I Was Not Meant To Exist-Chapter 49: (“Forgive me…Mira…”) sixth day: afternoon, evening
A gust of wind swept through a city in the middle of the desert, carrying grains of dust within it.
The dust it carried tried to slip into every building in the city. In the center of the city stood a great palace, a palace that was the pride of the beastman race.
In one of its corridors beside the courtyard, four figures sat in the hallway, waiting for something, waiting for the large door near them to open.
One of them was a young man with short black hair, his black eyes fixed on his smart bracelet displaying a video, a video where a massive bolt of lightning floated above the human capital.
The young man grimaced, unconsciously biting his shirt.
"Damn...I won’t bother her anymore, her father is seriously terrifying..."
The young man turned to the young man beside him, whose long black hair was tied in a ponytail.
"Hey Ken...you’ve already seen the video from the capital, right? Damn, that’s insane..."
Ken nodded, looking at the young man who had spoken to him.
"Why? Have you become a huge fan of the king now, Alex?"
Alex slung an arm around Ken and chuckled, but his tone sounded serious.
"Maybe? But I want to tell you something, friend..."
Ken looked at Alex seriously, thinking he was about to say something important.
Alex gave him a slight pause to make it mysterious.
"You’d better stay away from Katarina..."
Ken furrowed his brows, not expecting those words to come out of Alex’s mouth.
Alex stood up and mimicked someone getting struck by a spear.
"Just imagine it, if you hurt Katarina, even if you’re here, I think her father could throw his spear all the way here...."
Ken moistened his dry lips and nodded, trying not to care.
They kept talking, Alex continuing to imitate someone being struck by a spear.
All of it went on until someone smacked the back of his head.
Pain shot through Alex’s head, and he crouched while holding it with both hands, looking to see who had hit him.
There stood Reva, blowing on her palm as she spoke.
"You...are you only focused on the king’s lightning?!..."
Reva, who had been speaking loudly, began to lower her voice a little. She spoke while pointing at someone.
Alex followed the direction of Reva’s finger.
There sat Samir, the orange light shining on his face and the antenna on his bald head. He hadn’t moved for some time, only staring at the slowly setting sun.
Reva whispered to Alex.
"Sahir is there....and they finally managed to avenge themselves..."
Alex slowly stood up, still staring at Samir.
He whispered to Reva.
"Don’t blame me, blame Katarina for not telling us everything..."
Reva looked at Alex, and Alex looked back at Reva.
"Do you know what happened? That attack was aimed at Julian’s mansion, right? The news said a member of dark side tried to steal an artifact..."
Alex paused for a moment, remembering a name he had heard from Katarina when he first met Sahir and Samir.
"...do you know what artifact it was? And why did Katarina send Sahir there, does it have something to do with Komodo, or was Komodo the one trying to steal it?"
Reva let out a breath, thought for a moment, then shook her head.
Alex clapped his hands once and whispered into Reva’s ear.
"Well...have you noticed how strange it is? That Katarina really is a fortune teller..."
Reva’s ear twitched, and she gritted her teeth the moment Alex called Katarina a fortune teller.
Alex smiled widely, looking at his palm and focusing on the lines in it.
"Ahh, I want to have my fortune read by her..."
Ken chuckled seeing how innocent—or stupid—Alex was.
Meanwhile, Reva grabbed Alex’s shoulder and told him to lower himself a little so she could whisper in his ear.
Alex obeyed happily.
But no whisper came. Reva immediately wrapped her arm around Alex’s neck and locked it tightly.
A growl escaped Reva, while Alex’s face thrashed as it slowly turned red, and Ken burst out laughing while clutching his stomach.
"How dare you insult the princess! I’ll tell the king..."
Alex struggled, his voice coming out broken.
"Don’t...I...I don’t want to...get speared..."
They kept at it for some time, until the sound of the door opening was heard.
They all turned toward it, even Samir turned as well, but they quickly looked away when a foul smell hit them.
From inside the room emerged Katarina.
She walked while rubbing her reddened eyes, dark lines beneath them.
Sweat poured down her entire body, and her white dress had several brown stains on it.
Her dark red hair was tied in a ponytail.
Alex covered his nose and spoke to Katarina, his voice a little muffled because he was holding his nose.
"Damn...what were you doing in there?! You smell like you haven’t bathed for a month!"
Katarina ignored him, stretching her body and inhaling the fresh air, her movement showing off her curves.
Reva’s eyes widened, and she immediately stood beside Katarina to cover her body.
"Princess! Be careful of your body! There are a lot of starving wolves here!"
Katarina chuckled and stretched even more, making Reva keep trying to cover her.
Alex stared at them blankly.
"What are they doing?..."
He turned toward Ken, and there Ken was still sitting and staring at Katarina with a serious gaze.
Samir, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke, making everyone look at him.
"Princess...the news has already spread, Komodo is dead..."
