29. Gnawing at blood vessels is the worm's job
"Iphoe Bell. The day has broken."
I opened my eyes following Arwin's beautiful voice. Although I woke up from a long nightmare, the afterimage of the Kissing Bug still shimmered before my eyes.
The image of the guy gnawing at my blood vessels terribly did not disappear easily. I closed my eyes again.
"Iphoe Bell."
Arwin called my name again, but strangely, that sound wasn't transmitted properly.
Only a light tinnitus arose in my ears, and a creepy sound was heard. It sounded like something being gnawed.
I knew the identity of that sound. It's the sound of a worm. No doubt. That guy is eating away my blood vessels.
That sound of unknown origin lingered in my ears for quite a long time.
Sweeping the garden with a broom, I suddenly thought about when would be a good time to quit my job as a maid.
In fact, I wanted to see Arwin until the day I die, but contradictorily, I didn't want to show him my dying appearance. I hated to be remembered by him as an appearance gasping for breath and then collapsing.
Setting the day to leave the Marquis's residence was a difficult task. Because I couldn't know for sure when all my blood vessels would be gnawed away by the Kissing Bug.
There was no rule saying it couldn't be tomorrow. Although the grace period the doctor mentioned was three months, gnawing at blood vessels was the worm's job.
When and how much the Kissing Bug gnaws at my blood vessels was decided by itself. That was something only that worm knew.
I stopped thinking about the worm's intention and looked up at the bare tree branches. I wonder when even the traces of red fallen leaves disappeared; the tree branches were dry and skinny.
I stared for a long time at the blue sky reflected through the dry branches and the ivory-colored Marquis's residence. Today's Arwin's mansion. I didn't know when I would leave, but I wanted to remember it vividly.
"Archmage appears."
It was Dalton who interrupted my sentiment. He appeared suddenly from the corner of the blue sky and walked lightly up to in front of me.
His steps walking flexibly using the air as stairs were something I had seen before. A happy smile hung on his face, who even landed perfectly.
"Hey, maid lady. Not working?"
"I was sweeping the garden. Now is a time to straighten my back for a moment."
Honestly, I did take it a bit easy. It was fortunate in many ways that the head maid of the Marquis's residence wasn't strict. I seemed to benefit quite a bit anew.
"Admiring the sky while straightening your back as well?"
"Yes. Looking at the sky, looking at the Marquis's residence. As well."
"Kukuku."
Dalton giggled small whether my answer was funny.
For some reason, he was dressed differently from usual. A navy jacket with noticeable gold embroidery, a white shirt that looked roomy, and even expensive-looking earrings. It was an appearance dressed up to the nines. Did he come back from meeting someone?
"Dalton, did you meet someone?"
"Well."
"Then what were you doing in the sky?"
"I didn't do anything? Because sometimes it's necessary to give a change to the perspective. The view looking up from the ground and the view looking down from the sky are extremely different."
What kind of view would the view of the ground looking down from the sky be?
It was a somewhat difficult proposition for me who looked up at the sky from the ground all my life.
"Can I also feel the change in perspective?"
I thought Dalton would agree. In fact, recalling, there wasn't a single time Dalton refused my proposal.
"Of course. You are the opponent I want to seduce, and I can't refuse the request of such an opponent."
As expected, he answered as if he didn't know refusal.
"Indeed a libertine."
"Right. Miss Iphoe Bell."
He reached out toward me.
"Then first, hold my hand."
I held Dalton's hand. His hand was warm just like past days. He gripped my hand tight and extended his leg into the air. His leg began to walk using the air as stairs with superfluous movements.
"Follow my footsteps."
After nodding my head faintly, I walked following his footsteps. Surprisingly, my feet also floated in the air. When did he cast magic on me too?
"Wow."
I spat out an extremely pure exclamation. Dalton made a satisfied laughing sound.
"Shall I surprise you more?"
He pulled my hand he was holding toward him. Suddenly held in his arms, he quickly lifted me up.
Dalton's two hands wrapped around my waist and thighs respectively. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our bodies soared up into the sky at a fast speed.
"Wow."
I spat out a pure exclamation again, and the more I did, the more Dalton enjoyed it. He seemed to enjoy me admiring his magic skills.
Only after rising enough to see Arwin's mansion at a glance did our soaring bodies stop in the air. Unable to spit out more exclamations, I clicked my tongue at the view looking down.
The ivory bricks of the Marquis's residence sparkled in the sunlight shining through the clouds that couldn't be caught by hand, and the dry branches of trees that looked only desolate looked like magnificent sculptures when viewed from above.
Should I say it looked as if someone had trimmed it simply with aesthetic meaning?
I captured that scene in detail in my eyes. It was a magnificent view I wanted to remember until I die.
"I think it's fortunate that I met you."
Dalton asked while still holding me tight, whether I wasn't heavy.
"Now? Why?"
At that moment, forgetting briefly the fact that I had to answer, I thought a useless thought. That thought was, if Dalton lets go of the hand supporting me, wouldn't I die from falling?
I imagined my body that would fall from the sky.
