Subliminal Wayfarer

 

“…Rita!”

 

The woman with a smiling face collapsed.

Very slowly, or perhaps very quickly.

Red aura slowly spread from the stabbed heart.

Her brilliant blonde hair scattered on the floor like sprinkled gold.

Lips dripping with blood smiled faintly.

 

“Let’s never meet again, not even in hell. Please.”

 

With those words, her eyes closed.

They never opened again.

His heart sank.

The world turned pitch black.

 

* * *

 

Daniel stared in shock as Alicia collapsed on the ground. Her closed, pale face. The spreading blood. The scattered blonde hair.

“…Ri…ta.”

This familiar scene was enough to drag him into a nightmare in an instant.

“Alicia!”

Rosetta screamed as she rushed to Alicia’s side.

“You bastard!”

She was the first to punch Daniel in the jaw with a furious face.

Daniel, lost in shock, was knocked off his feet by the strong blow and crashed to the ground.

Seizing the moment, knights rushed to apprehend Daniel.

“Alicia, are you okay? Alicia! Alicia…”

“Sister…”

Alicia weakly smiled in response. Rosetta quickly examined her wound.

“Thank goodness. The wound isn’t deep. It missed any vital marks. What were you thinking? What were you doing!”

“I… I was trying to pro…tect you.”

“What?”

“…I told you before. I wanted to protect you too. Sister, you’ve always been my hero. So… I wanted to be your hero too.”

“You idiot. You’re… You’re already my hero.”

That day you ran through the closed door, facing away from Katie and Brother to throw yourself at me.

“You’re my hero.”

Because you made me want to live.

Because you made me want to go on living.

Rosetta embraced Alicia, tears streaming down her face.

“Rosetta! Alicia!”

Damian ran over and examined Alicia’s wound.

“Are you okay? Are you okay, Alicia?”

“Don’t make her talk too much, Brother. It’ll be hard for her to speak. I’ve checked the wound. If we stop the bleeding and treat her right away, she should be fine.”

“Th… Thank goodness. I thought… I thought I had lost you.”

Relieved, Damian’s tears flowed freely.

Meanwhile, Daniel, pinned down by knights on the ground, regained his senses.

He had lost the hostage.

Then, it was clear to him that he had only one last way to escape.

“Leo!”

As he had been distracted by the knights and the duke until now, Leo turned back as he heard Daniel’s call.

Seeing Daniel pinned to the ground, Leo spewed fire towards him.

The knights widened their eyes in shock, but the speed of the incoming fireball did not decrease.

‘We’re going to die!’

The knights closed their eyes.

But, instead of the expected pain, they felt intense heat surging and soon dissipating.

Curious, they cracked their eyes open to find someone standing in front of them.

A man with black hair.

His clothes, torn and stained with mud and blood, looked tattered, but his back felt oddly reassuring. The fireball aimed at them had disappeared into thin air.

“…S…Sir?”

As someone stuttered as they called out to him, Cassion glanced back to check on the knights.

“Are you all okay?”

“Yes, we’re fine. But what about you? You don’t look well…”

The knight closest to him asked with concern. Cassion, indicating he was fine, shook his head.

“I’m all right. The development pill worked better than expected.”

“Excuse me?”

Confused by his words, the knight got no further explanation as Cassion looked up to the sky.

The large, dark eyes that had been looking around busily finally noticed Cassion’s arrival.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

A menacing threat was sharply spat out with fierce teeth.

Leo’s head slowly turned towards Cassion.

His brother.

His obstacle.

One of the culprits who had led to this situation.

Cassion Carter.

—I should have made sure you were dead…

“Yes. You should have. But here I am, alive.”

So, you’re the one who’s going to die.

Cassion smirked as he drew his sword.

With a metallic sound, the sword elongated like a whip, surrounded by flames that rose like a dragon. Simultaneously, the relic around Cassion’s neck glinted unnoticed by anyone.

Ignoring the knights and dukes, Leo headed straight for Cassion. His sharply protruding claws were encircled by chilling frost.

—Cassion!!!

“Leo!!!”

With mutual rage.

The clash of their strength shook the ground.

 

* * *

 

People blankly surveyed the devastated surroundings. The already desolate landscape had turned even more ghastly.

Bloodstains were everywhere. Knights supported each other. People writhed on the ground, moaning in pain. And…

—Gr…Grrr…

On the ground lay a dying being, somewhere between a monster and a human.

Leo Carter.

Cassion approached him wearily.

Leo strained to look up at Cassion.

—If on…ly you never existed…

With deep resentment, a blue liquid, indistinguishable between blood and saliva, dripped down his teeth.

