In the fleeting moment of happiness that I tasted ever so slightly, he smiled affectionately as he gently stroked my hair. Then his lips parted to whisper sweet nothings into my ear. Perhaps the amount of potion was too small, but before his words could fully reach me, the lingering memories in my mind faded away like mist.
Still, even without hearing them directly, I could roughly guess what he was saying. “You’re kind, you’re beautiful, you did well, you’re lovely” — those were probably the words he was saying.
They say that people only see what they want to see. Felix, who always looked at me that way and spoke such sweet words was an incredibly lovable person. Of course, that didn’t mean he was any less lovable now.
Our breaths intertwined, and within that, I had already swallowed all the happiness in it. I was so incomparably happy that I didn't need the happiness potion anymore. With my happiness right here and now, was there really any need to dwell on the past?
I couldn’t deny that Felix had changed significantly from before. He had definitely changed. That realisation made me profoundly sad at times. But I decided to stop searching for his old self in him. This was the Felix who was here now.
Getting to know him anew from the beginning and discovering his endearing qualities wasn’t so bad. Just imagining such a future made me happy. As our lips parted, I stared intently at his Adam’s apple as it moved and I asked him.
"What do you see?"
Felix opened his slightly dazed eyes and muttered quietly.
"A cat..."
"A-a cat?"
Upon hearing those words, I couldn’t help but suddenly sit up straight. Out of nowhere, a cat suddenly appeared?! I assumed it would undoubtedly be me. This time, I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from drooping down in disappointment. Looking back, I had no idea where my confidence that it would be me came from. After all, Felix was also quite fond of stray cats. But still, why was a cat there of all places?!
At least if it had been Claudia, I could have accepted it with tears in my eyes that I was pushed aside by her. The same was true for the rest of the Chamberlains. But a cat was his happiest memory?! I couldn’t believe it. In all my life, I never thought I'd be jealous of a cat!
"C-ca… Meow? Meow?”
Frozen with shock, I muttered like a broken record. Was helping Felix regain his emotions just a matter that ended with a cat? Was it that easy? If I had known that, I would have adopted a cat sooner!
At that moment, he continued to speak.
"I wonder how the cat will cry..."
Felix tilted his head slightly and for the first time since our reunion, a smile graced his lips.
I thought my heart would overflow with joy upon seeing his smile that resembled the sun again. But his smile, rather than being warm was more provocative, and instead of feeling overwhelmed with emotion, I felt a strange heat rising from within.
Felix, seeing my stunned and rigid form, grabbed my waist and pulled me close. His tongue invaded my parted lips, hot and intense. I surrendered to the moment, squeezed my eyes shut and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"What about the healing potions?"
Momentarily breaking off the kiss, he asked the question. The faint smile that had been lingering on his lips was now gone. His blue eyes, the only part of him that revealed any emotion, were filled with anxiety — the kind of anxiety that stemmed from the fear that he might ruin everything again. It was a look I had grown all too familiar with since the devil was trapped inside Felix.
"Over there..."
I gasped for breath and pointed to a place far from the bed. It was so far away that I couldn’t help but ask if we could just leave it as it was.
"Absolutely not. I told you before. I might kill you.”
Felix replied firmly, but his gaze softened slightly. He covered his eyes with his palm, rubbing them, before letting out a weary sigh.
“What makes me the angriest is that I have no intentions of stopping.”
・・・・・
Before losing consciousness, Larry was definitely on the bed, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself sprawled on the floor. And not just on the floor, but quite a distance away from the bed.
"What the..."
Larry muttered to himself as he groggily sat up. Why was this twisted jerk sleeping here again? He grumbled as he brushed his dishevelled hair back. The intense emotions from before falling asleep were now slightly dulled by drowsiness.
Larry’s gaze wandered aimlessly across the floor until he noticed the countless bottles scattered on the floor. He picked one up with a puzzled expression and gave it a sniff. It was a high-quality healing potion, the kind supplied to commanders on the battlefield, capable of rapidly healing even severe wounds with exposed bones. Were all these bottles filled with healing potions?
In that moment, memories from before he fell asleep surged like a storm, wreaking havoc in his mind. Larry felt his heart plummet as he fixed his trembling gaze on the bed. He struggled to stand, stumbling once, before rushing to the bed. Irene was lying there, covered with a blanket, her soft breathing barely audible.
"Hey, hey... You're not dead, right?"
