Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 82

Chapter 82

 

Even after night fell, there was still no word from Alexis.

After touring the entire outpost and finishing dinner, Cecil lifted the curtain slightly and looked out the window.

Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets. With the darkness and the foul weather, it seemed likely that Alexis would spend the night wherever he was currently staying.

Cecil gave up on waiting and began preparing for bed.

The outpost was quite large. He had heard that more than thirty knights were stationed here permanently, and when including the laborers and servants who handled miscellaneous work, the total number of people easily exceeded a hundred.

No matter how modern the structure was, the nature of a guard post meant practicality was prioritized over splendor, so compared to an ordinary estate, it had a somewhat rough, utilitarian feel.

Still, the room Cecil had been assigned was rather luxurious compared to the quarters used by the other knights.

The bed was reasonably soft, wallpaper covered the cold stone walls, and most notably, the bathroom even had a marble bathtub.

After finishing his bath, Cecil looked around the room for a moment. Separate from his exhaustion, he felt like sleep wouldn’t come easily. There happened to be whiskey in the room, so he took a glass and settled down in front of the fireplace.

Sipping the strong liquor, Cecil sank into thought. Reworking and refining plans he had reviewed dozens—hundreds—of times had become almost a habit by now.

As time dwindled, his heart grew increasingly restless. He had vowed to make Alexis emperor, but it seemed unlikely he would live to see the day Alexis actually ascended the throne.

If that was the case, then at the very least, he needed to eliminate every obstacle that could stand in Alexis’s way.

The person Cecil worried about most was his mother, Empress Elizabeth.

Though her power had waned compared to before, his mother was not someone who would give up easily. She would undoubtedly attempt to trample Alexis in some unforeseen way.

“…In the end, will I have no choice but to drag her down from that position?”

Cecil once again recalled that it was the Empress who had driven Alexis to his death in the original course of events. Even if she was his mother, he would have to betray her decisively if necessary. There was no longer any reason to cling to blood ties.

As Cecil sank deeper into his agonizing thoughts, the door suddenly burst open.

Startled by the abrupt noise, he looked up—only to see Alexis rush in, drenched head to toe from the rain. Cecil blinked slowly, half-wondering if he was seeing things.

In the meantime, Alexis shrugged off his raincoat and handed it to the attendant who had followed him inside. As if to prove how severe the weather outside was, water dripped steadily from his hair and clothes.

“I’ll prepare the bath.”

“Do so.”

Alexis replied indifferently, then shook the remaining water from his wet hair. He swept his gaze casually around the room, then met Cecil’s eyes.

Cecil was crouched with his knees bent, neither properly sitting nor standing—an awkward posture. His surprise was unmistakable, and Alexis let out a quiet snort of laughter.

“You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

“What happened? I heard you’d gone out to inspect the area.”

“I’m on my way back.”

“In weather like this?”

“If I stayed the night, you’d be gone by morning. I was sure of it.”

Cecil was left speechless. In truth, he had planned to leave at daybreak.

Then, seeing Alexis casually stripping off his soaked clothes right in front of him, Cecil snapped back to his senses.

“Is this… Your Highness’s room?”

“You’re only realizing that now?”

“…I had no idea.”

No wonder the room had seemed too good. Cecil braced himself against the floor and rose unsteadily to his feet.

“I’ll change rooms.”

“I was wondering when you’d finally say that.”

Alexis scoffed softly as he continued unfastening his buttons. As he peeled off the shirt clinging wetly to his skin, his gaze remained fixed on Cecil the entire time.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t many spare rooms at the outpost. Everyone’s crammed together in small quarters. Even so, this room is considered excellent by comparison. If it doesn’t quite suit you, why not try enduring it?”

“It’s not that I dislike the room. It’s that I can’t share it with Your Highness. If there are no empty rooms, I can sleep with Leo.”

“Your attendant is staying in a room attached to the stable. You intend to sleep in a place like that?”

What’s wrong with that? The thought was written plainly on Cecil’s face. Alexis stepped closer, pressed a hand to his shoulder, and forced him back down.

“Stop being cheeky and stay here.”

