SSS-Class Revival Hunter

Chapter 111: The Way She Loves (3)

I ran and took her into my arms. “Raviel.”

A lot of words swirled in my head. I could apologize for leaving her an unerasable scar. I was really sorry. Maybe I could say thank you. I was grateful for her faith in me and for waiting for me and, above all, for someone like me.

But that wasn’t what I wanted to say. This wasn’t the first time I’d apologized to her or thanked her.

Tonight was the night we met again. I wanted to tell her the words that I had never said but could offer her only once. My first and last were what I wanted to offer Raviel Ivansia. And that was why I took her hand.

“Let’s get married.”

Raviel slowly nodded. “I’m known by many names. I received the name Silver Lily from His Majesty, and I dedicated myself to the empire as the heir apparent of the Duke of Ivansia. But I’ll leave my name, Raviel, untouched so you can use it.”

Our kiss was deep.

***

The two of us woke up at dawn. The sky outside the window was pale blue. I turned my head to the side because I heard someone breathing, and there Raviel was, looking at me without saying a word.

I looked back at Raviel and reached out and took her hand. Her cool fingers locked with mine. She was beautiful. We shared each other’s breaths, intertwined our fingers, and pressed our foreheads together.

“You’re a genius, Raviel.”

Every meeting at dawn was to discuss a secret love affair, and every whisper carried a secret message of love. The people who spent the dawn together were those who loved each other.

“It’s amazing how you used my penalty to recover my memories,” I whispered. “Really, that was amazing. I never would’ve thought of that if I were you.”

“You have a tendency to hold others’ pain sacred.” Raviel’s fingers brushed past my earlobe. “You’re amazing too. How in the world did you persuade the Tower? Even to Constellations, the Tower is like an unchallengeable manager. I knew how you have a way with words, but I never thought it would work on the Tower, too.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t really remember. The memory is blurry, like a dream. Maybe when you meet the Tower’s masters, the memory is veiled like mine.”

“The fact that you succeeded doesn’t change. My lover is quite competent.”

“And my lover is a genius.”

“That’s an undeniable fact.”

We rubbed our foreheads together. We could admire each other without a single bit of pretense. That made me very happy.

“When are we going to get married?”

“Are you rushing me?”

“I think you’re a little mean,” I grumbled.

Raviel laughed softly. It was breathtaking. An electric thrill shot up from my spine and struck my head. No music was as beautiful as Raviel’s soft laughter.

“I should break off the engagement with His Highness first.”

“Ah...”

She was right.

Raviel nodded. “His Highness and I are engaged, so it would be legally difficult to marry you right now.”

“Well, actually, I don’t mind if we aren’t married legally. A small ceremony together is enough for me.”

“I mind.” Raviel stroked my cheek. “This is the world I live in. I’m loyal to this empire and I care for it. My world and country should acknowledge my marriage. Even if you’re a commoner here, you’re my lover, so all of the people in this world must bless you.”

“Oh, but isn’t it a bit difficult to expect that from them...?”

“It’s okay, Gong-Ja,” Raviel calmly refuted. “I’ll kill anyone that doesn’t bless you.”

What should I do? She was too cool. Once again, I fell in love with her. I wanted to do it again.

“Okay.” I nodded. “Let’s get married in your world. But I have a condition too.”

“Tell me.”

“When you break off the engagement with the crown prince, it shouldn’t be your fault. I won’t forgive those who spread ignorant gossip about you.”

If anyone pointed a finger at my lover, I would break off their finger. Should anyone badmouth her, I would cut out their tongue. And if anyone slandered her, I would kill them. I wasn’t joking. I would give them a taste of hell.

“It should be obvious to anyone that this is the crown prince’s fault. Raviel, you’re dumping him, not getting dumped.”

“Oh, are you telling me to insult the next emperor? You know, I’m the future Duke of Ivansia, who works in the shadows for the country.”

“Yes, I am.”

“That’s easy.”

