Will You Cry for Me If I Die? - Chapter 44

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 44

 

Then Demian’s voice became even lower.

 

It was as close as breath.

 

“That place inside is a trap. It’s a place that deliberately leaves a path open to lure people in.”

 

“Shouldn’t I go into the trap?”

 

Even though I took a breath, I spoke very fiercely.

 

“Then we need to see more. We need to know how far the trap extends and what it was made to catch!”

 

Demian hesitated for a moment.

 

Then he looked straight at my face.

 

Nothing should show on my face. But I couldn’t control it well.

 

As always, I hid my fear and pretended to be angry.

 

I pressed my lips tightly together and opened my eyes wider.

 

Demian spoke.

 

Slowly. More gently than before.

 

“If we need to see, I’ll look. You don’t need to go in, Rumel.”

 

At first he definitely seemed like a demon of the night.

 

Now I thought Demian was prettier than a fairy.

 

But I shook my head.

 

Twice.

 

“My nose is more advantageous!”

 

I said.

 

I brought my hand in front of my nose then lowered it.

 

“I see the best. I find smells first. Other people can’t find them.”

 

Theodor nodded from beside me.

 

“That’s right, Rumel’s nose is strange!”

 

As soon as he spoke, he covered his mouth with his hand.

 

His palm covered his mouth, but the sound had already escaped.

 

It was too late.

 

I looked at Theodor.

 

My gaze pierced straight at him.

 

Theodor opened his eyes wide and whispered.

 

His pupils shook greatly.

 

“Sorry, it came out without me knowing. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

 

I was about to sigh. But sighs seemed adult-like, so I held back.

 

The air inside my chest pressed down once then stopped.

 

Instead

 

I barely moved my lips.

 

“It’s fine. Keep your voice down now. If they hear more, it’s over.”

 

The word “fine” didn’t come out completely.

 

My heart wasn’t fine yet.

 

Inside felt a little roughly scratched.

 

Then Lermiel appeared from the other side of the column.

 

He pretended to pass by with an indifferent face.

 

His steps were steady, and his gaze was directed forward.

 

Then he cast his gaze toward us.

 

Once.

 

Twice.

 

And he shook his head very slightly.

 

Don’t do it.

 

Seeing that head shake made me even angrier.

 

My chest rose briefly then fell.

 

Lermiel knows too.

 

That the door is dangerous.

 

His face showed he also knew the smell was strange.

 

Yet still he stops me.

 

Being stopped always makes me feel small.

 

It makes me seem like I can’t do it.

 

I stuck out my lips.

 

My mouth protruded forward a little.

 

And I spoke in a very small voice.

 

I let it flow like breath.

 

“You come too. Don’t stop me alone, we can look together.”

 

Lermiel hesitated.

 

His steps cut off very briefly.

 

He didn’t come closer, only spoke from within the column’s shadow.

 

He remained standing on the side where light didn’t reach.

 

“Not now. If we move more from here, we’ll draw attention.”

 

“Why? Now is when the smell remains the most. If we miss it, we can’t find it again.”

 

Lermiel answered.

 

His voice became lower.

 

“If you go in now.”

 

He cut off his words.

 

Because footsteps could be heard from beyond the column.

 

It was the regular sound of shoes hitting the floor.

 

We hid at the same time.

 

Our bodies pressed closer to the column.

 

Two nobles passed by.

 

Their clothes brushed past, stirring the air.

 

They chatted while laughing.

 

Their voices echoed lightly.

 

“Winter twisted the rules.”

 

“It was more chaotic because of the child. That one young child changed the entire flow.”

 

Hearing those words made my teeth tingle.

 

The inside of my jaw trembled slightly.

 

Because of the child.

 

Because I’m a child, people make my words seem like jokes.

 

They strip away the weight.

 

I hated that.

 

My mouth became bitter.

 

As the nobles moved away, Lermiel spoke low again.

 

The sound came close again.

 

“If you go in now, you’ll become a marker. This isn’t a test, it’s a trap.”

 

I tilted my head.

 

My neck inclined slightly.

 

“It doesn’t stick to me. It hasn’t stuck until now either.”

 

Lermiel looked at me very briefly.

 

His gaze came down deeply then was immediately withdrawn.

 

“You might not get stuck.”

 

He said.

 

His words continued without breaking.

 

“But Young Master Theodor is different. He gets attached to the people beside him.”

 

I stopped breathing.

 

My chest froze while raised.

 

Theodor’s hand trembled slightly in mine.

 

His fingertips shook very faintly.

 

I looked at Theodor.

 

He was biting his lips.

