Question Rose and Melancholy Rose Devourer - Chapter 10
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
Speaking of the red rose, the first thing that emerged in Seth’s mind was a girl with black hair.
A girl who yearned after the red rose and would go to any length to attain it. Therefore, the little witch was burned at the stake.
“…”
When the black-haired girl floated into his mind as if crawling out of the remnants of a dream, Seth shook his head and shrugged it off. He didn’t want to disorient himself further by vainly dwelling on extraneous thoughts. He took three deep breaths.
“Are you ready?”
Roselle called out to Seth when he had settled down. He put the brooch on his chest and carefully adjusted his scarf.
“I only need to don my jacket…”
While answering, Seth watched Roselle, who was checking himself in an oval mirror on the wall.
What he was sporting was a long, opulent coat that still carried the semblance of a dress. While the long sleeves that concealed the fingertips and the black ruffles were still in place, the overall tailoring had changed drastically. The ruffles were fashioned from a lace fabric featuring black threads mixed with gold threads, which created an enchanting softness every time it swayed. The coat had large slits on both sides, and as he moved, his slim black trousers peeked out through the gaps.
At any rate, this was another high-quality, well-priced, and flamboyant coat.
“…You have quite the clothing there.”
“Thank you. This is one of my favorites.”
Although Seth did not mean it as a compliment, Roselle’s face lit up with joy.
Seth averted his face from Roselle with his cheekbones.
The closed double windows were sparkling in the light outside. Through the bright alba glass, the morning air was perceptible. Seth’s eyes were stimulated from time to time by the shadows cast by the structures outside, and then by the colorful brilliance.
He was enjoying the sensation of the train moving forward while observing the lovely play of light when he heard a faint voice saying, “Hey”.
“You said you were only donning your jacket, but why don’t you at least tie your hair up? Won’t it get caught in something with it being that long?”
“Well… sometimes. But I don’t care what happens to my hair…”
“Alba can get very crowded, you know?”
“I’m sure it will be…”
Seth didn’t look at Roselle and replied plainly.
“It is really long. Is there any reason you wouldn’t cut it?”
Roselle, undeterred by Seth’s demeanor, attempted to converse with him.
He didn’t strike Seth as the kind of person who would be averse to letting the conversation die down. In fact, considering the impression that Roselle gave from the few conversations they had last night when they first became acquainted, he would rather say it was the opposite. Perhaps he was the type to find solace in even the unintentional silence that arises in the middle of a conversation.
Last night, prior to the Cannibal Bouquet attack, when Roselle and he exchanged some trivial conversation, silence also prevailed between the two of them.
It was their first meeting, and the conversation that followed was based on a mutual misunderstanding. Originally, it would have been awkward, but Roselle kept a cool and collected manner while conversing with Seth, exhibiting no signs of uneasiness at the sudden silence. And conversely, he listened carefully to the silence, calming his breathing as if he were taking a break from the conversation.
Therefore, Seth was able to calm his mind without turmoil. He even felt grateful to Roselle for that, and inwardly he was a little sad to say goodbye to him because of his good-naturedness.
However, the state of affairs was different now.
Seth reminded himself to keep his distance from him.
“…It’s just too much trouble.”
In a voice devoid of emotion, Seth answered Roselle, who was attempting to deepen their connection through some form of dialogue while keeping a feeling of detachment.
A witch should not get involved with humans more deeply than necessary and vice versa. Yet, for some reason, Roselle was obsessed with Cannibal Bouquet and treated Seth in a normal manner, even though he knew that he was a witch.
For humans, a witch should be an abhorrent existence.
A decade ago, anyone who attempted to approach such a thing would have been branded a heretic and burned at the stake.
Furthermore, Roselle was no longer a mere human being.
He was a human being who had been wounded by the bizarre disease, Cannibal Bouquet.
Given that it remained obscure how the disease was spreading, Seth had to assume the “worst” that could happen to Roselle.
“…”
Seth bit the inside of his lip.
He warned himself firmly that he should not grow intimate with Roselle.
For that reason, he would keep the conversation to a minimum.
Just as he was thinking that, Roselle called out to him again, “Hey”.
Moreover, this time he was poked in the shoulder. Seth first disregarded it, but after a few more nudges, he reluctantly moved his head in that way. The sweet aroma was now more intense.
“Which do you think is better, this one or this one?”
Roselle, standing by his side, raised both hands in front of his eyes.
The two bony hands, protruding from ruffles reminiscent of exquisite flowers, picked up a pair of earrings.
Roselle, whose right and left hands held different kinds of earrings, painted a crescent moon on his red rouge.
“Well…”
“I’m conflicted. Which one do you prefer, Seth?”
The two distinct earrings were shaken by his fingers, which were ornamented with wonderfully shaped red fingernails.
An earring with a gold chain and three strands of gold roses hung from the right-hand side, and after a little delay, a huge red Alba glass like a drop of water hung from the bottom of the chain. Upon closer inspection, the glass had a small rose floating in it.
The earring on the left-hand side featured a silver chain with spherical alba glass at regular intervals with a rectangular loop at the bottom. Within the loop was a red rose hanging and swaying.
“You want me to decide…?”
“When in distress, wouldn’t anyone want an objective opinion?”
“I don’t understand that kind of… thing.”
“Don’t mull it over so much. The final decision rests in my hands.”
Roselle put the earrings in his ears and took a step back. His heels squealed.
Seth watched Crimson as he displayed his full physique as well as the vibe of his earrings. But, after all, Seth felt that whichever earring he chose, it would make no difference.
Seth grumbled, unable to make a decision, and grabbed a strand of white hair from around his neck.
“…Ah…”
Roselle’s right-hand side earring was unexpectedly reflected in the rainbow-colored slanting light streaming through the window glass.
“…That one.”
Seth pointed to Roselle’s right hand.
Roselle’s azure eyes drifted to the right. “This one?” he recited, swaying to confirm the earrings he was picking with his thumb and middle finger.
Seth nodded.
Roselle brought his right hand in front of his face and squinted to look into the red droplets.
Only the sound of the train’s movement enveloped the room.
“This one huh.”
Roselle’s voice uttered after a pause.
As he turned on his heel, Roselle walked back to the mirror.
He then reached for the jewelry box lined up on the trunk on the floor with his left hand, delicately folding his knees. Roselle took another set of earrings identical to the ones in his right hand from the box, which had an alba glass lid and was upholstered in deep blue satin, and put them on his left ear skillfully.
“…Why?” Roselle adorned both ears with the earrings Seth pointed to. Seth was confounded. “You said yourself that the final decision is yours.”
“I did make my choice. I chose this one myself, with Seth’s advice and my own judgment.”
“…That is…”
“It looks good on me, right?”
As if to show off the earrings, Roselle lightly turned his head back.
The long earrings hanging from the well-shaped ears were beaming glamorously.
“…Yeah.”
Seth looked away from Rozelle with a vague answer. He slumped against the soft back of the chair.
At this rate, he might be swallowed up by the pace of the other man. In an effort to avoid the conversation with Roselle, Seth folded his arms and lightly turned his head down. And the next moment…
Pang! A burst of noise resounded in the passenger cabin.
Seth’s shoulders and eyelids jerked up at the sound that seared through the clear early-morning air.
“I’ll do your hair for you.”
Roselle clapped his hands abruptly and flashed a broad smile at Seth. It was a smile more dazzling than the earrings that greeted the brilliant morning sun streaming in through the window.