The day was originally set for a date with Brigitte.The exact plans remained a mystery.Perhaps a casual lunch or a simple dinner date was in store.In all honesty, it was just another ordinary autumn day.No festivals were kicking off, no celebrities were gracing Freesia with their presence.It wasn’t anyone’s birthday that I could recall, nor was there anything particularly exciting on the horizon.
Yet, there wasn’t anything notably gloomy either.Just…An average day, flowing by like any other.So utterly unremarkable that even the date itself would likely slip from mory.That’s how it should have been, but a woman’s voice added a touch of sothing special to the day.
“Judas, got a mont?”
It was Salo.
“It’s fine if you don’t. I’m planning to steal your ti today. Let’s go.”
Salo grabbed my hand and tugged.I had been preparing to head out, but I found myself grasping Salo’s hand and leaving the mansion instead.Where could she be whisking off to?
Salo led us out of Freesia’s downtown and towards a nearby forest. A forest, of all places.I thought it an odd choice for a city woman like Salo, but after a lengthy uphill trek, we reached a spot with a breathtaking view.From there, we could see Freesia’s city walls looking tiny below us.
“What a stunning view.”“Isn’t it? Truth be told, this is where I often co to shout when I’m feeling down. Yelling here makes feel like a weight’s been lifted off my chest.”
With that, Salo let out a loud shout, “Aagh”.The noise sent birds perched in nearby trees fluttering away with a Porolong—Undeterred, Salo shouted even more enthusiastically, “Aagh, aaaagh”.A few seconds passed like this.Salo, her face flushed as if catching her breath, nudged my side.
“What are you waiting for? You should shout too.”“?”
I wasn’t particularly in the mood for shouting.But Salo, despite being much younger, often acted like an older sister, and I knew she’d be upset if I didn’t play along.Reluctantly, I shouted.
“Ah!”
My voice echoed across the hill and through the forest.It was an odd sensation.For as long as I could rember, I’d always tried to keep my voice down. After all, people tend to grow quieter as they age.But shouting like this felt almost mischievous.My heart was racing a bit.
“Aah!”
I shouted even louder. I surprised myself with how much noise I could make.
“Feel any better?”
Salo asked.I nodded, genuinely.
“It seems so simple, but it’s more enjoyable than I expected.”“It’s a trick my father taught .”“……”
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew tense.Because Salo’s father was a villain. And I had a history of taking down that villain.After a mont, Salo spoke up.
“I know my father was a terrible person. But I still think of him sotis. It seems we’re wired to forget the bad mories and hold onto the good ones.”
I could sowhat relate to Salo’s feelings.I thought I’d endured a lot of hardship, but looking back now, those painful mories had faded, and I felt like ‘it wasn’t all that bad’.
“In that sense, Judas, you’re a lot like my dad. You have plenty in common, including being the worst person in the world. I actually hated you so much I wanted to kill you.”“Because I took down your father?”“That’s part of it. And I just didn’t like you. You seed so dim-witted and foolish, like you couldn’t last a day in this harsh world without . I despise fools above all else.”“I see.”“When I t you again, you were still the sa fool and idiot. But your circumstances had changed. And Brigitte… It’s a bit much, isn’t it?”“What’s wrong with Brigitte?”
I defended Brigitte lightly.Salo hit my chest, clearly upset.
“Are you defending Brigitte now?”“Of course.”“Why, because she’s your first woman?”
Frown—Salo’s brow furrowed slightly.Sothing had clearly irked her.I tried to cheer her up.
“If soone criticized you, I’d defend you just the sa. It’s not because Brigitte is my first woman.”
Hearing that, Salo seed to soften a bit.She snorted softly.
“Well, being first doesn’t necessarily an much. But honestly, I don’t like Brigitte. It feels like she took what’s mine. Judas, I was the first one to find you in this world.”
That was true.My connection with Salo ca first.That fact would never change.
“How foolish. I had the upper hand, but I squandered all the chances. I’m an idiot. That’s why I hate myself too.”
Pat—Salo kicked a stone, sending it tumbling down the hillside.Today’s Salo was being unusually candid.Perhaps all her deception and pretense had been shouted away down the hill.I felt similarly unburdened.
