The Genius Perfumer of the Fallen Cult - Chapter 87
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Perfumer of the Fallen Religious Order Episode 87
“Prim! If it’s itchy, just take them off for now.”
“Until I get used to it…”
“You can get used to it slowly. Do you know how funny your expression looks right now? Hurry up!”
Prim glared at Rozien for no reason. Rozien took off the shoes and socks from Prim’s feet and laughed again. It was because Prim had quickly climbed up onto the bed.
“Why do you keep laughing…”
“Should I not laugh then?”
Rozien laughed again, so Prim stared blankly at his face before finally feeling at ease. He was completely his usual self.
Prim hesitated slightly before adding as if in afterthought.
“…Rozien, I’m sorry.”
Rozien’s laughter subsided a little.
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. But I feel like I…”
“Is it enough to just say sorry without even knowing what you did wrong?”
Prim fell silent at Rozien’s words. When Prim stayed quiet, Rozien approached and sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the bed.
Prim wanted to see Rozien’s face but somehow couldn’t move.
Rozien spoke with his back turned.
“Sorry.”
“Huh? I was the one who said sorry.”
“…It seemed like you were pushing yourself too hard… I guess I got angry without realizing it.”
“Why would you be angry when I was the one pushing myself? And I wasn’t even pushing myself.”
“If you weren’t pushing yourself, why do you keep collapsing? You never did that before we came to the orphanage.”
“That’s…”
“Right, I actually know. You came to the orphanage after getting cursed, so you wouldn’t have been like that before.”
Rozien buried his face in his knees.
“It’s all because of me, but I can’t even protect you and you keep…”
Rozien was about to say ‘you keep getting hurt’ but stopped. It wasn’t Prim’s fault that she was in pain. The one at fault was himself. It was his fault.
But sometimes, even when Prim was in such pain, she seemed like it didn’t matter to her at all.
Why isn’t she afraid of being in pain?
Being in pain is scary because death lies at the end of it. Yet not being afraid of pain – is it because she’s certain death won’t come? Or because she doesn’t care if death comes?
He remembered when he had left Prim and Bianna behind to run and light the Guiding Light. Some places were hellish while other places were eerily quiet.
After barely managing to light the incense burners in several places and heading back, he encountered demon beasts. More precisely, demon beasts targeting someone.
Picking up something like a stick from the street and confronting those demon beasts wasn’t scary at all. Defeating them wasn’t difficult either.
Even when people cried and thanked him, praising the young knight for saving them, his heart felt no stirring at all.
He just wanted to return quickly. To Prim. And when he returned to that Prim, what he saw were bloody footprints.
Rozien ran frantically. When he had faced demon beasts larger than himself, nothing was frightening, but seeing the red footprints on the ground made his heart drop and his hands tremble.
When he saw Prim greeting him, when he saw those blood-covered feet, Rozien learned what true fear was.
But Prim seemed like nothing bothered her or frightened her.
Strangely, that made him angry and bothered him, and even though he knew it wasn’t Prim’s fault, he couldn’t smile, and when he forced himself to smile, this time Prim watched his mood.
He knew this child was quietly observing his face. It was a really strange feeling.
She acts like her own pain doesn’t matter at all, yet she watches so carefully when I can’t smile.
And the conclusion of all that observation is this apology right now…
“But it’s really not because of you. Lord Varin told me that, um… so if you make fragrances too well, you get those kinds of headaches.”
It was somewhat embellished but not entirely wrong. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly a divine oracle either, so it should be fine to explain it this way.
Prim carefully shared her story. Prim was nervous that Rozien might start worrying again, but Rozien narrowed his eyes and interrogated her.
“You’re not lying, are you?”
“Huh? N-no, I’m not.”
“If you get headaches every time you make good fragrances, shouldn’t Vittorio Alquezia be lying down all the time?”
At this surprisingly sharp observation, Prim hesitated for a moment before deciding to just play dumb.
“You know I can’t make up what God said. And Vittorio Alquezia… I don’t know about that either.”
It was true that only she was in pain, and it was also true that she didn’t know why Vittorio wasn’t in pain, so nothing she said was wrong.
“That’s weird! Getting sick from making fragrances too well? What kind of nonsense is that? Then all those times you collapsed, all the pain you felt was…”
Rozien’s voice, which had been about to shout that it made no sense, grew quieter.
