How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 65
He touches it himself and then gets flustered. Quite severely at that.
Is this something that happened before meeting Mason? Or is it something Mason doesn’t know about because he wasn’t around?
“Lord Sean doesn’t know either?”
“I haven’t heard anything about it either.”
“How strange…”
Angelina stared at the door through which Blake had disappeared for a long time.
“Kyung…?”
Pudding, seeming concerned as well, came down from the desk and rubbed its face against Angelina’s ankle.
If he was having trouble breathing, it must mean there was a traumatic event in his past…
His trauma was mentioned once in the original work.
「“When I was very young, I met a child in the Dark Forest.”」
It was briefly mentioned when the female and male lead, having developed feelings for each other, were sharing their stories to comfort one another.
「“The child seemed to have been chased by monsters for a long time, looking as if they might die at any moment.”
“How did such a young child end up in a place like that…”
“I too had fallen into the Dark Forest, caught up in the Empress’s schemes, so I think the child might have been trapped or abandoned like me.”」
It was a story about one of the Empress’s evil deeds against the young male lead, trapping him in the Dark Forest.
He survived there relying on a single sword. The male lead’s incredible sword skills originated from there. Although the scene was never described in detail, that was the setting.
And the author added a crucial story that made the male lead turn against the Empress.
「“Didn’t you ask?”
“It wasn’t a situation where I could ask. I was too busy carrying that child on my back and running away from monsters.”
His story, which continued slowly, was calm yet cruel. The two children shared food, shared sleeping spaces, and endured together.
Blake continued to carry the child who could no longer use their legs and couldn’t see, having already suffered greatly from the monsters.
If someone had heard, they might have asked why he was carrying around such a useless burden, but to Blake, that child wasn’t a burden.
“It was an existence that made me feel I was still alive.”
After his father passed away, the whole world turned its back on him and abandoned him. That’s why he had no choice but to dance to the tune of the Empress who showed interest in him.
That’s why he couldn’t abandon that child.
When the child showed signs of giving up, he persuaded them, saying it reminded him of when he was about to give up on everything and that it shouldn’t happen.
When the child feared being abandoned, he recalled the times when he too feared being left alone.
So he didn’t let go of the child’s hand.
“I considered it a reason to live.”
If only they could escape from there, they could get treatment, seek revenge. And finally, he had found ‘someone on his side’ to do all of that with.
Life had gained meaning.
“But…”
He went out hunting, leaving the child for a moment. He promised the child who wanted to come along that he would return quickly, as it would be faster if he went alone.
And when he returned, the child was gone.
There were monster corpses everywhere, and the area was devastated with the smell of burning and blood so strong it caused a headache.
“The beast of that domain must have come and gone.”
Being a beast that had fed on the energy of the Dark Forest, it would have been larger and stronger than ordinary beasts. It must have been strong enough to tear dozens of monsters to shreds.
And not even the child’s corpse remained.
“…I shouldn’t have left.”
That became his lifelong regret.
“It’s been so long… I can’t even remember the child’s face anymore.”
He smiled bitterly.」
This was the catalyst for the male lead, Blake, to have his so-called ‘awakening’.
From then on, he never lost sight of right and wrong and couldn’t turn away from those in need. His inability to ignore the female lead’s request for help also stemmed from this sentiment.
He vowed to repay his sin of failing to protect that child by saving even one more person from the Order.
Despite readers’ pleas to bring back this precious character one more time, to say that they weren’t actually dead, the child never appeared again, not even in the side stories.
This ‘child’ who caused such a stir among readers was just an extra who only appeared in his memories, not even given a name.
‘There are such impressive extras, yet I’m just a minor character dying with a time limit. Would it hurt to give me a bit more importance?’
Angelina felt a small pang of resentment. Of course, it was meaningless, so she quickly sighed away her spite.
She turned her head again to look at the door through which Blake had disappeared.
