Diverging Futures (1)

Callisis stared anxiously through the window. As the night sky darkened, his heart grew heavier.

After today, she would die.

It didn’t feel real. Yet, his fingertips were cold, and he clasped his hands together. It was strange. He hadn’t cared before, so why was he now disturbed by her impending death?

They were no longer the affectionate lovers they once were. Now, they were strangers who didn’t even see each other’s faces. So, there was no reason for him to be agitated.

He tried to convince himself, but his gaze remained fixed on the direction of the imperial palace. Once this night passed, the nervousness that was making him impatient, the sadness, would all go away together. So, he only needed to get through today.

Then he wouldn’t be able to see her anymore.

That fact suddenly brought him to his senses. The sound of his heart, which he had been ignoring all along, began to ring in his ears. He had thought he was fine, but in reality, he wasn’t. Even now, he still regretted it. He regretted letting her go that day, never holding onto her.

He knew that he couldn’t turn back time. But it was up to him to get through the remaining time. Since that day, he no longer wanted to regret anything else. Regret had always been painful, and it made him feel guilty.

Maybe seeing her wouldn’t bring good news. He didn’t know if it would hurt him to see her worse than he imagined, and he might even want to save her at the cost of his own life. And in the end, he might regret the fact that he had gone to jail.

Nevertheless, he did not choose to watch quietly. If he would regret doing it, and if he would regret not doing it, then he should try something, no matter what, so that he would regret it less later.

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The distance between the mansion and the imperial palace was not far, so he quickly arrived at the palace. It wasn’t difficult to visit the prison where she was being held. He had the status, and unless you were a heinous criminal, most people could visit for a few coins. It was an unspoken rule among those who knew.

He was a little worried that perhaps visits were prohibited for death row inmates, but when he gave a few more coins to the hesitant guard, he was easily let into the prison.

The prison guard, after taking the money, led him deep into the prison. In the dimly lit corridor with no trace of light, there were cells that confined the criminals of the empire. Behind the iron bars that could be seen along the way, there were also serial killers who had caused a commotion in the empire, as well as members of criminal organizations who had been smuggling drugs.

They were all heinous criminals. Seeing this, Callisis shuddered. How could they put her, who was an empress, in a prison that held such people? He felt something boiling up inside him already.

Unknown grotesque bugs crawled around near his feet, and an indescribable metallic smell lingered in the air. He crushed one of the bugs that was crawling on the floor with his boot as if venting.

She was afraid of bugs.

It was undoubtedly a result of what she had done. However, he couldn’t understand why he was so angry. He clenched his lips and tried to control his emotions, however, as soon as he stopped in front of the last bars, he couldn’t hold back his crumbling expression.

“It’s a death row inmate who will be executed tomorrow. Don’t take too long.”

The guard, who had been checking his pocket watch, spoke indirectly as he left with the nearby guards. Callisis, still staring fixedly beyond the bars, had even forgotten to respond.

The moonlight that flowed through the palm-sized window illuminated the woman inside. The moment he saw the disheveled hair that had lost its luster and the tattered dress, he felt like his heart was being trampled on miserably.

She remained hunched over without making a single move, seemingly unaware of Callisis’ presence. Her occasional twitching was the only proof that she was still alive.

A minute passed, and then five minutes. During the precious time that was running out, Callisis couldn’t do anything. His mind was in turmoil. He had come here to do something, but he couldn’t even remember what that was. That’s how jumbled and confused his thoughts were.

He even thought about turning back, but he couldn’t. He was sick of regretting things.

With determination, he cautiously called out to her.

“Kilianerisa….”

Her body trembled greatly at the sound of that soft voice. But, as if thinking she was mistaken, she didn’t turn to look at him. Was it his imagination that her curled-up body seemed to shrink even more? Callisis called her name once again, this time with a desperate tone.

“……Lia.”

“Go away.”

A sharp response reached his ears. He had been momentarily lost in the lingering sound of the familiar voice he heard for the first time in years, and he said in a low but firm tone.

“No.”

“Go away.”

“…I don’t want to.”

“Please, please go away…”

At the sound of her pleading tone, Callisis closed his mouth. She continued in her tearful voice.

“I don’t want to see you anymore.”

Her words, rejecting him until the end, pained his heart. It was something he had expected, yet he couldn’t understand why it hurt so much. As if by instinct, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

“I, I…”

With a face that showed he didn’t know what to do, he hesitantly tried to speak, but his throat constricted, and the words wouldn’t come out.

I just wanted to see you, that’s why I came searching for you.

She continued.

“Please don’t make me miserable.”

Each word she uttered seemed to say that he was the one who made her suffer. Callisis slowly approached her, stopping just in front of the iron bars, which were the limit of how close he could get.

Callisis placed his hand on the iron bars. A tingling sensation filled his palm. On the other side was a lonely-looking woman. She was within reach, but his outstretched hand couldn’t reach her. She wasn’t looking at him.

“Look at me.”

“…”

“Just once, will you look at me?”

He said with a desperate tone. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to confirm from her, but he felt like he would find the answers once he saw her face.

“……No.”

Once again, the response he heard was a refusal. Do you hate me that much? He grew increasingly tired from the repeated rejections. His heart, which had feared rejection, finally crumbled under the weight of continuous refusals. The pain was familiar but still painful, and the regret was bearable.

