I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 166

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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CHAPTER 8.

 

The place where one should be.

 

#166

 

The New Year festival came to an end with the spectacular fireworks that adorned the night sky.

 

Though the New Year festival was over, my work was far from finished.

 

In fact, there was even more piled up than before the festival had begun.

 

Sometimes when working, I inevitably had to spend the night at the Imperial Palace, and yesterday was one of those days.

 

Not only me, but Baron Delrond, the administrators, and even Countess Cloud had to spend the night at the Imperial Palace.

 

Needless to say, so did Kalian.

 

After unexpectedly realizing my own feelings.

 

It felt awkward to look at Kalian’s face, but I couldn’t let that interfere with work.

 

“…That concludes my report.”

 

Desperately holding onto my trembling heart, I finished my report while pretending nothing was wrong.

 

Even after the report ended, Kalian gave no response. He was just silently looking at the documents.

 

Was there some problem with the documents?

 

That couldn’t be. I had checked more than ten times before reporting to make sure there were no errors.

 

“If there’s a problem with the documents, please tell me, Your Majesty.”

 

Still, just in case, I spoke up, and only then did Kalian look up at me.

 

“The problem isn’t with the documents, but with you, it seems.”

 

There’s a problem with me?

 

“Leilah, have I ever scolded you?”

 

“No. You haven’t, but why are you suddenly asking that…?”

 

“Because you seem to tremble every time you look at me.”

 

Kalian propped his chin on his hand and looked at me sideways.

 

“So I wondered if I had been harsh with you or made some mistake.”

 

He hadn’t been harsh, but he had made a mistake.

 

Confessing that he liked me.

 

If he hadn’t said such things, I would never have realized my feelings for him.

 

…No, I would have realized it anyway.

 

I had been liking him for quite a long time.

 

I didn’t know exactly when it started.

 

Like not noticing your collar getting wet from a light drizzle.

 

At some point I had come to like Kalian, and that feeling had grown so large without my knowing that it was now irreversible.

 

So even if not now, I would have realized my feelings for him someday.

 

Kalian’s confession and Diane’s fanning of the flames had simply moved up the timing a little.

 

“Leilah?”

 

Oh, His Majesty asked me a question and I got lost in other thoughts.

 

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

 

I politely apologized, then added,

 

“Your Majesty has made no mistakes toward me.”

 

If I said he had made a mistake, Kalian would probably dig deeper, so I covered it up with a suitable lie.

 

“That’s a lie.”

 

I tried to do that, but it didn’t work on Kalian.

 

“You’re acting this way because of when I confessed to you before.”

 

…If you know everything, why did you ask?

 

“Leilah.”

 

Just him calling my name made my heart pound loudly, announcing its presence.

 

On one hand, I was so nervous that cold sweat formed in my clenched hands.

 

It felt awkward to meet Kalian’s gaze and I wanted to run away.

 

But then Kalian would think it strange, so I tried to calm my heart and faced him composedly.

 

Kalian, who had been quietly watching me like that, soon let out a deep sigh and added,

 

“As I said before, I have no intention of forcing my feelings on you.”

 

Kalian placed his hands on his knees and leaned back against his chair.

 

“I just wanted to let you know how I felt. So you don’t need to feel burdened.”

 

Didn’t he know that made it even more burdensome?

 

“You don’t need to look so worried.”

 

Kalian smiled bitterly.

 

“I plan to sort out my feelings soon.”

 

“…”

 

My heart sank with a thud. Ridiculously, those words made me feel resentful toward Kalian.

 

So Your Majesty can sort out your feelings.

 

But I can’t.

 

My feelings for you have grown to the point where I can’t do that.

 

I wanted to pour out my resentment to Kalian, but I couldn’t do that.

 

Because I knew my place well.

 

And because I understood Kalian’s situation well.

 

There were many other reasons besides those, so I couldn’t say anything at all.

 

“So you can just treat me as you normally do. Understand?”

 

I wanted to answer cheerfully with “Yes,” but my throat was choked up and no words came out, so I nodded instead.

 

It was somewhat impudent behavior, but Kalian said nothing.

 

“You may go now.”

 

I bowed to Kalian in greeting, then left not just the official’s office but the palace entirely.

 

I wanted to get some fresh air and sort out my turbulent feelings.

 

Cold wind brushed past my cheeks. I looked up at the clear sky without a single cloud and wiped my eyes. The back of my hand quickly became damp.

 

After staying like that for a while, my jumbled emotions seemed to settle somewhat.

 

Since I’m out here, should I take care of what Countess Cloud asked me to do?

 

I had planned to do it in the afternoon, but since things turned out this way, it seemed better to do it first, so I headed to the Outer Palace.

 

Though the New Year festival was over, the Imperial Palace was still bustling.

 

There were various reasons for this, but the biggest reason was that several foreign envoys were still staying at the Imperial Palace.

 

“Oh, you are…”

 

The king and pope of the Holy Kingdom was one of them.

 

“Baron Aster, correct?”

 

I never expected to encounter the king and pope of the Holy Kingdom on my way to the Outer Palace.

 

“Yes, that’s correct. I greet Your Holiness, who has been chosen by God.”

