Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 35
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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 35
Footsteps quickly trampled over the snow, drawing closer.
The shadow retreated backward.
Feet pushed against the snow and slid back.
He dropped the bottle.
The sound of glass hitting the snow and shattering rang out.
Red liquid spread over the snow.
It slowly spread across the white surface.
I saw it.
My gaze didn’t move from where it had fallen.
That’s my blood.
But now, it’s not mine.
I lowered my hand.
The sensation remaining in my palm slowly cooled.
The silver gleam on the snow disappeared.
The spreading lines vanished as if cut off.
The air became quiet.
The tension that had been there just moments ago settled all at once.
The shadow was caught by the knights.
Arms twisted behind his back, body pressed down.
I took a deep breath.
My chest rose greatly then fell.
My feet trembled.
My balance swayed slightly on the snow.
Whether from cold or something else, I didn’t know.
The sensations were mixed.
Theodor ran over and hugged me.
His small body came crashing into an embrace.
“Rumel!”
His voice trembled.
His breathing wasn’t steady.
I buried my face in his shoulder.
The fabric was warm.
Warm.
It was a different temperature from the cold air.
Lermiel approached closely.
His footsteps stopped on the snow.
His eyes were looking straight at me.
His gaze didn’t waver.
“Tonight is not over.”
He said in a low voice.
I nodded.
“I know.”
I had to catch my breath once more.
Being four years old is difficult—the body and hands are all so small.
Still, I knew.
That targeting blood was only the beginning.
I looked up at Lermiel.
I slowly raised my gaze.
“You’re next.”
He stiffened for a moment.
His eyes shook very slightly.
“Pardon?”
He asked.
I said it as it was.
“You, you’re more dangerous.”
The red marks remaining on the snow slowly soaked in.
* * *
The marks didn’t freeze quickly.
The red color that had spread on the snow remained as it was.
The humid capital’s snow was soggy, and the blood spread faster.
The white surface was stained red, with edges blurring hazily.
I lifted my face just slightly from Theodor’s embrace.
Without completely separating my body, I only turned my head to the side.
Cold air stabbed at my cheek.
It felt sharper because it was different from the warmth I’d been touching until just now.
My eyes stung.
My vision became blurry for a moment then returned.
I couldn’t tell if tears were about to come or if it was because of the wind.
It felt like both were mixed together.
Theodor patted my back twice.
His palm touched me small but clearly.
“Rumel, are you crying?”
He asked.
His breathing still wasn’t steady.
I shook my head.
Small, but quickly.
“I’m not crying.”
I said.
Though I said that, my voice shook a little.
The sound caught once in my mouth before coming out.
Lermiel carefully picked up the bottle that had fallen to the ground.
He put his hand between the broken pieces, avoiding them.
He only touched it with his gloved hands.
He was careful not to let his fingertips touch directly.
Red traces on the bottle’s mouth were visible.
Dry parts and wet parts were mixed together.
I stared at it intently.
My gaze wouldn’t fall away.
That came from inside me, but it didn’t move according to my will.
It came from my body, but it didn’t follow me.
I hated that.
Two knights dragged the priest away.
Footprints stretched long across the snow.
The priest didn’t scream.
He was dragged away with his mouth closed.
That silence was worse.
The soundless side lingers longer.
Millayen and Demian pushed open the corridor door and came out.
As the door opened, warm air from inside briefly flowed out.
Their footsteps were not fast.
The sound of stepping on snow was steady.
These are people who slow down the more urgent things become.
They don’t rush.
Demian’s gaze looked at my fingers first.
Before my face, he looked at my hands.
A very small wound on my palm.
A thin red line before the blood had dried and stuck.
I tried to hide it by pulling my hand back, but it was too late.
The gaze had already reached it before I could move.
Demian spoke in a low voice.
His voice came down firmly.
“How did that happen?”
I closed my mouth for a moment.
