🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter – 11
“Tigris contacted us. They said they can’t wait any longer on the Tigris and want it handled before the coming-of-age ceremony.”
Tigris? Just the name of that house was enough to make the fur on Solitarie’s body stand on end.
She curled her body into a small ball, looking for a place to hide. Spotting a large rock, she ducked behind it. Then, she pricked up her ears and began listening to their conversation again.
“They said if the Hiruphs’ successor dies, they’ll bring in a collateral branch wolf beastkin they’ve prepared.”
“Why go to all that trouble? If the successor dies, wouldn’t we just take over Hiruphs?”
“Tch, that’s none of our business. After we handle it, we just take the money they give us.”
Solitarie covered her own mouth. She hadn’t understood what they meant when they said ‘handle it’ before, but now she knew exactly.
Tigris was trying to kill Heinrich.
Peeking over the rock, she saw them drawing large knives, laughing vilely. And at that moment, the breath she’d been holding escaped.
*Huff.*
One of the men, who had been saying those terrifying things, seemed to hear it. He raised a hand to his mouth, lowering his voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I thought I heard a sound.”
“Must be your imagination. No one comes here. And who would come to a place with barely anywhere to hide?”
“Can’t hurt to be careful.”
He started walking towards the only possible hiding spot—the rock.
*Crunch, crunch.* The sound of grass being stepped on reached Solitarie’s ears.
“Ren, there’s nothing there, I’m telling you. You’re being too paranoid.”
“Just need to check behind that rock.”
“Who’d be stupid enough to hide there? It’s obvious you’d get caught.”
The man called Ren scratched his head and turned back. Solitarie, covering her mouth, prayed fervently in her heart for them to leave quickly.
“Anyway, it’s today at 4 o’clock. Stab him and come out the back door. I’ll have a carriage ready. If you’re really worried about doing it alone, I’ll be nearby.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? With this medicine Tigris gave me, even if the Hiruphs’ successor has eyes in the back of his head, he won’t be able to sense me.”
Ren laughed vilely, tossing the medicine into his mouth. Then he picked up a long knife. They started talking about what kind of life they’d live after this, but Solitarie couldn’t hear anything anymore.
After a while, they left, still cackling unpleasantly.
“Ah…….”
Solitarie covered her eyes with both hands. For her, who had just been worrying about what to do once she came of age, this was too overwhelming a matter.
She considered running immediately to tell everyone. But then, as if deflated, she grabbed her hair tightly. The men talking earlier were long-time servants of Hiruphs, and she was merely the young master’s pet rabbit.
“Who would believe me……?”
A surge of emotion welled up inside Solitarie.
“Should I just pretend I didn’t hear?”
No one would know she had overheard this conversation here. Couldn’t she just pretend not to know?
If she hid somewhere nearby and quickly called Leo, Heinrich surely wouldn’t die.
“If I try to stop it, I’ll definitely die. It’s better for the young master to get hurt for a bit than for me to die……”
It was a terribly wicked thought. Thinking about how annoying Heinrich had been lately, it almost seemed justifiable.
But she knew.
“How could I……?”
No matter how annoying or frivolous Heinrich was, it didn’t change the fact that he was her savior.
She, who should have died alone and lonely in that cold winter, had slept in a warm place for four years and received affection she had never known in her life.
That was enough.
“It’s repaying a final favor, really.”
Her eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, were filled with determination. Even if she wouldn’t get to see the world as she had planned, it was okay.
Somehow, it felt that way.
An inexplicable power blossomed in her chest, making her feel she could endure dying in Heinrich’s place, or any pain that came with it.
“Will it hurt a lot?”
Solitarie patted her stomach a couple of times and sprang up from her spot. Then, she began running towards the library with all her might.
As she ran, her face held no trace of sorrow or worry. With a calm smile, Solitarie asked in her heart,
‘This counts as repaying a favor, right?’
***
After running for a long time, she arrived at the quiet library path. The presence of the man called Ren, who had taken that medicine earlier, was indeed almost undetectable.
‘Tigris! Really!’
If the other side noticed her, it would be trouble. Solitarie quickly took a deep breath and held it.
Just as everyone was settling into their respective positions, Heinrich appeared.
