"I…"
I tried my best not to stutter.
"I'm going to stay with the Lady of the Silver Lily for now."
Silence.
"…I can't understand your reasoning."
The Lady of the Golden Silk lifted her eyes. Was it because her emotions froze with coldness? The crown prince, hearing the cold voice of the one he loved, stopped walking.
"I'm asking you to come with me now, butler. It isn't my wish to show off my wounds, but I have taken pains to free you from Her Ladyship."
"Yes. I know."
"But you still refuse to go?"
There was a bitter taste in my mouth.
I didn't know if this conflicted feeling came from losing the Heretic Questioner or if it was the butler rebelling against refusing his original master. But… the blue eyes. It was painful to look at those eyes that only reflected the Lady of the Golden Silk.
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 42%.]
So I lowered my head and avoided her gaze.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
"I still have work to do."
"That's a vague excuse. Well, isn't it simply that you were bewitched by her?"
I silently remained still.
"Ha," scoffed the Lady of the Golden Silk. It wasn't directed toward me but rather the Lady of the Silver Lily.
"I understand, Your Ladyship. I don't know what sort of grand plan you've plotted this time, but you cannot shake the bond between me and my butler. Please take good care of him."
"You're free to believe whatever you want. Get out of my sight."
"Yes. I'll leave now."
The Lady of the Golden Silk, wrapped in the prince's arms, reached out her hand. Then, she stroked his cheek and whispered—or pretended to whisper while being loud enough so everyone could hear.
"Will you leave with me, Your Highness?"
"Ah. Ahhh."
The crown prince's face turned red.
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 43%.]
The two went back along with the guards.
Like that, the commotion that happened after midnight ended.
3.
The garden quieted in an instant.
"Milady…"
The servants worried over their master with sad expressions. It was the duke's daughter who had chased away the uninvited guests, but the atmosphere left her as the one being excluded.
"It's late," said the Lady of the Silver Lily.
"You've all worked hard. You may go inside now."
"Milady, what will you do…?"
"I will look at the flowers here for a moment before heading back. I would like to be alone. All of you, leave me."
The Lady of the Silver Lily gazed up at the night sky in her nightgown. Like a person born in the night, not by the day, her body was melted into the dark. Unable to disobey their master, her servants returned to their quarters.
"Milady."
Only I remained and approached her side.
-Zombie. That person is weak now! Doesn't the atmosphere around her look miserable? She may be putting on a poker face, but actually, she's been weakened. That's great news, dude! Crises are opportunities! The goalkeeper's finally disappeared. It's hard to date someone better than you, so you have to strike now.
'Shut up.'
That ghost never changed. He still couldn't read the mood.
"You go back and rest too, butler."
"I'll be fine even if I stay up a night or two. Rather, aren't you very tired?"
"Though I would like to deny it… Yes. I am a bit tired."
The Lady of the Silver Lily sighed.
"It is already the 14th time. For 140 days, I have tried to set the crown prince straight. Even if I accept it as fate that my love won't be returned, the crown prince will one day ascend to the throne as emperor. If I can set him on the right path, the empire's safety will not be jeopardized… But it's hard."
"You're not alone anymore."
You aren't the only regressor in the world. That was what I meant.
"You have me. People can survive so long as one person around them recognizes and sees them."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Surprisingly, that's how it is."
The Lady of the Silver Lily turned her gaze from the night sky.
She looked right at me.
"You're mistaking one thing."
Mistake?
"I repeat the last ten days. When you die, you return to the previous day. It may look like the same regression at first glance, that the two of us will share time together, but that is not the case in reality."
I did not stop her from speaking. The conversation we were having now would probably be live-broadcasted and seen by the people of the Tower.
But that was all right.
I had already decided on the next regression.
"Butler. One of us will regress [first]."
The Lady of the Silver Lily leaned in.
"If I regress first, you will forget about your current life. On the other hand, if you regress first, I will forget what happened. One of our regressions will swallow the other's."
