episode_0057

In front of the fountain in the park.

Alice, who went out on a date with Arthur, was sitting on a bench with her mouth open.

Soo-ok!

Well well.

Alice looked around at the other people around her while eating the cherry tomatoes that were coming into her mouth as if she had been waiting for them.

There were a few couples like Arthur and himself, but most of them seemed to be out for a walk.

Most of those women looked at Alice with jealousy.

All Alice did was sit and eat the tomatoes, but in their eyes, Arthur who was acting cute and putting the tomatoes in for them was more noticeable.

“I feel like I’m in a bad mood since the morning..”

Some women passed by, swearing to themselves.

When Alice heard this, she wasn’t particularly offended by the insult. Rather, she felt a sense of superiority when she felt that others were jealous.

And Alice also intended to do this and brought Arthur out.

Arthur’s black hair was rare, so he was already quite noticeable, but his appearance was also quite striking: snow-white skin, a sculpted face, a sharp nose, and lastly, he had beautiful eyes like black pearls.

It was a face that any woman would find attractive.

And Alice liked to feel superior by showing off that she owned such an Arthur.

Of course, Arthur didn’t know what he looked like, and he didn’t care. He just looked at Alice with eyes filled with love, and whenever he saw her mouth empty, he put a tomato in it.

Well well.

Huh? Who is that woman, looking at Arthur with those dirty eyes?

Alice sent a murderous glare straight at Arthur, directed at the woman.

“Eek!!”

Then the woman who had been looking at Arthur got scared and ran away.

Well well…

How dare a woman who doesn’t even know the subject look at Arthur like that?

Alice was inwardly very angry.

Because this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened, and the duplicity was disgusting.

When Arthur was young, there were some girls who bullied him.

They were all the same women who had been bullying Arthur for being an orphan and for being physically disabled. As time passed, they noticed Arthur’s appearance and blushed and apologized for the past. Infuriated, Alice couldn’t help but punch those women in the thick cheeks.

Same age, same type. Bitches who are driven by sexual desire just by Arthur’s appearance and look at him with dirty eyes.

Of course, even Aris, who thinks like this, was no different from the women she detested in recent actions, and in fact, it was even worse.

I’ve already come so far that I don’t even realize what I’m doing wrong. Maybe I know it but I’m just ignoring it.

Anyway, the only thing that’s fortunate is that what I’m doing now is nearing its end.

Because Alice had the thought of seeing Arthur getting angry at her for the last time, she decided to stop what she was doing.

However, Arthur continued to not show the desired response, so it became necessary to do it every day.

If the desired reaction had been shown immediately, it would have been stopped a long time ago.

maybe.

And not only that, the illusion of being in complete control of the situation and the sense of depravity and joy she felt from doing things at night slowly addicted Alice.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like my thoughts have become so strange that I feel like I’m not myself anymore.

I think it started like this one day, as if it was being eaten away.

Every day, Alice felt her instincts ringing the alarm, but well…

I told you not to do it..?

But you know… there’s really no reason not to do it, right…?

And it’s all your fault that I ended up like this, Arthur.

You made me like this.

You made me unhappy.

You’re slowly killing me.

So, I’ll make you feel the same way as I do.

… … …

Arthur, who was putting a tomato in Alice’s mouth, suddenly froze at Alice’s cold gaze.

no way..?

As far as Arthur could think, there was only one reason why Alice would suddenly become angry.

“Aris..? Did the tomatoes go bad?”

Arthur fidgeted, wondering if he was upset because he had eaten a tasteless tomato.

Arthur felt sorry for Alice because even though he always checked the fruit before buying it, he could have accidentally bought a spoiled one.

And fortunately, Arthur’s eccentric behavior seemed to have calmed down her anger easily, so Alice answered while patting Arthur’s head with a “whoosh” sound.

“No. I just had a bad thought..”

Alice said vaguely.

Alice doesn’t show herself like this in front of me very often… Could something be wrong?

Arthur couldn’t hide his worry.

“Today is a good day, don’t worry about anything.”

“Okay..”

“Then I’ll go to the magic tool shop, so follow me.”

After speaking, Alice, who had gotten up first, started walking ahead.

“I have to distinguish between night and day… but it’s getting harder and harder to hold back these days.”

