The Exhausting Reality of Novel Transmigration

>

Rita was forced to stop moving her hands.
She thought about it.

“…Then, I…”

“Mm-hmm.
Which day would you like, Rita?”

“…A cloudy day.”

At the short answer that she gave, Urien tilted his head to the side.

He looked positively abominable.

“A cloudy day? But you prefer sunny days, Rita.”

“…So, you’re not going to hear me out?”

Instead of answering the question, Rita asked another one back.

Green eyes turned and looked at her.

Rita’s face could be seen reflected in those bright green eyes.

It was as if she was drowning amidst a swamp.

Soon, Urien’s lips tugged up into a smile, and he nodded.

“No.
Alright, let’s do that.
I like everything that you like.”

After saying so, the man rose from his seat.

Screeeech.

The chair dragged across the floor, making a high-pitched sound.

Sauntering towards her, he stopped behind Rita.

And, he combed his fingers through her hair.

His fingertips brushed against her nape.

Every patch of skin that his cold fingertips touched, goosebumps rose.

“Beneath a sky full of dark clouds, the two of us, promising eternity to each other… Yes, I do believe it will be sentimental, in its own way.”

Isn’t that right, Rita?

Listening to the voice just above her head, still chewing, Rita turned her gaze.

There, out the window, where the sunset had painted the heavens red.

Yes, I was talking about a ‘cloudy day’ just like this one.

In the end—at the end of it all—I would like it if the wedding would be on a cloudy day.

That is, I would like it better if the downcast sky would bring upon such a downpour that would make it seem as if there’s a hole in the sky.

If a thunderstorm would visit, if lightning would strike, if fire could raze the ground.

If it’s a day in which it seemed like everything would be blown away by a massive gust of wind.

If, yes, it’s the worst day to ever come.

So that people could point their fingers at this wedding, calling it ‘a marriage that heaven has opposed’.

As long as it’s at least a marriage that would not be allowed any blessings.

Then, alright.
Let’s do that.

Staring blankly out the window, Rita closed her eyes.

The scenery that slowly faded before her remained to be red.

It was truly, utterly red.

And,

Right after that.

The world turned upside down once more.

 

* * *

 

“Uugh…”

A small groan spilled through my lips.

But when I realized that a man’s face was waiting right in front of mine right then, a slight sense of confusion washed over me.

Perhaps because I had just jumped in front of Urien and had taken the blow of a sword instead of him.

My chest hurts.

It hurts a lot.

It hurts so much that it felt hot.

It was too cold for it to be hot.

The man who wielded the sword seemed to really want to kill Urien.

Considering how deeply he had stabbed.

The sharp blade had penetrated completely through the left side of my chest.

Through my ribs, directly towards what it caged.

The world had slowed down.

Truly, utterly slowly.

To the point where even the flecks of dust in the air could be seen.

As the sword penetrated my chest, I stumbled.

Beneath a world that moved slowly, the body of the man who had stabbed me collapsed before I did.

Soon, a red streak burst out from the very spot he had once stood.

On the spot where life had once been, it looked as if petals fluttered with the color red.

The sight made me smile.

To be exact, what made me smile was the sight of Urien, who appeared behind the man he had just cut down.

There was a blank look on his face.

The nonchalant, courteous smile that he always had was nowhere to be found now, no matter how much I might even rub my eyes.

His blank face slowly became distorted.

For a moment, the world was truly, utterly still.

The silence before a guttural scream would break out was, of course, ever so silent.
However.

“…RITA!”

A horrific cry pierced through the silent world.

It was a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice.

It must be Urien’s, yet he never would have cried out in this way.

Urien had always been a man who wrapped himself with layers upon layers of insidiousness.

The only truth that could be seen upon him was his desire, deep within his eyes.

Here, however, it’s as if he was finally laying everything bare.

His tears, his frustration, his pain, his sadness, his screams, his anger.

It was an amalgamation of all kinds of negative, pathetic emotions.

One corner of Rita’s lips slightly went up.

Oh, I’ve always wanted to see him come undone like this.
That’s exactly why I jumped in front of Urien just as the sword aimed at him thrusted forward.

I offered my chest to the sword.

To be precise, the left side of my chest, where my heart was.

A place that his divine power would never be able to mend.

It was for the sake of a greatly certain death.

For the sake of dying at once.

Just for the sake of seeing this man in so much pain.

From the man who I resented the most, I took what he cherished the most away from him.

Of course, I also wanted to choose my own death.

Rita’s body slowly collapsed.

The line of sight slowly tilted forward until, little by little, it soon got closer to the ground.

Nevertheless, the smile on Rita’s lips did not disappear.