Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 21

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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 21

“Whose is it?”

“Mine!”

Theodor smiled brightly.

His eyes sparkled.

“It came again this year!”

His words came out quickly.

I looked at the box.

My eyes moved from top to bottom.

A small card was attached to the box.

The paper was thin.

Neat handwriting.

The lines were straight.

There was no name.

It was blank.

“Who gave it to you?”

I asked.

Theodor stopped smiling for a moment.

His mouth closed.

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, don’t take it.”

I said immediately.

It came out faster than I thought.

Unknown things are dangerous.

Unconfirmed things get caught.

They get tied up.

Theodor shook his head.

He shook it quickly.

“It’s okay!”

“Why?”

“It comes every year!”

His words continued.

I blinked.

Every year.

The same thing repeating.

That’s a pattern.

Patterns are less dangerous.

But if you don’t know, it’s still dangerous.

“So! Who sent it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?”

“It’s not written in the letter!”

I approached the box.

I went step by step.

I touched the card with my fingertip.

The paper was thin.

It was a little rough.

Paper smell.

Ink smell.

There was no strange smell.

No metallic smell either.

No poison either.

My nose didn’t react.

I couldn’t feel any magic power either.

The inside was quiet.

“Letters are supposed to be reported out loud.”

I muttered.

The words came out slowly.

“Report?”

Theodor tilted his head, then seemed to think of something and nodded greatly.

His eyes sparkled.

“Good!”

A short sentence was written on the card.

The writing was small.

The spacing was consistent.

Grow up healthy.

It’s snowing a lot again this year.

I read that sentence slowly.

I read it in pieces inside my mouth.

I put together each letter.

“Healthy?”

I muttered.

The word ‘healthy’ was a word that often appeared in experiment records.

It was letters repeated on thin paper.

But there it had a different meaning.

Numbers, and standards.

The line that divided pass and fail.

I looked at Theodor.

His face was right in front of me.

“Is it good?”

Theodor smiled brightly.

His mouth opened wide.

“It’s good!”

The words jumped out immediately.

“Why?”

I asked right away.

Theodor didn’t pause for a moment.

He spoke before thinking.

“Someone sent it thinking of me!”

I tried to understand those words.

Thinking of me.

Thinking is analysis.

It’s goal setting.

It’s condition checking.

But that expression is different.

There’s no calculation.

He smiles quickly.

I narrowed my eyes.

I looked a little more.

Theodor opened the box.

I untied the string.

I tore the paper.

Inside was a thick scarf and a small wooden doll.

The scarf looked soft.

It had thickness.

The doll was crude.

The lines weren’t even.

Knife marks remained.

But a smiling expression was carved on its face.

I picked up the doll and placed it in my hand.

Light.

“Is this very useful?”

I asked.

Theodor thought for a moment and said.

His eyes went up.

“Very much! Because it’s just good!”

“Just good?”

“Yeah! If something’s just good, you feel happy just looking at it. So it’s extremely useful!”

“Just looking at it?”

My words became a little slower.

I turned the doll around.

Front.

Back.

Side.

The weight is light.

No strength needed in my hand.

Unsuitable as a weapon.

It would break if hit.

Insufficient as fuel.

The fire wouldn’t last long.

Can’t store chemicals either.

No lid.

I reached a conclusion.

“Useless.”

Theodor froze for a moment.

His face stopped.

Then he pouted his lips.

They went down.

“What. Do you think I’ll become dangerous? So you’re trying to tell me to throw it away?”

I spoke immediately.

It came out before I could think.

“No.”

“Why?”

Theodor’s eyes came up.

“It’s yours.”

I placed the doll back in his hand.

I opened his hand and put it on top.

“You received it.”

Theodor looked at me quietly.

His eyes stayed for a long time.

“No. 1.”

“It’s Rumel.”

I corrected him.

Theodor smiled.

His mouth went up again.

“Rumel, you’ve never received a gift, have you?”

I tilted my head.

Slightly.

The only gifts were candy the researchers occasionally gave.

Small pieces.

Even those had medicine mixed in.

My body would slow down after eating them.

I spoke honestly.

“None.”

Theodor was silent for a moment.

His mouth closed.

His eyes changed.

They became a little slower.

“Then I’ll give you one!”

I immediately shook my head.

Right away.

“Don’t need it.”

“Why!”

His voice came out loud.

“I already have it.”

Something that makes you happy just looking at it.

I pointed around.

My hand moved.

Room.

Wall.

Blanket.

Warmth.

That’s enough.

My body is comfortable.

Theodor tilted his head.