 

I was slightly surprised, but quickly composed myself and greeted him.

 

Then Mystiodisc III smiled faintly. His silver hair fluttered softly with the movement of his head.

 

Seeing that naturally reminded me of Count Hiltain.

 

He too had dazzling silver hair like crushed moonlight.

 

“I heard that you are the aide whom His Imperial Majesty cherishes greatly.”

 

Mystiodisc III stepped closer to me and spoke.

 

“I’m very pleased to have this conversation with you.”

 

“You flatter me.”

 

“So I was wondering if you might know how His Imperial Majesty feels about the royal marriage?”

 

Royal marriage. Just hearing those words made my heart feel heavy.

 

It was also one of the reasons I couldn’t readily reveal my feelings to Kalian.

 

“As for the royal marriage, that’s not within my area of responsibility, so I don’t know much about it.”

 

It was Baron Delrond who was in charge of the royal marriage.

 

“I apologize, Your Holiness.”

 

“No. It’s because I was being impatient, so you don’t need to apologize. Still, it is a bit disappointing.”

 

Mystiodisc III let out a small sigh.

 

“I wanted to hear a definitive answer before leaving the Empire. My sibling is eagerly waiting for a response.”

 

The Holy Kingdom’s princess is waiting for an answer.

 

Wasn’t this a political marriage proposal for political purposes?

 

“Then let’s meet again later, Baron Aster.”

 

Mystiodisc III left abruptly, leaving only puzzling questions behind.

 

* * *

 

The streets that had been bustling with countless crowds became quiet like the tide receding.

 

What filled that space was countless trash and drunk people.

 

The trash was cleaned up by janitors, and the people were cleared away by guards.

 

There were so many that even though dawn had broken quite some time ago, they hadn’t even cleared half of them.

 

“You can’t sleep here! You could die like this!”

 

“Mister, please wake up!”

 

The guards had quite a hard time clearing away the people sprawled out on the streets like laundry, ignoring the bone-cutting cold.

 

“Hey, rookie! You clear out those guys!”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

It had been only two months since he joined the Capital City Guard.

 

Mac, still a greenhorn, was as young as his career. He was only 19 years old this year.

 

Mac answered in a disciplined voice, then approached the group of people his senior had pointed to.

 

They were collapsed haphazardly on the ground.

 

“Everyone, wake up!”

 

Even when Mac shouted loudly, they didn’t budge.

 

Mac grabbed the arm of the man in front and forcibly lifted him up.

 

“Get up right now!”

 

Only then did the man drowsily open his eyes and look at Mac.

 

His brown eyes were hazy, as if he was still not fully sober.

 

The man couldn’t properly control his body and swayed like an octopus.

 

Not just one of these guys, but a full dozen or so.

 

Mac let out a deep sigh and grabbed the man’s shoulder, shaking him vigorously.

 

“Get a grip.”

 

“….”

 

“Mis…!”

 

Just as he was about to call the man again and shake his shoulder once more.

 

The man pulled out a knife from his chest and stabbed it deep into Mac’s stomach.

 

“Kugh!”

 

Mac’s pupils dilated to their limit from the sharp pain that struck him.

 

Mac pushed the man away with all his strength and stepped back.

 

His trembling eyes turned toward his stomach where the knife was embedded.

 

Blood flowed down along the gleaming blade.

 

Strange gurgling sounds came from his wide-open mouth.

 

“It’s a bear….”

 

The man who had been pushed by Mac and sat down on the ground giggled and pointed at Mac with his finger.

 

His eyes looking at Mac were still unfocused.

 

“It’s a bear, a bear! The hide will be very expensive!”

 

“A bear?”

 

“Where, where?”

 

The people around the man reacted to his words and all looked at Mac at once.

 

All of them had unfocused eyes like the man.

 

“It really is a bear.”

 

“A wild bear has appeared!”

 

That was brief, as their eyes gleamed more sharply than ever before.

 

Some people were even drooling.

 

“The bear hide is mine!”

 

“Then I’ll take the bear gallbladder!”

 

The people who staggered to their feet rushed toward Mac in the blink of an eye.

 

Mac, stabbed by the knife, couldn’t properly resist and was overwhelmed by the people.

 

“R-rookie?”

 

“Mac!”

 

The guards who belatedly realized that Mac was being attacked by the people rushed over frantically.

 

“Everyone get back!”

 

“If you don’t back off, we’ll attack!”

 

Even with the guards’ threats, the people didn’t retreat.

 

“There are bears here too!”

 

“Let’s catch them all!”

 

Instead, they bared their nails and teeth and rushed at the guards.

 

They looked like demons risen from hell.

 

The guards, who had hesitated momentarily at the people’s fierce momentum, also began to counterattack.

 

No matter how fierce their momentum, they were just unarmed civilians.

 

They were no match for the guards. The Capital City Guards were far more numerous.

 

“Mac!”

 

While the other guards dealt with the people, the senior who had given him orders ran to Mac.

 

“Ah, ah….”

 

But Mac had already departed on a distant journey from which he could not return.

 

With flesh torn raggedly all over his body as if mauled by beasts.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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