Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 29
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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 29
As the attendant withdrew, Lermiel turned toward us.
His movement was unbroken.
“The guest room is prepared.”
He said.
Millayen nodded his head.
Slowly, once.
“The schedule after this is.”
He asked.
“You’re free until the evening banquet. If you need anything, please call.”
Lermiel answered.
“Mm, mm.”
Millayen made a short sound.
I asked quietly.
“Is there a lot of light at the banquet?”
Lermiel looked at me for a moment.
His gaze didn’t waver.
“A lot.”
“The Priesthood too?”
I asked next.
“Yes, most will be positioned around the edges.”
He answered.
I exhaled evenly.
Inhaled, paused, exhaled.
He didn’t try to read me.
His eyes weren’t deep.
Instead, he only answered as much as I asked.
Nothing excessive.
That wasn’t bad.
When we arrived at the guest room, the door closed.
The sound of wood meeting wood rang out.
The noise from outside diminished.
The overlapping sounds grew thin.
I went straight to the window.
My feet moved quickly.
The palace courtyard was visible below.
The Priesthood was moving between the columns.
White robes continued in succession.
Crystals were being transported.
Light was moving.
I turned my head.
I shifted my gaze into the room.
“What happens in the evening?”
I asked.
Vladimir threw himself onto the sofa and answered.
Leaning against the backrest and stretching his legs.
“Founding commemoration declaration, blessing of sacred objects, Emperor’s speech, the order is long.”
He said.
“After that.”
I asked next.
“The banquet, people mingling, a place where gazes cross.”
He said.
Nina added.
Quietly adding her words.
“And gazes, the place with the most.”
He said.
I nodded my head.
Shortly, once.
Lermiel paused briefly in front of the door.
His hand touched the doorknob.
He swept over us once.
His eyes moved quickly.
“I’ll tell you one thing.”
His voice was low.
“If your name is called in the banquet hall, don’t refuse.”
His words were clear.
I asked immediately.
“Why?”
“Because people who refuse get marked.”
“Marked?”
“Just respond to the call. If you go and receive any proposal, refuse that even if you get marked.”
He said.
Records.
They remain.
They don’t get erased!
I naturally know how precious records are like treasures.
The researchers used to say that. Precious records like treasures.
Lermiel added.
“Keep in mind that unwanted scenes can be created. Since you’re clever, you’ll understand what I mean.”
“Got it. But what about you?”
I called to him.
He looked at me.
“Don’t you refuse?”
I asked.
A moment of silence.
The air stopped.
“I don’t.”
He was honest.
His breathing didn’t waver.
I took a step closer.
Narrowing the distance.
“Even if you hate it?”
I asked.
“That’s right. Because that’s my role.”
He said.
I clenched my hand.
My fingers gathered inward.
“I am.”
I took a short breath in.
My chest rose slightly.
“I always think.”
I said.
Lermiel’s eyes changed just a little.
The light wavered thinly.
“What to do, how far to go! I’m very smart, after all.”
I added.
He somehow made an expression as if holding back laughter, then nodded his head.
The corners of his mouth went up just a little.
“That’s a good attitude. It’s better to choose carefully.”
He said.
The door closed, and we were silent for a moment.
The sound stopped.
Theodor came to my side and grabbed my sleeve.
His hand grasped the hem of my clothes.
“Rumel, are you scared by any chance? If you’re scared, hold my hand!”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Really?”
He asked again.
I nodded my head vigorously.
Once, big.
Theodor became a little dejected.
His shoulders dropped.
Why?
“B-but I’ll stay by your side, I’ll keep holding on. Specially!”
I thought the coward was more like Theodor.
* * *
As evening approached, servants came in to arrange our clothes.
Their touch was quick and quiet.
They smoothed wrinkles, arranged decorations, and adjusted ties.
I wore a white dress.
The fabric lightly wrapped around my body.
Winter patterns were embroidered on it.
Silver thread caught the light.
I looked small in the mirror.
My shoulders were low.
But my eyes did not waver.
My gaze was fixed.
Nina spoke from beyond the mirror.
It was a quiet voice.
“You’ll stand at the center. You’d better prepare yourself. It’s an unfortunate time for an immortal mage.”
I shook my head.
I shook it slowly left and right.
“No.”
