Episode 39: The other side of the mirror (4)
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Aristine inhaled sharply.
A sharp, whistling noise escaped from her throat with every breath she took.
Aristine stretched out her trembling hands. The blood soaking into her skin wasn’t even a thought on her mind.
“Ah, hk…”
She hovered over the wound, unable to do anything as blood poured out in front of her.
“It-It’s okay.”
A large hand clasped her hovering hand.
Those hands, just like Aristine’s, were drenched in blood.
Aristine’s trembling gaze swept over the wound and onto his face.
“Hamill…”
Hearing Aristine call his name, Hamill’s eyes crinkled and he smiled.
He tried to give a lazy and relaxed smile like always, but his eyes and lips kept stiffening.
Seeing that expression, Aristine came to her senses.
Now was not the time to be swept by shock.
The moment that sword stabbed towards Aristine, someone rushed in and wrapped their arms around her.
In the blink of an eye, her vision tilted, and her sight was filled with platinum hair glistening softly in the winter sun.
Long, thin hair whirled dizzyingly in the air. And the sound of impaled flesh accompanied it, sending chills down her spine.
Immediately, something warm burst, dying her chest and stomach.
The metallic smell of iron stung her nose.
But it was not Aristine’s blood.
A set of turquoise eyes was reflected in Aristine’s widened pupils.
It was the briefest moment, yet it felt exceedingly slow.
He…he was smiling.
With a squelching sound, the body that covered Aristine rattled.
And the blade piercing his stomach was retrieved.
The blocked blood spurted out, forming blooming red petals on Aristine’s white cloak.
He bit the ends of his pale lips but did not make a single sound. He just gazed at Aristine with a forced smile on his face which was lined with beads of sweat.
It was as if he was trying to reassure her somehow.
When the assassins realized who they had attacked, they panicked and fled.
The moment Hamill’s body was discovered, neither the Queen nor the Duke of Skiela would protect them.
After sorting out what happened in her mind, Aristine squeezed her eyes shut and re-opened them.
‘Let’s calm down. Start with what you can do first.’
Aristine calmed her trembling hands and untied the strings of her cloak.
She spread her cloak on the floor and carefully moved Hamill from her arms onto the cloak.
Then she placed the essences of Flare and Sanatas on Hamill’s chest.
Hamill furrowed his brows and smiled. “D, Don’t do that. You must be cold.”
His voice shook due to his unstable breathing.
What was he doing worrying about her right now when he was the one bleeding like this?
Aristine was at loss for words and her nose felt sore.
“If I’m dying, doing it in your arms… would be nice.”
“Be quiet.”
No one was dying here.
‘With such a large stab wound, you need to apply direct pressure to the surface to stop the bleeding.’
It was general knowledge she learned from having a husband who was a warrior and working in the medical equipment business such as scalpels.
Aristine used the lining of her dress to wipe the external blood.
Once she saw the exposed wound, it raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
Even though she tried not to think about it, the worst situation was pictured before her eyes.
Aristine squeezed the hem of her dress tightly and shook off the imagery. Rather than screaming and looking away, she took out a handkerchief from her bosom.
‘As for infections…I can only hope the sanatas essence will prevent it.’
“It might hurt but bear with it.”
With that warning, Aristine pressed her hand with the handkerchief onto the wound.
“…!”
Even though Hamill had been forcing himself to smile the whole time, his face distorted at the pain.
Aristine’s face also fell drastically.
She knew the pain must be terrible for Hamill but putting pressure on his stomach had no effect.
It would only be effective if she could stop the bleeding by applying direct pressure over the wound surface.
‘This won’t work. The handkerchief is too small.’
Her handkerchief was already soaked bright red. She needed a dry cloth.
‘The lining of my dress…’
Aristine removed her hand from the wound and moved to lift her dress, but Hamill caught her hand.
“Rineh.”
Aristine did not look at him.
“Please stop.”
Because she felt like she knew what he was going to say.
