I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 16
Rufus turned Sarubia’s head towards him. His lips pressed down on hers.
Warm sensations flooded into his mouth indiscriminately. His tongue explored every corner of her mouth.
“Ahh…”
Sarubia’s breath echoed in his ear. Her body arched.
I want to see more.
I want to touch more.
Continuing the kiss, Rufus untied the laces at the back of Sarubia’s dress.
At his gentle touch on her back, Sarubia shuddered.
“Wa, wait, just a moment!”
The fabric slid down. Sarubia’s bare shoulders were now exposed.
Rufus stiffened.
“You…”
“Don’t look.”
Sarubia pulled the dress up around her neck, but it was not enough to hide her body.
Beneath the mark of the Saint on Sarubia’s shoulder, there were many fresh wounds.
Grotesque scars crisscrossed her skin, and new wounds layered on top of the ones that hadn’t healed yet.
There was surely nothing when he saw her three years ago. She was in perfect health with no wounds.
But now, why…
“You told me you’ve been eating well and living comfortably for the past three years.”
“…”
Sarubia turned her head away.
Her silence was frustrating.
Unconsciously, Rufus looked at the sword he had tossed onto the bed.
The sword personally granted by Baroness Inferna, his grandmother. A weapon that could easily cut the demon king’s neck with a single blow.
“Who did this?”
“Why, are you going to kill that person?”
“Yes.”
Rufus meant it.
Sarubia, who stared into his eyes, let out a soft sigh.
“It’s tough working in the royal palace.”
“Has your mistress been giving you a hard time?”
When Rufus turned his gaze back to his sword, Sarubia hurriedly stopped him.
“If you kill the princess, you’ll die too.”
It seems like the princess was indeed the cause.
Princess Sordid had treated her subordinates so disrespectfully.
His feelings toward Princess Sordid had changed from the time when he had gone to the subjugation army. The affection he might have once felt for the princess had now turned into hatred.
“It must hurt.”
“If you know, then stop looking.”
“Have you applied any medicine?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s useless. They just keep coming.”
“…”
Rufus didn’t know what to say to Sarubia’s response.
How much had she suffered? How long had she endured those unhealed wounds on her own?
“It’s really nothing compared to how much you’ve suffered so much. Don’t worry about it.”
Sarubia forced a smile.
“Sarubia.”
Rufus looked straight into her eyes.
“Don’t compare pain.”
Just because I’m hurt doesn’t mean you’re not.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Rufus kissed the still-healing wounds on Sarubia’s shoulder.
“Ugh…”
The area his tongue touched stung.
At first, she groaned involuntarily due to the stinging pain. However, as time passed, her pain gradually eased, and the unhealed wounds on her shoulder began to heal on their own.
“W-What are you doing?”
Breathing heavily, Sarubia asked.
“I’m giving you my magic.”
“Magic…? Oh, you’re a noble. I’m a commoner, and I don’t have any magic…”
Even for a saint, having magic was a separate issue. Even with the saint’s stigmata, Sarubia couldn’t use magic at all.
Without magic, she must not have been able to take care of herself all this time.
It hurt as if her heart had been pierced by a large needle.
“Where else.”
“Huh?”
“Where else are the wounds on your body?”
Sarubia forgot how to breathe when Rufus asked that.
“…You want to do it to those other places too?”
“It’s for treatment.”
“Don’t do it. Are you going to lick my feet too?”
“Yes. Take off your shoes.”
Sarubia stared at the man sitting next to her in a daze. His expression seemed sincere.
“No, how could I let you, Lord Rufus, do something like that…”
“It’s Rufus. Drop the formality.”
“If I call a noble by their name like that, I’ll be arrested.”
“If you get arrested, I’ll take responsibility.”
With that said, Rufus grabbed Sarubia’s shoe. She panicked when she saw him taking off her worn leather shoe.
“M-My feet are perfectly fine!”
However, Rufus was a man who wouldn’t believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.
One small shoe rolled onto the carpet. After a while, the sock fell under the sofa. The wounds on her calves were exposed. It wasn’t just one or two.
How much.
How much did it hurt?
She was a delicate woman whose body was so tender that she couldn’t bear even a single thorn. But how had she endured so many wounds on her body?