“No? Are you okay?”
Nina asked.
Her eyes turned toward me.
“I’m not the one who stands.”
I said.
“I’m the one who watches!”
Nina did not smile.
“The one who watches is scarier, because they remain even without moving.”
She said.
I did not answer.
I did not take my gaze away from the mirror.
I stood in front of the banquet hall door.
The door was tall.
Music could be heard from inside.
The sound of string instruments.
The sound of glasses clinking.
People’s laughter.
They overlapped and echoed.
The door opened.
The inside was revealed all at once.
Light poured out all together.
I narrowed my eyes.
Brightness rushed toward me.
There were more crystal columns.
They stood in rows.
They also hung from the ceiling.
Light fell from above.
The Emperor stood on the dais.
A high position.
The Empress beside him.
And one step behind, Lermiel.
His position was between light and shadow.
He was not completely revealed.
I made my breathing steady.
I inhaled, paused, and exhaled.
Theodor’s hand found mine.
A small hand touched me.
I held it for him.
I wrapped my fingers around it.
People’s gazes gathered toward us.
Movement stopped.
Whispers spread.
They spread like small waves.
I raised my head.
My gaze went upward.
The Emperor opened his mouth.
The sound spread widely.
“Rumel of the Winter Family.”
The name echoed.
The air seemed to stop for a moment.
I took one step forward.
My foot pressed against the floor.
Light brushed against the top of my foot.
It was not cold.
But it was heavy.
I did not bow my head.
I maintained my gaze.
The Emperor’s eyes looked down at me.
A calm face.
But he didn’t hide his calculations.
They overlapped.
I said to myself.
‘This time, I’m the one watching.’
And below the dais, Lermiel’s gaze followed me.
It wasn’t far.
We met eyes briefly without words.
One who stands in place, and one who dies in place.
On the same line.
The music in the banquet hall began to flow again.
The interrupted sound continued.
I didn’t stop.
With my own feet, I walked to below the dais.
* * *
Below the dais, I stopped.
My feet touched the line.
There were five steps.
The height was uniform.
The Emperor above, me below.
The distance wasn’t far.
But the height difference drew a line.
A line difficult to cross.
The banquet hall grew quiet.
The music subsided, and gazes gathered.
People held their breath.
I raised my head.
My gaze didn’t waver.
The Emperor’s eyes were gentle.
The surface was smooth.
Like a blade wrapped softly.
I couldn’t see inside.
“Come closer.”
He said.
His voice spread widely.
I stepped up one step.
The first step.
The hem of my dress brushed the step.
The fabric moved softly.
Light wrapped around my feet.
Not cold.
But not quiet either.
I stopped on the second step.
I didn’t go up further.
The Emperor smiled and extended his hand.
His palm faced upward.
“Child of immortality.”
He said.
I didn’t take his hand.
I didn’t raise my hand.
“It’s Rumel.”
I corrected him.
The Emperor’s smile grew slightly thinner.
The line narrowed.
“Yes, Rumel. Rumel it is. How disappointing that you’ve already been given a name.”
He rolled my name around in his mouth.
“Your ability is an asset to the Empire.”
The Emperor’s words came down from above.
I asked.
“Asset?”
The Emperor answered with his hand still lowered.
“Yes, a precious asset.”
He said.
He cut it short.
“So?”
I asked next.
He paused for a beat.
His breath stopped very briefly.
“Ahem. The Empire protects precious things.”
His words continued smoothly.
I tilted my head.
Slightly to the side.
“I’m not a precious thing! I’m Rumel.”
I’m not a test subject, and I’m not an exhibit anymore either.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes.
The light grew thin.
“What do you mean?”
He asked.
I separated the words.
“Asset, protection. Already receiving it.”
I cut it short.
I pointed to myself and spoke clearly.
My finger pointed to my chest.
“Said I’m precious because I’m a person.”
Millayen had definitely said that once.
“So I’m not a ‘thing.'”
Somewhere in the banquet hall, breath was swallowed.
The sound was very small.
The Emperor was silent for a moment.
His expression stopped.
Then he smiled again.
The corners of his mouth rose gently.
“Of course I know you’re a person.”
His words were smooth.
Without interruption.
I shook my head.
Slowly left and right.
“Then not an asset.”
And he corrected the words.
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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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