Stone Thrown into the Lake - Chapter 3

“Dew, the letters I sent you…”

 

Durian Craig gritted his teeth and smashed her words with his own.

 

“I have never received a letter from you,”

 

No way, that couldn’t have happened. Yvor shook her head involuntarily. Her maids said they had indeed definitely delivered the letters, all the way to Salzmia.

 

“…My father and brother, and the wickedest woman in the world, who happily tried to kill me. Is my life a waste? You will die tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll be able to do that.”

 

Durian spoke coldly and turned his back.

 

“Don’t go, Durian!”

 

“Durian!”

 

“Dew!”

 

She screamed desperately.

 

“That’s not the case. Don’t you think my life is superfluous! Dew! Don’t go, you, please…!”

 

‘You don’t understand.’

 

Durian paused for a moment, but left without looking back. She was left alone in the prison.

 

Yvor began to hyperventilate. Her life was scattered and crumbled like the dried petals she had left behind. He had to stop, stop and know. He needs to know who her life is for and why she lives. He needs to know the reason for everything she did, why she put her heart into it and how she felt.

 

“You’re the only one…”

 

She murmured absent-mindedly. After Durian left, the guard returned to his place, tapped on the bars. Yvor pulled back weakly from the bars. The guard glanced at her and turned away from the door.

 

Yvor was being quiet as the guards had wished. For almost a day and a half, she had sung songs of ecstasy, now could no longer sing.

 

He doesn’t know.

 

Her beloved brother hates her.

 

She made him unhappy.

 

How could she do that?

 

She didn’t even feel betrayed.

 

Yvor bent over so as not to shout.

 

Her world is over, her life was meaningless. He gave back to her all her loneliness that he had taken. Which made her aware of how alone she really was and made her feel forlorn.

 

◇ ◆ ◇

 

Yvor was dozing off, when she was awakened by the sound of footsteps. She looked at the sky’s emptiness with disappointment. She felt sleepy even after her world was over.

Yvor didn’t even know what she was supposed to feel.

 

In fact, what does anyone feel when they know that Heaven and Earth are the opposite? What should one think after seeing the water actually flows from bottom to top? When day and night are reversed and time goes the other way around. What should she use to describe it?

 

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t let you stay in the separate palace.”

 

At the sudden sound of a voice, she shifted her gaze blankly.

 

She was so lost that the sound of the footsteps didn’t even bother her enough to find the owner. Beyond the bars stood the prince, who was now the new king. It was Prince Sidis Murka, the eldest son of King Rand II.

 

The new king stood in front of his stepmother who had driven him out.

 

“…A separate palace?” asked Yvor. It was not that she was curious, but that she was only repeating what she heard. Still, the new king answered kindly.

 

“It must be painful here,” Yvor slowly blinked her eyes.

 

Come to think of it, she was in pain. When she realized it, her heart ached so much that it was hard for her to breathe. “Oh,” she sighed.

 

The prison was her earthly paradise just a day ago, but now it felt like Hell because the sun rose in the west. The sea is now on fire and the water flows through the volcano. This was because the only truth she knew had become a faded lie.

 

“Yvor,” the new king called her.

 

Yvor did not answer. The new king looked down at her as he stood, then he slowly bent down. He knelt on one knee, and crouched in front of her to make eye contact.

 

Yvor moved her head unconsciously. The new king’s eyes were as green as a forest, and extremely calm. The pressure was making it difficult to breathe, she then exhaled. She felt stuffy, as if her throat was clogged.

 

“Yvor,” said the new king again. He held out his hand through the prison bars. She was startled and dodged the hand in surprise. The king laughed quietly.

 

That smile was like… like…

 

She was again caught up in the vortex of chaos.

 

“…!”

 

The king reached out and caught her. Yvor tried to shake him off, then she stopped. His eyes, his laughter, and his hands were warm, just because of that.

 

“Why are you doing this to me, Prince?”

 

Yvor finally asked. She had no choice but to ask. He was being as gentle and kind as she believed Durian would be to her, but the king did not answer her questions. No, she wasn’t supposed to address him as a prince… He’s the king now.

 

Instead, he said, “ Please, run away with me.”

 

◇ ◆ ◇

 

King Rand II was a fool from the first moment she met him until dawn four days before his neck was cut off his head. The idiot, who only cared about women and food, was a really easy-to-use man.

 

Yvor Adela could bring the king to his knees with a single gesture, or control state affairs with a single glance. He was so stupid that the kingdom was easily at her disposal.

 

The only person who thought she was an enemy was Prince Sidis, Duke of Murka. He was her opponent when it came to taking over this kingdom.

 

Had she not met him on the day she first entered the palace, she would have sought the prosperity of Salzmia in a more ordinary way, rather than plunge the kingdom into war. The usual way would have been to become a queen and control the king. She would have made the prince bore placed upon the throne.

