https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/86/
Tryst
Two weeks have already passed since the Hero Audition’s finale.
On that day, Lily had plenty of time to do what she needed after the long talk I had with Heath. By the time I managed to make it back to her dorm room, my stuff were the only things left inside.
I couldn’t figure out what Heath’s clue was supposed to mean, and I’ve lost contact with Lily. I figure she is probably under house arrest in the Ruhuna mansion, but I don’t have the time to even attempt to visit her now that I’ve become a hero.
That’s because I was under my own form of house arrest in the capital for my hero training.
I was run through a gauntlet of lessons for the country’s history, etiquette, and the geography for any places I might get sent out to. They even brought out some school desks like I was back in elementary school where they had Peony, Ran, Ren, and me sit.
Between those lessons I had meetings scheduled with the first and second year’s heroes, the royal family, and high profile guest, but it was the constant invitations from nobles for different banquets that really tired me out. The physical and mental exhaustion makes me understand why exactly Lily would be so tired of noble life.
Today too I managed to get through another banquet after cramming my education. I returned to my room exhausted, threw off my dress in one go, flopped down into my chair, and stared out the window.
After two long weeks, this is the first time I had enough energy to look out of one. Up until now, I’d just go to bed as soon as I got back, so I think I’ve made some progress.
The royal castle has security working 24 hours a day, so it’s quite bright. Whatever stars you could see in the sky had their lights significantly thinned out.
At the edge of my vision, I noticed a radiant star whose light shone brighter than any other out there. However, it’s light was too low in the sky, and it kept blinking in some irregular pattern.
Beneath that star was a mansion that was noticeably larger than any of the surrounding buildings. When I looked closer, I realized that the star was actually shining from the very tip of a tower connected to that mansion.
It took me too long to realize I was looking at the Ruhuna family mansion right now. Once I realized that though, I immediately understood that the star I was watching is actually a light Lily was somehow making herself.
“Lily! Lily!”
I tried leaning out the window and yelling her name several times, but there’s no shot my voice would reach her so far away.
I need to talk with her somehow. I wracked my brain as I paced around the room.
This situation sounded familiar. The old story Lily told me when we visited that tower came to mind. It was all about a princess and a guy from the Ruhuna family falling in love and using lights to speak with each other at night.
There must be some kind of message behind that flashing light.
A well of energy surged in my chest, and I ran to the library.
Inside, I found the librarian putting in some overtime and cleaning up.
“H-Hello! L-Light….I want to talk with someone using lights! Do you have a book on rules please?”
I was out of breath by the time I made it here, but I didn’t give myself a chance to catch my breath before grabbing the librarian’s shoulders.
“Y-Yes. I can help you. Just a moment please.”
The librarian thankfully fought against the impulse to walk home and started looking around for some books.
The people in charge told me to use the library to study as much as I want, but this is the first time I’ve been here in the last two weeks. The walls are so tightly packed with books you need to use a scaffolding to reach the top shelves.
The librarian apparently knew exactly what I was looking for because they walked directly to one corner of the room and climbed up the scaffolding.
“Here are a few tomes on the agreed forms of messaging.”
“Do you have anything on the messages used during ancient times? I became interested on the topic when I heard a story about a princess and a nobleman talking with each other using a light every night.”
“In that case….give me one more moment.”
My story seemed to have given the librarian some idea, and she moved to another room.
After a while, they brought back a book covered in dust.
“It is said the princess from this time period used such a method. This is a valuable tome, but if you are that interested, please take it with you. I am happy to hear that Liffy-san is interested in this place.”
The librarian smiled as he handed me the book. I feel a little mean since I’m not not the pure knowledge seeker he thinks I am, but I got over it and took the book back to my room.
Lily’s light was still flashing by the time I got back. I haven’t noticed that anything was going on for two weeks now. When did she start doing this, and how long would she keep it up every night? Regret wells up in my heart when I ever even consider that thought.
I quickly opened up the old book. When I skipped the introductions and explanations to get to the meat of things, I found a page that translated the flashing patterns directly into letters.
I decided to wait to decipher what Lily was trying to convey. Before anything else, I have to tell her I can see her.
I turn off the lights in my room and cover the lamp with a cloth. By pulling the cloth off and putting it back on over and over again, I am able to reproduce the blinking effect. I read just enough of the book to be able to repeat my message again and again. “Li – ly. Li – ly. Li – ly.”
When I looked at the tower, I saw the blinking had stopped. It was still going on a minute ago, so Lily must have seen my message. I anxiously waited for Lily’s reply while whispering a soft prayer under my breath.
After a moment passed, the light from the tower began blinking once again. I used a paper to write down the flashing paper to make it easier to translate.
“W, ho. Who….”
I have a book with rules written in it, so I guess anyone could respond if they felt like it. It’s just like her to be cautious even during a situation like this.
“Fo – ot – Fe – t – ish.”
So I sent a reply that only the two of us would know. I didn’t have to wait long for her reply.
“Pe – r – ve – rt.”
I guess that means Lily believes it’s me. Another message came a few seconds after.
“Un – der – Gr – ou – nd – wa – re – h – ou – se. Af – t – er – n – oon”
Underground warehouse. Afternoon. I knew right away where to go.
