Chapter 41
I guess this is how I die.
Or maybe this is how I vanish—since it was called my last chance.
Either way, it’s goodbye to my body.
But the sensation of being dragged toward death wasn’t as terrible as I expected.
It felt more like falling asleep, my entire body relaxed and limbs losing strength.
Losing strength—maybe it isn’t always a bad thing.
It felt like I was lying on something soft.
There was the clean scent of freshly washed bedding, dried in the sun. A faint fragrance that stirred old memories.
The temperature was warm and pleasantly dry.
Had someone moved my dead body? Who was the first to find me?
Was it a bullet? A heart attack? Suffocation?
Just recalling the moment of death suddenly brought his face to mind.
Just when I was starting to feel more at ease around him.
It’s a shame to part like this, without even saying goodbye.
The more I tried to escape, the more I realized I couldn’t avoid him—and I never really had time to examine my feelings.
I recalled the little but joyful memories.
Watching a play in that open-air theater. Running into each other by chance at Mr. Clem’s bookstore.
When I declared I’d just live however I wanted—he took my hand.
What if it hadn’t started like this?
What if fate had been kinder—would things have been okay?
Zerelach… I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye.
But even this guilty feeling—I can’t send it to you.
If only I could tell you that I was starting to like you… that, like a gentle rain soaking into clothes, you were slowly seeping into me.
…While lost in these thoughts, I suddenly grew curious about where I was.
Where am I going now?
I wondered, If I open my eyes, will I be able to see the world again?—and at that moment, I lifted my eyelids.
“…?”
What the—?
My eyes opened way too easily.
“Gasp!”
Like a spring, I shot upright.
This is… a bedroom?
The moment I realized I was lying in a bed, I heard a familiar, gentle voice.
“Are you awake?”
The voice I had missed, even while locked away, even with my eyes closed.
It was Zerelach.
“Your Grace…”
The moment I realized he was sitting next to me, nothing else mattered.
I threw my arms around him.
He seemed a little surprised but soon reached out his large, firm hands and embraced me.
Was it because all the tension had suddenly released?
Or was it the relief of being alive?
Overwhelmed by emotion, I cried again—like a child.
But unlike when I was locked in that cellar…
This time, I didn’t care if the sound of my sobbing echoed out.
Once I had calmed myself, I slowly pulled away from his embrace.
“I’m sorry…”
I wiped my tear-stained face with the back of my hand. Even with the lightest touch, I could feel how swollen my eyes were—like a frog’s.
I was embarrassed to have him staring at my messy face, but somehow, his kind gaze soothed me.
“Ahem, ahem.”
A sound at the doorway made me turn my head.
That’s when I finally realized—we weren’t alone in the room.
Zerelach turned his head lazily and said to his aide:
“Go inform the Marquis of Bernadette that Ribe is awake. And bring the doctor.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As Orie left the room, I slowly looked around.
For some reason, this all still didn’t feel real.
But… why did I wake up here? I was just thinking that when—
Zerelach grabbed my wrist.
“Ah.”
My wrist was covered in blotchy bruises, as if dipped in dark red paint.
“Damn it.”
His voice was barely audible, but I heard the fury in it.
I could feel his hand trembling with rage as it held mine.
“It’s okay. Bruises fade quickly.”
“….”
Of course, Zerelach didn’t look even a little “okay.”
People said he was a cold-blooded man with neither blood nor tears. I’d thought so too—he always seemed curt and indifferent.
But he wasn’t emotionless or dry. He just poured his entire heart into one thing.
“Um… what exactly happened to me? I remember collapsing while trying to escape, but nothing after that.”
The carriage had stopped. A gunshot rang out behind me.
Yet my body only felt mild soreness—nothing like a serious injury.
“A messenger from Legnica found you collapsed. He said he heard gunshots and a woman screaming, so he stopped the carriage.”
So that was the carriage I saw.
“There were no major injuries, but you didn’t wake for a long time. Everyone was worried.”
“I’m sorry…”
Zerelach slowly shook his head, then gently stroked my cheek.
“It’s okay now.”
According to the doctor, I had no physical trauma but had likely remained unconscious due to psychological shock and stress.
Maybe I had trapped myself in unconsciousness, believing I was about to die… or disappear.
Either way, it’s a relief I opened my eyes.
“And…”
Zerelach began to speak, his voice suddenly heavy.
“This might be hard to hear, but there are things I must tell you.”
I braced myself.
He was going to talk about those who had tried to harm me.
The man probably fled. The wine cellar was likely cleaned up to erase the evidence.
I’d been unconscious for a while, so they must’ve been anxiously monitoring the situation.
Failey, you wretch. I’ll make you pay!
I swallowed hard and steeled my nerves.
If nothing else, I had a good eye for faces. I remembered that man who had locked me up and threatened me clearly enough to draw a picture of him.
If push came to shove, I could probably sketch a police-style montage.
“I’m okay. Please go ahead.”
“The ones who tried to harm you… have all been arrested.”
“…Huh? What did you say?”
Already?
They’ve already been caught?
“Uh… well, that’s good, I guess. But this quickly?”
“I wanted to execute them on the spot, but I waited until you woke.”
I looked up at him, puzzled.
I wasn’t the judge or anything—so why wait?
“I thought… you might want to see them be executed.”
Zerelach tilted his head and smiled coolly.
That was the version of him I’d known and feared.
Even though I knew it was out of deep affection, I couldn’t feel entirely grateful.
I mean… who wants to see someone die?
No—wait. I keep forgetting I’m in another world.
I smiled as gently as I could and replied.
“Th-thank you…”
As I nodded and smiled, he raised one eyebrow.
“Do you mean that?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Do you want to see them die?”
“Was that… a joke?”
“You thought I was serious?”
Then—he chuckled. A soft, disbelieving laugh.
“You really are something.”
“……”
“Well… if you want, I can arrange it.”
“No! I mean it! I don’t want to! You misunderstood!”
Zerelach didn’t respond—just gazed quietly at me. Then he carefully took my hands, folded in my lap.
“I couldn’t execute them immediately because they denied all charges.”
“Oh…”
“They claimed it was all a joke—said they often joked like that with you.”
“A joke? Haha… What a terrifying, horrible joke.”
Sounds like something Failey would say.
As I fiddled with my wrist, I asked:
“Did you go to the wine cellar where I was kept?”
Zerelach nodded and slowly closed his eyes, as if trying not to remember. A faint crease formed and disappeared between his brows.
“It’s hard to believe you escaped a place like that on your own.”
Yeah… I feel the same.
Maybe all those mystery-thriller novels I used to read helped, haha.
“You really are strong.”
That made me blush a little.
But what was different now—was that I’d decided to be honest with my feelings.
“I missed you.”
Zerelach blinked, clearly surprised.
Being trapped, cut off from the world, completely terrified—I’d finally been able to examine my heart.
When I pieced together the scattered fragments of my emotions, all that remained was regret.
Even if I had only a little time left—even just two more days—
I would live as I wanted.
I felt my cheeks flush, but the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
Of course, the mood quickly grew awkward, and I scratched the back of my head.
“Uh… so, how long was I asleep? What time is it now?”
The curtains were drawn, but light peeked in from the edges.
Late afternoon, maybe?
“Well… about two days.”
“…What? Then today is…”
I couldn’t even finish the question.
My heart began to pound unpleasantly.
“It’s the 13th.”
The last day of the festival.
Today… is the day I’m supposed to die.