“Still, you’re the first woman I ca to care for, Salo. Of course, as you said, being first might not an much.”“……”
Salo fell silent.Her expression was filled with discontent.After a mont, she spoke curtly.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
# # #
For Salo, “firsts” always held a profound significance in nurous ways.She still possessed the first item she ever stole, cherishing it to this day.It was a small, insignificant, worn-out fountain pen that had belonged to her maid.The way it could inscribe letters on paper by simply dipping it in ink fascinated her.The Titick- Titick- sound it produced was equally captivating.
Salo was rely five years old at the ti.After pilfering the fountain pen, Salo developed a fondness for writing letters on paper. She remained oblivious to the fact that taking soone else’s belongings was wrong.In Salo’s world, such occurrences were commonplace.Then one day, a man who noticed Salo’s theft gently patted her head with his large hand.
━My daughter brims with talent.
That marked the first complint Salo had ever received.From that mont on, Salo lived for praise.Gaining acknowledgnt from that man, her father, beca Salo’s everything.It was akin to a powerful enchantnt.Even now, those intense first experiences remained deeply rooted within the person known as Salo. They could be considered the pillars shaping her personality.
There ca a ti when Salo disobeyed her father’s orders for the first ti.It happened when she encountered a foolish, idiotic man.Her father disapproved of Salo getting close to n, but for so inexplicable reason, she ended up concealing that man in her room.It was rely a whim.Although nothing her father feared transpired, it marked the first truly rebellious act Salo had committed in a genuine sense.Her heart raced fiercely.Her face flushed with heat.
‘Is this a dream? I’ll cherish this mory until my dying breath.’
When Salo’s eyes fluttered open, stars had erged between the bushes and tree branches.Salo was startled to realize she had dozed off.
“I shouldn’t have slept. Why didn’t you wake ?”“You were in too deep a slumber.”
Salo yearned to know the current ti.Today held significance in many ways.Swoosh-At that mont, the man raised his hand.
“It’s alright. We still have ti to spare. Look at that star. The Thief’s Star hasn’t drawn near the moon yet. It’s likely just about 10 PM now.”
The Thief’s Star was a celestial body favored by thieves. It earned its na from the belief that when it approached the moon, it signaled the ti for thieves to spring into action.Salo recalled once telling this man about the ‘Thief’s Star’. Suddenly, their earlier conversations flooded back to her mind.
“Judas, you ntioned you liked first, correct?”“That’s right.”“Why? What did you like about ?”“You’re pretty.”
It was a simple reason.It didn’t appear to be a lie either.Yet Salo felt a twinge of displeasure about sothing.Because there were countless beautiful won in the world.Certainly, Salo stood out as exceptionally beautiful even among pretty won, but she disliked that the man had co to like her for such a superficial reason.
“What else?”“Among all the won I had encountered until then, you were the most stunning. Conversing with you, sharing als with soone like you, I couldn’t help but develop feelings for you.”
Once again, it was a straightforward reason.Salo felt sowhat slighted by the fact that she had co to like this man for grand and complex reasons.Fortunately, the man refrained from asking questions like ‘Why did you co to like ?’.This man was always like this.He seed talkative, but in retrospect, he was often reticent.
“……”
This silence made Salo feel uneasy and caused her heart to flutter. Though she was reluctant to admit it, Salo had grown fond of Judas.Imnsely so.There had been nurous reasons to like him up until now.It would be peculiar not to like him.But she hesitated to enurate those reasons in detail.
Hwooo-As the autumn wind whistled by.Glancing skyward, the Thief’s Star was inching closer to the moon.It was an opportune mont for thieves to make their move.
“Judas, the man I cherished most wasn’t actually you. You’re still second.”“Is that so?”
Salo loved her father deeply.Despite the abundance of reasons not to like him.It was impossible to harbor pure hatred towards him.But she felt it was ti to let go.
“…Will you steal away from that man now?”
Salo finally felt liberated.It felt as though she was committing a truly wicked act, causing her heart to pound heavily.Fortunately, the man—Judas—was soone quite accustod to engaging in misdeeds.
October 20th.Salo carefully etched today’s date in her mind with the fountain pen in her heart.It was an ordinary day that could have passed like any other, but at this mont, it transford into an unforgettable day in Salo’s life.
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