-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Plans and Confessions
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No one could have refused him.
As if under a spell, I nodded.
And so, we ended up riding back to the estate in the same carriage.
It wasn’t until I was back in my private theater that I realized just how serious the situation was.
Darcy and I had watched the play together in a private booth, spent the entire day side-by-side, and ultimately returned together. We were even now alone in the same room.
Good heavens, there must be hundreds of people wondering what was going on between us.
And my companion was none other than the Prince, who had only recently appeared. Every single one of his actions would draw people’s attention.
…Darcy seemed completely unaware of this. I supposed it was the aftereffect of being cut off from people for so long.
One of us should have had their wits about them.
I silently admonished myself and took a deep breath.
“Darcy. There’s something I need to warn you about.”
“What is it?”
Darcy asked, tilting his head. I answered seriously.
“Because of what happened today, rumors might start to spread about us.”
“…Hmm.”
“They might even say we’re engaged or getting married… High society loves its gossip, you see.”
In other words, our marriage prospects are practically nonexistent for now.
I swallowed the rest of my thought and looked at Darcy with an awkward expression.
To be honest, I wasn’t that disappointed. I’d never been particularly interested in other people anyway.
…And being linked with Darcy wasn’t an entirely unpleasant thought.
*I must like Darcy more than I realized,* I thought. I might even be starting to see him as more than a friend.
But for now, I was comfortable with how things were. Above all, Darcy considered me his first friend. As long as I didn’t know the depth or definition of his feelings for me, I couldn’t make any rash moves.
Darcy shrugged.
“It’s fine. They’re just people who don’t matter.”
Then, he glanced at me sideways.
“If anything, you seem to be the one who dislikes it. Do you hate being associated with me that much, Marso?”
“No, of course not.”
The denial flew out of my mouth, and he smiled in satisfaction.
“Same here.”
…I am the first person he has truly interacted with.
I don’t know how far he is willing to let this go.
And it wasn’t something Darcy could answer right away, even if I asked.
While I was lost in thought, Darcy began to browse through the records one by one. It reminded me of the first time we listened to music together.
I never imagined we’d become this close back then, but now, the sight of him in my room felt as natural as if he were part of a photograph.
Darcy picked up a record and asked.
“Can I play one I like?”
“Yes.”
It didn’t matter, since all the records were music I enjoyed anyway.
Soon, the melody of a violin began to fill the room. It had a similar yet different atmosphere from the piano nocturnes we had listened to before.
Darcy’s silver hair swayed as if to the rhythm of the music, like a silken veil.
I gazed at him for a moment before lying down on my bed. The familiar ceiling made my body feel languid.
“Feeling a little better?”
Darcy whispered as he approached my side. The string instruments in the background seemed to become part of his voice, speaking along with him.
He sat on the edge of my bed and gently brushed the hair from my forehead.
“You always look most comfortable when you’re here.”
The gentle care in his touch, as if he were handling delicate porcelain, soothed my heart more than the music.
Only then did I realize it. Darcy had suggested we come here not for his sake, but for mine.
Even if I said I didn’t mind, the accumulating stress was unavoidable.
“I didn’t know you could be this thoughtful.”
“It’s because you’re the kind of person who makes me care that much.”
“I’m honored. To be someone you care so much about.”
“And I’m glad that the person who makes me care this much is you.”
I enjoyed our lighthearted banter. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so at ease talking with someone.
“By the way, weren’t you trying to hide the magic tools?”
Darcy’s question seemed to stem from what Pitol had said earlier.
*‘And I hope that one day, the world will come to know of Lady Marso’s grace, which has made our theater troupe’s infinite development possible.’*
Recalling Pitol’s words, I slowly nodded.
“That was the original plan… but I’m thinking of changing my approach. I’m considering starting a business using them.”
I intended to take what Ryan had originally dabbled in and make it completely my own.
“A business with magic tools?”
Darcy, not yet understanding my story, furrowed his brow. I nodded.
“Yes. The cost is astronomical, but I’ll start by leasing them… Later, I was thinking I could bring in other mages and sign contracts with them.”
Darcy was quieter than I expected. His smile had vanished, and his expression was surprisingly hard to read.
I watched his eyes as I continued to speak softly.
“First, I’ll have to meet with the mages… and I’ll need to offer them acceptable terms. But I believe this will be a successful venture.”
