Chapter 215: A New Life
Early the next morning, before the sun lit up the hallway, Ivy waited outside Shinobu’s room with a washbasin for her morning wash.
She knocked softly on the door.
"Master, breakfast is ready."
On the bed, Marcus’s eyes snapped open.
The markings that normally only appeared during Demonization suddenly lit up across his face.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they vanished completely.
Beside him, Shinobu noticed nothing of that anomaly.
She wasn’t in any state of mind to pay attention to anything else, either.
She was curled up under the covers, wrapped up to her chin, leaving only her bare shoulders and a face flushed with color exposed.
The crimson tint spread down her neck, as if she’d just stepped out of a hot bath.
"How did Ivy know you were here...?"
Her voice came out hoarse and nervous.
Marcus looked at her and couldn’t help chuckling under his breath.
"She’s my personal maid—what’s so strange about her knowing where I sleep?"
Shinobu opened her mouth but was left speechless.
She had plenty she wanted to shoot back, but her mind had gone blank.
All she could do was pull the sheet up a little higher to hide half her face, showing only a pair of eyes that scrutinized him sternly.
They were moist, glistening eyes, utterly incapable of conveying any threat.
Marcus pushed the blanket aside, got out of bed, and bent down to pick his pants up off the floor.
Shinobu looked away in a hurry, her ears flushed to the very tips.
"Y-You... get dressed, quick."
"What did you miss out on last night? Why are you acting so shy now?"
"S-Shut up! It was too dark last night... I didn’t see anything!"
Like a cornered cat, Shinobu rushed to deny everything.
Steam was practically coming out of her head.
Marcus laughed, got dressed, and planted a kiss on her cheek before strolling out at a leisurely pace.
Out in the hallway, Ivy waited silently with the washbasin, wearing a knowing smile.
"Congratulations, Master~. You got what you wanted."
"Always so attentive." Marcus smiled at her roguishly and, leaning down, gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Don’t worry about me—go tend to Shinobu."
"Understood."
Just as Ivy was about to go in, Shinobu’s flustered voice rang out from inside.
"There’s no need!"
Marcus glanced back, laughed without another word, and made his way toward the dining room.
Ivy shut the door again and followed him in silence.
Inside the room, Shinobu stayed still for a long while.
Even she didn’t understand why she was taking so long to come out...
She was already dressed and had done her hair, yet she remained sitting on the edge of the bed, without the strength to stand.
Her legs were trembling.
Her face was burning.
Her heart was lurching every which way.
Finally, after drawing a deep breath, she got to her feet and opened the door.
Only to come face-to-face with Kanao!
Kanao had just stepped out of the room next door, and the two of them locked eyes.
"Shinobu-nee..." Kanao’s voice sounded subdued.
Her expression was unreadable, weighed down by some complex emotion.
Shinobu looked at her in surprise.
Kanao’s face looked worn out, with faint shadows under her eyes that betrayed a bad night’s sleep.
Remembering that only a thin wall separated their rooms...
Shinobu’s face flushed all at once.
"I... I..."
She opened her mouth, but couldn’t get out a single word, and turned to flee.
Bam!
The door slammed shut right in Kanao’s face.
Kanao remained in the hallway, staring at the closed door, as her own ears gradually turned red.
The dining room was already full of people.
Tamayo occupied the seat to Marcus’s right, cradling Nezuko in her arms and feeding her with a spoon.
It wasn’t necessary, but they both enjoyed the gesture, and it had become a habit.
Behind Marcus, Ivy stood at attention.
Pearl was going over the account ledgers spread out on the table while she ate.
Ume sat with her legs crossed.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke occupied the far end of the dining room.
Tamayo glanced toward the hallway.
"Shinobu’s not having breakfast?"
Marcus turned his head. The hallway was empty, except for Kanao, who was approaching alone.
"...She got embarrassed."
He turned his gaze back to the front with a faint smile. "I’ll bring it to her in a bit."
Tamayo gave him a meaningful look.
