Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 33

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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 33

 

We headed toward the small door at the end of the corridor. We killed our footsteps as much as possible, being careful not to scrape the floor.

 

Lermiel opened the door. The sound of the metal handle turning rang out briefly.

 

Cold air rushed inside. The moment I breathed in, even my lungs became cold.

 

The smell of snow was vivid. The scent of wet air and ice were mixed together.

 

I took one step outside. My foot slowly sank into the snow.

 

The snow reached up to my ankles. It pressed down softly and wrapped around my feet.

 

Cold. It rose from my toes. But it was clear. The smell of spices and alcohol that had lingered in the banquet hall was washed away all at once.

 

Theodor cried out softly. His breath burst out white and larger.

 

“It’s cold!”

 

He said. He hunched his shoulders and stamped his feet once.

 

I didn’t look back. Instead, I placed my hand on the snow. The part where my palm touched melted very thinly, creating moisture.

 

The traces were clear. The difference between the pressed area and the surroundings was distinctly revealed.

 

I deliberately made my footprints messy. I didn’t go in a straight line.

 

I drew a circle. I went around once, then changed direction again and overlapped another circle.

 

Circle upon circle overlapped, and the direction became blurred. It became tangled so it was hard to distinguish which was the beginning and which was the end.

 

Lermiel saw this and asked. His gaze slowly moved following the footprints.

 

“To make tracking difficult?”

 

I nodded my head.

 

“Snow tells so many things!”

 

I lightly scratched the snow surface with my finger.

 

A thin line appeared and quickly blurred. It was a line that would disappear if the wind blew.

 

“It also lies.”

 

I added.

 

He smiled slightly.

 

His breath scattered white and quickly disappeared.

 

We moved like that to the end of the courtyard, near the low wall. From there, the windows of the banquet hall were directly visible.

 

Warm light poured through the glass windows. Light mixed with gold and red spread long across the snow.

 

I looked at that light. The light that fell on the snow trembled minutely.

 

Inside there is record. A place where people, sounds, and gazes overlap.

 

Here is emptiness. A place with few sounds and no gazes reaching.

 

I raised my hand and grabbed some snow. The snow crumbled in my hand and clumped together small.

 

And I pressed it slightly under the wall. I slowly pushed it in with my palm.

 

The snow was pressed down and a small hole formed. Not deep, but the shape was maintained.

 

I peered inside it. It was a dark, cold space.

 

Cold. As soon as my fingertips touched it, sensation became dull. Not deep. But good for hiding. If covered with snow again, the traces would disappear.

 

I raised my head.

 

“Here.”

 

I said.

 

Lermiel nodded as if he understood. His eyes narrowed just a little.

 

“You’re going to place bait.”

 

He said.

 

“Not me.”

 

Theodor asked in surprise. His eyes opened wide and his breath puffed out once more.

 

“Then what?”

 

I showed him my open hand. I slowly turned my palm over.

 

“There’s a lot besides blood.”

 

I said.

 

Lermiel narrowed his eyes. His gaze slowly rose from my hand upward.

 

“Traces of immortality?”

 

He asked.

 

I nodded my head.

 

I took out a very small piece of cloth from inside my sleeve. The folded cloth spread out over my hand.

 

The cloth I had used to wipe Theodor’s wound. The color was a bit dark, and dried stains remained.

 

Very faintly, my blood was on it. If you looked with your eyes, there was hardly any sign, but the smell remained.

 

I put it into the hole in the snow. I didn’t push it deep with my finger, but pressed it in appropriately.

 

And I covered it with snow. I pressed lightly from above to make the surface flat again.

 

It looked like there was nothing there.

 

Lermiel breathed evenly. He inhaled briefly and exhaled long.

 

“They’ll come this way.”

 

He said.

 

“Yeah. Following the scent.”

 

I said.

 

Theodor looked at me and asked. His gaze wavered and his hand grabbed my clothes.

 

“Rumel, are you okay?”

 

I nodded my head blankly. Short and firm.

 

“I am No. 1!”

 

My voice was small but clear. It rang out more distinctly in the cold air.

 

For a moment, Lermiel’s eyes wavered briefly. It was a very short gap.

 

He spoke quietly. He lowered his voice more.

 

“Then I’ll guard the bait.”

 

I shook my head. Quickly, clearly.

 

“Don’t guard it!”

 

He stopped. His gaze fixed on me again.

 

“Why?”

