(114) Since when (3)
Ariana felt her heart drop as Cyrus's calm words resonated through her. A chill ran down her spine.
She made a mistake.
She mistook her past memories.
The popularity of Rodenin bowls was a matter of years in the future. It's not happening right now.
She was so comfortable with Cyrus that she let her guard down and ended up speaking carelessly.
She couldn't take back the words she spat out. She didn't have the power to turn back time.
Ariana racked her brain to figure out how to make an excuse, but nothing came to mind.
Cyrus's sharp eyes gleamed as if trying to stir Ariana's mind.
'I have to say something.'
But no voice came out.
She never thought she would make a mistake like this.
Unable to even properly control her facial expressions, she chewed on her lower lip. Cyrus pressed his thumb against Ariana's lower lip.
“Don’t chew.”
Ariana found it difficult to meet his sharp gaze. Even his cold fingers touching her lips felt too hot and disconcerting, so she averted her gaze.
“Noah said he found a guy named Baisen in the arena.”
Luckily, Cyrus brought up a different topic.
"They say he was badly wounded and on the verge of death after fighting two tigers in an arena at the southern tip of the empire. Noah called a doctor to treat him and fed him the medicine he had, which helped him recover. He swore his loyalty quite easily."
“I see. That’s good.”
“The problem is the next day.”
Cyrus said calmly.
Two days after Noah purchased the Baisen from the arena owner, a man came to the arena owner, seeking to buy it. The arena owner told him the Baisen had already been sold for a high price, and the man frantically searched for the buyer.
Noah, feeling suspicious, left Baisen in the care of his subordinates and followed the man.
“Where did he reach?”
Ariana closed her eyes tightly.
She could tell without even hearing the answer.
Third Prince Harold Blenwit.
It seems that at this time, the Third Prince also heard of Baisen's fame and sent someone to purchase him.
The saying that a long tail means it will be stepped on wasn't only true for enemies.
“That guy was the Third Prince’s man. And the Princess.”
Cyrus gently lifted Ariana's chin between his thumb and index finger.
“I don’t like the Third Prince. I don’t know why.”
Ariana couldn't open her eyes. She was afraid that if she did, she would face his cold, merciless gaze.
Cyrus was a clever man.
Noah's report, what just happened, and Ariana's actions in the meantime.
He might have guessed a lot of possibilities with these three.
“Did you advise me to take Baisen because you were worried that Baisen would fall into the hands of the Third Prince?”
“...”
"The perfume business was also beyond the level of predictability that could be predicted with just a few bits of information. Come to think of it, I remember the first time I saw the Princess. You acted so beautifully, as if you knew the old lady of the Bronte family would be passing by at that hour."
You've been observing me since then.
Ariana felt like the blood was draining from her body.
Ariana still didn't know why she'd died and been resurrected, so she couldn't predict how others would perceive it.
One could mistakenly believe that, like Paganus, she had made a deal with the devil to make the impossible possible.
‘No, maybe that’s really the case...’
The life she returned to, believing it to be a gift from God, wasn't entirely happy. While in the North, she had been safe and happy, but if she left, those seeking Ariana's life would approach her again, blades hidden in their bosoms.
Ariana was constantly worried.
Could this be another hell? Could the devil be rewinding my time, reveling in the fact that I'm being driven by hatred and revenge? Could my every move be a plaything for the devil?
So, she didn't want anyone to know that she had returned to the time. She planned to keep it buried in her heart for the rest of her life.
"Princess."
Cyrus called out, as if urging.
“Princess, open your eyes.”
Ariana stubbornly closed her eyes tighter.
“Ariana. Do you think I’m blaming you?”
At the soft voice, Ariana's eyes opened without her knowing.
She expected to see a cold, sharp gaze, but no. As always, it was a pair of red eyes, their affectionate glow tinged with worry.
Cyrus smiled faintly as he watched Ariana blink.
“You’re finally looking at me.”
“Northern Lord, I... I, Northern Lord...”
“Don’t you want to talk?”
Ariana nodded.
Cyrus chuckled. Even though he was the lord of the Northern Territory, his smile was like the sunshine of the Eastern Territory.
“Then just answer like that. Why are you so scared?”
Is that so? Could I have just answered like that?
“It seems the Princess is still afraid of me.”
He said it teasingly.
His eyes, narrowing playfully, felt strangely wondrous. Her heart, which had been clenched with anxiety just moments before, softened, and something new took its place.
It was so sweet and fluffy, something Ariana had never felt before.
She didn't realize her hand had moved of its own accord to touch his cheek. She watched his eyes widen and then narrow, but she didn't let go.