There was a brief pause as I chose my answer.
“While doing something necessary.”
I said.
Millayen crouched down in front of me.
His large body lowered and my view suddenly became closer.
The Lord is a big person, but when he matches my eye level, he suddenly becomes less scary.
When the height is matched, the distance changes too.
He carefully took my hand.
His fingers touched very slowly.
“Does it hurt.”
He asked.
I hesitated for a moment.
It does hurt.
The inside of my palm stung.
But this level doesn’t even count as painful.
I know things that hurt more.
“A little.”
When I said that, Theodor immediately interrupted.
His breathing hadn’t settled yet.
“Lie!”
His voice trembled.
I looked at Theodor.
I turned my head to look directly at his face.
The kid’s eyes were red.
The area around his pupils was wet.
I had never seen such a face at Clofford.
There, even if someone cried, they were only told not to cry.
Crying was not allowed.
I lightly tapped Theodor’s cheek with the back of my hand.
I didn’t hit hard.
I barely touched him.
“Don’t cry.”
I said.
“I’m not crying!”
He shouted.
While crying.
His breath came up as if breaking.
I closed my mouth.
His words and face were different.
There were more differences.
Millayen slowly wiped my palm.
A warm cloth passed over the wound.
With little irritation, but thoroughly.
Warm hands.
His fingers wrapped around my hand.
I curled my fingertips because the sensation was unfamiliar.
It was a temperature I wasn’t used to.
Millayen spoke in a low voice.
His voice was heard right in front of me.
“You are four years old.”
I raised my head.
I lifted my gaze upward.
That statement is true.
I cannot deny it.
However, facts sometimes make me small.
Not my body, but the inside becomes small.
I argued back.
I gathered my breath and exhaled.
“I am No. 1!”
Though I’m four years old, I am the strongest human who survived alone in that basement.
That memory still remains in my body.
Though I spoke as if shouting, my throat somehow got a little choked up.
Demian placed his hand on top of my head.
His palm slowly settled down over my hair.
It wasn’t heavy, but it touched inescapably.
“Of course I know what you can do. But even without doing anything, you are precious. So cherish yourself.”
Those words were long and didn’t all come in at once.
I stood still and listened to those words until the end.
Those words seemed like praise and also like prohibition.
They were mixed together.
I couldn’t distinguish between them.
Which side it was, how far it went, I wasn’t sure.
Lermiel handed the bottle to the knight and said.
The motion of letting go was careful.
“This goes to the sealing room.”
He said.
The knight bowed his head.
“Your Highness.”
It was a short answer.
I looked up at Lermiel.
I slowly raised my gaze upward.
His neck looked paler than before.
As if the area under his skin was empty, the color had drained.
I wrinkled my nose.
I breathed in a little deeper.
The smell of blood came very faintly.
Different from my blood scent, old blood.
The smell that remains after drying.
I spoke in a low voice.
I didn’t raise my voice loud.
“You, rest.”
Lermiel looked at me briefly.
His eyes came down, then went back up.
“Right now I have work that must be done.”
He said.
His tone didn’t waver.
I shook my head.
But firmly.
“What if the work kills you?”
I said.
As my words ended, the air stopped for a very brief moment.
As if even the wind had stopped, the surroundings became quiet.
Theodor swallowed his breath.
But it was heard loudly.
Yurahel quietly closed his eyes and opened them from behind.
He closed them once, then opened them again and lowered his gaze.
Vladimir bit his lips while crossing his arms from a distance.
He didn’t say anything, but his jaw hardened just a little.
Lermiel didn’t avoid my eyes.
His gaze remained attached.
He smiled slightly.
The corners of his mouth went up very thinly.
“I’m used to it, so it’s fine.”
He said.
I hated that smile.
It wasn’t warm.
It was a smile that kept people at a distance.
Millayen stood up from his seat.
Slowly, but moving without pause.
“Tonight is over.”
He declared.
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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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