Chapter 101: The Horrifying Liar (6)

[101] 15. The Horrifying Liar (6)

A long time ago, back when everyone Irene knew and loved had died…

Irene swore to herself.

That when this was all over, she would descend into hell.

She would accept even the most horrible death with a smile on her face.

And until that moment.

Until the Demon King’s last breath floated in the air.

She wouldn’t let her conscience stand in her way.

[Ms. Irene, are you really sure… about this?]

“David.”

Irene spoke softly into the communication magic tool.

“When have I ever been wrong?”

[But this is a different matter. If the Church were to find out about this…]

“Have faith, David, everything will be fine in the end. Just like it always has.”

A long silence came from the other side. It was followed by an exhausted voice.

[…I understand. I’ll have everything ready… by next week.]

“Thank you, David.”

Irene put down the device. And then, she turned her head to look toward the direction of the capital.

Of course, all she could see was a dark forest and a sky full of stars. She couldn’t even see the capital city Titania’s walls, let alone the Imperial Palace, from this distant mountain in the Great Divide.

But even so, Irene could easily picture Rem in the palace. He would end up showing sympathy to those psychopaths.

That’s just the kind of person he is.

A heart trapped in the past is truly a foolish thing.

“You’re quite skilled at lying.”

It was Amy, who appeared, lifting the tent flap. Irene responded nonchalantly.

“Eavesdropping? How unsavory.”

“You could have changed your mind at the last minute and told him about the plan.”

“Sorry, but I’m not like you. I like to keep my personal and professional life separate.”

Irene turned to look at Amy.

“Besides, if even half of what you said is true, then our entire plan would have crumbled because of a single slip of my tongue. I can’t take that kind of risk.”

Irene’s eyes narrowed.

“Of course, there’s also a chance that everything you said was a complete lie.”

“…I didn’t lie. At least not to you.”

Amy lowered her gaze. As she did, sadness seeped into her voice.

“Before they brought him to this world, they connected their consciousness to his. Everything Rem sees and hears would enter their eyes and ears too.”

Her voice, reaching the peak of depression, began to crack. What filled those cracks was long-harbored guilt.

“It was inevitable that I’d have to lie to him.”

“Again, you mean.”

Amy’s sharp eyes looked at Irene. However, Irene brushed it off with a light sneer.

“I just guessed from how awkward you’re acting, and it seems I was right? You’ve lied to Oppa before, didn’t you? About something or whatever it is.”

Silence was a confirmation. Irene shook her head.

“I don’t know why, but only this type of woman seems to be drawn to Oppa. No, is it oppa who makes the people around him like this?”

Irene’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Amy.

“The you I know… was a bit more solid than this.”

“…You knew me?”

“I thought I did.”

Irene left that cryptic answer and erased the sneer from her face. Then, with a serious expression, she looked at Amy and asked.

“So what are you going to do now? Charge into the Imperial Palace and rescue Oppa?”

“…There’s someone I need to see first.”

Someone to see?

As if on cue, at that moment a frail girl appeared lifting the tent flap.

“Th-Th-The Great Chieftain h-has arrived…”

Her voice trembling with fear.

But her fear wasn’t directed at Amy or Irene. It was directed at the person behind her.

As if to prove that, the girl ran away as soon as she finished delivering the message.

And shortly after.

‘It’ revealed itself, lifting the tent flap.

“…Feya Unnie?”

Bewilderment, pity, and sorrow flashed across Irene’s face. But ultimately, the tender emotions were erased, cynicism covered them like frost settling on a surface.

Irene turned to look at Amy with her hardened face and said.

“You guys really are out of your minds, aren’t you?”

Again, silence was a confirmation.

***

After a reunion that couldn’t exactly be called heartwarming,

Rosalia gave me some ‘time to think’.

Though she didn’t exactly say what it was that I was supposed to be thinking about, but I was grateful. Any excuse would do, I wanted to be alone for a bit.

And so, I was escorted to a room by a servant. And as soon as I entered the room, I thought.

*What a pretentious room.*

The room was divided into four sections. And each one reflected the designer’s misconceptions about me.

One was a domestic room.

Neatly arranged furniture was placed in a familiar layout, and food was displayed abundantly everywhere.

One was a nobleman’s room.

Gold sparkled wherever you looked, and where it didn’t, luxury items covered every surface.

One was a mage’s room.

Priceless ancient texts filled the bookshelves, and there were no less than seven such shelves.

And one was an adventurer’s room.

Expensive alcohol was piled up in crates, and next to them was a workshop where I could maintain my prosthetics.

