Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 58

Chapter 58

 

The clear weather continued day after day. Cecil leaned out the window, letting the flood of sunlight soak into him.

By now, he had nearly recovered his strength. The dullness had left his skin, replaced by a smooth sheen, and his dark brown hair had regained its soft, healthy texture.

Neatly dressed and adorned with jewels, he looked no different from the usual Cecil Adrian. Yet the face turned toward the world outside the window refused to smile. He looked like someone who had lost all drive.

After several days of quiet deliberation, Cecil finally made up his mind to deal with the matter he had been postponing. Today, he would go see Yuria.

He wanted to apologize, to speak with her openly and without reserve. Perhaps, by talking with Yuria, he could finally clear away the unfair misunderstanding that clung to him.

Yuria’s residence was guarded far more heavily than before. The moment the knights noticed Cecil approaching, their gazes sharpened and they stepped in to block his path.

“What is your business?”

“I’m here to see Yuria.”

“Do you have permission?”

“Permission? From whom?”

The knights exchanged glances, then tightened their formation even further.

“You cannot meet the Saintess. We have orders to admit no one.”

“Then at least tell Yuria that I wish to—”

“With all due respect, Lord Cecil, you least of all are permitted.”

Though the knight’s words were polite, the suspicion and disgust in their expressions were unmistakable.

To them, Cecil was no different from someone who had harmed Yuria outright. As those charged with protecting the Saintess, they had no intention of letting him through. Their resolve was absolute.

He had expected resistance, but not such complete rejection. Biting his lip, Cecil answered at last.

“I see. Then I’ll return after obtaining permission.”

Half in resignation, he turned away.

Misfortune, however, did not end there. No sooner had he returned to Peridot Palace than he was summoned before the Emperor—and subjected to a fierce reprimand.

“Cecil, I am deeply disappointed in you. How could you commit such an act?”

“…I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“Do you have any idea how important the Saintess is to this Empire? You must have lost your senses. There is no other explanation for something so outrageous. Let this serve as a warning—if you threaten the Saintess even once more, you will not escape unscathed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“For the time being, I don’t even want to see your face. Do not appear before me until I summon you again. You are to reflect on your actions.”

The Emperor’s fury far exceeded Cecil’s expectations. Even someone once so dearly favored was cast aside in an instant. After more than an hour of scolding, Cecil stumbled out of the main palace, utterly drained.

As if that weren’t enough, he was immediately summoned by the Empress. No—dragged away would be the more accurate description.

Having learned through her agents that Cecil had fallen from the Emperor’s favor, the Empress was beside herself with rage. The moment she saw him, she hurled the goblet in her hand to the floor, shattering it, and berated him for his reckless and short-sighted behavior.

Cecil could have talked back. But he didn’t. He was already exhausted—today alone had taken more out of him than he could bear.

He thought he would be fine. He had endured contemptuous stares and vicious accusations before.

Yet this time was harder than he expected. Perhaps because, for a brief while, Cecil had lived a good life.

Much later, as he left the Empress’s palace, a dry laugh slipped from his lips. Everything felt unbearably tiresome. So much so that he couldn’t even bring himself to think about facing Alexis.

But life within the palace walls made avoidance impossible. As if the day itself were cursed, Cecil ran into Alexis on the path back to Peridot Palace.

Their gazes collided—his meeting those piercing blue eyes with no chance of escape.

He had faced rejection and rebuke from everyone all day, but nothing hurt quite like the sharp edge of Alexis’s stare.

The moment he saw the disdain reflected there; it felt as though the fragile resolve he had been clinging to finally crumbled.

When Cecil stood stiffly without offering so much as a greeting, the corner of Alexis’s mouth twisted upward.

“I was wondering when we’d cross paths. You must have been busy, wandering all over the palace. You look better than I expected.”

“…Did you want to see me?”

“As if I would.”

Ah. He had expected that. But knowing it and hearing it spoken aloud were two very different things.

Cecil bit down hard on his lower lip. Clenching his trembling fist, he forced himself to swallow the surge of bitterness rising within him. Steeling himself, he lifted his gaze.

“Then what does it matter what I do or where I go? You don’t care about me anyway.”

“Still as insolent as ever.”

“That’s just who I am. Is there anything left for you to be disappointed in me about?”

When Cecil refused to back down, Alexis’s firm jaw twitched. Despite his composed expression, the veins at his temple stood out, betraying his anger. With a cold sneer, he replied,

“Yes. Disappointed. I’m deeply disheartened by my own judgment—how blind I must have been.”

“……”

“Trying to trust you, even for a moment, was the greatest mistake of my life. You made a fool of me.”

“It seems you and I were never meant to grow close, Your Highness.”

“We never were.”

“Then I’m glad you’ve realized it now. There’s nothing to gain from seeing each other, so I won’t appear before Your Highness again.”

Without waiting for a response, Cecil turned and walked away. He knew full well how rude it was to just throw out what he wanted to say to the Crown Prince and leave, but he wasn’t in a state to consider that now.

Even after exchanging only a few words with him, Cecil felt torn apart, body and soul, as if clawed by sharp talons. Though everything stemmed from his own actions, resentment toward Alexis—who refused to know the truth—boiled over within him.

Living and breathing inside the palace felt unbearable. He wanted to escape this suffocating place at once. His determined steps carried him straight to the palace stables.

The stablehand, humming as he tended the horses, spotted Cecil approaching with a grim expression and hurried over in alarm.

“Lord Cecil—what brings you here? Ah, my respects to the Empire’s little star.”

“I’m going out. Bring me a horse I can ride immediately.”

“Then I shall prepare a carriage—”

“I said a horse.”

His voice was so sharp that the stablehand, thoroughly intimidated, obeyed Cecil’s command. When he brought a healthy white horse, Cecil slipped his foot into the stirrup and leapt nimbly onto the saddle.

“Lord Cecil, will anyone be accompanying you? You’re not going alone, are you? And—when will you return?”

Seeing Cecil about to leave without a single attendant, the stablehand’s concern came first. For some reason, he had a premonition that sending him alone like this was wrong.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Cecil left only those words behind as he turned the horse’s head. Soon, kicking up a cloud of dust, he galloped swiftly out through the castle gates.

The stablehand scratched the back of his head. It wasn’t the first time royalty acted on a whim. It was just unusual for them to ride out personally like this, which made him a bit puzzled.

Well, riding in a carriage could be stifling. He’d probably just go out for a quick breath of fresh air and return soon. What could possibly happen? The stablehand dismissed it lightly and returned to his duties.

Shortly after, Peridot Palace was thrown into an uproar. Their master had vanished without a trace within the imperial palace.

The attendants hurriedly inquired about Cecil’s whereabouts and confirmed from the stablehand and the guards at the gate that he had indeed left.

With no information about his destination or whom he had gone to meet, the attendants were consumed with anxiety.

After all, hadn’t Cecil even been ordered by the Emperor to refrain from going out? If this became known, it was clear he would face even greater reprimand.

“What do we do? Where do we even look for Lord Cecil?”

“Let’s trust him and wait for now. He left with nothing—no belongings at all. He’ll return before sunset.”

“What if something happens? How are we supposed to handle that?”

As the attendants fretted and wrung their hands, Johannes listened from behind a wall, his own insides burning with worry.

The Cecil they believed had merely gone out for fresh air failed to return even as the sun dipped below the horizon.

When darkness finally fell, they could no longer afford to wait. Realizing this was a problem beyond their control, Leo, the head attendant, immediately rushed off to the Saint Palace.