I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 111
Rufus and his group arrived at the border the next evening.
“Have you arrived, Lord Rufus?”
The commanders of the subjugation army welcomed Rufus.
After Rufus had beheaded the Demon King, the majority of the soldiers had withdrawn.
However, the death of the Demon King did not mean the extinction of the demons. To handle any remaining demons that might still be present, some soldiers were still stationed at the border.
The commanders managing the remaining forces had already received reports through messenger birds sent by the royal mages from the capital that Rufus had been dispatched. Additionally, they were aware that a Saintess who prophesied death was accompanying Rufus.
The commanders looked at the woman standing next to Rufus.
“This must be the Saintess.”
“Call me… call me Sarubia.”
Sarubia hastily changed her tone. She had lived almost her entire life as a maid and was not accustomed to speaking down to anyone.
The commanders looked at Sarubia with curious eyes. They were greatly intrigued by her, who had concealed her identity all her life and had suddenly appeared.
Rufus interrupted their attention.
“Report.”
At his command, the commanders led Rufus and Sarubia into the tent.
The majority of the forces remaining at the border were searching for the missing Prince Tarek. The commanders had been racking their brains daily in strategy meetings to find the prince.
A map of the border was spread out on a large round table, covered entirely with red dots.
Sarubia initially wondered why there were so many scribbles on the map. However, she soon realized that those dots represented the locations of the search troops looking for Prince Tarek.
Several days had passed since Prince Tarek went missing.
The search continued, but no clues indicating the prince’s whereabouts had been found so far. The only trace found was a piece of the prince’s outer garment, which Rufus had first discovered.
“We have dispatched soldiers to every possible location. However, so far, there is no good news.”
‘Of course not.’
Rufus scoffed inwardly. Currently, Prince Tarek’s head was displayed on the walls of the capital, and his body was likely being torn apart by wild dogs.
“Saintess, can you determine the whereabouts of His Highness the Prince?”
The commanders turned to Sarubia.
At this point, with no results, the Saintess who prophesied death was an invaluable ally to them.
Rufus watched Sarubia closely, curious about what action she would take.
Sarubia took a deep breath.
“…Lead me to the tent where Prince Tarek had resided.”
Step, step.
Rufus watched as Sarubia walked ahead of him.
What was she thinking?
In her previous life, Sarubia had clearly told Rufus that she could see the deaths of others.
As far as Rufus knew, for Sarubia to use her unique magic, she needed to see the person’s eyes. When Rufus had once asked her to prophesy the death of Baroness Inferna, it was the same. Sarubia had to meet her in person to predict Baroness Inferna’s death.
Although Sarubia had said she needed traces left by the person to predict their death, Rufus knew this was a lie.
Prince Tarek was already dead. Therefore, Sarubia could not ‘predict’ his death.
Yet, why had she insisted on coming to the border, even going so far as to lie to the king?
Simply because she wanted to be with Rufus? Or because she wanted to offer him at least some help?
Ruminating over the doubts he had harbored all the way to the border, Rufus followed Sarubia.
“We are here.”
The commanders stood in front of the tent where Prince Tarek had once stayed.
“Open the door.”
Sarubia commanded the commanders.
The commanders were taken aback.
“Pardon, Your Eminence…”
“What is it?”
“The sight inside is not pleasant… I am worried you might be shocked by what you see.”
The commanders who had seen inside the tent had been haunted by nightmares for a while. Even they, accustomed to the battlefield, were disturbed, so what of a Saintess from the capital?
Concerned, Rufus also turned to Sarubia.
“The commanders are right, Lady Sarubia. You don’t need to look inside.”
Horrific events had occurred inside. Royal knights had slain demons, and Witch Od had beheaded the knights. Later, Prince Tarek had exploded two demons.
It was a gruesome place. He did not want to expose Sarubia to such a sight.
“Open it.”
Sarubia commanded again with a trembling voice, her head held high.
“I will see for myself.”
“Lady Sarubia…”
“I appreciate your concern, Lord Rufus.”
Sarubia gripped the hem of her garment tightly.
“But there is something I need to verify.”
At Sarubia’s firm command, the commanders opened the door of the tent. Torches invaded the darkness trapped inside.
Instantly, a foul smell assaulted Rufus’s nose. He bit his lower lip without realizing.
The interior of the tent was covered in bloodstains. Flies buzzed over the rotten stench.
“…”
Sarubia scanned the inside of the tent with a stern face.
“As you may have heard, this place is where Lord Rufus had beheaded the Demon King.”
From behind, a commander with his nose covered by his robe spoke up.
“Here is where we found the blood-stained outer garment of Prince Tarek. There were corpses of royal knights and demons too.”
“Indeed. When I arrived here, Demon King Audixus was killing the royal knights.”
Rufus continued to lie as he observed Sarubia’s complexion.
Sarubia might never have encountered a demon in her life. She was probably not accustomed to such stories. He was worried she might be greatly shocked.
“Lady Sarubia, are you alright?”
Rufus supported Sarubia.
“…”
Sarubia stared intensely inside the tent. She seemed to have lost her ability to speak at the horrific sight. Her eyes trembled like candles in the wind.
