TVDWL - Chapter 192 < It's Okay to Hate and Resent You >

Jeremiah, seeing Karina in despair, felt her pain as if it were his own.

"No. From the beginning, you were the only one for me. It's true. Believe me."

He appealed with a pale, weary face.

"Even if you say that, nothing will change anyway."

Jeremiah's mouth became dry at Karina's cold attitude as if she had nothing left to be hurt about. Regret washed over him, along with the self-reproach that he had reopened her old wounds.

"Hit me until your anger subsides. You can hate and resent me for as long as you suffered... no, even longer."

Jeremiah desperately grabbed Karina and clung to her.

"You can do whatever you want to me. But please, don't leave me."

He held Karina's hand as if it were his lifeline. But it was Karina who remained unchanged the whole time.

"You don't have to do this to me. I wasn't asking you to marry me. I buttoned it up wrong from the start."

She just smiled bitterly.

"We should never have met in the first place."

"Karina...!"

Jeremiah looked as if he was being driven to the edge of a cliff. However, Karina's attitude, which showed no sign of accepting it, tore at Jeremiah's heart every moment and every second. His eyes shook violently. His trembling voice was mixed with sobs.

"Karina. Please don't. Please don't give up on me. I would never do that. I would never do that."

He begged desperately. Tears finally fell from his eyes that were full of moisture. It was easy to feel weak at the tears that kept falling like rain.

"Cry as much as you want."

Karina smiled again, completely unfazed.

"Cry as much as you want and let it go. I did that too."

Her tears had long since dried.

"...!"

Jeremiah despaired. He thought he had finally broken down the wall of her heart, little by little. Her heart, which lay beyond that solid wall, had already been torn and broken a long time ago. Jeremiah realized it only then. Like a piece of glass that cannot be put back together once it is broken. Her heart was shattered beyond repair. That fact hit him hard in the heart and threw him into a deep pit. At that moment.

"Ugh...!"

He felt an excruciating pain as if his heart was being torn apart by the impact of a head-on collision with a huge rock. Perhaps due to the impact, Jeremiah's body lurched forward. His hand, which was clutching at his heart, trembled.

"Jeremiah?"

He heard her voice calling him, but he could not even move a finger, let alone turn his head. He gritted his teeth and screamed Inside, trying to hold on to his collapsing body.

'No! If I don't catch her now...!'

Then he suddenly became terrified that she would leave him, but he couldn't keep his wits about him.

"Ugh."

He barely managed to lift his trembling hand and cup Karina's cheek.

"Karina...'

He called her desperately and earnestly as if she were his only remaining lifeline.

"Don't go."

He said he couldn't go. He wanted to hold on tightly and tell her not to leave him, but his body wouldn't listen. He barely managed to raise his head and take in Karina's appearance. The last thing he saw was her face looking at him with a surprised expression, and his consciousness completely sank. 

***

"...!"

Karina opened her eyes with a blink. Warm sunlight streamed in through the large window, hitting her face.

'What is this? Where am I?'

An unfamiliar ceiling appeared. There was a painting of winged baby angels playing against a bright and warm background. The room she was lying in was also spacious and elegantly decorated with a clean atmosphere. As soon as she saw it, she realized that this was definitely not the place she had stayed.

"Karina!"

As she was trying to get up, she heard a voice calling her. Karina turned her head and looked at the place where the voice came from.

"Are you in your right mind?"

It was Mikhail.

"What happened?"

She sat up and asked. Then Mikhail spoke with a serious expression as if he was very worried.

"That's what I wanted to ask you. You were lying on the side of the road. Do you remember?"

"...?!"

Karina recalled what had happened before she entered consciousness.

'I was following Jeremiah to his lodgings.'

However.

"Where is this?"

"It's a temple."

"What?"

Karina was dumbfounded at the mention of the temple.

"I took Karina, who had lost consciousness, to the inn and treated you, but you didn't open your eyes, so I came to the temple as scheduled. It would be better for you to come here and receive treatment."

"I see."

Karina was a little embarrassed, but after hearing the story, she realized that it was understandable if that was the situation. And of course, Jeremiah came to mind.

"Then, Your Highness?"

Mikhail seemed reluctant when Karina asked about Jeremiah's whereabouts, but he answered obediently.

"The Grand Duke is also receiving treatment."

"Jeremiah too?"

"Yes. I found him lying on the street with Karina and brought him here."

"..."

Perhaps because the last thing she saw in her consciousness was him collapsing in pain, Karina kept worrying about Jeremiah's condition.