Even though he had been annoying just before they parted, she felt unexpectedly glad to see him now. Matching his steps, which were slower than usual, Solitarie took a deep breath.
‘One.’
The moment he saved her came to mind.
‘Two.’
She remembered the day he first called her by her name and gave her a nickname.
‘Three.’
Finally, she regretted not avoiding him earlier.
The three seconds passed in an instant, and the rabbit was much faster than expected.
Watching herself run, Solitarie couldn’t help but laugh. The steps she took with Heinrich, which he always matched, were slow, but the feet saving him were fast.
With the final thought that perhaps she had intentionally walked slower with him, the anticipated pain pierced through her stomach.
The expression on Heinrich’s face was one she thought she would never forget, even for the rest of her life.
‘Ah. But this is the end, isn’t it?’
His face was frozen, unable to cry or frown.
‘What a foolish expression.’
Seeing that, a stifled laugh escaped Solitarie. Looking at Heinrich’s face, the pain of her pierced stomach didn’t even register.
Heinrich seemed unable to comprehend the situation, his eyes shaking. Ren, who had tried to attack him, seemed the same; he hurriedly tried to pull the knife stuck in her stomach and run away.
Instantly, Heinrich’s hand shot out from behind and tightly grasped the sharp blade. The knife couldn’t escape his strong grip, and Ren fell backward in surprise.
Solitarie, leaning weakly against Heinrich, moved her mouth.
‘I protected you.’
Watching Heinrich, who kept shaking his head in a daze, a small regret bloomed in Solitarie’s chest. If she had known this would happen, she would have been a little more rebellious, more honest with her feelings.
If there was a next time, she vowed to be more honest with her emotions. At the same moment, Solitarie’s body began to fall backward.
If Heinrich hadn’t caught her falling body, she would have surely tumbled to the ground in a ridiculous manner. Having lost quite a lot of blood, her vision swam and she felt nauseous.
It was hard to even move her mouth, but mustering her remaining strength, Solitarie bid farewell to Heinrich.
“Good…bye.”
With that burdensome final word, Solitarie’s hand dropped to the floor with a thud.
Clutching the fallen hand tightly, Heinrich trembled. He was suddenly afraid. He could feel Solitarie, growing colder, leaving him.
“Sol? Solitarie?”
The sparkling green eyes and the silver hair that fluttered in the sunlight all looked dark and lifeless. And the thick, red substance gushing from between them began to envelop Heinrich. The fishy, foul smell came with it. Trembling, Heinrich began to wrap Solitarie in his own clothes.
“Are you cold… cold? No. No, I was wrong. Sol. First, Leo. Leo… LEO!!!”
A wolf’s howl filled the space. It was a sorrowful and lonely cry.
How much time had passed? The beastkin of Hiruphs came swarming upon hearing his cries.
“Leo, Sol won’t open her eyes.”
His golden eyes shook like those of a lost lamb.
Leo, who had come running, quickly began checking Solitarie’s condition. The large knife had cleanly pierced through her. She had lost a lot of blood, and her face was so pale it looked like she could die at any moment.
“First, we need to move her to a room and perform surgery. A piercing wound like this can’t be fixed with healing magic alone.”
“Then what do we do first…?”
Leaving the flustered Heinrich behind, Leo calmly moved Solitarie to a room. And then a surgery lasting over eight hours began.
Heinrich could do nothing but pace anxiously the entire time the surgery lasted. He was disgusted by his own incompetence.
“What a complete fool.”
Just as Solitarie’s final goodbye filled his head, pushing him to the brink of madness, Leo opened the operating room door and came out.
“The surgery was successful. However, I can’t guarantee when she might wake up. Until she does, we can only use healing magic to sustain her life.”
Upon hearing the pronouncement, Heinrich collapsed to the floor. His sorrowful cries filled the hallway.
To Heinrich, who was begging him to save her, Leo could say nothing other than that he would do his best.
From that day on, Hiruphs was sealed shut. Heinrich’s scheduled coming-of-age ceremony was also canceled. Quite a long time passed since she had closed her eyes.
Through spring, summer, and autumn, until the chilly winter when she had first arrived at Hiruphs arrived again, Solitarie did not open her eyes.
