Chapter 150: Whose?!
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The darkness closed in completely from all sides.
No firelight, no warmth, no doting from her father and mother, no smiles from her brothers. There was nothing here, even that unbearable pain had long since faded away. The girl had no sense of how much ti had passed. She couldn't feel ti moving at all, couldn't even feel her own body.
The entire world was frozen and hopeless, suffocating.
Only... faintly, she could still hear the soft hush of wind and snow near her ears.
The girl lay quietly, wrapped inside that darkness. Those eyes of hers, once brilliant as black pearls, slowly, slowly lost their light, their luster fading away.
She understood that she was about to die, and she had accepted that fact. Anyway... she couldn't feel the pain anymore.
There was just still a tiny bit of fear.
I am a Wintermoon... I have to be strong... death is nothing to be afraid of...
With what little consciousness she had left, the girl repeated this to herself like a mantra.
Sothing wet and sticky kept landing on her face. After a while, she recognized it as snowflakes drifting down.
She suddenly wanted to take one last look at this world. She had always loved the snow in Winter City, but no matter how hard she tried to force her eyes open, she could no longer catch even a single trace of that soft, clean whiteness.
I want to go ho...
The girl was missing her mother.
She wanted her mother to hold her again. When she was in her mother's arms, she wasn't afraid of anything.
Mom said that when people die, their souls live on. The soul returns to the side of the loved ones who miss her most... will it be the sa for ? Then when I die, will I be able to go ho... it would be so nice if I could still go ho...
The girl let out a trembling breath. A faint gurgling sound ca from her throat, then she gasped in the next shallow breath — her breathing had completely fallen apart, the rhythm lurching between fast and slow. Her lips, pale as paper, parted slightly, and the thin wisps of white mist that escaped them were her last struggle.
Waiting for death was a long, drawn-out thing. Gradually, the girl couldn't help but think, it would have been better if she had just died on impact from the fall. Then at least she wouldn't have had to suffer like this.
Just hurry up and die... once I'm dead, I'll run straight ho...
The cold wind drifted on. Ti passed, who knows how long. Then, at so point, a sliver of light pierced through a dark corner.
That light slowly grew larger in her vision, and within it she could vaguely make out the silhouettes of people. At the sa ti, the girl heard voices.
"Shh! Sothing's over there..."
"What is that!"
"...Looks like a person?"
"Let's go take a look."
Crunch, crunch, footsteps drawing closer.
Soone... soone is here...
There are people... there are people!!!
The instant that realization hit, the girl's composure shattered.
She couldn't hold it back, she desperately wanted to cry out, but her throat felt like sothing was lodged in it. Her mouth hung open, yet the only sounds that ca out were aningless little "ugh... uhh..." noises.
Scalding tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
"Covered in blood... huh? Looks like a little girl... she's still alive."
"No way, out here of all places?"
"Probably slipped and fell... her shin bone is sticking out."
"Tsk, tsk, what a ss... and she still hasn't died after all this?"
"Can she be saved?"
"Hey, what are you trying to do?"
"...Saving her?"
"Since when is saving people our job?"
"Our job is to save the world, you idiot."
"Oh cut it out."
"Just put her out of her misery. In this condition... even if she actually survives, it won't an anything."
Who said that... who said it won't an anything... how can it not an anything... it does... I want to live... I want to go ho... I want to go ho!
"Mmhh... ah..."
The girl used the very last of her strength and desperately tried to push herself up. But she couldn't manage it at all, she couldn't even move her hands or feet even a little.
"What's she saying?"
"No idea, probably begging for help... does anyone have a dagger?"
"I've got one here."
"Hand it over."
"Hey, you're really going to do it?"
"What else?"
"We... are standing in a shadow where not even the gods can see."
Clang—
A sharp ring. The girl knew that was the sound of a blade leaving its sheath.
They're going to kill ...
In that mont, the girl's heart, which had only just begun to warm up again a little, plunged back into the ice.
Hope followed by despair. Nothing was more suffocating than that.
Her tears froze solid, congealing against her cheeks and ears.
The girl could feel the blade closing in on her, but the only thing she could do was close her eyes like soone resigned to their fate.
