Chapter 22
I stopped giving her more fear several times, bowed my head, and said, “Miss, I tried to kneel, but it seems the hunting dog is still not fully trained… Whenever I move, it seems to lose control and wants to run away. Still, I’ll kneel…”
“Don’t kneel!”
As if waiting, Delia shouted, gesturing with both hands.
“Don’t kneel! Don’t take a step! Stay right there!”
“Yes, Miss… Cream, sit.”
Cream sat down gracefully.
So beautiful, I could die. When I return, I should tell Tom to prepare plenty of treats.
“Cream… No, I’m holding the dog’s leash, so don’t worry and just pass by, Miss.”
“Do not, do not let go of me. If you let go, I won’t forgive you.”
Swish.
“Ah! Don’t let go!”
“Yes, I found myself inadvertently losing strength while listening to your words and almost let go.”
Delia glared at me as she walked vigorously in another direction.
“If I leave here, you won’t leave me alone, I really know how to get into trouble.”
Delia muttered as she crawled diligently towards the safety of the castle. And when she was almost out of here, Cream barked at the perfect timing.
“Woof!!”
“Ahhhh!!”
Without looking back, Delia quickly sprinted away. I lifted Cream, who had been obediently by my side, and gently petted him before moving on.
“Are you okay?”
I asked the carriage repairman who was still lying on the ground, He nodded with a frightened face and glanced at Cream beside me.
“Don’t worry, He’s a well-trained hunting dog.”
“Excuse me? But just now….”
“Cream, Can you lie down and wait for me?”
“Whine!”
Cream whimpered softly at my words and obediently lay down, waiting. The carriage repairman looked at Cream in amazement, impressed by how well-behaved she was.
“You came to help, didn’t you?”
The carriage repairman stood up, looking at me with eyes full of gratitude. I too, scrutinized his face intently.
It seemed like he hadn’t been working at Deberti long, judging by his reaction upon seeing me for the first time. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to recognize me.
But seriously, how many misdeeds must Delia commit to make people treat her rescuers like this?
“I also have personal feelings involved.”
“Still… Thank you.”
“Will the carriage repair take long?”
“It might take a few more days, Some parts are hard to come by… I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize to me, I’m just a maid.”
A few more days, huh? So, it seems like I’ll be staying longer.
After exchanging a few more light-hearted words with the carriage repairman, I left with Cream.
“She still hasn’t reflected on her actions.”
It seemed like letting Delia go just like that would be regrettable.
It was the dead of night, everyone fast asleep.
I changed into the clothes I brought when I first came to the north, not my maid uniform.
Then, using a less-traveled path, I made my way to the brewery.
Due to the easing cold, wine production was almost finished, and there were no staff present at the brewery.
The door to the brewery, which should have been closed, was open, as if someone had entered before.
“So, you’ve come.”
I entered through the open door, unable to hear the sound of footsteps.
“Who’s there! Who dares to send me such a note! Come out right now!!”
Inside, Delia was raging and thrashing about.
Since the brewery under the Ga family’s name had been operational all day, I hadn’t considered the absence of staff, and it seemed I had come alone.
Just as I expected.
You knew I would, Delia.
In the deserted brewery, Delia was wandering around.
In her hand was the note I had secretly left in her bedroom.
Along with a suggestion to meet at the brewery at a certain time, the note also contained a question about how it felt to have killed a close friend.
I had desperately tried to make it clear that it was my handwriting, and fortunately, it seemed Delia had caught on at once.
Finally.
I reached out and closed the door behind me.
As the door shut, Delia’s head turned towards the brewery door.
And our eyes met as she stood there.
I smiled, and an intense fear spread across Delia’s face.
“Hello, Delia.”
“Hu, h-he, hu-he, hek.”
As soon as she saw my face, Delia couldn’t even scream, instead emitting a choked sound and sinking back into place.
Her body trembled like a reed in the wind, It was a far cry from the fear she had experienced meeting Cream in the morning.
“You, you, You…!”
“Yes, it’s me.”
I approached Delia slowly. To set the mood intentionally somber, I had walked out barefoot, feeling the cold chill.
But strangely, it felt like my entire body was boiling.
The sensation of being alive was vivid.
I, whom you had killed, am alive.
“You killed Reperentia, didn’t you? Delia.”
“Ahhhh!!”
As I tried to approach her, Delia screamed and hastily fled backward.
The door to escape from the brewery was right behind me, yet she foolishly moved further away inside.
How pathetic, really.
She was getting farther from the door, the way to escape.
“Ha, hahaha! Hahaha!”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, clutching my stomach with both hands, laughing for a long time.
My laughter echoed through the large brewery like a reverberation.
“W-who are you.”
Delia couldn’t even speak properly, trembling and bowing her head. She didn’t even see me directly, just bowed her head.