 

I pointed at the snow. My finger pointed toward the spot I had just covered.

 

“If you guard it, you’ll be suspected.”

 

“Then?”

 

Theodor raised his head a little more and asked. His breath still hadn’t faded and remained around his mouth.

 

“Watch from far away.”

 

I answered briefly. Without taking my gaze off the traces left on the snow, I pressed the snow once more with my toes.

 

Lermiel thought for a moment. His gaze swept once over the area under the wall, the spot just covered, and its surroundings.

 

And he nodded. It was a face that had finished judging.

 

“Understood.”

 

He said. His voice sank low, mixed with the sound of wind and disappeared.

 

Suddenly cheers erupted from inside the banquet hall.

 

Sound rushed out all at once from beyond the closed door.

 

Fireworks must have gone up.

 

The starting signal of the Founding Festival.

 

I listened to that sound and breathed in. Cold air entered deep into my lungs, then slowly escaped.

 

Tonight.

 

They will move.

 

I left footprints on the snow again. This time deliberately straight, connected in one direction.

 

Traces connected like a line remained clearly on the snow.

 

And I turned around.

 

To the banquet hall.

 

Into the light.

 

* * *

 

The path back to the banquet hall felt longer.

 

Even though it was the same distance, my steps fell more heavily.

 

Snow seeped into my shoes.

 

The fabric got wet and wrapped around my feet.

 

My toes felt cold.

 

The cold sensation slowly crept upward.

 

I stopped for a moment. I stopped while trying to take another step.

 

Theodor noticed immediately.

 

He turned his head to look at my face first.

 

“Are you cold?”

 

He asked. His voice came a little closer.

 

I shook my head.

 

“I’m not cold.”

 

But my teeth chattered slightly.

 

A very faint sound came from inside my mouth.

 

Lermiel unfastened his cloak and draped it over my shoulders.

 

His movement was quiet, and the moment the cloak settled, the air was blocked once more.

 

“I’m lending this to you.”

 

He said in a low voice.

 

I looked down at the cloak.

 

The thick fabric covered my shoulders and wrapped around the back of my neck.

 

It’s heavy.

 

But it’s warm.

 

The coldness that had been creeping up just moments ago stopped.

 

I muttered quietly.

 

“I’ll return it later.”

 

I touched the edge of the cloak with my fingertips.

 

He smiled.

 

The corners of his mouth curved up gently.

 

“Take your time.”

 

He said.

 

We reached the front of the banquet hall door.

 

The door was closed, but sounds and light from inside leaked through the gaps.

 

Firework sounds burst from within.

 

Short, bright explosions rang out in succession.

 

Magical fireworks commemorating the founding of the nation.

 

People cheered.

 

Multiple voices overlapped.

 

I stopped at the threshold.

 

I stopped one step ahead.

 

The light stabbed at my eyes.

 

Eyes adapted to darkness suddenly brightened.

 

Sound rushed in all at once.

 

My ears rang briefly.

 

From my height, I could only see people’s waists and arms.

 

The sound of fabric rustling and ornaments clinking overlapped nearby.

 

Skirt hems brushed past, and decorations sparkled.

 

Metal flashed as it caught the light.

 

I breathed shortly.

 

My chest rose and fell once more.

 

The Research Institute was always low.

 

The ceiling was low, and sounds were quiet.

 

Breath didn’t spread.

 

This place is high.

 

Sound rises upward.

 

Gazes are high too.

 

I had to lift my head higher.

 

My neck tilted back.

 

“Rumel.”

 

Theodor gripped my hand tightly.

 

His hand squeezed more firmly.

 

I nodded my head.

 

But don’t stop.

 

“I’m going.”

 

I said.

 

We went inside.

 

The moment we crossed the door, warm air enveloped my body.

 

Fireworks scattered beneath the ceiling.

 

Light shattered like glass and fell.

 

Crystal columns sparkled as they caught the light.

 

Light moved inside the columns.

 

I deliberately didn’t look in that direction.

 

I turned my gaze away.

 

My eyes mustn’t be caught.

 

I mustn’t get attached.

 

I first looked for the Priesthood’s position.

 

My gaze quickly swept between the people.

 

They moved not in the center of the banquet hall, but along the edges.

 

Along the walls, slowly.

 

Like walls themselves.

 

Moving but not conspicuously.

 

I looked up at Lermiel.

 

My gaze went upward.

 

“Over there.”

 

He nodded his head very slightly.

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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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