Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 371: Lily

Chapter 371: Lily

Lily's choked sobs filled the spacious hall as she lied in Charles' arms.

"So you knew all along, M-Mr. Charles? That I wouldn't live much longer?"

Charles held Lily's fair little hand in his palm and flipped it gently. Charles felt like a dagger had pierced his heart and was slicing it into pieces from the inside.

"Bandages told me that the ritual wasn't a good solution, so I had Linda check for me to see whether you were the same Lily or not. I was afraid that you were no longer the same Lily I had known once you came back from the ritual.

"Fortunately, you came back, but at the same time, unfortunately, it was you who came back."

Lily bit down on her lip as tears flowed down her face again.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to stay by your side even just a bit longer."

"It's okay" Charles muttered as he made Lily's head lean against his neck.

"How many days do you have left? I'll stay with you for as many days as you have left." As Charles spoke, he slowly closed his eyes at the thought of the inevitable.

"Sister Linda said that I only have two days left, and we're about to sail as well" Lily muttered while rubbing her head against Charles' neck, just like her habit of rubbing her tiny head against Charles' fingers when she was still a mouse.

"Two days two days" Charles muttered to himself. Finding a way to save Lily in just two days was a pipe dream. How could he find a solution in two days when he had failed to do so over the past three months?

Lily propped herself up and looked up at Charles with bloodshot eyes. She then stretched her hand out and smoothened out Charles' knitted brows with her soft fingers.

"Mr. Charles, stop thinking about it. It's fine. I feel really bad seeing you like this. I'm not afraid of death, really. I'm already happy. The past few days have been the happiest days of my life. I'm really happy."

Charles looked down at the petite girl in front of him. As far as he could remember, Lily had always been by his side as a mouse.

Lily smiled sweetly at him. Then, she pounced on Charles and wrapped both of her arms around his neck before gently rubbing her soft, fair cheek against Charles' face.

Just like that, the two cuddled silently as the candles on the table burned out slowly until they extinguished, plunging the room into complete darkness.

The next morning at eight, the steward returned to the Governor's Mansion to perform his duties as always.

The steward was about to order the cooks, the servants, and the maids to start working on the Governor's Mansion, but as soon as he walked past the steel gates and reached the spacious hall, a topless Charles with bloodshot eyes rushed over to him, startling him greatly.

"Governor?" the steward muttered.

Charles whispered something into his ears.

"Governor! Are you really going to"

"Hurry up and go!"

"Y-yes! I understand!"

Soon, the guards carried items wrapped in black cloth into Charles' bedroom inside the Governor's Mansion.

"Governor, some of these items were purchased at high prices from the islanders. Of course, some were confiscated, but we brought them here before they were destroyed," the steward explained.

Charles seemed to be in a daze as he waved his hand to dismiss the steward and the guards. The steward understood instantly and brought the guards away with him. He even closed the door behind him as he left.

Charles lifted the black cloth off of one of the items, revealing an eerie-looking female statue with a mouth full of sharp teeth and pitch-black eye sockets reminiscent of the abyss.

However, Charles wasn't done yet. He removed the black cloth covering the rest of the items, revealing eighty statues of varying shapes and sizes. Every single statue represented every major and minor religion in the Subterranean Sea, including the visual representation of the Divinities in the deep sea as well as totems.

Regardless of whether they were real or fake, they were all here in Charles' bedroom. Charles' breathing hastened as he stood before the gazes of so many statues.

He clenched and unclenched his fists; he felt extremely conflicted inside, but when Lily's face popped up in his mind, Charles' expression hardened to that of determination, and his knees crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Charles knelt before the statues and muttered, "Please please save Lily. I really have nothing else to turn to"

Grief and despairCharles had been suppressing these two emotions, but these emotions had breached the dam that Charles had created with his tenacious will, and the waves of his tumultuous emotions engulfed him whole.

Just then, a crisp noise echoed and was followed by multiple explosions. The room was instantly filled with a fog made out of sawdust. Charles looked up and was shocked to find that some of the statues had inexplicably exploded.

Meanwhile, the remaining totems and status remained completely indifferent to Charles' plea, as if they were nothing but inanimate objects.

Charles pounded the ground with his fists; his veins bulged, and his face flushed red as he turned toward the totems and statues before him and roared, "You pieces of shit that can't even save one person are still considered gods here?! What bullshit is that?! None of you deserve such a title; all of you are nothing but a steaming pile of shit!"

The totems and statues remained indifferent without any reaction whatsoever.

Creak!

A creaking noise echoed behind Charles. Charles turned and found that Lily had opened the door behind him. Lily's face showed not a single hint of sadness; she even stuck her tiny tongue at him and said shyly, "Do you have time, Mr. Charles? I'd like to ask you for a favor."

