I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 100
Before Rufus could approach her, Sarubia shouted loudly.
A Saintess who prophesies death.
Upon hearing those words, Rufus froze on the spot.
In that brief moment, a myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Sarubia had been hiding the fact that she was a Saintess, but why reveal it now here?
Why, indeed?
Rufus quickly turned his head towards the royal knights accompanying him. They seemed bewildered by Sarubia’s sudden declaration. However, Sarubia didn’t care at all.
“With the authority of a Saintess blessed by the divine, I command!”
Her voice trembled but resounded magnificently.
“Royal knights, if you wish to find Prince Tarek, take me to the borderlands with you!”
***
Sarubia’s statement turned the royal palace upside down.
At first, it wasn’t so. The knights tried not to believe her claim of being a Saintess.
It was to be expected. A woman they had never seen before claimed to be a Saintess, and they were supposed to just believe her?
But when Sarubia showed the mark on her shoulder as evidence, the knights shut their mouths.
“Our apologies for not recognizing you, Saintess!”
Then they nearly fell from their horses as they rushed to bow repeatedly.
The mark of the Saintess was absolute. It was a sacred symbol that no one could forge.
The news of an unknown Saintess appearing at the palace soon reached the king’s ears.
“A Saintess has appeared, asking to be taken to the borderlands?”
Woken from his sleep, the king rushed to his office without even having time to straighten his hair.
“Yes, Your Majesty! Moreover, she added that she could determine Prince Tarek’s whereabouts!”
At the secretary’s report, the king’s eyes widened in shock.
“What did you say? What is her unique magic?”
“She prophesizes death.”
“Oh, good God.”
Tears welled up in the king’s eyes as he looked down at the Saintess that had appeared before him.
In the Kingdom of Hevania, a Saintess was a rare being. One might appear once every few decades, and the king could not refuse an audience with such a precious entity.
“Is this true, Saintess?”
“Ah, yes.”
Sarubia, who had unexpectedly been summoned before the king, replied hesitantly.
She had thought revealing herself as a Saintess would elicit a big reaction, but she hadn’t expected to be standing in front of the king.
‘This is turning into a bigger deal than I thought.’
Aware of the king before her, Sarubia took a deep breath.
“Saintess, you say you bear prophecies of death? Then, can you tell if my son, Prince Tarek, is alive?”
“To prophesize death, I need clues. I would have to see the traces left by His Highness in the borderlands myself to make a definitive statement.”
Moved by Sarubia’s words, the king began to shed tears.
“Please, I beg of you, find my son, Prince Tarek!”
“I will try my best, but I cannot guarantee anything.”
However, the king was no longer listening to her words.
“Now that the Saintess has appeared, my son Tarek will surely return soon!”
He seemed to already see his son returning, ready to throw a feast to celebrate the prince’s return at any moment.
After that, everything proceeded swiftly. By the king’s command, Saintess Sarubia was also sent to the borderlands to search for Prince Tarek. And Rufus was assigned to be Sarubia’s escort.
“……Why.”
Suddenly appointed as Sarubia’s escort knight, Rufus.
Still not fully grasping the situation, Rufus could only stare blankly at Sarubia.
“Why did you do that.”
How did things turn out this way?
Just a few hours ago, he had been trying to put Sarubia to bed, but now he was taking her to the borderlands on horseback.
If possible, he wanted to send Sarubia back to her quarters right away.
The road to the borderlands was rough. Without paved roads, they had to traverse rugged mountain paths, withstand attacks from starving beasts, and at night, visibility was so poor that travel was impossible. They had to camp out, breathing in the dirt from the ground. Even Rufus, who had made the journey several times, found it hard to get used to the hardship.
The thought of Sarubia enduring such hardships was terrifying.
“We’ll see each other soon, didn’t we say?”
Sarubia smiled brightly.
“That meant to see each other after a week.”
“Is that so? I couldn’t wait a week.”
Sarubia cheekily replied.
What was he supposed to do now?
Rufus pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
He felt suffocated.
It wasn’t that he was angry because Sarubia didn’t listen to him.
He was worried.
Worried about the difficult journey Sarubia was about to embark on and the revelation of her identity to others.
“Sarubia.”
Rufus looked up at Sarubia on the horse with a serious gaze.
“Let me ask you one thing. Weren’t you supposed to keep the fact that you’re a Saintess a secret?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then why suddenly reveal it?”
To that question, Sarubia looked straight at Rufus as if he had asked a silly question.
“For you.”
“For me?”
“Yes. Everything I do is for you.”
“Are you saying going to the borderlands with me is for my sake?”
“Of course. And Lord Rufus, it seems a bit rude for a Saintess, doesn’t it?”
Sarubia glanced at the knights waiting behind them.
“……My apologies, Saintess.”
Upon Sarubia’s remark, Rufus bowed his head.
