Chapter 118
Looking into his calm, lake-like eyes, Karnen said something she thought she would never say again once she had begun the cycle of reincarnation.
[Take care of yourself.]
It was a sincere plea. Even to a man who was like an enemy, the one who had trapped her in such a miserable cycle, there remained an old, lingering attachment.
[I will.]
Promeon smiled softly. It was probably the first smile seen since their bodies had each been cursed.
Promeon turned away. Sensing that this would be their last moment, Karnen impulsively shouted:
[I’m sorry! I’m really sorry for dying in front of you like that in the past.]
The words slipped out suddenly, and Promeon stiffened. He slowly turned around with an expressionless gaze.
[I was wrong too, Promeon.]
Her voice gradually softened, finally becoming almost a whisper. Promeon stood silently, watching Karnen. It was a moment that felt eternal.
[…] Then there’s no debt between us anymore.
It was his final farewell. Immediately after, darkness swallowed him.
Karnen recalled the final moment with her old friend and briefly conveyed it to Noxia. As before, Noxia listened silently.
“I see.”
After a long pause, she murmured. Karnen anxiously studied her expression.
“I see…”
Noxia’s gaze drifted off into the distant void again. She fell into thought over many things.
While Noxia was lost in her scattered thoughts, Karnen tried to endure her silence, waiting impatiently. Eventually, unable to hold back any longer, she suddenly spoke.
“Noxia, if it’s okay with you, I want to continue being your friend. Even if we can’t have exactly the same relationship as before, I don’t want the fact that we are friends to change. What… what do you think?”
At her careful question, Noxia turned her gaze back to Karnen. Her black pupils surrounded by deep green were like a lake whose depth could not be discerned. For a moment, Karnen thought of someone else and held her breath.
How much time had passed? Though they had met again in this life and became friends, the weight of memories from their immense past lives fell between them, and a silence settled.
Finally, Noxia spoke, her expression more serious than at any other moment that day, without taking her eyes off Karnen.
“I…”
And she never reversed that decision.
After finishing her conversation with her friend, Noxia went to meet her lover.
Her destination was a high-end tea house in the city. Upon entering and giving her name, the staff silently led her to a private room at the end of the corridor.
Inside, Elenon was waiting. When he saw his beloved enter, he beamed and rose from his seat.
“Noxia.”
Noxia couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her lover. She approached him and embraced him warmly. They sat side by side on the sofa.
“Prince, I missed you.”
“We went on a date just yesterday, didn’t we? Someone hearing that might think it’s been a month since we last met.”
“It feels like a month to me. Even a single day apart makes me miss you.”
As Noxia whispered, Elenon’s cheeks flushed. Seeing him so adorably flustered made her giggle.
“Ah, you’re really cute.”
She confessed in a sing-song voice and pressed her lips to his reddened cheek. His blush deepened.
“Calling me cute is too much. I’d rather appear cool in your eyes than cute.”
“Then I’ll correct it. You’re both cute and cool. Satisfied?”
“No, it still feels a bit off…”
Elenon grumbled but didn’t let go of Noxia. Their hands intertwined warmly and intimately. He drew her hand to his and kissed the back of it.
“But honestly, I feel the same way, Noxia.”
“What do you mean?”
“The day felt as long as a month to me. I missed you too.”
He confessed sweetly. Normally, his eyes were round like a puppy’s, but in this moment, they folded like a fox’s, equally as adorable as when his cheeks had blushed like a child’s.
“Then look at me as much as you want now.”
Noxia replied, but contrary to her words, she didn’t let him study her face too carefully.
Noxia kissed her miraculous lover. It was the love of this life, protected solely by her own will.
When Noxia suddenly pressed her lips to his, Elenon was momentarily startled, but then closed his eyes in happiness and embraced her, responding with passionate motion.
Their lips and tongues mingled wetly. Their torsos pressed together as if allowing no space. After their heated breaths intertwined chaotically, they pulled apart slightly, both gasping for oxygen.
“Noxia, please control yourself a bit. There are guards in the next room.”
“So what? The soundproofing should be good. And we’re not doing anything embarrassing, are we?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“And it’s unfair to tell only me to restrain myself, you naughty prince. Who was it just now that kissed me like they were going to devour me?”
