I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 105
Once, twice, and then again, Rufus kissed Sarubia, whispering through the breaths that rushed in.
“I am in love with you, Sarubia.”
I’ll tell you as many times as it takes.
“Daringly, I do.”
Because saying it once is never enough.
“I love you this much.”
Once again, Sarubia’s lips deeply embraced Rufus’s.
Their intimate conversation continued for quite some time afterward.
***
Some distance away from the capital, at the Eustice Viscounty, an uninvited guest arrived.
“Hey there, Viscount Eustice.”
The estate door opened with a bang.
“Your son didn’t die and has returned. Come out to greet him.”
Pushing aside the servant guarding the entrance, the figure that emerged was a large young man, silhouetted against the sun, his ash-colored hair faintly visible.
He was chewing on jerky, one hand shoved in his trouser pocket, scanning the interior of the estate with his dark, flashing eyes.
Responding to the butler’s call, a middle-aged couple and their children hurriedly arrived.
“Oh, you’ve come back, Iruel.”
The middle-aged woman, dressed neatly, greeted the man with a stiff smile. She was the wife of the Viscount Eustice.
“Yes, the prodigal son who went to war has returned, lucky to be alive. How have you all been?”
Iruel casually inquired after his father’s wife, the viscountess.
Seeing Iruel unharmed, the viscountess gritted her teeth.
‘How on earth did he return unscathed?’
Wasn’t it said that soldiers who went off to fight the demons almost always died or would come back gravely injured? Yet, how did Iruel return without a scratch, just as he had left?
Internally cursing, the viscountess forced a smile.
“We’ve all been well. It’s a relief that you’ve returned safely.”
“A relief?”
Iruel glanced at the others gathered beside the viscountess. His two younger half-siblings caught his eye. Barely in their twenties, they were the legitimate heirs to the Eustice Viscounty.
Iruel’s two half-siblings turned their heads away stiffly, offering no greeting, not even a perfunctory ‘welcome back’. Particularly, the sister among them could hardly meet Iruel’s gaze.
‘Even if I had almost died and returned, nothing changes.’
Iruel clicked his tongue in frustration.
Of course, he was accustomed to such cold treatment. Ever since the witch Odr sent him to the viscount’s family, it had always been this way.
Back then, he struggled to win their love. He moved desperately to catch a glimpse of their attention. He groveled hopelessly to share a laugh with them.
But it was all in vain.
Iruel’s father, Viscount Eustice, looked at him as if he were a monster. The viscount never once called him by his name.
His stepmother, the Viscountess Eustice, treated him like an impurity. Slapping or hitting him was commonplace for her. His two half-siblings were no different.
Why had he wasted so much of his heart trying to receive their love? They had never once considered Iruel as family.
Iruel scoffed.
“What a relief. You must be pissed off that I didn’t die, right? Or not?”
The face of Viscountess Eustice turned pale.
“Iruel!”
A middle-aged man by the viscountess’s side yelled furiously.
“What kind of attitude is that towards the Viscountess! Show some manners!”
Iruel clicked his tongue and turned away. The neatly dressed Viscount Eustice was glaring at Iruel with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Respect is only shown to those who deserve it, Viscount.”
Thud, thud.
Iruel, who had been chewing jerky, spat it out and walked towards Viscount Eustice.
“So, Viscount, have you been well?”
“Yeah. I’ve been well.”
A cold response came from the viscount’s mouth.
Iruel grinned.
“Of course, you must have been so happy while I was away from the viscounty. You thought you were rid of me, didn’t you?”
Viscount Eustice clenched his fist tightly. The veins on his hand seemed like they would burst at any moment.
Unable to watch any longer, one of Iruel’s half-siblings stepped forward.
“You’re being too harsh, Brother. We were all worried about you…”
“Yeah, cut it out.”
Iruel cut off his sibling’s words.
“I know you never thought or worried about me, so just stay quiet.”
“Brother…”
“’Brother’, my foot. Do you sleep with your brother?”
Iruel’s mockery made his half-sibling’s face turn red.
Viscountess Eustice, however, turned completely pale.
“What do you mean by that? Sleep together?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, Mother! Brother is saying weird things…”
“What nonsense. You’re the one who came to my room begging to sleep together.”
Iruel interrupted his half-sibling.
“Brother!”
His half-sibling’s face turned crimson as he screamed.
“Don’t say such filthy, untrue things! How can you make up such vulgar lies!”
“Lies? Look at you, trying to make me out to be the bad guy.”
Iruel clicked his tongue and strode towards his half-sibling.
“Don’t come any closer!”
The younger of the viscounty’s siblings stepped in front of Iruel to block him. Iruel ignored him and continued towards his ‘younger half-sister’.
