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Chapter 96
“This is how it turns out.”
The man chuckled softly, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Our little lady really is a singularity. She keeps creating unexpected situations.”
At some point, the melody began to resonate, shaking the domain. With a clear, refreshing tone, all the corruption I had caused vanished.
Even though my plan had completely failed, the man didn’t seem displeased at all.
Well, that had been the case from the very beginning.
When we first met, his delicate body looked as if it would die without even a breath if touched the wrong way. Yet, when he gazed up at me with those clear eyes, I felt no trace of malice.
At the time, I simply thought he was… unusual.
“A melody that washes away deception.”
Any magician who knew about this talent would go mad with envy.
Moreover, the level of the ability being displayed seemed exceptionally high. Even weakened during the territory battle, it had erased my power in an instant.
For a moment, I was tempted to go back and kidnap him.
“Eventually, you’ve come all the way here.”
If it weren’t for that voice shaking my thoughts, I would’ve turned back and done just that.
“So, what kind of audacious fool dares to soil my domain—”
In the deepest part of the otherworldly domain of sloth, Natae appeared, covering his face with a fan in a space modeled after the imperial palace’s sanctuary.
“So, it was a familiar face.”
“You didn’t come to meet me.”
“Why would I greet a rude intruder?”
“Still, I didn’t expect such active interference. I thought ‘Sleeping Sloth’ wouldn’t care about things like this, as if it were an adjective.”
“Arrogant.”
A laugh escaped from behind the fan.
“You dared to judge me at your own whim. Truly arrogant. But you were right.”
If it had been someone else, he probably wouldn’t have paid any attention.
“Coincidentally, both are mortals with ties to me.”
Natae hid his delight poorly as he folded the fan and leaned it against his cheek.
“Both are quite cute.”
One wasn’t exactly the type to call cute, but Feshion was genuinely adorable, and Natae’s lips curved into a pleased smile.
Her long, red hair and delicate curves were revealed under the faint light. Her appearance could captivate anyone, yet the man remained indifferent.
“You really liked her, huh.”
“Without some pleasures like this, wouldn’t a long life be tedious?”
“You’d still be bored even with them.”
Natae gave a crooked smile.
“So, what’s the reason you caused such chaos just to meet me?”
“A deal?”
“Oh.”
His violet eyes narrowed.
“You don’t make deals with just anyone.”
“You’d think differently if you actually heard it.”
“What scheme are you plotting?”
“Our goals are similar anyway, right? You want dragon-slaying. I—”
“Hunting magicians.”
His words were cut off by a seductive voice, as if he already knew the purpose.
“Cheyan.”
“……”
“Do you still hate the star?”
His golden eyes, shining like stars, curved beautifully.
“Planning to destroy the world too?”
“Even if I were asked to do something that boring, I wouldn’t.”
The man gave a blank smile with a bored look in his eyes.
“Even if the world ends, we wouldn’t die, would we?”
Because they were immortals.
Natae glared at the man with a sly smile, wondering if it would have been more fun if they shared the world’s fate.
“Indeed, this is fascinating. I wonder what you’ll say all of a sudden. Go on, speak.”
Ziiiing—
Feshion’s gaze swept over Arelline’s profile.
Though much was hidden in backlight, he could see her soft, plump cheeks, tender lips, and even the long eyelashes drooping gracefully.
Nothing failed to leave an impression.
Even though the most radiant eyes weren’t looking at him.
Under the night sky, where stars seemed about to fall, he remembered Arelline looking at him with tearful eyes, as if she might cry at any moment.
Just a few hours ago.
Arelline had looked at him as if he were the only one in the world.
Now Feshion understood. Arelline liked him, genuinely liked him.
And that was… wonderful.
It should have been wonderful.
So why was he restless, thirsting even more, his throat dry with longing?
From the start, the affection had been uneven, and Feshion had known it.
Such a tender misalignment.
The anxiety and premonition that this unrequited love might never come to fruition gnawed at him, silently, without a word.
Still… he was happy.
He had come to the otherworld seeking Arelline, even making choices he should never make as the Crown Prince.
A mortal entwined with an immortal’s life would inevitably be unhappy.
Being deeply involved with someone from a different timeline was always like this.
Hence, the House of Alermann never contacted immortals even after ascending to the throne.
All those outside human existence were the responsibility of Halbern.
Yet, there were no regrets.
Why?
Because he had taken the hand of Arelline, who had curled up alone in the darkness.
Because he had lifted Arelline, who seemed on the verge of collapse.
Would that make him an unfit Crown Prince?
The elegant melody pierced his heart.
The feelings he hadn’t even realized he had grew steadily, now too vast to contain.
The carefully piled emotions unraveled and overflowed.
“Arelline.”
I can no longer imagine a world without you.
The entire world is you.
Only you, you alone.
Can one feel such overwhelming affection for someone? Can a feeling truly surpass everything else?
With his short life and limited experience, he couldn’t know the answer, yet Feshion knew this wasn’t normal.
He felt as if he might suffocate, lost alone in this distant sea of emotion.
Reason urged him to stop this feeling, yet another part of his reason argued that if he could have stopped it, he would have already done so.
He wanted to cry.
Because the sweet, loving melody was beautiful.
Because you, playing it, were too beautiful.
Because you were too far away.
Though so close, you still felt so distant.
Amid the breaking background, the thin streams of light illuminated Arelline. Flushed and beautiful, she smiled.
The light scattered into fragments.
As the sole witness and observer of this scene, Feshion felt a premonition.
He would regret this moment someday.
The fading melody still lingered in his ears.
There were no thunderous applause, but the warmth remaining in his hands left a lasting impression.
All the old wounds he had thought would never heal.
All the things he had loved and hated so intensely, all the things he had wanted yet assumed he could never have, ultimately giving up on them.
Once, he had thought he’d never escape that shadow.
“Ah…”
After finishing the performance, a wave of embarrassment swept over him. He suddenly felt small and insignificant.
He felt as if he had unwittingly exposed his deepest, most private self to Feshion.
Yet he felt it was alright.
Because the other was Feshion.
“-Arelline.”
She smiled at their meeting gaze.
A miracle made possible thanks to your unwavering self.
With a relieved heart, she looked at the Guarneri still in her hand.
Her friend who had shared all her pain, glory, sadness, and suffering.
“Thank you.”
Thank you for sharing countless moments of my life that had otherwise been lost.
“Farewell.”
Paah—
With a brief farewell, the Guarneri vanished into light.
As if dawn were breaking, the darkness lifted and the surroundings brightened.
“Now, let’s really go back.”
