The Extra Wants To Live

Chapter 196: The Empty Latter

"Because that is the only weakness of His Majesty the Grand Duke, and at the same time, the biggest obstacle standing in his way."

Lilly's face hardened.

Orten continued speaking to Lilly, who couldn't even breathe, with as little emotion as possible.

"A giant eagle that can cover the sky with its wings is circling around us, thinking we are its home. If it can't leave of its own accord even though it's time to leave, it will have no choice but to destroy us."

Everyone knew that Carl was very devoted to Lilly, so it was impossible not to know that Lilly was Carl's only and most painful weakness. And Carl was doing everything he could to protect her.

If the power he used for Lilly had been used entirely on himself, Carl would be looking down on the world from a much higher place than he is now.

"Once His Highness the Grand Duke ascends the throne, it will be even more of a hindrance than it is now. Even if Lady Lilly becomes the Emperor's mother, her birth will not disappear. On the contrary, it will damage His Highness the Grand Duke's legitimacy for a long time."

Lilly's presence would remind people of Carl's biological mother, Diana.

Diana, like Lilly, came from a humble family of Felts.

No matter how hard Lilly tried, her mere presence deeply wounded Carl's legitimacy.

Now there were only two 'Felts' left in this world: Carl Feldhardion, the 4th Prince, the Grand Duke of the Empire, and the Planter of Laurel Trees who united the eastern part of the Empire, and the other was Lilly Felt.

Even though Lilly might disappear, there would still be one 'Felt' remaining: Carl.

Even if they couldn't completely eradicate the Felt bloodline, they could at least quietly bury it.

"Lady Lilly," Orten placed his hand on his chest, bowed deeply, and respectfully addressed her.

"Please drink it. For His Highness and the Empire."

A cold silence fell over the room.

Orten did not truly want to kill Lilly, but ironically, he genuinely wished she would drink the poison.

If she refused, Orten would have to kill her, even if it meant using harsh methods.

It was even more painful for Orten, who respected Lilly, and it would be even more painful for Carl to learn that his beloved mother had died a painful death.

"...Would it be okay if I left a letter?"

After a long silence, Lilly asked Orten.

Orten slowly straightened his back and looked at Lilly with deeply sunken eyes. Lilly was trembling with fear, but she looked straight at Orten without shedding a single tear.

"Yes, of course. I just need to check it first, is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. ...You allow me to write a letter."

Lilly forced a smile.

"Your Highness, with your insight, you will surely understand it in an instant. And..."

If it were Carl, he would immediately realize that Lilly's death was caused by Azgoth. It would be impossible to fool him.

"I am the chief chamberlain of the palace. I can handle such matters."

Above all, Orten respected Lilly and allowed her request. She deserved that much. This woman of low birth had what even noble ladies, empresses, and consorts did not have.

"Thank you," Lilly expressed her gratitude with a trembling smile to Orten, who had come to kill her. She could sense that Orten was very distressed by the thought of her being killed and did not want to do it.

Lilly put the vial of poison on the desk with trembling hands and took out the stationery she had saved to write a letter to Carl.

Lilly, who lived a frugal life, spent money only on letters for Carl. She selected a pen and ink that didn't leave messy marks, and stationery that felt good even if it wasn't expensive.

Lilly caressed the letter with trembling hands and held the pen.

The pen slowly rose over the letter paper.

Lilly remained motionless for a long time. The ink just kept spreading across the stationery. She had so much to say, but she didn't know where to begin.

"Lady Lilly, you don't have to rush. I'll wait," Orten spoke softly, reassuring her that he would wait as long as necessary.

Orten began to pour himself some tea prepared in the room on behalf of Lilly.

He handed her the tea and stood quietly beside her, as he had done with Azgoth, waiting for her to write her last letter to Carl.

Lilly hesitated for a while, then put down her pen and drank some of the tea Orten had given her.

"…It's definitely the same tea, but it smells much better than what I brewed."

"Thank you, Lady Lilly," Orten bowed his head to acknowledge Lilly's praise.