Scritch, scratch.
The lady drew parallel lines on the ground with her cane.
"We are parallel lines that can never meet."
My heart throbbed painfully.
"I will be able to understand you. You will be able to understand me, too. But understanding is the most we can do. It is impossible for the two of us to live synchronously. You cannot take responsibility for me, nor can I for you."
The Lady of the Silver Lily's voice was composed.
"Your confession about wanting to share the same time as me was intense and beautiful. However, it cannot happen. Perhaps that is why it is even more beautiful."
"What if it could happen?"
I looked straight into her eyes.
"If? There is no such thing."
"I keep my word. No matter what. I didn't propose to stay with you just because I wanted to win your heart. I'm not the type to attract people by inflating false words like balloons."
"..."
"If I can help you escape the ten perpetual days, if I can help, what will you do?"
A bird cried in the night.
"…You are arrogant. I am satisfied with living my life."
"I suppose you are. I feel the same way. Still, I want to help you. Is it arrogant to want to help the one you love? Then, I'll become an arrogant person."
The Lady of the Silver Lily closed her lips. She, too, was trying to help the prince in her own way. Whether or not she admitted it, the two of us were alike.
"What do you want from me?"
"When the world ends this time, please stay with me."
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
I realized it when I saw the Heretic Questioner become 100% immersed. The secret to defeating this stage. It was a weird and tricky solution, but… it was probably possible.
So long as I kept my head straight.
"And, if it's possible, I would be grateful if you could make me fall deeper in love with you. It would be wonderful if I fell so deeply, foolishly in love with you that I could never escape."
"Is that what you're requesting from me now?"
"It's all right. I'm easy. My heart beats wildly even if Your Ladyship just holds my hand."
The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me like she was dumbfounded.
"How shameless… Fine. I told you that I would teach you about love, so I shall make good on my promise."
The Lady of the Silver Lily grabbed my hand. It felt soft. Her hands were bare. The touch of her hand was wrapped around my right hand. Last night, my heart pounded from the memory of the Lady of the Silver Lily's perfume.
"Is this enough?"
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 44%.]
My face flushed.
"Yes. I-It's enough."
"Good heavens. I'm not saying this in a seductive way, but aren't you a little too pure-hearted? It's amazing you've survived in this harsh world."
"I died. A lot."
"..."
"If I show you my weakness, does your heart also jump a little? I saw it in a magazine before. Sometimes, you have to pretend to be weak to be effective."
"Ha."
The Lady of the Silver Lily snickered. Although her eyes weren't laughing, a laugh was a laugh. She must have been greatly depressed by the fruitless work she put into the prince. If she felt even a little better, I was glad.
"Are you picking a fight? Despite having known love for just a day?"
"I learned it when I saw you fight with the Lady of the Golden Silk earlier. Your Ladyship is wise, but if someone provokes her, she won't let it slide. Is that because of pride? You answer provocations even if you stand to lose something. So, I also wanted to provoke you."
"…You're pretty quick-witted."
"Should I provoke you a bit more?"
"Try it. If you can."
The two of us were standing close to each other.
We became closer.
Our shadows began to overlap.
Neither of us had any intention of backing down.
"Milady speaks of herself as a master of love. But are you really? Isn't receiving love just as important as giving it? Loving the prince and drawing out the prince's love are both important. But Your Ladyship has failed at the latter."
"Hmm."
"In that sense, perhaps the Lady of the Golden Silk is better at love than Your Ladyship. In any case, she's the one being loved by the crown prince, no? In terms of being better at love, surprisingly, the Lady of the Golden Silk is more advanced."
"Oh?"
"Your Ladyship knows how to love. But you don't know how to be loved. At least, it's clear that you don't know more than the Lady of the Golden Silk. So…"
At that moment.
"So?"
The Lady of the Silver Lily held my chin.
"..."
"Keep talking. Your voice is not unpleasant to hear."
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 45%.]
