8 – Love and Sacrifice (2)

* * * *

Lilithiana Ekaterina.

She has one wish.

The hatred that first sprouted two years ago,

Now that she has grown like a dense forest, a wish she can never give up.

‘… Please, I hope that guy, that ungrateful commoner, will die in mind-consuming terror and maddening pain, Lord… .’

The princess, Lilithiana, remembered her commoner attendant who shamelessly survived her kind and benevolent mother’s death in vain, and prayed.

Unlike two years ago, when I was determined not to kill, now I just hope that the attendant will die on its own.

Please allow me to die a terrible death that is incomparable to the pain and horror of death that my mother must have suffered when she passed away… .

Stuffy, damp and dark like when my mother died… To meet death in a place so terrible… .

To die in a ridiculous way while struggling in pain until the very end of death… .

If you do that, I will do the rest myself with my own two hands.

His tattered corpse will be cut into pieces and given to the beasts of the field… .

Not one trace of him will be left on this land… .

So Lord, please… .

Please take pity on me who lost my mother and grant my wish, I beg you so earnestly… .

“amen.”

Lilithiana’s voice, clear and calm, yet somehow sharp, resonated in the interior of the cathedral, which was shining brightly in the sunlight.

It was because she was the only one in the cathedral praying on her knees in front of the cathedral’s huge statue.

Now everyone knows her prayer time.

Because I didn’t want to face the wrath of a daughter who lost her mother at close range.

Moreover, if that person were the princess, it was only natural that she would want to avoid the place.

During this time, when she always prayed, no one even approached the church.

“…Lily.”

… Yes, it was.

Unlike usual today, in front of the chapel door of the cathedral,

It was because the emperor’s low lament at hearing his daughter’s voice of prayer against the benefactor came out.

“…What on earth am I…what am I supposed to do…Elizabeta….”

The emperor, Alexei Ekaterina, recited that, recalling what had happened at the time.

The night Finn came to visit him.

* * * *

“…Please pretend that the empress died while trying to save me.”

“No, why on earth do you make such a wish…?”

Alexei couldn’t understand at first what the boy had in mind to make such a wish to him.

In response, the boy’s gaze silently looked up at himself.

The boy spoke to himself, the emperor, with eyes that showed the maturity of a man.

She is always the reason for his actions. It’s only the princess.

“That way, the princess will make me an object of hatred and get an opportunity to stand up.”

“…If there is no compelling reason, the responsibility for the empress’s death will not be avoided.”

Or are you thinking of dying for Lily?

At the emperor’s question, the boy smiled faintly.

The boy exclaimed as if he was very proud of this one thing. Like it’s very natural.

“As long as things go according to my plan, I won’t die. And… what if I die? I’m already ready to give my life for the princess.”

“her….”

The emperor gazed at the boy with an expression full of spirit.

However, the eyes of a boy who did not waver at all even though he was looking into the eyes of the emperor himself.

Apparently, the boy seemed to be spouting only the truth to himself.

‘no… How could such a young boy be willing to give his life for his lord?’

Even if it’s not loyalty to the lord, even if it’s love that doesn’t know how to measure, there’s no doubt that it’s a will to the extent that we can’t help but admire… .

In the end, the emperor, unable to break the boy’s rock-hard will, had no choice but to make up his mind.

“…I’m sorry. Tell me that this is your plan.”

Of the boy who once saved his daughter,

He said he would grant Finn’s wish.

* * * *

Even though 40 doctors came and went, they couldn’t treat it.

Priests who have the ability to heal are useless except for rejuvenation, which is a substitute for a meal on a fictional day.

No matter how much the father, the emperor, knelt down and begged, the will to move was not visible.

-If there is an opportunity for something to happen… If you have your own will, you can wake up at any time.

Even under such circumstances, the doctors’ diagnosis was still the same. Your own will is important.

‘Then I have to create a situation that has no choice but to happen.’

That’s why I

I began to explain to the Emperor my plan to build the foundation for her.

“We will come up with a scenario. There may be some doubts… but a scenario that will make sense.”

By taking advantage of the fact that everyone only knows the outcome of the situation, but does not know how the process went.

“First of all, I’ll assume that the Empress was originally alive. The Empress was able to get out of the vomit safely thanks to Her Majesty’s sacrifice to protect her.”

It is a fact that everyone knows that the emperor cares for the empress, so the truth must also be added to make it more credible.

“However, the compassionate Empress, who heard my groaning as I was complaining of pain, hurriedly tried to save me, but ended up going crazy and not being able to escape the landslide that followed.”

Nonetheless, just so that I would not be directly involved in her death, and that I would know that she was only trying to show mercy out of her own will.

“And I saw that scene vaguely right before I fainted, so I completely forgot about it, and it reminded me of the time I visited the place where my parents died a while ago. I mean that.”

Adding to that, the reason I haven’t been able to tell her this lie like the truth until now.