“Even if the bleeding stops, it won’t work.”
Because she wanted to ignore those words.
“I am a lost cause. My organs are hurt.”
Hamill laughed. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
It was proof that he’d suffered internal injuries.
Aristine turned to him with reddened eyes. She was practically glaring at him.
“Why are you giving up already? Once the bleeding stops and a priest comes…”
Hamill didn’t say anything.
He just stared at Aristine with a calm smile on his lips.
It was only after Aristine fell silent that he opened his mouth.
“It’s nice. Because you’re worrying about me like this.”
His voice no longer trembled, perhaps thanks to the two demonic beasts’ essences.
But Aristine could tell that he was slowly dying.
Her violet eyes, the same hue as the dawning sky, were filled with deep worry.
Seeing that, Hamill feigned cheerfulness and laughed.
“I’ve never seen anyone like you. Even my aide would have never thought of putting cloth on my wound.”
Despite having such a small and delicate body, she was bolder than anyone else.
Sensing the onslaught of a hacking cough, Hamill briefly paused to catch his breath.
“Did you suspect me?”
His tone was unusually clear.
He didn’t say what suspicion, but Aristine understood. He was referring to the ones who tried to kill Aristine today.
Since it was just telling the truth, she didn’t need to ponder over it.
Aristine shook his head.
“No.”
She was suspicious of the Queen and Duke Skiela, but she did not think of Hamill.
“Because you trust me?”
“Because I didn’t think you would be that stupid.”
When she spat out that answer, Hamill burst out laughing.
“That’s not the answer I was looking for.”
He lifted his heavy hand and placed it on Aristine’s face.
“But still, I’m happy. Because you trusted me, regardless of why.”
He tried to wipe away the blood that had splattered on Aristine’s face, but it only spread the red marks further.
Aristine did not respond.
She just stared at Hamill’s face, her gaze sinking.
“Haha, I’m like a fool, aren’t I?”
His breathing began to waver again, as if even the demonic beast’s essence was reaching its limit.
Hamill realized his end was drawing closer.
He blinked, trying to clear his vision and looked at Aristine.
He wanted to see her more. Just a little bit more.
“They say if you can’t have something, it’s better to destroy it.”
If he said he didn’t empathize with those words when his mother said it, he would be lying.
Ah, I am really my mother’s son.
So much so that when he realized it, an ugly desire reared its head from the deep, dark crevices of his heart.
But today, when he realized that his royal mother was truly aiming for Aristine’s life…
“I realized I just can’t do it.”
Hamill’s eyes twisted. His hand which was cupping Aristine’s cheek trembled.
He couldn’t bear to put any strength in his hand, nor could he bear to move his hand away, like she was both precious and fragile.
Aristine squeezed Hamill’s hand.
“You think I’ll forgive you if you die like this?”
Her face was dyed with anger.
“Do you think I’ll keep you in my heart, feeling guilty and grateful to you?”
Her purple eyes glared at Hamill, blazing with an intensity that seemed to say, ‘not a flying chance’.
“You put Tarkan and everyone in this country in danger!”
Through Asena’s continued investigation, she realized Hamill was involved in the failure of the military transmission stone.
“Haha, I got caught.”
Hamill laughed, not making any excuses.
Aristine’s grip tightened around his hand. Her face distorted, making it hard to tell if she was angry or sorrowful.
“So, so you have to stay alive and pay for your crimes.”
Seeing her lowering her head, Hamill let out a dry laugh.
The accumulated blood had started to come up to his throat, so it was hard to even smile now. Yet, he kept smiling.
Her long, silver hair fell over him like a waterfall.
Even as it was smeared with blood, it was beautiful. Perhaps, regardless of how she looked, she was beautiful to him.
“That’s good too. Even if you never forgive me for the rest of your life.”
Hamill barely managed to move his hand and held Aristine’s chin.
Their eyes locked.
“Don’t be too happy.”
Hamill lifted his upper body with difficulty. His cold lips were so close to Aristine’s lips, that they were almost touching.
