Chapter 154
Her feelings were complicated.
Is he dreaming?
Who is this Lisa?
Hadn't he said he was an orphan? Perhaps he had lost family somewhere? It wasn't a man's name.
A lost sister, or perhaps a lover.
So even this madman kept someone in his heart.
Damian was suffering as if possessed by a ghost.
Perhaps he hadn't gone mad like the guard because he was already possessed by a ghost.
Bibi pushed aside her inexplicable bitterness and finished removing Damian's clothes.
His body was still burning hot like heated iron.
She carefully wiped away the sweat that drenched him with a towel.
Just days ago, Damian had been washing Bibi's feet, but now Bibi was tending to him.
Though their relationship's dynamic had completely reversed, there was no sense of humiliation or defeat.
These two had faced a disaster like a tidal wave, and all emotions smaller than that wave had long been washed away.
All Bibi had left was her will to survive and her faith in this man.
She fell into thought while watching Damian. Then slowly bent down and moved her lips to his forehead.
After lightly kissing his forehead, she said, "...May you soon wake from this nightmare."
Though he was clearly in a life-or-death crisis, she believed without a doubt that this man would rise again.
***
I opened my eyes in a hut on the verge of collapse. Dim light entered through the fallen hut's window frame. I couldn't tell if it was early evening or late dawn.
First I checked my wound. There were traces of medicinal herbs applied and the wound was bandaged with cloth.
I surveyed my surroundings. Clear traces remained of someone lighting a fire and brewing medicine. Though not exactly a hygienic environment... signs showed care was taken within the circumstances.
And Bibi was taking a curled-up nap beside me, breathing softly.
Both my outer clothes and Bibi's were hanging on the wall, wet as if hand-washed.
Her hair was matted and parts of her body and face were stained like a beggar, but her noble features still stood out prominently. She truly was born nobility.
When I tried to rise, Bibi's right hand was pulled along. Once again, my hand was tied with rope.
She never forgets this. How diligent.
Considering her efforts, this time I untied the knot instead of cutting the rope.
Though my body felt heavy, my condition was gradually returning to normal. Whatever Bibi had done seemed to have worked. She wasn't completely without skill. Unlike how her appearance suggested, Bibi was quite adaptable.
Going outside, I saw dawn breaking. I seemed to have been unconscious for half a day.
While I was stretching, Bibi had also woken up and followed me out, rubbing her eyes with a disheveled appearance.
She held out the untied end of the rope.
She seemed unable to speak from a hoarse throat, but shaking the rope end seemed like protesting why I'd untied it.
"...You can rest more."
"You... yawn... slept all day, but I only managed to close my eyes at dawn after nursing you."
"Rest unless you're coming to find breakfast with me."
"You're truly impossible. You nearly died last night. If you wander alone with an unwell body and go mad or fall into a swamp, who will save you? This is our only lifeline. It's not like I particularly enjoy this either."
Bibi came in front of me and, as if too bothered to tie a knot, wrapped the rope around my wrist and pulled me toward the hut.
"..."
"I've prepared food too."
She staggered back to her original spot and tried to sleep again.
***
After a simple breakfast, Bibi stared blankly at the firewood. Her gloomy face suggested she harbored worries similar to mine.
Then suddenly she raised her head, looked at me intently, and dropped a bombshell question, "Who is Lisa?"
"...?"
For a moment I felt my heart sink.
How did this woman know?
"I heard you muttering while you were hovering between life and death."
"..."
"Is she a long-lost sister? If we return to the Principality, I can use my influence to find her residence."
"I never said such things."
"No. I heard it clearly."
"You must have misheard."
"Why deny it? If not that, is she perhaps a lover you want to hide from others?"
I jumped up and gathered my things. Bibi's right arm, connected to me, flapped uselessly in the air.
"This is no time to dawdle."
Bibi's eyes, which had been staring at me, grew gradually rounder.
"...I was right. I knew it. Even someone as stubborn as you kept a lover in your heart. Now I see you're quite human after all."
"Let's go."
Even when I pulled the rope, Bibi wouldn't move. She avoided my gaze and seemed inexplicably dejected.
"Why are you so listless?"
"What are you talking about, I'm full of energy."
She had a drooping face like a child complaining about side dishes.
"You look listless."
"You must be imagining things. I'm more energetic than ever."
"..."
Bibi reluctantly got up and gathered her clothes. Then she asked me, "Is the engagement already over?"
"..."
When I maintained silence, Bibi started rambling to herself.
"I-I see. I-I also have eleven marriage meetings arranged in the Principality. With sons of quite famous wealthy families and ducal houses."
"Is that so."