"…So, it was natural that the Lady of the Golden Silk stole the prince from you. You should have understood the prince's tastes and interests in greater detail."
"Your teeth are very white."
"…Um. But, you didn't. You were careless. So, Your Ladyship is partly at fault for why the Lady of the Golden Silk has become so uncontrollable."
"Your tongue is red. Very cute."
The Lady of the Silver Lily pulled my chin closer to her.
She was looking at my mouth.
"Why did you stop talking again? If you close your lips, I can't see your tongue. It's amusing to see. Keep talking."
"..., ..."
"Do you surrender?"
"Yes…"
"[It would be wonderful if I fell so deeply, foolishly in love with you that I could never escape.]"
That was what I had said a little while ago.
"You truly are a person who only picks scary words to say. You. I don't know what sort of brilliant plan you came up with to be that confident, but you're really fearless."
The Lady of the Silver Lily pulled my chin forward a little more.
It was like gravity had lost its hold on me and I was drawn only to her gestures.
"Well, I have repeated this 14 times, so it would be nice to experience a slight deviation."
"You mean…?"
"It is my rule to treat a bitch accordingly. Looking at the events of tonight, it seems that His Highness has acted increasingly bitchily to me. I can't let that stand."
My heart pounded.
Could it be?
"Are you finally going to give up on the crown prince?"
"No. My heart has become a constellation in the night sky. How could I budge it?"
"I just," whispered the Lady of the Silver Lily.
"I just also want to be a bit of an excessive bitch."
An excessive bitch.
The Flame Emperor's ugly face came into mind. I automatically thought of Yoo Sooha when I heard the words bitch or bastard. But it wasn't easy to be like that bastard. What was the Lady of the Silver Lily talking about?
"An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth."
Her pointer finger brushed against my lower lip.
"I'll have an affair with you starting from today."
"..."
Um.
"Do you… love me?"
"No."
"Do you have any desire to date me, even a little?"
"No."
"But…"
"But you are the treasured servant of the Lady of the Golden Silk. To use her words, you are her one and only butler and childhood friend. I wonder what kind of expression the Lady of the Golden Silk will make when she hears that you are seeing me. Won't His Highness be embarrassed, too?"
In other words.
"You mean you're going to pretend to date me to screw them over…?"
"Why not?"
I could feel her breath.
"Do you hate it?"
I couldn't answer. Thump. I couldn't think of anything to say. My heart was pounding loudly, and my head was spinning. I mean, it was the person I loved. My first love. Thump. To use it this way. An affair was a little… There had to be something more romantic.
"Sit down."
I carefully sat in the garden. The moon was covered by clouds, and the ground was dark. It was like I was kneeling in a bottomless swamp.
The eye-level difference between me and the Lady of the Silver Lily was flipped.
"I'll let you decide."
The Lady of the Silver Lily looked down at me.
"If you don't want to accept my offer, close your eyes. I will quietly disappear before you open them. But if you wish to accept and pretend to be my lover, if you want to play out this drama until this life ends—"
The red moon in the sky was hidden.
Eyes that were redder than that were in front of me.
"—say my name."
Name.
I.
"Raviel…"
Huh?
"Raviel Ivansia."
Why was my mouth open?
"Good. Do you remember the first lesson I taught you about love?"
"Love starts like a bitch…"
"Well done."
The Lady of the Silver Lily's hands cupped my cheeks.
Then.
"I'll be your first bitch of a lover."
The moon swallowed the light.
"..."
The scent of lilies.
Soft and sweet.
A near-deadly fragrance.
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 50%.]
I was suffocating.
She was so beautiful.
-You're both wackjobs, so you suit each other. Yeah, how could you ever go out with a normal person? Birds of a feather flock together; that's an unchanging truth.
From far away, I heard Bae Hu-ryeong's voice.
-Congratulations on your first day, crow-tit.
The magnolia petals fluttered and fell from the trees.
-Even if it's an affair.