“Such assumptions are foolish. No matter how much you say that, here I am in front of you.”

Cassion’s voice had an emptiness to it.

Was it because everything was finally over? As the tension dissipated, a sense of emptiness emerged. Had he lived his whole life being oppressed just to end up like this?

Someone’s shadow stopped beside Cassion.

“Rosetta.”

“Are you okay?”

Genuinely concerned, Cassion finally smiled.

He pulled out a badly damaged necklace from underneath his clothing.

“Yes, thanks to the gift you gave me. Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m fine. Completely fine.”

The two silently held hands, looking at the end of those who had tried to kill them, who had pressured them.

Daniel, or rather, Urien, restrained and bound by knights, and Leo, gasping for breath with blue blood oozing out.

One of the knights cautiously approached the two.

“About this monster, it might be safer to deal with him now…”

It wasn’t really a question for them. It seemed more like they were asked because Rosetta and Cassion were at the center of the fight.

Cassion looked at the dying Leo with a complicated gaze, placing a hand on his empty scabbard.

Rosetta quietly pulled on Cassion’s hand. Following her pull, his gaze shifted to Rosetta’s profile.

Without meeting his eyes, Rosetta answered the knight.

“Just leave him. He’ll die soon anyway. After all, he was exposed to a power that humans shouldn’t touch.”

“Then, should we leave him be?”

“You can keep watch over him as he is, or you can end his life now. Just don’t leave it to this person.”

“Pardon?”

“Huh?”

Both the knight and Cassion questioned, to which Rosetta shrugged.

“Just because. For someone to kill a person with the same last name, it wouldn’t sit right, yes?”

“Ah, I see. We’ll discuss it and then proceed. Thank you.”

The knight then returned to his position and started a serious discussion with his colleagues.

Cassion, watching them, quietly asked Rosetta.

“Did Daniel know what he was doing when he gave Leo that power?”

Rosetta nodded.

“I don’t doubt it. Daniel’s target has always been me. To him, Leo was merely a shield to buy time, a disposable weapon. Do you pity them?”

“No. They tried to use each other, after all. What’s there to pity? It just… seems so foolish.”

“Yes, foolish indeed. Human greed is always like that.”

As the two conversed, it seemed the knights had concluded their discussion.

They began to securely bind Leo with ropes.

Given he was bound to die soon, it appeared they intended to interrogate him further while communication was still possible.

Leo floundered like a fish caught in a net.

It was a pitiful sight.

“Rosetta!”

While observing Leo, another voice called out, a mix of vitality and sorrow, perhaps resignation and hope.

Rosetta turned towards the source of the voice.

It was Daniel, bound by the knights. He knelt on the ground, looking towards her.

As Rosetta didn’t respond, Daniel let out a sly laugh.

“…I have something to say to you, Rita, one last time.”

His long eyelashes fluttered slowly.

The sky, now stained yellow and red, made his silvery hair appear almost golden.

Reminiscent of the old Rita.

After a moment of silence, Rosetta slowly let go of Cassion’s hand.

“Rosetta.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be back.”

Acknowledging Cassion’s concerned voice with a smile, she slowly walked towards Daniel.

To witness, with her own eyes, the complete end of this loathsome, ill-fated connection.

The knights, hesitant at first, made way for her, prompted by the formidable glares of the duke and the young duke from a distance.

They reluctantly extended the ropes as far as they could and positioned themselves at a safe distance.

Rosetta approached Daniel after ensuring no one else was close.

“…You’ve come, Rita.”

“Say what you have to and be done with it.”

Daniel laughed senselessly at her cold voice.

Always so cold to me, he muttered as if complaining.

“The revelation I received through the relic wasn’t a lie.”

“…”

“Although, I did twist the content a little.”

“Of course, it was.”

“The real revelation I received was this— ‘The last star of Valentine has returned to disrupt the world’. That’s why I started suspecting that you and Alicia might have been switched at burst.”

“Hah. That cursed god.”

Hearing the true content of the revelation, Rosetta scoffed in disbelief.

“Ahaha. Why? I quite like such a god.”

“Because that god overly favors you.”

“Maybe so. Maybe that’s why… I received one more revelation this morning?”

Haha.

A brief laugh flickered across his lips, his eyelashes casting a shadow.

The revelation from that morning flashed through his mind.

 

『 Foolish owner of the relic, foolish sinner.

You shall never possess even a single thing that you desire.

And. 』

 

“…’And, the new wish that has been prayed for. That, I shall fulfill’.”

“What?”

A new wish that was prayed for?

Rosetta quickly realized what he was referring to.

When she discovered her diary and learned all the secrets of this transmigration, back then…

 

“Oh, I see that your wish has changed. Alright, then. Let’s hear it. What do you want now?”

