I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 42
He must join the subjugation army. And he must kill the Demon King as soon as possible. Only then could he return.
“…….”
Frozen as if turned into a statue, Sarubia watched Rufus’s retreating figure. After a long while, a sudden thought struck her, and she began to run.
“Wait a moment!”
Rufus turned around. He saw Sarubia running towards him, her skirt lifted, breathless.
“You… You!”
Sarubia, having sprinted with all her might, clutched Rufus’s hand, gasping for air.
Then she exclaimed.
“You will not die until the subjugation is over!”
In her beautiful golden eyes, where stars seemed ready to fall, Rufus’s reflection was mirrored.
Rufus looked down at Sarubia, finding himself in her gaze.
“…….”
He scrutinized Sarubia, who had run to him.
Really. Even if the past changes, you are always the same.
Misinterpreting Rufus’s silence, Sarubia quickly added.
“Don’t you believe me? I, actually…”
“No. I believe you.”
Rufus interrupted her.
He knew. Sarubia was a saintess. The mark of the saint on her shoulder was proof. But he had wanted to pretend not to know.
Sarubia had already died once for Rufus, breaking a taboo.
This was their second chance, hard-earned through the Demon King’s aid. He didn’t want to lose her again.
“I’m glad you believe! You must come back alive! So don’t be sad— And be strong!”
Sarubia cheered him on, fists clenched. Her tiny fists, trying to imbue him with strength, were so endearing.
Rufus reached out towards Sarubia’s face. He caressed her cheek, flushed from her run.
“Are you going to kiss me?”
Sarubia asked, staring intently at Rufus.
“…I hadn’t planned on it.”
Rufus murmured dryly, wiping away the dust on her lips with his finger.
“What if I kiss you now? Would you hate it?”
“Hmm, let’s see.”
Smiling sheepishly, Sarubia took Rufus’s hand, caressing her cheek.
Sarubia closed her eyes. Taking this as a signal, Rufus leaned towards her.
Their warmth overlapped.
A satisfaction that seemed never to be fully realized tickled their hearts.
He wanted to whisk her away right then. To take her far away to a place where there were no demons, no Demon King, no king, and no Princess Sordid. To a quiet, safe place…
Even if that place were a prison, as long as he could hold her hand and look in the same direction, that would be enough for happiness.
A gentle breeze brushed through their hair and disappeared.
“You pass.”
As Rufus slowly drew back his lips, Sarubia murmured as if she had been waiting.
“…What exactly is your standard?”
“My heart.”
“I don’t quite understand your heart.”
“Actually, I don’t either.”
Sarubia, sticking out her tongue playfully, winked at Rufus.
“I’m going back to work now. It was nice meeting you.”
Leaving those words behind, Sarubia respectfully bowed to Rufus.
“Survive until the end.”
“…….”
Rufus wordlessly watched Sarubia disappear into Princess Sordid’s palace. He touched his lips with his fingers, tracing where her presence lingered.
It was warm.
Everything about her was so warm that he wanted to cry right then.
Like a butterfly dancing lightly in the spring breeze, Sarubia’s smile flew into Rufus’s heart.
How much more lovely will you become in the future?
Really.
“…This is maddening.”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Rufus, riding in a carriage leaving the palace, buried his face in one hand.
Really.
There’s no reason not to love you.
The carriage wheels kicked up the ground. The sound of the horses’ hooves beat down on Rufus’s heart.
Rufus turned his head towards the palace where Sarubia still lingered.
—I’ll be back.
He murmured quietly to himself.
Sarubia’s scent still seemed to linger on his fingertips. It felt like if he reached out his arm, he could embrace her again. If he wanted, he could kiss her once more.
But not yet.
Rufus couldn’t return to her yet. The king had ordered him to join the subjugation army. The Demon King was still alive, and the war with the demons was not over.
He couldn’t leave the battlefield. To return to her side, he must end the war.
Rufus hoped that she would remember his name until the day that they could live in peace, just as he had never forgotten hers.
