Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 67: Found at the Edge of Despair

Maybe...It really is a ghost?

The closer I got, the clearer the sobbing became.

The sound was so mournful and sorrowful, it was hard to believe that it was being produced by a human.

It was almost like the ghost had become the embodiment of sorrow.

Moreover, in a mansion on a cold November night when the harsh winter begins, the notion of a [lone weeping woman] was unimaginably eerie.

Even if it wasn’t threatening, I didn’t let my guard down.

Goosebumps rose on my skin, and a chill crept up my back.

Standing on tiptoes, I stealthily moved until I reached the door of the room from where the sounds echoed.

“Ah... uh-ah....”

Amidst the sobbing, I could hear a murmuring sound.

It was a mumbling I had heard in a previous life.

Back then, I had a neighbor with a speech deficiency, and when her son was bitten by a large centipede, she came to me, desperately trying to communicate with sign language while her mouth made frustrated noises.

“Uh-uh... ugh... ah-uh...”

The mumbling, born out of frustration when words wouldn’t form, was more suffocating for those hearing it than the speaker.

This mumbling echoed amidst the sobbing.

What was the ghost trying to say?

Or was it speaking with someone?

I grasped the door handle.

Ready to use magic if necessary, I gathered my mana near my core.

Then,

Creak...

I slowly opened the door.

A bed came into view.

Lying neatly on it was a skeleton.

I thought the skeleton might have been sobbing, but then I swung the door wide open as I heard sounds from the right.

“Ah... uh...”

“......”

I saw a woman sitting slumped in front of a windowless windowsill.

Her hair, neither white nor gray, lay scattered and tangled on the floor, and her body was as gaunt as the skeleton lying on the bed.

And

For some reason, her appearance seemed familiar.

Her wretched appearance was illuminated by the moonlight.

I blinked my eyes.

In the abandoned land, amidst deserted ruins, the sight of a woman weeping alone seemed so out of place that even witnessing it with my own eyes, I found it hard to believe.

Moreover, her clothes, if they could still be called that, were tattered rags so torn that even vagrants would sneer looking at them.

Her hair was wild and unkempt to the extent that it seemed it might belong to a wild creature, and her limbs, skeletal as they were, barely seemed human.

It felt like I was seeing an illusion; it was almost more realistic to shout that this was the first ghost monster to appear in this world.

Perhaps, I was already ensnared by its trickery, experiencing a hallucination.

“Sob...”

The woman turned her head and looked at me.

Her deep dark blue eyes observed me.

The storm raging in those orbs slowly calmed.

Despite the darkness, the color of those eyes was strangely familiar.

Those unnerving familiar eyes.

And that made this situation even more nonsensical.

The owner of such eyes shouldn’t be here.

Those eyes shouldn’t have seen this decrepit ruin.

Therefore, this must surely be some sort of trap or illusion.

A hallucination shaped into reality to deceive me.

It had been just six months.

One could argue that it had been a long time now, but it shouldn’t be possible for the Heroine, the Protagonist, Lumia Winterfell to be alone in this forsaken land, weeping with such a gaunt figure.

It shouldn’t have been enough time for someone like her to be crying her life out in this lifeless place.

Someone must be messing with me.

Why show me this sight?

Are they trying to punish this bystander who was now finally free?

Am I being forced to feel guilty, as if this scene was my responsibility?

Whatever this is, it’s surely a cruel thing.

Whether this reunion was someone’s wish, some hallucination, or a one-in-a-million coincidence, it was unquestionably a vicious and cruel moment.

I had never anticipated witnessing such a scene; it was a moment of confusion and shock for me, and in that moment, Lumia’s sobs ceased.

Thud.

What appeared to be Lumia Winterfell, must have cried the last drops of vigor she had, collapsing on the floor.

“L-Lumia...?”

I found myself calling out her name involuntarily.

It was a name I had not spoken in six whole months.

And a name, I thought, I might never utter again.

I hurried to her side to check her pulse.

Thankfully, it hadn’t stopped yet.

Weak though it was, it seemed to be stubbornly clinging on to life.

Without hesitation, I lifted her up.

This might be an illusion, a trap, or a cruel coincidence.

But I had no time to consider those possibilities with Lumia’s condition looking so dire.

Whether this was real or not, I didn’t know.

Right now, my priority was to save her.

Her body was so light that it was hard to believe it was real.