"They pester me so much to meet that I don't want to return to the Principality. I'll die early and then rule the Principality, so who wouldn't be interested... no, of course, I won't meet just anyone, I'll carefully select strong and robust seed... There will be years of strict screening. How troublesome..."
"You're already planning on returning alive. That's good."
She seemed to have regained her spirit. If she'd judged there was no hope, she wouldn't have cared about Principality marriage meetings.
"...Of course. I will return alive with you."
"By the way, those nobles probably aren't seeking marriage just for power."
"...What do you mean?"
"Isn't Your Grace beautiful?"
"...!"
Bibi's eyes suddenly went round. She gaped like a goldfish for a moment before quickly regaining composure and said firmly.
"You're quite good at empty flattery. Don't say strange things. Your fiancée would faint if she heard."
It was a light comment meant to change the mood, but it didn't seem very effective. Rather, it seemed to have upset her.
She turned her back to me and busily folded her outer clothes. Hesitating whether to put them on or just leave, she stamped her feet before suddenly turning around.
"Ah, right. There's something you need to see."
Then she moved toward the hut's table. While rummaging through utensils left from brewing medicine yesterday, she dropped the clothes she was holding, startling herself. The utensils she was searching through suddenly fell with a clatter. Her hands seemed to wander without finding their place.
Why does she seem so flustered?
"Are you alright?"
"...This damned pot."
Bibi held out an old notebook to me.
Taking it and skimming through it, I noticed alchemy recipes.
"Recipes...?"
"Ah, n-no, not that."
Bibi noisily rummaged through the utensils again. Then handed me another notebook.
"This one."
"..."
The new notebook contained a journal from someone who had settled here.
"I found it by chance. It describes how to reach this land's master."
"Where is it written?"
"Near the last pages."
"May I read it?"
"Don't mind me."
Bibi cleared her throat and stepped back with clasped hands. I quickly flipped through the pages.
Meanwhile, Bibi looked at distant mountains, occasionally glancing at me while running her hands through her hair.
Her behavior was subtly distracting, so I brought the notebook closer to my eyes.
What Bibi mentioned wasn't exactly specific directions to reach the god.
[Barbisia is a prison of souls. Life born and raised in this land cannot leave even in death. Not even souls. Even taking one's own life cannot break the eternal cycle of circulation.]
[The souls wandering the swamp envy and are jealous of the living, sometimes appearing to us in human form. They string along innocent souls and offer them to this land's god. In exchange, they receive new bodies from the god. Do not drink from cups offered by evil souls. They took my family as a sacrifice.]
[Do not sing sorrowful songs in the swamp. Evil spirits recognize lonely and wounded beings.]
[When the god rages, even the midday sun falls. If you want to live, you must hide. You must extinguish every last lantern to avoid god's eyes and lie flat in darkness.]
But it was a helpful enough hint.
"Who owned this notebook?"
"A woman who lived in the house next door. Only her bones remain now."
"Was there nothing noteworthy in the other notebooks?"
"Most were unreadable from mold, and what remained were just meaningless ledgers and diaries."
"...That's enough then. Do you know who we're going to face?"
"Of course. We're going to meet this so-called master of the land, aren't we?"
"...It will be very dangerous. We don't know what will happen. Perhaps I should go alone and leave you here."
Bibi shook her head.
"I won't untie your rope. We share the same fate. If you die... I die too. That's all."
I nodded slowly, confirming Bibi's resolve again.
"...I understand."
Bibi smiled brightly, placed a hand on my cheek, and said, "I look forward to the day we return to the Principality hand in hand. When that time comes... I'll personally introduce you to my father."
***
Now, we face the end.
Directly encountering Barbisia's phantasmal beast.
The old woman who used strange magic was now dead, and the crows that watched us were nowhere to be seen.
The blue deer that guided was gone as well.
Like precursors to an earthquake humans couldn't detect, not even a mouse could be seen around the village.
Around the village were dead black trees and water mist. An eerily quiet silence lingered.
We finished preparing to depart. Bibi stretched once and looked at me.
When I nodded, she took the lead. I followed close behind.
Bibi began singing softly in her refined voice, "You sit before my grave again today.
"Though I can no longer hold the flowers you placed, I'll take these beautiful memories as I go to heaven.”
We walked into the swamp, matching our steps to the sorrowful melody.
And I watched Bibi's back while occasionally looking up at the sky.
Though clear without clouds, it was as dark as early evening despite having just finished breakfast.
I was no longer swayed by ominous signs. I had already steeled my resolve.
We could have met Barbisia's god even if we stayed in that village. Having destroyed all their prepared sacrifices, they surely wouldn't leave us alone.
Yet there was only one reason we set out to find them first.
I didn't want to be prey.
I wanted to become the hunter myself, and tear out the phantasmal beast's throat.