The World Mistakes Me for Terminally Ill - Chapter 105
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The World Thinks I’m Terminally Ill Episode 105
“Huh?”
“It was nothing special. Why?”
Of course, that “nothing special” was entirely accomplished by Shubel and Erban. But originally, a subordinate’s achievement is also the boss’s achievement.
I spoke shamelessly with an annoying expression that would have made Countess Herman exclaim “These youngsters these days!” and grind her teeth if she had been here.
“Don’t tell me you put a lot of effort into making it? No way, right?”
“….”
“My colleague said it was definitely a very old-fashioned style, known to have been discarded long ago, so it was easy.”
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
Even with two competent people working on it, it took almost three hours to dismantle and fix.
‘But we succeeded anyway, didn’t we?’
Then that’s what matters.
Since it’s important to be bold when bluffing, I relentlessly stabbed with verbal daggers without pause.
For the first time, cracks appeared in the black mage’s smooth mask.
“Low-grade, you say. That’s the origin of magic, the most orthodox magical formula—”
“So that means it’s an underdeveloped old thing.”
“….”
That bastard, he’s been scratched.
I smiled brightly seeing that the annoying laughter that had been bothering me until now had completely stopped.
“See, you should have studied more.”
Ah, how refreshing.
Just because something is the origin doesn’t mean everything about it is superior.
Immortal dragons might see humans who live merely a hundred years as insignificant, but humans have continuously developed by burning through their short lives.
Dragons who can collapse mountains and split seas with a single word might think it’s ‘useless,’ but it means humans can refine and use things more precisely because of their limitations.
That is the value humanity has protected through the Thousand-Year War—
And the possibility that Lunein has safeguarded.
“If you have nothing more to say, let’s part ways now. Time’s up.”
I refreshingly delivered my final words and bid farewell.
Rumble rumble rumble…!
The world in the painting, which could be called a stage set, shook.
True to a child’s imagination, fluffy rainbow-colored soap bubbles rose up, covering the gray-white city countless times.
It meant that Ruone’s reinterpretation of the [Black Swan Lake] painting was complete.
“Well then, let’s never meet again.”
Tick—
5:59 AM.
The second hand moved.
“…Ahaha. I’ll see you again, Actor.”
The curtain call rang out.
DONG—!
Simultaneously with the first bell of dawn, the clock tower symbolizing the world in the painting collapsed.
Shubel willingly caught my falling body in his arms.
“Ugh.”
Jon barely opened his eyes with his splitting headache.
Dim light was filtering into the theater.
Jon, squinting from the brightness, looked around with narrowed eyes.
“What was I doing… Huh?”
A mural that filled the wall enormously came into view.
The Milky Way pouring from the sky, countless soap bubbles floating around it.
Dress fabric spread like blooming flowers over the dark blue lake and a woman lying sensually facing the audience.
No, actually it was a flock of black swans gathered together, creating the illusion of a dress.
With both hands like elegant bird wings wrapped around her neck as if strangling herself.
What finally gazed at the audience was—
“…AAAAHHH!”
A skull.
Seeing the realistic skull, Jon screamed and fell backward.
Beside the forgotten dead who met death 30 years ago, an old music box containing the truth of the lake was turning alone.
♩♪♬
After the first terrified audience member ran out of the theater in a panic to report this discovery, a translucent woman’s hand picked up a red funeral flower placed beside the music box.
A flower offered for the dead.
She smelled its sweet fragrance and remembered the woman who had boldly declared to her.
‘I can’t make the painter’s sin disappear. Even if it was justified revenge, his misguided greed created Black Swan Lake and nearly put innocent people in danger.’
‘…I know.’
The woman smiled gently at her words.
‘But I can grant his wish.’
‘What do you mean.’
‘He wanted your honor to be restored. So in exchange for taking your role, I’ll protect that for you.’
She placed the funeral flower back beside the music box.
A small humming came from the music box.
“Yes, good. I can entrust my name to you.”
The woman’s body, having cast off all lingering attachments, slowly scattered into particles of light.
‘I hope you’ll be happy with your lover in the next life, Miss Ophelia.’
Her name was Ophelia.
A former great actress who was once also called by the nickname ‘Swan.’
“Over here, here! There’s a painting here…!”
The West was turned upside down.
The completed [Black Swan Lake] discovered in the old theater instantly became the talk of Western high society.
Moreover, the confusion intensified when descendants of the noble who had framed actress Ophelia were found in the lake.
The guests who visited the masquerade ball and souls who were trapped in the painting and awakened late had unclear memories and couldn’t remember where they had visited the ballroom.
However, one thing was certain—
They all testified that they had seen the ‘Black Widow’ in their vague memories.
The legend of the Black Widow carrying red funeral flowers began to spread through people’s mouths.
After the masquerade ball incident ended.
An inn temporarily borrowed for maintenance.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Silence flowed in the three-way confrontation between Elisia, Shubel, and Kai.
Since Erban had something to investigate that I had asked him to do, it was an unintentionally situation where only the three remained.
Elisia alternately looked at Kai, who was clinging to her and trembling, and Shubel, who was staring intently at such a Kai.
Finally, unable to bear it, she was about to say something to Shubel when she turned her head at the sound of knocking from outside.
“Um, Patron! It’s Ruone.”
It was Ruone, whom I had sent back telling her to bring a guardian if she had one.
By the way, she was currently in her ‘Elisia’ state.
As it happened, the hair dye magic tool’s effect ended as soon as we came out of the world in the painting, so Ruone discovered my identity.
The child nodded while covering her mouth tightly with both hands when I asked her to keep it secret.
Since I had to wrap up the affairs in the West, there was a lot to do. Elisia looked back and forth between Kai and Shubel with a distrustful expression and said.
“Don’t bully Kai.”
“My lady, aren’t you seeing me as too shameless?”
“I’m just saying just in case. I’ll be back soon, so both of you stay here without causing trouble.”
After giving firm instructions, Elisia left.
Click.
As the door closed, finally only two black-haired people remained in the room.
“It’s all over, so is there still a reason to keep wearing that mask….”
Shubel said languidly.
Kai hiccupped.
“Hic!”
Seeing Kai still stubbornly protecting his mask, his purple eyes narrowed.
As Kai slowly backed away toward the door, Shubel stretched out his long arm and firmly grabbed the hiccupping boy by the scruff of his neck.
Eek! Kai was startled.
“What kind of person was your father?”
But the moment he asked that.
The boy who had been trembling as if terrified suddenly jerked his head up.
As if he had been holding back words that had been building up all this time.
“The biggest fool in the world!”
Kai shouted as if venting his frustration.
“An idiot who can’t even tell the person he likes that he likes them!”
Somehow Shubel thought the child’s red eyes seemed to be looking at him with resentment.
‘Does he think it’s my fault that his father couldn’t be with her.’
But Elisia’s husband was himself. No one else.
That was an unchangeable fact.
Shubel kept his mouth shut.
“But still… but still….”
Kai sniffled.
“He’s the coolest person in the world….”
“I see.”
He nodded in agreement and let Kai go.
After that, Elisia returned right away, so the conversation between the two men fizzled out.
However, it became the catalyst that solidified one man’s resolve.
Shubel felt a sense of crisis for the first time that he ‘might get divorced.’
So in order to somehow stay by his wife’s side—
“…Because you have a lover.”
He began to act coy.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————