My body will fall to the ground adding its speed, receiving gravity as it is. Then wouldn't my body be placed on the dry branches?
If looking down from above, wouldn't my appearance placed on the dry branches also seem to possess some artistic meaning?
I looked down at the dry branches quietly. For some reason, my mouth feels dry. I guess dying from falling is a bit scary.
"Iphoe Bell?"
"Ah, sorry. I thought of something else for a moment. Hmm. So, because I can experience things I would never have experienced if I hadn't met you, by meeting you. So you think it's fortunate?"
"Oho. Is there no reward?"
"Is there something you want?"
"There is."
He answered readily. As if there was something he wanted from me from before.
"What is it?"
"For instance, a deep kiss. Or a soft kiss. If not that, a rough kiss."
"Is it my misunderstanding that the options sound like one?"
"Of course. Since there are as many as three options."
He answered readily again. As if there really are as many as three options.
"If so, I choose a rough kiss."
"Really? I didn't think you would choose a rough kiss."
Dalton spoke as if unexpected. It was natural for him to feel unpredictability. Because if it were the usual me, I would have chosen a soft kiss.
But today, somehow a rough kiss appealed to me.
A person cannot live eating the same food every day. I just wanted to eat a little more stimulating food especially today.
"I think sometimes a change is needed in your perspective seeing me."
"Oh my, your wordplay seems to have improved."
"I learned from you."
"Yeah, admitted."
Dalton giggled small, then made a slightly complaining sound.
"Iphoe Bell, my arms are slowly getting numb."
"Shall we go down now?"
"I was waiting for those words."
As soon as my words fell, his legs began to step on the air. Dalton came down to the ground as quickly as when he went up to the sky.
Soon reaching the ground, Dalton put me down whom he was holding. It was a fast movement that would have been big trouble if I hadn't said let's go down.
"Phew, that was close."
Dalton rotated his shoulder a few times and let out a small sigh. Although he didn't say any particular words, I must have been a bit heavy.
"Iphoe. That aside. Do you remember the signal flare story I mentioned before?"
"Yes."
Signal flare. I quietly recalled the words Dalton said the other day.
'A signal flare inducing his true heart is needed.'
A signal flare inducing Arwin's true heart. Did Dalton come up with the answer to that?
Dalton continued speaking, making a gun muzzle shape with his hand for no reason.
"I thought about it a little more concretely."
"Did a brilliant idea come to mind?"
"Of course. Who am I? Me, Dalton Racers."
He tapped his chest a few times and acted triumphantly. He must have come up with a great idea.
I hoped that brilliant idea wasn't something violent. However, Dalton's pretty lips spat out words with an ominous resonance.
"You pretend to be dead."
"Pardon?"
"The words that you die in a little while... you haven't told Arwin yet, right?"
"...Yes. Because I didn't know how to bring it up."
"So, let's pretend you died in front of Arwin. Just in time, there is your coffin too, you just have to lie still inside it."
"But even if I lie down pretending to be dead, I can't act up to stopping breathing."
If I did that, I might really die. Time not much left until dying anyway. I hated to shorten it on purpose. Very much.
"Such things can be solved with magic. You are actually breathing, but I can make it look like you aren't. Should I say a kind of optical illusion or hallucination."
"Hmm."
"If you don't like that method, we can use another method. Only, the essential things I want to use are 'death', 'absence', things like these."
Having said that much, Dalton smiled a deep smile. A smile appearing to have an ulterior motive I often saw.
Death and absence. The brilliant idea he proposed was as violent as I thought, but strangely it appealed to me. Why, aren't people sometimes attracted to stimulating things? Just like how I was interested in a rough kiss.
But if Arwin doesn't know what death is, Dalton's brilliant idea becomes useless. Was Dalton overlooking that fact?
"Would Arwin know what death is?"
"Hmm, if it's Arwin...."
Dalton couldn't answer readily and let out a long groan.
I remembered Arwin's answer when I asked how someone's death was. He was the one who answered "Well" without a shred of agitation.
I thought the probability of such a him reacting specially only to my death was close to zero.
"Arwin might have acted resolutely about other deaths he experienced. But if it's your death, Iphoe Bell, he might regard it specially."
I looked at him as if completely untrustworthy. Dalton smiled broadly.
"Your death becoming a signal flare. And we examine Arwin's reaction facing your death."
"How?"
"If he shows a special reaction to your death, our plan becomes a proper signal flare."
Special reaction. Does he mean Arwin shedding tears at my death or something?
I wanted to see transparent tears dwelling in Arwin's black eyes. Of course, I thought the probability of him shedding tears because of my death was also close to zero.
"I'll think about it."
Dalton's words were sufficiently persuasive. But I couldn't agree immediately. Because I felt like Dalton had another ulterior motive.
"Until when?"
"Well."
"I don't want to rush you. But."
Dalton closed and opened his eyes slowly.
"Keep in mind that there isn't much time left for you."
That was words close to a warning.
"By the way, Iphoe."
"Yes?"
Are there more words left to say? Dalton spoke in a languid voice.
"So when are you giving me the rough kiss?"
Indeed, I am also very curious about that.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
When would be good?