Chapter 106 - One Day (1)

1

“Still, my lady.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s spend just ten days on vacation, completely letting loose,” I suggested.

“Who’s worked harder than you? You’ve done your very best, both publicly and privately. So for just the next ten days, let’s put aside everything serious and use our regression skills as much as we like...”

“To enjoy amusements ordinary people cannot?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm.”

Lady Silver Lily was composed.

“No matter how much chaos we cause, no one will remember if we return to the previous day. We would have nothing to lose.”

“That’s my lady. I say one thing, and you understand ten.”

“Is that not a somewhat irresponsible way to amuse ourselves?”

“Then let’s be irresponsible. Why not?”

“Hmm. It seems I have taken a very wicked man as my lover...”

“Ten days. Deal?”

Lady Silver Lily took out her fan and began fanning herself.

“Ten days might leave me wanting more. Let us make it fifteen.”

“Deal.”

We played as though taking out our frustrations with our past lives.

Sormwin Academy was near the capital. A short carriage ride brought us to a dazzling array of amusements. And my beloved was the most illustrious heir of the most illustrious noble family in the empire.

“Where would you like to sit?”

Simply put, she had power and money to spare. She was the most prominent young lady in this world.

She spoke offhandedly to the courteous theater employee.

“I shall hire the troupe for a day.”

“Pardon?”

“I said I would buy the troupe’s entire day. Did you not understand? Must I say it three times before it reaches your ears? Is making someone repeat the same words three times this troupe’s method of practicing its acting?”

“N-no! My apologies! I’ll speak to the manager at once!”

Booking the entire venue for a day was the bare minimum for plays and operas.

“Gongja, there is something I have always wanted to try.”

“What is it?”

“Hiring six theater troupes at once.”

Lady Silver Lily’s tone was composed. But I could tell. She was enjoying herself like a mischievous child getting up to no good.

“And having them perform simultaneously on an enormous stage. Three tragedies, two comedies, and an opera for the last one would be good.”

“Uh. I think that’ll just turn into complete chaos.”

“Precisely. I wish to see complete chaos.”

“Then let’s see it.”

We summoned the six most expensive theater troupes in the capital. With the legitimate daughter of House Ivansia calling for them, every troupe manager bent over backward of their own accord.

What? Such tyranny would damage House Ivansia’s reputation and disgrace its name? It was fine. We were a regressor couple. We could play for a day and go back a day. What were you going to do about it?

“Ah. What magnificent chaos. This is what I wanted to see...”

My beloved fanned herself in profound satisfaction, while I rolled around clutching my stomach.

“Pffhahahaha!”

Clowns performed a comedy beside an actor solemnly reciting tragic lines. With six plays being performed at once, even the most serious lines in the world were nothing but hilarious. The actors sweated through the entire running time.

“Let’s clean out the capital’s gambling houses!”

“A splendid idea. I accept.”

The two of us sallied forth to a casino exclusively for nobles. Patrons wore masks to conceal their identities, as at a masquerade ball. But who was my beloved? There wasn’t a noble alive who would fail to recognize her silver hair cascading like moonlight.

“Call.”

“C-call.”

When Lady Silver Lily told an opponent to call, they shrank back and called.

“Die.”

“F-fold.”

When Lady Silver Lily told an opponent to die, they meekly laid down their cards.

“Raise the stakes.”

“R-raise...”

“Raise them further.”

“Re-raise...”

When she told them to raise, up the stakes went.

“All in. Every one of you.”

“All... in...”

And lo, a miracle worthy of comparison to the miracle of the Red Sea descended upon that ultra-luxurious gambling house. I resolved to found the [Church of the Lily] for my beloved and describe this gambling-house scene in the opening passage of its holy scripture.

Ah, how beautiful a villainess looks as she ruins others for her own amusement.

“Th-this is tyranny!”

By the time roughly sixteen nobles had tearfully surrendered even their diamond rings and necklaces to us, the gambling-house owner came rushing over. He was a middle-aged man with a Kaiser mustache.

“Even you, my lady, cannot behave like this in my establishment...”