Whether this was a coincidence or some sort of ploy...

If I were to hesitate, she could really die.

And I didn’t wish to carry such guilt when my conscience had been weightless before.

If this feather-light burden on my back was not an illusion but reality, then saving her was obviously the right thing to do.

So, I dashed towards the location where my other companions had set up the camp.

“Rendler-!!”

I desperately shouted Rendler’s name, who was in charge of the medical supplies.

**

《Darling, I’ll do my utmost to heal your pained heart, so please accept my efforts.》

《...Ugh.》

I tried to endure.

After all, a sinner like me, who ruined everything, should accept their punishment.

Had it not been for the decision of my father and Gelwood, the festival of the masses and the sacred tradition of our noble house would have collapsed.

So I thought I should accept the punishment of a betrothal to the mastermind willingly.

But I couldn’t stop the surging nausea at the word ‘darling’ coming from his lips, no matter how hard I tried.

《Don’t you want anything from me? Whatever you want I’ll do it! You can stomp on my hands, spit on me...I’ll endure anything if it means you’ll feel better.》

《I want nothing.》

《Pardon...? N-No, At least there must be something...》

《No.》

Now I know.

The wounds that split apart couldn’t simply be stitched over.

Only now did I realized that an indelible grime had lodged in between the gaped scars.

《The fuck you mean nothing? Goddamnit woman! If you keep saying that there’s nothing to be done, what do you expect me to do-!》

《Why are you going this far?》

《Because we are a couple now! We should reconcile and live well, that’s why I’m doing this-!!》

《Live well...? Don’t you just want to receive my forgiveness to fulfill my father’s condition?》

I had discovered it by chance.

I heard you mumbling by yourself while drinking.

The real reason you wanted my forgiveness.

What you had negotiated with my father, I found out.

Of course, I don’t blame my father.

It’s only natural for the Family Head to respect the sacred traditions of Winterfell.

《Y-You...Heard that...》

《Sadly yes.》

Thud-.

At that moment, you knelt down before me.

《Please! I’m begging you-! I don’t have much time left! Forgive me! Let us live happily together! Here, I’m begging just like you wanted, so why won’t you accept it-!!!》

If only it weren’t for the throbbing scars from that day growing more painful the more time I spent with you.

Had your screams not pierced my ears so painfully,

I might not have dismissed it.

I would have tried to endure the recurring nightmares for a lifetime.

I would have tried to live through each miserable day, wishing for death.

Just like I was doing it now.

For 90 days since the end of the Grand Ducal Betrothal, I bore with it silently, not showing it to anyone.

《I’ll speak with Father. I’ll tell him you truly put in the effort and reflected on your past mistakes. Even then, if I still can’t accept you, I assure you. Everyone will be able to return to their normal lives.》

On the 99th day.

I had spoken those words sincerely.

Despite you being drunk again, muttering to yourself, calling me ‘Wench’, ‘Trash’, ‘A bitch who deserves it’, I tried to ensure we reached a happy ending.

I had already talked with Gelwood, and he had said that Father would surely agree.

《...Does this fucking bitch think I’m stupid?! Did she really think I would fall for that crap? Heh! If I’m dying for this nonsense, you’re going with me you whore.》

Late at night, on the 100th day, you stealthily entered my bedroom while wielding a knife.

I should have realized then,

That there was never going to be a ‘happy ending’ for us.

《Why...Why are you doing this, Deron?》

I should have known.

《Aaaagh-!!》

《What’s going on?! Y-Your Grace-!!》

《Fuck!》

Crash-!

《He jumped out the window! Follow him, don’t let him escape-!》

I should have known long ago that a cursed woman like me shouldn’t be allowed to live.

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If I had died sooner, no one else would have been hurt.

“Your Grace?”

But

Again.

Why?

Why are my eyes opening?

That was supposed to be the end.

Why do I still see the blue sky?

“Have you regained your reason now?”

......Why am I seeing Elden’s face?

“I know that your body is weak right now, but try to drink this, it’ll help you recover.”

Why, someone who deserved to die, is still feeling the warmth of the sun?

Why, someone who should have never been born, is receiving Elden’s help?

I’m sure I was supposed to be dead.

I had to die.

Could this be a hallucination conjured by my dying mind?

I don’t know.

Just,

Please...

Please...Just...

Please...Just...Let...me.....