Alice muttered softly to herself, and Arthur, who was chasing after Alice, did not hear her.

… … …

“I’ll be staying for a bit, so you go check out the magic items over there.”

After hearing what Alice said, Arthur asked if they could stay together, but Alice said that the things they were going to buy were important to keep secret, and sent Arthur to another corner.

“Huh! Trying to buy something weird again!”

Although Aris always emphasized saving money to herself, Arthur saw her as no different from a hypocrite. I don’t know what she buys, but the one who comes to the magic tool shop the most is Aris.

“I should start spending extravagance from today!”

Of course, the money Arthur had was not money he had earned himself, but money he had saved from the allowance he received from Alice.

Anyway, to relieve the gloomy feeling he was feeling, Arthur walked around the store.

And then I discovered an accessories display case in a corner.

Arthur’s eyes were drawn to various jewels, ornate patterns, and accessories with unique shapes.

Arthur observed them with sparkling eyes.

“Are you interested? It’s a popular item these days!”

At that moment, Arthur heard the voice of a man who seemed to be a clerk next to him, and when he looked in the direction the man was pointing, a set of rings caught his eye.

Rose gold colored ring.

There were also small gems embedded in it, but they were colorless, like glass.

“This is what’s coming up among couples these days…”

The man felt that Arthur was interested and began to describe the item, and Arthur, listening to him, also became interested.

But since we’re already living together, wouldn’t it be better to couple up with Alice?

The only accessory he had ever worn in his life was a necklace that Hilda had left behind as a keepsake. Arthur had been worried about whether or not the flashy accessories would suit him, but the couple ring the man recommended seemed relatively decent.

Now that I think about it… I don’t think I’ve ever given Alice a proper gift, but I’m going to take this opportunity to buy her a couple ring and give it to her!

“But… the gem on the ring looks too plain. Do you have any other colors?”

At Arthur’s words, the man opened his mouth and showed a rectangular metal plate about the size of a small coin.

“Hehehe, actually, there’s a big secret to this ring. You can color the gems with this item!”

“Really? Then I get to choose the color I want?”

“No! To explain in detail… The name of this item is Dyingpan, and when two people’s mana is injected into it, it mixes the mana on its own to create a color.”

“And of course, the color created that way is a one-of-a-kind color in the world!”

The man said that there may be cases where the colors appear slightly similar depending on the person, but Arthur, who was absent-minded, did not listen.

The only two rings in the world made with Alice and my mana..?

You must buy this..!

“If you put the dyeing plate that has been colored like that on the jewel part of the ring, the color will change automatically. What do you think? It’s simple and nice, and it’s so romantic, right? And if you buy it now, you’ll get a potion as a free giftㅡ”

“I’ll buy it.”

“Yes..?”

“Please hurry up and give it to me.”

Arthur, who had already made up his mind to buy it, urged the clerk, and although his hands were trembling at the higher-than-expected price, he paid the money while thinking about Alice’s happy face when she received the gift.

It’s money I’ve been saving for months, but… it’s a gift for Alice…!

Hehe, I’ll keep it a secret and give it to you as a gift tomorrow. You’ll be surprised when you receive it, right?

Arthur, feeling relieved at the sight of the ring wrapped so nicely in such a small box, poured his mana into the dying board.

After that, Arthur headed to where Alice was, and after a while, Arthur was able to meet Alice.

“Aris! Here, put a little bit of mana into the item I’m giving you!”

As soon as they met, Alice felt that Arthur was ordering her around, but without thinking much about it, she injected her mana into the item Arthur gave her.

-Tak!

Arthur, who confirmed that Alice’s mana was flowing properly, immediately reached out and snatched the dying board.

“..? But what is it, Arthur?”

“Secret!”

Arthur covered his mouth with his index finger and expressed that he would never tell anyone.

But Alice, who couldn’t hold back her curiosity, grabbed Arthur’s cheeks with both hands.

“You keep it a secret knowing my personality..? Then you’ll want to know more, Arthur.”

-Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arthur’s cheeks stretched out like rice cakes under Alice’s merciless hands.

“Uuuu… Bmulaaa!!”

“If you don’t speak quickly, it will increase more?”

But Arthur shook his head and resisted, and when Alice saw tears welling up in Arthur’s eyes, she had no choice but to let go first.

“Sigh… I’m curious, but I’ll let this slide just this once.”

