Raga of the Dry Branch

Raga of the Dry Branch 41: The story between and after (1)

The time when Alkeris met with Mahoren was engulfed in cold sweat.

A woman in her early or mid 30s sat alone in a chair in a small room which was surrounded by transparent glass on all sides.

An old-wine colored satin dress with messy hair and fashionable accessories that adorned clothes which were stripped away because of time.

And the image of her looking around without much thought.

Marquis Drimild, who watched it from outside the glass, spoke up.

“I have something to ask”

“…”

“That ‘underground’ what was it?”

“…”

“I couldn’t feel it from inside, but now that I look back on it, it was completely cut off from the outside. I confirmed that it wasn’t created with just the walls, but the entire underground there was sealed off. Judging from the races, it must have already existed before the theme park was built. What was happening inside?”

“…”

“That different race boy, what kind of relationship did you have with him?”

“…”

The woman continued to stay silent to all the questions. Her sunken gazes trying to look for something.

There was no time, the Marquis who noticed it looked down coldly.

“I usually want to be peaceful, but I can force you to open that mouth of yours if you wish for it.”

“… I just had to find the legs.”

At that moment, the woman who was dazed suddenly burst into laughter saying that.

“If it wasn’t for that woman everything would have been mine.”

Huhuhu. The bizarre appearance of that woman laughing out loud as if she was excited by the thought she was imagining.

The Marquis bit his lip as he concentrated and thought that the woman might not be sane. The woman, who was smiling out happily, stopped and then looked at the Marquis.

“No one knows about it. How painful and miserable life is at the bottom.”

“…”

“I was given food and a place to sleep. In fact, it was my safe haven. It was where we were brought and trained to create the ideal one for him. He was the one who saved me from hunger and hell. Ah! He was my everything, he was my everything! But.”

“…”

“Everything was stolen away!”

The dazed gray eyes which had been slightly back gleamed with a strange light within them. A dark and dreary energy which seemed to swarm into rotten water.

“So I made a deal with ‘them’ to get everything back. I gave away my son because they needed a newborn.”

“… them?”

“They are wizards too. They gave him horns, wings and made him strong. A very good boy who ate up all the intruders and disturbances for my sake.”

The Marquis looked at the woman who was giggling.

“Have you ever seen the symbol or crest of these people?”

The Marquis didn’t miss the sign of the woman shudder when he showed the two headed black snake with hair of white and black wings which was elaborately drawn on the paper.

“Right. Then let’s head back to the beginning. Before the park was built, it was an ordinary mansion. As said… the owner of the mansion would imprison women in the basement…. Right, and you were helping out. After that, what happened?”

When the woman was asked that, the Marquis sighed.

“I am pretty sure that you can know with what you see, right? And since you have that in your hand.”

In hand…

The Marquis looked down at the book he was holding. The Marquis asked, pointing to the book which he hadn’t put down since he received it from Alkeris.

“Is this the one?”

“They said they recorded everything which happened down there.”

The Marquis saw the woman who went silent after saying that and looked down at the book with a sad face.

Actually, he looked at the book several times since coming here.

‘I’m troubled.’

But. He couldn’t quite read it.

Why did Mahoren have to be a wizard?

“…”

Who in the world invented teleportation magic? Why did he have to make such a thing?

The heart of the deceitful person gave me a trip down the regret lane while we went home. I knew how selfish my acts were.

Nevertheless.

… someone please rescue me from the suffocating situation.

As soon as I arrived, I ran to the bathroom as if to run away from the stinging glances and after coming out, I went right to have my meal, though I don’t remember much of what I ate.

And now, like a prisoner locked up in the interrogation room, I was sitting in the middle of the sofa which was in the middle of the room.

The gazes which were directed at me were like stinging swords.

“Darling, so you went to deliver the documents, and went to the theme park or something which you were specifically asked not to go? And you were planning on coming out right away but somehow ended up…. Helped them?”

“Oh my! I knew this would happen!”

Shang-di was standing in front of me with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Heli, who was sitting on the floor with a huge cushion watched me, and started to hit the floor as she burst into tears. I’m not dead yet! Don’t act like that.

Ah but, hopefully I might be dead with the burning gazes which didn’t leave me.

Fay and Juli, who were next to me just stared at me, so I had to look elsewhere. I just stared to the front of the room wiping away the cold sweat. Shang-di snapped her fingers and slumped down next to Mahoren, who was seated on the opposite sofa.

“Well, the reason we recommended going to that embassy was because there was not much work and an office worker.”

‘It’s just as Shang-di said. If there is even a little room for them to intervene like they did in the office today, they would have never let me go…’

Fay gave me an uncomfortable look. And Mahoren just sighed when the two spoke.

“You people, what are you doing to this flower person? He didn’t do it because he wanted to, it is the embassy that is the problem. Those stupid ones. Why would they give other people’s works to someone else?”

“Right! And this is all because of that fortune-telling!”

“This little one. What do you expect me to do when the cards show me that? I even told him not to, but that idiot ignores what I said and heads in!”

That idiot said Juli as he pointed his finger at me. But since Juli was quite close to me, his finger was poking into my cheek.

“…”

I was already feeling a bit sad and when his finger poked me, it hurt a lot more than I expected. Was it because his nails were sharper than I thought?

“… it hurts.”

“Ack? Hurts?!”

Juli stayed still, but Heli, who was on the cushion on the floor, jumped up from the other side and was shocked.

It is fine, he didn’t stab me. I smiled at Heli once and then grabbed the finger of Juli, which was poking my cheek and-

“Ack!!”

And hurt it. And didn’t forget to bend it on the opposite side.

Didn’t he think of me as the King of Flies? Is this how he is supposed to treat his summons? Stabbing me with his fingers…. Have a taste of your own medicine!

“Yah, my hands are delicate!”

“… sorry for worrying you.”

“Didn’t you just ignore my words now?”

Poppy, who was quietly watching us from behind, came up and put his paws near the mouth of JUli.

Juli, who suddenly ended up kissing the soft soles and hairy feet of Poppy, went stiff.

Poppy, who was wiping away the imaginary swear on his forehead with his paw, laughed at the quiet appearance of Jli.

… Poppy, you, you even fucked with your own master. Indeed, you are the damned one.

I thought using Poppy as an excuse to change the atmosphere, but it didn’t last long, the sharp gazes didn’t soften yet.

“So… what to do darling? If you are sorry, then quit the embassy, how is that?”

Shang-di asked seriously. At that moment, I forgot what I wanted to say.

“Who would have thought such a thing could happen? Is there any need for you to work in such a worrying place?”

“…”

[So overprotective…]

“You. You dog stay quiet over there.”

[What are you saying! I am not a dog!]

“Uh-huh!”

[Ung~]

Poppy silently went back to his place as he was pressured by Mahoren to do so, and sighed.

He was so big, but why was it that he looked cute when he sighed? Are my eyes failing me? Even in such a serious situation, I wanted to laugh.

By the way, I knew I was going to get scolded, but I didn’t see it coming to the extent of quitting the embassy. These people were taking it more seriously than I thought.

Well, I couldn’t die anymore. So there was no reason for them to suffer because of me. Still, they were concerned.

It was all nagging, even though I was on the sofa, it seemed like I was sitting on thorns, yet I didn’t hate this.

Rather, somewhere in the bottom of my heart something began to warm up and the lips which were stiff began to rise up.

At this unfamiliar feeling, I timidly tapped on the cushion in front of me.

“Hey, there was one thing I felt today.”

“…?”

“I, I want to live.”