Chapter 150

To be honest, having a solution right in front of me and just leaving it there isn’t easy at all. I’m a woman who has to solve everything.

Whoosh.

As I entered the dome, I shivered with a chill that swept over my body, letting out a small “ugh.”

The world before my eyes was, as expected, a black world that seemed to have inverted colors, just like the last dome.

But even amidst that, the trees immediately caught my eye. They were much darker, emanating a disturbing energy. Just as I was about to dash toward the trees, someone grabbed the nape of my neck firmly.

“Ah, ahaha.”

“…Ariadeline.”

“You followed me right in, didn’t you?”

“Of course, should I leave you alone?”

“Your words are quite romantic.”

When I glanced back subtly, his eyes were sparkling. Sorry, but your eyes are a bit scary. Could you tone it down?

I laughed nervously, and he sighed deeply, lightly massaging the back of my neck a few times before letting go.

Ah, that was also unsatisfactory.

“Why do you only hold my hand when it’s urgent and not otherwise?”

“…Should I really be discussing this now?”

“I’m bringing it up since it came to mind.”

I looked directly at Carlothian. He wore a troubled expression.

What’s so troubling about it? Legally, we’re a couple. We’ve confirmed our feelings. There’s nothing to hold us back.

“Do you not want to hold my hand?”

“…No, that’s not it.”

“Do you not want to kiss me?”

“…No, that’s not it.”

“Do you not want to hug me either?”

“…It’s not that.”

“Then why! Why is that!”

I stomped my feet like a petulant child. He looked at me with a “What should I do about this?” expression. What are you going to do by looking at me like that? There’s no way I’m backing down now.

I stretched out my hands and grabbed his cheeks firmly. His face came closer. I pressed my forehead against his.

“Please kiss me.”

“…Do we have to do it here?”

“Yes, right here. Do you know? The power of love might purify the cursed object.”

“…That’s quite a mysterious idea.”

“Hurry up.”

Carlothian hesitated for a moment. His eyelashes fluttered. He was being cautious.

Maybe he was scared that touching me would trigger a fit like the last time I reached out to him. Scared that I might get hurt again.

But, Carlothian, that won’t happen anymore. I squinted my eyes as I watched him slowly bring his lips to mine. Touch, our lips met.

But it was, as the words say, a light peck. What is this? It’s not even child’s play.

Yet the contact made my lips tremble, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. So I parted my lips and lightly licked his lower lip with my tongue. I felt him shudder suddenly.

“Well, I’ll let this be enough for now.”

I smirked, and he covered one eye with his hand, looking like he couldn’t do anything about it.

I smiled brightly and turned around him, heading toward the tree.

The tree was darkened like the dagger at that time. It was quite large, too.

“First, to get out of here, we need to purify this.”

“……”

“For now, I’ll look for something other than blood. If there’s no other way, I’ll resort to using blood.”

“……I understand for now.”

“Yes, yes. Good boy.”

I approached the tree and placed my hand on the trunk. Then I opened my mouth and began to sing lightly, infusing it with divine power.

Ah, I forgot to take the painkillers again in the meantime. I frowned at the sharper pain in my throat than before.

As I frowned, Carlothian reacted quickly, but I pretended not to notice and continued singing.

Even after pouring all the divine power I had inside me, there was no change in the tree. But one thing was certain: just like the cursed object that was a dagger, this was also…

‘It’s definitely absorbing the divine power.’

I felt the tree a bit more. It seemed like I might need to sprinkle some blood, but Carlothian would strongly oppose that.

“……Hmm.”

I stared blankly at the tree.

“Spit.”

“……?”

“That won’t work.”

Carlothian looked at me with an indescribable expression, but I continued to examine the tree nonchalantly. Indeed, it seems that other bodily fluids… won’t do.

As I poked around the tree, Carlothian soon began to look around the area as well. But there wasn’t really anything there. Just a red sky and black earth.

I glanced up at the alien red sky. If the dome grew larger and swallowed the entire world, would it become a land of nothing but red sky?

