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Chapter 56 – Death
Chapter 56 – Death
Chapter 56 – Death
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 56 – Death
Isabel approached slowly.
I stepped back, trying to get away, until I was cornered.
I glanced around frantically.
Despite the commotion, there was no sign of anyone nearby.
What trick did she use?
No, before that…
‘Kidnap me?’
Click—
One by one, the gears in my head started to click into place.
Eastern Continent expansion, the banquet, and Isabel Yustia.
Scattered pieces of information began to align chronologically like a puzzle.
Only then did I realize.
This wasn’t an impulsive decision.
For quite some time… maybe since Isabel gave me the Scared Solvent and I returned to the mansion with Luna.
Since then, Isabel had been planning.
To kidnap me and take me to her secluded place.
Where no one could find us.
Just the two of us.
A shiver ran from my fingertips.
The nauseating thought made me sick.
“Get out of my sight.”
I growled in a low voice.
Isabel looked at me calmly and chuckled.
“Why?”
“…”
“If I leave, will you ask Luna for help?”
A twisted smile spread across her face.
“Kyle.”
“Shut up. Just hearing your voice makes me want to puke.”
“I’m sorry if you’re angry. But this is all for you.”
“This is for me?”
“Yes, I plan to isolate you completely from the eye of the storm.”
Isabel nodded as if it were no big deal.
“I’m going to hide you somewhere safe.”
“…”
“And then announce it. That Kyle, you, are missing.”
I laughed in disbelief at her self-serving justification.
Isabel continued undeterred.
“Those women will probably suspect me. But it’s fine. As long as you cooperate, I’ll keep you safe from them.”
“Ha.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
There was an obvious flaw in Isabel’s logic.
“I told you. The most dangerous person to me is you.”
“…”
“Protect me? You? Want to know the best way?”
It was simple.
I told her.
“Just die.”
Isabel’s smirk slowly faded.
Her reaction amused me.
“I understand.”
Isabel sighed and muttered.
“You must hate me.”
“…”
“You hate me so much you want me to suffer. To be so horrifically hurt that I’d never think of looking at you again.”
Isabel mumbled with her head bowed.
“But you know what?”
She pressed the corners with a sigh.
“At first, it hurt so much that just breathing made me cry, but now even that pain feels sweet.”
“Crazy bitch.”
“I told you before. Spit on me, slap me if you want. Even if I die by your hand one day, I’ll be happy.”
Click clack—
Isabel’s shadow, backlit by the moonlight, crept closer.
I watched it with my back against the wall.
“How did I get so broken?”
Isabel laughed like she was about to cry.
Her blue eyes were filled with dark, twisted emotions.
“Because of you, Kyle.”
Excuses, excuses, and more excuses.
Everything out of her mouth was a cowardly excuse.
“You made me this way.”
She’s not human.
She’s nothing more than a beast, driven solely by base instincts with no trace of reason.
Even as she spouted this nonsense, her blue eyes, filled with twisted love, disgusted me.
Isabel was sincere.
Sincerely loved Kyle, even while saying such things.
I couldn’t accept any of this.
That day, I clearly warned her.
I told her I’m not Kyle, that the Kyle she remembered was already dead.
That she could never seek forgiveness or beg for love again.
‘Why?’
I couldn’t understand.
What was Kyle to this woman?
She hated Kyle.
She treated him so coldly.
Wasn’t that enough? She even killed Kyle with her own hands.
And now what?
Kidnap me?
I was furious.
My sanity snapped like a thread stretched to its limit.
— 90%
— 91%
…
…
The progress rate increased.
And then, a sudden realization struck me.
‘This might be better.’
If words don’t work.
If she refuses to acknowledge my warnings.
— 94%
I will give her the most terrible ending.
Yes.
The complete death of Kyle.
****
[Translator – Peptobismol]
As the blood-red sun rose, the sky turned crimson.
At dawn, the Pope, the Saintess, and several key members of the Papacy left the Papal See.
The Eastern Continent is an unknown land beyond the Empire’s reach.
It consists of several kingdoms, and because of the frequent power struggles, it’s unlike the peaceful Empire.
The security is poor, civilization is slow to develop, and the leaders are corrupt.
It’s the perfect condition for faith to take root.
Their destination was the Bihakan Territory of the Eastern Continent.
As it was the first historical expansion into the Eastern Continent, their procession was grand.
Twenty carriages in a row.
Eighteen headed straight for the capital of the Bihakan Kingdom.
Only two carriages deviated from the procession.
These two carriages took a completely different route through what seemed to be a remote forest path.
Time passed, and the sun set, bringing darkness.
The moonlight shattered into fragments through the dense leaves.
Clatter—
Two aristocratic carriages bearing the Papal See’s emblem moved through the forest.
As the full moon filled the sky, the coachman’s voice echoed in the air.
“Saintess, we will camp here for the night.”
The carriages gradually slowed.
When they finally came to a halt, Isabel stepped out.
“How much further?”
“About two more hours.”
“Can’t we just keep going?”
“It’s too dark and dangerous. We’ll camp here tonight and leave at first light tomorrow.”
Isabel reluctantly nodded.
She glanced around and then asked.
“What about Kyle?”
“Sorry?”
The coachman tilted his head in confusion, then clapped as if he remembered.
“Oh, the man who’s been sleeping all this time?”
“Yes, that man.”
“You don’t have to worry. He was sleeping so soundly, he didn’t wake up even with all the jolting.”
“And the female knight with him?”
“Also asleep.”
Isabel swallowed a sigh of relief at the coachman’s assurance.
The effect of the hard-to-obtain sleeping powder was certain.
Isabel smiled brightly.
She turned to the carriage where Kyle was supposed to be.
‘Kyle is in there…’
From now on, she could be with Kyle.
