Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 37

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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 37

 

Theodor pressed close to my side.

 

Our bodies touched and warmth was immediately transferred.

 

Lermiel didn’t take even one more step inside from the threshold.

 

His toes didn’t cross the line.

 

He spoke quietly.

 

Lowering his voice.

 

“I’ll be in front of the door.”

 

Those words bothered me, so I asked.

 

I lifted my head slightly to look toward the door.

 

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

 

Lermiel paused for a moment before answering.

 

There was a brief gap as he chose his words.

 

“Because this is your room.”

 

He said.

 

I understood those words.

 

It came to me all at once.

 

My room.

 

Mine.

 

Something I could have.

 

A place that wouldn’t be taken away.

 

I spoke quietly.

 

Reducing my voice.

 

“Then stay there.”

 

Lermiel bowed his head.

 

His eyes went down briefly.

 

“Yes.”

 

The candlelight flickered once.

 

The flame stretched long to the side before returning.

 

Wind brushed against the window.

 

A thin scraping sound came from beyond the glass.

 

I closed my eyes and opened them.

 

My eyelids went down briefly then came back up.

 

Sleep hadn’t come yet.

 

My body was warm, but my mind was awake.

 

Since I’m four years old, when I’m scared my breathing gets faster.

 

My chest reacts first.

 

I breathed slowly.

 

Inhaling, then exhaling long.

 

I deliberately slowed the pace.

 

Outside, footsteps passed by twice.

 

Heavy footsteps.

 

Royal knights.

 

They moved regularly.

 

And a little later, one very quiet footstep.

 

Steps that barely touched the floor.

 

Priesthood.

 

I clenched my fingers tightly under the blanket.

 

My fingertips curled inward.

 

“They’re coming.”

 

When I whispered, Theodor took my hand.

 

His hand immediately covered mine.

 

Lermiel’s voice flowed low from outside the door.

 

From beyond the door, but close.

 

“It’s alright.”

 

I didn’t believe those words.

 

Even if the words said it was alright, the air didn’t feel that way.

 

* * *

 

The room was warm, but my toes were still cold.

 

Even under the blanket, the temperature hadn’t completely risen.

 

I wiggled my toes under the blanket.

 

The more I moved, the more sensation gradually returned.

 

Theodor’s arm was wrapped tightly around my waist.

 

He held on firmly so his strength wouldn’t give out.

 

His breath touched my nape and tickled.

 

Short breaths repeatedly touched me.

 

I frowned.

 

I closed my eyes a little more.

 

I hate being tickled.

 

My skin flinches first.

 

But I didn’t tell him to move away.

 

I wanted to keep that warmth.

 

Outside the door, Lermiel’s footsteps moved very slowly.

 

Not dragging his feet, at a speed that barely touched the floor.

 

Moving slowly is hard to hear.

 

The sound continues without breaking.

 

That was worse.

 

You can’t pinpoint exactly where he is.

 

Wind swept past the window once.

 

The curtain swayed just a little.

 

The candlelight flickered.

 

The flame grew shorter.

 

The light dimmed briefly.

 

Then, a very small sound came from the corner inside the room.

 

Rustle.

 

The sound of paper brushing.

 

It was the sound of thin papers pushing against each other and sliding.

 

I opened my eyes wide.

 

My eyelids lifted all at once and my vision became clear.

 

Theodor also stopped breathing.

 

The breathing I’d been hearing from beside me suddenly cut off.

 

“What is it?”

 

He asked very quietly.

 

His lips barely moved.

 

I brought my finger to my lips.

 

My fingertip lightly pressed against my lips.

 

“Shh.”

 

My voice is small because I’m a child.

 

Even when I put a lot of breath into it, it doesn’t spread far.

 

Sometimes being small is good.

 

Times like now.

 

I rolled my body inside the blanket.

 

The fabric rustled as it moved.

 

To look under the bed.

 

I turned my body to the side and lowered my head as much as possible.

 

But from my height, I couldn’t see well.

 

My view was blocked by the bed frame.

 

I cursed inwardly.

 

‘I want to be taller.’

 

I wanted to see lower, farther.

 

Theodor tightened his grip around my waist.

 

His hand pressed closer.

 

“Rumel, are you scared?”

 

He asked again.

 

His breathing quickened again slightly.

 

I paused for a moment.

 

There was a brief pause as I chose my words.

 

If I say I’m scared, my heart grows bigger.

 

The inside becomes wider.

 

So I chose different words.

 

Short words, ones that wouldn’t grow as much.

 

“I’m listening.”

 

I said.

 

Theodor nodded.

 

His eyes looked at me once, then turned back toward where the sound was coming from.

 

That kid understands faster than I thought.

 

The sound came again from the foot of the bed.

 

Rustle.

 

This time it was closer.

