CH 2

This time again, Carus couldn’t leave the room.

"Are you talking about things like superstitions and myths?"

"Yes."

"I don’t believe in them."

He was a soldier and a knight. He was also a commander responsible for the lives of his subordinates. He had always thought that relying on those kinds of beliefs on the battlefield would inevitably lead to an untimely death.

There must have been a reason for her to ask that question out of the blue. Thinking that it would be the last time, he asked her.

"Why do you ask me that?"

Before he knew it, the woman had stopped crying. In her eyes that had cleared up, a darkness hung as if poison was spreading.

Unbelievable words poured out of her small mouth immediately after.

"I am under a curse that makes it impossible for me to die."

"What?"

"It’s been eight times. I thought I died… But I always come back to this day. And you always say the same thing every single time."

The woman was looking directly at Carus.

"’I found you on the verge of death at a crossroad in the middle of the mountains. Three assassins were after you. My subordinates killed all of them but there is no guarantee that more won’t be coming for you.’"

Her voice gradually became firmer the more she spoke. She had an excessively calm attitude for someone who was on the threshold of death.

Was she crazy to begin with? Is she pretending to be crazy? She didn’t seem like a pitiful commoner abandoned by her lover at all.

"Carus Lankea."

The woman started.

"If you continue on that route, all your subordinates will die."

It was a ridiculous statement.

"Before you manage to completely leave the mountains, you will be ambushed twice. Rangers will be waiting for you after setting up traps, so make a detour by taking the road that herbalists use through the valley."

"What did you say?"

"If you go down by following the mountain slope, a colony of Aspen trees will appear. Once there. Then once at the entrance of the village of the mountain travellers."

"Did you say an ambush?"

"Avoid going there. Unless you want to lose your subordinates."

‘If you don’t do as I say, you might survive, but your subordinates will all die.’ The woman warned.

"It doesn’t matter if you think it’s nonsense from a crazy woman. If you don’t believe me, you can drag me there and use me as a shield."

There was a strong murderous intent inside Carus’s eyes.

He didn’t believe anything she said. But that didn’t mean he could pretend not to hear her words. His doubts grew bigger and made him unable to move.

*****

Yulia Arte had been cursed.

She realized that fact after dying vainly for the second time.

The twenty year old girl, who had been betrayed by the young master she was madly in love with, froze to death when she was caught in the blizzard while waiting for her lover. It was the first time she died.

But when she opened her eyes, she had been rescued by the commander of the imperial army named Carus Lankea.

At that time, she didn’t even realize that she had already died once.

Yulia went back to the Marquis of Marjoram and asked her lover. ‘Why did you abandon me if you loved me this much? Why did you make me wait all night in that cold place?’ She questioned him.

Then, she was murdered. At the hands of hyenas hired by the Marquis.

It was her second death. That time, the pain was clear.

The hands of the assassin who were strangling her. Her self who was scratching and struggling but remained powerless. As her consciousness started to fade, she finally realized she was dying.

But she opened her eyes again and saw that she had been rescued by the commander Carus Lankea after nearly freezing to death while being trapped in the blizzard.

Same day, same place, same person.

She couldn’t believe it. At first, she thought that all of this was a bad dream. She also suspected that in the afterlife, you kept repeating the most miserable moment of your life.

In her third life, Yulia decided to live for herself.

Until that point, she had not given up her hope towards living. She believed that if she went to a place far away where Marjoram’s influence couldn’t reach her and lived an ordinary life, she could be happy.

However, the hyenas still didn’t give up on her. It seemed that Marjoram would only be satisfied after seeing her corpse.

When she met her death once more after the hyenas had followed her outside of the empire, Yulia finally decided to get revenge.

Since she had died three times, she would only be satisfied after killing three times.

Starting from her fourth life, she lived for revenge.

In order to destroy Marjoram, she used all kinds of methods. She also committed a lot of dirty and despicable deeds. It was hard at first but she slowly became numb the more she did it.

She might have been on the path to becoming crazy.

She lived that way in her fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth lives.

In one life, she was like a merchant who would gather, buy and sell information from the nobles. In another, she entered a family who was at odds with Marjoram and lived like a wolf.

"I failed, and failed again, then I almost succeeded and failed… I was also betrayed."

The story of her alleged past that was unfolding was honestly surprising.

If you didn’t think that she was a crazy woman, you might have been drawn in. In fact, rather than leaving the room, Carus sat back in a chair and listened to her until the end.

"You said your name was Yulia Arte."

"Yes."

"Now, do you not love the successor of the Marquis anymore?"

He asked.

At that moment, Yulia’s voice that had been flowing out smoothly as if fulfilling her duty stopped.

Her eyebrows twitched as if she hadn’t expected Carus to ask her such a question.

"That, why…"

"Answer me."

Carus urged her saying that he had to hear her answer at all costs.