Four distinct and contrasting interiors,

And the care, affection, and misconceptions felt from them.

And all of that resulted in a single impression.

This room looked terribly cluttered.

I rubbed my temples against the oncoming headache.

*Could they really have made something like this and called it a room? And why were there 4 beds? To begin with, a room this big isn’t my taste…*

*Knock, knock.*

“It’s the head maid. I’ve come to escort you to a different room.”

I stared stupidly at the door for a moment. The realization that my mind was connected to Rosalia’s came a beat too late.

“…You can go back.”

“Are you certain? The Empress…”

“I’m sure. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you left.”

“As you wish.”

The Head Maid’s footsteps grew distant, eventually fading completely.

I rubbed my face and thought.

No, it’s probably more accurate to say that I *sent* a message.

*I don’t need this kind of consideration. Okay, Rosalia? If I want something, I’ll say it directly myself.*

“Haah…”

I sighed heavily and collapsed into a chair.

Just how did things get so messed up?

Not just the situation, but also them.

Connecting their consciousness. Did Rosalia even know how dangerous that was?

No, that was a stupid question. To begin with, the very act of them bringing me to this world was absurd.

How did they even become so twisted?

Really just because I died, that alone?

I’m someone who can be easily replaced.

And they’re all people who could easily find my replacement.

There’s no need to cling to someone like me.

*Knock, knock.*

“It’s the head maid.”

It was the same voice as before. I suddenly felt a burst of annoyance.

“I’ve already told you I’m fine. Can’t you just give me some time alone?”

“Empress Rosalia requests your presence.”

I unconsciously stood up.

…

…

…

According to my common sense, meeting the Emperor of the Empire required a lot of formalities. But it seemed I was now someone who transcended such common sense.

The head maid immediately escorted me deep into the Imperial Palace.

Passing through the magnificent hall,

Walked down hallways adorned with famous paintings,

Descended a cold stone stairway,

And finally arrived before a door with a ridiculous number of locks.

Fortunately for the head maid, the door was already open. A blue light, like a cold breeze, flowed out from the gap.

“Please enter. Empress Rosalia is waiting.”

*Rosalia is here… in this place.*

I hesitated for a moment before opening the door and entering. And then I saw the source of the blue light.

A room the size of a small house.

The entire floor was covered in complex magic circles.

The blue light was from the magic power that flowed through those circles. And all that magic power ultimately converged to two pillars in the center of the room.

“Rem, you’re here?”

And between those two pillars stood Rosalia.

Smiling, she looked at me with longing eyes.

It felt like the inner walls of my mind were being scratched. The edge in my tone was inevitable.

“Didn’t you say you were going to give me some time to think?”

“You’re angry, Rem. And confused.”

“Well, wouldn’t anyone be if their mind was being read?”

I found myself speaking rudely. The tone was so cold it surprised even me who spoke it.

I could tell from her sad smile just how deeply my words had cut her.

“Haah…”

I exhaled to release the heat that had built up inside me. Then, carefully choosing my words, I spoke.

“Rosalia, this isn’t right. You know that too.”

“Rosalia… It’s been a while since I’ve heard that name. It feels a bit unfamiliar now.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

I deliberately put more force into my voice. But the strength I had summoned soon disappeared.

“Just… Forget it.”

“Forget what?”

“You know that you don’t really love me.”

Rosalia’s face hardened.

“You just feel guilty about my death. And because you don’t know how to handle that, you’re doing all this. And besides…”

I paused for a moment. The weight of the words that were about to come out made me do so. But I clenched my fist and barely managed to pull those words out.

“Feeling sorry for someone isn’t the same as loving them.”

It was something I’d always wanted to tell the Captain and Feya. But because I didn’t think those words would reach them, I’d always swallowed them back.

I knew.

That they only stayed by my side out of guilt, not because they liked me or cared about me.

If, if they truly loved me…

“Aren’t you curious about where Clara and Parsley are?”

I looked at Rosalia. She continued speaking with a slight smile.

“As you probably already know from that Irene woman, Clara and Parsley were also involved in this. Aren’t you curious about where they are?”

At that moment, the irritation that had been building up found its outlet.

“That’s not what we were talking about! Rosalia, just listen to me!”

“No, I’m not going to.”

Her voice was heated and firm voice.

Rosalia continued while looking straight at me.

“Because, Rem, you’re spouting nothing but idiotic gibberish.”

“It’s not gibberish…!”

“Rem, I love you.”

*Crack*, My irritation crumbled with a crack.

“I’ve felt that way since that day when you comforted me even though I was crying after waking up from the nightmare.”