Lilly gritted her teeth and forced her trembling lips to smile. She folded the smudged letter paper neatly and put it aside, then ran her fingertips over the new paper, selecting the best quality one.

Finally, in front of Orten, Lilly began to write the letter. To her beloved son, Carl, though she could not even bring herself to call him her son.

Orten closed his eyes as soon as Lilly began writing, seemingly to confirm the contents of the letter.

He could clearly determine the state of a writer just by the sound of the pen scraping against the paper.

Lilly was terrified, and her hands shook constantly. Without even looking, he knew that the handwriting was messy.

After writing for a while, Lilly stopped again, just as the tremors were starting to subside.

"…Is it okay if I write it again?"

"As much as you want."

"Thank you," Lilly whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

She took out a new piece of stationery and began to write again.

"It's a little embarrassing to leave a messy letter as my last."

Orten remained silent, unable to say anything to Lilly's small words. For a long time, the only sound in the room was the pen scraping against the paper.

Orten moved quietly to make some more warm tea for Lilly, as the tea she had barely tasted had cooled down. He replaced it with another cup.

Lilly didn't even notice. She just kept writing, her lips tightly shut.

After a while, a faint smile appeared on Lilly's face. Orten, who had come to take her life, was by her side, and she was writing her last letter, her will, to her beloved Carl.

Orten was curious about the contents of the letter she wrote to Carl, but he never looked at it.

He would not look at Lilly's letter until the end. If anything went wrong with the letter, he would take responsibility. That was the only consideration Orten could give Lilly.

The pen finally stopped. Only Lilly's faint breathing lingered in the room.

Lilly quietly checked the letter she had written. Though the writing at the beginning showed some trepidation, she felt it was well-written overall.

"Is it okay if you don't read it? I'm going to put it in the envelope now."

"Yes, you can just put it in."

"I didn't write anything that I shouldn't have written."

"I know."

"…Thank you."

"Not at all, Lady Lilly."

Orten never checked Lilly's letter until the very end, and he didn't know what she had written. But she passed it off as a small lie, and Lilly thanked him.

Lilly drank her tea while waiting for the ink on the letter to dry. She smiled faintly at the tea, which should have been cold but was now warm.

Lilly thought deeply for a moment, then hesitated a little and picked up her pen again.

Putting the pen back on the almost dry letter paper, she drew a straight horizontal line across the paper that she had worked so hard to write on.

"Huh huh…" Lilly chuckled softly as she wrote something underneath it, smiling shyly like a little girl who had played a cute prank.

After the ink on the last note had completely dried, Lilly folded the letter neatly and placed it in an envelope. She then sewed and sealed the letter herself.

The letter paper was blank.

There was no need to write anything on it because the message was already so full that it would overflow from the page.

"It's finished," Lilly said softly.

"I will make sure to convey this to His Highness the Grand Duke, so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Orten reassured her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You can call me Orten," he replied with a gentle smile.

Lilly returned the smile. "Yes, thank you, Orten. You can call me Lilly, too."

"Yes, Lilly," Orten responded, his smile widening.

Lilly wanted to pray to Duren for Carl one last time.

But since she had already done more than usual, it might be better to think of Carlmann rather than Duren for the final prayer.

Besides, the silver staff necklace she usually used when praying was no longer with her.

'Ah, I'm glad I gave it to him as a gift,' Lilly thought, smiling as she remembered the silver cane necklace she had given to Carl.

It must be because of that necklace that he has been safe up until now.

Since I gave it to Carl, I will now protect Carl, she resolved.

After a while, Orten quietly left the room alone. He closed the door behind him and remained there for a long time, as if rooted to the spot, unable to move.

But he had already spent too much time there, and eventually, he had no choice but to move on.

Unconsciously, he felt for the bag containing Lilly's letter.

The letter would be delivered directly to Carl. If it was Carl, he would know that it was Azgoth who was responsible anyway.

Orten's face remained calm and composed as usual, but his fingertips, which were lightly stroking his arms, trembled faintly.