Alice spoke as if she had been watching him, and Arthur glared at Alice.

“Oh my… Are you mad again?”

Alice let out a snicker and took something out of her pocket.

-Click.

Arthur hung it on the necklace he was wearing.

“..?”

Arthur bent down to examine the necklace and saw a small blue gem hanging next to the red gem.

“What is this, Alice?”

“It’s a gift, Arthur. I should’ve bought it for you a long time ago… But it took longer than expected because it was custom-made, so I can only give it to you now.”

Arthur, who couldn’t understand the apologetic expression on Aris’ face as she said it was a gift, looked at her without saying anything.

“If you look closely at that jewel, there’s a small button. If you press that button with your hand, a magic will activate that sends a signal to me.”

Alice took Arthur’s hand and pressed the jewel’s button, and a blue light was seen flowing out from the simple silver bracelet on Alice’s wrist.

“Arthur.. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you while I was away, but it will never happen again. No matter where you are, if you press that button, I’ll come running to you.”

“And it’s okay to use it when nothing’s wrong. When you’re having a hard time one day, or you’re sad because of a painful memory, or you just miss me.”

“Ah, Alice..”

At this moment, Arthur fell in love with Alice once again.

I still lived in fear to the point where I would imagine that someone would suddenly kidnap me whenever I went out alone, but now that I no longer had to worry, tears flowed down my face.

Alice silently hugged Arthur and comforted him until his tears stopped.

After Arthur calmed down a bit, Alice took Arthur’s hand and headed to the dormitory.

“Aris.. I’ll just rest in my room for a bit..”

“Huh? Is that because of what you cried earlier? Don’t worry, I won’t tease you for being a crybaby.”

“Ugh… I don’t know!”

Arthur, who had pretended to need some time alone because he was embarrassed by what had just happened, was fortunately able to come to his room without Alice suspecting anything.

Arthur opened the door and went in, went straight to the desk, put the gift he had received in a corner, and took out the ring box containing the ring he had bought earlier.

I took out the dyeing board that I had obtained by giving both cheeks to Alice in exchange for coloring it, and checked what color it was.

“It’s purple.. What does this mean..?”

Arthur took out the paper that was enclosed in the ring box and was able to find the meaning of the purple color written on it.

“Purple means ‘eternal love’? Hehe, well, Alice and I won’t be apart until we die!”

Arthur, feeling better, hummed a tune as he brought the dyeing board to color the gems on the rings, and succeeded in dyeing the gems on both rings purple.

“It’s so pretty.. After giving it as a gift tomorrow, I’ll put it on Aris’ hand and ask Aris to put mine on!”

Arthur was worried that if he just gave her a gift, she might not be impressed, so he thought he should write her a letter and give it to her as well.

I took out a piece of stationery from the drawer and wrote down the contents.

Although it is embarrassing, it is full of content expressing his true feelings of love for Alice.

“I bet Aris likes it. I wonder what her reaction will be tomorrow!”

Arthur folded the letter and put it in a ring box that he was going to give to Alice, then hid it deep in a drawer in case Alice saw it.

I headed to Alice’s room with light steps.

Arthur, who arrived at Alice’s room like that, spent his time talking and joking with Alice as usual.

Arthur, who felt that the time was approaching, practiced mana training in front of Alice as if it were a natural thing.

Hehehe! Wouldn’t it be better to give the gift tomorrow evening to create some atmosphere?

I wish tomorrow would come quickly..!

Arthur felt that today was a perfect and happy day.

I waited for tomorrow to come quickly, and tried to surrender to my heavy eyelids as they tried to recover their mana.

If only I hadn’t heard Alice’s voice.

“Arthur, I’m sorry.”

Huh..? Why are you suddenly sorry..?

“It’s your fault for loving me too much. I never thought it would go this far..”

Arthur tried to respond to Alice’s incomprehensible words, but his mouth wouldn’t move at all.

“Don’t worry too much, you won’t remember anything tomorrow morning anyway.”

Alice’s face, as if looking at an interesting toy through her half-closed eyes, came into view.

“Arthur, one piece of advice: Don’t hold out too long. I won’t stop until you feel the same way I do.”

Eyes that can no longer open and a mind that sinks into the abyss.

Until the last moment, Arthur could not understand anything Alice said.