I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 112
“Saintess, have you inferred the whereabouts of His Highness Prince Tarek?”
The commanders urged Sarubia.
To them, Sarubia was the last hope. If they couldn’t find Prince Tarek, not only Rufus’s neck would be at risk. The commanders in charge of the search would also not be able to escape responsibility.
Rufus and the commanders all watched Sarubia closely.
“…Just a moment.”
After a long pause, Sarubia finally responded.
“Just a moment… I want to be alone.”
Her voice was uncontrollably shaky.
***
Having declared her need for solitude, Sarubia sequestered herself inside the tent that was set up for her.
Time continued to pass.
The sun had completely set beyond the horizon, and darkness once again visited the land.
Eventually, a pale moon rose, casting a bluish light on Sarubia’s tent.
“…”
The royal knights who accompanied her waited in tension.
The commanders could only pace back and forth.
“We thought everything would be resolved once the Saintess arrived…”
“Why isn’t she saying anything? What kind of prophecy is she about to make?”
Unable to even eat their dinner, they were pulling their hair out in anxiety.
“…”
Rufus stood in front of the entrance of the tent, waiting for Sarubia in silence.
He had at least expected to be allowed inside the tent.
Sarubia had denied even Rufus’s entry, repeatedly insisting on being alone.
It was making him uneasy.
What exactly was Sarubia thinking? Why had she looked so distressed?
‘It must have been the horrific scene that shocked her.’
That was the only explanation he could think of. There was no other obvious reason why she would have turned so pale and trembled.
Though it was a distant memory now, Rufus himself had reacted similarly during his first subjugation campaign.
After being splattered with the blood of a dead squad member and stepping on the flesh of a fallen comrade, he had thrown up everything he ate for days.
It seemed Sarubia was similarly shocked.
Rufus felt a surge of guilt for having caused Sarubia such distress. He should have insisted from the start that she not look.
While he was berating himself, the tent flap suddenly slid open.
Sarubia emerged from the darkness.
“Saintess!”
The waiting knights and commanders hurried toward her.
“What has happened? Where is His Highness Prince Tarek?”
“Can His Highness be found?”
The questions came one after another, incessantly.
Rufus pushed through the rushing knights and commanders.
“How dare you crowd Lady Sarubia? Give her some space.”
“O-Our apologies.”
Chastened by Rufus’s shout, the search party stepped back.
“Lady Sarubia, do you have something to tell us?”
Rufus turned to Sarubia.
“…”
Sarubia looked directly at Rufus. Unexpectedly, she said nothing and simply smiled faintly.
Seeing that smile…
‘Ah.’
It was bewildering. Extremely so.
He couldn’t read her at all.
Her thoughts, her feelings, her heart.
He couldn’t decipher any of it.
Just hours ago, she had been trembling with fear. She had been lost in thought, hardly opening her mouth.
But now.
She was smiling brightly as if nothing had happened, as if her mind had suddenly cleared. Her smile was so unnaturally radiant, it almost seemed fake.
What had changed her mind in the meantime?
Rufus met Sarubia’s eyes. Her eyes sparkled like the sun, golden. Those eyes that Rufus loved.
Sarubia, with a beaming smile, flashed him another big grin.
At that moment, he felt as if he had been struck by a hammer.
Just like last time.
Last time, before the fireworks ended, before Sarubia was killed by the king, she had smiled at Rufus.
Exactly like this.
As this thought suddenly surfaced, Rufus found himself speaking without realizing.
“Sarubia, what…!”
“He is alive.”
Sarubia interrupted him.
Her proclamation stirred up the search party.
“He is alive… alive…!”
“Soldiers of the Hevania Kingdom, hear my prophecy.”
Passing by the frozen Rufus, Sarubia spoke in a clear voice.
“I, Sarubia, the Saintess who prophesizes death, did not see the death of Prince Tarek.”
“That means…”
“Yes.”
Sarubia declared firmly.
“Tarek, Third Prince of the Hevania Kingdom, is alive.”
***
Iruel, who had fallen in the forest, opened his eyes again.
The night sky was visible. It was a beautiful scene, like fine jewels scattered across. Some of the stars twinkled brightly, flaunting their brilliance.
Why was the sky visible?
Iruel sat up abruptly. Something light slid down from his body. Someone had covered him with a thin blanket.
‘What’s this?’
Bewildered, Iruel looked around. There was nothing in sight. No trees, no grass, no dirt, nothing.
Iruel was lying not in the forest, but on the rock of a cliff.
Where was this?
“Are you awake?”
A familiar voice came from nearby.
“Mother.”
A woman seated high on the rock appeared. Her red hair shone with a fine luster under the moonlight, and her deep green robes calmly swayed with the wind. The mark of a witch was clearly visible on her forehead.
The witch Odr was leisurely knitting.
“He…llo…?”
Staring blankly at his mother, Iruel uttered a dumbfounded greeting.
“Hello, my dear little son.”
