“I thought you were trying to gain status in the Desert Kingdom, but that does not seem to be the case now… I do not care whether this girl is Diana or not, your life for hers, chameleon, make your decision.”
There was one and only one decision to be made all along. Lazer thought about it desperately. This was how it was going to end. He had fought so hard to try to protect her, only to fail miserably. He could not remove the constant images of her dying in his head.
He knew full well that this lighthouse was a trap, but because she was in here and because nobody would save her or even want to save her, he had to come. The world gave up on and took everything from her, including her identity; if he did not come here, nobody would. They would not even offer their condolences over her death.
Instead of watching her die—
If she was destined to die—
He lowered his eyes and was ready to drop his dagger.
“Do not drop your weapon,” Pallan warned him. “Do not try to do anything funny, Mr. Deceiver. Kill yourself with that weapon.”
“No, do not do it, Lazer!” The girl panicked and tried to break free in Pallan’s arms as she shouted in Lazer’s direction, “You must go back to the Juan family, Lazer! You are more important to the Juan family head than me!”
“Can you promise to keep her alive?” Lazer ignored her voice and held the dagger to his heart.
“Yes, I can.”
Pallan’s voice was somewhat soothing, which made Lazer relax a bit.
Fragments of memories flashed in Lazer’s head. They were memories that were seemingly irrelevant but deeply affected his life, such as him feeling the weight of an iron sword when he held it for the first time, the sweet aroma of plum wine, a hidden blade laced with poison, and the cry of a baby…
The anger and hatred in his heart faded, leaving only the shimmering light at the end of darkness, illuminating both his power and his fragility. The emotion he had felt before surged again. He nodded at the girl solemnly, so seriously that it made her speechless.
Everything was okay as long as she was alive.
“Wait! Don’t!” She pleaded loudly. “Please, Lazer! Please promise me that you will leave here now!”
He inhaled gently.
“No. 3. You are the one who must live. It has and always will be you.”
Then, he hesitated no more.
Perhaps this was the only thing that he wanted her to understand since the very beginning.
After all, he owed her his life, and it made perfect sense if he had to sacrifice his life to save hers.
