I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 164
“Hmmm, but still… a banquet… I’m a little nervous,” Sarubia muttered as she hugged her pillow tightly.
“What’s there to be nervous about?”
“Well… what if a noble spills their drink on me on purpose, pretending it’s an accident?”
“Then I’ll pretend it’s an accident and get rid of them.”
“Come on, you’re joking, right?”
“I’m not.”
As Rufus spoke, his hand was already resting on the sword hanging at his waist. Sarubia looked at him and his sword in disbelief.
“Uh, Rufus… I’m going to witness the death of every noble I meet at the banquet tomorrow. If anyone dies because of you, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I’ll make sure we sleep in separate rooms even after we’re married.”
“…I won’t kill anyone.”
“Good. You’re so obedient, just like a dog.”
“I told you, call me a puppy instead…”
Feeling Sarubia’s hand stroking his hair, Rufus grumbled under his breath.
“Sarubia, you don’t need to worry about the banquet tomorrow. Just stick close to me.”
“And what if there’s a situation where I can’t be by your side?”
Sarubia chuckled softly, looking up at Rufus.
“No one can predict what will happen, Rufus.”
A gentle breeze from somewhere made the lanterns flicker, casting a deep shadow over Rufus’s navy blue hair.
“Good night, Rufus.”
“Good night to you too.”
Rufus kissed Sarubia’s forehead one last time, then turned off the lights and left the room.
“…”
Lying in bed, Sarubia waited for the sound of Rufus’s footsteps to fade away.
How much time had passed?
The corridor fell silent long after Rufus had left.
‘He’s gone.’
Once she was sure Rufus had departed, Sarubia quickly got out of bed. Reigniting the still-warm embers, she pulled a thick robe from the closet and slipped it on before quietly opening the door.
“Oh, Saintess. I thought you were asleep… Are you heading somewhere?”
The guard standing by her door bowed as he addressed her.
“Yes, I have somewhere I need to go,” Sarubia whispered softly to the soldier.
“Would you accompany me, Mr. Soldier?”
***
There was a time when Rufus, too, had feared the darkness.
Pitch blackness, where you couldn’t even see an inch ahead. Just imagining what horrors might occur in such darkness used to unsettle him.
But now, things were different. The darkness was Rufus’s friend.
Hiding his figure within the dense shadows, Rufus made his way to the forest outside the palace. It was the same forest he had visited earlier that day with Sarubia.
‘It’s a forest that you can only reach by passing through the palace. Only those who know of it ever come here.’
The moment Sarubia had said that, Rufus thought:
Perfect.
It was the ideal place to meet the witch Odr. The forest, separated from the palace covered in silver, which demons avoided, and with almost no human visitors.
There was no longer any need to travel to the demon lord’s castle through Iruel to meet the witch Odr. He was already under scrutiny from the scribes, who grew suspicious of his nightly meetings with Iruel.
Earlier that afternoon, he had already sent a message to the witch Odr using Iruel’s magic. Now, all he had to do was wait for her.
As he stood under a rotting tree, he suddenly heard a strange crackling sound beneath his feet.
‘What’s that?’
Puzzled, Rufus looked down.
A bright red toad poked its head out from the dark soil. It was a demonic creature, one of the same species that the witch Odr kept as a pet.
The toad flicked its blue tongue, staring intently at Rufus.
‘Tsk.’
Just as Rufus was about to chase it away by igniting a flame with his magic, the toad suddenly opened its mouth and shouted—
“Demon King! It’s the Demon King!”
“What?”
Rufus, startled, stopped his magic and frowned. The toad jumped up and down in place after emerging from the soil.
“Demon King! It is an honor to meet you, Demon King!”
The toad kept bowing to Rufus, though with its short neck, the gesture barely showed.
“…”
Rufus stared down at the demonic toad, wondering what nonsense it was spouting.
“I’m not the Demon King.”
“Lies. The Demon King is telling lies.”
“I’m not the Demon King. I’m human.”
“Human? The Demon King is a human?”
The bright red toad tilted its head in confusion.
Upon closer inspection, it was true. The man standing before it had the appearance of a human. But the aura emanating from him didn’t seem entirely human.
What was going on?
The toad scratched its head with its short front legs, making a groaning sound.
The toad waddled over and leapt onto Rufus’s head. Dirt clung to its body and scattered as it jumped, causing Rufus’s face to twist in irritation.
“What does this creature think it’s doing…!”
“Demon King! I can smell the Demon King’s scent!”
Sniffing loudly, the toad exclaimed in excitement as it sniffed Rufus.
“Demon King! All the demonic creatures of this world worship you!”
The red toad climbed back down and bowed low to the ground.
“…”
Upon hearing the toad’s words, Rufus began to piece things together.
The Demon King’s heart.
The scent of the Demon King must have been coming from his body, where the heart resided.
“…No.”
Rufus unconsciously took a step back. But the toad’s enthusiastic tongue continued to flap.
“Demon King! Demon King!”
As the toad kept shouting, an uncontrollable rage suddenly welled up inside Rufus.
