Every Arc Ends with My Death

Chapter 29. The Second Death

I lost track of time.

I tried my best to count each passing second inside my head, but it was hard to keep up with numbers especially when I'm profusely bleeding to death.

My throat was dry from thirst. I was so famished that I could eat a horse. However, when I look at my severed legs, the bloodied chunks of my flesh made me lose whatever appetite I even have.

"Stand up, bitch!" An imperial guard's voice thundered across the underground prison.

To my shock, they opened my cell and carelessly threw a person inside. The night was still deep with no source of light, so I couldn't see them.

Until she spoke, that is.

"Is that you, servant?" she asked in a small voice.

It was Princess Himari.

I guess it's true that your senses become sharper in the dark. My eyes cannot see her, but I could tell that the eastern princess was roughed up.

In addition to my own, the scent of blood became stronger when she arrived. What kind of torture she must've had to endure, I cannot even imagine.

"Princess," I said emotionally. "Are you alright?"

"I am," Her voice cracked. "I have to be."

My heart was torn asunder by her cries.

"I swore on my life that I did not poison the ladies, but the crown prince won't even listen to me." The princess sobbed. "It seems that my family has also consented to my execution. They abandoned me."

At that moment, the wound on my heart was more fatal than any of my physical injuries. In front of me laid helpless a young girl who was about to die due to being involved with me. It was all my fault.

In truth, the villainess only took notice of Princess Himari when I mentioned her. Lady Camellia then saw how powerless she was and used that to her advantage. Thus, the eastern princess was framed.

The moment Lady Camellia met me, she must've seen me as a tool that she can dispose anytime.

I'm sure she had planned to discard me from the start, but Princess Himari was a different story.

She was caught up in this entire mess simply because I introduced her name to the villainess.

If only we never met, you wouldn't be here.

My eyes watered with tears. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I was born under an unlucky star and I was never meant to live long enough from the start." Princess Himari giggled at her words.

A serene kind of silence ensued between us.

"If there's one thing I regret..." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "It is keeping my head down all my life. Always fidgeting in fear, always shrinking in shame. I should've lived more freely and happily."

For a while, only her short and heavy breaths were audible within the night. I couldn't see the extent of her wounds, but I fear that the princess may have been suffering from internal injuries.

"I-I haven't thanked you yet..." she whispered.

I bit my lower lip. "I don't deserve your thanks."

"Yes, you do." She replied softly. "Thank you for being my only friend in the palace. Our few encounters in the garden, the letters we exchanged... They truly kept me going."

Tears streamed down on my cheeks.

"Also, you may have thought of my confession as a child's fantasy, but I truly do like you." Princess Himari giggled weakly. "You are my first love."