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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: A Voice from the Past
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“……”
I was at a loss for words.
It sounded more like they just wanted him to die, didn’t it?
Why is he still alive?!
For someone who was taken out in one fell swoop by the male lead in , his survival skills were astounding.
“And when Del-nim ascended…”
“You can just say I died.”
It’s not like I remember it anyway.
The corners of Cheshire’s mouth drooped sullenly.
“...I also passed on the prophecy to your adopted son that you would be reincarnated.”
Only then did I give Cheshire a new, appraising look.
“You know Rose?”
“Yes. I was going to look after him until you were reincarnated, but he seemed to hate me. By the way, what brings you to the marquisate? Don’t tell me you came all this way to collect me yourself?”
A hint of excitement colored Cheshire’s voice.
I tilted my head.
“You don’t know why I’m here? Are you sure you’re an information broker?”
“I have no interest in any information that isn’t related to you, Del-nim. I throw it all away without even looking. My trash can is overflowing.”
“……”
“What are your plans for the future? Overthrowing the empire’s religion? World domination?”
“Neither of those…”
I wore a look of bewilderment, and Cheshire, one of confusion.
Just then, Cesar knocked on the wall from downstairs.
We had taken too much time.
I held out my hand to Cheshire.
“Give me the artifact I mentioned earlier.”
Cheshire immediately gathered all the artifacts.
Then he poured out a cascade of jewels before me.
“Take them all! And take me, too, as a bonus!”
Ignoring Cheshire’s cry, I picked up the most worn-out ring.
“Is this an artifact, too? I think I’ll get tetanus from this.”
Cheshire launched into a lengthy explanation.
“It’s the best one I have. It’s imbued with the natural power of recovery, on a completely different level from that bastard god’s shoddy divine power. I scraped and clawed to gather these, but if you’ll use it, Del-nim, I won’t regret a thing!”
I pocketed the ring and stood up.
Taking that as a sign of acceptance, Cheshire spoke with excitement.
“Should I pack my things, too? To be honest, I was never very fond of the marquisate.”
In a flash, Cheshire was holding a suitcase.
He was already thoroughly drunk, yet the suitcase was also filled to the brim with alcohol.
I wondered if the empire had treatment facilities for alcoholism as I opened my mouth to speak.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me right now.”
“W-Why not?”
Cheshire’s eyes trembled violently.
The way he persistently called me Del-nim was bothering me, so I told him the truth.
“I have no memory of my time as Del. I came to make a deal because I need an artifact. I don’t even know who you are.”
“We can get to know each other starting now!”
Cheshire immediately retorted, then paused.
“But wait a moment. Then you don’t remember Jaehae-nim either?”
Huh?
My thoughts naturally drifted to Kivrin.
The color drained from Cheshire’s face.
He threw his suitcase aside and grabbed my shoulders.
“How could you get married without any memories! Divorce that human shield right now!”
The human shield you’re talking about is Kivrin, and he’s Jaehae… Ugh, I’m getting dizzy!
Revealing my identity was one thing, but revealing Kivrin’s was another, so I stayed silent as Cheshire shook me back and forth.
“You can forget me, but you can’t forget Jaehae-nim! You liked him so much! When you said you were considering marriage after knowing him for just one day, I thought you had really lost your mind!”
To hear someone like Cheshire talk about *my* sanity was absurd.
Cheshire brought over a jeweled ring and a flower that was still fresh despite the winter season and pressed them into my hand.
“This is a famous engagement ring, you see? You must make up with Jaehae-nim! I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire, so I’ll come find you after that. And take this, too… and this… and this…”
Cheshire hung seven necklaces around my neck.
Among them was the one Sabrina had wanted.
I gave him a suspicious look.
“You were acting like you’d follow me this instant. What’s with the change of heart?”
Cheshire, his drunkenness seemingly vanished, shivered.
“Jaehae-nim is terrifying. If his opponent isn’t you, Del-nim, he starts by either beating them up or killing them. Besides, he’s incredibly jealous. He’ll lose his mind when he hears you got married. No, wait. I think he might have already lost it a long time ago?”
“……”
My lips parted, but Cesar knocked on the wall again.
It was really time to go, but I hesitated.
