Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 154

This isn’t right. Something is wrong.

 

That’s what he thought as soon as he caught a glimpse of her sleek, thin backside. 

 

His heart leaped like it was going to punch through his chest. Heat rose to his face, but his head felt as cold as if he’d poured cold water over it.

 

‘How could she have gotten here so much faster?’

 

He lowered his head and looked down at his hands. They were a mess, covered in thick blood and dirt. The ring, which always glowed in the dark, was covered in dust and had lost its original shine.

 

He wondered why this ring seemed to foretell the future for Iris and himself.

 

Clenching and unclenching his fists, he raised his head. He walked toward Iris, who sat precariously, as if she might collapse at any moment. The closer he got to her, the more drops of blood fell to the floor.

 

“Iris.”

 

“…….”

 

“Iris, wake up.”

 

Finally, Zephyto’s footsteps stopped in front of Iris. Before him was a face he hadn’t seen since he’d come to Telene.

 

Zephyto knelt before her, repeating her name over and over again.

 

“Iris…, please… open your eyes.”

 

He stretched out his arms and wrapped them tightly around Iris’s frail, sleeping body. At the same time, the papers she held so dearly scattered to the grass, and the small glass vial in her hand followed the scattered materials across the floor.

 

Iris clutched the papers so hard that there was nothing on them that wasn’t stained with her blood.

 

When the papers covering her chest were gone, the stab wound was clearly visible. He felt the corners of his eyes heat up at the sight of the deep wound, which must have been painful until the end. He breathed in and out, but it felt like he was floating underwater.

 

‘For what had Iris sacrificed herself?’

 

He reached out a thick hand and touched Iris’s lifeless cheek. The warmth that had lit up Zephyto’s heart was gone, replaced by a cold hardness.

 

As much as he wanted to deny it, the hardness of the touch made him realize something.

 

Iris was dead. Leaving him alone in this world.

 

He swallowed an animalistic groan and broke down completely at the confirmation. Zephyto’s only purpose and hope in life was shattered.

 

* * *

 

Iris’s sacrifice changed many things for Zephyto. The materials in her arms were a collection of rarities, nothing like those found in the heart of Telene.

 

The raw documentation of Ragnar’s ugliness was a game-changer, especially the vial she clutched to the end, the only secret weapon Zephyto had ever sought.

 

She had used some potions in the fight with the man, but the vial was the only thing that proved Ragnar’s guilt.

 

Returning to the Empire with Iris, Zephyto made Ragnar his first priority. Ragnar fought to the end to kill Zephyto, but with the support of the kingdom of Telene and the noble factions that had already turned against him, he was safer than ever.

 

Zephyto stabbed, tortured, revived, and tortured Ragnar again, remembering the pain Iris must have felt. If he cried out for help, he inflicted more pain.

 

If he wanted to live, he should have protected Iris somehow.

 

His words to Ragnar were like words to himself.

 

Ragnar’s mental strength did not last long. The moment he thought he had lost his mind, he killed him without mercy, leaving his body for the beasts to feed on.

 

One of the great locks that had oppressed Zephyto’s life was gone. But instead of feeling liberated, he felt empty.

 

Later, Elpias, who had followed Iris all the way, said to Zephyto.

 

“I’ve been going through the materials the princess left behind. Would you like to check them out?”

 

“Just leave it on the desk.”

 

“Um…, I… Your Highness.”

 

“Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

 

“From what I gathered from following her, at least, I don’t think she went away to betray you, but rather to save your life. I’m sure she had some contact with Duke Elter and Ragnar, but I think she used that as a cover to gather her own materials, and her materials were blindsided…, and–”

 

“I know.”

 

“You know?”

 

“So stop talking and get out of here. I want to be alone.”

 

The moment he saw it, he couldn’t help but realize that Iris wasn’t a mole, that she had been created solely to bring Ragnar and Elter down to earth.

 

Zephyto himself was in charge of this case, and he didn’t even know her dead heart.

 

Iris’s voice echoed in his ears, if only for a moment.

 

“Then, from now on, try to trust me, like I trust you.”