"How is that person's condition?"

"It's more serious."

Since when has it been like this? Pavel, the owner of the tower, spoke instead of Mikhail.

"Lord of the Tower?"

Karina was startled to see Pavel here.

"Why are you here?"

"I originally came here to take care of business with Madam and to check on something I found out about the dragon contract in the old book...Ugh."

Pavel let out a long sigh.

"I came to see Madam and I found you collapsed on the side of the road with that dark guy."

"Ah..."

If you were talking about the dark guy, you would probably be talking about Jeremiah.

"Is that person in really bad condition?"

Karina couldn't figure out why he suddenly collapsed in pain.

'It was too strange to say that he was just shocked by seeing memories of my past.'

Rather than being mentally shocked, his body seemed to be in pain. To be exact, his heart. Karina recalled the sight of him clutching his heart. As far as she knew, Jeremiah was healthy, without any ailments or underlying diseases. He didn't even catch the common cold that people often get. She had never seen Jeremiah sick or bedridden in the past or present.

'Then why on earth...?'

Mikhail's firm voice pulled Karina out of her deep thoughts.

"Now is not the time to worry about that guy."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, right now, Lady Karina...!"

"...?"

Mikhail, who seemed to have become angry for a moment at Karina's lack of response, took a deep breath and exhaled to calm down. Then he continued to speak seriously with a serious face.

"Karina, don't be so surprised when you hear that."

"What are you trying to say by taking so long?"

Karina asked, a little nervous in the unusual atmosphere. Then Mikhail spoke with trembling lips.

"Karina... is dying."

"What...?"

Karina was shocked.

"What are you talking about? I'm dying?"

She couldn't hide her embarrassment. Mikhail was staring at Karina with a pale face. He seemed more shocked than she was.

"I think it would be better if I gave a detailed explanation."

Pavel stroked his beard and closed his eyes.

"Where should I start..."

Pavel, who was struggling to figure out how to speak, opened his mouth with difficulty.

"First of all, the Dragon's contractor wasn't Madam. It was the Grand Duke who was sleeping in the next room."

"Yes?"

"I briefly examined the condition of the two people who fell with the eyes of truth."

"..."

Contrary to her expectations of hearing the reason why she was dying, the story of the dragon contract came up. Karina didn't know why he was suddenly talking about this but decided to listen anyway.

"The Grand Duke of Colesburg is not just a mediator, he is the subject of the contract. The pendant I gave him was definitely reacting to him."

"Then what am I?"

"This is a bit of a headache... I think it had something to do with the Grand Duke's contract with the dragon. He'll have to wake up to find out what it is."

"..."

Karina was confused.

"Is it possible that my death has something to do with the dragon contract?"

Pavel nodded as if to say that he was right.

"Since our last meeting, I have continued to search through the ancient books in the Magic Tower to find information on dragon contracts. Since ancient books related to dragons are extremely rare and this situation itself is rare, it has not been easy to find any clues."

"..."

"I happened to find a storybook made up of folk tales and tales that have been passed down by word of mouth. Well, it would be easier to understand if I said it was like a fairytale."

"Is it a fairy tale?"

"Yes. I found a plausible story in that book."

Pavel unraveled the contents of the tale contained in the old book.

"It's a common story. A brave and righteous young man struggles to save an empire in danger, and a dragon, moved by his devotion, helps him become a warrior and saves the world."

It was a very common story that could be heard anywhere. It was the kind of story that parents would tell their children Instead of a lullaby before they fell asleep.

"..."

Karina looked as if she had no idea what such a tale of a warrior had to do with her now. Then.

"The problem is what happens after that."

"After that?"

Pavel continued his story with a changed expression.

"The hero who saved the empire returned home with the blessings and hospitality of the people of the empire. However, the woman he loved died while waiting for him. She was even raising his child. The hero tried to find the remaining child, but how could a newborn baby who was not cared for by an adult survive alone?"

"..."

Karina looked uneasy at the story that suddenly turned tragic.

"The warrior, in deep despair, risked everything he had to go to the dragon and beg him to save his wife and child. And his wish was granted. His beloved wife and child miraculously came back to life."

"..."

"I must have believed that there would be only such a happy future, but it was just a fleeting dream."

"You said she was brought back to life by the power of the dragon. But it was a dream?"

Karina, who had reacted to the part about the dead people coming back to life, quickly asked back.

"They could only survive in the past."

"What is that...?"

"Actually, the dragon didn't save the warrior's wife and child. It just turned back time a little. The black dragon only could control time, and it couldn't bring back life."

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