“Oh? You know who I am? How curious. I heard this establishment strictly conceals its patrons’ identities, and that remaining silent even upon recognizing them is both a virtue and a rule here. It seems I have heard a false rumor.”

“I-I don’t! Of course I don’t, but...”

“You dare not know who I am? Do you wish to lose your head?”

“...”

The gambling-house owner’s mouth opened and closed. He, too, was a noble, but their bloodlines were on entirely different levels. Less than a minute after rushing over, he had been sunk.

“Now, look here! The lady has asked you a question. Why do you not answer?”

For the record, I was pressed right up beside Lady Silver Lily. I hovered around like a sycophant, shouting at him. It was so nice and warm by my beloved’s side.

“Do you take the lady’s question lightly, you wretch? Do you intend to wag that tongue of yours and insult her house?”

“N-no, sir. How could I possibly? I-I am merely running a small business, and I humbly ask that you show it a little more consideration...”

“Oh dear. My lady, this will never do. This man’s arrogance knows no bounds. Have him beheaded for his insolence!”

“Eek?”

Lady Silver Lily leisurely fanned herself.

“It is quite all right. Though Baron Löwe has secretly set up a drug laboratory in his basement and distributes illegal narcotics throughout the capital, surely we cannot take his head for that.”

The man with the Kaiser mustache flinched, his shoulders shaking. His expression suggested he doubted whether he had heard her correctly. Then his face turned deathly pale. His earlier fluster seemed nothing beside his genuine horror now.

“Wh-whatever do you mean...?”

“Sit.”

“...”

“Sit there and play ten rounds with me, and I shall let it pass for tonight.”

In the end, we emptied even the gambling-house owner’s wallet. We scattered the mountain of gold coins and jewels indiscriminately across the empire’s streets.

Those days were like a dream.

Days of deluded dreams, yet beautiful dreams.

We did whatever we wanted and played however we pleased. We booked the most sumptuous lodgings in the capital and idled away our time in their most luxurious room. Holding Lady Silver Lily in my arms, I leaped onto an enormous bed.

“Hmm.”

On the first day, the corners of Lady Silver Lily’s eyes lifted.

“Hmm-hmm.”

On the second day, the corners of her mouth lifted.

“... Aha.”

By the third day, Lady Silver Lily smiled. It was not a mocking smile, but one born simply of joy. My beloved’s smile was as pure as that of a child who had just learned how to smile.

“Gongja.”

Lady Silver Lily buried her face in my chest.

“Are you happy?”

“You are in this world. And so I may live a little longer.”

I became happy.

The smallest unit needed for a person to become happy was two people.

“Starting today, I’ll keep a diary.”

“To show me?”

“One of my companions is a skilled musician. I’ll learn music from them.”

“To play for me, then.”

“No matter what happens, I’ll survive.”

One day, we bribed and browbeat the guards into completely clearing the capital’s busiest street for an hour. We reserved the whole thing for ourselves.

One day, we went to the palace and said everything to the Emperor’s face, both what should and should never be said. When Lady Silver Lily said, “Keep your son in line, Your Majesty. He is an utter scoundrel,” the Emperor slipped off his throne. “Your Majesty?” The officials around him made a tremendous fuss.

One day. Then another.

We traveled through time as our holiday destination.

‘It’s just like a honeymoon.’

I never said those words aloud. Merely thinking them made my face burn. But I believed Lady Silver Lily was surely thinking the same thing.

The last day.

“...”

“...”

On our last day, we did not go anywhere.

We simply sat side by side at the fountain in the capital’s square, from afternoon until evening.

Holding hands, we quietly watched the shadows of the countless people passing through the square. A newsboy ran busily down the alley between a fruit shop and a tavern.

“We’ve done some really terrible things, haven’t we?”

After half a day, she finally parted her lips.

“Yes. We are vicious bastards.”

I squeezed her hand tightly.

You did not travel because you were already in love, but to love even more. Now, after repeating one day for fifteen days, I loved her more. And I wanted to love her still more.

“Though only the two of us know.”

“Partners in crime, then.”

A quiet laugh.

[Your immersion in the character is deepening.]

[Your current immersion rate is 81%.]

Evidence of happiness.

“Raviel, do you remember what I told you in the carriage?”

