Chapter 21: Isolda Evergarden VII (2)
Isolda held on to the reins of the horse with a face that seemed pale like a corpse.
They had sent the dogs who usually guarded the carriage inside for a rest.
So, at the moment Isolda was driving the carriage alone, in silence.
In such a frightening silence, Isolda idly began to ruminate on the price of the sins she had committed.
‘An evil woman… who should fall into hell… an evil wicked woman…’
Yuria’s words never left her mind.
The girl Isolda had connected so much with, had cursed her to go to hell.
Her words had become a very cold and sharp needle, endlessly stabbing Isolda’s chest.
‘It hurts so much!’
To the point where she felt like her flesh was being torn, and her bones were being crushed.And even then… it never stopped and constantly tormented her.
While drawing in that pain, Isolda looked at the sign erected on the side of the road with empty eyes.
A sign indicating that their destination was not far away.
However, the resolve she had when she first set off on this journey no longer remained with her.
‘Now… what should I… do?’
Isolda was lost. She didn’t know what to do.
Things like starting over, gaining strength, and taking revenge.
Now that she had realized the weight of her sins and was being weighed down by them, she had lost the determination to do anything.
Because in the process of achieving all that, she felt like she would hurt someone again.
Because she felt like she was going to treat someone like a tool again and ruin their lives.
‘It would’ve been better… if I didn’t run away… it would have been better if I had just crawled on the floor of that cell without knowing anything for the rest of my life…’
However, Isolda knew that it was already too late to go back.
Then at least… at this point she wanted to do what she could… no, what she should.
She started thinking, ‘If at least I can do that… then can this pain… be a little less? If so…’
***
A hazy dawn with drizzling rain.
The endlessly running carriage finally stopped.
However, the place they arrived at was neither a fancy city nor a noisy market.
It was the cemetery.
A place where the dead rest for their long slumber.
There, a girl slowly knelt down and looked at the two tombstones in front of her.
“I’m here…Mom…Dad… ”
Yuria called her parents with a voice filled with sadness and longing.
Even though she came prepared, she felt as if she was about to cry as she carefully touched the tombstones in front of her.
“It’s been a while, isn’t it? Today… I brought you very happy news.”
With those words, Yuria tried to show a smile on her lips.
Doing this was much harder than she had thought.
Even so, despite the tears in her eyes, she smiled as brightly as she could in front of her parents.
“Please be happy… Mom and Dad. She’s finally dead… that wicked villainess… Isolda Evergarden is dead! The person who bullied my mom and dad… who destroyed our family is finally…”
“No… ”
“…?”
At that moment, she heard a cold voice from behind.
Yuria slowly looked back to see who it was.
Standing there… was a familiar yet, at the same time a completely unfamiliar person.
“Miss Isera? What are you saying?”
“About that… no…”
With those words, Isera slowly approached Yuria.
Then, with a cold expression on her face, she looked down at Yuria and opened her mouth.
“It’s not Isera. My name is… Isolda… Evergarden.”
“Yes?
Yuria’s face began to turn cold at the words Isolda had uttered in a trembling voice.
“That… that… what… are you talking about? This… Miss Isera… what kind of nonsense…”
Yuria denied the claim with a trembling voice as if she had heard something unbelievable.
However, looking at her behave like that, Isolda spoke in a cold yet determined voice.
“It’s true. The villainess who killed your parents… the one you wished would end up in hell… that’s me…”
“…”
At Isolda’s words, Yuria’s brain stopped working for a moment.
It was the person she had saved with good will.
It was the person who she had come to admire.
And… it was the person who shared and sympathized with her pain.
That person… was her enemy!
The fact that she was the very villainess who was the cause of all her sorrow. Yuria didn’t know how to accept that.
At that moment…
“…!”
Isolda stretched her arms forward and offered something to her.
Upon taking a closed look, Yuria began to feel her confused mind suddenly cool down.
“Take it… you always wanted to do it.”
What Isolda held out was a dagger.
It was made not long ago and still retained its sparkling luster.
It was something that Isolda carried in her bosom in case everything failed.
Seeing the dagger, Yuria asked Isolda with a trembling voice.
“Uh… why… why are you… ”
“It’s the life you saved… so I want you to take it back.”
“…”
Isolda spoke in a calm voice, with a soulless smile.
In response, Yuria grabbed the dagger in front of her with trembling hands.
As someone who sold iron ore, she could tell at once that the quality of the dagger was quite good.
If she pierced her heart with this… it would surely end Isolda’s life.
And, it would be with her own hands and no one else’s!
After her parents died, she would finally be able to do what she had always wanted to do.
“…”
Yuria gripped the dagger tightly with trembling hands.
In front of her eyes was Isolda, who was standing quietly with her eyes closed.
It was the figure of an evil woman who was calmly waiting for death with a pale face
Looking at that, Yuria finally made up her mind and slowly raised her dagger.
And…
Paakk!