The shoveling noises sounded particularly loud as multiple people dug a hole in the ground. A topless Charles was digging a hole next to Laesto's tomb, and because he was strong, a huge pit soon appeared in the ground.

He single-handedly carried a coffin painted in white and placed it inside the pit. Then, he opened the lid of the coffin and gently laid a preserved mouse specimen inside of it. The preserved mouse specimen was none other than Lily's carcass.

Afterward, Charles picked up a colorful miniature house seemingly crafted from an assortment of bright candies. It was the same miniature house that Lily had been staying at beneath Charles' bed.

Lastly, Charles slipped a painting inside the coffin. The painting depicted Charles and Lily in each other's embrace, and they were staring at each other with their gazes full of affection.

Charles then turned around to look at Lily standing behind him.

"Is this okay?" he asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. Let me try it out," Lily replied.

Charles walked over and scooped her up by the waist before carrying her toward the coffin. He then laid her inside the coffin, but instead of standing up, Charles lied down next to Lily and stared at the brown canopy of Hope Island up above.

"Is it a bit too dark?"

"Yeah. I think it'd be great if it's a bit brighter."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The white bone bullets tore a hole in the canopy above Hope Island, and warm sunlight instantly shot down from the hole. However, it seemed Charles' aim was a bit off, as the sunlight shone down on Laesto's tombstone rather than on him and Lily.

"Pfft!" Lily sat up in her coffin and burst out into laughter.

Charles started laughing as well, even though he had no idea what was so funny. While he was laughing, his right hand unconsciously squeezed the edge of the coffin until a loud, crisp noise echoed.

Charles ended up breaking off a piece of the coffin, and that was when he came back to his senses. He looked up and found Lily lying motionless with a deathly pale face inside the coffin rather than sitting up inside of it.

The crew members stood motionless around the coffin with grave expressions; they were all dressed in black with a white flower in hand, and the scene resembled Laesto's funeral.

"Captain, are you okay?" Dipp asked in an anxious tone.

Charles struggled to compose himself and pull himself away from the scenes yesterday. He was just about to climb out of the pit when his legs gave way beneath him. Fortunately, James reacted quickly and grabbed Charles in time.

"Captain, are you all right?" James asked. Today, he was dressed in his uniform as a part of Hope Island's Police Department.

Charles pushed James away, and his voice sounded extremely hoarse as he said, "Do it!"

A loud thud echoed as the coffin was closed, and black iron nails were soon hammered along the edges of the coffin, sealing it tightly. The crew members with anguished looks approached the coffin one at a time and threw the white flower in their hand onto the coffin.

Once again, James and Dipp exchanged glances before quietly taking a shovel and pilling the pit with soil.

Meanwhile, Charles walked up in front of Laesto's tombstone, and he sat on top of it in one fluid motion. Charles' eyes gradually grew unfocused as his steel fingers tapped on the tombstone.

"Hi, I'm Lily. What's your name?"

"Mr. Charles, can you come home with me? I'm afraid Mom won't recognize me."

"Mr. Charles, thank you so much. You're a good person."

"Mr. Charles, I love you."

"Ahem, ahem~" An aged, coughing voice echoed behind Charles, interrupting his train of thought. Charles didn't even turn around and instead roared, "We're sailing today, so stop fucking rushing me!"

The Pope slowly walked up to Charles in his signature white robes. "Captain Charles, you're clearly not in the condition to go on a voyage, so let me give you some good news. The great Light God has bestowed upon me an oracle.

"He was deeply moved by the relationship between you and Lily."

"Moved?!" Charles pointed at Lily's grave next to him and glared at the Pope with bloodshot eyes. "What's the point of just being moved?! Why not bring her back to life?! He's omnipotent, isn't he?!"

The Pope's expression showed a trace of displeasure as he said, "How can He bring her back to life when He's still trapped? Can you please let me finish?"

"Ahem," the Pope cleared his throat and said, "The great Light God has bestowed upon me an oracle. He said, 'As long as Charles finds the exit to the surface world and helps Me escape from My restraint, I shall bring the mouse back to life as a reward for Charles' dedication."

Charles glared coldly at the Pope and asked, "Has your mouth ever spoken a single truth so far?"

The Pope seemed surprised at the question. He clapped his hands and showed them to Charles, saying, "I've never lied my entire life. What? You don't believe me?"

"Hahaha, of course, I believe you!" Charles laughed boisterously and jumped down the tombstone before making a beeline for the harbor area.

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

I refuse to believe this is the end of Lily. /cries a river/