Katarina looked at Samir, whose face was slightly pale. He and Sahir had succeeded in avenging their older sibling, but there was no pride carved onto his face.
"Yes...do you want to know the details?"
Samir fell silent for a moment, then only nodded slowly.
Alex chuckled seeing how naturally Katarina could blend in.
"Look at that, you stayed inside that room for a whole day and night, but you know more than all of us..."
Katarina brushed through her sweaty red hair.
"Of course...I’m a princess...."
Alex nodded and slowly sat down. He wanted to hear the full story.
Katarina called out to someone who wasn’t there.
"Maya..."
The moment Maya’s name was called, the gust of wind carrying grains of dust now also carried smoke.
The smoke gathered in the corridor between the five of them, and Maya appeared there as if by magic.
Alex exclaimed in amazement at Maya’s talent.
Maya immediately looked at Katarina.
"Yes...Princess."
Katarina pointed at Alex, Samir, Ken, and Reva.
"Tell them briefly what happened...but keep the artifact a secret."
Katarina leaned against the wall and began listening to the story of what happened at Julian’s mansion. She already knew the outline of it, but she didn’t know what had changed this time.
Maya told it based on the report from her senior. She recounted almost the entire incident, everything except the Bone of Malakar.
All of their expressions changed with each part Maya spoke.
Silence fell for a few moments once Maya finished speaking.
Maya let out a breath and looked at Katarina, who was still only leaning against the wall, her blue eyes watching the orange light that was slowly fading.
’What the princess did has once again been proven...’
Maya clenched her robe.
’....before, she sent me, and now she sent Sahir. The princess always sends people at exactly the right time...’
Maya lowered her head, remembering her bitter experience a little.
’....even though I failed.’
Curiosity rose in Maya’s heart regarding Katarina, who seemed to know everything.
She wanted to ask, but someone beat her to it.
Reva spoke to Katarina.
"How did you know about all this, Princess?"
Everyone looked at Katarina. They wanted to know Katarina’s secret, but she only played with her dark red hair casually.
"I’m a great fortune teller, right?"
Everyone fell silent while staring at her, their faces full of dissatisfaction, but Alex was different—he actually stood up from where he had been sitting.
He walked toward Katarina with a serious face.
Reva clicked her tongue. She already knew Alex was about to do something ridiculous again.
"What is this idiot going to do now?"
Katarina looked at him with her blue eyes reflecting the orange glow.
Meanwhile, Alex’s back blocked that orange light.
He lowered his posture slightly, making the others even more confused.
Alex stretched out his palm, showing the lines on his hand.
"Please, read my fortune, Princess Katarina..."
Alex looked at Katarina with a serious expression, and his voice turned serious as well, just like his expression.
"...or should I call you the great fortune teller?"
Ken burst out laughing at what Alex said, even Maya chuckled hearing it, while Reva only massaged her forehead, hoping his stupidity wasn’t contagious.
But Alex’s posture didn’t change. He didn’t care about any of them.
"Please tell me, will I become rich later? Will I have a beautiful wife? I won’t have to go to war, right? There won’t be any war, right?...."
Alex swallowed hard and continued.
"....Will my life be alright in this world, this time?"
One of Katarina’s brows lifted when she heard that. She had heard something strange.
"Hah?...what did you say?"
Alex, realizing the words he had just spoken, slowly came to his senses. His expression stiffened awkwardly, and he chuckled, trying to steer the conversation away because his tongue had accidentally said something strange.
"No no, I mean, will the world in the future be alright?"
Katarina only stared at Alex with a flat face. She moved her hand and touched Alex’s palm.
Alex flinched slightly when their skin touched.
Katarina closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly. Her blue eyes looked at Alex as if she were seeing inside his body.
"I don’t know your future..."
Alex tilted his face.
Katarina smiled faintly seeing Alex like that.
"....because you’re not supposed to be here."
A cold gust of wind swept over Alex the moment Katarina finished speaking. The hairs on the back of Alex’s neck instantly stood up when he heard what she said.
Alex looked into Katarina’s blue eyes. The orange reflection in them slowly disappeared, and darkness now surrounded them
Everyone was confused by what Katarina had said, but Alex had a different look in his eyes, a look he had never shown before.
Katarina’s body trembled seeing Alex so serious, and then her laughter slowly echoed as if welcoming the night sky.
One of Alex’s brows rose, and he slowly laughed along as well to ease the awkwardness in the atmosphere.
The two of them laughed together, while the others only watched them in silence, with nothing they could say seeing Alex and Katarina like that.
Alex wiped away the slight tears that had formed.
"Should we go now? You’re going to visit Julian and the others, right?..."
Alex exhaled, still chuckling softly.
"....the hearing is starting the day after tomorrow too, right?"
Katarina nodded lightly with a smile.
She looked toward the others.
"Get ready, we’re going home..."
None of them asked anything else, and slowly everyone dispersed, but Alex still stood there staring at Katarina.
