The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Farewell (2)

***

"…What? He fled to the Holy Kingdom?"

The Imperial Princess's violet eyes, shimmering even in the darkness, widened in disbelief.

According to the member of her personal guard specializing in infiltration and intelligence, her father had allowed that attendant to escape to the Holy Kingdom.

'He dared to flee to another country…?'

"Capture him! Now!!!"

"Yes, Your Highness!!"

The guards, spurred by the Princess's furious shriek, leaped out the window to pursue the fleeing attendant.

The captain of the guard, the last to remain, asked the Princess,

Hesitantly,

"What are your orders if he resists?"

"Capture him alive. I don't care what happens in the process. But if… if he resists to the very end… then you may kill him."

…He had abandoned her last shred of mercy by fleeing. There was no reason to show him any more kindness.

-Grit.

The Princess's face contorted in rage as the captain leaped out the window.

His parting words, barely audible, drifted back through the open window.

"…By your command."

***

"…I'm still suffering from Mother's death, and you dare to run away…? You…?"

You killed my mother…

You left me to live in this lonely world without her…

And you run away?

To save yourself? To live in peace?

Just like… just like when you survived and Mother died…?

I won't let you… I won't let you do that again… Not twice…

-Gnash.

Unable to contain her fury at the attendant's cowardly escape, the Princess bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Crimson blood, brighter than her lips, trickled down her chin.

In the darkness, her rage-filled face, stained with blood, resembled a vampire from a storybook.

Her beauty, as captivating as any vampire's.

Her gleaming eyes, predatory in the darkness.

And her voice, sharp and venomous, echoing through the night.

"…I need to talk to Father."

With the click of her heels, the Princess headed towards the Emperor's study.

She had to ask, no, demand an explanation from her father. Why had he allowed that attendant to escape?

'The reason doesn't matter anymore.'

What mattered was that he had fled, and her father had allowed it.

And that her father couldn't order his release if he was captured again. That would render the capture meaningless.

…So, she had to confront him now.

So that he wouldn't be able to say anything later.

The Princess, oblivious to the devastating truth that awaited her, walked on.

Driven by the single-minded desire to prevent the one who stole her mother from her from escaping his punishment.

***

-Creak.

The Princess flung open the door to the Emperor's study and shouted,

"Father! What were you thinking, letting him…."

Her voice trailed off, silenced by the absence of her intended audience.

"…Where are you?"

An instinctive fear, born from the oppressive silence, gripped the Princess.

She hesitated at the doorway, scanning the room.

But all she saw was darkness, and dark clouds illuminated by the full moon through the window.

"Aren't you here? Did you go to bed?"

…That's impossible…

She knew that unlike before, the Emperor now spent his nights studying and contemplating state affairs, often staying up late in his study.

His absence, and the darkened study, puzzled her.

-Creak.

"…Father?"

-Creak.

"…Dad?"

-Creak.

"…Are you drinking again…? He's not here either."

The Princess searched every room where the Emperor might be.

His bedroom.

The audience chamber.

And even the reception room, thinking he might be drinking there, like he used to.

"Where are you…?"

She sighed, finding no trace of him. Not even a sign that he had been in any of these rooms. Her sigh deepened.

-Click.

"…Don't tell me."

Then, she saw a room the Empress used to frequent, and a possibility she hadn't considered struck her.

"…At this hour… it's possible."

That her father had gone to visit her mother's grave.

"It's almost the hour of the dead."

The hour of the dead. 2 AM, the hour when the spirits of the deceased were said to be most active.

"It's not even true, and yet he goes at this late hour…"

A small smile touched her lips. Despite his recent aloofness, her father still retained his romantic side.

Visiting the grave during the hour of the dead, even though it was much safer during the day.

"But if that's the case, you shouldn't have let him go, Father."

Puzzled by her father's seemingly contradictory actions, the Princess headed towards the Empress's mausoleum.

***

-Whoosh…

"…Elizabeth."

A sorrowful voice, calling out to his deceased wife, echoed through the torrential rain.

"I… I'm such a worthless man."

Or perhaps, a voice longing for her usual scolding.

'…Why did you let him go, if you're going to regret it so much?'

The Princess, hearing his voice, assumed he was apologizing for letting the attendant, the cause of the Empress's death, escape.

….

…But her assumption…

…vanished in an instant.

A single sentence from the Emperor filled her mind with a profound question.

"To think that I am the reason for your death… and yet… I placed that burden… on such a young boy…"

…What? What…?

D-Did… Did Father just say… that Mother died because of him? Why?

No, that's not right… I must have misheard…

The Princess strained her ears, trying to hear her father's words more clearly. Perhaps the rain had distorted them.

But…

"I'm so sorry… for spreading the lie that it was his fault…"

The Emperor's sorrowful voice continued.

"But I had no choice… He begged me… And if I hadn't…"

The truth. That all her actions, her healthy and carefree life…

"I… I was afraid I would lose Lili too… my only remaining daughter…"

…were built upon the terrible kindness, the sacrifice of the boy she hated.

"So I turned a blind eye. Cowardly… I was just relieved that Lili had recovered… I didn't try to stop his sacrifice… I was afraid that Lili would give up on life again…"

And the reality. That she was the one who had repaid kindness with cruelty.

"And now… I can't even see him off properly… I'm so pathetic… That's why I came here… hoping you would scold me like you used to…"

The realization hit her hard.

-Splash.

The Princess dropped her umbrella.

Her hand went limp, unable to hold it, unable to even form a fist.

Hearing the sound, the Emperor turned sharply.

Hoping he had misheard.

Because the only person who could be here at this hour, besides himself, was his daughter, the Imperial Princess.

So, the source of that sound… had to be Lilisiana.

But his hope was quickly dashed.

He saw his daughter standing a short distance away, staring at him with a shocked expression.

"L-Lili…?! Why are you here…!"

The Emperor's face was etched with confusion. His expression confirmed the truth of his remorseful words.

"…You knew and you didn't stop me? You knew that Mother didn't die because of… Finn?!"

The Princess's sharp voice, directed at the Emperor who knew everything, echoed through the mausoleum.

She didn't call him "that thing" anymore. She didn't have the right to belittle him like that… not anymore… not that she ever did.

She didn't ask, 'Are you telling the truth?'

Because she had harbored suspicions, a strange feeling of unease, about the boy's behavior and her father's reaction.

But the boy's lie, the lie that allowed her to blame someone else, had been too sweet, too tempting to resist.

And she had reinforced that lie with her daily prayers, her self-induced hypnosis.

As long as she didn't question it, as long as she didn't think about it too deeply, she could escape the crushing guilt of her mother's death.

So, she had indulged in her childish tantrums, complacent in her fabricated reality.

"…I'm sorry."

But the Emperor's single sentence, his unwillingness to further exploit the boy's sacrifice…

…shattered the warm, comforting illusion the Princess, the Imperial Princess, Lili… had carefully constructed with the boy's fragile lie.

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