Chapter 25: Where the Eyes Linger, the Heart Rests (7)

[25] 3. Where the Eyes Linger, the Heart Rests (7)

Everything worked out!

The girl, flopping down on the fluffy silk sheets, smiled brightly. Pulling up the blanket, she looked up at the ornate ceiling.

Ivan’s image floated above the ceiling.

[I’ll take care of it from now on. You can just wait here, Lady Clara.]

[Ah, and could you please excuse us? I need to talk to Rem for a bit.]

[No, just wait in your room. I’ll come see you when everything is over.]

That was just a few hours ago.

Since then, the girl had been indulging in a series of rosy daydreams.

Now the boy would no longer be ridiculed for being a handless orphan. Instead, he’d earn everyone’s respect.

As her lover.

“…!!”

The girl, letting out a soundless cheer, kicked off her blankets.

Lover. The word was too sweet.

Just what does one do when they become lovers?

Holding hands, of course.

And hugging each other many more times than now.

And… kissing…

Yes, just like the happy endings in the novels the girl loved…

*Knock, knock*

“Would-be Saint, it’s Ivan.”

The girl jumped out of bed. She threw open the door before Ivan even had a chance to open it.

“Can I see Rem now?”

Seeing her excited eyes, Ivan smiled faintly, and said, nodding his head.

“Follow me.”

And then, he naturally turned his back and walked into the darkness. The girl followed, beaming with joy.

Towards the ending of this story that was already set in stone.

***

The girl realized that something was off when Ivan’s footsteps led them towards the basement.

It was a path in the corner of the Crystal Palace, leading to a stairway she had never seen before.

She unconsciously stopped in her tracks before the stairs, the uneasy feeling in her chest made her do so.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

But when Ivan turned around to look at her, she could only shake her head.

This was because he still had his usual benevolent smile on his face.

The girl reassured herself and followed behind Ivan.

However, the spark of unease that had been born refused to die down. Instead, it grew larger with each piece of kindling thrown onto it.

Faint moans coming from somewhere.

The metallic stench of blood and the reek of filth reaching her nose.

Patches of yellow moss appearing between the cracks in the stone floor.

Ivan’s voice reached her when her anxiety had reached its peak.

“We’ve arrived.”

The girl, flinching, realized that she was at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up.

Black iron bars lined the right side of the long corridor.

Ironically, it reminded her of the Crystal Palace hallway.

But instead of colorful sunlight, the stained glass here cast gloomy cries onto the floor.

Suddenly, she had the urge to run away.

She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling that she shouldn’t go any further.

“This is it.”

But Ivan had stopped in front of one of the cells, and…

The girl, as if in a trance, went and stood beside Ivan. Following Ivan’s finger, she peered inside the iron bars.

There was a chair, and a naked boy was sitting on it.

At first, she didn’t even realize that he was naked because his body was covered in bruises and blood, almost like clothing.

His body was so small that she couldn’t believe he was an adult, and his hair was an unusual, jet-black color.

And where his hands should have been, there were only blunt wrists.

Fear engulfed the girl’s heart.

“Rem…?”

“I ordered them to restrain him, but it seems those priests have been holding onto a lot of resentment.”

The girl looked up at Ivan. He still had a benevolent smile on his face.

“Well, it’s only natural that they’d be resentful. A dirty orphan strutting around with his head held high just because he’s the saint’s personal servant.”

But the words that came out of his mouth were harsh.

Tears welled up in the girl’s confused eyes.

“W-What is this? Y-You’re lying… right? W-Why… Why is Rem in…”

“Of course, we’re carrying out his sentence.”

Ivan spoke as if soothing her.

“You already know what punishment awaits those who secretly learn holy magic, don’t you?”

Tears streamed down her face.

At the same time, two burly men, wearing black hoods, descended the stairs. Bowing their heads to Ivan, they entered the cell.

Then they lit the furnace in the cell.

And shoved a gold rod inside.

The girl clung to Ivan’s clothes.

“B-But…! I-I said he was my companion…! C-companions are allowed to learn holy magic…!”

“You’re not the saint yet, are you, Lady Clara?”

For the first time, Ivan chuckled.

The girl’s hand went limp as she saw him smile.

Suddenly, Ivan seemed unfamiliar.

The whole situation felt unreal.

“That aside, it’s fortunate, really.”

