Chapter 146

And yet in spite of that, and in spite of the blood she was drenched in, she was looking up at Izabella with a gaze full of heartfelt adoration. As Izabella’s tears rolled over her palms, Jeanne thoroughly mulled over every word as she spoke. “Even with so much machinery in you… Even after what I did to you, you’re still so warm.” “Don’t say it like that—you saved me. I, you…you bring so much warmth into my life as well… Please, you can’t die on me. Don’t die. I’m begging you!” Izabella squeezed Jeanne’s hand even tighter than before. She was crying like a child, tears gushing from her blue and purple eyes. The way she embraced Jeanne, it was like she was desperately trying to pin her to the mortal coil. She buried her face in Jeanne’s honey-blond hair and whispered. “I’m begging you, my love.” “…Say what?” And for her troubles she got back an incredulous cry. “O-oh, goodness.” Elisabeth reflexively stepped back. Now she was worried about what was to come for a completely different reason than she had been before. Jeanne jerked her torso all the way vertical in a highly inadvisable maneuver for someone on death’s door. Elisabeth took another step back. Her intuition had been right on the mark. As for Jeanne herself, though, Izabella commanded the sum total of her attention. Jeanne’s rose-red eyes were as wide as dinner plates. She spoke in an unnervingly serious tone. “Again.” “J-Jeanne, that’s not important, your wound—” “Please repeat what you just said.” “Wh-which part?” “‘My…’” “…My love?” And with that, Jeanne died. No, wait, she just toppled over backward. Izabella cried out, frantically supporting her back and embracing her. Her tone rang with desperation. “Please, my love, you have to stay with me!” As Elisabeth listened to the dead-serious plea, she gave the two of them an askance look. Despite being a dog, the Kaiser’s expression was much the same as hers. Then Jeanne abruptly sat up again. She, too, sounded scarily serious, but her tone was bewildered in equal measure. “My lady, might it be the case that you, um, well, perhaps think of me…in that light? Y’know, kinda sorta maybe like lovers?” “…Forget what I think—I already am your lover, am I not?” Jeanne died. Oh, enough of that already, Elisabeth silently retorted. “Ah,” Jeanne said, then rose with surprising ease. However, she gave that no follow-up. Her mouth flapped open and closed, but her voice refused to come out. However, the cause wasn’t exactly medical in nature. She then repeated the whole process several times, making it look like she was performing some sort of heretical ritual dance. A moment after she finished, she launched into a barrage of questions. “But then why do you never act like it? One day you’re kind to me, the next you seem wholly uninterested, and some days you barely even greet me. How many fuckin’ beastfolk doors do you think I’ve had to smash down just so I could get some damn advice?!” “You know, I’m still waiting for you to apologize about that,” Elisabeth noted. “Can it, bitch. One thing at a time.” “…Y-you were smashing down doors? Anyhow, I thought that changing my lifestyle and behavior just because I was in a relationship would come across as insincere, but…if it made you feel insecure, then I was putting the cart before the horse. I’m truly sorry.” Izabella scratched her cheek and gave Jeanne an apologetic bow. Jeanne began vibrating. Her expression couldn’t keep up with all the powerful emotions welling up inside her, and as she shouted, she seemed liable to explode at any moment. “But you never answered my c-c-confession!” “I did! I told you, ‘I’ve acknowledged your feelings, and I appreciate them.’ If I was turning you down, I would have said so!” “Surely you could have picked something a little more romantic, you dumbass! Fuck I love you!” Meanwhile, Elisabeth and the Kaiser shared an inane little exchange of their own. “That girl is quite something… Even her normal speech is starting to sound like that.” “What do you mean by ‘like that,’ Kaiser?” “You know, I’m not quite sure myself.” Elisabeth couldn’t begin to tell if Jeanne was acting angry or being bashful or what. All she knew for sure was that Jeanne was puffing up her cheeks and swaying side to side. That was when Elisabeth realized something. The wound on Jeanne’s neck was completely healed. A small piece of metal had come off Izabella’s hand and carefully sealed up the fang wound. Like Waltz, it was a technique that only the two of them could have pulled off. Ah, Elisabeth thought, satisfied. There really hadn’t been a need to cry. Izabella was still worried about Jeanne’s wound, but she steeled her resolve all the same. She had caused her lover to worry, and no person half as earnest as her would be able to forgive themselves for something like that. She reverently took Jeanne’s hand in hers. Then, as Jeanne went still, she pressed her lips against Jeanne’s fingers. It was beautiful and heartwarming, like a scene plucked straight out of a fairy tale. Izabella then spoke, the words coming from the bottom of her heart. “My dearest beloved. You cast aside your weapon for me, saved me, sacrificed yourself for me, and fell from the sky into my arms. And in that moment, you were the most beautiful star I had ever seen—a light that shone for me and me alone. I ask of you this: Will you stay by my side for the rest of our days?” Jeanne shook violently and nearly keeled over. It was far too much for her heart to take. However, she valiantly fought to stay upright. In spite of herself, Elisabeth found it somewhat impressive. This time, it was Izabella who had gone a bit overboard. Jeanne, not sure how to respond, lapsed back into her strange heretical dance. She squeezed her fists and eyes tightly shut. In the end, she shouted but a single word. “Marriage!” “Of course! We’ll have a big ceremony in the Capital!” The two of them exchanged a firm embrace. Hmm, Elisabeth thought. Technically, Jeanne had been in a life-threatening situation. And now the two lovers had both successfully survived. Not only that, they’d finally managed to communicate their feelings to each other. Jeanne cried in joy, and Izabella gently stroked her fair back. Viewed objectively, the whole situation was downright moving. However, both members of the audience felt as though they’d been left completely in the dust. Elisabeth shook her head from side to side. Then she looked over at the Kaiser and shot him a question. “What exactly did I just witness?” “Hell if I know.” And at the end of the day there was really no other way to put it.