His face showed he didn’t understand.

“I’m still going to give you one!”

Theodor rummaged through the box.

His hands moved quickly.

The paper made noise.

Then he took out a small piece of candy.

He placed it on his hand.

The wrapper wasn’t pretty either.

The color was faded.

“This was mine.”

He hesitated.

His words cut off.

“Let’s share it!”

I looked at the candy.

It was small.

It didn’t sparkle.

Candy is sweet.

When it’s sweet, my mood changes briefly.

The inside of my mouth relaxes.

My guard drops.

I reached out my hand.

My fingers moved forward.

“Half.”

“Okay!”

He tried to break the candy in half but failed.

His hand slipped.

In the end, he brought a knife to split it.

The blade pressed against the candy.

It broke into small pieces.

I put a small piece in my mouth.

I placed it on my tongue.

It was sweet.

Very sweet.

My tongue reacted first.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Sweetness makes my guard relax.

My body loosens up.

It’s dangerous.

But this time I didn’t open my eyes.

I kept them closed a little longer.

I let it stay in my mouth.

“Tasty, right?”

Theodor asked.

His eyes sparkled.

I slowly nodded my head.

The movement was slow.

“It’s fine.”

The words came out softly.

Theodor smiled.

His mouth curved up widely.

“That’s good enough!”

I looked outside the window again.

The snow was still white.

The light didn’t spread.

The black cloak I saw yesterday wasn’t there.

There were no moving shadows either.

But I know.

It hasn’t disappeared.

There isn’t just one sacred artifact.

There are more hidden ones.

There isn’t just one gaze either.

Watching eyes always remain.

I looked at Theodor holding the doll.

He was gripping it tightly in his hand.

“This comes every year?”

“Yeah!”

His head moved greatly.

“Have you ever thrown it away?”

Theodor shook his head.

It swayed quickly.

“Never!”

I nodded my head.

It moved briefly.

Good.

Record maintained.

It hasn’t been broken.

I came to a conclusion internally.

This gift is a tracking target.

There’s a pattern.

And,

I’m a little… envious.

It couldn’t be organized into words.

Unable to organize that emotion into words, I slowly melted the remaining candy piece.

My tongue moved slowly.

Even after I finished melting and eating the candy, the sweet taste remained in my mouth.

It lingered stickily.

I ran my tongue over my teeth once.

I pushed out what remained between them.

Sweetness lasts long.

It doesn’t disappear quickly.

It’s dangerous.

My guard drops.

I become loose.

But I wanted to become a little looser.

I wanted to keep it a little longer.

Theodor was setting up the doll on the bed.

He pushed it upright with his hand.

“Look, it’s smiling, right?”

I looked at the doll again.

Its eyes were fixed.

A smiling face.

Its mouth was turned up.

A fixed expression.

It doesn’t change.

It doesn’t move.

“Why is it smiling?”

I asked.

“Because it’s happy?”

Theodor raised his voice at the end.

It was an uncertain sound.

“Happy? What’s that?”

I asked again.

Theodor thought for a moment.

His eyes went upward.

“Something good!”

Good things.

If they’re good, you can’t lose them.

‘You can’t let them slip away.’

If you lose them, it hurts and you become weak.

Your movements slow down.

I sat on the edge of the bed.

The fabric pressed down slightly.

“You receive them every year.”

“Yeah!”

He answered immediately.

“You don’t know who sends them.”

“Yeah!”

His head moved again.

“Don’t you look for them?”

Theodor tilted his head for a moment.

His eyes went to the side.

“Should I look for them?”

I closed my mouth for a moment.

My words stopped.

Looking for something is setting a target.

Targets are tracked.

Tracking is completed.

Eliminated.

But this isn’t a target for elimination.

It’s not something to erase.

I changed my conclusion.

I turned my thoughts around.

“No.”

“Why?”

“They just come.”

I spoke slowly.

Things that just come.

Things that come without conditions.

Things that don’t demand a price.

I wasn’t familiar with that concept yet.

It stuck in my head.

Then footsteps were heard from the corridor.

Light and fast.

The rhythm wasn’t consistent.

It was Count Iden.

“What are our youngest ones up to!”

The door opened immediately.

The sound was loud.

I narrowed my eyes.

I reduced my field of vision.

Count Iden was always exaggerated.

His movements were big.

“We shared candy!”

Theodor spoke first.

His body leaned forward.

“Oh?”

Iden’s eyes widened into circles.

Then he raised his eyebrows mischievously and asked.

“You saved some for me, right?”

I firmly shook my head.

—————
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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