“Is that how you’ll find happiness?”
Darcy said after a blink. He seemed unable to see how this business connected to my happiness.
“Yes.”
“How?”
The biggest reason was revenge against Ryan, but since Ryan hadn’t started making magic tools yet, that was out of the question for now.
And revenge wasn’t the only reason.
“I want to give the same kind of time to others who might have been in a situation similar to mine.”
I couldn’t have been the only one who had experienced this.
There must have been times when others wanted to escape from everyone. Times when they just needed to stay cooped up at home and heal.
But in the world I currently lived in, there were very few things one could do alone. Reading books and doing embroidery, perhaps?
I wanted to let them enjoy their leisure time without having to go outside.
Not only that, but I hoped they could capture and reminisce about their memories through video recordings and cameras.
I had shut myself away because I was weary of people.
But it was also people who made me want to go outside again.
Because I was hurt by people, I want revenge. And because I was comforted by people, I want to help those who have experienced the same feelings as me.
Of course, that included the mages.
“Yes. I think I’ll be happier then.”
Since it hadn’t happened yet, I couldn’t be completely certain myself.
But this was the conclusion I had reached for now. And I decided to trust it and move forward.
The corners of Darcy’s mouth, who had been listening to me in silence, trembled slightly. I wasn’t sure why.
“…It seems there will be many hurdles to overcome to achieve that.”
Darcy said, his voice somewhat lower.
“And it seems there are things you’ll need to hear about my past before that.”
I was surprised by the sudden shift in atmosphere, but I figured he must have his reasons.
“This might be a rather long story. Is it okay if I lie down next to you?”
This was likely a story he hadn’t easily told others. More than anything, I wanted to see his expression as he spoke.
His voice alone wasn’t enough for me to properly gauge the emotions he was feeling.
“Alright.”
He sat beside me, then lay down at a slight distance.
We faced each other, just as we had on the day we first listened to music together. As he lay on his side, his hair spilled around him.
Our different colored strands of hair spread out like tangled threads. As if we had been together from the very beginning.
And so, Darcy’s story began.
***
Just as Ryan had thought, Emperor Kies was in the imperial palace. It was surprising how easy he was to find.
He was locked away in the very bottom of the palace’s underground prison.
Whether this was Darcy’s intention or his arrogance was impossible to know.
In any case, now that he had found the Emperor, Ryan had to discuss a plan with him to overcome the current situation.
Ryan ran a hand through his hair, annoyed at how things had turned out.
*‘If you had handled things properly.’*
Then none of this would have happened.
Clenching his jaw, Ryan moistened Kies’s lips with the water he had brought. With a coughing sound, Kies opened his eyes.
“Your Majesty. No, Father.”
Ryan deliberately switched between titles to remind Kies that he was his true son.
“You must deal with that bastard.”
Even without saying a name, they both knew who they were talking about.
Kies let out a thin breath, his mind racing.
It was driving him mad not knowing the extent of the brainwashing. There were inherent risks in mind control, so Darcy couldn't have done everything, but…
For now, he had to try.
“I can’t do it alone. There is an imperial treasure that can break the brainwashing. We must find it.”
“With that alone, we can be immune to the brainwashing?”
“Yes.”
There aren’t many mages who can use brainwashing as their primary ability. When Darcy’s birth mother was alive, he had kept it with him constantly, but he had let his guard down after her death. It had been his downfall.
He was going to kill Darcy anyway.
He couldn't do this alone. He needed an accomplice.
“To bring him down, it would be best to create a weapon similar to the one he used. Preferably, something even better.”
He didn’t know where Darcy had come up with such a brilliant idea, but a good idea was meant to be used.
“And…”
Kies paused for a moment before continuing.
“We make a deal with the house of Marquis Epekel.”
“…The house of Marquis Epekel, you say?”
Ryan was surprised by the name of a family he hadn't considered. Kies nodded.
“If I present the terms I have in mind, they won’t refuse. The Marquis is in constant need of magic stones.”
Kies’s eyes glinted wildly as he laughed aloud.
He needed more magic stones despite owning a mine? Ryan couldn’t understand.
“What do you mean by that…?”
Kies’s laughter stopped abruptly as he looked at Ryan, and he muttered in a low voice.
“Because if things continue like this, the magic stones will be completely depleted.”
