Chapter 60 |
Two days later, the execution was held.
Executions were held in the capital’s square. Thousands of people surrounded the stage in the center of the square.
Above them sat Nigor, Oberon, and other death row prisoners tied to ropes. Everyone, regardless of gender, age or gender, was angry with them. They cursed and pointed at them, and shouted horribly. Some of them threw stones.
“Kill them! Garbage!”
The blown stone hit Count Nigor’s forehead and fell to the floor. The Count seemed to be screaming, but his voice was overshadowed by the shouts of the crowd. In the eyes of those holding the stone, anger and a faint madness could be seen.
Me and Yuria were there too.
Although we didn’t raise stones, we were watching their downfall without taking our eyes off them for a moment. It was the last appearance of the enemy. We couldn’t miss this.
My heart raced like crazy at the word ‘last’. I don’t know if the emotion that makes my heart race now is anticipation, joy, or some other emotion that stems from tension. But one thing is certain: I look forward to seeing them punished more than anyone else.
Yuria also raised her head and fixed her gaze on the guillotine.
As the executioner stepped onto the stage where the guillotine was set, the crowd was silent. In an instant, the square becomes silent. I could feel people paying attention to every single action of the executioner. As the executioner’s hand moved, we heard something fall to the floor. Thud! Thud…
Drop.
At that moment, I felt the soft texture of the skin poking between my fingers. Yuria took my hand.
“Lala.”
“Why are you so scared? Are you okay? I’m by your side. If it’s hard to see, let’s go back.”
Instead of answering, she put strength in my hand.
“… Yuria?”
“Sorry.”
“What…?”
I quickly turned to Yuria. She lowered her head and spit out words as if in a whisper.
“… On that day, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to go through such a painful thing when you were dragged to the mansion. Sorry for dragging you in. It is only now that I have the courage to apologize. Was it too late?”
I was momentarily stunned. What? Yuria, what are you talking about? She said it was her fault? why? My head was dizzy at the sudden situation.
“No….”
I was starting to feel nauseous with guilt.
“It’s not your fault. that… That is my fault.”
I can’t speak properly as if my throat is clogged up.
I don’t understand why Yuria is apologizing.
Rather, shouldn’t I be the one to apologize?
It was me who made Yuria torment. I couldn’t change anything in the original novel that had been recklessly twisted to get her out of the misfortune she was meant to.
That too was not enough, which made it even worse than the original.
Originally, she would have been adopted by Emily along with her sister. After that, she would have lived a happy and harmonious life as the three of them without any lack of anything and no troubles.
Until she joined the Duke’s family as a maid, she would have been happy, laughing and talking without any worries.
“If you had followed Emily, you wouldn’t have to go through that. If I hadn’t been forcing you to not go, the meeting with Count Nigor wouldn’t have happened. If I hadn’t been caught by him, you wouldn’t have come to the mansion. Why are you blaming yourself? It’s my fault… It’s all because of me.”
So you should blame me.
You shouldn’t do anything like an apology. It feels like my throat is clogged. The more I remember what I’ve done, the more I realize it again.
“You are unhappy because of me.”
That I made a girl named Yuria Hanson unhappy…
I ask myself. Where did I go wrong? Then the answer came back saying that it may have been a mistake from the fact that I had been forcing her. Yes, it might be that things wouldn’t have gotten this far if she had been able to just follow Emily and stop her from entering the duke’s house.
Perhaps it was the fault of not being able to prevent the death of our parents.
If the two were still alive, things would have been better than they are now. We may have moved to another area early because the business was successful, or we may have come up with a better answer than I did when James Nigor blocked access to the estate. But not all of them were inherently problematic. What was really wrong was me. If I could have prevented the death of my parents if I hadn’t forced her… Everything would have been perfect.
So, maybe… It may have been my fault that I was born as your younger sister.
“Sorry.”
I was born as your sister.
Of all people, someone like me reincarnated as your younger sister and ruined everything. To be honest, I didn’t want to make you the protagonist of the novel. I just wanted you to be an ordinary Yuria Hanson. I wanted you to be the kind of girl who was free from the need to be locked up somewhere, who laughed when she wanted to laugh and cried when she wanted to cry, who thought about trifles and tied her hair. It’s not that big of a greed.