"According to your words, no matter how many times you die, he is a lover that you can’t shake off. The fact that you persistently cling onto revenge, isn’t it proof of how much you’ve loved him?"

A sneer seeped into his words.

"There is nothing that pulls at one’s heartstrings more than a tragic love story. It almost became a good novel."

Yulia couldn’t answer easily. The green eyes that were close to black stared at Carus as if searching.

"I know that you don’t believe me."

"Really?"

"Are you mocking me on purpose to see my reaction? You don’t have to do that. Just… take it as a confession."

"I am curious about why I have to be the one receiving that confession. I am not a priest."

"It’s because you keep saving me."

Carus laughed sharply. It was a laugh that came out because he was dumbfounded but the dark atmosphere around him only made him look fierce.

"I did it on an impulse."

"I know."

"The ones who discovered you were my subordinates. It was also my subordinates who pulled you out of the carriage that was buried in the snow."

"That’s why I am telling you this. In order to save them."

‘I don’t know why I keep talking to you.’ Carus mumbled.

This time, Yulia didn’t say anything and stayed quiet.

"Let me ask you one more thing."

"Yes."

"In your past lives, did you also try hard to save my subordinates? Did you try to convince me to make a detour by using the valley road taken by the herbalists?"

‘No.’ Yulia didn’t respond but Carus could read the answer in her silence.

"Yulia Arte."

Carus rose from his chair. As the crazy woman’s nonsense grew longer, no feelings could be seen on his face that had lost interest.

"We will leave at midnight. You will also come with us."

"… Yes."

"If even one of the things you’ve said turns out to be a lie, I will make you pay by directing you to your tenth life."

Carus was saying that he would kill Yulia.

She wasn’t afraid. She only nodded her head impassively as if it had nothing to do with her. He didn’t even earn a glance from her.

What a strange woman. Yulia Arte was a strange woman.

In her face which held both good and evil, a wicked girl and a righteous murderer seemed to coexist. As if proving that, her sharp and defined lips were close to a coral color.

In the end, Carus couldn’t get out of her sight until his subordinates came back with the healer.

*****

As soon as the sun went down, she started to have a fever. Her body was heavy but her head was buzzing and she felt dizzy.

Still, Yulia didn’t take the medicine. It had been quite some time since the powdered medicine given by the healer had been shoved in the trash can beside her bed.

‘I can’t fall asleep. I have to stay awake. Every word, every action matters.’

Carus was a difficult opponent to move. He believed in his own judgment more than in other people’s words. He considered the blade of a sword to be more reliable than intuition or rumors. That’s why she couldn’t afford to reveal any gaps.

Even if all of this was for his sake, it was the same thing.

"Hey, miss. By any chance…"

One of Carus’s subordinates came in and spoke. However, he frowned when he saw the girl gasping for breath.

"What’s going on? Should I call the healer?"

"I am fine."

"You don’t look fine at all."

"I am really fine, but…"

Carus’s subordinate didn’t let Yulia finish, approached the bed with long strides and placed his large hand on her forehead.

"What the hell? Why are you this hot?"

He was prepared to run out the door and call for the healer but Yulia stretched out her hand and grabbed his forearm. Then, she took a short breath and spoke clearly.

"The commander said we would be leaving soon. I don’t want to be a nuisance. I am just having a light fever, that’s it."

"Hey, miss. Did you see the weather outside? The blizzard is still raging like crazy. Do you think we will be able to sleep peacefully after witnessing the death of the person we barely managed to bring back to life?"

"I am fine."

"I am not fine. I will go out and bring the healer, so wait a moment. I really wonder why Sir Carus decided to take you with us."

"The blizzard will stop soon. It will clear up shortly so don’t worry."

"How do you know that? What… You’re some kind of fortune teller, is that it?"

He knew that wasn’t the case. Yulia shook her head and raised herself. She neatly gathered her disheveled hair in a ponytail and put on her cloak, covering her head as well. Then, she looked at her belongings that were scattered on the table in a disorderly manner.

"My name is Bavaslov."

Carus’s subordinate heaved a sigh and said. After gathering all of her belongings in one place and shoving everything in the trash can, she answered him.

"I am Yulia."

"Miss, you have to ride a horse with me. It’s my job as the youngest."

"Yes."

"I asked the herbalists and they said that going down the byroad could be dangerous. Will you be alright?"

"It doesn’t matter."

"Ah, really…"

It looked like Bavaslov had a lot to say. He was dissatisfied that their schedule had been changed because of that crazy woman. But instead of pointing that out, he chose to give her his fur gloves.

"They smell a bit but they’re warm. I paid a steep price for them."

"…Thank you."

As he had asserted, the gloves were warm. As soon as she put her hands inside, she felt a ticklish sensation in her fingertips.

Standing still, Yulia stared at the big gloves absentmindedly. The corners of her mouth rose slightly and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Let’s go."

Bavaslov moved first and opened the door for her.

Yulia slightly bowed her head to express her gratitude and went out of the house.