I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 167
It was a skill he had picked up to pass the boring hours at the orphanage. Who knew it would prove so useful.
The next day, Roned and Primrose sold a total of three baskets.
They had money.
So Roned began sneaking around other farms at night, stealing small amounts of straw. He and Primrose would twist the straw into baskets until dawn. The next day, he would take the drowsy Primrose to sell the baskets.
After a few months of this, they had enough money to buy meat.
For the first time, they bought and ate ham. He still vividly remembers how Primrose’s eyes widened with amazement.
As they started to accumulate money, Roned became more obsessive about work. He didn’t just make baskets but also straw hats, raincoats, cushions, and other small household items to sell. For some reason, Primrose particularly enjoyed making brooms.
Every night, she would play with the broom she had made, reminding him of a witch. It made him uneasy, and since brooms didn’t sell for much, he stopped her from making any more.
They worked tirelessly, day and night, earning money. Eventually, they could afford not just ham but also proper cuts of meat to grill and eat. They also no longer had to sleep under a bridge; they could sleep under the roof of a storage shed.
It was a much better life than when they had started, beyond what he could have imagined. But something was still missing.
They needed money. More than they had now.
Wandering the streets all day, breathing in dust, was reaching its limit. He wanted to set up a proper shop in the market. But they didn’t have enough money to start a business.
He drastically reduced their spending on food. He didn’t spend money on clothes.
Whenever Primrose woke up at night, crying that she was cold and hungry, he ignored her.
‘Listen carefully, Primrose. I need to save money.’
‘What are you going to do with it?’
‘I’m going to spend it.’
‘If you’re going to spend it anyway, why not spend it now?’
‘That’s called waste. You’re too young to understand. Just listen to me.’
But no matter how tightly he tightened his belt and suppressed his hunger, the money didn’t pile up.
It was frustrating. Why, despite his best efforts to live properly, was the money not staying in his hands?
As Roned groaned over the ledger, it happened.
‘Brother.’
‘I’m busy. Be quiet.’
‘Brother, it’s urgent. Something’s on my shoulder.’
‘What is it? Did you hurt yourself? What a bother… We don’t have money for medicine, so make sure you clean it well.’
‘It’s not a wound. There’s a strange mark on it. Look.’
Unable to resist Primrose’s pestering, he looked up. What he saw completely captured his attention.
The Saintess’s mark.
On Primrose’s shoulder, the mark of the Saintess had clearly appeared.
The first thought that came to his mind was:
—Ah, this could make money.
***
Clank!
The sudden sharp metallic sound interrupted Roned’s thoughts.
Startled, Roned looked up, and there stood a soldier beyond the iron bars, holding a torch.
Had Prince Camus finally lost his temper and sent someone to kill him? Terrified, Roned groaned and shrank back.
Then he noticed the armband on the soldier.
A silver lizard emblem. It was the symbol of Prince Tarek.
Roned squinted.
Why was a soldier of Prince Tarek here?
As if to deepen his suspicion, someone emerged from behind the soldier.
The figure was clad in a pitch-black robe, their small frame resembling that of a child.
Who was this person?
As his fear subsided, curiosity began to take hold. The figure removed their robe, revealing fine, ivory-colored hair cascading down.
Roned gasped.
“P-Primrose!”
“No, it’s Sarubia.”
Her face, reflecting the torchlight in a reddish hue, calmly spoke.
“W-What’s going on, Primrose! Why did you show up only now! Damn it, I’m in this mess because of you! No, wait a minute. Why are you even here…?”
As he stared directly at her face, Roned snapped back to his senses as if doused in cold water and crawled forward. His expression fluctuated between hope and despair as he clung to the bars.
“Oh, I get it! You’ve come to rescue your brother! Of course, what could you do without your brother, right?”
Roned clung to her, acting as if he had never resented her.
Primrose had come to save him! She must have heard that Prince Camus, angry at not meeting the Saintess, had thrown him in prison, and she had come to save him—
“No.”
A cold word dropped like a melting ice shard onto the floor.
“…What?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come to save you.”
The Saintess looked down at Roned, who was clinging to the bars, with a cold gaze. Roned looked up at her in a daze.
“Primrose… Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
Why was she calling him with such distance, not even calling him ‘Brother’?
“What’s going on, Primrose? Why are you saying such things…?”
Instead of answering, the Saintess gestured to the soldier accompanying her.
Click. The soldier unlocked the padlock. With an ear-piercing sound, the prison door swung open. Roned rushed out as if spilling through the door.
He had to catch her.
He couldn’t allow her to speak such harsh words to him. After all, how had he raised her when she was young? What sacrifices had he made for her? And now, this ungrateful wretch!