“Anyway, there’s nothing like that…”
Blake’s only trauma is ‘that child’. As far as she knows, there’s no trauma of being branded a scoundrel.
Then why is he acting like this?
Should I ask him later? Or is it better to just pretend not to notice?
“Then let’s all sleep here tonight, and tomorrow when the Duke is feeling better, we’ll continue the remaining discussion.”
Sensing the unsettled atmosphere, Angelina adjourned the meeting. It would be meaningless to make plans without Blake anyway.
“Catherine, I have a few more things I want to ask you. Stay and have some tea with me.”
Angelina suggested Catherine stay behind alone so she could ask more about the child called ‘Lina’.
Then Laura interjected.
“I’ll stay too.”
“Alright then.”
Having no reason to refuse, Angelina nodded while picking up Pudding who was rolling around at her feet.
“My Lady, I too…!”
“Haley, get some rest. Today was tough.”
“Yes…”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, My Lady.”
“Yes. Jake, good work today.”
He only left the room after confirming that Mason and Sean had departed.
After watching the door click shut, Angelina let out a small sigh.
“Lord Jake is amazing too. He could have been startled, but he didn’t show it at all.”
“Both Lord Jake and Haley think the same as I do.”
Whatever Angelina was planning to do, these were the people who considered protecting her their top priority.
“…What am I to deserve this.”
Angelina muttered quietly.
Her heart felt heavy whenever she felt such love. She resented the fate that meant she had to die and leave all of them behind.
After staring at the closed door for a while, Angelina spoke.
“Laura.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Later. Much later…”
About two years from now.
“When I have to leave…”
“….”
“Please take care of my brother.”
Hoping these warm hearts that cherished her would gather to protect her brother.
“My Lady.”
Laura, sensing something strange in Angelina’s words, frowned and took a step closer.
“Are you thinking of going somewhere far…”
But she couldn’t finish her question.
“Sniff?”
Pudding in Angelina’s arms suddenly lifted its head, interrupting.
“Sniff! Grrrr!!”
Then, as if smelling something unpleasant, it snorted and shook its face. Not satisfied with just that, it wiped its face vigorously and threw a tantrum toward the window.
“Kyaak!”
Angelina chuckled at this sight and headed to the window. Catherine and Laura followed.
When she pulled back the curtains, moonlight poured in.
“Not a single cloud in sight.”
When she opened the window wide, the cold ocean night breeze enveloped her.
“Welcome, Aesi.”
She called that name into the empty air.
And then…
Whoosh.
Like moonlight rippling into a mirage, a Milky Way-like light swirled onto the balcony.
Where the stars scattered, he sat.
“You’re blonde today?”
Angelina welcomed him joyfully.
***
“What were you doing not posting guards there!”
“The High Priest said we only needed to seal the tomb and entrance properly…”
“You should have secured the perimeter as a basic measure!”
Crash!
High Priest Wyatt threw whatever was visible at him. After throwing it, he realized it was a bottle containing blood.
As the glass bottle shattered, blood splattered everywhere. The white priest’s robes were stained red.
Derek couldn’t lift his head. High Priest Wyatt wasn’t just angry about the stolen sacred object.
“What are we going to do about the Saint’s Vessel.”
Catherine had disappeared.
They had been uneasy about Catherine since acknowledging her as the Saint’s Vessel. She had been troublesome in many ways from the start, and the Grand Temple had a headache because she happened to be the Vessel.
But the sacred object’s clear reaction was undeniable. Moreover, such a strong reaction hadn’t occurred since the ‘First Flower’.
And now Catherine had disappeared.
“To think that wench would join hands with the Magic Tower Master…”
Wyatt clicked his tongue while looking at the broken detention room door.
“Did she really join hands with them? Could she have been kidnapped…”
“Is this the first time she’s looked for a chance to escape?!”
After failing every time before, this time she succeeded.
Sweetsango24
The first flower and the girl that Blake found was Angelina, right?