Dad... Mom...
I'm sorry. I'll be ho soon.
The girl thought this.
The pain she had been bracing for never ca, instead... her body plunged back into the darkness.
In the very last mont before she lost consciousness, the last words the girl heard were: "This girl has black hair..."
............
When the girl opened her eyes again, what she saw was a warm-toned hanging light suspended above her.
The howling wind and snow that had filled her ears was gone. In its place ca the distant chiming of a bell from sowhere unknown, and the soft, warm sunlight that drifted through the window and landed on her face.
The girl blinked, slightly dazed.
She found herself lying in a large, clean, soft bed, surrounded by familiar furniture. With every breath in and out, the rich scent of cloves filled her nose.
The girl's neatly shaped brows gently furrowed.
...Am I dreaming again?
The scene in the dream... that seed to be a fragnt from after I fell off the cliff... soone ca... on a cliff face like that?
"Miss Sylvia, you're awake."
The sudden voice next to my ear gave a fright. I snapped my head around to look... ah, my head is spinning... I feel sick.
"Miss Sylvia, your body is very weak right now. Please lie still and rest."
The one speaking was a young-looking maid, currently seated in the chair beside my bed. I looked at her for a mont and realized I'd seen her before. Just yesterday morning, also in my bedroom, she was the girl who had been holding the gown while helping Victoria get dressed... what is she doing here?
"I'll go inform Her Majesty the Queen. Please wait a mont."
The maid said this and rose, stepping back out of the bedroom. Watching her retreating figure, I sank into thought.
Last night... I rembered going to Alix Alley in the northern district to look for Abel. I couldn't find him, and my body kept getting worse and worse. On my way back I ran into The Gate of Truth, they launched a suicide attack on . I fought back against them, my head was getting worse and worse... when did I make it back?
Right, where's Abel!
That thought hit like a jolt. I imdiately tried to prop myself up on my arms and climb out of bed, only to find that my whole body had no strength at all. I flopped back down limply onto the bed.
Right on its heels ca a violent surge of dizziness. My vision spun, stars bursting across my eyes... I felt like throwing up.
"Urgh—"
I couldn't stop a dry heave. Tears pricked at my eyes.
...I feel awful.
My lower abdon still hurts.
My face was burning up. I lay there in bed, just breathing heavily through it. After a little while, a voice ca from outside the bedroom door, cold and striking, like the sound of cold spring water.
"Lie down. Stop making a fuss."
Like soone issuing an order. I didn't even have to look to know who had walked in.
"You... how did you get in here..."
I asked weakly. I waited a mont and got no reply from Victoria, so I forced myself to rally my spirits, pushed my body up to lean against the headboard, and turned my head to look at her.
Victoria was dressed in a casual long dress of bright red, simple in cut yet elegant. Her golden hair fell loosely over her shoulders. Below the hem that stopped just above her knees, a pair of long, fair legs showed themselves. That flawless porcelain face of hers still carried no expression. She silently pulled out the chair by the bed and sat down.
I furrowed my brows and repeated my earlier question: "How did you get in here?"
"I have no interest in answering such a stupid question."
Victoria said flatly, then held sothing out toward — it was only then that I noticed she was holding a bowl of... a thick, greenish-black liquid.
"What on earth is that!"
I yelped, and imdiately got hit with another wave of nausea.
"Take your dicine. No complaining."
Victoria held a silver spoon in one hand, stirred the bowl of terrifying unknown liquid until it was evenly mixed, then scooped up a spoonful and lifted it to my lips.
...Sniff sniff.
"Urgh—"
Another involuntary dry heave. I was practically tearing up... what is that sll, it's absolutely foul!
"I'm not drinking it..."
My breath felt scorching, and my head was spinning badly. Feeling at a complete loss, I murmured: "What's wrong with ..."
Victoria's gaze was cold and sharp. She stared at without any expression on her face, and I had no idea whether she was angry or not, completely unreadable... that made a little nervous.
After a mont she opened her mouth, and what she said hit like a thunderclap out of clear sky.
"You're pregnant."
"...Whose?!"
I swear to the heavens, that question slipped out before my brain even had a chance to process it.
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