Chapter 22: Where the Eyes Linger, the Heart Rests (4)

[22] 3. Where the Eyes Linger, the Heart Rests (4)

It was a day with fluffy white clouds in the sky.

Lunchtime, when the sunlight felt like a soft blanket, not sharp rays.

And such air easily lulls one into slumber.

“And then, Sadie said, ‘I don’t need anything but him…’ Haaaawm…”

The boy, who had been reading the novel aloud, suddenly let out a long yawn. Faint dark circles were under his eyes.

The listener’s protest came immediately.

“I told you to go to sleep early! Just how late did you stay up last night that you’re already yawning?”

The girl, who was lying with her head on the boy’s lap, glared at him. The boy rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

“I didn’t stay up that late. I was just a bit tired yesterday.”

“Another lie. You were studying ancient languages again, weren’t you?”

The girl curled up a bit more as she continued.

“Why do you even bother studying ancient languages? It’s not like it’s useful for anything…”

“I have to study them so I can at least become a deacon, even if I can’t be a priest. And I have to be at least a deacon to continue working at the church.” (TL Note: Deacons are in simple words a priest’s assistant)

“That’s exactly why it’s even more useless.”

The girl’s arm wrapped around the boy’s waist. Unable to hide her displeasure, she said,

“Rem, you’ll be my personal servant until the day you die anyway.”

The boy, unconsciously, covered his face as if to wipe his eyes. He didn’t want her to see his expression.

Managing to regain his composure, he said in a disgruntled tone.

“For someone saying that, it doesn’t look like My lady went to bed early either.”

“…!”

The girl’s red eyes widened, and she touched the dark circles under her eyes with her white hand.

Then, she puffed out her cheeks and said,

“Well, *I* didn’t stay up late doing pointless things like Rem, did I?”

“What were you doing?”

At that, the girl suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling.

“Something for you.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, but the girl simply covered her mouth after saying that.

“I can’t tell you anymore. It’s a secret.”

However, as is typical of someone who is preparing something, she couldn’t help but give him a meaningful smile.

“But you can look forward to it.”

A flicker of curiosity appeared in the boy’s eyes. But then, he simply rolled his eyes and erased it.

His master was as whimsical as she was unpredictable.

She’s probably doing something extravagant and pointless, like stacking golden cups as high as she possibly could, like last time.

The boy decided to ignore it.

And then he heard a strange sound from outside the window.

“_____!”

It sounded like a wounded beast whimpering.

It took a while for him to realize it was someone crying.

Feeling uneasy, the boy tried to get up.

“I-I should go check…”

“It’s fine, there’s no need to go.”

However, the girl’s arm didn’t release him. The boy was baffled.

“But someone’s crying outside…”

“They probably just got dumped or something. Don’t worry about it.”

It wasn’t a cry that you’d hear from someone who just got dumped. It was the cry of someone whose very fragile part, a part that shouldn’t be hurt, broken. The boy, who had lived in the back alleys, could tell.

But the girl wouldn’t let him protest.

Extending her hand towards the window, a light emanated from her hand, covering the window completely. And then, the sound was no longer audible.

“Just keep reading the novel.”

“But…”

Suddenly, the girl put on a pitiful expression, looking at the boy with her large, deer-like eyes.

“Or do you not want to be with me…?”

It was as if some invisible force was pulling at the boy’s heartstrings.

The boy nodded, feeling that he shouldn’t keep giving in like this every time, but doing so anyway.

“…Okay.”

And with that, he pushed the beast-like cry to a corner of his mind and started reading again.

“…But Eric answered with a sad expression, ‘Blind love is dangerous…’”

***

“Hold on a minute, we’re talking about the story where you lost both your eyes, right?”

I glared at the Captain, who had suddenly interrupted me. Irritation was etched on her face, flushed from alcohol.

“But the story you’ve been telling so far… it’s just… a typical love story between a lowly commoner servant and a noble lady!”

“It’s not a love story.”

I said with a cold expression.

But the Captain’s reply was direct.

“Don’t bullshit me. Do you know what kind of expression you had on your face just now? It was the look of someone reminiscing about an old flame.” (TL Note: Old flame = Old lover)

Those words really grated on my nerves. I narrowed my eyes and snapped back coldly.

“…Captain, are you bored with my story? Should we just stop here?”

A look of dismay crossed the captain’s eyes, and she immediately waved her hands.

“No, no, that’s not what I…”

She awkwardly scratched her cheek, A bitter smile played on her lips.

“I was just… saying that we should skip the lovey-dovey parts…”

I looked at her and sighed.

“Well, I was just about to get to that part, so just wait a bit.”

At those words, the light instantly returned to the Captain’s eyes. Looking at her with disdain, I began speaking again.

“So… it was about a month later, maybe, when the Crystal Palace was thrown into chaos.”

“Suddenly? Why?”

I grimaced.

I could almost feel golden fragments that should have been removed when I got my prosthetic eyes, felt like it was stabbing the back of my eyeballs again.

Rubbing my eyes, I finally answered,

“Because the Pope called for Clara.”

***

The Crystal Palace was usually a very quiet place.

This was true in a physical sense, but also in terms of work.

The only job here was to serve the saint.

However, there were many priests who wanted to work here, and the saint of this era didn’t like to leave the palace.

