WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 133: Purgatory Floor 80
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Banquet.
Brief scenes flowed and curled through the folds of the night.
The night view beyond the terrace was so vivid as I gazed quietly at it.
On that summer night that stretched until dawn, the red-haired woman and I didn't speak.
We simply remained beneath the night sky in silence.
“...Your Highness.”
The day after that night of music had ended.
I was kneeling in my dorm room, at my wits' end.
“Did you have fun?”
A sulky voice rang in my ears.
Across from me sat a silver-haired girl with her back sharply turned.
Her red eyes remained fixed in the opposite direction, as if she refused to look at me.
“I asked whether you had fun.”
Last night.
I had made a serious mistake.
“You disappeared without a word, then only came back late at dawn...”
After preparing all day, I had needed to attend the banquet right away.
Maybe it was because my schedule had been such a mess.
I had forgotten to tell Her Highness beforehand.
“And you were spending time with another woman, no less.”
“...”
I lowered my head.
Apparently, Her Highness had waited all night for me to return.
‘It was the first time I'd ever disappeared without telling her.’
Normally, I always kept Carmilla with me.
If I couldn't, I at least told her my plans so she wouldn't worry.
This time, though, I had skipped that step and left Her Highness alone for hours.
‘What a stupid mistake.’
I had been distracted lately.
The Evil God, Javert, all kinds of worries and problems had filled my head.
Of course, that wasn't an excuse.
Her Highness and I had made a promise.
That no matter what happened, I wouldn't make her anxious.
‘Hmm.’
Come to think of it, I hadn't been doing a great job of keeping that promise.
Still, I had that responsibility.
‘And yesterday was the day I completely failed it...’
Her Highness always acted strong, but deep down, she was more fragile than anyone.
It made sense. The thorn buried deep in her heart still hadn't come out.
In some ways, she was in an even more precarious state than Alice.
“Will you leave me too...?”
I remembered the tears that had fallen onto my cheek.
Right after the Lunar Eclipse event.
A dark bedroom.
The girl had pushed me down as though pouncing on me.
We had been so close that our breaths mingled.
In the middle of that mess, she had asked me through tears.
“I told you to answer.”
“Please, answer me...”
Her voice had been full of distrust rooted deep within her.
Despair had gnawed away at her, until one corner of her heart had rotted through.
“At least you, Viktor, don't abandon me.”
“Don't leave me alone in this deep mire.”
“If you must betray me... then poison me instead.”
Poor girl.
“Just stay. Even if I order you to leave, ngh... don't go...”
“You horrible retainer. Hic... all you do is make me anxious...”
That had been less than two months ago.
Regardless of how much she trusted me, her learned anxiety couldn't have disappeared so quickly.
For the twelve hours I had been gone without a word, she must have been swallowed by deep water and shadow.
‘She must have been worrying the whole time...’
What if I'd abandoned her?
What if I'd betrayed her?
What if I'd grown sick of her and left?
What if something had happened to me? What if I'd been seriously hurt?
“Viktor.”
Unable to even lie down in her bedroom, Her Highness had wandered around the entrance for a long time, waiting.
She had spent the entire night trembling in an unlit room.
When I returned, she rushed straight at me.
She clung tightly to me, buried her face in my chest, and sobbed.
“Viktor, Viktor...”
My shirt grew damp, drop by drop.
Her Highness hadn't let go of me for a long while...
‘Hmm.’
And now we were here.
Her crying had subsided, and I had explained everything that happened.
Having learned the whole story, Her Highness seemed properly angry.
“Bad retainer.”
“...”
“Lecher.”
“I had to do it. It was necessary...”
“Quiet.”
“Yes.”
This had clearly been my mistake, so I had no choice but to submit to Her Highness.
“At the very least, you could have left me a message through the crystal ball.”
“I'm sorry. I thought of it too late, and it was already deep into the night... I thought Your Highness might be asleep. I was worried that contacting you would wake you up...”
“That would have been better.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Wretched retainer.”
Her words were sharp, but tinged with tears she tried to hide.
They held both resentment toward this pathetic retainer and relief that I was back.
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
As though trying not to show it, Her Highness forced strength into her voice.
“Hmph... I didn't know any of that, sniff. Like an idiot, I waited anxiously for you.”
“I deserve death. I grew complacent in my devotion.”
“So you do know. Still, don't say you're going to die.”
“I'll remember that.”
The conversation went back and forth in short, tossed-off remarks.
I slowly rose to my feet and approached the girl sitting with her back turned.
She must have heard me, but Her Highness made no move to avoid me.
“Your Highness.”
I quietly reached out.
Then I gently stroked her sulky silver hair.
“I'll make sure this never happens again.”
“Take your hand away.”
Carmilla turned her head away.
Still, she didn't make any move to escape my touch.
