The journey was anything but smooth. On the way from the imperial palace to the Duke of Obelton’s manor, he encountered more than ten assassins.
Seeking the least crowded paths and taking detours led to several falls from his horse, eventually forcing him to proceed on foot after losing it.
Yet, Ruth pressed on relentlessly. The thought of meeting with the Duke of Obelton and seeking his help filled his mind. Whenever he felt his resolve weakening, the faces of his mother and Lancelot emerged in his mind, strengthening his determination to meet the Duke. He constantly reminded himself of their sacrifices.
Ruth was no fool. Naturally, he understood the choice Lancelot had made when he said he would follow soon. No matter how skilled, facing a hundred knights alone is impossible. This was true for Lancelot as well.
“Haah, haah….”
His breath was rough, escaping through his mouth continuously. His vision blurred and cleared in cycles. His head was in severe pain. He couldn’t even tell if he was standing on flat land or a rugged mountain path.
Biting his lower lip, Ruth took a few more steps before finally sitting down. Having entered this vast forest some time ago, even if the knights of the Third Prince were to follow, it would take them a lot of time to find him. Therefore, taking a brief rest here seemed okay.
“Ugh.”
Ruth wrapped one hand around his abdomen, from which blood continued to flow, and laboriously crawled to lean his back against a tree. The price for falling numerous times on the way and being stabbed by a sword was an indescribable, intense pain.
His eyelids, heavy as if flooded with lethargy, felt like they might close in surrender of consciousness at any moment.
How much further to the Duke of Obelton’s manor…? It seems like it should be appearing soon.
Thinking this, he struggled to shrug his shoulders. Instinctively, he realized that there wasn’t much time left. Please, please, please. Ruth incessantly repeated this plea inwardly. If there is a god, please grant me a chance. If he were to close his eyes now, how would he resolve the bitter resentment of those who had laid down their lives for him?
“Ruth. Listen to your mother well. From now on, you must live on your own. You have to eat, drink tea, pick flowers, read books, and even bathe all by yourself. It will be lonely. It will be desolate. But no matter what, do not give up and persistently endure in this hellish palace. Endure and make a beautiful flower ring for your mother every year. If Ruth does just that, your mother will have no regrets left in this life. Understand?”
“…Mother.”
While his vision flickered and faded, Ruth clenched his fist, recalling his mother’s fading last words.
At the same time, he felt his body, which had been leaning on the tree with difficulty, collapse powerlessly to the ground. Even though it was his own body, it felt eerily alien.
“I must live. I must survive here. But how? Death has already come this close, and all the people who used to care for him in this life have disappeared. How in the world am I supposed to live in such a situation?”
Contradictory thoughts chased each other endlessly. Ruth listened attentively to the voice of his mind wavering between reason and instinct, focusing on his weakening breath. Death takes everything away so quietly.
It was at that moment when his consciousness was fading.
Rustle, rustle.
A light presence was felt nearby. The sound was so quiet that one had to concentrate all their nerves to hear it, or it would not be heard.
“Ugh.”
As soon as he realized there was someone else here, a spark of hope was kindled in his dying hope. Ruth wriggled his immobile body as much as he could.
But it was in vain. So, with his eyes squinted half-shut, he squeezed out the strength of his infancy and whispered.
“…Who’s there?”
“…Sigh.”
After posing the question, a few seconds passed, and what returned was a small sigh. It was a sigh delicate like that of a girl, yet artificial, as if a hidden assassin was trying to conceal their presence.
Ruth sighed deeply without taking any action as he scrutinized the reaction of his unresponsive counterpart and quickly thought things over.
A normal person wouldn’t be able to maintain their composure upon seeing someone collapsed like that. Therefore, the person before him must be someone overly familiar with death.
…Could it be someone sent by my brother?
A deep despair washed over him as the suspicion suddenly crossed his mind. He thought he had bought some time, but the despair of realizing that it was a miscalculation was overwhelming.
Still, he decided to ask again, just in case.
“I asked, who’s there?”
“……”
Once more, the other party answered with silence. This gave credibility to the hypothesis that this person might have been sent by the Third Prince.
Why, why, why of all people.
Ruth fought the urge to pound the ground and spat out each word as if chewing on them.
