Chapter 192:
Reed took out the item he had cautiously kept in his pocket and knelt down.
Phoebe's eyes widened.
Her feet stepped back, and her body slowly moved away from Reed.
Confused by her reaction, Reed asked, "Do you not like it? Is it too sudden?"
"No, no, no! How could I not like it? I love the ring! I love diamonds too! And, and I really like the Tower Master as well!"
"I can see how much you like it. Okay."
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Phoebe desperately denied it while spitting out all the words in her rambling.
The reason it was difficult to accept right away was because of another reason.
"I thought I might not be able to control my strength because I'm so flustered... I was worried I might break the ring..."
"Well, that's quite dangerous."
It was surprising to think that the concept of accidentally breaking a ring with bare hands could exist.
"Just hold out your hand. You can do that much, right?"
"Yes, yes!"
Phoebe tremblingly held out her right hand as if she was struggling with her strength.
With her other hand, she hid her flushed face behind her hair.
Every time their eyes met, she repeatedly bowed her head, not knowing where to look.
"Phoebe Astheria Roton, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"
"I will be with you for the rest of my life, even if I have to beat death into submission!"
It was a slightly offbeat but refreshing acceptance from her known repertoire.
Phoebe looked down at the ring.
It was small and beautiful.
The sunlight reflected off of it, making it sparkle.
A tiny light, as small as a firefly compared to the sunlight.
But it was the little light she had wanted for a lifetime.
Her own light.
Phoebe raised her head.
A bright smile shimmered in the golden light amidst the orange dawn.
She looked up at Reed, forgetting her embarrassment in the tears that welled up.
***
The festival ended successfully.
When everyone was drunk and asleep, the dragon left, and the continent regained its peace and tranquility.
There were those who actually believed it, and those who didn't. It was merely a guideline to make it easy to explain to children.
Phoebe returned to the Silence Tower.
Although she had seen enough of the dragon's appearance, it was her first time returning as a human, so all the mages came out to welcome her.
Phoebe's popularity was strong.
She was the most terrifying existence but also the most familiar one.
There were quite a few people who were fascinated by her ironic coexistence of these two aspects.
Rosaria had personally made her a paper crown, and she had returned to her original state.
"It's tough, tough..."
She had postponed her work for a few days while preparing for the festival.
With more than twice the usual workload, working overtime was inevitable.
As the night deepened, Reed lay in bed trying to sleep.
That's when it happened.
Creak-.
At the sound of the hinge, Reed's mind snapped awake.
Someone had broken into Reed's room.
'The most vulnerable time.'
Was someone trying to assassinate him at this moment?
Reed quickly tried to use magic to subdue the intruder.
He sat up abruptly in bed and recited a magic spell.
"Paral... ugh!"
The spell was not completed.
At the same time that his mouth was covered, both of his arms were pinned to the bed.
The mana gathered in his hands scattered in the air.
"Ugh... ugh?"
Reed felt something strange while being subdued.
He felt his arms being pressed down by two hands.
So, what part of the body blocked the spell?
At first, he thought it was a finger, but the softness and warmth that couldn't be expressed by fingers were conveyed.
He combined the information and drew a conclusion.
It was lips.
The assailant had pressed down on his arms and kissed Reed right away.
He briefly thought that maybe the lips blocked the spell because both hands were sealed.
Reed only realized what was happening after he separated his lips.
"Phoebe?"
The shadow flinched at his words.
"How did you know?"
"Your bright eyes tell me everything."
"Ah..."
There might be a mage with golden eyes, but there was no mage with such a gaze like Phoebe.
The golden pupils were undoubtedly excited.
"..."
He couldn't help but have strange thoughts about her excited state.
'No, it's a situation where strange thoughts are allowed right now.'
It's one thing to seal both arms, but why did she cover his mouth with her lips?
It could have been a means to block the spell, but the intense sensation that came in was definitely not a tactical situation.
The emotional feeling seemed to have come in uncontrollably.
"What brings you here?"
However, Reed teasingly asked the question.
Upon hearing his words, Phoebe's hand moved up to Reed's shoulder.
Her silhouette was caught in the moonlight that seeped in, only her eyes visible.
"Well..."
Reed waited for her to speak.
But Phoebe kept hesitating, not saying anything.
"Tell me what's going on."
"In the past... I used to do this, didn't I? I often came in and crushed you..."
"Right...?"
Phoebe's calm tone made Reed's words trail off.
He could guess roughly what she was trying to say.
However, he didn't say anything until she answered, making sure that it was certain.
Phoebe's words didn't want to come out of her mouth.
Her face, which should have been pale in the reflected moonlight, was colored.
Bright red.
Like a blush painted on the cheeks of a young girl.
"I said I was going to get revenge or protest back then..."
"So, it wasn't that?"
"Yes. And—."
"You just realized that now, right?"
"Yes... How did you know?"
It was obvious.
"What else could it be when a young woman ignores a man's words and keeps coming in?"
"Heh..."
Reed had noticed it a long time ago.
He wasn't foolish enough to trip up a girl who didn't even know her own feelings properly.
Phoebe shrank her body.
Embarrassed by the thoughts she had been captured by, she hid her face.
Reed grabbed her arm, which had lost its strength.