 

His eldest son Prince Sidis, who was older than her, was too outstanding for her to do this. So Yvor decided to make him the next king. As king, he would regard her Dew as his most trusted, and loyal subject.

 

As a result, Yvor Adela became a complete villainess. She harassed the prince so much that she felt sorry for him. She poisoned his meals, insulted and humiliated him with obvious tricks. She forced him to do tough things and work hard. She would slap him on the cheek or make him kneel in public. She did such things, and finally seduced the king to destroy him.

 

“Why?”

 

Why on Earth?

 

Why is he saying this to her?

 

What’s more, he wants her to run away with him?

 

As he just became the new king?

 

Yvor’s mind was full of doubts.

 

“Because I can’t let you die here.” Sidis was still holding her hand. It was a warm hand that made her dizzy as if she was about to vomit.

[Editor: Wut?]

[T/N: Too much heat, I guess ^~^]

 

“Why?” she asked again. Sidis pulled her hand and kissed the back of her hand. His lips lingered on the back of her hand for a long time. Her heart almost stopped beating.

 

Sidis had always greeted her from the moment they first met. He never called her stepmother, but she believed it was simply because he didn’t acknowledge her. She thought he must have hated her, and she didn’t know that his eyes had never darkened for a moment as he looked at her.

 

“Yvor Adela,”

 

Sidis whispered, his breath touching the back of her hand.

 

“Stop, stop, stop this terrible thing, Prince!” She screamed.

 

‘You’re my enemy!’

 

He was her enemy!

 

Yvor tried hard to pull her hand from his grasp, but Sidis did not let her go.

 

“I didn’t even want to be king.”

 

His voice sounded sad. He spoke slowly, holding her hand so that it wouldn’t hurt, but without letting go of her.

 

“I love you,” as soon as those words fell, she also fell into a panic. Her indescribable fear and horror pushed her into her paroxysmal state.  This should not have happened. From the moment Durian said he hated her, this is the only thing that should not have happened to her.

 

“……!”

 

Durian.

 

Dew!

 

Her little brother!

 

She suddenly came to her senses.

 

Want to run away with him? The new king said so.

 

‘You love me?’

 

The new king, who was like a huge pillar for the future of her beloved brother.

 

No, never!

 

“I hate you!” she said like a scream.

 

‘I really hate you! ‘

 

‘It is horrible!’

 

‘I wanted to kill you, who always interfered in my matters.’

 

‘I want to tear you apart and kill you right now.’

 

Thinking about loving him gave her goosebumps, as if bugs were crawling on her skin, all over her whole body. The thought of making love with him made her nauseous right away. If she had to run away with him, she would prefer biting her tongue and dying right now!

 

Therefore, she made a violent statement, spewing the words from her mind.

 

“…I see.”

 

Yvor saw his green eyes dim painfully. All she could do was scream at him with all her might, hoping that there would be a guard who could hear her. Among those who rushed in because of the commotion was her beloved brother.

 

“I told you not to come.” Sidis said without looking around. Durian looked at the king’s back without ever looking at Yvor.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

Durian called the king as if rebuking him. The king did not respond to his words or their meaning, but said instead.

 

“I am still against it.”

 

It was a somewhat  informal tone for the king to use when speaking to his subjects, but Durian only frowned a little. He answered without much of a pause.

 

“She is a sinner worthy of death.”

 

“Are you really thinking that way?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

The king let go of Yvor’s hand, stood up, and looked back at Durian. As soon as her hands were released, Yvor immediately stepped back and covered her face with her hands and covered her ears. She didn’t want to see Durian or Sidis either. It was so confusing and frightening, painful and sad.

 

“Durian, do you really think so?” Sidis asked.

 

The king spoke again. Durian said coldly, “Yes.” That was his answer.

 

“Isn’t she your sister?”

 

“I never thought of her that way, Your Majesty.”

 

Even if she covered her ears, the words pierced through her ears and reached her heart. Yvor Adela lost consciousness.

 

The next morning was bright and silent.

 

Yvor, wearing a white veil, quietly knelt down.

 

“Sinner Yvor Adela. Do you have any last words?”

 

Her beloved brother asked her that, so she had to open her mouth as she kneeled in a pot, which would soon be submerged in the water.

 

“I really don’t know anymore.”

 

‘What have I lived for and what have I seen? Why do you condemn me and the one I considered my enemy loves me?’

 

Duke of Salzmia, Durian Craig, looked down at her with his cold eyes. She knew his gaze didn’t meet hers. He stared fiercely at the tips of her hair, the hem of her dress, her fingertips, and one side of the pot where she sat.

 

She also knew that in the distance, adorned in his royal crown and black cloak, Sidis looked at her as if he could engrave her image into his mind.

 

“Execute the sentence.”

 

The last words fell, and she was shoved into the lake with the pot.

 

Yvor Adela thought, ‘Once more, if only I had one more chance…’

 

Sinking into the water, she closed her eyes.