Chapter 138
She delivered milk cans in the early morning and collected empty cans in the evening, bringing back small amounts of leftover food. It was petty theft, but it was clearly embezzlement. If caught, it could lead to big trouble.
“Let’s go home now!”
The child was practically dragged away by his mother, wailing loudly.
The remaining people shook their heads. It was, in truth, awkward that they had listened to the child’s absurd words even for a moment.
But…
“That Raoul sure can spin a good story. Plausible, too.”
“I know, right. Haha.”
Ultimately, Raoul hadn’t seen anything properly, and he was dragged away by his mother for lying, but because of one word the child had emphasized, people became strangely quiet.
‘Black clothes…?’
At that moment, everyone had the same thought, but no one voiced it.
There was only one woman in this domain who could wear black clothes.
Yoseph, having washed his hands and face, looked up.
The back door was open.
“……”
Unlike the dim slaughterhouse even in broad daylight, the world outside the open back door was filled with light.
As the spirit of spring became distinct, even the sunlight was yellow. Yoseph squinted his eyes from behind his shaggy bangs.
Outside the back door, the back of Arzeletta was visible, sitting on a wooden chair.
Her slender back, etched with deep scars, and her elegant, long hair covering it; Arzeletta held a flower, as if blown in by the breeze, and quietly inhaled its scent.
Even at that moment, someone from beyond the fence sang a song of mockery towards the slaughterhouse, but neither Arzeletta nor Yoseph paid particular attention.
Yoseph had never felt spring in his life.
Spring was the season that made him, alienated from the world of normalcy, feel lonelier and more miserable than ever.
At this moment, Yoseph’s heart, immune to joy, ached terribly. Even in the aching moment, he yearned. This brilliance brought him sorrow.
Yoseph could not distinguish if it was spring, sunlight, or Arzeletta that was dazzling his eyes.
Yoseph wiped his hands on the clean towel Arzeletta had laundered and stepped outside.
Arzeletta, immersed in the sunlight and the scent of flowers, did not notice Yoseph’s presence.
“Arzeletta.”
As Yoseph approached and cautiously called her name, Arzeletta finally opened her eyes as if waking from a dream.
At the faint smile she immediately gave him, Yoseph felt his heart sweetly shattering.
It was the sensation of thousands of fine cracks appearing in his heart. As if someone were to lightly tap it, it would scatter like dust, leaving only a glimmer.
“Yoseph.”
Yoseph sat beside Arzeletta. The long wooden chair was old and dirty, but simply because Arzeletta sat there, the place became a goddess’s temple unlike any other.
“Tomorrow, I’ll get some wood and make you a new chair,” Yoseph mumbled. Arzeletta looked back at him.
“You’ll be able to get good wood since it’s spring.”
“……”
“I might even be able to buy fragrant wood, Arzeletta.”
If they would sell such good wood to them, that is. Yoseph easily anticipated the unspoken words, but Arzeletta chose not to bring them up.
Instead, she nodded. She didn’t want to tarnish the moment Yoseph imagined something pleasant. Although she clearly knew that, as his life had always been, briefly held expectations would return as greater misery, that moment was precious nonetheless.
“The seasonal festival isn’t far off, it seems,” Yoseph said. Arzeletta nodded.
Yoseph, who had not spoken with people for a long time, seemed to be talking to himself no matter what he said, yet Arzeletta felt comfortable talking to Yoseph.
Perhaps it was because they were both awkward at conversation. Perhaps it was because Yoseph was a person who was even taciturn when talking to himself. Perhaps it was because his unpolished words were filled only with words that hurt no one.
“Ah…”
Something fluttered down onto Arzeletta’s collar.
She thought it was a flower petal blown in from somewhere, but it wasn’t. It was a butterfly.
“You must smell fragrant, Arzeletta,” Arzeletta smiled faintly and extended a finger towards the butterfly. The butterfly fluttered its beautiful red wings and landed on her fingertip.
Yoseph felt breathless. The butterfly soon flew away, but the fleeting moment was etched like an eternity.
It was a spring so beautiful it was almost unbearable.
Yoseph raised his hand. He meant to brush something off Arzeletta’s shoulder, where the butterfly had landed.
“……”
His hand paused for a moment.
Arzeletta, who had been quietly watching Yoseph, soon noticed where his gaze had fallen.
It was a distinct red bruise, clearly visible on her slightly exposed chest, on her soft, white skin.
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