 

That god’s question was met with a sure answer.

Her new wish.

 

“My wish is… Don’t make my younger sister the protagonist.”

 

Rosetta looked towards Alicia, who, after receiving first aid, was waiting for the carriage—now under the protection of their father and brother.

As their eyes met, Alicia smiled brightly and waved, then grimaced and lowered her arm as her father and brother fussed over her with concern. It was clear even from a distance.

Rosetta watched the scene blankly, then let out a soft laugh.

“Yes, it’s clear now…”

She doesn’t look like a tragic heroine anymore.

Then, at that moment.

A chilling, slicing sound cut through the air.

Rosetta, with wide eyes, slowly looked down.

Red.

A stream of red liquid flowed beneath her feet.

“Ah… Ahaha… What is this…”

Bound hand and foot, kneeling on the dirt ground, Daniel’s upper body slowly fell to the ground.

A dagger’s handle protruded from his back.

Behind the fallen Daniel stood a knight, panting heavily, with red liquid dripping from his hand.

The same liquid that flowed from Daniel’s body, soaking the ground and seeping to Rosetta’s feet.

“…I have avenged… my younger brother.”

The knight, staring blankly at Daniel, muttered quietly.

A sibling’s grudge.

No need to probe further. The story was all too clear.

The family member of a person who had been turned into a monster.

Which victim’s family among the countless monsters, it was impossible to tell.

There would be hundreds more like him.

Soon, other knights gathered, taking away the knight who had stabbed Daniel.

Others examined Daniel’s wound.

But the dagger had pierced Daniel’s heart precisely.

Just like when Rita had died.

With his head hitting the ground, Daniel could barely turn this way.

His struggling blue gaze remained fixed on Rosetta.

He opened his mouth, a pained smile on his lips.

“…To die so… pointlessly… I had hoped… it would be by your hand…”

And that was the end.

His eyes lost focus, the vein-filled gaze going blank.

His slightly open lips froze in place.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The fiercely beating heart ceased.

Rosetta, with a blank face, looked down at Daniel’s body.

Urien’s face overlapped with the motionless one.

‘He’s dead.’

Dead.

Completely dead.

The detestable man was dead.

Gone forever.

Just as Urien said, it was indeed a meaningless death.

Ah, so this is the end.

The villain’s fate was just this— a pointless end.

Rosetta, with a dry laugh, turned away.

But before she could take three steps, she collapsed in place.

Her legs gave out.

It felt as if something that had been clinging to her ankles had finally fallen away.

The invisible shackles seemed to have finally been released.

It was empty, yet it was liberating.

Only now did she realize that her heart could feel so light.

It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

The overwhelming joy turned into tears streaming down her face.

She cried out loud like a child struggling to breathe, hoping all the bad memories would disappear with these tears.

“Si… Sister?!”

“Why, Rosetta?!”

“What’s wrong, Rosetta?!”

“Milady!”

“Rosetta!”

Calls poured out from everywhere towards her.

Rosetta.

A name now forever hers.

Rosetta slowly lifted her head.

Behind those rushing towards her, it seemed as if there were people, who had passed by her, waving goodbye.

The genuine life she thought she had in the first round.

The life she had in an internet novel in the second round.

The not-so-easy life in a martial arts novel in the third round.

The horrific life in a depraved, tragic novel in the fourth round.

Versions of herself from each life smiled at her.

Telling her she had really endured a lot.

Rosetta stared blankly at that blurry vision, then firmly nodded.

Below the tears, a faint smile shone brightly.

The story was over.

There were no more protagonists here.

No villains.

No supporting characters.

Nothing was left.

Only ‘Rosetta’.

Now living a normal life, now surrounded by the people she loved.

Finally, finally.

A happy ending.

 

—The End—

 

---

 

t/n: I… I’m in tears.

What a ride this was, truly. I can’t quite put to words just how happy I am to see Rosetta finally reaching this point in her life. She might not be living in the same plane of existence that I do, but I feel such a strong connection to her—as if she’s my older sister as well.

These past three years have been rough, I’m not going to lie, and my own translation journey has gone through so many ups and downs. Rosetta was there all throughout, and I wouldn’t have been able to start it all without her. ‘Exhausted’ was the very first novel I ever picked up, and it’s a bittersweet feeling that the main story has finally ended. I’ll miss Rosetta and everybody else very, very much. I’ll keep them in my heart forever.

And thank you as well, everyone! I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to you all as I couldn’t have done it without your encouragement and support!

But don’t worry, it’s not the complete end yet! We still have the epilogue and the side stories to come~ Please continue staying tuned~!