“After that, I reported this to Her Majesty, and Her Majesty remembered that the body of the Empress was not near Her Majesty, so you can investigate the place again. That would be important too.”

Taking advantage of the fact that no one knows where the empress was originally buried, since the emperor and I dug it up anyway.

“And Her Majesty gave me the reason that she sacrificed herself to save Her Majesty, who was grieving over the death of the Empress, and that if the Empress threw herself and killed the person she was trying to save, then I would break the will of the Empress, so I will be punished. You just have to say you won’t come down.”

From the beginning, there was no direct responsibility for me.

The feeling that you don’t want to punish the existence that your loved one tried to protect until the end… It was a development that was much more suitable for romance than the original work that purged everything… .

Moreover, taking advantage of the fact that he saved the emperor’s life from being in danger… My plan mentioned to the emperor.

And who would object to the emperor’s announcement… There would be none other than her as the princess.

The nobles would be busy rejoicing over the death of the empress no matter what the emperor said.

“…Are you serious?”

The Emperor began to look at me like a madman.

… It deserves it, who in the world would ask for the lie that the empress died because of him?

‘If I’m wrong, I might get my throat swollen and cut off.’

But, you have to do it nonetheless.

“This is the only way to save the princess.”

Because this is the only way to raise her that I can think of right now.

* * * *

Fortunately, the emperor had a complex expression on his face, but when I asked if there was any other way to save her, he sighed as if he couldn’t help it.

-Instead, since that alone might not be enough, the fact that your parents died while working for the imperial family should also be included in the reason.

By adding this

“…Now there is only one thing left.”

And now, I’m on my way out of the Emperor’s room to drive the final wedge and head towards Lily’s bedroom again.

– Kik.

The sweet scent of flowers wafts in as soon as you open the door.

The scent that I felt when she died in my arms one day filled the room.

“Sueup… Whoa…”

Thinking about what will happen next… The devoured chest pierces my heart.

I regretted it. Could there have been a better way… such a regret.

However, the die has already been cast, and since this has been done, there is no turning back.

… Yeah, I’d rather be hated by her. It’s a thousand times better than watching her die.

To myself who still couldn’t erase the hesitation… I repeat to myself

He approached and knelt beside her who was confining herself like a vegetable.

And as if recalling the past.

Slowly, yet very clearly, so that she could hear… I moved my lips that didn’t come off.

“…If I hadn’t told my parents at that time that I wanted to follow them too…I wanted to go to the eastern mountains at least once….”

“If it were, things wouldn’t have turned out that way…”

In a very mournful voice. He spoke to her in a voice as if he regretted what had happened so much.

I hope she will chew on my words again and again.

“It’s all my responsibility… My parents, who couldn’t overcome my young request, begged me if they could take me too…”

“I’m really… I’m really sorry, Princess… I don’t even know how to wash away this sin…”

Like the confession of a sinner confessing his sins to a priest, I gave her a look of remorse.

I hope you continue to think about why the hell he is making such a face.

“…”

She hasn’t responded yet.

… She probably wouldn’t be able to guess what the attendant was talking about right now.

What was the relationship between the child’s attendant saying he wanted to follow him and his mother, who died in a landslide?

However, that question will be resolved sooner or later if we hear the rumors that flowed through people’s mouths and ears.

Even if this attendant hadn’t dared to follow her, her mother wouldn’t have died.

Even if the attendant’s parents hadn’t dared to take the young guy, her mother wouldn’t have had to go through that.

As she thought so.

… If you think about it carefully, there was no doubt that it was a nonsense.

How could a mere servant ask the emperor if he could take his child with him?

… Considering the current emperor’s image, it’s not impossible, but

If other people heard this, I’m sure they would dismiss it as bullshit… In a way, it’s an obvious lie.

But she was young, and her mind was broken and her heart was so sick that she became a vegetative person.

For her, the fact that someone other than herself was involved in her mother’s death… .

In other words, the fact that my mother’s death was not my fault, but someone else’s… Because it’s so unattractive.

That’s why she will accept my confession as the truth, and will try to believe it.

I aimed for that and came to her bedroom alone and spread rice cakes in advance like this.

… So that she, having heard the rumors later, can fall into the illusion of being alone.

Humans who have delusions and delusions alone,

If your opinion is not a lot of strange sophistry, you will insist that you are right until the end.

‘This is one of the life philosophies I learned from the 5v5 AOS game.’

Even though they are grown adults, they still insist on shit, but if it were a young girl, it would have been more, not less.

that’s why i said

“I’m sorry, princess. I can’t bear to see the princess any more, so I’ll go back now… I’m really sorry… please… forgive me…”

So that she can be even more mistaken.

I, who pretended to be stabbed by my conscience, see the situation that keeps not coming back and be convinced of that illusion.

… And not long after, as soon as she came to her senses, I heard that she was looking for me.