So many people, yet so little to do.

As a result, the concept of being busy became unfamiliar to the priests here.

It got to the point that the second busiest person in the Crystal Palace was a boy who simply played with the girl all the time.

But all silence exists to be broken.

A week ago, a letter arrived from Axolotl, rendering all that a thing of the past.

A handless boy runs down the hallway, avoiding the priests, a jewelry box clutched tightly in his arms.

But the priests who passed by didn’t give him their usual hateful looks. To be precise, they didn’t have the time.

Some priests were carrying a large silk bed, their faces red with embarrassment.

Others were running somewhere with their arms full of fabric.

Some were pulling their hair out while looking at ledgers as they walked.

Various forms of hardship,

But they all served a single purpose.

Preparing for the Would-be Saint Clara’s visit to the Pope.

The boy, with the jewelry box in his arms, opened the girl’s door with his shoulder.

The girl, who had been getting dressed in intricate garments with the help of the priestesses, came into view.

Bathed in the spring sunlight streaming through the window, she looked as beautiful as an angel, but her face was twisted like a little devil’s.

The boy, panting heavily, handed the jewelry box to the girl.

“Huff… Huff… I brought it…!”

The girl roughly shook off the priestesses’ hands and took the jewelry box that the boy had brought. After opening it and looking inside, she frowned.

“This is no good… This one too… Ugh, hideous. Not you, not you either. And not you…”

The accessories that had been in the jewelry box were thrown onto the floor by the girl. Each one considered a treasure of the church.

Every time a jewel or gold ornament fell to the ground, the priestesses’ faces grew paler.

“Ah, this one is decent.”

Fortunately for the boy and the priestesses, her tantrum didn’t last long. The girl picked up a pendant with seven different jewels embedded in it and threw the entire box away.

Then, turning back to the priestesses, who looked about to faint, she opened her arms wide.

“What are you waiting for? Dress me.”

“Y-Yes…!”

“And Rem, where are you going?”

The boy, who had been about to leave the room, turned to the girl with a confused look.

“I have to go help with loading the…”

“It’s fine, just stay here.”

“But…”

“I said stay here.”

The girl glared at the boy with her red eyes.

Anger was deeply embedded in them.

The boy obediently nodded.

This was because he had learned in the past week that this was the right thing to do.

Looking at the boy, the girl muttered, grinding her teeth,

“That damned old geezer, if he was going to die, he should have just died quietly. What was he thinking, summoning me…”

Words that were too sacrilegious to even think.

The priestesses’ shoulders trembled. Some even began to shed tears.

“When the time comes for one to meet God, they become weak.”

What saved them was Bishop Ivan, who had been silent until now.

He said, in his usual gentle tone.

“Please understand, Lady Clara.”

But the girl’s sharp gaze didn’t soften.

“To begin with, why is the Pope holed up in some northern backwater village instead of the Vatican?”

“…He said that there were some last things he needed to do, but even I don’t know the details. But it must be something important.”

The girl’s face twisted in anger.

“So, he thinks he can just summon anyone he wants? If he wanted to see me before he kicks the bucket, he should have come here.”

Then, as if a good idea had suddenly occurred to her, the girl’s eyes widened. She looked at Ivan hopefully and said,

“Ivan, now that I think about it, shouldn’t it be the other way around? Didn’t you say that a saint is above the Pope? Let’s tell that old geezer to come here, huh?”

At those words, for the first time, a bitter smile appeared on Ivan’s face.

“Lady Clara, I apologize, but you’re not a saint yet. You’re still the ‘would-be saint’.”

“It’s practically the same thing! Once I have my canonization ceremony…”

“Meaning the Pope can excommunicate you.”

At those words, the girl’s mouth clamped shut. Ivan closed his eyes and continued speaking.

“And it’s not like it’s never happened before.”

The would-be saint, Gleia.

The first and only saint who wasn’t canonized.

Out of compassion, she made the mistake of teaching holy magic to beggars. And for that sin, she was blinded and killed.

The girl chewed on her lip, remembering that story. Then, in a defeated voice, she said,

“…Fine, I’ll go. I’ll go.”

Then she tried to calm her anger.

…

Right, I’m just going for a little while.

All I have to do is go see that geezer and smile.

And maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought. I’ll have plenty of time afterwards.

She could spend that time with the boy, walking around Axolotl.

Thinking that, the girl felt a smile creep onto her face.

Right, it’s not like I’m going to see some old geezer. I’m going on a trip with the boy.

Now that she thought about it, she’d never been anywhere with the boy before.

…Right, a trip like that was something she could look forward to.

The girl smiled and started thinking about what she would do with the boy in the carriage.

…

…

…

Yeah, that’s right.

She was having such happy thoughts.

So, just what the hell was happening in front of her now?

*Splat-*

Red liquid splattered on the girl’s face, creating a pointillist painting.

Her eyes widened as if they were about to tear, but she couldn’t understand what she was seeing.

It was as if each element was simply seeping into her vision, one by one, like a paper soaking up water.

The sky, bathed in the light of the setting sun.

The edge of the forest, darkening.

A holy knight, pulling out his sword from a chest.

And then, collapsing to the ground, blood splattering everywhere,

The boy whom she cherished and loved.

“Rem…?”