Even though he knew she was breathing, he placed his trembling fingers under her nose. Her face, with her eyes closed, looked too pale.
"I'm not dead. Stop overreacting."
Irene, awakened by Larry’s frantic movements, slowly lifted her eyelids and scolded him.
"How many potions did you use?"
"It’s fine. What’s the point in counting how many there are? The important thing is that there aren’t any injuries.”
"Of course, there aren’t since you treated them!”
Larry pointed to the potions scattered on the floor, a bulging vein visible on his neck.
"I told you he was dangerous! I... ha... I know my own strength better than anyone…”
He made a tearful expression as he recalled how Irene had been easily pulled towards him with a slight tug. The power of the devil was strong enough to tear off a person's neck if he exerted all his strength. Memories of his past self, using this power countless times to provoke Felix’s lust flashed through his mind.
‘Why did I do that? Damn it. F*cking hell. What did I act that way?’
Larry cursed his past self repeatedly, his gaze fixed anxiously on Irene, who lay motionless like a corpse. Finally, he found his voice.
"Let me carry you on my back.”
"I’d like to say no… but I since can't move, I guess I have no choice. Please take me to the doctor's clinic."
"D-doctor? Why? Are you still in pain?"
"Last time I checked, potions don’t heal bones instantly. I need to apply a splint and wrap it with bandages.”
"Even your bones are broken?! Where? Which one…”
"Quit overreacting..."
"How can I not worry?!”
Irene insisted it was only a minor fracture. She groaned in pain as she lifted herself up, then immediately slumped onto Larry’s back.
"Devil. Do you know the phrase ‘you reap what you sow?[1]’”
Irene sighed, her breath lightly grazing the nape of Larry’s neck. Feeling her warmth and the softness of her skin against his back, he clenched his fist momentarily before relaxing and carefully lifting himself up. Larry moved cautiously, taking each step slowly, worried that the presence on his back might break apart.
"I’m sorry, I know it's my fault, and I'm truly sorry, but at least let me worry about it.”
"You even know how to apologise..."
Irene murmured, "Is that also Felix’s emotions?!" She rested her chin on Larry's shoulder, blinked slowly for a moment, and then spoke in a languid voice.
"The one you should apologise to isn’t me, it’s Felix, so I won't acknowledge your apology."
“...”
"Instead, I have something to apologise for too."
"What?"
"I think I was too harsh last time. Just because you said the only solution was for you to disappear, I thought you had to die for Felix to return to normal.”
Larry blinked in surprise at her calm tone. He hadn't anticipated an apology. In fact, she didn’t owe him one. Her anger was entirely justified; after all, he had taken away the person she cherished most.
"But after meeting Felix in person, I feel like there’s room to consider other options. Felix doesn't seem to have changed that much, and it shouldn’t be a problem if he meets Chloe."
“And I also wonder if it's really necessary for him to return to his former self. After all, the current version of Felix is still Felix.”
That was what Irene said. Her words, spoken calmly, were full of love and affection. Because of this, even though Larry received an apology, he felt an even deeper pain than before, as if he were dying.
"You should help me. Then I’ll help you, too. I’ll do my best to find a way for you to leave Felix’s body without you being destroyed. There must be a way. No matter how hopeless and dire the situation, humans have always found a solution.”
“Of course, if annihilation is the only answer, then there’s nothing that can be done, but I intend to try my absolute best to find an alternative.”
That was how Irene finished her speech.
Larry found her words strangely more painful than being told to die. Perhaps it would have been better if she had just mercilessly crushed him. However, he swallowed his bitterness and said something rather unexpected.
"Did you enjoy it?"
"If you're asking that just to get cursed at, I’ll gladly do it. You crazy punk. You ask ridiculous things."
“It’s just... that technique was something I taught him, you know? I’m asking if you were satisfied.”
What was this? A customer satisfaction service? Did I even have to leave a review too? Irene mumbled something unintelligible from behind Larry.
"About a million stars? Actually, you’re misunderstanding something. I didn't use those potions because I was injured."
As she said that, he felt the heat radiating from Irene's body against his back, and it seemed to intensify. Larry hid the overwhelming sense of existential emptiness as if the ground was collapsing beneath him with a wry smile and replied.
"That's fine, then."
・・・・・
Translator's Corner:
[1] “You reap what you sow” means that you eventually have to face up to the consequences of your actions.
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