I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 17
“Why are you still working at the princess’s palace?”
Unable to hold back, he pressed her for answers. He had no intention of criticizing her, but seeing her fragile body so broken down, emotions surged uncontrollably.
“Because I have nowhere else to go.”
“You’re still young. There must have been many places you could have worked.”
“To work elsewhere, I would need to undergo a physical examination. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that I’m a saintess.”
“But you didn’t undergo a physical examination when you entered the princess’s palace, did you?”
“Well… I was too young to need an examination at the time.”
“You managed to stay hidden all this time.”
“I have no friends.”
Sarubia shrugged.
“I have a room to myself in the dorms. I eat alone, bathe alone.”
“Why do you hide the fact that you’re a saintess?”
Rufus still couldn’t understand. Why did Sarubia hide her identity as a saint?
Weren’t saints revered and noble beings? If Sarubia revealed herself as a saint, people would eagerly welcome her from all around.
Yet, she chose to keep her true nature hidden and live in secrecy.
Sarubia turned her head.
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
“…”
Just why.
How stubborn and foolish could one woman be?
Rufus knelt before Sarubia, who was sitting in front of him, and began to use his magic to heal her wounds without saying a word.
“Ouch…”
“Endure the pain a little longer.”
He mended the deep wounds with his magic, murmuring softly.
He touched her wounds with his lips, applying magic as best he could.
Sarubia had hidden her injuries well under her clothing, so Rufus hadn’t realized the extent of her wounds. She was covered in wounds, and all he could do for her was heal a few of them with his magic.
The reality of it was infuriating.
“Sarubia.”
“Uuuck, y-yes.”
“Don’t go back to the Princess Sordid’s palace. Come with me to the Inferna territory.”
Rufus’s homeland, the Inferna territory.
“I’ll prepare a beautiful room for you to stay in. I’ll cook delicious food for you every day. You don’t have to work—I can do everything.”
Rufus mumbled without much thought.
He didn’t really know why he had blurted out those words so impulsively, but he knew he didn’t want to be separated from her. He didn’t want to lose her.
That was all.
“And you mentioned that you wanted to see the fuchsia flowers, didn’t you? Those flowers, like fairies, are incredibly beautiful. I really want to show them to you.”
In response to Rufus’s words, Sarubia, who had been tearful due to the pain of her wounds, let out a little laugh.
“Are you trying to win me over?”
“You can think that way if you like.”
“Really? Do you… like me?”
“Yes.”
Rufus, who knelt before Sarubia, raised his head.
“Perhaps your words are right.”
It was too deep and earnest to be called desire, and too weighty to be labeled capricious. If not called love, then what should it be called?
So, he said it.
“I hope that your feelings are the same as mine.”
Rufus looked at Sarubia.
Sarubia slowly got up and inclined her body toward Rufus, who was kneeling in front of her.
There was no need to say who should go first.
“Rufus.”
Beyond their rapid, hot breaths, Sarubia called his name.
“I dislike this place. Please take me to your homeland.”
“Of course.”
“I want to see the fuchsia flowers there. I want to see the flower you had been named after.”
“You will.”
Rufus embraced her small body.
He placed the sword he had thrown onto the side table. In exchange, he laid her small and delicate body on the pure white sheets.
Unspoken emotions flowed back and forth between their connected lips. The warmth seeping into their bodies was so comforting that they couldn’t bear to let go.
“This really doesn’t make sense.”
Sarubia sobbed through the thrilling sensation running down her back.
“What doesn’t?”
“We only met once three years ago… Why does it have to be me?”
“That’s true.”
It’s truly bizarre. Why out of all the people in the world, did it have to be her?
At first, he thought it was just a passing encounter, something like melting snowflakes that would disappear with time. But that was a mistake.
The melting snow left behind moisture in his heart and eventually started to sow seeds.
From then on, it was unstoppable.
The seeds took root in his heart’s field and grew strongly.
