Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 86

Chapter 86

 

Leo noticed the scar on Cecil’s chest.

He couldn’t read the ancient script, but he seemed to realize that the shape of the scar was slowly changing. It was obvious he couldn’t bring himself to ask, choosing instead to suffer in silence.

Cecil let out a small sigh. He had endured long enough. Lately, the pain had been growing more frequent, and he had begun to feel that dealing with it alone was becoming impossible.

“Leo.”

Having made up his mind in that brief moment, Cecil casually called out to the head attendant he trusted and cherished most.

“Later, come to the bedchamber with the court physician.”

“Is something wrong again? Don’t tell me… it’s your heart, isn’t it?”

“That too, but… there’s something I need to say. It’s important, so you’ll have to come secretly.”

Leo’s face darkened at once. Though Cecil spoke in a calm voice, he had a bad feeling that whatever he wanted to say would not be good news.

Some time later, as Cecil requested, Leo and the Peridot Palace’s dedicated court physician came to the bedchamber.

Cecil was seated comfortably on the sofa in light sleeping clothes. When he saw them, he greeted them with a gentle smile and gestured to the sofa opposite him.

“It’s fine. Come in and sit comfortably.”

Leo and the physician shuffled forward and perched themselves on the sofa. Worrying about what Cecil was about to say, even breathing felt uneasy.

The one who spoke first was the physician, Ethan Grayson. Five months ago, he had been assigned exclusively to Cecil after joining the Peridot Palace.

Outwardly, Cecil looked fine, but he frequently complained of chest pain and had collapsed unconscious several times. This fact was a secret known only to the Peridot Palace attendants and Ethan.

To cure an illness, its cause had to be found, yet Cecil adamantly refused to allow anyone to examine his body. Fortunately, Ethan possessed a rare talent for compounding medicine, which allowed him to ease Cecil’s pain, if only slightly.

“How have you been feeling lately?”

“Ah, actually, I have a favor to ask. I’d like you to switch my painkillers to something stronger. I think I’ve built up a tolerance; the effects wear off too quickly.”

“What? Stronger? Ha… Lord Cecil. What you’re taking now is already an extremely potent drug. Increasing the dosage any further would turn it from medicine into poison.”

“With your skills, Ethan, you could manage it. I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”

“No. I can’t do that.”

“Even if I’m going to die soon?”

Ethan and Leo both looked up at him with stunned expressions. Facing them, Cecil calmly began undoing the buttons of his shirt.

As his smooth skin was revealed, Ethan hurriedly turned his gaze away, while Leo stood there, not knowing what to do.

In the meantime, Cecil stripped down to his bare torso. He crooked a finger at the two seated across from him, giving a brief order to come closer.

The two hesitated, then approached. Cecil glanced up at them as they struggled even to lift their heads, and spoke in an unremarkable tone.

“Leo, you’ve probably seen it a few times. The scar on my chest, I mean.”

“…….”

“And you’ve noticed that it changes little by little.”

Cecil pressed lightly on the scar embedded in his chest with his fingertips, as if to prove that it could not be erased.

“This represents the days I have left to live. Seventy-three days remain now.”

“What does that—!”

“Just wait a moment. It’s almost midnight.”

Cecil stared at the wall clock, spending the last few minutes in silence. At the exact moment the hour and minute hands aligned, the scar carved into his chest began to distort.

As the shape of the scar changed before their eyes, the two men widened their eyes. A sound like a stifled groan slipped out, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Unlike the shocked onlookers, Cecil remained utterly composed.

“My day of death is fixed. This is a lifespan determined by God; it can’t be extended.”

After showing them the proof, he casually picked up his shirt and put it back on. Buttoning it up one by one, he continued,

“Ethan, you said you needed to examine me to determine the cause of my condition, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“The pain I suffer is because I leak events from the future to others. You could call it a kind of punishment.”

“What do you mean by that? How could you possibly know the future…?”

“Now and then, things happen in this world that are hard to explain. I admit it’s difficult to believe. But what can I do? It’s the truth. If you want, you may examine my body.”

Cecil, who had stubbornly refused any examination until now, finally gave his consent. Having already revealed the scar, there was nothing left to hide.

“It’s a secret I’ve kept all this time, but I think it’s time I told you as well. To be honest, bearing it alone has become a bit overwhelming.”

And at last, he made his request. He had revealed his secret precisely for this reason.

“Of course, if I didn’t disclose the future, I could live a peaceful life. But for Alexis’s sake, I intend to keep enduring the pain.”

