I Will Die for You, My Darling! - Chapter 53

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Chapter 53

Isaac remained indifferent to the household staff’s fascination. The identity of the rare creature held no interest for him, nor did he care whether the team would ever find its remains.

If anything, he hoped they wouldn’t, that a hundredth team would be dispatched, if only for the continued influx of supplies, including the high-purity cleanser. Why they were so obsessed with the creature was yet another mystery he didn’t bother to unravel.

While attentive to the sounds of their work, he let their chatter wash over him. As long as their hands kept moving, their gossip was of no concern; the content of their conversations held no appeal.

Instead, his focus rested on the few items he’d selected for Arietta. He’d been assured she’d caused no trouble in his absence. Still, a vague unease made him hesitant to bring her anything sharp, so he’d set aside the metal sculptures.

This left a few framed pictures and a single book: On Love. Arietta’s favorite. Isaac ran his calloused fingers over the delicately embellished endpapers.

‘Typical Arietta,’ he thought, his assessment stark. He slowly flipped through the short stories. Lacking any aesthetic sensibility, the pages were nothing more than a dizzying array of colors.

He could appreciate the mathematical balance of the design, but it all felt rather fussy. What did Arietta see in this? Still, he continued turning the pages, even as he failed to understand. His hand paused on page fifty-four.

Sacrifice

Willingly surrender, bleed for love,

Do not lament the fading breath.

Shed the frail flesh,

Become formless, pervasive.

In heart, in breath, in every glance exchanged.

Isaac’s gaze lingered on the page. There was an undeniable intensity to the poem, a captivating force. The staff’s chatter faded into the background, and he felt strangely adrift. This was a book defining love, wasn’t it? He recalled Arietta’s habitual “I love you.”

What, he wondered, was her definition of love? Whatever it was, it certainly didn’t involve sacrifice.

***

Day seven of the twenty-sixth Remains Retrieval Team’s ground search. Having arrived in Downstream unarmed, the team relied entirely on the protection of Marquis Tygra for their safety.

This meant their every move was known to him. Unarmed travel in Downstream, a land of barrenness and danger, was unthinkable for those from the Sky City.

Even the mansion where the team resided was under constant guard by Isaac’s men. It was gilded captivity. Benjamin shuddered. He’d been briefed on the arrangements up above, but experiencing it firsthand felt like imprisonment.

As a high-ranking nobleman unaccustomed to such treatment, he found this semi-confinement deeply insulting, though this wasn’t the only source of his indignation.

“…Therefore, today’s exploration guidelines are as follows.”

Benjamin looked at the snake-like man delivering the briefing. Since abruptly leaving the welcome party on the first day, Isaac had been conspicuously absent from the Remains Retrieval Team’s schedule, delegating everything to the man before him, Gamon, his supposed right hand, while he focused on overseeing the Glass Dome mansion.

‘What’s there to oversee all of a sudden?’

The place was always the same. Benjamin viewed this excavation as a diplomatic mission. Treating their guests with such disregard was unacceptable.

“Is Marquis Tygra very busy?” he asked, carefully suppressing his irritation. Gamon’s hand stilled. “Don’t question my competence.”

“I’m not questioning your competence. I was told Marquis Tygra himself would be overseeing our protection. I’m simply curious why things have changed.”

Gamon stared at Benjamin from behind his spectacles. The reason for the change was obvious: Arietta. After causing a scene at the welcome party, she’d been quiet, hanging the pictures Isaac brought her and losing herself in her books.