153 – Two Melas (2
by Afuhfuihgs
153 – Two Melas (2)
*
Besides Ed, there was one more person who had become a completely different being from their former self due to someone entering their mind without permission.
That other person was Banata, who lazily opened her eyes only after the sun had fallen from the sky and night had come.
Banata slowly rose from the narrow gap between the first-floor ceiling and the second-floor floor, yawning wide enough to tear her mouth.
“Ugh, it’s so dark.”
Almost two weeks had passed since that fateful banquet day when the city was turned upside down.
Banata was still staying at Baron Salvie’s mansion with Mena and Lily.
Unlike the city, which was in chaos due to unsettling rumors, she was living a carefree life.
Many people, including the Emperor and influential nobles, had witnessed Banata being a demon, so there was a fierce debate between the radical opinion that she should be killed immediately and the opinion that they shouldn’t rashly execute a close aide of Baron Salvie, whose whereabouts were currently unknown, lest they incur his wrath. As a result, no one could move rashly.
Nevertheless, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, Banata would use her body that could pass through walls to hide and sleep in the gap between the floor and the ceiling.
Banata was surprisingly satisfied with her situation.
Partly because Banata was naturally optimistic, but unlike Ed, who was an undead, she could still sleep in a bed and eat meals, maintaining a fairly normal life as a succubus. This prevented her from suffering from identity issues like Ed.
Only the opposite life cycle of being sleepy when the sun rose and wide awake when the moon rose was her only complaint.
As one of the people who witnessed Ed suffering terribly from his existential anguish about his identity, she was very satisfied with her current situation.
Moreover, the amount of wealth that Ed had handed over to Mena was literally enormous, so there was even less reason to complain.
Just one thing.
Except for the fact that Ed had disappeared, forgetting their date.
Banata rubbed her still-sleepy eyes and murmured in a sweet voice.
“…What time is it…?”
[It’s one in the morning.]
“Hehe, did you sleep well, Rose?”
[…]
Banata smiled blankly and greeted Rose in her head.
Rose was speechless at Banata’s attitude and kept her mouth shut.
Banata had been treating her, who had been in her head all along, with friendliness, despite their bad blood at the academy.
Despite Rose’s vicious bullying and violence, and the terrible human experiments she had received from her parents, Jennifer.
To put it nicely, she was a pushover, and to put it badly, she was an impressively laid-back person who deserved to be called a sucker, but Rose found Banata a little unpleasant.
To Rose, Banata was ultimately an excuse that Ed had created to take her and Daniel’s lives.
Rather, Banata’s friendly attitude seemed like the victor’s余裕(yoyuu) and seemed to be mocking Rose’s inability to do anything.
Banata was aware of Rose’s suspicion, but she still maintained a friendly attitude.
She didn’t think of Rose as a bad person.
Of course, when she thought about how Rose had tried to kill her, she still got chills, but in the end, it was Rose herself who had died.
She even thought that she was paying enough for her sins since she was now trapped in her head.
Moreover, it was not unreasonable for her to feel sympathy for Rose, as even her loved one had become the same way because of her.
Banata herself was not sure whether that sympathy was due to Banata’s own good nature, or whether it was the victor’s余裕(yoyuu) as Rose thought, or whether it was both.
Perhaps it was because living with Ed made her think that the misfortunes she had experienced were nothing.
Banata spoke to Rose, making a sound even though she didn’t need to.
“…One in the morning?”
[Yeah, I’m sure.]
“But… what’s this smell…”
A fragrant smell that tickled the tip of her nose, captured by the succubus’s sense of smell, which was superior to that of humans.
It was a familiar scent that always made her feel good, no matter how many times she smelled it, and it was coming from downstairs.
It was the smell of Mena brewing high-quality tea leaves.
“Mom’s making tea? At one in the morning?”
Banata tilted her head in confusion and then dropped through the floor from where she was lying, starting with the back of her head.
Banata bent her waist like a bow, pulled her whole body out of the ceiling, fluttered her flowing hair, and then lightly landed on the floor of Mena’s room on the first floor after spinning once in the air.
Banata got up, stretched, and called out to Mena.
“Mom?”
Mena wasn’t in her room.
Banata tilted her head and decided to follow the scent.
After getting used to her demon body, she realized that opening and closing doors was a pain in the ass, so she left the room, passing through the wall, following the fragrant scent of black tea.
The source of the scent seemed to be the table in the reception room where they used to gather for meals at the mansion.
Banata said as she entered the reception room.
“Mommy, what are you doing alone at one in the morning without sleeping…”
Banata was startled and closed her mouth.
Mena wasn’t alone.
“How have you been?”
“…Huh,”
Banata gasped without answering.
“I came to keep my promise.”
*
It had already been two weeks.
Mela barely sat on the bed, massaging her throbbing legs.