“...Javert, was it? Are women like that your type, Viktor?”
“I only did it because it was necessary.”
“She was pretty enough to turn heads, though.”
“That isn't something you should say, Your Highness...”
“Don't flatter me so easily.”
“I'm always sincere.”
Stroke, stroke.
My hand smoothed out her disheveled silver hair.
As I tidied it, I quietly answered her.
“You know this already. The only lord I serve is you, Carmilla Blandir.”
“...”
“I swore that I wouldn't leave your side.”
“...Say more.”
“You are the only person I hold in reverence.”
“More.”
“You are the noblest flower, and the most beautiful one destined to bloom.”
“More.”
“It's always an honor to serve you.”
“...”
Carmilla pressed her lips together for a moment.
For the first time, she turned to look up at me.
“...You weren't lying, were you?”
“I'd rather die than lie to you.”
“I told you not to die.”
Even as she pointed that out, Her Highness's breathing had settled.
Her pout had eased as well.
The girl quietly leaned into my hand.
She tipped her head slightly and murmured.
“If Viktor says so... I'll allow myself to be fooled one more time.”
Thump, thump.
Her Highness stepped into my arms and bumped her forehead against my chest.
That small gesture thawed the tense air.
I calmly patted her back.
Without resisting, Her Highness simply leaned her full weight against me.
* * *
Meanwhile, the academy was no less abuzz.
“Did you all hear? About last night's academy banquet!”
“Chief Investigator Javert and Class E's top student attended as a couple...”
How had news with no legs traveled so quickly?
Word of the previous night's banquet had already spread throughout the academy.
From my attendance as Javert's partner to the part where we danced in front of everyone...
‘Why did every little detail spread around?’
The romance rumors between Javert and me had seemed to be dying down recently.
This news poured oil onto the fading embers.
It felt like a pillar of fire had shot into the sky.
I had expected some reaction, but I never imagined it would be this explosive.
‘She asked me for a favor, so I just went ahead and did it...’
How was I supposed to deal with this now?
‘Hmm.’
It had been fun while I was doing it, but now that it was over, reality came crashing down.
Like throwing paint all over a white room.
Naturally, eyes followed me wherever I went.
It got bad enough that the others each had something to say about it.
“Sir Viktor.”
“I heard about last night's banquet.”
“I never imagined you were seeing Chief Investigator Javert...”
“Ahaha... It's nothing! I shouldn't have brought it up!”
Ranne's voice sounded strangely devoid of strength.
She smiled, but it looked somehow empty.
“V-Viktor... Is that rumor true?”
“You and Javert are lovers...”
“But when I asked you last time, you clearly said you weren't...”
Alice looked deeply hurt.
Her shoulders trembled as she tightly gripped my sleeve and asked about the previous night.
Tears had even welled up in her eyes.
“How many fucking women do you have?”
“You're a real lady killer, aren't you?”
“Let's see... A blonde, a black-haired girl, a princess, and now an investigator.”
“That's already four. You're seducing everyone you meet, aren't you?”
Caitlin must have thought this was her chance. She sneered at me with contempt in her eyes.
And she added plenty of unnecessary comments, too.
In the end, I had to put her in her place.
Then there was someone whose reason for being in our group I had no idea about.
“I heard the news.”
“They say you're in a common-law marriage with the Chief Investigator, and that you even have a child together.”
Rin Glacia.
The top student of Class A, who had transferred into Class E a few days ago.
“Surprising. I never thought you were Professor Javert's lover.”
“You really are amazing.”
“I'll work harder too.”
The girl stepped over, gave her brief thoughts, then left.
What exactly was amazing, and what did she plan to work harder at...?
She was hard to read, completely set on her own path.
It took quite a while to explain the situation to the others.
“Phew...”
Right.
It took an entire day.
Only after I was half-dead from exhaustion could I return to my dorm room.
“So it begins today.”
Of course, I didn't have time to relax.
I had to move right away.
It was something I had prepared for a long time.
The time had finally come to bring all the groundwork I'd laid together.
Her Highness had already transformed into Bat Form and was wiggling her wings inside the front pocket of my robe.
[So it's getting late. Where are you saying we're going?]
“It's somewhere Your Highness has visited before.”
[Hmm?]
I gave her a brief answer.
A blue window appeared before my eyes.
Ding!
[Sub Quest]
-Title: How to Greet the Self That Watches You
-Details: Conquer Purgatory Floor 80. Defeat the master of Purgatory Floor 80.
-Penalty upon Failure: None
-Reward upon Success: Forgotten Sage's Contract (A+)
[Time Limit: Until the Final Destruction Arrives]
“Purgatory.”
The world was leading me into a storm.
And toward the moments that would follow it.
“We're heading underground.”
It was a calm declaration.
It was time to retrieve the key item needed to stop Javert from taking her own life.
Footnotes:
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