"Shinobu’s not in good health—show a little restraint."
"Relax. From today on, everything’s going to get better."
Tamayo froze, the spoon in her hand stopping in midair.
"She accepted?"
Marcus nodded.
Tamayo’s eyes lit up.
She lowered her gaze and offered the spoon to Nezuko.
"That’s good, then..."
The other diners didn’t quite understand those few words.
Marcus had sent the three little ones off to sleep at Hakuji’s cabin for privacy, so they had no idea what had happened.
Pearl and Ume weren’t in the know either, since they’d just gotten back from Yoshiwara at dawn.
Unlike Pearl, who preferred not to pry, Ume’s curiosity got the better of her.
"What’s up with that butterfly?" She scooted her chair over abruptly. "What did she accept?"
Marcus eyed her sidelong.
"Eat in peace. Lately you’ve been so fussy you won’t even shut up long enough to eat."
It took just one spark to set Ume off, and she immediately shot to her feet.
"Y-Y-YOU...! You Heartless Man! I WENT AND EARNED YOU MONEY!"
Marcus rolled his eyes.
"Don’t make it sound so noble. Only if you gave up your commission could I say you earned money for me."
Ume froze.
Without a word, she sat back down, picked up her chopsticks, and began jabbing furiously at the fried egg.
The yolk burst, drenching the plate.
Beside her, Gyutaro silently watched his sister tear her food apart.
The moment she set down her chopsticks, he pulled the plate toward himself and swallowed the mush in a single bite.
"Mustn’t waste."
Ume glared daggers at him, then at Marcus. She crossed her arms in a sulk, slumping back against the chair while muttering under her breath.
"One of them picks on me and the other won’t stand up for me..."
"Hmph! Men are good for nothing!"
Paying her no mind, Marcus finished eating in a hurry, stood up, took the breakfast tray Ivy had prepared, and set off down the hallway.
"I’m going to see Shinobu."
Barely five minutes after he crossed the threshold, an inconsolable sobbing rang out from inside the room.
In the dining room, everyone exchanged bewildered looks.
Inside the room, Shinobu’s eyes were red, and she clung to Marcus’s arm in desperation.
"Is it... p-possible...?"
"I can’t guarantee it a hundred percent." Marcus’s hand warmly covered hers. "But if Kanae is still on the spiritual plane, I have a fairly good chance of bringing her back, just like I did with Makomo."
"Though there’s a possibility that, like Hakuji’s wife, she’s already reincarnated..."
He paused briefly before adding:
"You shouldn’t be sad even if that’s the case. It would mean she found a new path, a new family, and a new life..."
Shinobu’s tears began to well up.
Drop by drop, they slid down until they rolled onto the back of Marcus’s hand.
"W-Why...?" Her voice trembled, broken. "Why didn’t you tell me last night...?"
Marcus reached out his fingers and gently wiped her cheeks.
"Because I didn’t want what’s between us to feel like a transaction."
"If you’re with me, I want it to be of your own free will and because it makes you happy."
"Not because of what I can offer you."
At those words, Shinobu couldn’t hold back any longer.
"Waaaahh!!"
She threw herself into his arms, clutching his clothes tightly and burying her face in his chest as she broke into bitter tears.
It wasn’t a stifled sob, but a heart-wrenching release.
It was as if she were letting out years of accumulated pain in a single instant.
Marcus didn’t try to stop her.
He simply held her in his arms, wrapping one arm around her waist while gently stroking her back.
Over and over again.
Out in the hallway, Kanao waited outside the room. She hesitated for a moment, but in the end decided not to knock.
Tanjiro and the others heard the crying from the table, looking at one another without understanding a single thing.
No one came over to clear things up for them.
Ivy and Pearl had already gone up to the second-floor laboratory with Tamayo to prepare for the procedure.
By the time the rest figured out what was going on...
Two hours had already passed.
In the second-floor laboratory.
Marcus unsheathed his new Nichirin Sword.
And the tip of the blade pointed directly at Shinobu’s chest.
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