“Until I’m twenty… it’s only until I’m in my twenties. It only happens when I’m young.”
At Prim’s words, Rozien bit his lip briefly before burying his head in his arms. Prim hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on his arm.
“So you don’t need to worry too much. It’s just brief pain and then it’s over…”
“Your curse was like that too.”
Thorns only sprouted when you stepped down.
But that pain prevented Prim from walking and took away her freedom.
Just when he thought the curse was finally broken, such symptoms appeared again the moment Prim started perfumery…
Why is every single step so difficult? Can’t we have anything easily?
Prim hesitated for a moment before gently shaking Rozien’s arm. Eventually, Rozien gave her his hand.
“Rozien, you promised not to be angry.”
“I’m not being angry…”
“Then what?”
Even at Prim’s question, Rozien had no answer. Prim hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“It’s just briefly ‘ouch!’ and then the pain ends. Like getting pricked by a thorn once. This time the miracle was huge. That’s why I slept for days, but I wasn’t in pain while sleeping.”
“…There’s absolutely no way to do anything about it. Then, if you don’t do perfumery…”
“That won’t do.”
Prim said firmly, then spoke again in a softer voice.
“But if the Priest or Bianna find out, they’ll worry, so let’s just keep it between us. Okay?”
“What about me? Don’t I worry?”
“No, but… Well… it’s like growing pains, so it can’t be helped.”
After glaring at Prim and feeling completely deflated, Rozien spoke as if finding fault.
“Is that the end if you say it can’t be helped? You… wouldn’t you be the same?! If I were in pain and pushing myself, wouldn’t you worry?! Could you just dismiss it saying ‘it can’t be helped!’?”
“If Rozien pushes himself, I would…”
Prim drew out her words as if pondering. Rozien found himself nervously swallowing at her answer.
Then Prim finally spoke.
“…If Rozien pushes himself, I’ll just die.”
“What, what did you say?”
Rozien jumped in surprise and spun around. Clear light green eyes were quietly looking at him.
It was a completely nonchalant expression, as if saying ‘I’ll eat an apple in the morning.’
At that strange face, only Rozien grew more flustered.
“No, no, no! That’s not what I meant? I just said I’d be worried…”
“Yeah, me too.”
“But why are you suddenly talking about dying! Don’t say things like that!”
“Okay, I understand.”
Rozien restlessly looked around, sat down and stood up, ran to the window and fluttered the curtains to check if there were any wild beasts hiding, and only then came back to Prim and tightly grasped both her hands.
“Really don’t do that.”
“Then Rozien just needs to not push himself either, right?”
“But… No, I won’t get angry at you either. I’ll just worry. I was wrong to get angry, okay? I’m sorry.”
Rozien spoke as if coaxing a three-year-old, then suddenly realized something was strange.
“This isn’t right! The point is for you not to push yourself either! Don’t just tell me that!”
“…”
Prim just pressed her lips tightly shut, looking somewhat displeased.
On the other hand, Rozien couldn’t maintain his sullen expression for long.
He just stared at Prim amid the small surge of emotion and the worry that swept away that emotion, then ended up laughing helplessly.
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
Even when Prim asked, Rozien couldn’t answer. Leaving behind the puzzled Prim, Rozien laughed heartily then jumped onto the bed and lay down side by side.
Prim stretched out her not-yet-fully-grown arm and pulled the blanket over Rozien’s shoulder.
Rozien said while lying face down.
“Should we both not try too hard?”
Until now, it had been a life where they would collapse if they didn’t try hard. They were too small and the world was too big.
After thinking for a moment, Prim said.
“I think I might push myself a bit sometimes.”
“Hey.”
“But it’s okay. It’s not like I’m sick or anything, it’s just ‘ouch!’ and then it’s over. Got it?”
“….”
At Prim’s words, Rozien looked at Prim with a resentful face. Prim, who was lying on top of Rozien, tightened her arms around his back and hugged him tight.
Since it felt weightless like a feather without any sense of burden, Rozien squeezed his eyes shut to hold back tears and said.
“Okay, I got it! Ah, I can’t breathe!”
“You promised!”
“Yeah, promise, promise!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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