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‘It wasn’t as easy as I thought to drown. By that, I mean not just suffocate and die…’
In an instant, water rushed into her nose and mouth.
‘What did Emily say to do when you fall in the water? Didn’t she say to relax your body?’
‘D*mn it, how would that happen in this situation?’
Rosen couldn’t breathe. She struggled, lost strength, and curled up. She was so out of breath that she couldn’t keep calm.
She sank endlessly.
She inhaled so much water that her chest felt like it was going to explode. Soon her head went hazy. Its said that right before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, and you feel at peace…
It didn’t feel comfortable or peaceful, but for a short time, a number of thoughts came to mind.
They weren’t very fun, though.
Two jailbreaks.
Two arrests.
The perilous moments while she climbed down the cliff. The day she walked down the mountain range, feet swollen and bleeding. The physical fatigue enough to break anyone’s will. But if she had a place to step, she kept moving forward.
When she died like this, her body would be found, her name would be in the newspapers, the whole empire would applaud. Some of the dogs would laugh, of course.
‘If I were going to face such an end anyway, why did I have to suffer like that?’
‘If I had lived quietly in prison, this wouldn’t have happened.’
But Rosen didn’t regret anything. Now she knew for sure. Her escape was not just a journey to meet Emily. If Emily wasn’t in this world, if she never said they’d meet again, she would have dug out of her cell with a spoon regardless.
She wanted to live.
She wanted to keep shouting to the world while she was alive. Even if no one heard her…
-Defendant Rosen Haworth! Speak!
It’s funny, but her arrest wasn’t really that bad.
In fact, she had known it for a long time. No matter how far she ran, as long as the Empire could find her, she would be caught again. There was nowhere in the world where she could live happily ever after.
But each time she was arrested, she was able to stand in court again. That was the only way for her to speak. They were words that no one really listened to, but she wanted the whole world to hear.
When she screamed, it felt like something in her heart loosened a little.
-I am not guilty!
Her chest was so tight that it was hard to continue thinking. It was painful. That was the moment she knew she was going to die like this.
Something touched the tip of her trembling toe. The sea wasn’t shallow enough that she had already sunk to the bottom. She slowly lowered her head and looked down.
It was in the water, so her vision was blurry, and she couldn’t see it in detail, but it looked like a big fish.
A whale?
Shark?
Anyway, she was stepping on the tip of the nose of a large marine creature. It was undoubtedly a magical beast that opened its mouth full of teeth wide, emitting bright blue light in the dark.
It caught her.
It was not enough that she drowned quietly, but she became a beast’s meal. She ended up dying just as Ian Kerner had foretold.
“…?”
But something was strange. No matter how long she waited, the pain did not come. She soon realized that what the beast was biting was not her feet, but her chains.
Her body that had sank soared. She rose toward the light. The beast was dragging her up towards the surface of the water.
Then, something touched her back. Another beast appeared and helped by pushing her back towards the surface.
‘Are you trying to lift me up?’
It couldn’t be.
This was not a fairy tale.
‘So, you all eat at the water’s surface, not under the sea?’
‘I don’t want to show the b*stards on the boat what it’s like to be eaten.’
But there was no other option.
Rosen was too deep in a state of drowsiness to ponder the situation deeply or to think calmly. It was hard to tell if this was a fantasy or reality.
Even if you are torn to death, you must first breathe.
Only the instinct to live dominated her.
She squeezed all her remaining strength and pushed off the beast supporting her back. They swam up after her.
And the halo visible above the surface of the water grew bigger and bigger.
‘A little more.’
Soon, a shadow was cast in the water where the light of dawn leaked in. It looked like Henry hastily tossed a life preserver.
He threw a tube through an angry crowd. He also possessed a brave side. It was at that moment when she promised that if she were to survive, she would definitely praise Henry.
A man jumped into the water.
The two beasts hurriedly swam back into the deep sea. And he came to her. Even in the water, his khaki uniform was recognizable. She soon recognized who the person was, and was startled.
‘Am I alive?’
Even if it was a fantasy, it couldn’t be like this.
This wasn’t an illusion, it was a delusion.
Black hair scattered in the water, gray eyes.
Ian Kerner…
He must be the angel she saw before she died. The moment he approached her, she felt like she would be unable to move in his warm arms. Like a sailor drowned by a singing siren.
Without realizing it, Rosen pushed him away. She was afraid that she would sink into the depths of the sea, soaked in a dreamlike illusion, and never be able to open her eyes.
She had to live. It was a lie when she told Ian Kerner that she wanted to die in peace.
‘Actually I… I wanted a painful life rather than a comfortable death. So I couldn’t stop doing stupid things all the time.’
However, the resistance of a drowning person who had exhausted their physical strength was weak. She hardly pushed him away. Just like in real life.
Soon a pair of strong arms grabbed her. But contrary to her expectations, he didn’t drag her deeper into the sea. Rather, he began to rise to the surface. A ray of light scattered between the black currents.
‘Ah, I think I’m almost there…’
‘Just a little longer…’
‘Isn’t too late, though?’
Finally, the pain was over, and she lost consciousness. It felt like the breath she had saved until the very end was gone. As her rational thoughts ceased, the strength she held with her remaining will disappeared.
She drooped.
At that moment, he grabbed her face and turned her towards him. He forced her mouth open with his fingers and poured his breath in.
It was like a miracle.
As her vision brightened, a cold wind blew over her face.
She lost consciousness.