Katarina flicked her hair.
"Why? Do you want your fortune read again?"
Alex shook his head briefly.
He massaged his forehead while looking at Katarina.
"In that case, see you later..."
Alex began to walk away from Katarina, but Katarina called out to him before he got too far, her voice sounding serious this time
"Alex...."
Alex stopped walking and slowly turned around to look at Katarina, to hear her out.
Katarina told him what she wanted.
"How about after the hearing, we eat together? We also haven’t talked about that necklace yet, right?"
Alex stroked his chin and nodded lightly.
"That’s true...that necklace, huh..."
Alex agreed to Katarina’s request without thinking much about it.
"You’re paying, right?"
Katarina nodded after hearing Alex’s request.
Alex began walking away again once Katarina said nothing more.
Katarina watched him from afar, her breathing now quickening, her hand pressing against her rapidly beating heart.
She swallowed with difficulty.
"He didn’t deny it..."
Katarina massaged her forehead, her head now aching, the night breeze swaying her hair.
The night sky bore witness to Katarina losing her composure.
But she wasn’t the only one who noticed it.
Not far from her, a chameleon beastman in camouflage had been listening to their conversation from the start, and now he began following Alex.
—
Darkness also appeared in another place, but it was not the darkness of night, rather absolute darkness that blinded.
The stench of rot and burning lingered at every edge of the visible darkness. A man stood in the middle of that darkness.
His white robe contrasted sharply within it, his neatly combed black hair that should not have suited such a dark space, and his golden eyes shone within the darkness.
Slowly the darkness began crawling over his body, crawling up to his shoulders.
The man’s heart beat faster, his breathing began to grow ragged, and from that darkness a hand of black mist slowly began to form.
That hand gripped the man’s neck.
The man’s body trembled, his legs should no longer have been able to support him, but the darkness creeping over him kept him standing.
A face slowly formed beside the grimacing man’s face, and a breath accompanied by smoke escaped, its breath reeking of death.
Only a mouth could be seen and a pair of horns on its head.
The grip of that hand tightened, and a disgusting voice followed.
"Thomas...what....are....you...doing..."
Thomas gritted his teeth, unable to answer.
The eyeless figure spoke again.
"Komodo...is....already....dead...and...you...also....failed..."
Sweat poured down Thomas’s forehead, and he clenched his fist submerged in darkness.
Thomas’s voice came out strained.
"I already told you....I’ll get it after the hearing..."
The figure laughed upon hearing Thomas’s answer, and instantly Thomas’s ears rang from hearing its laughter.
The breath that smelled of death could be felt again.
"If...you...fail...I...will...take...it...myself...with....your body..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
The black mist figure without eyes spoke for the last time.
"Remember...the...agreement...Thomas..."
After giving that warning, the black mist figure slowly disappeared, and the grip on his neck disappeared with it, leaving bruised marks.
Slowly the darkness also left Thomas’s body, returning to his shadow.
And the darkness around him gradually vanished, allowing Thomas’s trembling knees to finally touch the ground.
Thomas scratched at the neck that had been gripped, his scratching growing harsher as he remembered that figure’s voice.
His scratching drew blood from his neck, and the fresh blood dripped onto the ground.
When the darkness vanished completely, a room appeared, an empty room, a room that only had a few symbols on its walls and a table and chair in the corner.
Thomas tried to calm himself, his golden eyes now trembling with anger.
"Damn it...that stupid lizard..."
He slowly stood, blood still flowing from his neck along with the pain, but Thomas paid it no mind.
He took out perfume from his smart bracelet and sprayed it all over his body.
A growl came from him.
"Damn stinking demon."
Slowly he walked to leave the room, his steps carrying him toward a dark staircase leading upward.
Each step made his white robe sway, and Thomas’s golden eyes gleamed.
His steps up the stairs stopped when a wall came into view.
Thomas’s hand moved toward that wall, wanting to touch it, but his brow twitched—he sensed something behind it.
Behind the wall, a study room could be seen, now bathed in moonlight.
Thomas stood frozen behind a bookshelf.
Not long after, the sound of the room’s door opening harshly was heard.
A girl entered, her black hair flowing loose, her golden eyes glancing all around the room, even her white dress swayed continuously as she walked.
Her voice sounded confused.
"Where is father? The servants said he was in his room..."
The girl walked past the bookshelf, and Thomas, who was behind it, remained completely still, even his hand still frozen in midair.
The golden-eyed girl searched the room, looking around for what she wanted to find, but a sigh escaped her.
"Where is father? He’s not in mother’s room either..."
After failing to find her father, the girl slowly left the room.
The sound of the door closing reached Thomas, who was still behind the bookshelf.
Thomas’s body behind the bookshelf began to tremble.
A whimper escaped him, and he slowly sat down and leaned against the wall.
The sound of his whimper turning into sobbing could be heard there in the darkness.
"Forgive me...Mira..."
