I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 12
“…”
The maid, seated on the sofa, closed her lips tightly. It seemed like a question she couldn’t easily answer.
A sigh escaped Rufus, who had sat down next to her, looking defeated.
He gazed up at the pristine white ceiling, which seemed to overlap with the painful image of his grandmother coughing uncontrollably.
It felt cruel, like a harsh afterimage.
“…Next year.”
With closed eyes, Rufus murmured weakly.
“Next year, in the spring, my brother is having his coming-of-age ceremony.”
Yes, came the quiet response from the maid.
“Will my grandmother be able to see that?”
Again, there was silence. Rufus instinctively understood the meaning of this silence. Edel was right. This year marked the last year he could spend with his grandmother.
“…One week.”
After a prolonged, chilling silence within the room, the maid cautiously spoke up.
“She can live for another week.”
“That’s too short.”
Just a week. Only seven days left. He had wished that she would at least make it through the winter this year.
“How will she pass away?”
With his eyes closed, Rufus asked in a hushed tone.
Would she linger in pain before passing away, or would she peacefully fall asleep and never awaken?
“Is there a way to prevent her death?”
If her health was poor, maybe they could seek valuable remedies to improve it. Perhaps her vitality could be restored.
“Is there any way at all?”
Not yet, not yet, it can’t be.
Until now, their grandmother had struggled to raise Rufus and his younger brother all by herself.
Her ten fingers were swollen to the point where she couldn’t even wear a gold ring, her body was nothing but a frail skeleton, she had never tasted anything delicious, and had never worn a pretty dress.
“You said not to ask about anything else.”
The maid gently reminded him.
“…Right.”
Rufus quietly nodded.
A promise was a promise. He couldn’t burden her any further.
“Is the predestined death of your family a sad thing for you?”
Rufus remained silent in the face of the maid’s simple question.
“I’m fine.”
The maid quietly got up from the sofa.
“There is still time.”
As she rose from the couch, the maid walked over to Rufus.
Her small hand gently caressed Rufus’s cheek.
Rufus didn’t refuse her touch. He couldn’t resist the warmth that emanated from her rough hands, punctuated with calluses.
He’d rather stay like this forever.
Tick, tock.
Time passed slowly.
His chest felt tight. It was a bitter pain. It felt like his heart might shatter into pieces.
“It’s okay to cry.”
The maid whispered to Rufus, who had rested his head on her shoulder.
Like soothing a child, the maid comforted him. As she gently stroked his back, tears threatened to spill at any moment.
Not wanting that, he closed his eyes.
In the imperfect darkness, memories of days gone by resurfaced.
His grandmother, who was strong yet compassionate.
His grandmother, who had confidently ruled the Inferna Domain even after losing her husband.
His grandmother, who read stories to Rufus before bedtime, accompanied by a warm cup of tea.
His grandmother, who had silently patted Rufus’s head when he first used magic.
His grandmother who, after Rufus’s parents passed away, had held him tightly and emphasized the importance of standing tall.
His grandmother, who had tightly grasped Rufus’s hands when he was forced to join the Demon Hunting Corps.
And his grandmother who, upon Rufus’s return after defeating the Demon King, had said, “I knew you could do it.”
He could bear it no longer.
Rufus hugged the maid tightly. Eventually, the sound of sobbing filled the air. The maid gently held the man’s body to her bosom.
But she did not smile.
***
‘Did that guy really slash off the head of the Demon King?’
The King looked down at the severed head of the Demon King, Audixus, offered to him by Rufus, and clicked his tongue.
The King remembered Rufus quite well.
There was no way he could forget him. How could he forget the man who had proposed to Princess Sordid despite being the lowest-ranking and most insignificant among all the suitors?
That’s why the King had purposely sent Rufus to the demon subjugation army, hoping that the boy would meet an early death on the battlefield.
However, Rufus had returned perfectly fine and had even brought the Demon King’s head.