His cheek was cold but soft, so smooth she wanted to keep touching it.
A thought that suddenly occurs to her.
'It's only allowed for me.'
Who could possibly touch the cheek of the Northern monarch and remain unscathed?
'Only me...'
That was when.
"Your Excellency!"
At the shout of the man coming out of the crockery shop, Ariana snapped back to her senses and pulled her hand away. She had forgotten she was on the street.
“How did you get here...? Ah, I greet Your Excellency.”
The man bowed deeply.
Cyrus glared at the man coldly and said.
“I was just taking a walk. Don’t worry about it and just go.”
“Yes? Ah... Ah, yes. Sorry.”
The man ran into the store in a panic.
Cyrus watched his back and then looked back at Ariana.
Ariana, who had been wearing a delicate and sweet expression that seemed as if she would crumble and melt away, seemed to have come to her senses with the man's appearance, and returned to her usual expressionless face.
The warm touch of her hand on his cheek was still vivid, but judging by her expression, it seemed as if everything that had just happened had happened in a dream.
Ariana said with a perfect smile, just like she had painted.
“It’s so cold. I just want to go back.”
“Thanks to you, Northern Lord, I gained new insights today. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I'm very tired today, so I'll have dinner in my room. I'll say goodbye in advance. I hope you have a peaceful night.”
Ariana greeted him with her usual calm voice and turned around. Her movements, with her skirt barely moving, were like a butterfly's.
Cyrus recalled a flock of butterflies he had once seen while crossing Mount Graten. They had beautiful white wings with blue and black stripes. Their flight was even more beautiful because they were in a flock.
Cyrus's outstretched hand didn't reach the butterflies. They cleverly avoided Cyrus's fingers and flew away.
Ariana did.
After arriving in the North, Ariana was always close by. Yet, to Cyrus, she felt like she was far away.
A dreamy person who skillfully avoids and disappears when you reach out to grab them.
-“There was a time when Rodenin bowls were very popular.”
It will be a big hit. She saw it becoming a big hit.
If she had said that, he would have thought, "Is this a prophecy or an oracle?" But Ariana said, "There was a time when it was popular."
As if she had experienced the trend and been there to see it pass away. As if she had seen it all from the future.
The thought that came to mind at that moment was so unbelievable that Cyrus tried to ignore it. But Ariana's subsequent reaction was too strange to ignore.
'Should I have asked more back then?'
Ariana's eyes were tightly shut, her lips so tightly pressed together that she looked so distressed that he didn't want to ask. He didn't want to dig up everything she had wrapped up and see the blood she had shed.
Ariana, who rarely wavers, showed excessive agitation in that matter.
He thought, "Of course," but he also thought, "No way."
Could something so absurd be possible?
“Your Excellency, Sir Perun has requested that I inform you that he has completed something.”
A passing servant spotted Cyrus, walked over, and said, "It seems Isaac has perfected a potion that will alleviate the toxicity of the heron flower perfume."
Cyrus nodded slightly and headed towards the Gallion Tower.
The reason he found the awful smell in Isaac's lab so pleasant was that it calmed his mind, which had been in disarray.
"I've finished the potion. I've tested it on myself several times. It's quite effective, but I only tested it on myself, so I want to see if it works on you too. Is that okay?"
This is why Isaac and Cyrus were so resistant to poison. Isaac experimented on his own body whenever he invented a new potion, and Cyrus joined in.
Since they were always at risk of being poisoned, it was useful to develop resistance to poisons and drugs.
Cyrus nodded and took off his shirt. Isaac sprayed Cyrus's body with a cologne he had made from heron flowers.
Although the perfume was potent because it hadn't gone through a thorough distillation process, it had little effect on Cyrus's body, which was resistant to poisons. After spraying it repeatedly for a while, a rash developed on Cyrus's shoulders and arms.
Isaac said, applying ointment to the rash.
“You seem to be out of your mind. What are you thinking about?”
“Which do you think is more absurd, the power of foresight or coming back to life?”
"Isn't it common for people to come back from the dead? Noah died on the battlefield and came back to life."
“No, not that.”
Cyrus said, though he thought it was absurd.
“Dying once and then coming back to life again.”
"Huh? What's that? So, for example, let's say I died. Then I came back to life, and I was five or six years old. What, you mean something like that?"
"Yes."
“Hmm. I’ve heard that somewhere. Hmm.”
Isaac didn't laugh even though Cyrus was saying something out of the blue. He was seriously contemplating when something struck him, and he let out an exclamation of "Ah!"
"That's one of Paganus's doctrines. It's in the Amanthal Bible."
