Chapter 116
Selina and Kalcion held their breath at the same time.
She couldn’t even imagine that there would be such a thing. Kalcion, of course, thought it was a murder, so he thought there wasn’t, and Selina didn’t mention it.
It was wildly unexpected that someone might have stolen it and hidden it.
Selina glanced back at him, wondering if he might have forgotten, but he shook his head like he had never heard of it, too. She then slowly inhaled and exhaled her breath. Kalcion was slow, like someone who had been beaten. It was clear that his mind was also a mess occupied by the surprise.
It was the same with Selina though it was time to question the truth. She uttered more sternly, squinting her eyes at Juna.
“Aren’t you trying to save your life right now? You can’t even read. How do you know it’s a will?”
“I heard orders to look for it after Lady Irell is dead! It must have fallen in the wind and got under the bed, so I found it later!”
If Irell had told her to find it right after she died, it would have clearly been a will.
“But, why do you have it?”
“Thinking about it, I could stay silent, yet I had it because I thought I could use it at that time. I told Miss Lirell that I didn’t have it.
It had not been confirmed whether it was a real will or just a letter or memo. However, given the circumstances, it was highly likely that it was a will, just as Juna had said.
“They made a fuss when they said they couldn’t find it, that it shouldn’t happen, that it would be a real big deal if it were found later, and that everyone would die! It is definitely right!”
Selina gave no answer, so Juna seemed impatient and poured out words.
“…I’ll trust you for now.”
“You must trust me, not just for now! With this letter, Lady Selina could become the Queen of society!”
Juna, oblivious to the circumstances, fussed, but none of it reached Selina’s ears. Her eyes were staggering, and it was difficult to keep herself centered.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
She even thought she had deceived him, though not in Kalcion’s eyes.
He didn’t miss even the slightest stagger, even after hearing her reply that she was okay, a firm hand wrapped around her waist.
Selina rested comfortably on his arm. She felt more secure than when she was standing alone. She pretended nothing was wrong, even placing the bodyguards at the door as surveillance and telling the passing maids to send anything they didn’t want to do to the closet.
The maids, who had been bothered by the usually arrogant Juna, would pamper themselves to their heart’s content instead of Selina.
Unable to bear the time to return to her room, Selina asked out of the blue.
“Is it a real will?”
She pretended it was not a big deal, but the words that came out of her mouth made a huge impact that would shake their relationship.
“Since she can’t read, she might have stolen the wrong papers.”
It could be.
“Still, what if it’s a real will?”
The very existence of the will completely destroy Kalcion’s claim that it was a murder. Why would she leave a will if she was not to be executed? ‘Suicide’ becomes the correct answer, except for the rather far-fetched guess that she was left alive…
They only need to confirm the words of the will as the reason why she committed suicide. The reason for the death and the person who drove it could be found at once. Kalcion’s reason to keep his contract with Selina was gone.
As long as it was a real will, the case investigation was completely closed.
The end suddenly flew right in front of her eyes without warning. The end of the case was the termination of the contract… That meant that her love affair with Kalcion was also over.
Her heart shook.
“…The first thing to do is to check. You can’t jump to conclusions about anything.”
Kalcion was right.
The first thing to do was to check if there was a will, and if there was, whether it was correct. It was a grace period until she got her hands on it. If the will were fake or could not be found, the contract would be extended. In preparation for that time, they would have to maintain this state for a while.
The strength drained from her shoulder, where she had put so much tension. Her white, hardened head also began to work again.
“Then, are you going to send Juna first to find the will?”
Kalcion shook his head.
“I think it’s best from our side. It’s okay to disperse the troops to do tracking work in the city though it will take more troops to go up to Renbird. It is safer to travel together.”
“So, am I going back?”
“I can’t leave you alone here.”
…To come back.
Even though she expected the matter to be over soon, she was also returning faster than expected.
“…Going back.”
To Renbird, and soon to the original world… the day she was going back was, in fact, far off.
‘Someday.’
There was a difference between going back “someday” and going back “right now.”
