Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 24

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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 24

“Moreover, we don’t know how the Royal House will interpret it.”

There are two emperors. The Night Emperor and the Day Emperor.

The two emperors were said to exist as mental entities that constantly switch within one body.

It’s not that the Day Emperor only appears during the day and the Night Emperor only appears at night.

‘I was told to be careful of the Day Emperor!’

It was something one of my fellow test subjects had said.

I noticed that the humans of Winter Castle also knew this.

Because the air grew heavier after the messenger finished speaking.

An invisible pressure formed.

The air in the room became colder.

Strangely, my breathing became a little faster.

Theodor gripped my hand tightly.

His hand was trembling, so I looked in that direction, then turned my head to ask the messenger.

“Is that a threat?”

The messenger dismissed that question as if it were cute, without responding.

His gaze just passed over lightly.

“Young master, the Royal House does not threaten.”

The words flowed smoothly.

I spoke immediately.

It came out faster than I expected.

“Lie.”

The messenger’s eyes focused on me a little more clearly.

Light gathered.

I didn’t like that look in his eyes.

My insides became rough.

I took a step forward.

My foot pressed against the floor.

Demian’s hand grabbed my shoulder, but I didn’t stop.

I moved forward with his hand still touching me.

“You were at the market.”

I spoke clearly and distinctly.

My words didn’t break off.

The messenger’s expression moved very slightly.

The fact that it moved meant I was right.

I continued speaking.

I didn’t break my breathing.

“You observed me! Like the facility, the researchers!”

The messenger’s smile deepened a little more.

“Miss Rumel has excellent intuition.”

The words were smoothly packaged.

I shook my head.

I moved immediately.

“Not intuition. Experience.”

I spoke in short, clipped words.

Millayen turned his gaze toward me.

It came down slowly.

That gaze wasn’t telling me to stop.

It wasn’t suppressing me.

It wasn’t telling me to keep talking either.

It wasn’t pulling me in.

It was just a watching gaze.

I looked straight at the messenger.

I fixed my gaze.

“The Emperor wants to bind me.”

The words came out as they were.

The messenger smiled very gently.

His lips slowly rose.

“His Imperial Majesty binds no one.”

The sentence flowed smoothly.

I immediately countered.

I didn’t stop.

“Sacred relic.”

I stabbed with a single word.

I threw it out briefly.

The messenger’s pupils wavered for just a moment.

The light shattered.

Millayen spoke quietly.

His voice settled low.

“We’d also like to know who sent that sacred relic.”

The messenger quickly regained his composure.

His expression fixed again.

“It was the Priesthood’s judgment.”

He summarized briefly.

“That Priesthood is in the Emperor’s hands.”

Millayen spoke in a low voice.

The line became firmer.

The messenger only raised his lips.

His eyes didn’t move.

“Lord, you’re not thinking of making the Royal House your enemy, are you.”

The words came down smoothly.

The surface was polite.

Millayen tilted his head.

The angle shifted slightly.

“Aren’t you the one creating enemies.”

The air shook again.

When those words fell, the smile faded a little from the messenger’s face.

The room became quiet.

Sound sank all at once.

Only breathing remained.

In that silence, I smelled the cold wind scent again.

It brushed very thinly.

From the envelope.

From the invitation.

I reached out to touch the envelope.

My fingers moved forward a little.

Demian grabbed my wrist.

The movement wasn’t fast.

“It would be better not to touch it.”

His voice reached me low.

I stopped at those words.

My hand froze in place.

My wrist still remembered the memory of brushing against the holy relic.

The inside of my skin remembered first.

Cold metal.

The tightening sensation.

Instead, I brought my face close to the envelope.

I narrowed the distance.

My nose twitched.

It moved briefly.

I’m certain.

The flow is the same.

The scent of holy relics.

Very faint.

Lingering dimly.

There’s something inside the envelope.

Not just paper.

Something else is mixed in.

I raised my head.

My gaze went straight up.

“There’s thread inside the envelope!”

Millayen shifted his gaze to the envelope.

His eyes moved slowly.

The messenger spoke softly.

His expression composed itself again.

“That’s merely the Royal House’s seal.”

The sentence flowed smoothly.

I shook my head.

I denied it immediately.

“Not a seal.”

“Then what do you see it as?”

Demian asked in a low voice.

His words continued carefully.

“Connection.”

Demian drew in a low breath.

The sound was barely audible.

Millayen thought for a moment, then called his aide.