“…….”

“There isn’t much time left, but I hope you’ll help me. Ethan, you will continue to make my medicine until the day I die, and Leo…”

Cecil trailed off. Seeing his head attendant, now soaked in tears, his throat tightened.

Watching Leo desperately swallow his sobs with his hands clasped behind his back, Cecil’s own eyes burned. He forced a smile.

“Leo, I want you to help keep my secret. If I ever collapse in public, you must be the first to protect me. No matter what, you must not let anyone discover the secret of my body.”

“Hngh, Lord Cecil. Lord Ceciiil….”

Leo collapsed to the floor and wailed. His grief-stricken cries pierced the hearts of those who heard them.

“It’s only a few months. If you help me until the end, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded well. I promise.”

At Cecil’s calm voice, Leo cried even harder. Ethan stood there, rubbing his face with a conflicted expression.

Still, the two of them chose to believe Cecil. Otherwise, none of this could be explained.

After some time passed, Leo finally managed to regain some control over his emotions. As he let out ragged, tearful breaths, Cecil gently patted his head.

“Do you think I’m mad?”

“I’d rather… you were mad.”

“You wretch. You really have no filter when talking to your master.”

Even as he scolded him lightly on purpose, Cecil was just as sorrowful. He could feel it now, that he truly had to start preparing for the end.

 

***

 

A few days later, the imperial army led by Crown Prince Alexis departed on an expedition.

Kazarjan was also preparing for war, but absurdly enough, it suffered a crushing defeat. They had been attacked at a completely unexpected stronghold.

The area the Verka Imperial Army swept into lay far from the capital, at the upper reaches of the Rione River. As soon as Alexis seized the river’s source, he cut off its flow.

The Kingdom of Kazarjan was thrown into chaos. Having prepared only for war around the capital and major strongholds, they had been caught completely off guard.

Water is a vital resource directly tied to survival. Given Kazarjan’s geography, surrounded by the sea, river water was used for drinking. Even if things seemed fine at first, it was only a matter of time before the damage set in. To make matters worse, rumors spread that the imperial army had poisoned the river, making no one dare to touch it.

With a strategy that struck at the enemy’s blind spot, the imperial army easily seized the upper hand in the war. It was a victory that forced Kazarjan into submission without a single drop of blood spilled.

News of the great victory achieved by Alexis’s forces spread through the empire like wildfire. The people were already drunk on the feeling of triumph, and their loyalty to the crown prince soared sky-high.

Cecil, too, heard the news of victory in the imperial palace. Even while wasting away with illness, he couldn’t have been happier.

He had endured stubbornly all this time, but living with powerful drugs constantly on his lips had left his body in ruins. After Alexis departed on the expedition, Cecil had been bedridden for nearly a week.

“You must not take any more medicine. Your liver, your stomach, everything is in terrible condition. At this rate, you won’t even make it to the end of your remaining lifespan.”

“That’s quite a… frightening way to threaten someone.”

Lying in bed, Cecil replied in a listless voice. After he had gone through the trouble of revealing his secret, his attending physician Ethan was now saying such harsh things about his life.

“This isn’t a threat. I’m asking you. Just restrain yourself for a while.”

“Isn’t His Highness away? I can rest while he’s gone. Instead of nagging, hurry up and get my condition under control. Ethan, aren’t you the renowned physician I personally acknowledged?”

“I’m worried because the victory was too decisive. It would’ve been fine if he fought a little more slowly. At this rate, he might return far sooner than expected…”

“That’s a dangerous thing to say, gh—!”

Cecil was in the middle of scolding him when he suddenly covered his mouth. Seeing the signal, the head attendant Leo rushed over and held a bucket under the bed.

Ugh—Cecil retched, vomiting everything in his stomach. All that came out was yellowish bile and sour fluid. After he was done throwing up, Cecil collapsed back onto the bed, his face completely drained of color.

Leo looked as if he were on the verge of tears, and Ethan could no longer bring himself to lecture him. Those who knew the secret could only tend to Cecil with pitiful expressions.

Four days later, news arrived that the crown prince had entered the capital. Bringing with him only the knight commander and a handful of close aides, Alexis returned directly to the imperial palace.

The moment he arrived, he headed straight for the Peridot Palace. He wanted to be the first to tell Cecil of the victory.

“Did you hear how great our victory was? It was all thanks to you.”

The instant Alexis saw Cecil, he swept him up into his arms and kissed his cheeks again and again.