I ever met has been erased from this world. I do not care whether it takes hundreds of days or thousands. I will sentence you to my death."

Lady Silver Lily gently clasped my hand and brought it to her throat. White skin. A cold temperature. At the very center of her throat, I could faintly feel her ice gathered into vocal cords.

"And live forever, remembering that I will never forgive you."

"..."

"You can live forever. If you wish."

I swallowed.

"Yes."

"Know that the moment you betray me, you will be exiled to an eternal hell."

Lady Silver Lily whispered.

"Do you understand?"

I opened my mouth.

"I understand, Raviel."

"If you have any secrets you must tell me, confess them now."

"I have a skill called Rebirth of a Hundred Ghosts."

I confessed without a moment's hesitation.

"People who die by my hand can be summoned by me even after death. Those summoned cannot retain the abilities they had in life, but if I wish, they can retain their appearance and memories."

"I see. You could summon me, too."

"Since you died with me nine times, I could summon nine Raviels."

"I forbid it."

"Yes."

I had never intended to summon Lady Silver Lily in the first place. No matter what happened. But once again, I closed off that possibility with her voice and her words.

A romantic relationship was a sacred promise, a contract.

We were creating a code of laws for the two of us alone.

"I shall add one more thing you must do if you betray me. Tear up that skill and destroy it."

"I will."

Then I chose my words. She was the person I loved. The person who would love me. I had to cherish her and take greater care with her than with anyone else in the world.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"I will forgive you if you make one promise."

"I'm listening."

"Do not take your own life without my permission."

"..."

"Even when death offers an easy escape, do not die. You are my lover. You are not someone who may carelessly throw his life away. Even if death truly seems unavoidable, struggle until the very end."

I remained silent, engraving the promise we had made upon my heart.

"Yes."

"Tell me what you want of me."

"When I ask you to trust me, please trust me."

"I will always trust you."

The carriage rattled. Taking that small jolt as an excuse, Lady Silver Lily and I leaned against each other. Then our lips met.

From that day on, we became each other's love.