His frosty breath swept past her, and his lips brushed against her ear.
“I, to you…”
The whisper was so faint, as if it was about to die out.
Aristine’s eyes shook.
The moment she stretched her hand out to him, strength drained from his body.
His body collapsed before her hand could even reach him.
Laying on the pure white fur cloak, Hamill looked pure, even as he was drenched in blood.
For a while, Aristine could only stare blankly at his face.
Translator’s Corner:
**And with that, we draw close to the end of this novel. With approx. 26 chapters left in translation, the main story will be done in approximately July. Thank you all for coming on this wonderful journey!
P.S: I plan to do the side-stories (there are 21 side-stories but the word count is even longer than the main story! 😂).
Advanced chapters available on Patreon.
Thank you soo much for the updates.
Lowkey I’m having mix emotions regarding Hamill. Bit I’m glad Aristine and her baby weren’t hurt as well as her big brother. I do wonder what the queen is going to react after seeing Hamill body
I really felt sorry for Hamill he had such a tragic story, never got a chance in love, his parents were trash (idc if you guys like the king I HATE HIM he never was a good father even if it was bc of royal life AND NOW HE’S ACTING LIKE A FATHER TO HIS DAUGHTER IN LAW WTH?!!
what about his other children don’t they deserve that? F HIM)
He never got the chance to live the way he wanted he was raised by that kind of mother. I don’t mean to justify his actions he’s a bad guy, but still, he didn’t deserve this, so I actually cried for him
Not sure what part you should be sorry for… he got pampered, everything he wants he gets it unlike tarkan. Even he have retard mother he still got pampered by her to the brim. The only he doesnt have is rineh but if somehow fate were different and rineh were wed to hamil. Im sure hamil will be the happiest man alive if… he decide to rebel againts his family.
Noooooooooooo!
Is he really going to die just like that? Nooooo.. I feel like his story is a little unjustified here. Oh noooooo
Miss Ruby please do the side stories I’m begging you 🙏😭 anyways never in my wildest dreams thought that hamill would die like that. I hope when he get a second chance In life somewhere he’ll choose a different path.
Thank you for the update miss Ruby 💛
It feels a bit interesting/odd for Hamill to die here. It’s the perfect way to completely shatter the Queen, though. She’s probably about to lose her mind, before she loses her head.
But I’m curious as to how the King will react. I hope he realises his failures as a father. Paella would have been ruined without Aristine’s help. Even Tarkan, who is the ‘favourite child’ from the favoured concubine wasn’t exactly raised safely or with parental love.
Side note: longer side stories than the main story wth 😂
I’m kinda surprised by so many people feeling sorry for Hamill. He was a horrible person up, I’m glad he saved Aristine but that doesn’t erase all the wrong he did. He died without facing consequences for trying to kill Tarkan…
Honestly Hamil was shit till the very end the only good thing he did was protect rineh and that was because he liked her if he didn’t he would be on board with all his mother’s scheming after all he tried to kill tarkan and his initial plan was to get rineh to betray tarkan
Thank you so much for the translated chapters, Miss Ruby. I’m happy to hear that you plan on doing the side stories too. It’s crazy to me though that the side stories have a longer word count than the main story. 😅
Not going to lie, I’m really shocked that Hamill died like this. Aristine might not have suspected him, but I’m guilty of thinking he snapped after hearing his mother’s words and tried to stage all this to somehow get Aristine to look at him as a hero. I’m glad he didn’t resort to hurting her for his own gain, but I’m shocked he would chose to die for her instead.
Turns out, the assassins were just sent by the duke and the queen. In that case, it makes sense that the assassins ran off after realizing who they attacked. It’s a little ironic that their maliciousness was what caused the very person they wanted to put on the throne to die.
I’m also glad that her brother and Tarkan get along fairly well and that Tarkan was able to prevent the worst from happening. Aristine was right in thinking that only her husband could save her brother.