Does she know she’s getting her punishment?
No, Probably because the ghost of me, appearing after death, is frightening.
Yes Delia, You knew this would happen. In countless reincarnations, you were always like this.
Scared, crying, and denying any wrongdoing.
So, this time, too, you thought you wouldn’t be able to see me properly.
“I just told you, Delia. Can’t you trust your only friend? Oh… right. Maybe because I’m not a friend, you betrayed me?”
“C-Crazy, Who are you? You…”
“It’s me, Reperentia.”
“He’s… he’s dead! You, you’re…”
“Then, would you believe me if I told you what conversation we had the day before the wedding, you, me, and Dettor?”
I didn’t bother to approach Delia closely and hid my body in the darkness.
Right now, Delia, frightened, wasn’t looking at me, but if she were to discover me, she might notice something strange.
“Suppose I hadn’t even realized that I’m not a ghost but truly alive, as Reperentia.”
“Yeah, I remember now Delia… You said to me, ‘You’re going to die anyway,’ right?”
“That, that…”
“Right, You said you’d be happy to take my place with Dettor. Even after I died, I kept watching, and it seemed really happy, Delia.”
“Ahh! What are you, really! Who are you!”
Despite Delia’s shock, she tried to cover her ears with both hands and tightly shut her eyes.
As if this sound wouldn’t ring in her ears.
“Delia., You don’t know what it feels like to die, do you? It must be nice to always forget and start anew… dying is really, truly dreadful, no matter how many times.”
“Who, who are you! Who are you! Reperentia, Reperentia is dead. He’s dead!!”
“Right, I know. I’m dead.”
With a wry, self-deprecating smile, I extended my foot into the moonlit spot.
“Look at this, I’m still barefoot since I left my shoes when I fell off the cliff, No one sent me shoes.”
“Ahh!! Go away! Go away! Sob Go away! Disappear!”
Delia, with nowhere else to run, sank to the ground, covering her ears with her palms and crying.
“Delia, why did you do that? I was your friend.”
“I didn’t, I didn’t kill you! It wasn’t me!”
“I trusted you… You always betray me.”
“This, this is a dream, It’s a dream!”
“You could’ve betrayed me just once less, Then maybe this painful cycle wouldn’t have repeated.”
“Wake up! You have to wake up! This is a dream! It’s a dream!”
Delia shouted, pinching her forearm hard.
I just watched her quietly.
I knew why she did it, expected neither explanations nor apologies.
You were always like that. In ever-changing situations, the only constant was your shameless attitude.
“Delia, Are you really happy to have killed me and made Dettor your man?”
“Stupid Delia.’’
That man eventually only turned out to be a cheating man.
What do you gain from him?
Foolish Delia.
“Fine!!”
Delia screamed, covering her ears with her hands.
“I proved that I’m better than you!! Dettor chose me, not you!”
Tears soaked Delia’s face as a pitiful smile bloomed.
“Keep tormenting me even to death! Reprentia! Until the end! Even if I die!”
“…I thought you would regret it if I died, Delia.”
I shook my head sincerely with pity.
“Me? Ha! Why should I! What! What did I do wrong to regret! Why me!!”
“You still have the audacity to say that, after betraying me and being ostracized with that despicable face by people you adored? There’s nothing here that you loved so much – no laughter, festivals, or flowers.”
“Shut up!”
“Hahaha! Haha! Do you really think Dettor will love you forever? Foolish Delia.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up! If you’re dead, disappear gracefully! Please! Vanish from my life!”
“You’re the one who dragged me into your life, Delia. Why act like the victim?”
“Ugh, I hate it, I hate it……”
“I suffered more, Did you ever fall off a cliff? Delia, it felt like my whole body was being torn apart… Oh, it feels like my leg is broken, Look.”
As I deliberately made the sound of dragging my leg, Delia’s eyes widened in horror.
“Aaah! I hate it! Go away! Please go! Go away!”
I turned away as I heard Delia muttering, “I have to wake up from this dream,” with a deep exhale, still blocking her ears.
She must think she’s being watched by the always-dead Reprentia, given the fright I gave her.
“Delia, don’t get too happy, I might start wanting to kill you.”
“Heh, this is a dream, I have to wake up, wake!”
“Don’t forget I’m always watching you, I’ll be waiting in hell, Delia.”
Quietly, I turned away from Delia, opened the door, and left the brewery. After taking a drug to change the color of my irises in case I encountered anyone, I returned to my bedroom.
Delia was found the next morning by the brewery workers who arrived for work.
According to rumors, she had been crying with her ears plugged the whole time, unable to fall asleep.
The worker who found her said she begged and pleaded to be allowed to return to the waterway, claiming a ghost lived here, before collapsing.
