I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 99
Rufus’s face showed no change as he spun his scarlet lies. His response, seemingly lifted straight from a textbook, prompted the royal knights to bow their heads.
“Lord Rufus is truly a loyal servant of the royal family.”
Hearing this, Rufus clenched his teeth. He couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up.
Everything was going according to plan.
Everything was perfect. Everything was moving exactly as Rufus had envisioned.
Before killing Prince Tarek, Rufus deliberately tore his coat and tossed it on the ground.
Inside the prince’s tent, amidst the corpses of demons and traces of battle, Rufus deliberately left signs of an attack on Prince Tarek. Yet, so far, neither his body nor any clues hinting at his death had been found.
The severed fingers of the prince had been taken care of by the witch Odr, and all the blood he had shed was completely cleaned up.
It was a kind of torture.
To give the king false hope. That Prince Tarek might still be alive, might still be found, might still be seen once more…
What would the king’s reaction be once he realizes that the miracle he so desperately wished for was false all along?
Rufus loosened the slightly tensed muscles in his shoulders. He hadn’t slept well the night before, staying up with Sarubia. He felt a bit tired.
If it hadn’t been for the king’s command, he could have slept in with Sarubia until noon.
Rufus stared down at his hands.
He could still feel her scent under his hands, as if the sensation of caressing her was still alive.
He was overwhelmed with the desire to return, to bury himself in her embrace and close his eyes once more.
But now was not the time.
As long as the royal family lived, he couldn’t rest easy.
The king would not leave Rufus alone. From the moment Rufus foolishly proposed to the princess, he had fallen out of favor with the king.
So, it’s time to try to appease the king a little.
Baroness Inferna always said to Rufus that winning someone’s heart was so simple it could bring tears to your eyes.
By saying what they want to hear, showing them what they want to see, and doing what they want, one can easily win someone’s heart.
But the moment you say something they don’t want to hear, show them something they don’t want to see, or do something they don’t want, people fall into great despair. It’s as if their world is crumbling.
Rufus fully agreed with his grandmother’s words.
So, this time, he would win the king’s heart.
He would flatter him, swear loyalty, and pretend to devote everything to the royal family.
Later, he would trample on all the trust that he had garnered from him. Until nothing was left, shattered into pieces.
The king’s face, plunged into despair at that time, would indeed be something to see.
So, shall he go ‘save’ Prince Tarek now?
It was when he was lost in thought, nearing the main gate of the royal palace—
Neigh!
The horse leading the way stopped suddenly with a cry.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s someone ahead.”
Rufus, seated on his horse, looked forward.
Indeed, as the knight had said, someone was standing ahead. Covered head to toe in a long robe, their identity was hidden. But judging by their small stature, they seemed like a child.
“Tell them to clear the way. We are in a hurry.”
At Rufus’s command, the knights ahead shouted loudly.
“Clear the path at once! We must depart immediately to find Prince Tarek!”
“I, too, have come to find Prince Tarek!”
The figure standing at the gate shouted back.
At that shout, the knights burst into laughter.
The voice was trembling, perhaps in an attempt to sound imposing, yet the attempt was so clumsy it was downright absurd.
However, Rufus couldn’t join them in laughter.
His heart plummeted to the ground.
It was an unforgettable voice. How could he forget the voice that had been echoing in his ears all night?
“…Sarubia?”
Flutter! The person blocking their way threw off their outer garment.
Rufus was right. The person who appeared in front of Rufus and the knights was none other than Sarubia.
“What, it’s a woman?”
The knights, taken aback, stared at Sarubia blankly before they snickered and burst into laughter.
Rufus hastily dismounted from his horse.
“Sarubia, what on earth—”
“My name is Sarubia!”
Sarubia interrupted Rufus and shouted again.
“I might look young because I’m a bit short, but I am a proper woman! I can drink alcohol and enter gambling halls freely!”
“Alright, then go back home and drink some more milk.”
One knight mockingly reprimanded her, prompting laughter from the others.
Sarubia glared at the knights.
“How dare you mock me!”
“And who are you to speak like that?”
The knights scrutinized Sarubia’s shabby appearance and retorted. Sarubia was still in her maid’s attire, having rushed out so quickly she hadn’t properly arranged her hair.
“Sarubia, you…”
Rufus, anxious, walked briskly towards Sarubia. Despite his warnings not to follow him, how did she end up here?
He was glad she came out of concern for him, but he was afraid others would start paying attention to her.
He was about to soothe her and send her back to the princess’s palace.
“I… I am a Saintess who prophesies death!”