“I remember everything you have told me.”

“When I asked you to trust me whenever I ask you to.”

“Of course.”

“Please keep that promise.”

Lady Silver Lily looked at me.

“It seems you are plotting something suspicious. Gongja, confessing freely would be better for your heart.”

“I’m going to raise my immersion rate to 99%.”

“...”

During our travels through that day, Lady Silver Lily and I had talked about many things. Truly, many things. What kind of world I came from. What an [apocalypse] was, and what [immersion rate] meant. She had learned all of it from me.

“I need to become almost completely the butler. I have to become someone who was born in this world and has lived here.”

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you why.”

Lady Silver Lily rested a hand on her chin.

“... If you cannot tell even me, then your scheme will succeed only if you alone know it in your heart.”

“Yes.”

“And you are telling me this now because you have something to ask of me.”

“That’s right.”

Lady Silver Lily sighed. She seemed to feel that I had gotten the better of her.

“... You asked me to promise to [trust you] for this moment from the very beginning. As I thought, you are more cunning than you look. I should have listened to you with greater caution. Well, what must I do?”

It was time to put the plan into action.

2

First, we returned to the [first day]. The starting point of this stage. The moment the ball was taking place.

The two of us hurried out of the ballroom and went to Lady Silver Lily’s residence.

“First, please tie both my hands and both my feet tightly to a chair.”

Lady Silver Lily’s expression grew peculiar.

“Gongja, I believe it is still too early for us to venture into that sort of world...”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, my lady, and I probably shouldn’t, but I’m very satisfied with my life right now, so please don’t worry.”

“I promised to trust you, so I have no choice but to do so...”

Lady Silver Lily bound me securely to the chair.

I tried moving my limbs as a test, but they would not budge.

This should be safe enough.

-Hey, Kim ■bie. What are you doing? Your big brother is getting a little nervous here.

[Sparkle is concerned about the He■o’s actions.]

My immersion rate had already exceeded 80%.

In my view, the original owner of this body, the “butler,” had probably loved not only Lady Golden Silk Blossom, but Lady Silver Lily as well. A love that could never come true either way. He must have silently shut away his feelings.

The crown prince was two-timing Lady Silver Lily and Lady Golden Silk Blossom. Lady Golden Silk Blossom was two-timing the crown prince and the butler. The butler was two-timing Lady Silver Lily and Lady Golden Silk Blossom. And now Lady Silver Lily was two-timing the crown prince and me.

‘What a fucking romance.’

But...

‘Thank you.’

Right now, I felt nothing but gratitude toward the butler for having developed feelings for Lady Silver Lily, too.

Thanks to that, I had been able to devise this plan.

I steeled myself.

“Please bring a mirror in front of me.”

“Hmm.”

Lady Silver Lily had the servants move a large mirror directly in front of me. It reflected my body, bound tightly to the chair and unable to move an inch.

“Character window.”

Letters slid across the mirror’s surface.

+

Name: Kim Gongja

Affinity: 90

Preferred Genres: [Martial Arts Fiction], [Romance], [Mystery], [Adventure]

Disliked Genres: None

Preferred Characters: [Master], [Lover], [Noble Hero], [Victim], [Hard Worker], [Child], [Good Person], [Those Who Can Question Themselves], [Those Who Are Generous to Others], [Those Who Understand Me]

+

More text continued beneath it.

Almost everything about me.

With the Character window floating before my eyes, I looked up at Lady Silver Lily.

“Raviel.”

“I am listening.”

“Now, please kiss me over and over. So I’ll fall even more in love with you.”

“Is being kissed while tied up to your taste? If so, why did you not tell me sooner? I might have been able to accommodate you.”

“At some point, I’ll no longer remain [myself].”

“...”

When my immersion rate passed 90% and approached 100%.

When I saw the Inquisitor fully immersed in the role of Lady Golden Silk Blossom, the baron’s daughter. When I witnessed [hair] still growing despite the transformation into Lady Golden Silk Blossom. I realized it.

That was it.

That was the ingenious solution that would let me smash this stage apart exactly the way I wanted.

“When that happens, kill me with your own hands, my lady.”

Lady Silver Lily went still.