Episode 8. An Uncomfortable Resting Place

Another ordinary day passed, and another ordinary day came.

The sun rose as usual, and one by one, the eyelids of those who had been sleeping through the dreaded dawn began to open.

Askaar also lifted his sleepy eyelids and woke up.

The first thing he noticed was Ashria’s presence.

He groped for her side of the bed to make sure she hadn’t run off during the night, to make sure she was okay, to make sure she was lying next to him, and when he realized she was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief. He stretched out his hand and pulled her into my arms.

“Ashria.”

But something was wrong.

Her wrist, though skinny and bony, shouldn’t be this cold.

“Ashria?”

Surprised by the cool feel of his fingertips, he raised his upper body.

Ashria, who was supposed to be sleeping soundly as usual, had long since stiffened.

* * *

The imperial mages who had been called since morning were busy. The princess, who had been fine until last night, suddenly passed away.

Moreover, the dead body had no heart. As if someone had cut it out.

“It seems like there must have been black magic involved. But it’s not just ordinary magic. At least six circles of it….”

The mages who were examining the chilled Ashria all expressed the same opinion.

However, the Emperor, who was supposed to hear them, was already half out of his mind.

Askaar made a fool of himself and squinted like an idiot in disbelief. His usually fierce black eyes were clouded, not unlike Ashria’s.

“Black magic.

It was the only word that stuck in his mind.

Someone had put black magic on Ashria’s heart.

He hadn’t bothered to look for it.

Lourrane Antkal.

That cheeky girl who has long since returned to the dirt.

Ashria’s heart was gone, and all that remained were the traces where the black magic had been cast.

Askaar groped her cold body, he couldn’t believe it. Was this Ashria?

‘No way… It can’t be….’

He didn’t leave her side,  he was holding on to her so tightly…

‘She was gone, like the sand that disappeared between my fingers. I called out to her, shook her, and tried to wake her, but she didn’t move.’

“…Let go.”

Askaar muttered as he stared at Ashria, and the mages, who hadn’t heard the muttering, cautiously repeated it.

“Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, I did not hear what you just said….”

“Save her, Let her live.”

Askaar glared at them with ice-cold eyes.

“You are so incompetent that you didn’t even recognize the curse on the empress.”

His voice shook as he spoke. Then, unable to contain the anger rising within him, Askaar drew the sword at his belt.

“If you were just a proper mages-!”

And then, before the mages could cast a protective spell, he pierced his breastplate with a vicious blade.

“You should have noticed it when the princess first came to the palace.”

His fellow mages were startled and took a step back in alarm, but Askaar was faster.

In the first place, the only people who could recognize black magic without a special formula were warlocks who used the same black power, but that didn’t matter to Askaar, who had lost his temper.

All that mattered was that Ashria was free from his grasp.

That day, a thick bloody wind blew through the palace.

And there were no more mages left in the palace.

* * *

Askaardid not eat or drink water. He could only stand by Ashria’s side and stare, st her eyes closed and at her face, which had already frozen hardened.

He could not let her go, so he did not give her a funeral or officially announce her death.

“…Ashria.”

He laid her out on his bed, her breath long gone, and covered her with a blanket in case she was cold.

Askaar stroked her hand, cold and stiff.

There was still a strong leather strap between him and Ashria, and though she was no longer alive, he had not loosened her ties.

So many emotions tangled inside him. And yet, like wanderers, they had no destination. They just kept accumulating and accumulating inside.

‘The question was finally answered. Why didn’t she bat an eye even when I was so mean to her?’

I resented Ashria for knowing everything and hiding it from me.

This was his complete defeat. he couldn’t deny it.

he could not deny it, for as hard as he tried to hold on, she had succeeded in leaving him.

“I wonder what you must be thinking as you look down on me from heaven.

The corners of Askaar’s mouth twisted in defeat.

‘I wonder if you’re laughing at me, triumphant, as I shudder in futility.’

As he closed his eyes, Ashuria, with her usual indifferent face, appeared through his dark vision as impassive as ever.

This is the first time I’ve ever held her in my arms and she was out of breath. She’s been rolled around like a doll by countless knights and left completely in ruins. She’s been tied up and f*cked by a horny horse in heat. She’s cried out in pain as her raw flesh burns.

She wiggled her hips as if the fluffy couch was unfamiliar to her. She snapped her fingers as if a common lake was a mystery. She shoved strawberry cake into her mouth and puffed out her cheeks. She waited for me on the bed, scribbling away alone.

And… wandering through the streets of the West alone.

Askaar still remembered the day.

She was a tiny little thing, wandering haphazardly through the crowds, clad in robes made of the finest fabrics.

I can still see her in front of me, wandering around with a face I’d never seen before, smearing sauce on the corners of her mouth as if a cheap meat skewer costing less than a silver were so delicious.

My first reaction when I realized she’d gotten away was anger.

When I’d set out to find her myself, I’d gritted my teeth to the point that if I found her, I’d rip her apart, stick her in a street wall, and declare her public property so that any man who walked by could f*ck her.

I was going to beat the shit out of her until she cried and screamed that she’d never run away again because she didn’t dare.

And when I found her, blending into the crowd.

She looked like any other girl of her age, her eyes sparkling and her excitement palpable.

I felt strange.

I couldn’t even figure out why. All I knew was that the anger that had risen to the top of my head had subsided.

And so, uncharacteristically, Askaar was kind. To support a living flesh with his throat. Ashria would have spat it out if she heard it, but he thought he was being merciful.

He wanted to see her again.

Ashria’s face smiling, her eyes rolling back innocently.

As much as I longed to see her smiling,  I couldn’t find a single moment of her in my memory.

Wailing, moaning in pain, writhing in agony, or exhausted with a blank face.

I want to go west again.

To be called by name.

I wonder about the snow, the sea, the leaves, the tulip fields.

Eat a sandwich on a mat in the grass

Suddenly remembering Ashria’s scribbles, Askaar gripped her cold hand even harder and thought.

I wish I had called you by your name on the first day we met instead of forcing you into my arms when you didn’t know anything. Then, maybe now, you would have a different face in my memory.

“But Ashria….”

Askaar said, climbing on top of her as usual.

“Wrong.”

He caressed Ashria’s unresponsive cheek, bent down, and placed his lips on her cool lips.

“…You can’t leave me like this.”

The lips that had been so warm a day ago were nowhere to be found. Even the reddened lips had long since worn thin.

As if he was uncomfortable with Ashria being reduced to a piece of meat, he even bit and s*cked her cold lips without even blinking

Askaar had no intention of giving her a funeral.

Because he wants Ashria to be by his side until the day he dies.