CH 58

As if she didn’t even want to say it, Ophelia opened her mouth with a frown on her face, clearly fed up.

“There are still people who do that? No, that was a stupid question. I guess. There’s a lot of junk that does anything for money.”

The act of buying and selling people was abandoned a long time ago, both in the world she came from and in this world.

But it was also tenacious, like the cockroaches that still roamed in the shadows in both this world and the other.

Just as bees gathered in honey, garbage that did anything that made money gathered at the smell of money.

“In this case, it was a bit bizarre that it was voluntary human trafficking.”

“Wait a minute. Can the word ‘voluntary’ and the word ‘trafficking’ be put in the same line?”

Ophelia’s jaw dropped, incredulousness coloring her face as Richard continued the story.

“No, there’s these pseubi vibes!”

“Pseubi?”

“Ah, I mean pseudo, but I mispronounced it because I was excited. Uh, anyway, pseudo means that it looks real and similar on the outside, but it’s not at all on the inside. Oh, this is of course, also a word coined by the grandfather next-door.”

“In other words, it’s fake.”

“That’s right. It’s like a case of fake religion wearing a mask of religion.”

While talking about the evils of pseudo, Ophelia hesitated.

Aside from it being fake, what was the reason for voluntary human trafficking?

“What is the reason for making such a mission?”

“The whole reason for human trafficking is money.”

“But rather than selling it like that, it would be more profitable to go somewhere and make money by working like a slave.”

“You said it with your own mouth. You shouldn’t expect common sense from pseudo-trafficking.”

“Of course, the ultimate goal of the pseudo is having a high status as a madman who talks about being a religious leader. I don’t know if it’s a real crazy guy, but most of those guys are snobs among snobs, so they talk a lot about money.”

“Then I’ll have to dig a little deeper.”

“Yes. If money is not the purpose…”

Richard tilted his head towards Ophelia when she paused her words.

“What if not?”

She shook her head.

The word ‘terror’ that passed through her head would be an overkill.

There wasn’t such a thing in this world… right…? …No, could it be?

“Ophelia.”

“No. I’ve been thinking for a while.”

“Tell me anything.”

“It’s really nonsense.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

There was not a sliver of doubt in his staring eyes.

Ophelia took a deep breath and explained by unraveling the word ‘terror’.

To infiltrate a place necessary to achieve a goal and bring about a disaster with human power.

“…It could be. It’s really just my opinion. Has something like this happened before? In the history of the continent?”

“No.”

“Ah, of course. Hahaha. Please just pass it as nonsense.”

Ophelia shrugged her shoulders with an awkward smile, but Richard shook his head.

“No, I will tell you to investigate with that in mind too.”

“Yes?”

Richard looked down at Ophelia, who had widened her bunny eyes, and smiled.

“Didn’t you say that?”

“Me? Did I say that…”

“That I have to consider the worst.”

Ophelia blinked.

That… Did she say that?

“It’s an expression that I don’t remember.”

“It’s more amazing to remember.”

“I remember everything you said. They don’t go away.”

The words ‘no matter how many regressions’ that were omitted in his words could be understood without having to hear them.

Ophelia reached her hand out toward him without saying anything else.

Richard also said nothing more and looked down at Ophelia’s hand that held his.

It was a soft hand that was much smaller than his own, but that small hand held his much larger one as if it was wrapped around it.

The warmth of their contact was lukewarm, and there was no ardent and affectionate emotion flowing.

And that was enough for both of them.

As comrades who had been going around for so long and didn’t know how much longer they would spend together…

Then Ophelia let go of Richard’s hand and asked.

“Is the pseudo-trafficking investigation over?”

“No, there were other harvests. Medicine.”

“What medicine?”

Ophelia’s expression was as rotten as when she heard about human trafficking.

If it was just an ordinary medicine, Richard wouldn’t have even mentioned it.

Then, that ‘medicine’ must be…

“It’s not a medicine.”

“Yes? No?”

“Yes.”

“Then what kind of medicine is it?”

She wondered if it was something like a cure-all, so she asked, but the answer came back as expected.

“It’s poison.”

“Ah, yes.”

After giving a vague answer, Ophelia immediately tilted her head.

“You said earlier that it’s medicine, but now, poison?

“It’s said to be an almost perfect fatigue reliever with no side effects.”

“Fatigue medicine? Where can I buy that… Eup, ah!”

Ophelia’s eyes went round at once at the sound of a fatigue reliever with no side effects.

Thanks to her sleeping through yesterday, she recovered a little, but since she became the crown prince’s aide, she was always suffering from chronic fatigue.

Richard, blocking Ophelia’s face as she struggled to grab the pink vial, smiled and added.

“Once we get the original producer, we’ll have to analyze exactly what this drug is.”

“You said there are no side effects!”

Ophelia, whose eyes were turned upside down, showed a desperate will to take the medicine right away. Really, she couldn’t help it.

“You don’t know for sure. So don’t even think about touching it until it’s perfectly safe.”

“Richard!”

Ophelia struggled, pushing her arms towards the medicine bottle despite knowing that it would not work. But she calmed down at once at Richard’s following words.

“I don’t want to lose you over something like this.”

Those words came out so easily and calmly, but the weight contained in it was not something that could be passed as effortlessly and coolly.

Just as Ophelia could not bear Richard’s pain, Richard could not bear the loss of Ophelia.

It was an obsession that people in love often felt, but it wasn’t that sweet and thrilling.

Since he was just holding on to live.

Driven to the abyss, the wounded held each other’s hands while facing each other.

The sincerity that they couldn’t say out of their mouths dug deeper than that, under a layer of each other’s skin.

And this time it was Richard, not Ophelia, who joined their hands together.

The thumping sounds became more and more similar, as if their heartbeats were transferred from hand to hand, and then merged.

Eventually, Richard asked without letting go of her hand.

“Why did you look for me?”

“Lady Neir is too suspicious.”

Ophelia confided to Richard about everything she had done at the evening party.

Raisa appeared wearing a lion mask, and how that very mask was smashed and rolled around.

Plus her certainty that was like a prophecy that they would definitely meet again.

And… 

“You saw the same thing in her eyes?”

Ophelia shut her mouth for a moment and stared blankly at Richard.

The inside of the golden eyes was empty, and only dry, crumbly things were swirling around.

She tightened her grip on his hand and parted her lips.

“It looked old.”

Even with those words without context, Richard knew what Ophelia was trying to say.

Time.

It must be referring to the time that they did not yet know how much more would pass, even after a long, eons of eternity had passed.

“I didn’t see it wrong. It’s… really…”

Ophelia’s cheeks went white as she couldn’t keep up with her words.

It was because the disgustingly unpleasant and grotesque hatred and obsession that had been seeping in Raisa’s eyes at that time, as well as the greed that covered it all, could not be erased and came to mind clearly.

Richard pulled the rounded shoulders and trembling chin into his arms.

Ophelia’s tremors gradually died away from his warmth and support, which was harder than anything else, stronger than winter’s steel.

She took a short breath and spoke up again.

“Lady Neir is more dangerous than Marchioness Neir.”

Even the marchioness wouldn’t know what the young lady was doing or what kind of eyes she had.

If she knew, there would be no way she could treat her like a puppet.

“A lion… a lion mask. This is also my leap…”

“Is it treason?”

Ophelia unwittingly crumpled Richard’s shirt as his voice recited her thoughts.

The two didn’t say anything, but a lot of words passed between them.

Nothing was certain yet.

No, even thinking like that was really merely a small piece that could only be called a ‘leap’.

But they knew who to pursue.

Raisa Neir.

If they looked at the trajectory of what she was doing or what she was likely to do, they would probably catch something.

Though, they didn’t even know what it was yet… 

Soon, Ophelia took a deep breath and raised her head and one hand at the same time, strongly expressing that she had something to say.

When Richard nodded, Ophelia quickly uttered.