Chapter 32
***
#D-80
It had been a few months since the 'prophecy'.
The long-forgotten events of the month had begun.
The physical changes that come with being born a woman.
Nevertheless, I couldn't help but stare at the reddened blanket like a fool for a while, as I hadn't thought about it at all in the passing time.
How strange.
A weak chuckle escaped my lips.
Like a raindrop falling alone in the midst of bold contrasts, I was lost.
I was dying, and now I didn’t even have enough time.
This body, condemned to inevitable death, had no place where it hurt.
Without knowing, without wanting to know, I dutifully prepared to grow a new life.
At the same time, what would normally be a mere nuisance and annoyance, now felt like an odd sensation. Still, it was alive, still, it was breathing.
So I was ready to nurture new life, but my hopes were dashed, and now I'm grumbling like this.
I was reminded that I was a bird that could still fly, even after its wings were broken.
Such a morning, filled with conflicting feelings.
I had just finished grooming myself, putting away my bloodied sheets and clothes.
-Your Highness! Oh, we're in trouble!
The bedroom door flew open.
The maid, rushing in, exclaimed, not bothering to wipe the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.
- His Highness has fallen!
For a moment, I had to reflect on what I had heard.
I asked, a beat too late.
-yes?
- His Majesty has fallen from the railing on the second floor of the Duke's Palace.......
The maid's gasping for breath didn't even make it to the end.
My mind went blank at the news of what had happened to him.
I had no time to think. I could not sit here and wait for him to return.
I leapt to my feet and started running toward his palace.
The crisp morning air. The sun was rising.
The verdant borders of spring, ripe for summer. This time of day, the last time I would ever stand.
That beautiful, green world. The roads I wasn't used to running on alone.
At the end of the strangely long, straight road was his palace.
I crashed through the gates, gripping my wobbly knees and breathing hard.
What could I think as I ran down the awkward path to his bedroom, across the red carpet?
I wondered if he was okay, if he wasn't hurt, if he had fallen.
The clichéd worries echoed endlessly.
I opened the bedroom door and saw him lying on the bed.
I hadn't run far, but I was the one breathing hard.
Even under these circumstances, he found me first.
-Grand Duchess?
My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn't even formulate an answer.
He asked with a slight frown.
-What are you doing here?
- Your Highness, I heard you had fallen.......
- I didn't fall, I just stumbled.
- Well, then you did fall, didn't you?
- That's a strange way to put it. I didn't fall...... I just stepped on the wrong carpet and slipped and rolled.
His face, as if to say it was no big deal, was indeed a shame.
But he didn't seem to be hurt, and a deep sense of relief quickly overcame me as he looked as beautiful as ever.
Reason returned to my blackened mind. At the same time, my legs gave way, and I collapsed like a marionette with a broken string.
Quickly rising to his feet, he walked over to me and embraced my crumbling body.
I stared up at him, dumbfounded, in his arms.
It was only then that I noticed. A raw scar on his beautiful face. A scab that hadn't even formed yet.
I ran my hand over the reddish stain. My voice shook of its own accord.
- Are you okay, are you sure, did you just slip, is that true, is that right?
-.....
I didn't even know exactly what I wanted to ask.
In response to my gibberish, he didn't give me a precise answer, just pressed his hand against my cheek. As if to feel my warmth.
His eyes trembled as he looked down at me.
It occurred to me that the tremor resembled the words God rolled over the horizon in the early morning.
But that was all it was.
We stayed like that for a while, staring at each other.
Trying to figure out what to say to each other. How to part our lips.
It was clear that neither I nor he had any idea.
I may have even forgotten how to move my tongue.
And then, quite naturally.
His lips opened first, living in a world much larger than my tiny universe.
-Grand Duchess.
Lips that opened with great difficulty, but no words, no continuation.
Only a delicate hand stroked my shoulder. Once, twice, an unfathomable number of times.
Then a firm, desperate grip.
I wondered if I had read it right, if it conveyed a determination not to let go of me, no matter what.
As I stared at him unwaveringly, his right hand slowly slid up my shoulder and cupped my face. As if to confirm something.
His hand was vibrating as much as his eyes.
My trepidation turned to passion, and before I knew it, he was pulling me into a tight embrace.
There was no time to panic about the sudden affliction.
Only the warmth of his embrace and the familiarity of his scent.
The wet voice that followed became a sorrowful rain, wetting my ears that had been empty.
-⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯It's warm.
- It's.......
I was about to retort in my usual way, but I was silenced once again.
I was the last person alive who should be saying something warm and fuzzy.
But I had learned in this short time that those words were not to be uttered in that moment.
His wistful mutterings continued.
- Even so...... You look fine. You look like nothing happened.
Or so I thought.
Unlike him, who's just gotten a few days' worth of dirt on his beautiful cheeks.
I hadn't changed at all, except on the outside, as if nothing had happened.
And now that I'd started, I could only think that he was right.
No one who did not know me knew that I was surely walking towards the end of my life.
- I've spent the last hour searching for all things related to you: the Seeing One, the Hearing One, the Reciting One, the Temple.......
At your words, I slowly lowered my eyes.
As for the Seeers, unlike the other two, there weren't many records.
Therefore, I was the one who could know me best.
So, Largo. I was left with only one certainty.
No matter how desperate and sad it was.
- I had to find a way. A way for you to make it through this world unscathed. By my side, with me.
Just as people with terminal illnesses are the first to look for a way to somehow ease the pain. He, not me, most contemplated my survival.
A voice filled with despair followed.
- But the more I looked, the more I searched, the more I felt like I was sinking into a quagmire.
I knew best ......
There was no way to continue this life.
-Nothing, there is no.......
Then he pushed me out of his arms.
He turned to face me, his face colored ferociously.
- Even animals do not ostracize those who follow them. It is the instinct of life to embrace, nurture, and cherish those who follow it. But...... But.
He gripped my shoulders tightly and chewed and spat.
- Is that the god you worship every day?
- Your Highness.
- What in the world do you give your praise to?
Still unable to abandon my adoration for the gods, I could only call out to him in bewilderment.
The instinct imprinted in me told me to.
Of course, I had no doubt that He was harsh and cruel, but still.
-The prophecy that has been given to you, no matter what, will not change?
For a moment, his red gaze flashed cruelly.
His words were harsh.
-Even if it means killing a new 'seeer’?
***
To donate for extra chapters for my series or to tip me visit my personal kofi page
Join my discord to get notifications for updates https://discord.gg/MKWnASzDFB
(If the link is expired please message me for a new link)
Write a comment
Toti (Friday, 08 December 2023 10:36)
�Will he kill the new seer?
Toti (Friday, 08 December 2023 10:38)
Love makes him lose his mind. thank you sm 4 this part♡.