To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 71

She knew how foolish it was to show anger at the cost of her life. No one knew better than herself how little time she had left.

Since the moment she had traveled back in time, she had been preparing her heart for this. So she wielded her treatment like a form of power without hesitation.

“Let’s at least try life support treatment. Please?”

“I don’t want to. I’m sick of treatments and medicines. I just want to stop now.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“Life support isn’t for me. It’s for you guys. I just want to die. I don’t want to drag out my time in this miserable body anymore.”

“Why are you saying that…”

At Scarlett’s words, Susan squeezed her eyes shut with a pained look. Scarlett, who was getting dressed after getting out of bed, asked,

“How’s Scott?”

“He’s fine. His arm will heal with time.”

“That’s true. Still, I’d like to see him get his cast off before I die.”

“Scarlett!”

“Sue. Let’s admit what we have to admit.”

She looked straight into her sister’s eyes and gave a bitter smile. Maybe it was because of the resignation in her voice. For a brief moment, Scarlett looked much older than Susan.

“I’m going to die. It’s just too hard for you guys to accept that.”

Scarlett hugged the crying Susan tightly. It was rare for the strong Susan to cry out of pain.

After losing her husband Chris Brown, losing her only younger sister too would surely be a deep wound for her.

Scarlett, feeling sorry and guilty toward her sister, shut her eyes tight. Thin tears gathered and disappeared under her eyelids.

At that moment, the door opened and Aaron and Scott appeared. Seeing the sisters hugging, the two stopped their arguing. Susan quickly wiped her tears and pulled away from Scarlett.

“Carly. Why did you change clothes? Was the hospital gown too ugly, so you changed into a trendy dress?”

“I’m going to be discharged.”

“What are you talking about? Discharged?”

Aaron’s face started turning red. Scott lightly hit Aaron’s arm to calm him down.

“I don’t want to spend my last days in a hospital. I want to be with the people I love.”

“Right. Then spend it at the hospital with your family.”

Scarlett answered by just quietly looking at him. Aaron, stumbling over his words unlike himself, lowered his head. He realized his little sister had made up her mind.

More than anything, he couldn’t throw a fit in front of her, when she had already calmly accepted everything. A low sob like a beast came from between Aaron’s teeth.

“Huuhh… Uuuhh…”

Scott patted Aaron on the back. Scarlett, Susan, and Scott surrounded Aaron and hugged him tightly for a long time. They shared their warmth and felt each other’s breathing. They confirmed their hearts to one another—the love between siblings, even if they fought like beasts.

“Thanks for keeping it a secret.”

Scott had kept Scarlett’s relationship with Noah a secret. The siblings knew Scarlett had a boyfriend, but didn’t know whether it was Wilhelm or someone else.

“Are you going to keep seeing him?”

“Yeah. I want to.”

“You’re my sister, but seriously… I think I’ll never understand you even after a lifetime.”

Each lying on their own sofa in front of the fireplace, they chatted quietly while drinking warm drinks.

Susan had gone home because of Isaac, and Aaron had no choice but to return to work because of his piled-up tasks.

“I’m always thankful to you. No matter what unreasonable things I do, you always accept me.”

Even though Scott wasn’t that much older than Scarlett compared to John, he always took care of her like a father. He always tried to understand her complicated heart and put her feelings first.

“Sometimes, when I look at you, I think, ah, is this what a devoted parent feels like?”

“That’s nonsense.”

“I know. I’m just saying.”

“Are you not going to see John?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Until when?”

“Until the day I die. But I won’t refuse to see him at the funeral.”

“That’s harsh.”

Scott, speaking casually like he was watching a fire across the river, took a sip of his drink.

“Are you really upset because of me?”

“I’ve always been upset.”

“Right. You used to really hate me when we were young.”

“I did. I was just a kid back then. Scarlett, remember this one thing.”

“What?”

“We really love you.”

“I know that very well.”

“Good. That’s all that matters.”

In front of the burning fire, the siblings with gray eyes looked into the fire inside their hearts.

Scott dreamed of the near-miracle hope that his sister might not die. Scarlett imagined Noah coming back, even though he had vanished without a trace.

Scarlett missed Noah. She loved the warmth of his affection, and the safety she felt through that love. But Noah had disappeared. That fact became like an arrow that tortured Scarlett.

