Chapter 340 – Side Story Three. The Colors of Love (Seven)

The process by which the elegant white-furred cat, Catherine, came to live in the mansion was not particularly complicated.

“Rival! Come here and look at this!”

“It’s a cat…? It’s covered in soot and seems badly injured. How on earth did it get in here?”

“We turned off the Distortion Field and the barrier for a bit during yesterday’s inspection. It must have come in through the chimney!”

A carpet scattered with ashes.

Upon it, a cat gasping for breath.

The man approached with a stern expression, intending to expel the intruder from the mansion.

But the woman blocked his way.

“We have to take care of it. If we just leave it, it will die.”

“But Esua. We can’t do that. It was our initial principle not to let anyone into the mansion besides the two of us. Once you’re swayed by sympathy, there’s no end to it.”

The woman shook her head as she spoke.

“She’s pregnant.”

“……”

The man fell silent.

He wanted to uphold the principle, but he already knew he wouldn’t be able to.

Because he loved the woman too much, and he was someone who would do anything for her.

After that, meticulous treatment followed.

But perhaps because the injuries were too severe.

The guest who had found the mansion ultimately passed away.

That is, leaving behind a squirming little life for the two of them.

“Catherine.”

“Catherine?”

“I just named her.”

The man looked at the kitten with a disapproving gaze.

Taking responsibility for a life was a task that required far more effort and energy than he had imagined.

Moreover, weren’t they in a situation where they had entered the mansion, leaving behind lives dying in war?

“I want to raise her.”

But her attitude was resolute.

Perhaps she was fixated on the small life because she herself had become unable to bear children.

“Alright. Esua, if that’s what you want.”

And so, the mansion’s household grew.

Catherine, who grew up robustly under the woman’s care, roamed the mansion as if it were her playground.

Exemplary of a cat, she pushed over vessels that dared block her path while moving along shelves with her paws.

She subdued fluttering insects, establishing the dignity of a predator.

Sometimes, she would leap onto the laps of the man and woman reading books, settle down, and purr comfortably.

“Rival, what’s gotten into you? Not putting Catherine down. You never liked cats originally.”

“…She’s cute when you look at her.”

The man muttered while stroking Catherine’s fur.

Chomp!

Crunch!

Despite the side effect of being bitten at a certain probability, there was a devilish charm that made him keep touching her.

“Rival, your finger is bleeding now….”

“It’s fine.”

Chomp!

Crunch!

In the end, the man had no choice but to admit it.

That this small, white-furred life had perfectly permeated not only the woman’s daily life but his own as well.

Catherine was truly a blessing-like existence for the man and woman.

Due to the nature of the confined space, the young cat became a far greater source of vitality for the two than they had imagined.

Also, their love for each other could deepen further thanks to this new link named Catherine.

Naturally, the affection the two poured on Catherine became special.

Only positive kinds of emotions floated through the mansion.

The young cat was happy.

Hunger, boredom, anxiety.

They were concepts she couldn’t learn, having grown up in a mansion where everything was abundant.

Though she was sometimes curious about the scenery of the outside world visible through the window, she had no thought of leaving the mansion.

The outside was an unknown realm, and most importantly, her mom and dad were right here.

All times were good.

The leisurely moments when the three sat by the window together, basking in the sunlight.

Listening to mom and dad’s chattering voices during meals—though she couldn’t understand the meaning, the pitch was cheerful.

Sitting on their laps and being brushed.

Each and every daily routine.

But happiness is not eternal.

From some point, the relationship between the man and woman began to creak.

“How can you react like that to what I said?”

“No, that part is obviously—.”

Arguments ensued.

Voices were raised.

They had become too familiar with each other’s existence, unable to overlook each other’s minor flaws.

Making mistakes. Apologizing.

Fights breaking out again.

Such things repeated countless times, and the hearts of the man and woman repeatedly split and mended.

By the time the man and woman reached an age corresponding to about half their lives.

“……”

“……”

The hearts of the two were tattered beyond recognition of their original shape.

Now they used separate rooms.

Meals and hobbies were also separate.

Since they avoided each other’s domains, there were many days when they didn’t meet at all.

The decisive trigger was a very big fight they had recently.

A fight that was inevitable after long years of becoming too much like each other.

Like the same poles of magnets violently repelling each other.

The man and woman thought simultaneously in their respective rooms.

“Rival should apologize first.”

“It’s Esua who should apologize.”

In fact, they didn’t even remember well who was wrong first or how the fight started, and it wasn’t that important an issue.

The ill feelings from the fight had also subsided long ago.

But the important thing was who would bend their pride and apologize first.

The cold war state was uncomfortable and awkward, but they weren’t overly worried.

Because this time, it was the other’s turn to apologize.

Taking turns apologizing after a fight was an unspoken rule.

“It’s Rival’s turn to apologize.”

“This time, Esua will come to me first.”

The man and woman thought.

When the other knocks on the door and awkwardly offers words of reconciliation, they would reluctantly accept.

But such a thing did not happen.

“Why isn’t Rival coming?”

“It’s been two weeks already… I haven’t heard anything from Esua.”

The man and woman grew anxious.

They became uneasy, despairing, and angry at the other for breaking the unspoken rule.

And they reached a conclusion.

“Damn it. That person really intends to end our relationship now.”

“This, this… Is this really the ending you wanted, Esua…?”