Ariana felt her heart drop as Cyrus's calm words resonated through her. A chill ran down her spine.
She made a mistake.
She mistook her past memories.
The popularity of Rodenin bowls was a matter of years in the future. It's not happening right now.
She was so comfortable with Cyrus that she let her guard down and ended up speaking carelessly.
She couldn't take back the words she spat out. She didn't have the power to turn back time.
Ariana racked her brain to figure out how to make an excuse, but nothing came to mind.
Cyrus's sharp eyes gleamed as if trying to stir Ariana's mind.
'I have to say something.'
But no voice came out.
She never thought she would make a mistake like this.
Unable to even properly control her facial expressions, she chewed on her lower lip. Cyrus pressed his thumb against Ariana's lower lip.
“Don’t chew.”
Ariana found it difficult to meet his sharp gaze. Even his cold fingers touching her lips felt too hot and disconcerting, so she averted her gaze.
“Noah said he found a guy named Baisen in the arena.”
Luckily, Cyrus brought up a different topic.
"They say he was badly wounded and on the verge of death after fighting two tigers in an arena at the southern tip of the empire. Noah called a doctor to treat him and fed him the medicine he had, which helped him recover. He swore his loyalty quite easily."
“I see. That’s good.”
“The problem is the next day.”
Cyrus said calmly.
Two days after Noah purchased the Baisen from the arena owner, a man came to the arena owner, seeking to buy it. The arena owner told him the Baisen had already been sold for a high price, and the man frantically searched for the buyer.
Noah, feeling suspicious, left Baisen in the care of his subordinates and followed the man.
“Where did he reach?”
Ariana closed her eyes tightly.
She could tell without even hearing the answer.
Third Prince Harold Blenwit.
It seems that at this time, the Third Prince also heard of Baisen's fame and sent someone to purchase him.
The saying that a long tail means it will be stepped on wasn't only true for enemies.
“That guy was the Third Prince’s man. And the Princess.”
Cyrus gently lifted Ariana's chin between his thumb and index finger.
“I don’t like the Third Prince. I don’t know why.”
Ariana couldn't open her eyes. She was afraid that if she did, she would face his cold, merciless gaze.
Cyrus was a clever man.
Noah's report, what just happened, and Ariana's actions in the meantime.
He might have guessed a lot of possibilities with these three.
“Did you advise me to take Baisen because you were worried that Baisen would fall into the hands of the Third Prince?”
“...”
"The perfume business was also beyond the level of predictability that could be predicted with just a few bits of information. Come to think of it, I remember the first time I saw the Princess. You acted so beautifully, as if you knew the old lady of the Bronte family would be passing by at that hour."
You've been observing me since then.
Ariana felt like the blood was draining from her body.
Ariana still didn't know why she'd died and been resurrected, so she couldn't predict how others would perceive it.
One could mistakenly believe that, like Paganus, she had made a deal with the devil to make the impossible possible.
‘No, maybe that’s really the case...’
The life she returned to, believing it to be a gift from God, wasn't entirely happy. While in the North, she had been safe and happy, but if she left, those seeking Ariana's life would approach her again, blades hidden in their bosoms.
Ariana was constantly worried.
Could this be another hell? Could the devil be rewinding my time, reveling in the fact that I'm being driven by hatred and revenge? Could my every move be a plaything for the devil?
So, she didn't want anyone to know that she had returned to the time. She planned to keep it buried in her heart for the rest of her life.
"Princess."
Cyrus called out, as if urging.
“Princess, open your eyes.”
Ariana stubbornly closed her eyes tighter.
“Ariana. Do you think I’m blaming you?”
At the soft voice, Ariana's eyes opened without her knowing.
She expected to see a cold, sharp gaze, but no. As always, it was a pair of red eyes, their affectionate glow tinged with worry.
Cyrus smiled faintly as he watched Ariana blink.
“You’re finally looking at me.”
“Northern Lord, I... I, Northern Lord...”
“Don’t you want to talk?”
Ariana nodded.
Cyrus chuckled. Even though he was the lord of the Northern Territory, his smile was like the sunshine of the Eastern Territory.
“Then just answer like that. Why are you so scared?”
Is that so? Could I have just answered like that?
“It seems the Princess is still afraid of me.”
He said it teasingly.
His eyes, narrowing playfully, felt strangely wondrous. Her heart, which had been clenched with anxiety just moments before, softened, and something new took its place.
It was so sweet and fluffy, something Ariana had never felt before.
She didn't realize her hand had moved of its own accord to touch his cheek. She watched his eyes widen and then narrow, but she didn't let go.
