TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 85
Three days ago.
The Young Lady, who had become an unlicensed driver, was practicing driving in the yard.
“Vroom.”
Making engine sounds with her mouth, the Young Lady fiddled with the lever. After moving a meter, she turned her head and asked, “How is it?” seeking feedback on her excellent driving skills.
I gave her a thumbs-up and said,
“You’re slower than my grandmother.”
“Ricardo, you don’t have a grandmother.”
“That’s a savage insult.”
“…Sorry.”
The timid Young Lady’s driving skills gradually began to improve over time.
“It’s rolling. Degururu.”
Buoyed by the continuous praise, the Young Lady confidently moved the stick lever without hesitation.
“Drift!”
She started showing strange antics.
“Young Lady, reckless driving is a shortcut to the coffin.”
“But it was cool. That’s all that matters.”
“Where did you learn such a strange mindset?”
The Young Lady didn’t say anything and just looked at me in response. It seemed she had been inspired by the inertial drift I had demonstrated earlier.
As her driving master, I couldn’t lift my head.
“Well, drifting is something you should try at least once in life.”
“Exactly. Life would be boring if it’s too plain.”
The Young Lady nodded and focused on driving again.
-Screech.
She turned to the right.
-Screeeech!
Making a sudden stop to the left, the Young Lady showed off a noisy stunt, then hesitated and looked at the red button on the armrest, gauging my reaction.
The Young Lady stared at the button with excited eyes.
Like a gambling addict consumed by pleasure, her fingers twitched as she muttered,
“Ricardo. I’m ready for takeoff.”
“It’s far too early for you to return to dust.”
“No, I won’t die.”
The red button.
The so-called “Can’t Stop” button was a feature that removed the speed limit of 40km per hour on the wheelchair. It enabled rapid acceleration, embodying the Man’s Dream, reaching speeds over 100km per hour.
During her first drive, it was the fateful button that had caused her to crash into the mansion’s wall, and now the Young Lady was looking at it with excited eyes.
“I’m good at driving now. I’m the best driver.”
“You’ll also speed up your journey to the coffin.”
“It’s fine. I was fine even when I hit the wall last time.”
Recalling her close encounter with the wall, the Young Lady replied to me. She trusted the barrier magic installed in Fairy Unit 1.
A brief awkward silence followed. I firmly addressed the Young Lady, who was staring at the button with crazed eyes.
“No.”
“…”
“Ahem…!”
“….”
The Young Lady glanced at me and, like an F1 racer tapping their helmet before a race, lightly tapped her helmet with her fist and nodded.
“Here goes.”
-Vroooom!!
The moment the engine of Fairy Unit 1 roared violently.
“Hyaah!”
Fairy Unit 1 began a rapid acceleration toward the mansion’s wall, accompanied by the Young Lady’s dying scream.
As Fairy Unit 1 flew like a siege weapon, I held my head and shook it.
“It’s over.”
-Screeeech!!
“Eeeek!!”
The unlicensed driver’s clumsy handling couldn’t control the wild Fairy Unit 1, and the Young Lady crashed it into the mansion’s front gate.
-Thud…
“Cough, cough…”
Amid the thick dust cloud, the Young Lady coughed.
Muttering that the wheelchair was mostly to blame, claiming her theory was flawless, the Young Lady stared blankly at the gaping hole in the mansion’s front gate.
“Huh?”
The Young Lady wore a devastated expression. Thanks to the sturdy barrier magic, she wasn’t hurt, but unfortunately, the mansion had become the victim of a siege battle, leaving a massive hole.
“Hiccup…”
Looking at the ruins of the collapsed mansion, the Young Lady said,
“Ricardo… I’ve conquered the mansion.”
“An excellent siege battle, Young Lady.”
“Thanks. But… what do we do about this?”
Tears welled up in the Young Lady’s eyes.
Having destroyed her entire wealth, the Young Lady looked at me with tearful eyes. I gave her a gentle smile and said,
“At least we won’t have to worry about thieves for a while. It’s an automatic door now.”
“…”
“It was already like ruins, and now it’s splendidly ruined. Haha…”
“Eeeek… Don’t tease me.”
At my sarcastic remark, the Young Lady hung her head sullenly.
I brushed the dust off the Young Lady’s head as she sat dejectedly in the wheelchair and let out a deep sigh.
‘Now what do we do?’
Even with a rough estimate, it seemed like it would take two weeks to fix.
Money wasn’t much of an issue. There was plenty left from donating Pascal to the insect exhibition. Plus, I had bought the Young Lady’s bracelet at a discount from an acquaintance.
What worried me was the cold air coming through the wide-open gate. In the freezing winter wind, we might become frozen humans.
After deep contemplation, I nodded and said to the Young Lady,
“Since it’s come to this, how about we go on a trip?”
“A trip?”
“Yes. To remodel the mansion.”
“Ricardo, do you have a lot of money?”
“We can fix the mansion with a little loan, so don’t worry. Let’s take a trip to the capital city for a change. Together.”
“The capital?”
The Young Lady tilted her head at the mention of the capital.
‘The capital.’
It’s where the Academy is.
A place where many people dislike the Young Lady.
And where people dislike me as well.
We hadn’t been there since the Young Lady’s expulsion, but it seemed like the right time to visit.
The Head of the Household’s birthday was approaching.
Even though we were cast out from the household, we weren’t so shameless as to completely neglect the Head of the Household’s birthday. Back at the main house, he had allowed a slum vagabond like me to become the Young Lady’s butler and had treated me kindly.