She had been walking around all day today, so it was no wonder her legs and knees were creaking and screaming.
If she were to count the distance she had walked today, it would be almost the same as, or a little more than, the distance she had marched in a day when she was traveling to defeat the Demon King at the age of twenty.
Mela realized the fact that she was getting old through her aching knee joints.
Clang, clang.
A few gold coins fell from Mela’s pocket as she massaged her legs diligently.
One, two, three.
Three gold coins.
That was the profit Mela had left after wandering around all day.
Mela stared blankly at the gold coins and then chuckled.
Mela had been carrying around her personal jewelry and accessories all day today.
Disposing of valuable items and turning them into money,
That was the only way Mela could think of to make money right now.
There weren’t many things a woman in her 40s could do who didn’t have the power of a Saintess and had only lived as a Countess.
Of course, as a commoner, Mela could do some sewing, but even that trivial job didn’t come her way.
No matter how desperately she wanted it, who would entrust her, the former Countess and former Saintess, with sewing?
Moreover, even if there was a chore she could do, no one wanted to entrust Mela, the Demon King’s wife, with a job.
Thankfully, the Emperor himself had announced that Mela had cooperated in revealing Robin’s identity, so the number of people who tried to harm her had decreased, but the way people looked at her was still not favorable.
The evaluation of Mela went down from suspicion that she was an accomplice of the Demon King to a woman who had been deceived by the Demon King for twenty years and had even given him her body.
Only the fear had turned into contempt.
As a Saintess, who was once the position right below the Pope, it could be said that it was a truly spectacular fall.
All of Mela’s jewels were clearly luxury goods with clear value and names, but no goldsmith in the city would trade with Mela.
Even the dirty and low-quality pawnshops that charged ridiculously high-interest rates were reluctant to lend her money using her jewelry as collateral.
That’s why Mela walked all over the city on foot.
And in the end, she was barely able to exchange five gold coins and her necklace for it at a shabby general store near the Oth Gravi junkyard.
It was definitely a necklace worth 80 gold coins when she bought it, but it had become five gold coins just because she had it.
When people’s evaluations of herself and Robin were numbered, Mela felt her situation become more vivid and slowly trembled.
Her hands and feet were icy cold, and her skin felt as sharp as a veil.
Mela clutched the five gold coins tightly and walked back from Oth Gravi, located at the edge of the city, to the Boldiras mansion.
Mela forced a smile, ignoring the merchants’ stinging gazes at her, and bought a few days’ worth of food as if she were begging, even though she had paid for it.
Mela recalled what had happened a little while ago, gathered the remaining three gold coins with the side of her hand, clenched them so hard that they were crushed, buried her head in the bed mattress, and shed tears.
The dry friction of the gold coins rubbing against each other due to the strong grip in her hand sounded very mournful for some reason.
Mela couldn’t bring herself to eat the food she had bought.
Mela finally burst into tears with her face buried in the pillow and collapsed.
“Mela.”
Mela suddenly opened her eyes at the voice calling her.
How much time had passed? The world was once again so dark that she couldn’t see an inch ahead.
It seemed she had fallen asleep while crying.
Mela slowly turned her head toward the voice calling her.
She couldn’t see the form, but it was definitely Lara’s voice.
Mela tried to hide her locked voice and said.
“Lara… I’m sorry, I fell asleep. Are you… hungry? I… bought something…”
“…No, it’s okay.”
Lara’s voice was softer than usual.
Mela was puzzled, but she didn’t bother to ask out loud.
It was better than asking a question and having her return to her sharp attitude.
“Wait a minute… I bought some food, where is it… I can’t see well without a light,”
“Mela.”
Lara reached out in the darkness and stroked Mela’s head, who was fumbling around.
Mela was about to burst into tears at her sudden warm attitude.
Lara gently stroked Mela’s hair and said.
“I’ve been doing well for the past few days. I’m going to leave now.”
“…Huh?”
Mela jumped up at Lara’s sudden farewell and said.
“…Huh? No, why are you leaving… suddenly? Where to?”
Mela’s voice was clearly panicked.
On the other hand, Lara replied in a kind but somewhat blunt voice.
“Well… I’m thinking of going back to the Whirlwind Forest for now.”
“Why, why? Did I make you uncomfortable?”
Lara chuckled at Mela’s question.
“I think I was the one who made you uncomfortable,”
“N-no, no, no. Lara, I’m okay. You don’t have to worry about me. Really.”
Mela said in a stuttering tone, squeezing out words that wouldn’t come out properly.
Of course, as Lara said, Mela had been very uncomfortable and scared of Lara for the past few days.
The past few days had been a time for her to realize how much Lara hated Mela, who had taken Ed away from her and couldn’t make him happy, but still occupied his heart.
