I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 28
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A week had passed, and the day of the prophecy was here.
“…”
Rufus watched his grandmother eating breakfast in silence.
Today was the day. Today was the day Sarubia had foreseen.
Today, Baroness Inferna would die.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Baroness Inferna, who was seated at the dining table, glanced at Rufus. She was eating the omelet prepared by Sarubia and Edel this morning, and it lacked the crispy taste of eggshells this time.
“Are you feeling alright?”
While peeling the skin of a boiled potato, Rufus inquired.
“Does asking me make me better? Stop asking me already.”
Saying that, Baroness Inferna coughed once more.
“I’m just asking because I’m concerned.”
“I understand your concern, but asking won’t make my condition better.”
Impatiently, she coughed again, skewering a well-cooked piece of bread with her fork.
“Rufus, there’s still one thing you don’t seem to realize.”
“What is it?”
“Your grandmother is already old. And it’s only natural for people to die.”
Of course, he knew it in his head. Everyone dies. But he never thought that it had to be today.
Baroness Inferna, who had just coughed lightly, calmly sipped her tea.
“Rufus, you don’t think I can always live with you and Edel, do you?”
“So, does that mean you’re alright with dying today?”
Unable to contain himself, Rufus blurted out.
The moment those words left his mouth, Rufus regretted it.
Ah. I shouldn’t have said it like that.
Then, with a gentle clink, Baroness Inferna set down her teacup.
“Rufus, Edel, I’ve lived without regrets all this time.”
Neatly wiping her mouth with a napkin, she looked at her grandsons.
“I’ve raised you both with pride, as befitting the reputation of the Inferna family. Both of you have become fine people. That’s enough for me. So even if I were to die here today, it would be more than enough.”
Her eyes didn’t waver as she spoke. Rufus couldn’t find any words to respond.
After finishing breakfast, Baroness Inferna called her two grandsons and Sarubia.
“The weather is lovely. How about going for a walk?”
The sunny autumn rays bathed them. Overhead, fluffy clouds gathered, and nameless birds sang with melodic voices.
The garden, filled with a variety of the kingdom’s rarest flowers, looked so brilliant that one could feel immersed in its multi-colored splendor just by looking.
“Look, Sister Ruby, at that one. It’s named after you.”
Edel pointed at a flower in one of the flower beds. Rufus, too, instinctively turned his head toward where Edel was pointing. There, a slender flower with clusters of bright red blossoms was blooming.
It was the Sarubia flower.
“It’s beautiful.”
With Rufus by her side, Baroness Inferna walked with a contented smile.
“Let’s plant Sarubia flowers next to the fuchsia flowers in our mansion. Both are red flowers, so they’ll harmonize beautifully. What do you think?”
“Sure!”
Eagerly, Edel agreed.
.
.
The day felt unexpectedly short.
He didn’t want time to pass, but when he closed his eyes and opened them again, moments had slipped away, accumulating until the clock’s hands had leaped ahead.
After a late luncheon, Baroness Inferna returned to her room.
“Sarubia.”
Rufus, pacing near the entrance to the grandmother’s room, turned to Sarubia.
To be honest, he hoped that she was wrong.
“I also wish that my unique magic is just a sham.”
Sarubia raised Rufus, and an uncharacteristic hint of sadness was visible in her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
Rufus’s hand, holding the hilt of his sword, was trembling.
He was afraid that intruders from outside might cause his grandmother’s death. That’s why Rufus was standing guard with his sword drawn in front of his grandmother’s room.
In a few hours, darkness would fall. The day would come to an end. Would his grandmother remain unharmed?
“Do you need anything?”
A passing maid approached Rufus and Sarubia cautiously.
“No, we’re fine…”
“Just a glass of water, please.”
Sarubia responded in place of Rufus.
Hours had passed. Rufus had been standing in front of his grandmother’s room for a while, not moving an inch. He guarded the door as if he would tolerate no intrusions, just like he wouldn’t allow a single ant to invade.
