Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 739 - : The Past of the Person of Reverse Life
Chapter 739 -739: The Past of the Person of Reverse Life
“Mr. Barton, does that mean you were wandering about until you reached adulthood?”
Shard even took out a notebook, pretending to be ready to take notes. The “child” across the table nodded gently:
“You could say that, it truly was an unforgettable experience. After I turned eighteen, my body officially transitioned from old age to middle age; my frail body became healthy, and I could support myself. During this time, I encountered many things, strange, eerie, and even inconceivable things… But let’s set that aside for now. In any case, I was rather lucky to meet some scholars who were willing to help me.”
Mr. Barton paused, leaning back slightly against the sofa. Shard focused, surmising that these “scholars” were most likely from the Truth Society.
“They taught me a lot and made me see this vast world from a completely new perspective. Although I didn’t agree with most of their beliefs and ideas, even sometimes thinking they were madmen…”
He raised an eyebrow, as if recalling something:
“But those scholars were indeed my benefactors, there’s no doubt about that.”
Shard nodded, pushing away the paw that his cat stretched out with his left hand, the tip of his pen sliding over the paper in the notebook:
“Since you were with the scholars, why didn’t you become one yourself? Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean anything by that, it’s just that being a scholar is a very respected profession.”
Mr. Barton chuckled bitterly and shook his head, making his large face seem all the more fearsome:
“It takes qualifications to become a scholar; at most, I could only be considered an external member.”
He sighed:
“Anyway, with the help of those scholars, my condition improved a lot. I met them when I was twenty-five, and by thirty-two, the treatment was taking effect, my ‘youth pace’ had considerably slowed down. During that period, when my body appeared to be five or six years older than you see now, I met the love of my life.”
As he spoke on this topic, a smile finally formed at the corner of his mouth.
“Oh? Could you elaborate on that part?”
Shard asked, smiling, and Mr. Barton nodded:
“You don’t mind if I smoke a cigar, do you?”
Shard glanced at his own cat and reluctantly nodded:
“Please, feel free.”
He then picked up the cat and held it close, providing the safest breathing environment possible.
Mr. Barton took a cigar box from underneath the coffee table, snipped both ends with a specialized cigar cutter that resembled a pocket watch, and lit it. It was clear from its looks that it wasn’t a cheap item.
“It happened in Atak City, the City of Art. The scholars asked me to do some work there. Because the work was generally relaxed, I would occasionally visit the Roder Card Casino. It was the summer of 1845, yes, I recall it quite clearly, that was an exceptionally hot summer, I even thought the metal pipes under the sun would melt. That summer, at the casino, I encountered a girl in a red dress.”
His tone was filled with nostalgic melancholy.
“A girl you met at the casino?”
Shard inquired, then shook his head:
“If this were in a love story, the odds are it wouldn’t end in comedy.”
Mr. Barton laughed self-deprecatingly, his large fingers holding the cigar:
“Yes, but just one glance and I was captivated by her eyes. I don’t know if it was my body’s restlessness, or my lonely soul yearning for love, but somehow, I knew I was taken. It’s hard to describe the feeling, seeing her in the crowd, knowing she would be the love of my life.”
Shard made no comment.
“So, what follows is a romantic tale?”
“Yes, a very romantic story. The first time we met, I didn’t approach her, but later I saw her again at the casino. She was selling… things that should not appear in your book. I mustered up the courage to invite her for a drink at a tavern… a respectable tavern.”
After taking a puff of his cigar and then coughing, Mr. Barton’s lungs seemed to have an issue:
“Mr. Watson, I know what a gentleman of your upbringing might think—a girl found in that kind of underground Roder Card Casino wouldn’t come from a good family. But what of it?”
He looked up at the ceiling:
“Pubs, restaurants, the Opera House, small inns, our separate apartments, each major art gallery within the city, the artistic Clock Tower in the city center, Gurus Stud Farm outside of town… There are too many memories, far too many memories. I can’t forget the scene of her riding that chestnut pony, laughing heartily in the spring meadow, nor can I forget sitting with her on the lawn in the autumn as the leaves fell, eating sandwiches and talking about life.
I didn’t care about her past, and she didn’t mind my status. We spent three years together, and those were probably the happiest three years of my life.” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
The man who looked like a boy showed a sincere smile on his face.
“Following tradition, the story has reached a turning point, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, and the twist is quite absurd.”
Joey Barton put down the cigar in his hand onto the ashtray on the coffee table and looked at Shard opposite him:
“Mr. Watson, why don’t you guess what happened?”
“Hmm… The scholars transferred you away from Atak City, and you had to leave your lover?”
“No, no, I am just an unofficial idler, I wouldn’t receive such orders… I mean requests. And even if I were transferred, she could have come with me.”
Mr. Barton shook his head.
“Then it was the girl who discovered your secret of Reverse Life, and she couldn’t accept it?”
“Not that either. In three years’ time, my appearance hadn’t changed much. In fact, I had already told her about it.”
He looked at Shard:
“She didn’t mind, not at all, not in the slightest. She was even willing to take care of me always, even if I turned into a baby without thoughts and consciousness, she was willing to always be there.”
Mr. Barton closed his eyes and took a deep breath:
“No need to guess any longer. Yes, no one could have guessed Fate would play such a joke—death came for her.”
“Death…”
Shard stopped his pen:
“I am sorry to hear that, but the cause of death was…”
Mr. Barton’s mouth twitched slightly:
“She went out on a rainy summer day, twisted her ankle in a puddle, fell over, and broke her neck… Fate always likes to jest, doesn’t it?”
Shard took a deep breath:
“If this were a story, then the ending would truly be terrible.”
“Yes, sometimes I think that I would rather she had been murdered, or died of an illness, or some other conspiracy I don’t know about. But it was an accident, a ludicrous accident… I can’t even find someone to blame or to seek revenge upon.”
“So what happened afterward?”
Shard asked.
Mr. Barton lifted his hand to hold his chin. There was not sadness in his eyes, but an indescribable wistfulness:
“She had no parents or family, so I was responsible for her funeral. After that, I took her ashes and traveled all over the Old Continent, doing the things we had hoped to do together.
Mr. Watson, you asked me about my attitude toward death earlier. Although I gave a very optimistic view, that was only regarding my own death. I can calmly accept death when it comes for me, but even now, I still can’t accept her departure.”
He covered his mouth with his right hand and exhaled through his nose:
“Mortals all must die eventually, this world is indeed fair. Three years ago, in the autumn of the year 1850 of the Common Era Calendar, I returned to Milestone and decided to stay here. The capital of art is truly too heartbreaking for me—I fear I might never visit it again in my life.”