Alright, I’ve done all I can. As he was about to release his grip from the iron bars, her voice, which he had a premonition that he would never hear again, continued.

“If I see you, I’ll end up regretting all of this.”

It was a small voice, almost muffled to the point of being inaudible, yet it echoed clearly in his ears. He hastily grasped the iron bars he was about to let go.

“You’ll regret it?”

Why did she think she’d regret it if she saw him? He blinked blankly, trying to find the meaning behind her words. She was still avoiding him, but Callisis didn’t feel it was the same kind of avoidance as before.

Maybe, just maybe… If your heart is the same as mine.

His heart was pounding loudly. It wasn’t sadness. It was closer to expectation. He cried out in a voice that was close to desperation. The words he had always kept in his heart since that day finally burst out into the world.

“I’ve always regretted it. Since the day I let you go, there hasn’t been a single day I haven’t regretted it. I thought I had no chance. But if… if I still have a chance even once…”

The woman who had been crouching away from him all along finally lifted her head to look at him. The sight of her face for the first time was devastating. The once brightly shining red eyes were now clouded with the light of death, and her once pleasantly plump cheeks had sunken in.

Still, his heart was pounding as he finally saw his one and only love. His heart, which had been dead for years, began to beat wildly as if it had been resurrected from the dead. Ignoring this intense feeling, he spoke with a determined voice.

“Don’t ignore me anymore.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she was stunned. Callisis reached out his hand into the cell where she was. The cell she was in was cramped. Thanks to that, his arm got closer and closer to her.

However, even at such a short distance, his arm could not reach any further. As if to show the distance between them, his arm hovered in the air, unable to touch her.

At that moment, Kilianerisa reached out towards him. Desperately, her hand reached out over his outstretched hand. Callisis gripped her hand tightly, as if promising he would never let go. Their clasped hands were cold, yet they felt warm.

A smile appeared on his face. A smile hadn’t been seen since that day.

“I won’t let go anymore.”

With tightly pressed lips, Kilianerisa nodded her head with difficulty.

Callisis didn’t know what had happened to her during the years they were apart. However, it didn’t matter. He knew her heart was the same as his. It was not too late to hear all the stories later. I’ll never let go of this warmth in my hand again.

Callisis pondered, fiddling with the sword he had hidden in his arms just in case. If he used the sword, he might be able to easily free her from the cell.

Of course, doing so might mean he had to give up everything he had. After all, she was a condemned prisoner who had harmed a member of the royal family. He thought that it didn’t matter if he lost everything to save her. There was nothing more important to him than her.

As Callisis made up his mind and was about to draw his sword from his arms, he sensed someone’s presence nearby. He felt his heart sink but urgently stood in front of Kilianerisa, as if to protect her.

Callisis anxiously stared at his watch, but there was still some time before the guard would come. However, there was also a possibility that things had gone wrong.

He bit his lips roughly and, in preparation for any unforeseen events, placed his hand inside his arms. In a very short moment, numerous thoughts surged and receded in his mind. Meanwhile, someone’s presence was gradually approaching.

Fortunately, there was only one presence he could sense.

As he swallowed his dry throat, he soon saw a figure walking leisurely in the darkness. The moonlight, streaming through the window, finally settled upon the approaching figure. The person revealed under the moonlight was someone Callisis had seen before.

He was about to call out the person’s name without realizing it, but Kilianerisa was faster than him, murmured.

“…Lerian?”

It was Queen Lerian, who had been poisoned by Kilianerisa. He didn’t know why she was here when she was supposed to be recuperating, but that wasn’t the most important issue at hand. What mattered was that they had been caught attempting to escape by the last person they shouldn’t be caught by. Blaming his own carelessness, Callisis gritted his teeth.

Lerian, who had been alternating her gaze between Kilianerisa and Callisis, finally fixed her eyes on Callisis. She asked in a calm voice.

“Marquis Etrom, is that correct?”

Just as she seemed about to say more, Kilianerisa interrupted her.

“You…! Why are you here?”

Lerian’s gaze passed over Callisis and landed on Kilianerisa. She looked quite calm for someone who had been poisoned by her.

“I was just curious.”

At the sound of her feeble voice, Kilianerisa responded, “Curious? Curious about how I was doing in prison?”

Lerian shook her head.

“No. I was curious about why you tried to poison me. But now, I think I don’t need to hear it.”

Her gaze was once again fixed on Callisis. For a moment, he thought she might call the guards right away, but she didn’t take any action. However, he couldn’t let his guard down. Callisis was ready to draw his sword as soon as he noticed something wrong.

But then, Lerian suddenly approached the iron bars. Callisis tried to stop her, protecting Kilianerisa, but Lerian wasn’t heading in Kilianerisa’s direction. She stood right in front of the cell door and reached into the sleeve of her dress.

So that’s it. He knew there was something wrong. Callisis hastily pulled out the concealed sword he had in his arms. However, when he saw what Lerian had retrieved from her sleeve, he had no choice but to sheath his weapon again. He had expected her to pull out a call bell to summon the guards, but what came out of her sleeve turned out to be none other than a key.