 

“I’m the one who made the choice, after all. I haven’t done anything to be ashamed of it, and I never will.”

 

“I’m going to abandon Elter, become an Ophir, and stand by your side.”

 

“Zephy–”

 

He could feel her anguish for his sake, and it pained him even more.

 

‘Why hadn’t he ever tried to listen to her?’

 

‘What had he been so afraid of that he’d avoided talking to her?’

 

But no matter how much hell he wandered through, this world would not bring her back.

 

The world was colorless without her.

 

With Ragnar’s affairs in order, Zephyto became Emperor of the Empire. When he was crowned, Elita handed him a letter from Iris, as if she had been waiting for him.

 

As if she had already foreseen her death, Iris had written about the things he would have to do as Emperor after she was gone. It was full of terribly difficult requests, as if she were asking him not to die for her sake.

 

It was terrible, the thought of living another day in this world without Iris, but Zephyto was responsible for her death, and he didn’t have the courage to ignore her words until the end.

 

So he did the best he could as Emperor of an empire. He modeled the righteous spirit of Iris and did what she asked of him, and stood alone.

 

This was his punishment for not trusting Iris.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Zephyto took the throne, the empire quickly stabilized. The people hailed him as the return of the lost spring.

 

The more he did so, the more he felt the absence of spring in his own life.

 

Sometimes he filled the void by doing what Iris had written down for him to do. When that didn’t work, Zephyto would sneak away to the place where she was buried, a forest that held memories of both him and Iris.

 

“Iris.”

 

It had been long enough for him to recognize Iris’s death, but he always called her name out loud. It was as if he could hear her voice in the sky on the wind.

 

Zephyto remembered his first and last trip with her and pulled out the dagger he’d bought there.

 

“I think I’ve done everything you asked me to do. Isn’t that enough?”

 

The only sound in the forest was the crunching of leaves, and he laughed out loud for the first time since Iris’s death.

 

Gripping the dagger hard with both hands, Zephyto pointed the tip of the blade at his heart, and as he raised it high, he heard a woman’s voice.

 

“Are you going to die?”

 

Zephyto quickly threw the dagger at the woman. His brow furrowed slightly as he watched in disbelief.

 

As if she understood his reaction, she picked up the dagger from the ground and handed it back to him.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Me? You wouldn’t recognize me if I told you anyway. I’m not human.”

 

If she hadn’t thrown the knife at him, Zephyto would have snorted. But seeing the knife pass through her flesh without a scratch convinced him that she was not human.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“I just thought you were about to die, is that right?”

 

“So?”

 

“If I’m right, I’m going to offer you a deal. I can’t offer you a deal if you die by your own hand. I’ve been watching you for a while, and I’ve never seen another human as upright and capable as you.”

 

“Ha.”

 

“Most of all, I like the color of your soul, and apparently you have latent powers.”

 

“…….”

 

“Why don’t you work in my world? It’ll be a much freer and more peaceful place than this one.”

 

“No. And I’m not as upright a human as you think I am.”

 

“You’re not… Your soul color can’t be that clear otherwise…? Hmmm.”

 

The woman gave him a bewildered look at his quick refusal. She didn’t think he would dare to reject her offer.

 

Rubbing her chin between her index finger and thumb, she pondered for a moment, then clapped her hands.

 

“Of course, there’s compensation.”

 

“No thanks.”

 

“I’ll grant you one wish. Anything.”

 

Zephyto couldn’t hide his disbelief at the floating words. He looked at the sky for a moment, then asked in a sarcastic tone.

 

“Can you bring someone back from the dead?”

 

“Um…”

 

At the hesitation in the voice, Zephyto shrugged as if he’d expected it. He looked around, preparing to descend from the forest.

 

“Not here, but once in my world, with my powers.”

 

He paused, twirling the dagger in his hand. Zephyto slowly raised his head and looked at the woman.

 

She smiled, a mysterious glint in her golden eyes. Then she extended her right hand toward him.

 

“I am the goddess Tanato. What do you say, do you feel like coming to my world?”