His cheek was cold but soft, so smooth she wanted to keep touching it.
A thought that suddenly occurs to her.
'It's only allowed for me.'
Who could possibly touch the cheek of the Northern monarch and remain unscathed?
'Only me...'
That was when.
"Your Excellency!"
At the shout of the man coming out of the crockery shop, Ariana snapped back to her senses and pulled her hand away. She had forgotten she was on the street.
“How did you get here...? Ah, I greet Your Excellency.”
The man bowed deeply.
Cyrus glared at the man coldly and said.
“I was just taking a walk. Don’t worry about it and just go.”
“Yes? Ah... Ah, yes. Sorry.”
The man ran into the store in a panic.
Cyrus watched his back and then looked back at Ariana.
Ariana, who had been wearing a delicate and sweet expression that seemed as if she would crumble and melt away, seemed to have come to her senses with the man's appearance, and returned to her usual expressionless face.
The warm touch of her hand on his cheek was still vivid, but judging by her expression, it seemed as if everything that had just happened had happened in a dream.
Ariana said with a perfect smile, just like she had painted.
“It’s so cold. I just want to go back.”
***
“Thanks to you, Northern Lord, I gained new insights today. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I'm very tired today, so I'll have dinner in my room. I'll say goodbye in advance. I hope you have a peaceful night.”
Ariana greeted him with her usual calm voice and turned around. Her movements, with her skirt barely moving, were like a butterfly's.
Cyrus recalled a flock of butterflies he had once seen while crossing Mount Graten. They had beautiful white wings with blue and black stripes. Their flight was even more beautiful because they were in a flock.
Cyrus's outstretched hand didn't reach the butterflies. They cleverly avoided Cyrus's fingers and flew away.
Ariana did.
After arriving in the North, Ariana was always close by. Yet, to Cyrus, she felt like she was far away.
A dreamy person who skillfully avoids and disappears when you reach out to grab them.
-“There was a time when Rodenin bowls were very popular.”
It will be a big hit. She saw it becoming a big hit.
If she had said that, he would have thought, "Is this a prophecy or an oracle?" But Ariana said, "There was a time when it was popular."
As if she had experienced the trend and been there to see it pass away. As if she had seen it all from the future.
The thought that came to mind at that moment was so unbelievable that Cyrus tried to ignore it. But Ariana's subsequent reaction was too strange to ignore.
'Should I have asked more back then?'
Ariana's eyes were tightly shut, her lips so tightly pressed together that she looked so distressed that he didn't want to ask. He didn't want to dig up everything she had wrapped up and see the blood she had shed.
Ariana, who rarely wavers, showed excessive agitation in that matter.
He thought, "Of course," but he also thought, "No way."
Could something so absurd be possible?
“Your Excellency, Sir Perun has requested that I inform you that he has completed something.”
A passing servant spotted Cyrus, walked over, and said, "It seems Isaac has perfected a potion that will alleviate the toxicity of the heron flower perfume."
Cyrus nodded slightly and headed towards the Gallion Tower.
The reason he found the awful smell in Isaac's lab so pleasant was that it calmed his mind, which had been in disarray.
"I've finished the potion. I've tested it on myself several times. It's quite effective, but I only tested it on myself, so I want to see if it works on you too. Is that okay?"
This is why Isaac and Cyrus were so resistant to poison. Isaac experimented on his own body whenever he invented a new potion, and Cyrus joined in.
Since they were always at risk of being poisoned, it was useful to develop resistance to poisons and drugs.
Cyrus nodded and took off his shirt. Isaac sprayed Cyrus's body with a cologne he had made from heron flowers.
Although the perfume was potent because it hadn't gone through a thorough distillation process, it had little effect on Cyrus's body, which was resistant to poisons. After spraying it repeatedly for a while, a rash developed on Cyrus's shoulders and arms.
Isaac said, applying ointment to the rash.
“You seem to be out of your mind. What are you thinking about?”
“Which do you think is more absurd, the power of foresight or coming back to life?”
"Isn't it common for people to come back from the dead? Noah died on the battlefield and came back to life."
“No, not that.”
Cyrus said, though he thought it was absurd.
“Dying once and then coming back to life again.”
"Huh? What's that? So, for example, let's say I died. Then I came back to life, and I was five or six years old. What, you mean something like that?"
"Yes."
“Hmm. I’ve heard that somewhere. Hmm.”
Isaac didn't laugh even though Cyrus was saying something out of the blue. He was seriously contemplating when something struck him, and he let out an exclamation of "Ah!"
"That's one of Paganus's doctrines. It's in the Amanthal Bible."
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment