CH 70

“Richard?”

As Ophelia looked up at Richard, he saw himself reflected in her eyes, then he removed his hand and took a step back.

He opened his mouth, but he soon shut it.

“Where are you feeling unwell?”

Ophelia was frightened even though she knew that he, who had already crossed the line between human and non-human, was not sick.

When she took another step forward, Richard tried to step back as much as she advanced, but he did not move from the spot.

He couldn’t move.

As he knew.

‘If I approach you, you will withdraw.’

‘If I have you in my heart…’

‘If I look towards you…’

Ophelia would be far away.

Because it was overwhelming. She didn’t have to put it into words.

“How can I afford romance and love?”

“…If he approaches me, I will run away…”

If he told her his true feelings, which only grew even when he tried to suppress it after realizing it.

Probably… she wouldn’t leave. No, she couldn’t leave.

To her, he was the only ally to share this goddamn infinite regression and crumbling world.

She would not hesitate to approach him like she was doing now, and she would not stop worrying about him.

Richard didn’t want that to happen.

Naturally, he had no intention of giving Ophelia up.

Even if the world collapsed, he wouldn’t let her go.

But that would take time.

Now that they had decided not to return unless absolutely necessary, time was not infinite.

It was fine though.

Little by little from now on, erasing the existence of otherness in her, when at last all these things were over…

He would be the only one who had been by her side now and at any given day.

“Richard?”

Right now, he must step back so she wouldn’t feel anything was off.

However, towards her who was calling him, he couldn’t bear to say the words ‘go away’.

‘I have you in my eyes.’

‘And yet I miss you.’

Ophelia’s blue eyes were so clear that Richard couldn’t say anything.

.

“Are you okay?”

The self-talk that flowed out without knowledge did not even reach her ears and scattered.

Walking down the street where colorful paper petals flew, Ophelia’s eyes were looking at something other than the dazzling sight.

What was Richard trying to say?

He opened his mouth, but he just gazed at her without saying anything.

As if he could only look.

Ophelia felt a sense of déjà vu.

This was the second time she looked into Richard’s eyes and did not understand what he was saying.

“Are you really sick, but you’re not saying it?”

Ophelia’s eyebrows crinkled on their own at the words that were almost zero in potential even when they were spoken out.

‘What is it?’

‘What do you mean?’

Hence, again, Richard didn’t intend it, but Ophelia’s head was filled with him.

Even though he was not in front of her eyes, he reflected and shimmered, shining like glass beads.

How preoccupied she was with Richard…

“……lia, Ophelia?”

“Oh, huh?”

“Are you okay? The color of your face isn’t good.”

“Oh. I think my mind was somewhere else.”

Catherine and Iris took turns touching Ophelia’s forehead and making worried faces.

“As expected, you’ve overstrained yourself for this festival. We should’ve done it in moderation, Catherine.”

“No, if we didn’t work hard, we wouldn’t even be able to be here.”

Iris immediately nodded at Catherine’s words, which seemed to be crying of unfairness.

“It’s not like that.”

Before leaving for the festival.

Catherine called Ophelia and Iris to the Sheffield mansion.

“I knew it.”

“Huh?”

“What are you talking about?”

Seeing the two aides in simple dresses, Catherine shook her head.

“You can’t go to the festival like that.”

“Glamorous things are cumbersome.”

“I agree.”

When Iris’ words ended, Ophelia quickly echoed similar sentiments. But Catherine shook her head again at the two of them.

“I’m not trying to be fancy, it’s a must to be someone else…”

The two were convinced by Catherine’s explanation that began like that, and eventually the three of them, who left the Sheffield mansion, had appearances that even a noble lady’s ‘ear’ could not imagine.

But thanks to that, as Catherine said, the three of them could roam freely without drawing any attention from others.

Ophelia shook her head and picked up the ring in front of her eyes.

“It’s okay. I must have been distracted by the many things to see. How about this instead?”

“Pretty.”

Ophelia laughed at the reply that came before she even breathed, and Iris let out a sigh.

