I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 223

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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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#223

How much time had passed?

Being trapped inside the mine continuously, I couldn’t feel the flow of time.

Through sleeping and meals, I could roughly guess that about five days had passed.

I attempted to escape whenever Fillen left his post, but the heavy shackles connected to the bed wouldn’t allow it.

The shackles made densely with thick iron chains wouldn’t break no matter how much I struck them with heavy stones.

I thought they would eventually break if I kept striking them, but Fillen, who ghostly sensed my intentions, cleared away all the stones nearby.

‘By now, His Majesty must have realized I’m missing.’

What kind of reaction did Kalian show, I wonder?

He must be worried, right? He might even be shedding tears in sorrow.

Either way, it wasn’t something I wanted to see. I curled up in the corner of the bed and buried my face between my knees.

If only I had been more careful, if only I had been wary of Fillen, this wouldn’t have happened.

I resented my past self for failing to do so.

Tears came because I was too powerless, unable to escape from Fillen’s clutches and waiting for someone to come rescue me.

I wanted to at least let Kalian know that I was here, but was there no way?

“When danger approaches you, there’s magic inside that will tell me your location.”

As I was crying quietly and worrying, Kalian’s words suddenly came to mind.

“So even if a dangerous situation arises, trust me and wait.”

Come to think of it, there was the bracelet.

I had momentarily forgotten that fact in my despair over having my necklace taken and being captured by Fillen.

I hurriedly looked down at the bracelet I was wearing. The densely set blue gems reflected the candlelight and sparkled brilliantly.

‘He said this would activate when I’m in danger.’

The bracelet not activating despite being kidnapped by Fillen was probably because there was no physical threat at all.

Fillen only kept me locked up here and didn’t torture me or anything like that.

Rather, he took care of me attentively, even treating my bloodied hands that got injured from trying to force off the shackles.

Though it was unwanted, he hadn’t done anything that would trigger the magic bracelet anyway.

‘No wait, he did it once.’

He had struck the back of my neck to knock me unconscious.

But seeing that the magic bracelet didn’t activate even then, it seemed it wouldn’t work for that level of threat.

Then should I become more endangered?

To the point where my life would be in danger?

Since I couldn’t know at what stage the magic bracelet would activate, it would be best to maximize the intensity.

…But would the magic bracelet activate even if I hurt myself?

If it didn’t work, I would just be doing something foolish alone, so I hesitated.

As I was pondering what to do, I sensed someone’s presence.

I could tell it was Fillen without having to check. There was no one else who would come to this place.

I tucked the bracelet inside my sleeve so Fillen wouldn’t notice it and looked at him nonchalantly.

Whether it was from keeping my head down continuously or from crying earlier, my head felt slightly dizzy.

My vision became blurry and for a moment I saw two Fillens, but after blinking several times, it returned to normal.

Fillen, who had approached the bed where I was sitting, set down the tray he brought on the bedside table.

“I brought food.”

“I don’t want to eat.”

I turned my head away sharply and refused the meal.

“You’ll be meeting the Emperor soon, so you should eat.”

What was this about? Meeting Kalian?

With joy, I looked back at Fillen.

“Are you going to let me go?”

“I’ll have to let you go. You can’t live here forever.”

Fillen sat by the bedside and continued speaking.

“But that’s after all the negotiations are finished.”

“Negotiations? What negotiations are you conducting?”

“Important negotiations to return everything to how it was. Once the negotiations are over, you’ll come back to my side too.”

Coming back to Fillen’s side again? What was he trying to do by saying such things?

I felt an ominous and eerie sensation. As I stared intently at his face to gauge Fillen’s intentions, Fillen raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Are you sick somewhere?”

“I’m fine.”

“Your face is red.”

When Fillen reached his hand toward my forehead, I swatted his hand away and pulled my body back as far as possible.

But he wasn’t one to back down from that.

Fillen, who persistently touched my forehead, let out a sigh.

“You have a fever. Did you catch a cold?”

“*Cough*”

I wanted to say confidently that I was fine and hadn’t caught a cold so he should remove his hand, but contrary to my feelings, a cough came out.

Only now did I realize that my body was shivering and my throat hurt.

“You did catch a cold after all.”

It was disgusting how he looked at me with apparent concern while keeping me locked up in a place like this.

I was about to retort that he shouldn’t care whether I caught a cold or not, when I suddenly thought of another clever plan and changed what I was going to say.

“I’ve been trapped in this gloomy mine for days without seeing sunlight, so of course I’d catch a cold.”

It seemed like he was genuinely worried about me, so if I said this, he would take me outside.

Then I would look for an opportunity to escape. If I couldn’t escape, I planned to get seriously injured.

Preferably to the point where my life would be in danger.