And so, for a long time, the emotions of the two festered.

Blaming only the other, without any thought of going to them first.

And now, the cat, who was no longer simply young, but who had to remain forever young having grown up in the mansion, was curious.

Meow—

Why do mom and dad sleep separately now?

Why do they eat meals separately in their own rooms?

Why do they stare blankly all day at the opposite end of the corridor?

She was merely curious.

And a very long time passed.

The man and woman no longer moved.

Even when she rubbed her head against their legs, they didn’t pet her as usual.

Even when she carried a toy and dropped it in front of them, there was no reaction.

They just sat in the armchairs, motionless, like objects in the mansion.

And from some point, a rotting smell began to emanate from the two.

It was around that time that the cat transformed into a Spirit and gained intelligence.

It was something that happened because she had unknowingly accumulated the pure Mana densely pooled in the mansion within her body over a long time.

It was natural, and inevitable.

The Spirit tried various methods, moving Mana to wake the man and woman from their deep slumber.

But no magic used based on intuition had any effect.

Only the physical condition of the man and woman continued to deteriorate.

Then, a magic came to mind.

“How about it? Using this magic, it seems we won’t need to manage the items anymore.”

It was the preservation magic the man and woman had placed on all the items in the mansion.

The Spirit remembered the feeling of the Mana moving at that time and replicated the preservation magic exactly.

And she cast it on the man and woman.

Then, the rotting smell no longer emanated.

After that, the Spirit waited.

For the man and woman to awaken.

Alone, in the vast mansion.

For an immeasurably long time.

Dreaming of going outside together, to the green land that had returned.

Then, an intruder appeared.

—It was an Elf. At first, I thought about attacking, but I didn’t need to intervene as they couldn’t come up from the 1st floor. In fact, they almost fell into a trap once, and I secretly saved them.

And Catherine added.

The speaker floating in the air manipulated the panel in front of the monitor, indicating that it had output Rival’s voice as requested.

—I’ve told you everything as requested, so can you wake Rival and Esua now?

Ray was silent for a long time.

How should he explain to this little Spirit who doesn’t know the concept of death?

He couldn’t just evade the answer forever. After some thought, he spoke.

“All living beings. After living for a certain amount of time, they fall into an eternal sleep.”

—Eternal sleep?

“They worked hard while awake, so now they rest.”

Forever, happily.

In the Paradise where souls arrive.

Ray borrowed from his religious knowledge to explain as best he could.

Catherine didn’t fully understand but seemed to accept it in her own way.

—It’s a relief that the two are doing well. Anyway, does that mean you can’t wake them now?

“That’s right. By any chance, don’t you want to come outside the mansion with us?”

Catherine suddenly struggled and escaped from Ray’s embrace.

Thud.

After landing on the floor, she leaped up again and settled on Rival’s lap.

—Thank you for the offer, but I can’t do that.

“Why not? There’s nothing left for you to do in this mansion.”

—Because Rival and Esua are here. I have no intention of leaving their side to go anywhere.

Catherine’s attitude was firm.

An obsession with those she can no longer meet.

That emotion resembled the attachment Ray held for Niles and the children under the bridge.

Couldn’t he revive old connections using the power of the gems?

He had thought that countless times.

But in fact, he knew the answer.

That the moment you are bound to the past, you cannot move forward, and that moving toward the future is the right choice.

“I think it would be better for you to live your own life fully, even from now on.”

Therefore, in a way, these words were also for himself.

Of course, it had no effect.

—I refuse.

“You intend to remain trapped in the mansion?”

—I will not leave.

“Outside, there are much better places….”

—Chomp!

The white cotton paw struck Ray’s outstretched hand, tap-tap.

The sight was so adorable he wanted to dote on her to his heart’s content, but he decided to do other things first.

Ray moved his steps and surveyed the room.

Catherine just stared this way with wide eyes, not particularly interfering.

‘There’s a journal here too.’

Records that were absent on the 4th floor were gathered here in abundance.

He picked up the nearest one and turned the pages.

Flutter—

“Our love is eternal. Just like the items of this mansion, which will forever maintain their original state due to the preservation magic.”

Certainty about love.

It was presumed to be a journal written when they were young, not old.

“When all wars end, and the devastated land returns to normal, that day we will leave the mansion together.”

“Alone, it has no meaning. It must be with her. She thinks the same as I do.”

Flutter—

“We promised. Though we don’t know exactly when in the future it will be, we will open the door and leave together at the same moment. Holding in our hearts a love that will not change until then.”

Flutter—

“Yes. That is the blessing the past us prepares for the future us, and simultaneously, the only way to leave this place.”

Thud.

Closing the journal, Ray had an intuition.

That the contents of this journal were the clue to leaving the mansion.

‘The Locking Magic on the 1st-floor entrance door was from the Ancient Era.’

Its structure was extremely complex, making complete comprehension impossible.

However, it seemed that a specific condition had to be met for it to open.

‘Unchanging love.’

Was that the primary condition?

Ray turned his body and looked at the lump of emotion swirling on Rival’s chest.

Approaching the armchair, he asked.

“Can you feel this emotion?”

—I can feel it.

Catherine affirmed.

It was an emotion Rival and Esua always held, and one that vibrated more strongly when the two were together.

“That emotion is called love.”

—Love? What is that?

Ray fell silent.

It seemed he would have to call Doctor Love Love after all.