Using this as an excuse, I thought it was a good opportunity to visit and at least show our faces.
‘Not that he’d agree to meet us, though.’
Besides, Malik had recommended visiting a tteokbokki shop opened in the capital.
For these mixed reasons, I asked the Young Lady if she wanted to travel to the capital city.
Deep in thought, the Young Lady pondered for a while, then hiccupped again as she looked at the crumbling wall.
“Ugh…”
“Let’s just enjoy ourselves until the repairs are done. How about stopping by the chocolate shop you like?”
“Even so… the capital.”
The Young Lady hesitated.
Because she knew what the capital meant to her.
A place that held a dazzling past.
At the same time, a place where people who disliked the broken Young Lady existed. While avoiding people wouldn’t be an issue, caution was necessary.
“We can also buy chocolate.”
“…”
“And do some shopping after a long time.”
“We can’t shop because we don’t have money.”
“…This time, I’ll make sure to borrow generously.”
The Young Lady smiled faintly and held my hand.
“Then I’ll help repay it too.”
“Are you planning to attach eyes to teddy bears again this time?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll get scolded.”
The Young Lady bashfully nodded with a laugh.
“Then, Ricardo, there’s something I want to do.”
“Something you want to do?”
The Young Lady spoke with a bright smile.
“Let’s go watch a theater play.”
And that’s how we ended up heading to the capital.
***
The streets of the capital.
After parting with Yuria.
The Young Lady and I, unable to contain our humming shoulders, were heading to the Chocolate Shop.
I was thrilled at the thought of indulging in luxury after such a long time. The Young Lady was excited at the thought of eating chocolate from her favorite Dessert Shop for the first time in two years.
Our steps, though childish for two adults, couldn’t help but reflect the excitement of a long-awaited trip.
With an excited voice, the Young Lady spoke to me.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“What should we buy first? Scones? Ice cream? Or should we start with chocolate?”
The Young Lady’s imagination ran wild.
Although her face was hidden under the red helmet, her passionate voice, more excited than ever, painted her expression vividly in my mind.
With a smug smile, bolstered by my wallet fattened with loans, I said to the Young Lady,
“Buy everything you can think of.”
“Gasp…! Ricardo, have you decided to live only for today?”
“No.”
Even in the face of the Young Lady’s question, born from her exceptional financial caution, I maintained a confident smile.
“I have too much to live for just one day.”
“Ohhh…! Then can you buy me the entire store too?”
“…No.”
As always, I shook my head in response to the Young Lady’s question, which exceeded my expectations.
“For now, today…”
I took out a small pocket notebook from the inner pocket of my jacket. It was filled with the itinerary for this Trip to the Capital.
It was a notebook filled with passion, written with the hope that this rare trip would leave unforgettable memories for the Young Lady.
“At 10:30, we’ll go to the Chocolate Shop and shop.”
“Oh…”
“Then, we’ll visit Malik’s Shop, the newly opened Tteokbokki Restaurant in the capital, and evaluate its taste.”
“You seem busy, Ricardo.”
“I am busy.”
“That’s a lie. There’s nothing else on the schedule after that.”
“…”
[Day 1 Travel Schedule]
1. Unpack at the lodging.
2. Visit the Chocolate Shop at 10:30.
3. Afterward, visit Malik’s newly opened shop in the capital.
-End-
How she managed to see through the blank space at the bottom, I was startled into silence by the Young Lady’s insight.
The Young Lady, still wearing her helmet, nodded and said to me,
“Am I right?”
“…Yes.”
The Young Lady let out a small chuckle, “Hihit.”
About ten minutes later.
When we arrived at the Chocolate Shop, we looked up with blank eyes.
“Oh… It’s ruined, isn’t it?”
[Closed Down.]
The signboard, written in large red letters, had faded black, showing the passage of time.
The shop, once filled with a sweet aroma, was now empty, and the Aura of Sadness indirectly radiated from the Young Lady, who had looked forward to it.
It was pure despair.
With trembling eyes, I glanced at the Young Lady, but she stood frozen, unable to say anything.
“Ricardo, I think my eyesight’s failing me.”
While rubbing her eyes to escape reality, the Young Lady then removed her helmet and looked closely, unable to hide her welling emotions at the empty sight.
“Oh no… This isn’t right.”
“I’m sorry, Young Lady.”
“Eeeek!!! This is so damn unfair!”
With a loud voice, the Young Lady vented her complaints and frustrations about the world.
As she stared into the void with Empty Eyes, resenting the world.
A deep, strong voice of a Middle-Aged Man came from behind us.
“It closed down two years ago.”
It was a firm voice.
A voice that seemed upright and unyielding.
The Middle-Aged Man was speaking to us.
“There was a guest who accounted for sixty percent of the sales, but they suddenly disappeared, causing the shop to falter. At the same time, many competing shops opened, leading to its closure long ago.”
“My daughter really liked it, though.”
The Middle-Aged Man spoke in a wistful tone.
With a voice tinged with sadness, he murmured and gave a bitter smile.
It was a familiar voice.
With a stiff body, I turned my head.
Seeing the Middle-Aged Man dressed in a deep navy uniform, it felt as if the world had stopped.
Black hair.
Sharp, upright eyes.
The Man who, in the latter part of the novel, chose death for the sake of his family.
“It’s been a while.”
The Head of the Family of Desmond.
Desmond Darbav was looking at us.