Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Translator: Yonnee

—

“Noo, being a contractor hurts too muuuch… I don’t want Rosé to huuurt… I’m going to die anywaaay…”

Blanc shook his head as he said this slowly. His voice was calm, without even a hint of resignation.

Hearing him say this made me realize just how much this dragon had given up in the past. I held Blanc in my embrace and patted his back.

“Blanc, I want you to live.”

Perhaps this was my own selfish greed. However, as my limited world that started at the tower continued to grow, I also hoped that Blanc’s world would also grow.

With a life directly connected to his existence, he had to give up so many things and slept through everything instead. I hope that Blanc would be greedier for life, too.

“You and I, let’s go on a trip, you can also get angry at me, and you can whine and complain a lot more. I hope we can continue to share our daily lives, just as we have been doing inside the tower.”

After coming to this place, next to Albert, the one I had grown so attached to was this perso… I mean dragon.

“You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. I’ll be right back.”

“……”

Blanc hesitated and fiddled with my hand. I gave him a big hug.

“I’m leaving tonight, so you can think about it more. I’ll go and meet His Highness now.”

It might be good to give Blanc some more time to think about it.

* * *

Thinking about what I could do for Albert before I left for the capital, I borrowed the kitchen and made a simple potato soup. Just like what we used to eat at the tower.

It’s up to Albert whether or not he wanted to eat this, but I wanted to do something for him before I left.

Albert’s condition was much worse today than it was yesterday. Greten was standing by him and nursing him with utmost care.

As she felt an approaching presence, Greten turned her head to the side and grimaced the moment she saw me as she raised her head. Her face turned practically blue.

“…That, um, I heard from His Highness, that he has taken you in… I apologize for treating you in that way yesterday.”

She didn’t look like a person who’d easily admit to her mistakes, but it seemed like Albert’s words frightened her so. See, you should have just let me in yesterday.

“Thank you for apologizing first.”

Regardless of what Albert said, it’s not easy for someone of her age to give in first.

“I would like to stay here with my cat until before lunch. Is that alright?”

“Ah, of course. Then, I’ll be on my way…”

Greten left the room at an unbelievable speed compared to how she acted yesterday. Now, only Albert was left inside the room.

Albert was lying on the bed, groaning. I walked closer to him and observed him closely. Even while his condition was this serious, he was trying to send me to the capital.

Shouldn’t he eat something? I hesitated for a moment before taking Albert’s hand. It was perhaps the first time I initiated contact with him.

Albert finally noticed my presence and opened his eyes halfway. The shadows beneath his eyes looked terribly dark.

And his eyes trembled as he looked at me. With an out of place sense of wonder, he smiled faintly and gasped out.

“Whenever I’m in front of you, I always show you this weak side of me.”

“I’m the one responsible for this though. And if this is what Your Highness considers to be weak already, then you look too good for that.”

I’m serious. The pain he was feeling right now was the price to pay, and it was a moment when we would always touch. As he was willing to endure that much, Albert was simply amazing.

I fumbled with his hand for a long while before I raised my head.

Since when had Albert been staring at me? I looked back into his red eyes, then I spoke firmly.

“Your Highness, I’ll go to the capital and watch the last moments of the dragon you told me about before. I’ll think about it properly.”

“……”

“Whether my decision is just a moment’s impulse, or whether I’m determined that I won’t ever regret this.”

“……”

“I know I’m being difficult, but thank you for understanding me, really. Your Highness is always giving me something to be thankful about, being the beautiful person that you are.”

I knew whatever Albert did, it’s always for my own good. So I wanted to let him know.

“Prince, you’re a good man.”

I’ve been calling him handsome all this time, but I’ve never let him know that I think he’s a good man. Complimenting someone for their looks was easy, but praising them for their inner character was difficult.

Rolling over my hand so he could hold it tightly, Albert smiled with his eyes. They were as beautiful as crescent moons amidst the dark sky. It was a satisfied smile, as if to say I like it.

“You. You’re not even giving me a proper chance to get angry.”

“……”

“I sometimes resent you for that. But you know, that’s the best compliment you’ve ever given me.”

Albert pulled my hand towards him.

“Oohh…”

I lost my balance and promptly fell on top of him. It looked as if I was in his embrace right then.

“Have a safe trip.”

Albert brought my hand, which he was still holding, close to his heart. Thump, thump. I could hear his heartbeat. His entire body vibrated—it was a pulse similar to mine.

My face was flushed red. It felt like there was nothing else in this world for him except for me. For a moment, it’s like we were back in the tower.

“Rosé.”

With a voice similar to the sound of his heart, Albert spoke.

“I sometimes wonder… What if we stay locked up in that tower, just you and me.”

Perhaps. 

We had the same thought.

“I know you’re not fond of it, but the normal days we’ve spent together have become more precious to me more than anything else.”

The look in Albert’s eyes was as deep as the endless sea.

“You’re the one who made that possible.”

At that moment, it was as if I could hear Albert’s thoughts. He held the nape of my neck naturally and— his face drew nearer. The beads of sweat at the sides of his face, the shadow that fell over him, that desperate look in his eyes.

Devoid of his usual composure, this side of him was so unfamiliar to me.

“So, you cannot die.”

It wasn’t an order. It was a promise that he was making to me. And, as he vowed this, his face drew ever so nearer.

Our lips touched. He pulled me closer in such a way that revealed his yearning for me. At that moment, neither of us mentioned the contract.

It was because we both knew that we couldn’t resist each other.

That very moment, it was impossible to push the other away.