“Devour….”
At her bold word choice, Elenon’s face flushed, and he shivered. Noxia grinned and rubbed his cheek, finding his lustful blush utterly charming.
“If it’s really that uncomfortable for you, I’ll hold back from now on. We’ll have to settle for just kisses.”
“Kisses? That doesn’t seem like a word suitable for what just happened.”
They bickered briefly over the intensity of their affection. Even such trivial arguments were enjoyable simply because they shared them. The childish quarrel itself gained meaning through each other.
So immersed in the joy of this present moment with her current lover, Noxia could no longer think of her love from a past life, long gone.
“But, Noxia… are you really okay with this?”
“With what?”
“…Do you really want to keep seeing me? That incident happened. I’ll make sure it never happens again, but still, the fact that it once did cannot be changed.”
Their playful bickering faded, and the atmosphere grew serious. Noxia hesitated for a moment at Elenon’s careful question, and he waited anxiously for her reply.
“…Yes, I think it will be fine. It will be fine.”
Noxia answered slowly. Her gaze toward Elenon was steady and gentle.
“Now the situation has changed. I have a formal noble title now, and I’ll become a university student like you. I won’t be powerless anymore, with no social standing to rely on as before.”
“I’m really sorry for failing to protect you last time.”
“I’m also sorry for leaving you alone for so long.”
“It’s alright. I understand why it happened. Thank you for coming back to me now.”
He kissed her again. This time, it was truly a gentle, tender kiss, worthy of the word “kiss.” It was sweet like sugar to both of them.
“By the way, how’s the trial going?”
“It’s almost over. Duke Veriton will surely pay for his crimes. Ah, though he’s no longer a duke.”
Elenon answered Noxia’s careful question kindly. Yet only his tone was gentle. Thinking of Duke Veriton, his gaze hardened. There was no sympathy left for the man who had hired mercenaries to kidnap and assault his lover.
“And the mercenaries who kidnapped me…”
“I checked—they don’t even seem to have been reported missing. I guess that’s how things work in the underworld. They always hide their identities carefully to avoid police attention, so no one searched for them after they disappeared that day.”
Elenon recounted this as calmly as possible, but Noxia frowned at the unsettling news. He, too, frowned.
“You’re not feeling sympathy for them, right? They’re worthless people. They were evil to not just you but others for money.”
“I don’t feel sympathy. It’s just… sad that people like that exist in the world and that such things happen.”
In her days as an ancient queen, she had governed kindly, building systems, refining laws, and advancing technology for her people.
Ah, someday, when we escape ignorance and poverty and enjoy wisdom and abundance, there will no longer be reasons to deceive, harm, or oppress each other.
Yet now, in the dazzling modern civilization full of material wealth, people still hurt one another, sometimes without clear reason or with malice.
But Noxia did not despair. Just as there were always evil people, there were also many good ones. Still, the existence and actions of the wicked were undeniably saddening.
“Back then… were people generally kind?”
Elenon asked, genuinely curious. Not a history scholar, he did not know how ancient humans lived. Even historians could only know part of the story; without firsthand experience, much of the world remained unknown.
“It was the same as now. There were good people, evil people, and many cowards who were neither.”
Noxia answered as objectively as possible. Indeed, this had been true in every life she had lived. Times and cultures changed, but the nature of the species remained constant.
“Then… are you disappointed? Seeing your descendants, humans, not showing much progress?”
Elenon asked carefully. Noxia thought for a moment, then chuckled and shook her head.
“No, I’m not disappointed. Disappointment comes from expectation, right? My reincarnation is just that—reincarnation. I didn’t return to judge modern humanity or impose moral standards. I just live alongside them. That’s all.”
Even if modern humans were pitifully underdeveloped compared to the ancient past, what right did she have to condemn them?
Her time as a monarch, regulating and guiding her people, was over. She had severed her past identity and chosen her present self. Now, she was just an ordinary member of the crowd.
And the fact that human nature had not changed much meant that humanity had not truly degenerated. Evil still existed, but so did good. Noxia Dekan, who had suffered from someone’s malice, now found comfort in the gentle arms of another.