“… Sorry.”
If it were someone other than me, could you have been a little happier? You wouldn’t have nightmares every night. Could you have been able to smile comfortably without being anxious or afraid every day? Could I have saved our parents, kept us from encountering Count Nigor, and not gotten entangled with the young masters of Emers?
At least it would have been possible if it wasn’t for me. I bowed my head and bit my lip hard.
Why is reality so different from fiction? All the main characters in the novel do it perfectly. Why couldn’t I? Why does everyone fail? If I couldn’t do anything, it would have been better if I didn’t have any memories of my previous life. Wouldn’t it be great if I could forget my past life memories and the contents of novels and be born normally? If I did, I would have been able to just live as your ordinary and insignificant little sister.
Just like that…
“No.”
Then Yuria opened her mouth.
“It wasn’t unhappy.”
The square was very noisy. It was difficult to hear the voice of the person next to me. Still, her voice was clear to me. As if there were only Yuria and I in this place.
“Why are you talking like that?”
Tears welled up in Yuria’s eyes. She had her face hurting her more than ever.
“I never thought I was unhappy because of you. Every day with you was happiness for me. It was you who held me when our parents died and I was about to collapse, Lala. It’s always been like that. You were the one who scolded the children who bullied me, taught me problems I didn’t know, helped me with countless things I couldn’t do, and saved me from the mansion that day. I mean you…”
“……”
“Layla. I’m not unhappy with you. Because of you, I am happy.”
“I…..”
“Thank you for always being by my side. Thank you for always working hard for me. that day… Thank you for risking your life to save me.”
Tears flowed from Yuria’s eyes.
“I’m glad you were born as my little sister and not anyone else.”
A transparent line drips down the face.
“So please… Don’t say that! I mean, don’t apologize for being my little sister…!”
At that moment, people’s cheers filled the world. Another man’s head was cut off from the guillotine. Cheers… The cheers are so loud that you can’t hear anything. My cries and Yuria’s cries. I lifted my head as I felt my face getting wet.
I wanted to help Yuria.
I wanted to save her. But now, instead of her, I receive salvation from her.
After regaining my memory, I continued to suffer from guilt. Maybe I was hoping someone would tell me it wasn’t my fault, thinking it was my fault that it happened this way. As if to prove this, at this moment, my mind is more comfortable than ever.
“Me too… Because of you, I am happy. Even in moments of wanting to die and in moments of wretchedness, I was able to live because of you. I’m glad I was born as your sister. I’m glad you were born as my older sister. All the coincidences that we were able to meet each other like this as a family is like a miracle. you too… don’t say sorry to me. You did nothing wrong.”
I lifted my head and looked at where the guillotine stood. The heads of the prisoners fell off one by one, and now it was Count Nigor’s turn. He was put under the guillotine by the executioner’s servant with a look of fear. The blade gleamed in the sunlight.
“Neither of us did anything wrong.”
We fixed our gaze on the trembling Count Nigor.
“It’s that person who really did the wrong thing… He’s the one who should apologize and ask for forgiveness, and he’s the one who should feel guilty.”
I took a deep breath and said.
“So, from now on, let’s stop thinking it’s our fault. Let’s not blame ourselves.”
When the executioner moves his hand again, the tough bond is broken. A life dies like a leaf that has been holding on to a branch with difficulty in the end. futile, and in vain.
“I… I will think so in the future. Promise me you will do the same.”
I closed my eyes at the end of Yuria’s voice as she gave out small words of agreement.
Some would think that his death was the end of it all. But it’s not over. Even when the perpetrator disappeared, we still had the nightmarish memories he left behind. Sometimes the scars they leave will make us painful and won’t let us sleep. It will make you feel guilty and blame yourself.
But it’s okay
We will overcome.
No, we will get over it.
I clenched Yuria’s hand tightly.
If we are together, there is nothing in this world that we can’t overcome.
When you think that all your misfortunes happened because of yourself, pat each other on the back so as not to blame them. Let’s fill the happy memories as much as the unhappy ones. Let’s love and care for each other enough that we don’t even care about the swearing and violence that was poured out on us that day. To the extent that I always feel that I am a precious person in this world…
Let’s live like that in the future.