Ivan placed his hand on her shoulder. The girl’s eyes, with tears flowing like blood down her face, turned to Ivan.

“Thanks to Lady Clara informing on the sinner of her own accord, you’ve been spared that punishment.”

“Informing… what do you mean…?”

Ivan knelt to meet the girl’s eyes.

“Didn’t you confess that this wicked creature seduced you and made you teach him holy magic?”

[I took Rem as my companion during this trip.]

[And I taught him holy magic.]

“No! That wasn’t what I meant! It was…!!”

“No.”

Ivan’s hard, blue eyes looked at Clara.

“That was exactly what you meant.”

The girl’s eyes widened in disbelief.

And then, she turned her gaze towards the iron bars.

“Rem!!”

She shook off Ivan’s arm and rushed towards the cell. Reciting a verse inwardly, she extended her hand…

“…!”

But at that moment, her body froze as if it had turned to stone. She couldn’t even blink.

It was what had happened to the boy earlier.

“It’s no use. I cast holy magic on him to make him unable to see or hear.”

Ivan placed his hand on her head and gently stroked her hair, saying,

“So just relax and watch.”

Tears flowed from the girl’s widened, frozen eyes.

“The consequences of your recklessness and arrogance, Lady Clara.”

A man in a black hood grabbed the boy’s hair and lifted his head.

***

The girl had once seen someone extract a jewel from a statue’s eye. It was about to be demolished, so they were extracting the valuables beforehand.

“Huu…! Huu…!”

First, using a hammer and chisel, the stonemason carefully chipped away the area around the eye so as to not damage the jewel.

“_____!”

And once the jewel was halfway exposed, he inserted a wide, flat stick into the eyelid, wiggling it up and down.

“______!! _____!!”

Then, with a *pop*, the jewel came loose.

But not completely.

Because the adhesive was still connecting the jewel to its socket.

So, finally, the stonemason inserted a heated chisel into the empty socket and scraped away the adhesive.

“…! ……! …”

And then, with a thump, the jewel fell to the ground. It rolled across the floor, gathering dust.

It was a meticulous process, worthy of admiration.

***

Rem, my love.

After that, I refused to eat or drink for seventy days and seventy nights. I wanted to make sure that that cursed power couldn’t keep me alive any longer.

It was a threat.

No, a plea.

Every night, I dragged my weak body to Ivan and begged him to return you to me. At the very least, to let me see you again.

But Ivan didn’t answer me.

Only on the seventy-first day, he said to me, who was on the verge of death,

That you were dead,

That you couldn’t overcome the pain and died shortly after.

Rem, at that moment, I realized that Ivan was lying.

That day, when I could hear the Milky Way flowing, you had promised me.

That you’d survive, no matter what it takes, and that even if you had to crawl back with your teeth, you would return to me.

So I decided to prepare to welcome you back.

I forced myself to eat porridge and drink water. I knelt before Ivan. I pretended to repent, weeping and saying I regretted my arrogance.

I acted the part of the perfect saint that Ivan desired.

And at the same time, I plotted my revenge.

It wasn’t enough to simply stab him in the heart.

Not only because it wouldn’t even come close to the pain you had to endure, but also because if I died, there’d be no one to welcome you back.

So I decided to take his place.

I planned to give you everything he had, along with his head, on the day you came back.

This time, I was going to make you the Saint’s companion.

For that, I started gathering daggers, one by one.

The bishops of the remote regions who had been alienated when he rose to the position of Pope.

The voices within the Vatican he had silenced.

And all the corruption and misdeeds he had committed.

In the process, I learned that Ivan was behind the Captain of the Holy Knights’ betrayal.

Provoking the Captain, bringing in the cultists, and deliberately placing him in charge of my escort.

He wrote in his diary that it was to quell my arrogance.

Strangely, I didn’t feel angry anymore.

Because by then, all my preparations were complete.

All that was left was for you to come back to me. And we would be happy again.

…But you didn’t come back.

One day, one week, one month, one year…

Even 12 years after you left.

That was when I realized.

No, I accepted the things that made me carve my wrist every night.

That I was also responsible for the pain you had to go through.

That if it hadn’t been for my careless confession, we might have had a peaceful future.

And that you might hate me based on that carelessness.

That you… might not have come back… because you hate me.

That’s why I joined the hero party.