Wasn’t the reason she was able to withstand the malicious gazes of the general public because she was already used to Lara’s gaze?
Mela was always worried that Lara might shoot an arrow into her neck while she was sleeping.
No, to be exact, she might have been expecting it.
But Lara never offered Mela an easy way out.
“You’ve been through a lot because of me. Mela. It must have been hard for you too,”
“No, no, no, why, why… why are you doing this? Lara… why are you suddenly doing this?”
“Ha,”
“…”
“Why? Do you want me to stay now that I’m leaving?”
Mela nodded, forgetting that it was dark all around.
It was definitely Lara who had been hostile to her and constantly spewing hurtful words.
She called Mela ‘Countess’ every time, and even said terrible things like, ‘Did you sleep with Robin on this bed too?’ without hesitation.
However, Mela couldn’t bring herself to retort, ‘You slept with Robin too.’
She didn’t have the nerve to act so confidently since she was a sinner anyway,
And she knew that she wouldn’t be able to bear it if she was met with the retort, ‘You did it for twenty years.’
But ironically, Mela never wanted Lara’s sharp daggers of criticism, which constantly tortured her soul, to disappear.
Mela slowly got off the bed and wandered through the darkness, begging miserably.
“Lara… look, look at me.”
“It’s not like I have any loyalty left to show you, is it?”
“N-no, no, no, Lara, look at me, huh?”
“…”
“There’s nothing left… huh? You’re all I have left.”
“…Ha,”
“It’s okay if you curse me… It’s okay if you stab my face with arrows and break my arms and legs… huh? Please, please… don’t leave me alone.”
“Mela.”
“…I don’t want… to go back to that time… like that again…”
“…”
“That’s… the scariest thing, Lara… please.”
Lara closed her eyes and recalled ‘that time’ that Mela was talking about.
What would the Lara of that day, who was struggling to save her, say if she saw me now?
Lara looked down at the sobbing Mela with such thoughts.
“Lara… please, me…”
Mela and Lara.
It was a truly bizarre relationship.
The relationship between the two had been constantly changing and twisting for the past twenty years.
Friends, rivals, family, enemies.
The fate that had cruelly scratched Mela and Lara for twenty years, a time that could not be reversed no matter what price was paid, was so ferocious.
The relationship between the two, which had sprung up like a scar on the spot of that ferocious wound, was somehow broken, so they couldn’t heal the wound underneath, couldn’t heal it, and left it to fester and rot.
Were they addicted to the stench of pus that filled the wound?
Or was it because there was only one medicine to heal the wound?
Lara and Mela became a new relationship of only two people who shared the same wound and needed the same answer.
The expression ‘comrades who share the same pain’ would be the most plausible.
According to the content that both comrades sympathized with and understood, the wound was Robin, and the medicine was Ed.
Lara chanted.
“Lily contacted me. Mela.”
“…Huh?”
“Ed met Banata.”
“Ah… he was alive… Oh, oh… Ed,”
Mela’s voice brightened greatly.
Mela wiped her face with both hands, dropping even the gold coins she had been holding since she had collapsed from exhaustion and fallen asleep as if she had fainted, and chanted.
“Oh, Goddess… thank you… thank you so much…”
Lara opened her mouth in a bitter voice toward Mela.
“…Mela.”
“…Huh?”
“Ed left the city.”
Mela took a deep breath and stopped breathing.
If you only heard the sound, it sounded like she had died from the shock of the words.
Lara continued to chant without paying attention.
“The former Knight Commander and the Princess have already met Ed, and Banata said that she enjoyed her last date with Ed.”
“…Ugh, ah,”
“You were right. Ed isn’t coming to see you.”
Mela trembled and nodded weakly.
Of course, she knew.
She knew, but…
She knew that the last kiss was our last, and she was prepared for it, but…
She could have at least said a final goodbye…
Was she never able to have a refreshing farewell with Ed even once?
Mela thought so and lowered her head silently.
Lara’s voice fell on the back of Mela’s head.
“I don’t have any reason to be here anymore, so I’m leaving.”
“…”
Mela understood Lara.
Lara also understood Mela’s pain.
Ed was probably the only medicine to heal our festering and burst hearts.
Lara was trying to leave to find that medicine, and Mela was trying to die as she was because she didn’t have the nerve to drink that medicine.
The two had reached opposite conclusions, but they fully understood how each other had reached that conclusion.
“…Goodbye. Mela.”
With those words, Mela no longer felt the gaze staring at her in the darkness.
However, ridiculously, the fear only grew.
The fear of being alone.
Lara didn’t want to repeat the same mistake.
If Mela had overcome that pain and fear alone 20 years ago, our story would have been very different.
That’s why Lara was determined not to help Mela this time.
Of course, the bigger reason was that she didn’t want to see her anymore.
Mela never saw Lara again.
.
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