He stopped her, thinking she might run away out of embarrassment for what she had done.
Reed carefully sat up and laid her down on the other side.
Feeling the reversal, Phoebe flinched and looked up at Reed.
Just making eye contact made her heart pound as if it would burst.
"Do you have any regrets?"
"..."
Instead of answering, Phoebe closed her eyes.
She was foolish, but she already knew what would happen after this.
And Reed knew it too.
The night deepened, remaining as it was.
***
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***
Black.
It was the first color the girl saw as she lay on the operating table.
Was there no other color?
The girl wanted to see something else, no matter what.
With that longing, she learned the concept of movement.
The girl sat up and looked down at her body.
Pale hands, chest, belly, and feet.
She grasped her own appearance, which was invisible to the eye, with her hands.
That's how she got a rough idea of what kind of being she was.
Lips, nose, eyes, eyebrows, and ears.
"What are you talking about, my lord!"
Suddenly, she heard a loud cry and turned her head.
There was a man with six arms and an incomplete being with only half of its form left.
The man knelt down and cried out in anguish, and the incomplete being answered with a distorted voice.
-I have nothing left, as I have lost even the origin of the dragon. I am nothing but an empty shell of a god. There is no reason to live any longer.
"Don't I exist? You have me, Maronie, your loyal servant!"
-Yes, you still exist. You...
The incomplete being said so, but the girl felt something was off in his words.
However, Maronie seemed to believe that he was purely trusting her, and his eyes sparkled.
-Let me give you one last command.
"Yes, please tell me!"
-You will survive to the end.
At the command of the incomplete being, Maronie asked with a face as if the sky had fallen.
"What do you mean?"
-Even if I disappear, you must... not harbor any emotions, and live quietly like a dead rat. You don't even need to seek revenge.
"You don't even need to seek revenge? Those blasphemers...! Are you saying to leave this world as it is, full of ugliness?"
-This is the last will of the one you serve. Live as I say.
"I can't do that. I was born to save this world with you! Please! Take back your words!"
Maronie cried out, but the figure did not respond.
The form of the incomplete being twisted more and more.
It writhed heavily as if distorted by noise, and finally hid its appearance.
"My lord, where have you gone!?"
Maronie shouted, but there was no answer.
It was gone.
As he said, it had completely vanished.
Maronie wrapped her face with her six hands and despaired.
"Ah, my lord... my lord..."
The girl stared at the crying man in agony.
Why was he crying like that?
What did he feel to make such a sorrowful sound?
The girl instinctively knew what to do and placed her hand on Maronie's back.
Her small hand became a pathway for his thoughts and emotions to flow.
Agony pierced her head.
She clenched her chest as sorrow squeezed her heart.
Tears flowed down both of her eyes.
"Sniff... sniff..."
Soon, the girl burst into tears.
The first emotion she felt was sadness.
Maronie turned his head to the sound of her crying, which was even more sorrowful than his own.
The young daughter he had created.
"My daughter, my daughter Rosemary."
Maronie embraced her. It was enough to cover her naked body.
"Do you feel it too? This father's pain?"
"Sniff...sniff... What is this... what is this?"
"This is called despair."
The word despair was engraved in the head of the girl called Rosemary.
"Feel this father's despair very well."
The girl shook her head.
"I don't want to... it hurts. I don't like pain."
It was too difficult to contain this emotion.
"But, without such emotions... living would be difficult for us. So, understand this father's intention."
Maronie reached out his six hands toward the girl.
That's when it happened.
Maronie felt a force from the small girl.
'A line?'
A thin, sharp line like a thread appeared in front of Rosemary.
The line pierced Maronie's arm and soon tried to penetrate his neck.
'This is death!'
Maronie, sensing the smell of death, pulled his body away.
But it was already too late.
The sharp line severed all of Maronie's arms.
"Ugh..."
Maronie groaned in pain.
Swallowing the pain, he marveled at Rosemary's magic.
'With such a small amount of mana... it could cut off my arms.'
Maronie's expression became strangely twisted.
Fear and awe.
The clash of these two emotions made Maronie falter.
He barely survived by not having his neck pierced, but that was only for now.
"People who hurt me... I don't need them."
Rosemary looked up at Maronie, tears streaming down her face.
At that moment, Maronie felt something heavy and immense pierce through his chest.
The exact spot where his heart had been was now gaping open.
"Cough..."
Maronie bled and knelt on the spot.
He was close to death, but his face was radiant.
It was as if he had met his savior.
"Ah, you've finally become complete."
Maronie could feel it in her eyes.
Deep hatred and power. Talent coming from her instincts.
Maronie, drawing strength from Rosemary, who killed him, spoke to her.
"Rosemary, my daughter, there are humans out there who torment you."
Rosemary's body stopped.
"Human...?"
"We must take revenge. On the man who made us like this..."
"Revenge...?"
"Remember this name well. Reed Adele...heights Roton..."
Maronie collapsed on the spot.
His head fell at Rosemary's feet, and her gaze moved downward.
There was no emotion in her eyes.
"Reed Adeleheights... Roton..."
She remembered Maronie's words clearly.
She repeated it dozens of times and engraved it in her mind so as not to forget.
The girl stepped out of the darkness and into the world.