“Won’t you say whatever Ophelia chooses is pretty?”

“No. If I don’t like it, I’ll say I don’t like it.”

Looking at her two friends with happy eyes, Ophelia soon glanced at the merchant.

Fortunately, the astute merchant gave her the ring without Katherine’s and Iris’ knowledge, scrunching her nose, and in return, Ophelia added a little more to the payment.

Soon after, the three of them left the store and walked around the plaza decorated with splendid decorations to raise the festive atmosphere to the fullest, albeit worse than in previous years, laughing as if they were out of breath at a trivial story.

“I didn’t know you could smile even at a rolling leaf.”

Holding her sore side from laughing so much, Catherine caught Iris’ gaze.

“I didn’t know I could be like this either.”

Iris was one who often repeated to herself that she must always show a cool and firm side.

Even when she was with someone she thought was her only friend, she was always reliable and wouldn’t have been able to relax from the compulsion that she should take responsibility for everything.

“I didn’t know you could laugh like this.”

“There was nothing to laugh about!”

What else was so funny? The three burst into laughter.

Eventually, as the laughter subsided, Ophelia slipped the ring on her finger and patted herself on the cheek as if to show it off.

A ring with only one small pattern without any special craftsmanship, let alone jewelry.

“Did you just buy it?”

“Mhm.”

“It’s too bad. I should have bought it, too.”

As the ends of Catherine’s eyebrows lowered, Iris immediately turned her feet around.

“You can go buy it now.”

“Oh, that’s right. It’s Iris. So smart. What a genius!”

“It’s a subtle act of genius, but it’s still genius.”

Iris shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly.

Whoever that saw the brighter-than-ever face of Iris’ now would say she could never be Lady Fillite.

And towards such an Iris, Catherine whistled and clapped her hands.

Similarly… Who the hell could look at her now and say she was the society’s beehive.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go!”

Ophelia looked at the two women, standing side by side and reaching out to her at the same time, then placed a ring on each of their hands.

Just two simple rings, each with a different small design, without jewels or fine workmanship like the one she wore.

“I bought them because it seemed like it would look good on all of us.”

Ophelia folded her fingers in embarrassment and let out a shy laugh. Dumbfounded at the unexpected gift, Catherine and Iris merely blinked their eyes.

Soon, she urged them.

“Are you not going to accept it?”

Then, as if coming to their senses, the two put the rings on their fingers and touched the rings that fit perfectly as if they had been fitted.

“It’s not a ring that will last forever like a diamond, but it’s good enough to commemorate today. If you put it in the depths of a drawer and forget about it, and then take it out one day and recall this memory, that’s enough.”

Really, that was enough.

Only Ophelia would remember things that Catherine and Iris would never know about in this damn cycle of infinite regression.

Maybe Ophelia would be left alone at this moment again.

But it was fine.

It hurt, but if only she could remember this time the three of them shared together…

“I’ll wear it every day.”

“If it wears out, we can get three more matching ones.”

Catherine spoke, and Iris responded.

And as if they had promised, the two kissed the ring.

With an indescribable expression, Ophelia alternated her gaze between the two, and then reached out her hand.

Her breathing trembled thinly as she embraced them by the neck at the same time.

As Ophelia was shorter than Iris and Catherine, the latter two were awkwardly stooped, but soon, the three hugged each other tightly.

For a long time. 

“I’m out of breath.”

At the little whisper of Ophelia, Catherine and Iris burst into laughter and let her go.

Although squeezed in the middle, Ophelia’s laugh was as loud and bright as theirs.

“All right, shall we get going?”

“Let’s go to the place we passed before.”

They surrendered their bodies to the crowd and drifted to and from, when suddenly, there was a loud noise.

Ame: All the feels this chapter!!! (｡T ω T｡) my heart is too weak, even for this… but I still like reading it…

Dea: WHAT’S THE LOUD NOISE? just as i was enjoying their cute friendship moment…istg if there is another regression coming and they lose their memories…