Chapter 56

I Don’t Want To (3)

Yeah. I have to take responsibility.

That thought ruled over her like a command. She couldn’t even remember how she got out of the main tower.

It was said that tragedy began with the wrong desire. Since she was ten, her life was like the sunset that colored her world red every day.

But she never had any resentment. That was solely her responsibility.

She regretted it so often that she got tired of it too, just like today.

I shouldn’t have run away. No, if I was going to run away, I should have just left alone without pestering Mom.

As a ten-year-old, she had no idea that her younger siblings also needed mothers. No, to be honest, she ignored it even though she knew. Because she was also a child.

She had no choice but to do her best to take responsibility for her younger brothers.

When Lily came to her senses, she was running towards the yard. She didn’t even care whether the dark veil over her eyes was uncomfortable or not

.

It was said that the death penalty would be carried out informally in the back yard of the main tower. She knew she would arrive soon, but it felt like eternity.

What if everything is already over?

She might be able to save someone from being taken away from her family. If he died, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.

Dozens of silver-gray statues could be seen in the distance.

No, they weren’t statues. They were soldiers.

As if no one was breathing, there was not even a slight movement, so she briefly mistook them for sculptures.

Will they let me in? What if they prevent me from entering?

Contrary to her concerns, as the distance between the soldiers and her narrowed, the soldiers flawlessly turned left and right as if they were waiting to make a path.

She was dizzy at the sight at the end of the wide open road. The veil didn’t help matters, making everything blurry.

Only the two people standing in the middle caught her eye.

“Ah, w-wait for me!” she cried out, breathless.

A huge man wearing matte black armor that absorbed the sunlight. He looked as if he ripped through the ground and came up to the earth. It was her husband

Lily’s friend of ten years was lying flat like a grain sack thrown at his feet.

And the eerily beautiful sword was the only thing that connected the two men.

Red dripped down the sharp blade. Blood splattered on the dirt floor.

She forcibly moved her legs. Her whole body creaked as she moved.

Tristan’s blue eyes shook slightly.

“L-Lily… Ouch!”

The blade pierced his neck a little further. The amount of blood coming out of his neck increased.

Her brain numbed. “N-no… wait a minute, Vlad!”

She stared tenaciously at her husband’s black helmet, holding on to him.

“I-I’m sorry. Because I asked you to forgive him… I didn’t expect you to be even angrier. I will reflect deeply. So please…”

It was such a sudden death sentence without a trial.

What she had asked for in his office was obviously against his wishes. He must have been angry.

What kind of expression is hiding inside the thick helmet? If I could get a glimpse of it, even a little bit, I think my sense of helplessness and fear would lessen.

A sharp gust of wind blew off her veil. But as her vision cleared, she felt even dizzier.

What became clearest in front of her eyes was the amount of blood gradually spreading on the floor.

Anything, do something.

Lily felt like a poor woodcutter who encountered a beast. She didn’t dare to think of going any closer to calm it. It felt like with the slightest irritation, that blade would cut through Tristan’s neck.

There was not much she could do in the face of such a situation.

Waiting silently for it to pass, or kneeling down and praying until the person holding the sword was no longer mad.

She couldn’t just let this situation escalate, so she had only one option.

“I will do anything. I’ll beg you like this, like this so…  Ah!”

Her attempts to kneel on the dirt floor were in vain.

The long sword made a creaking noise and fell to the floor with a clang.

Before she could even get down, Vlad seemed to have noticed her thoughts first.

He narrowed the distance in an instant and grabbed her forearm with his gauntleted hand. “What are you doing now…  !”

During winter, the steel gauntlets were so cold and hard that even a little bit of force could break her arm.

But it didn’t hurt at all. Because she felt it was better than to kneel.

“…Is he that precious? Why would you kneel for this worthless man?”

The clear baritone echoed in his helmet, more terrifying than usual.

I guess it’s not working. Ah, now… What do we do?