She could see his face and hear his voice whenever she wanted.
She couldn’t believe it.
A satisfaction she couldn’t describe tickled her heart.
“Finally.”
She couldn’t stop smiling.
The headache that seemed to squeeze her head every day disappeared.
Ah, I can finally breathe.
Everything before her seemed beautiful.
“Kyle.”
By now, she could almost see Luna’s panicked face upon hearing the news of Kyle’s disappearance.
It was amusing.
And satisfying.
She would never again have to see Kyle with another woman.
From today, only she could be by Kyle’s side.
It didn’t matter if he hated her.
Kyle had every right to hate her.
“…”
Isabel stood still, staring at the carriage.
She mumbled.
“I miss you already…”
She started walking towards the carriage.
She just wanted to see Kyle’s sleeping face once more.
“Careful. Let me open it for you.”
The coachman, watching her, quickly ran over and opened the door.
Creak—
The door opened.
And.
“…What?”
The seats inside the carriage were empty.
Kyle.
The female knight guarding him.
Kyle’s cherished belongings.
Everything was gone.
“This, this can’t be… I saw with my own eyes that they were asleep until we stopped…!”
The coachman’s eyes were wide with shock.
Isabel scanned the carriage with a sharp gaze.
The door on the other side, which should have been closed, was open.
Following Isabel’s gaze, the coachman swallowed hard and hastily explained.
“Uh, it seems they escaped while we were preparing. They must have pretended to be asleep…!”
“Quiet.”
Swoosh—
A golden aura rose around Isabel’s body.
Her blue pupils slowly turned yellow.
Simultaneously, she saw faint traces of Kyle’s mana.
Isabel closed her eyes tightly.
“…”
When she opened them again, she was already running through the forest.
“Huff… huff…”
She panted heavily.
Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.
Thud— Thud—
Thick raindrops poured from the sky.
Isabel ran and ran until the rain running down her hands soaked the hem of her trousers.
The increasing smell of rain pierced her nose.
A bitter taste filled her mouth.
How long had he been awake?
From the start?
Did he pretend to be asleep all that time just to deceive her?
No.
She couldn’t lose Kyle here.
Why deceive me again…
Every time… Every time like this…!
“Damn it…!”
Her whole body was soaked with rain.
The sound of her wet footsteps echoed hollowly in the air as she ran.
And then, the trail ended.
“…Kyle.”
Under the pouring moonlight, Kyle stood alone.
Just as she was about to rush towards him.
“Don’t move.”
Kyle pushed her away again.
With a gaze full of contempt, he warned her with an icy voice.
“Go back the way you came.”
Don’t come.
I don’t need your love.
“Why?”
Annoyance flared up.
So she laughed.
“Where are you trying to go again?”
Why, why, why!
Swirling emotions tore at her sanity.
“Just once!”
Her voice rose.
Isabel couldn’t control herself.
“I begged and begged! Just give me one chance! Is that… Is that so hard…?”
“I said go back.”
“No, I won’t. I’m not going. No matter what you say, no matter where you run, I won’t give up.”
She was desperate.
So she cried out frantically.
“Just, just stop.”
Isabel took a step toward Kyle.
One step, and then another.
The closer she got, the clearer Kyle’s once blurry face became.
Kyle’s eyes were dark and lifeless.
“Really?”
Kyle chuckled.
Then he took something out and raised it.
“Kyle…?”
A short, blunt blade gleamed in the moonlight.
The smile on Kyle’s lips deepened.
“I curse you.”
From the raised blade, a pure white light began to emanate.
And slowly.
Very slowly.
The blade that had been pointing towards the sky began to descend toward Kyle’s chest.
Every moment felt slow and surreal.
“No… no…?”
No way, right?
It couldn’t be what I was thinking, right?
An indescribable anxiety tore at her reason.
Isabel instinctively reached out towards Kyle.
At that moment.
“Let’s never meet again.”
Wait, Kyle.
No.
Stop that hand…!
“…!”
The blade of light mercilessly pierced Kyle’s heart.
Eeeeeee—
A terrible ringing pierced her eardrums.
The light that had penetrated Kyle’s chest gradually faded, and soon Kyle, who had been standing fine, slowly crumbled to the ground.
Every moment was brutally etched into her eyes.
The raindrops falling in the drizzle.
Kyle’s jet-black hair fluttering in the air.
His blue eyes, filled with resentment, staring at her until the end.
All of it.
As if time had stopped, it felt like an eternity.
“Ah… ahh…”
She ran out frantically and desperately tried to catch Kyle’s falling body.
His labored breathing grew faint.
It was a familiar scene.
Just like when he had drunk the poison she had prepared and was dying.
“What is this…”
And after a moment.
Thud—
Kyle’s arms fell limply.
At the same time.
His breathing stopped.
“No…!”
She frantically fumbled for Kyle’s face.
Even so, his closed eyelids did not move.
No breath escaped his parted lips.
There was no response.
No pulse to be felt.
“How… Kyle…?”
A voice, squeezed out as if from the depths, emerged from her throat.
The pouring rain pounded against her face.
“Huh…?”
It was as if a bomb had exploded right in front of her; her ears buzzed.
The terrible headache made even breathing difficult.
A frost-like chill crept up the back of her neck.
Isabel muttered like someone whose soul had left them.
“No… no, no…”
It can’t be, right?
Right?
“If this happens… then I…”
No matter what…
There was no need to go this far…
“Kyle… Kyle…?”
She muttered in a voice completely hoarse.
What was she saying, what had she just seen, all of it was blurred.
And at the same time, a sharp realization shredded through her mind.
“Please…”
Kyle was dead.
[TL/N: Isabel be like; who’s gonna stop me now? ?]
[Translator – Peptobismol]