“Seeing there’s no answer, it seems you were sent by my brother. So, what did my brother send you for? To check if I’ve completely stopped breathing? Or to record my dying moments on a video crystal? But what to do? I’m not dead yet, and I have no intention of dying by my brother’s hand. So, go back and tell him. I have no interest in looking at that damned throne, so please… just leave me alone…, cough!”
As he spoke, his emotions intensified until, at last, he nearly shouted in agitation. Then, straining himself, he coughed up blood that had risen to the back of his throat and spat it out. Feeling like he would suffocate on the blood if he continued lying down, he awkwardly got up.
The Third Prince was always like this. Even if he pleaded to leave him alone, saying he would live as quiet as a dead mouse, it was ignored.
For the sake of the filthy throne, he believed that it was natural to shed the blood of his kin. Thus, he killed his own mother, friends, and even knights. All for the sake of the throne.
Now, that the Third Prince was after his life too, it was ludicrously ironic. He hated the Third Prince so much for sacrificing others just to take his life.
Ruth bit his lower lip hard as he saw his opponent maintaining silence despite being pushed to the edge. He couldn’t begin to guess what his opponent was thinking.
During this, the opponent suddenly started moving. The sound of his steps approaching was weightless. The opponent’s shadow loomed over Ruth’s head, as if he was extending a hand to him.
Ruth, sensing the movement of his approaching opponent, shouted sharply, “Don’t touch…”
He then forced strength into his stiff body, ready to respond immediately to any attack by pulling out a dagger hidden in his embrace and blocking the opponent’s hand. He then fully opened his trembling eyelids to clear his vision.
Then he saw a small girl looking at him with surprised eyes. The girl with long hazelnut-colored hair had big, round eyes that sparkled. She was wrapped in a robe of a color reminiscent of pearls, and because of that, she seemed to live apart from the world.
“…You.”
Ruth, having looked the girl up and down, relaxed his grip on the dagger he held. For no apparent reason, he was certain that this child was not a threat to him. Therefore, she couldn’t have been sent by the Third Prince, as he had suspected earlier.
“She’s not one of my brother’s people.”
His voice was low but carried certainty.
“Who are you?”
Ruth, whose appearance was covered in blood, found it curious that the girl was not startled or disturbed by his sight. It was pure curiosity. He was intrigued by the identity of the girl.
The girl seemed enchanted by his question and began to murmur “Se…” before she hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands. She rolled her eyes in embarrassment, possibly regretting revealing her name to a stranger.
“Se.”
Ruth savored the tiny piece that the girl had unwittingly let slip, rolling it gently in his mouth.
The feeling of his tongue rolling was pleasant, and the single letter, which did not evoke any negative feelings, was quite satisfying, bringing a slight smile to his lips.
During the process of dying, the girl he met was a welcome sight. Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored or been wary of a stranger, but the thought of being on the brink of death only made him glad to see her. He wondered how the girl ended up here, what kind of life she was leading, unlike his which was in utter ruin. It was a question worthless yet valuable.
Ruth carefully chose his words so as not to frighten the girl, but before he could say anything, the girl spoke first.
“How did you end up here?”
“Running away.”
Ruth replied honestly. There was no reason to lie, especially since he was unlikely to see this person again.
While giving his answer, he leaned back against the same tree he had been sitting against earlier. His abdomen, continuously bleeding, no longer had any strength. Consequently, it became difficult for him to keep himself upright on his own.
Having found a comfortable position, Ruth continued to chat with the girl about various topics. Like someone being chased by death, he laid everything bare. It was clear that once he died here, his existence in this world would be erased. Therefore, he hoped that this girl in front of him would remember him, Ruth.
Eventually, darkness came. Ruth noticed the pain that had been tormenting him gradually fade and he faintly smiled. Death quietly takes everything away.
Just before his flickering consciousness went out completely, Ruth heard someone talking from beyond that peaceful darkness.
“My name is Selena. Selena Obelton.”
It was only then that he recognized the owner of the voice that sounded as if it had been soaked in water and stretched out. And he realized. The girl who called herself ‘Se’ was none other than ‘Selena.’
In his dying moments, Ruth thought.
Truly, it was a beautiful name, reminiscent of the moon.