That way the magic bracelet would activate and Kalian would notice my location and come rescue me.

“You do need to see some sunlight.”

As expected, Fillen moved as I hoped and I could finally go outside, but that was all.

Fillen attached the shackles that had been on the bed leg to his wrist and carried me around, so I couldn’t execute any of my plans.

It would be tiring to keep carrying me around, so he would put me down eventually.

I stayed quiet, hoping for just that, but during the 5 laps around the mine area, he never put me down even once.

I was going to tell him to put me down because it must be tiring if he showed signs of fatigue, but he didn’t show even such signs.

Moreover, since I had no shoes, I couldn’t even ask to be put down and had to stay quietly in his arms.

“Am I not heavy?”

When I casually asked, Fillen chuckled.

“Heavy? I could carry you like this for a lifetime.”

I had heard similar words from Kalian, but the feeling was completely different.

As I hugged my goosebump-covered arms and bit my lips tightly, Fillen smiled bitterly.

“Do you hate me that much?”

“If you were in my position, could you like someone doing this to you?”

“But being like this, doesn’t it feel like we’ve returned to the past?”

The past?

“Do you remember? When you hadn’t been at the duchy mansion long, you were practicing walking with a book on your head and dropped the book, badly bruising your foot.”

“…”

“So I carried you, unable to walk properly, to the physician.”

Fillen’s words brought back old memories I didn’t particularly want to remember.

The memory itself was very beautiful and precious, but thinking of it in comparison to the present made me feel bitter.

“Leilah.”

Fillen, who finally put me down on a rock, grasped my hand tightly and asked.

“I’m really reflecting a lot. So please give me just one more chance.”

Fillen’s eyes were moist as he looked at me.

“Can’t we go back to how things used to be?”

Seeing Fillen like this reminded me of the late Dowager Duchess Williot.

She would often hold my hand and ask me to take good care of Fillen.

I had said I would, that I promised.

Though I became unable to keep that promise.

“…No.”

I pulled back the hand Fillen was holding and lowered my head.

“We’ve come too far to go back.”

“Leilah.”

“So just give up now. Give up everything and surrender. Then you might be able to avoid execution. You might be able to save the Williot Duchy too.”

I hoped Fillen would change his mind, but he firmly shook his head, showing no intention of doing so.

“As you said, I too have come too far.”

“Fillen.”

“I can’t turn back now. The Kingdom of Stella has probably already requested a royal marriage from the Empire. Asking them to accept Princess Stella as Empress.”

Not even Imperial Consort, but Empress.

“Do you think such negotiations will work with His Majesty just from occupying Rahalbah?”

Though Rahalbah was an important commercial city, it wasn’t as important as the position of Empress.

Moreover, once the Imperial army moved in earnest, retaking Rahalbah would be easy.

Yet to make such a proposal. Finding it absurd, I asked back, and Fillen smiled.

“If Rahalbah was the only card we had, it wouldn’t work.”

“…”

Right. There was me.

I was foolishly captured by Fillen, holding back Kalian.

My chest ached at this newly realized fact. As I bit my lip with my head down, Fillen gently lifted my chin.

“Stop biting your lip. You’ll hurt it.”

“…It’s none of your business. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re going to be my wife, so how can I not worry?”

Was he still not giving up on that futile dream?

I couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh anymore.

“More importantly, you still have a high fever. I really should bring some fever reducer.”

Fillen lifted me up again.

Having lost even the will to resist, I quietly settled into his arms.

“Are you in pain anywhere else? I’ll buy some while I’m getting the fever reducer.”

I was about to answer that it wasn’t necessary when I remembered something and changed my words.

“My digestion isn’t good either, so could you bring some digestive medicine made from paichou?”

I had read it in an encyclopedia before.

That taking digestive medicine made from paichou when you have a fever could cause severe abdominal pain, so be careful.

I doubted whether the magic bracelet would activate for something like stomach pain, but since things had come to this, I thought I’d try anything.

Fillen locked me back in the mine, then went outside saying he’d bring medicine.

In the meantime, I kept using my sore throat so the fever wouldn’t go down.

When my throat hurt so much I could no longer force myself to speak, Fillen returned.

“I brought the medicine. The red one is fever reducer, the blue one is digestive medicine, so take the fever reducer first.

Whether he had other urgent business, Fillen set the medicine bottles on the table and left again.

I have to take it before the fever goes down.

I immediately drank the digestive medicine. Thinking one bottle wouldn’t be effective enough, I drank all three bottles. I didn’t even glance at the fever reducer.

I felt as if my stomach was filled with the digestive medicine, and at the same time felt queasy.

With my throat cold getting worse, I lay in bed groaning for dozens of minutes.

“Ah, ahh…”

Cold sweat trickled down as I felt terrible abdominal pain.

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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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