We took a moment to kiss. My life became a little more colorful.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Of course. Who do you think you are asking? Every time His Highness has a secret meeting with Goldencup, a document is added to the drawer in my office. There are already hundreds of them in that drawer. I’ve prepared all of the evidence and the witnesses. If I take this matter to court, I’ll definitely win.”

What should I do? She was too cool. Once again, I fell in love with her. I wanted to do it again.

“There’s really no need to go to court, actually. The imperial family wouldn’t want this kind of matter to be brought up in public. I just need to bring the evidence and ask for an audience with His Majesty.”

“When do you plan on going to the palace?” I leaned in closer to her.

“As soon as possible.” Raviel quietly brushed my bangs away. “Gong-Ja, marrying me makes you the consort of the Duke of Ivansia. The imperial family will personally bestow you a title.”

My heart pounded.

“During formal occasions, I’ll refer to you as my consort. You’ll call me ‘my duke.’ Is that okay?”

“It’s a feudal society. The head of the Ivansia family is you, and I’m merely a foreigner here, Raviel. Don’t worry. I’m just following the laws of the empire. I don’t care about it at all...”

“I’m glad to hear that, though I knew that it would be okay. Let’s try it out now. Call me ‘my duke’.”

I froze up.

“What? Are you embarrassed? You are embarrassed. I knew you would be. I’ll go first.” Raviel smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. “My consort.”

My heart... I could feel my saliva clinging stickily to the entrance of my throat. I slowly tried to speak, but I failed to form the words. Only after my upper lip slipped off my lip several times, did I finally manage to make a sound.

“... M-my duke.”

Raviel blinked. Silence settled over us. My lover silently stared at me with those red eyes of hers. How should I put it? She looked like someone who had seen a hedgehog’s paw. In short, I had no idea what this expression meant.

“Gong-Ja.”

“Yes.”

“Say that one more time.”

“... My duke.”

“One more time.”

“Mmm, my duke...?”

Raviel’s eyelashes fluttered and her shoulders bunched slightly.

What is this reaction? Could it be? Maybe? Maybe. No, that wouldn’t happen even if the world were to collapse.

At first, I didn’t notice because of her poker face, but it didn’t take long to realize.

“Raviel, are you feeling embarrassed right now?”

“Umm...” Raviel groaned. “My man is too damn adorable...”

Embarrassment was very contagious.

Fuck.

My face felt hot and my lips parched. But my head was working fine. It should have been counterattacked with “Raviel, you’re the cutest person in the world.” That would’ve been payback for my defeats against Raviel so far, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it. I felt like I was going to die from embarrassment.

Instead, I decided to compromise. Rather than making a unilateral attack, I flirted back, calling this match a draw.

“My duke.”

Maybe Raviel figured out my plan because she said, “... My consort.”

“My duke.”

“My consort.”

“My duke!”

“My consort...”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“My duke...”

“My consort.”

It went on until dawn became morning.

—Fuck... You’re such a bastard... the Guardian muttered. Despite what he said, he kept his back turned to me to protect the privacy of my duke and me. Look at you: a pair of wackos all lovey-dovey... Fuuuuucking hellllllll. Do you know how desperately I was screaming at you when you buried yourself in the butler’s role? Huh? But as soon as you came to your senses, you didn’t even thank me and just started flirting with your lover! I’m just a wallflower, aren’t I? Maybe it’s really time for me to find eternal peace.

[Shiny offers consolation to the Sword Emperor.]

—Ah, now you’re the only one I have now, Shiny!

The ghost and the sword were building a mysterious friendship.

I’m sorry and I’m grateful to both of you too.

But now, I wanted to love my love a little more.

***

While loving my love, I chewed over my goal at this stage: stop this world’s apocalypse. The primary cause of the apocalypse was my duke’s heirloom, the fragment of the holy sword, and the wish that went out of control.

The danger of this world being destroyed by the demon would disappear if I retrieved the sister sword, but that wasn’t the only reason why the world met its doom.