 

The sense of distance had decreased.

 

I reached out and grabbed the pillow.

 

The fabric touched my hand and pressed down lightly.

 

The pillow is light.

 

If I apply force, it lifts easily.

 

But if I throw it, it makes noise.

 

The sound of cutting through air and falling.

 

If it makes noise, we’ll be caught.

 

I put the pillow down.

 

I released my hand again.

 

Instead, I pulled at the edge of the blanket.

 

To cover my body more.

 

The blanket came up to just below my chin.

 

Then Lermiel’s voice flowed very low from outside the door.

 

It seeped in through the gap under the door.

 

“Who is inside.”

 

The answer didn’t come immediately.

 

The air stretched out long.

 

The silence was long.

 

That silence sounded even louder.

 

And then, a very low laugh was heard.

 

A laugh that doesn’t open the mouth wide.

 

A sound that only resonates within one’s breath.

 

Laughter tears people apart.

 

I heard that laughter at the Research Institute.

 

The memory caught in the back of my throat.

 

“Your Highness.”

 

It was an unfamiliar voice.

 

Soft, thin, and wet.

 

The end of the words stretched slightly.

 

“There’s something we must take for the child.”

 

Those words passed through the door and entered.

 

They reached straight toward me.

 

Lermiel’s voice became colder.

 

The temperature dropped once more.

 

“This is my quarters area.”

 

“Area.”

 

The unfamiliar voice laughed.

 

This time a little longer.

 

“Things of the Empire have no areas.”

 

I sat up on the bed.

 

The blanket slipped from my shoulders.

 

Cold air touched me immediately.

 

Theodor grabbed my arm and pulled.

 

His hand attached urgently.

 

“Get down.”

 

I said in a low voice.

 

I reduced my voice even more.

 

Theodor shook his head.

 

His eyes shook greatly.

 

“No!”

 

A loud sound almost burst out.

 

I lightly covered his mouth with my palm.

 

Not pressing completely, just blocking the sound.

 

“Quiet.”

 

I said.

 

I barely mixed any breath into it.

 

Theodor opened his eyes wide.

 

His pupils shook.

 

I removed my hand.

 

Slowly, without making noise.

 

The sound of metal clashing came from outside the door.

 

A short, sharp sound.

 

Sword.

 

I knew.

 

I had heard that sound many times.

 

Lermiel is fighting.

 

And his opponent is the Priesthood.

 

The candle flame flickered once more.

 

The flame stretched long then shortened.

 

The light dimmed briefly.

 

At that moment, the shadow in the corner of the room stretched long.

 

The darkness spreading along the wall changed shape.

 

I swallowed my breath.

 

My throat blocked once.

 

One shadow peeled away from the wall.

 

It moved as if something attached had fallen off.

 

It was a person.

 

Black clothes.

 

They barely reflected any light.

 

His face was half-covered with a mask.

 

Only his eyes were visible.

 

A small glass bottle was held in his hand.

 

His fingers gripped the bottle tightly.

 

The moment I saw that bottle, my stomach churned.

 

My insides moved as if turning upside down.

 

Red liquid.

 

‘My blood.’

 

He whispered low.

 

His voice was so thin that his breath barely reached.

 

“Just a moment will do.”

 

I crawled toward the end of the bed.

 

My palms pressed and released the fabric as I pushed forward.

 

I hate crawling like a baby.

 

When my body gets low, I feel even smaller.

 

But right now, that’s the quietest way.

 

Even the rustling sound of the blanket decreases.

 

Theodor also lay down following me.

 

His knees and elbows touched the floor simultaneously.

 

He was biting his teeth tightly with tears welling in his eyes.

 

His eyes glistened wetly.

 

I looked at Theodor once.

 

But clearly.

 

And I pointed to the floor with my finger.

 

Under the bed.

 

A direction that didn’t need words.

 

Theodor nodded his head.

 

He moved a bit too much then held his breath again.

 

We both crawled under the bed.

 

As our bodies lowered, our vision darkened.

 

Dust stung my nose.

 

Fine dust was floating in the air.

 

I wrinkled my nose.

 

The inside of my nose tickled.

 

I felt like I was going to sneeze.

 

The inside of my throat twitched.

 

I covered my nose with both hands.

 

My palms pressed against my nose.

 

I absolutely cannot sneeze.

 

Not now.

 

Footsteps from outside grew closer.

 

The weight pressing on the floor gradually increased.

 

The black clothes approached toward the bed.

 

The shadow stretched long.

 

The bed mattress was slightly pressed down.

 

Pressure came down from above.

 

He leaned his body.

 

His center of gravity shifted to one side.

 

I saw his hand from under the bed.

 

A single point moving in the darkness.

 

The gloved hand didn’t reflect light.

—————
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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