 

His lower lip turned slightly white.

 

Seeing that, my head cooled down a little.

 

The heat subsided.

 

Since I’m four years old, my feelings come out first.

 

They come out first, then I think later.

 

But still, when Theodor trembles, my feelings get pushed back.

 

What was in front goes to the back.

 

I spoke in a low voice.

 

I steadied my breathing and added briefly.

 

“Then, we can’t go in now. Instead, we watch from outside.”

 

I looked back and forth between Demian and Lermiel.

 

My gaze moved briefly between them.

 

“How do we watch? There’s a smell but we can’t go inside. So we use something else to see.”

 

Demian answered.

 

His words were short and firm.

 

“Sound, we listen to what comes from inside first. Footsteps, water, scratching sounds.”

 

Lermiel continued.

 

He added a bit more gently.

 

“And traces, in front of the door, floor, walls, places hands touch, we read everything that remains.”

 

I wrinkled my nose once more.

 

I took a short breath.

 

A very thin smell leaked out from the doorway.

 

Like an almost invisible line.

 

That smell wasn’t one that only lingered inside.

 

It flowed outside and connected to other places.

 

It didn’t break off.

 

I looked at the floor.

 

Under the column, wet stains from cloth stretched out in a long line.

 

They continued like thin lines on the floor, and even when hit by light, they didn’t glisten but lay dully pressed down.

 

Someone had walked while spilling a little water.

 

A few drops fell with each step, creating a continuous path.

 

Marking water.

 

The smell followed thinly.

 

I pointed at those stains with my finger.

 

I pressed down so my fingertip wouldn’t tremble.

 

“Over there, it continues. It’s not broken.”

 

Demian extended his hand in front of me.

 

His palm opened downward.

 

“Just hold my hand, if you fall I’ll catch you right away.”

 

I nodded.

 

I don’t want to be carried.

 

Just holding hands is okay.

 

Theodor held my other hand.

 

Hands were attached on both sides.

 

We walked slowly following the wet stains.

 

We didn’t take big steps.

 

We walked to the side to avoid stepping on the stains.

 

When servants approached, we stopped.

 

The sound of cloth rubbing against the floor came closer then moved away.

 

When knights passed by, we pressed against the wall.

 

We put our shoulders against the stone wall and lowered our breathing.

 

Sometimes my feet got tangled and I stumbled.

 

My toes crossed and my balance wavered.

 

Each time, Theodor caught me.

 

His hand pulled me right back.

 

I spoke quietly.

 

I barely moved my mouth.

 

“Thanks, catching me hurt less.”

 

Even the word “thanks” didn’t come out completely.

 

My mouth is still clumsy with such words.

 

But Theodor understood.

 

His eyes smiled briefly.

 

He smiled quietly.

 

No sound came out.

 

When laughter is quiet, it hurts the heart less.

 

The stains led to small stairs.

 

They were stairs carved from stone.

 

The stairs went down.

 

Step by step, they continued downward.

 

To the basement.

 

The air became colder.

 

Seeing that, my body stiffened first.

 

My feet stopped in front of the stairs.

 

Basement.

 

Memories of the Research Institute rose up to my throat.

 

Cold stone, humid air, metallic smell.

 

Closed doors, closed breath.

 

I swallowed.

 

A dry feeling remained in my throat.

 

Demian gripped my hand a little tighter.

 

His fingers wrapped firmly around mine.

 

I didn’t shake off that hand.

 

This time I needed it.

 

Having the hand attached made me shake less.

 

At the bottom of the underground stairs was another door.

 

It was the same color as the wall but had a different texture.

 

This door was more worn.

 

The surface was rough with many scratched marks.

 

However, the handle gleamed like new.

 

It sparkled in the light.

 

Someone uses it continuously.

 

Traces of frequently gripping and opening it.

 

The sound of water came from the doorway.

 

Splash.

 

The sound of thin water colliding.

 

And a low voice.

 

It hit the wall and sounded muffled.

 

“Today Winter interfered.”

 

“But water remains. The amount is sufficient.”

 

“We didn’t get the child’s blood, but the marks are enough.”

 

I stopped breathing.

 

My chest froze while raised.

 

The marks are enough.

 

Those words pierced me.

 

Something inside was thinly scraped.

 

What I thought I had blocked wasn’t blocked at all.

 

It sounded like something already finished elsewhere.

 

Theodor gripped my hand tighter.

 

His hand is small too.

 

So he grips tighter.

 

All his strength goes into it.

 

Lermiel put his finger to his lips.

 

‘Quietly.’

 

His fingertip moved just a little.

 

I nodded.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————