I still remembered the invasion on the last day. The Ruin-Harvesting Cow, the Eternal Plains Warhorse, and the Immortal Happiness Preacher—through the cracks in the sky, the Constellations from different worlds sent their apostles. They would come again without a doubt. It was clear based on the fact that I was yet to receive a message telling me that I’d cleared the stage.

My duke had awakened into an incomplete Constellation by piercing her heart with the sister sword. A Constellation was the representative and protector of their world; in other words, this world used to have a barrier, albeit incomplete, but now my duke hadn’t stabbed her heart with the holy sword, so her awakening as a Constellation was also negated. It meant that there was no Constellation in this world now.

“I’ll set the wedding date for a month from now.”

“That’s exactly ten days from the day I first came here,” I murmured.

“Yes. I chose that on purpose.”

My duke deliberately set the wedding date on the day this world would have been destroyed. She meant to deny the world’s end and make it our starting point. How valiant of her. @@novelbin@@

“It puts us on quite a tight schedule. We’ll only be able to have the wedding in a month if everything goes well.”

“Can you give me an example of what must be done?”

“The first task is to break off my engagement with the crown prince. And the second is to inherit my father’s title,” Raviel casually explained. “It’s difficult to marry you as just the heir. There would be the legal hassle, and having a commoner as my fiance would start annoying gossip in high society. It’s better to become a duke before I take you as my consort. Once I become the head of this family, there are a lot of things I can do without a hassle.”

“Raviel, I’m saying this because I still have a lot of the butler’s memories left, but, well... isn’t it difficult to become the head of a family without your father bequeathing the position to you? Not to mention that you’re inheriting the Duchy of Ivansia, the most powerful noble title in the empire. It’s not like you can inherit the duchy if—”

“Yes. If I weren’t Raviel Ivansia, it would have been difficult,” Raviel calmly said. “But I’m Raviel Ivansia.”

What should I do? She was too cool. Once again, I fell in love with her. I wanted to do it again.

“The family’s vassals have already sworn their allegiance to me. The power to mobilize the family’s army is also mine. If Father doesn’t want to give up power, then the only way is to run to His Majesty and appeal to him.”

Raviel placed a pile of documents on the table with a thump.

“I have more than enough evidence to prove His Highness’s infidelity. His Majesty is as capable as the special forces he commands, so he would protect the dignity of the imperial family rather than staying loyal to my father, who has no real power.”

“That sounds very loyal, Raviel. But aren’t you actually blackmailing His Majesty...?”

“My consort.” Raviel gave me a serious look.

I flinched at the sound of “My consort.” The two of us were calling each other “my duke” and “my consort” even when we were alone to get used to the new titles.

“Yes, my duke.”

“Your work lies in the Tower, not in this world. I understand if you don’t return to my world often, just as you know that I can’t give up my nobility.”

I felt like a spouse working abroad...

“However, there are times when I need you by my side, like at the beginning and end of the year. The events that we attend will always be political. You’re becoming the moon of Ivansia and will be revered as the most noble consort in this empire, after the empress. You have to get used to politics on some level.”

“So... it’s possible to stay loyal to His Majesty and make a threat to the imperial family at the same time. It’s not a loss for the empire to have you as the Duke of Ivansia. They’re fortunate to have a capable noble like you, if anything.”

“My consort catches on quickly. He’s capable, smart, and cool.”

“Of course—you’re talking about your man, Raviel.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

We took a moment to kiss. Life became a little more colorful.

—Fuuuuuuckkkkkkkk... For some reason, the ghost’s cheeks became more and more hollow. Who was it? Who taught this wacko about love? Who called his fucking madness love... Why is this guy in love? If this guy hadn't fallen in love, I could still be happy...

[Shiny points at the Sword Emperor sadly.]

—Someone, please shoot me right now... I’ll gladly take the bullet...

We had busy days ahead of us for the best happy ending—no, the best wedding.