I had to find you.

I had to meet you and tell you I was sorry, to apologize for my carelessness.

…I’m such an idiot, aren’t I?

I should have prioritized that, rather than revenge.

But, Rem, please understand.

I was scared.

I was so terrified that even imagining it made my bones tremble.

That you hate me…

How could I even think about that?

How could I bear such a thought?

I had to keep putting it off, using revenge as an excuse.

Even after I accepted it, every night, I would tremble in fear.

Even on the day we were reunited.

But Rem, please know this.

I was brave.

When I met you, I was going to kneel before you and beg you to forgive me. I was going to tell you I had prepared everything for you, and that we should go back together.

But the moment I saw you again.

When I saw your body, where most of it had been replaced with grotesque machines, a body without a beating heart…

When I saw your cursed fate, a fate that was neither alive nor dead…

I realized the weight of my sin.

I realized that I had done something irreversible to you.

That my carelessness could never be forgiven in any way.

And I accepted that I had only one option left.

That’s why I approached you, only after you had lost your memory.

I knew it was a cowardly and terrible thing to do, but I pretended to not know anything, and lied.

Because, until your memories returned, I wanted to give you everything I could.

Because I wanted to take in as much of you as I could, before you made your final decision.

…But why did dawn come so quickly?

***

I threw open the door.

Ivan was sitting at his desk, just like he had 13 years ago.

But unlike back then, he wasn’t alone.

My knights were standing there, stepping on the bodies of what used to be his followers.

Behind him, through the stained glass, I could see the enraged bishops.

Hanging from the end of the pole they were holding, was Bishop Atreus’s head.

I could faintly hear their impassioned cries of “Execute the heretical Pope!”

It was all according to my plan.

From the moment I found Bishop Atreus’s necklace in that passage.

Actually, I was lacking a proper justification back then.

That is, until Bishop Atreus confessed that he, and even the Pope, were connected to the cultists.

It was too easy to ignite a fire with a pile of kindling already prepared.

“…Have you finally lost your mind?”

Ivan said, staring at me with a hardened expression.

But I wasn’t listening. I just walked towards him.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out that you tortured Bishop Atreus to force out a false confession, claiming that I was colluding with the cultists? I…!”

Ivan’s body suddenly stiffened. He couldn’t even blink as he stared at me.

Yes, it’s the same holy magic that you and I suffered, Rem.

How hard had I practiced this spell, just for this moment.

“…!”

Smiling, I stood in front of Ivan, grabbing his cheeks and forcing his head upwards.

I placed my thumb carefully in front of his eyes.

Tears welled up in his trembling blue eyes.

Rem, did you also look like this before your eyes were taken away?

“______!!!”

I wasn’t a stonemason, so I couldn’t do it as cleanly.

But thankfully, what I was holding wasn’t stone, but clay.

Every time it didn’t come out right, I would turn everything back to its original state, using God’s hand.

And start over.

“____!!”

Again.

“____!”

Again.

“……!”

And again.

“…”

Until it came out the way I wanted.

I let go of Ivan’s face, which was now covered in blood. Ivan, not yet dead, fell to the floor, twitching.

I took the cloth that my knight had handed me and placed the extracted things inside. Handing it to the Holy Knight, I said,

“Break his arms and legs and tie him to the top of the Crystal Palace. And every day, open his stomach and put gruel inside.” (TL Note: Gruel is porridge in simple terms)

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

The Holy Knights dragged Ivan away. He was mumbling something as he left, but I didn’t pay him any mind.

Instead, I turned to the Holy Knight beside me and asked,

“How are the preparations coming along?”

“…Everything is ready. We just need to retrieve him.”

I smiled brightly and stroked the face of my loyal follower, I said,

“Bring him here as soon as possible.”

“…Yes, Your Holiness.”

I stepped on Ivan’s blood and walked to the stained glass window. Feeling a surge of ecstasy fill my heart, I pressed my forehead against the window.

Rem, the end is finally approaching.

The end to a story that started the moment I was reunited with you.

No, perhaps… a story that started the moment I met you.

And it will be a happy ending, just like the novels you used to read.

A happy ending where we can say, “And they all lived happily ever after,”

A brilliant, oh so brilliant happy ending.

And I won’t be included in that “all.”

So, my beloved Rem, please come back to me soon.

So that I can return everything to you.