There was a snap, like the sound of a blood vessel breaking deep in my heart. Rosalia’s red eyes made my head spin.

“Feeling sorry isn’t the same as loving someone, you say? You have it backwards, Rem. I felt sorry because I loved you. I regretted it because I cared about you. And it’s because I loved you that I couldn’t forgive myself.”

By now, Rosalia’s voice was trembling. With a face that made it impossible to tell if she was crying or laughing, she placed her hand on the pillar.

The blue light of the magic circle intensified, and then the inside of the pillar was revealed.

“That’s why ‘we’ had no choice but to do this.”

The scene seeped into my vision like a drizzling rain.

Beautiful silver and red hair,

Slender delicate fingers and fingers with calluses on only the middle finger, thick as tumors.

Shining Red eyes that glimmer like jewels and green eyes that resemble forests.

But they weren’t connected as one. They were fragmented, like pieces of a broken mirror, floating inside the pillar.

Inside were the shattered bodies of Clara and Parsley.

My jaw trembles as I make a sound.

“Th-this is…”

“The price.”

My increasingly distant vision captures Rosalia.

“Rem, just having magic power and special artifacts wasn’t enough to bring you to this world. A being from another world has to constantly endure the hostility of this world.”

Penalty. It’s what Irene and I had talked about.

Why weren’t we suffering from the penalty that Parsley had to endure?

“We needed someone who could bear that burden in our place.”

The moment I understood the meaning of her words, my vision turned white. When I came to my senses, I was grabbing Rosalia by the collar.

“So you used Clara and Parsley as sacrifices?! You exploited their guilt?! How could you do such a disgusting thing…!”

“Ah, Rem…”

Rosalia’s hand caressed my cheek. At that, my anger immediately turned into bewilderment.

I know how to tell who’s touching me just from their touch. I know this because there was a girl who used to love caressing me.

I looked into ‘her’ red eyes.

“Clara?”

“So you were indeed worried about ‘us’ too…”

The strength drains from my hands. The same goes for my legs. I stumbled back.

“W-Wait, that doesn’t make sense… Why would Clara…”

“I’m here too, Rem.”

‘She’ smiled, a smile so fragile it looked like it might crumble at any moment.

There was only one person I knew who could smile like that.

“Par…sley?”

I clutched my head as thoughts seemed to leak away.

“Wait, what is this… Are you messing with me? How could there be three people in one…”

At that moment, realization struck,

and I cursed my own insight.

Three souls in one body.

I know of one dark magic that could make it possible.

“‘We’ used a necromancer’s dark arts to bind our souls. That way, even Clara and Parsley could be reunited with you.”

“Why… Why…? If you do something like that…”

‘She’ smiled sadly.

“That’s right, ‘our’ souls will shatter. And it won’t be long. And we might even go mad in the process.”

I sank to the floor, defeated, and ‘she’ approached me and pulled me into a gentle embrace.

“Don’t worry, Rem, ‘We’ won’t go mad. We can’t show you such a pathetic sight.”

My thoughts crumpled like plastic heated by a flame. It was a mess of indescribable emotions.

And through it, ‘her’ voice flowed in.

“Rem, I know you have a place you need to return to. And that in the end, ‘we’ are strangers to you.”

People often think of words as solids, things that shot out from the tongue and lodge in the heart. But I realize now that they were wrong.

“That’s why ‘we’ won’t hold you for long. We can’t either. Just…”

Words are colorless, odorless gasses. Like poison, they seep through the ears and reach inside the heart.

“One year. Until our souls shatter. Until the end of our lives.”

It’s inside the heart where words transform into liquid, into solid. The language that finally gains weight is placed on the scale. It makes the heart tilt.

“Just until then, lend us your time. So we can tell you what we couldn’t, so we can atone. So we can tell you we’re sorry, and that we love you.”

What emotion was it that overwhelmed me at that moment?

Sympathy? Affection? Sorrow?

“That’s all ‘we’ want.”

I don’t know. All I heard was a single sound,

a sad, scraping sound, coming from deep within my heart.

Before I knew it, I was hugging ‘her’ who was now crying.

“Okay.”

The scale finally tilted.

***

“Mom! Mom! When does the play start again?”

“Shhh, be quiet. It’ll start again soon.”

“Ah, okay… But Mom, did this really happen? Did the Emperor and Rem really…”

“Didn’t I tell you before the play started, this play was produced by the Emperor herself.”

“…Then the Emperor’s so pitiful. Because of that barbarian…”

“That’s why the Emperor is waging war against the Great Divide, isn’t it? Ah! The play’s starting. Now you really have to be quiet, understand?”

“Yes, Mom!”