Feeling anxious, a creeping fear rose up inside her.

He couldn’t clear his head because of the drugs. Noah stabbed his thigh with a nail rolling on the floor. The tearing pain helped him shake off the dizziness a little.

“Huff… Huff…”

He had been drugged by his mother, Julia, over and over. Every time he started to wake up, she poured more drugs into his mouth, keeping him from staying conscious.

His thigh trembled violently, but he had no choice. If he didn’t resist, he would be taken away to some unknown place, just as his mother wanted.

He didn’t have time. He thought of the last time he saw Scarlett. Her purple lips and blue skin floated before his eyes. Even while suffering from his wounds, he forced himself to stand. He had to go see Scarlett.

Just then, the door opened and Julia entered, holding a vial of drugs.

“You’re awake.”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“I had no choice. This is the best way.”

“Turn the ship around.”

“I can’t.”

“I said, turn it around!”

Noah’s violet eyes flashed. Julia, who had unlocked her magical powers, sparkled with a brown color that originally belonged to Maya Ivanov.

Magic clashed against magic. Invisible power pushed Julia aside. She quickly regained her balance and threw an ice spear at Noah’s feet as he tried to move.

Once, she had been one of the top wizards of the Wizard Union, leaving puddles of blood wherever she passed. It was impossible for Noah, who had only recently gained magical power, to defeat her.

“This is the end.”

“I have to go see Scarlett. Move aside.”

“Why are you doing all this for her?”

“No. You’re wrong. It’s you who doesn’t understand why I’m doing this.”

He had found out he was royalty from Natalia. Even if that secret came out, the fact that he was Noah Ashford, born from someone’s sacrifice, would not change.

“I won’t hide anymore. And I won’t let you control my life anymore. I won’t stand it.”

“Please. I’m begging you. We have to hide. No, at least you must hide. Noah, please, it’s my last request.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you even understand how dangerous your existence is?”

“Then do you understand how shameful my existence is? I was born by trampling on another life. How dare you tell someone like me to hide! This is your last warning. Move aside. I must meet Scarlett.”

“No. I won’t.”

With her answer, Noah and Julia’s magic clashed violently. The air thickened, and cracks formed in the glass wall, then it shattered. A loud boom followed as the door broke and flew away.

As Noah moved, the wooden floor beneath his feet cracked. He threw a magic blast at Julia, but she scattered it easily, leaving only slight marks on the wall.

“Not bad.”

A rope appeared in the air and wrapped around Noah. But then shards of the broken window flew toward him, cutting the rope.

Julia conjured an ice spear in her hand. It was magic she hadn’t used since the night she killed the Emperor of Natalia. At the same time, Noah froze the floor and trapped Julia’s ankles.

“You can’t beat me.”

Dozens of ice arrows flew at Noah. He created an earth wall from the floor to block them. But Julia showed no mercy even to her son—one arrow grazed Noah’s cheek.

Blood ran down his skin. His hand, wiping the wound, was stained red.

Noah’s eyes darkened. Just like the time he showed Scarlett, dozens of firefly-like sparks floated around him.

It didn’t matter that they were on a ship. The sea was a familiar place for Noah. In the clash of fire and ice, a piece of broken wood floated up and flew toward Julia.

But Julia was faster. With an explosion spell, she destroyed it at once and snapped her fingers. All of Noah’s magic collapsed, and he was grabbed by an invisible force by the neck, his feet kicking helplessly in the air.

“Khak! Khok!”

“Noah. I didn’t want to do this to you.”

Noah was born from the best bloodline of magic. His biological father was the Emperor of Natalia, and his mother Julia, though low-born, had risen to the top of the Wizard Union with pure magical talent.

Knowing how hard it would be to face him, Julia had unsealed her power herself.

After subduing Noah, she would seal him again. Then they would hide. That was the plan. Julia’s face was now that of a cruel killer—a face she had never shown to Noah before.

“Hate me if you want. But you cannot go back.”

Noah’s struggling body went limp. Julia, seeing that he had passed out, released the magic.

Her motherly love was colder than the northern winter wind. There was no warmth or mercy in it. She pushed a paralyzing drug into Noah’s mouth.

It was time to leave for a place so far away that even Victor Lebedev and the Wizard Union could never find them.

Support