Tomorrow afternoon, I will meet her in the treasure house inside the castle’s basement. Tomorrow’s schedule is packed too, but I’ll do whatever it takes to slip away. I’m already considered the most unreliable of the heroes, so I don’t mind getting a small scolding afterwards.
“Un – der – st – ood”
As if that was all that was needed, I received no more messages from the tower. I will see Lily tomorrow. Knowing that made me so happy that I couldn’t fall asleep no matter how deeply I buried myself in my covers.
♠
The next day, as soon as I was finished with lunch, I headed to the treasure house in the castle’s basement. It is my first time coming here since I originally came here to hide the ring with Lily, yet I was somehow able to make it to room 1742 without getting lost. The whole reason I wasn’t able to get any sleep last night is because I was reliving every memory I shared with Lily after all–including this one.
As soon as I walked into the room, I found someone already inside with their back turned towards me. They spun around as soon as they heard me opening the door.
“Liffy! I missed you!”
And as soon as I closed the door, Lily had her arms around me.
The small glimpse I got of her before she was on me was enough for me to realize that Lily was looking completely different from before. Although she’s always been slender, Lily always had lithe muscles that proved her ability to wield a sword as a warrior. Now she’s looking so skinny that she might be able to hide behind a light pole.
The arms she has hugged around me are then, and her once shiny hair is dull and damaged. I don’t think she’s had much to eat these last couple of weeks.
“Lily, I’m sorry it took me so long to notice…”
My apology was cut short by Lily’s kiss, and my body is shoved against the wall harder than she’s ever done before. I obviously had no intention of fighting her off. I let Lily do whatever she wanted.
My and Lily’s tongues have been waiting so long for this moment. They moved back and forth, dancing upon our lips and moving between my mouth and hers.
Our entwined bodies moved from wall to wall, switching who had their backs against the wall several times. Lily never lets up on either her offense or defense whether her back’s to the wall or not. Her spirit isn’t dead yet. That’s the thought running through my head.
But, the words that came from Lily’s mouth were too absurd.
“Liffy, once a week. No, meeting down here once enough will be good enough. That’s all I need.”
“That….isn’t like you Lily.”
“It’s already enough. If we keep it to two weeks, nobody will notice the lights. I know heroes are busy, but I don’t have the courage to give anything else. This is all I have.”
“T-That….sorry. But, we can talk every night together from now on.”
“Would you be satisfied just talking? I couldn’t be. Hey, quickly show me your dance again. I will never forget that feeling that shook the depths of my brain. Let’s get on with it already, okay?”
I couldn’t stop myself from looking away. I can’t stand to see Lily looking so desperate. She is an overwhelmingly strong individual, a ruler, and my master. That’s who Lily is for me. It hurts watching her act like a stray dog desperately looking for something.
“Lily, we can fight this together. Would you feel happy living like this? Silk sheets and a soft bed. It would definitely be more fun to cuddle in a place like that don’t you think?”
“Then should we bring a bed down here? That will work. There’s no need to make things more painful when we’re not looking for it.”
“Lily….what happened….?”
I had thought Lily’s fire wasn’t extinguished yet. And it certainly wasn’t, but it seems like it was smoldering in the wrong direction for us.
She’s given up on everything, making compromises to lap up the bare minimum of honey. The Lily who said she would become a hero so she’d never have to live like that is already gone.
“Liffy, hurry up. I can’t hold back anymore….”
Lily reached her hand to between her legs and started comforting herself right in front of me.
“Please stop!”
A dry smack echoed in the room, similar to when I was spanked. But today, I was the one doing the slapping. My emotions overtook me, and I slapped Lily across the cheek.
Lily’s body crouched down to the crowd, tears rolling down as she held her hand to her cheek.
“I….will be married soon. It’s already over. I can’t run away. I don’t want to elope and live a secret life where I’m always in hiding. This is the only option we have that lets me live with you.”
I’ve never seen Lily look so small. Her slender body is actually thinner than she originally looked, devoid of any of the reliability she always carried with her.
“Lily, let’s dance together. We can forget all the bad things together and just move our bodies. Besides, it will be fun.”
I held Lily’s hands and helped her to her feet.
I couldn’t stand to see Lily so weak any longer. I thought maybe a dance would make her feel better, so I chose a random noble dance and led her through the steps.
Lily began humming a tune in a weak voice shortly after we started. It brought up a nostalgic memory for me.
The party after the unveiling party when the audition first started. I danced with Lily back then too.
Thinking about it, I guess that was actually the start of everything. If I hadn’t danced with Lily, I would’ve never been addicted to her scent, and we would have never descended into this perverted, lustful world together.
Continuing to think about it, I actually danced with Olive before that. I thought of her as a thoroughly unpleasant person back then. She tripped me over with her feet on purpose, and that’s actually the reason Lily danced with me in the first place.
At that moment, the dots connected perfectly in my mind. Heath’s advice and everything I knew about noble customs. I came up with a plan to pull Lily out of her Hell.
I stopped the dance, grabbed Lily’s shoulders, and looked directly into her face.
“Lily, let’s break off your engagement.”
“I already told you that’s not an option anymore. Even if I were to run away, my father would never let this go.”
“Then we just need to do something that would make him give up. And I know exactly how I can help you Lily. Specifically….”
Lily was as fragile as a butterfly in my arms, but as she continued to listen to me, she slowly but surely regained her previous radiance.
Experimental Translations 