Chapter 442: Greatest Loving Gift
After Rumi designed the city, all that was left was for it to grow. And in Hidden City, growth never stops. Arthur looked out of his window, and he could see the roofs of the residential houses being built.
"How far are we with the preparations?" Arthur asked before turning around to Manager Ma, who was still bringing papers over for him to sign.
"We need to pick up the pace. However, the Mernars disabled all trading routes, bringing every city to its knees. They say that the king should be summoning the lords to tackle the matter."
"A royal summoning?" Diana muttered while she was deep in thought, looking at Arthur as if she wanted to dissect him. "I need to go back, it seems."
"I see," Arthur nodded.
"You seem eager to get rid of me," Dia added, and it made Ma pause his actions. Arthur sighed, and it was the signal for the Manager to leave the study, and he was the truly eager one to do so.
"I told you already," Arthur explained as he walked toward her. "She is an old friend."
"The old friend that Gala mentioned," she said, not in a questioning matter, but a fact. Arthur nodded, and she avoided his reaching-out hand that was trying to hold hers.
"I feel nothing to her," he tried again, even though he felt upset that she was acting like this. After all, it"s not like he was doing anything with Rae or that they were in a relationship.
"You needn"t explain anything," Dia said as she stood up. "I have no right to be mad because we are not even together. That is what makes me feel upset. I don"t even have the right to be upset because I haven"t earned that place in your heart yet. Everyone seems to a.s.sume that I have such a right, which I do not."
It seems as if Diana looked into his heart and saw his frustrations. But, unfortunately, Arthur has misunderstood the reason behind her feelings. She wasn"t jealous or suspicious of him, but she wanted the right to be.
"What are we?" she stopped at the door, turning to glance at him. The princess looked so different in her current clothes, which was usually a dress. The white shirt and trousers gave her a shaper aura, and Arthur found himself stumped for words. "Talk to me when you have the answer to that."
After that, Dia left. Arthur stood in the room, rooted before he ran his hand through his hair. There were no intense feelings, just a sinking ship in a sea of loss.
Minutes ticked by, and countless thoughts ran through his head. He had the idea of chasing her but no idea what to do afterward. In the end, Arthur gave up the matter because he could tell that there was no answer he could come up with now.
Rae belonged to a group that could very possibly help him go back. Since he got to meet her here, it means he was close to finding a way back. It was only a matter of time before he left this world.
Arthur stood up and walked out of the study. Manager Ma was waiting for him, but Arthur simply shooed him away because he was in no mood to sign paperwork.
His feet took him to one of the first facilities established in a hidden city: Gala. It was the workshop named after the witch, and Arthur chose against changing it after her death.
As he walked into it, the workers all paused working. Arthur didn"t wear anything eye-catching, mostly black clothes because he was on a stealth mission, but his missing arm gave away his ident.i.ty as the Lord of Hidden City.
The workers were mainly hired by Ruri, who took over the witch"s work after she left. Arthur gestured for them to resume their work, but they kept standing there without moving.
"Ugh," a groan came from the messy desk in the main workshop, which had Ruri sitting in front of countless materials and beakers. The fire was gently burning in front of him as he tried to read through a book.
"You seem hard at work," Arthur broke the silence, but the alchemist didn"t seem to hear him. Instead, he walked toward the desk and tapped on it, which was enough to startle Ruri.
"My lord!" the alchemist jumped up in fright. "I didn"t... see you walk in.." he hurried to tidy up the place, but Arthur simply smiled and grabbed his arm.
"Calm down," Arthur ordered, and Ruri relaxed under the effect of his art. The materials were boiling inside the beaker, and they were dangerously bubbling. "Take care of it first."
"Yes, my lord," Ruri nodded after he calmed down. Arthur watched him finish his work before placing the potion in several vials. After that, the alchemist sighed in relief.
"Good job," Arthur praised his precision. "As expected from your ability. Gala did the right thing to bring you here."
"Thank you," Ruri smiled as he cleaned his hands. "How can I help you, my lord?"
"You never asked me about Gala," Arthur said as he grabbed a stool to sit on. "Are you glad that she"s off your back?"
The alchemist paused, and he slowly placed the towel away. Arthur could see him clench his fist as his mouth opened and closed without talking.
"Lady Gala told me about her deal with you," Ruri revealed, and Arthur couldn"t hide his surprise. "Even though she knew that I am a spy to his majesty. She trusted me with her wish."
"Then, you know what happened to her," Arthur said, and his words fell into the silence of the main workshop. The flame constantly burned before it went off. "Do you hate me?"
"I would never," Ruri shook his head, and his gla.s.ses slid down his nose before he adjusted them. "You were able to fulfill her wish. It was what she wanted."
"Even if her wish was death?"
"My mother," the alchemist paused. Arthur allowed him to take his time. "She was an ill woman all of her life. I heard her ask my father to kill her one night, but he refused. Her body was incinerated in the morning after she suffered and died."
The way he said it was robotic, almost apathetic. Arthur could tell that this man has detached his feelings from the way he lives. Ruri was no more than a precise machine, and that"s why he was the only one capable of running this place.
"I believe that a merciful death is the greatest loving gift we can give to those who wish for it. Lady Gala trusted me enough to tell me her wish because of this belief, I think."
"I am selfish by nature," Arthur smiled. "So, I asked her repeatedly to change her mind. Now that I think about it, I only made things harder for her. Maybe you were the better fit for the job."
"No!" Ruri almost shouted, and it was the loudest he"s been since Arthur met him. "You are... the only one," he calmed down. "You are the only one she wanted to kill her."
"I know. My powers as the Seika of Living Beings..."
"Wrong," he interrupted Arthur again. "Lady Gala told me enough that she hated the cold. She didn"t want to die by a pair of cold and uncaring hands. You were the only one who could do it because you loved her the most."
Arthur didn"t reply, and it seems Ruri has burned out his social capacity to talk. The man shrunk his shoulders before turning and organizing the materials, opting to avoid Arthur.
"I need to visit her room, so I have to ask you to leave," Arthur said, and Ruri took a moment of silence before he nodded. Finally, the man picked up his things and left the workshop, leaving Arthur with the sealed door to the side.
Arthur walked toward the door, and he could feel the residue mana embedded into it. As he tried to open it, a lock appeared on it. It seems that Gala chose to seal her room before she left. It was understandable, given the importance of the information inside.
"A pa.s.sword," a voice appeared from the lock, and Arthur was stumped.
"Spirits," he tried, but the seal turned red.
"Wrong," the voice said.
"Seika," Arthur felt hesitant to use his nickname, but the lock was still red. He thought for a while before turning around to make sure no one was there. "My name is Arthur Silvera," he said, and the seal dissolved with a green light.
The door opened, and Arthur sighed. He was sure that the witch knew how embarra.s.sed he would feel about this pa.s.sword, but the comfort of a final prank was comforting for him.
Her room opened before him, and Arthur found that it was filled with herbs. Green leaves lined the walls and desk, making the room look like a garden. In the middle was a desk with two notebooks on them.