Kivrin had suggested we hold off on undoing the sealing spell because we didn’t know what Del had experienced just before she died.
If Cheshire knew Jaehae, might he also know how Del died?
“Hey, do you know why Del died?”
For a moment, Cheshire’s eyes darkened.
“Just a moment.”
He took a bottle of liquor from a display case.
After chugging it down, he seemed to decide it wasn’t enough and said.
“I’ll tell you after I have one more bottle.”
“I’m sorry! I won’t ask, so please stop drinking!”
He’d called it an ‘ascension,’ so I thought the rumors about her going mad and dying were false!
I tried to stop Cheshire.
He looked down at me, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion.
“Just asking, but are you pulling on me right now? Why are you so weak?”
“……”
This guy is kind of annoying…
Cheshire slumped to the floor.
Now at eye level with me, he grinned, his face relaxed.
“You’re really Del-nim, right?”
“I am.”
Cheshire muttered.
“Don’t die this time.”
“……”
“Back then, too… I thought you were finally going to live happily… *hic*…”
Suddenly, Cheshire began to sob.
I have no idea how to deal with him!
I bet he gave Del just as much trouble as Rose did.
Reeking of alcohol, Cheshire’s body began to sway.
“Whoa.”
I quickly reached out.
But with my pathetic strength, supporting Cheshire was impossible.
In the end, he crashed to the floor with a thud.
“Cheshire? Are you okay?”
Fortunately, his breathing was steady.
I tried tugging on his clothes.
He didn’t budge.
With no other choice, I called for Cesar.
The look on Cesar’s face as he stared down at Cheshire, sprawled on the floor, was grim.
“H-He may not look it, but he’s the owner of this place. Could you put him on the sofa?”
“...Understood.”
Cesar moved Cheshire, a bit roughly.
Without waking, Cheshire curled up pitifully on the sofa.
“He may look young, but he has a considerable presence. He does not seem to be an ordinary jeweler.”
“Does he seem dangerous?”
Cesar shook his head.
“He has let his guard down completely. You could stab him with a knife right now and he wouldn’t know.”
“……”
“You are welcome to test it.”
Though they hadn’t exchanged a single word, it seemed he had already taken a disliking to Cheshire.
I tried to salvage Cheshire’s image on his behalf.
“He may be drunk, but he was nice to me.”
“Was he nice to you *because* he was drunk?”
“W-Well…”
Somehow, I think his image just got worse.
I shut my mouth before Cesar actually tried to stab Cheshire. Then I found a blanket and covered Cheshire with it.
For someone who owned so many precious things, he didn’t have a single decent blanket.
Was Cheshire really Del’s confidant?
I had hoped this would be our first and last meeting, but it seemed I would have to see him again.
I left a simple note for Cheshire to see when he woke up, then left the jewelry shop.
* * *
Cheshire thought of the distant past.
Del-nim had always been alone.
Perhaps that was why she was so fond of picking up abandoned things.
Like the avian she adopted as her son, or himself.
In his era, the land was small, and the people were too many.
There was no way they would look kindly upon Del-nim, who monopolized a vast territory.
Soon, rumors spread far and wide that a large-scale subjugation force was being formed to dispose of Del-nim.
Cheshire had suggested they wipe out the subjugation force, and all humans hostile to Del-nim.
But instead, Del-nim had banished him from her territory.
—Cool your head.
She had said.
“……”
Cheshire rubbed his bloodshot eyes.
When he returned, Del-nim was no longer there.
People swarmed like bees, waging war to claim Del-nim’s land.
As he sorted through Del-nim’s belongings, he muttered to himself.
—Should I die, too…
As if she had anticipated his thoughts, a prophecy had been left behind.
It said that if he waited for a very long time, Del-nim would return.
It was a single thread of hope.
—I have to live, then.
Cheshire packed his belongings to move.
His hometown was in a festive mood, planning to migrate to the vast, newly available land.
—Where are you going?
To a villager’s question, he answered simply.
—To hibernate.
The villager looked at him as if he were spouting nonsense and said.
—Get yourself together and come back soon. And whatever you do, don’t let anyone know you were acquainted with Del.
—Call her the august and noble Del-nim, the strongest in the world, you insolent bastard.
—...You’ll get yourself subjugated, too, if you talk like that.