I squatted down and gently ran my index finger along the rough black wood.

Ouch.

That hurt.

The hard bark pricked my fingertip. A few drops of blood formed, so I smeared it on the tree’s surface.

“Hmm, as expected…”

I could see a brown hue beneath the faint bloodstains. The answer is nothing but blood. If I had known this would happen, I should have brought another priest with me.

But soon, I sighed as I recalled the face of the crying priest, looking troubled while I insisted on drawing blood.

“Carlothian.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Give me a knife.”

“……”

Wow, what a terrifying expression.

“I won’t tell anyone else, you know?”

“……”

“That’s the only way out.”

I stared directly at him as I approached. Then I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him closer.

Our eyes met. His body, glowing softly because he was holding a sacred object, had a complete color, unlike the inverted world.

But it was dark. So very dark. His eyes had lost their light at some point. I looked at those eyes and smiled bitterly before lightly kissing his lips.

“Let me do what I can.”

“……Ariadeline, I—”

“You don’t want me to get hurt, right? Honestly, I don’t really like this method either.”

I kissed him again.

“But if it has to be done, I’ll do it. You know I’m stubborn.”

“……I know.”

“Of course, I know your stubbornness is no joke either.”

I kissed him once more.

I chuckled softly. He looked down at me as if in disbelief.

“Shall we go on a trip once everything is resolved?”

“……Where to?”

“Just somewhere with a view of the sea?”

“……I have a nice cottage.”

“I know. You mentioned it back then.”

“……”

Carlothian seemed to pause for a moment, recalling when he had talked about the cottage. Then he stiffened. I looked at his face and whispered gently.

“We can’t let the world we’re going to share together be destroyed.”

“……Then.”

He spoke as if he had made up his mind.

“Let me hurt you.”

“……Hmm?”

That was unexpected, so I turned my gaze aside.

“You’re a beginner. If you’re not careful, you could inflict a deep wound.”

“Well, I can heal with a song, so it’s fine… Alright. Don’t open your eyes like that. I’ll do it.”

I extended my arm toward him in front of the tree. He drew his sword. I could see his hand trembling slightly.

I smiled with a grimace and said, “It’s okay.”

Am I a little cruel? I’ve actually done a lot of things to him that I shouldn’t have. But honestly, you haven’t treated me well either.

Thinking about such things, I extended my wrist further. He carefully gripped the sword and held my hand.

He slowly pressed the blade down. My skin cracked, and blood began to flow slowly down my wrist.

Carlothian frowned as if he had cut himself. I gently stroked his cheek and went over to the tree, letting the dripping blood fall onto the roots.

As the red blood fell, the brown surface began to show where it touched.

“First of all, the tree will absorb what’s poured on the roots, so we can sprinkle it around and wait, right?”

I sprinkled the flowing blood around the roots and sat a little distance away. Then I quietly began to sing.

As I started to sing, Carlothian came and sat beside me. I naturally leaned against his shoulder and hummed along.

I could slowly feel the wound on my wrist healing. See, it’s healing like this, so what’s there to worry about?

I frowned for a moment. The scenes of being tortured in the underground prison and singing until my voice was hoarse flashed through my mind.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

It’s okay. That’s something that hasn’t happened anymore, and he’s here with me.

As I rubbed my head against Carlothian’s shoulder, he wrapped his hand around my shoulder.

We shared everything. He knew my despair, and I knew his despair.

He learned of my weakness, and I realized his hatred. I slowly closed my eyes.

“Carlothian.”

“Why?”

“I think I can kill the Emperor.”

“……What?”

“If I kill the Emperor tainted by the demon, no one will probably say anything. We could say that methods of purification wouldn’t work on him.”

“……”

He was silent for a moment. I opened my eyes and looked at the slowly crumbling black world. Ah, it seems the tree has been purified.

“Kill the one who made us like this.”

I smiled brightly at him.

“Let’s kill him. Together.”