She didn’t know that someday would come so soon. The night view of Renbird and the festival of Renbird, which she would see ‘someday,’ could be seen for real. She wondered if Kalcion understood that, too. He just nodded his head quietly, not much different from his usual expression.
“It’s faster than I thought, so I’m a bit surprised.”
For Kalcion, sending Selina would be more laborious and troublesome. To give her a few pennies and set her up to live well, it would be easy.
“When the whole incident is revealed… revenge is my job.”
Selina had nothing to do with it.
As she had decided at the beginning, Selina’s place, even after the matter was coming to an end, was to ‘dive into the social world and gather information.’
Neither the position of Kalcion’s lover nor the bed they shared every night could become Selina’s ‘place.’
‘…Isn’t that what I wanted?’
Just doing clean work and returning to the original world without messy feelings. She had to jump all over the place for joy. Still, it felt rather heavy, as if a weight had been put on her heart.
Selina pressed hard against her chest. Like a pit clumped up together in her body, making her stomach upset. If she vomited, she would feel refreshed, but there was nothing inside her, and she felt frustrated.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“…I must have been a bit nervous earlier. I feel uncomfortable.”
“Shall we go for a walk?”
The cool breeze might cool her down a bit.
Selina grabbed Kalcion’s arm and walked down the street leading out of the building. The corridors she had never paid attention to because she always saw them pass by were densely engraved in her eyes.
To return to Renbird soon, and if she returned to her original world, this would be her last memory. She thought every moment that this was not her own world, yet when it was time for her to let go, her fists, which she had already clenched with all her strength, could not straighten.
“Are there people at the training ground right now?”
“I guess it’s time for a break.”
“Then, can I take a look around?”
She wished to see once more the places where she had spent so much time.
It seemed that she had been putting her feelings down one by one at some point in the training ground, where she rolled around every morning without even realizing it. If she didn’t pick up that heart again, it seemed that she would have to take a heavy step back to her original world.
Kalcion did not ask for a specific reason and went there obediently.
It was a place she always goes though it was new as she was in a different mood. He walked quietly without saying anything.
Selina ran her fingers through the crevices between his muscles that she could feel underneath his clothes. Even Kalcion’s hard forearm that touches her fingertips could now be touched to her heart’s content without tension.
There were times when she feared that this forearm might break her own neck.
The familiar light movement. She had already clung to it and dug in, not knowing when it came. Perhaps on purpose, their pace was languid today. It was about one step per breath.
As she thought if perhaps the road to the training ground had been this far, he started talking to her.
“What kind of world do you live in?”
“If you suddenly ask me that… Well. What should I answer first?”
“Anything. Whatever comes to mind.”
“Why are you curious about that? You’ve never asked that question before.”
“Because you miss it so much and yearn to go back. I want to know what is there and how it is different from here.”
Selina realized it belatedly from Kalcion’s words.
Did she really want to go back?
No… She had never indicated that she wanted to go back. She was just always thinking of the day she would return.
What if Kalcion thought of it as ‘counting the day to return’?
He wouldn’t have thought of staying here in the first place. He would only think of sending her back one day. Although it was not a distance that she could run for a few days, a place so far that she didn’t know if she could go back or not… A place where once she returns, they will never see each other again.
Not being able to see each other again, like death.
A fool who gave affection to a person who was about to die was not common… The mind was as precious as money. Don’t recklessly invest in someone whom you couldn’t get it back once you gave it away…
…It was a better thing for each other.
At least, it would hurt less.
“There and here… Well. Surprisingly, things like climate are similar.”
Selina deliberately raised a bright voice.
“Um.”
“Instead, things like trees and flowers have slightly different appearances. Roses don’t have saw blades like this, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a purple lily.”
She just said whatever caught her eye as she looked at the landscaping that was decorated on the way, but Kalcion, as soon as he heard her words, decapitated the purple lily.
“Take it.”
“Are you already packing what I need to bring?”
“Since you might miss… the time you spent here.”