After issuing the warning, he turned and headed straight for the bathroom. The attendant, who had just finished preparing the bath, came out, flicking water from his hands. He bowed respectfully, then quietly closed the door behind him as he left.

Cecil remained seated, still feeling utterly bewildered.

The realization that he would be sleeping in the same bed as Alexis made his mouth go dry all over again.

He downed the remaining liquor in his glass in one gulp. Letting out a tense breath, Cecil rubbed his face roughly with sweat-dampened palms.

Please don’t make a fool of yourself. Don’t let it show that you like him.

 

Soaking in the tub, Alexis splashed hot water over his face. He tilted his head slightly, rubbing his weary features as though washing away the fatigue.

He had heard that Cecil had arrived at the outpost about three hours earlier. By the time the rain had begun intensifying, Alexis had already secured a place to stay for the night.

Without thinking twice, he had mounted his horse and raced toward the Black Forest. It wasn’t until he burst into the outpost that he failed to realize just how irrational his behavior had been.

He only recognized the problem right before opening the door. Seeing how thoroughly soaked he was, he finally hesitated.

So this was how recklessly he had run just to see Cecil. His mind had been filled with nothing but that man. That was the moment he first acknowledged that his actions were unlike himself.

He knew even he was pushing it to dismiss these feelings as mere fondness. Alexis was simply curious. Whether what he felt toward Cecil was truly just goodwill—or something more.

Some time later, Alexis finished bathing and came back out. Cecil was still sitting blankly in front of the fireplace. Hugging his knees, he was half-dozing, clearly having had several drinks on his own.

Neither of them was eager to go straight to bed. Alexis picked up an empty glass and walked over to sit beside him.

Sitting on the hard wooden floor, he stretched his legs out. Leaning back into a relaxed posture, he found Cecil perceptively filling his glass with whiskey.

“It’s pretty strong. Do knights usually drink things like this?”

“There’s nothing like strong liquor to end an exhausting day.”

They sat facing forward, sipping in silence. In the stillness that felt as though time itself had stopped, the crackling of burning logs echoed softly.

Then Cecil suddenly spoke.

“May I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Why haven’t you asked me anything about Johannes’s death?”

Alexis turned his head slightly. Cecil, staring into the fire, looked unusually subdued.

Each time the flames flared, shadows flickered across his small face, making it seem as though he might be holding back tears.

“It seemed like you didn’t want to talk about it.”

Alexis replied lightly and took another drink.

The fact that the prince of Themion had died precisely on October 16 had effectively confirmed that Cecil could foresee the future.

Still, Alexis refrained from questioning him because Cecil had grown markedly darker since returning from the funeral. To someone who constantly observed him, the change was unmistakable.

Cecil, too, sensed that Alexis had noticed everything yet chosen to let it pass. Feeling both grateful and at a loss, he decided to broach the topic gently now.

“Johannes said something to me. That he was afraid of dying—but that he had no regrets.”

“……”

“Honestly, I envied him. To the point that I thought I wanted to die like Johannes did.”

“You’re far too young to be longing for death.”

“What does age have to do with it?”

Cecil drained the rest of his drink. Opening his burning throat, he spilled out his resolve.

“So I want to do everything I want to do—so I don’t leave any regrets.”

“For example?”

“Leaving the palace and living on my own for a while.”

“You’re deliberately choosing hardship?”

Alexis let out a small laugh. Cecil’s plan struck him as absurd—and strangely endearing.

But Cecil was quite serious. He himself knew the chances of it happening were slim, but dreaming was free.

“If I have the time… I’d like to visit the house I lived in as a child. I don’t remember much else, but I do remember wild raspberries growing thick in the garden. Whenever I got hungry while playing, I’d pick and eat them… They were so sweet.”

Cecil rested his chin on his knees. Lost in memory, his eyes drooped halfway shut.

“I want to buy plums with my own money, too. A whole basket.”

“Plums?”

“They sell them at fruit stalls. I really wanted them, but that day I didn’t have a single coin… so I couldn’t buy any….”

Cecil was unmistakably drunk. The mumbling tone of his voice made that perfectly clear.