His gaze went to the side.

“Put the envelope in the sealed box. Right now.”

The aide bowed his head.

His movements continued quickly.

The messenger regained his smile and spoke.

His lips rose again.

“The invitation is still valid.”

The sentence was composed again.

Millayen spoke.

His gaze didn’t waver.

“I will deliver the answer.”

He cut it short.

The messenger bowed his head.

The angle deepened.

Then he stepped back toward the door.

His feet moved quietly.

As he was about to leave, he looked at me one last time.

His gaze lingered long.

“Miss Rumel.”

He spoke softly.

The surface was polite.

“The Royal House can protect you.”

I didn’t smile at those words.

My mouth didn’t move.

I raised my head.

I met his gaze directly.

“I am protected. I already am.”

I spoke clearly.

I delivered it in segments.

The messenger’s eyes hardened briefly.

The light stopped.

Then he left through the door.

His footsteps grew more distant.

The sound of the door closing lingered long.

The air closed again.

Theodor exhaled.

He let it out long.

“He’s a bad guy, right?”

His eyes turned toward me.

I nodded my head.

It moved briefly.

“Right.”

Demian placed his hand on top of my head.

The movement was careful.

“Good observation.”

I found those words strangely warm.

My insides relaxed.

Millayen spoke in a low voice.

His voice became firmer.

“The Founding Festival is a trap.”

I answered immediately.

Millayen spoke.

“Yes. It seems they’re trying to gather children suspected of being related to heroes or saints in one place.”

“Huh?”

“Heroes or saints?”

“It’s better not to know yet. For now, be on guard. And if the Emperor tries to do anything during the day, come running to me immediately.”

I found myself answering “Yes” without realizing it.

It was a reaction that came out faster than I thought.

“So I’m going.”

I cut it short.

Theodor shouted in surprise.

His body jerked.

“Why!”

I lifted my head.

Our eyes met.

“If it’s a trap, I’ll catch them.”

Demian asked me.

His voice continued softly.

“You’re saying you’ll do it?”

I spoke with determination.

My breath mixed in.

“Yes!”

* * *

The day after the Imperial Envoy returned, the manor was quiet but tension remained.

The surface hadn’t changed.

The flow was the same.

Outwardly, it was the same as usual.

The servants moved about, and the knights went back and forth to the training grounds.

The footsteps were steady.

The sound of swords clashing continued.

But I felt thin cracks in the air.

Invisible but perceptible.

The Founding Festival invitation.

It was closer to a notification than a choice.

The direction was already set.

I sat on the training ground railing, looking down at the snowy field.

My feet dangled in the air.

Cold air settled below.

The knights were crossing wooden swords.

The sound of wood clashing instead of metal was steady.

Tap, tap, tap.

The rhythm didn’t waver.

I moved my fingers following that rhythm.

Tap, tap on the railing.

The sounds matched.

Steady sounds are good.

The flow doesn’t break.

It’s predictable.

You can see what comes next.

Then footsteps approached from behind.

The sound of stepping on snow.

Light steps.

When I turned around, there was someone I’d never seen before.

It was Yurahel, the one I’d seen in the photo.

* * *

A few days later.

I secretly met with Yurahel in the same place to talk.

“Mother’s seal is currently stable, so I came by for once, and now I have a little sister. Good timing.”

“Why do you keep saying the same thing for days?”

“It’s how I feel. Oh, I told Father about my arrival yesterday, so we don’t need to meet here anymore.”

“Snowman is busy.”

“That’s why I left a note and came out.”

“Notes can’t talk!”

“Father listens.”

Few words, no presence. And he seemed to think similarly to me as a baby, so maybe that’s why? Being with Yurahel felt somewhat familiar.

He makes little sound even on snow.

His feet don’t sink deep.

“The Founding Festival.”

He brought it up first.

His voice was low.

I nodded.

A short movement.

“I know.”

The words came out immediately.

“I heard the Royal House wrote your name directly.”

His gaze turned toward me.

I looked down at the railing and said.

“Interest.”

I summarized briefly.

“Interest, indeed.”

Yurahel smiled briefly.

Only his lips moved slightly.

“Spring hasn’t come yet.”

The words continued slowly.

I looked up at him.

Our eyes met directly.

“Why hasn’t it come?”

I asked.

Instead of answering, he looked at the sky.

His head tilted upward.

Gray clouds drifted slowly.

Unbroken.

“Because Mother hasn’t opened her eyes yet.”

—————
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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