The Story Is Not Over Yet - Chapter 156
Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi
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Chapter 156
Zagnac stepped in front of Lane and raised his hand to coolly knock out her parasol from her grasp.
The fragile accessory tumbled to the ground and instantly shattered. Lane, who had been focused on the fallen remnants of her belongings, met Zagnac’s gaze with an icy stare.
“What?”
“…You met Azela.”
“Well.”
Though his voice carried a sharp tone, Lane maintained her composure. She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, taking a step back as she whispered, “Don’t lecture me,” accompanied by a smirk.
Witnessing her response, he clenched his teeth and tightly gripped her neck.
“What did you say to Azela?”
“Well, I’ve never met Azela.”
“Don’t lie. Azela smelled like your cigarettes.”
Lane tutted her tongue, hearing what Zagnac said, and casually turned her head away.
“This is why I should quit smoking, but humans are so good at creating things like this for no use.”
“…What did you meet Azela for?”
“You should already know the answer.”
Her nonchalant attitude made Zagnac frown. Whether Azela went to see her first or Lane went to see her, there must only be one reason for the two’s meeting.
“What did you say to Azela?”
Lane maintained her silence, locking her gaze with Zagnac before eventually averting her eyes. She was well aware that he had been diligently searching for her, but it seemed that Azela had managed to outwit him.
A mischievous smile crept across her lips, reflecting her satisfaction.
“It is true that Azela came to visit me.”
“….”
“She asked…”
Now that she had done her part well, it was now Azela’s turn.
Lane raised her gaze, staring at Zagnac, opening her red lips.
“How to prevent your annihilation.”
“….”
Zagnac fell into silence upon hearing her response.
As he had expected, Azela wouldn’t let him off so easily. He was convinced that she would explore every possible avenue to secure her freedom.
While he remained wordless, Lane deftly withdrew the hand that had been tightly gripping her neck. With exaggerated gestures and a touch of theatrical flair, she began to speak, mimicking a human theatrical tone.
“Poor human. Poor contractor. A devil who has to eat her soul, to fall in love.”
“….”
“She asked me how to stop the annihilation of the devil she loves no matter what happens to her. Love is so great.”
After turning around in place, she put on a sad face before smiling broadly and continuing again.
“You don’t know how fortunate it is that you don’t know the human spirit of sacrifice or sorrow. Such useless feelings.”
“So? What did you say?”
Lane stepped in front of Zagnac. Her red lips drew an arc.
“What do you think I said?”
Zagnac frowned at her mischievous voice. Seeing that, Lane briefly clicked her tongue and continued talking.
“She’s trying to kill me because of you.”
“Don’t play around. Tell me.”
“Right, of course.”
She tapped him on the chest with her long fingernails and said with a smile.
“I said there is no such way.”
“…You?”
“Even if I tell her, of course, there is no human being who would act like that. I told her.”
Zagnac cast a suspicious glance at Lane, his lingering doubts from their previous conversation resurfacing. He couldn’t forget her bold declaration about preventing his annihilation by breaking the contract, even if it meant facing punishment.
Still, he knew all too well that Lane, being a devil, held little trust in humans. Regardless of any affection she might have for Azela, her disposition leaned more toward disdain.
“Can I trust you?”
Of course, he had no doubt that Azela was a human being who would give up her life for him, but he didn’t have to say that to Lane. Zagnac decided to put his faith in Lane’s remark.
“To believe or not is your decision, why ask me? By the way, are you really going to choose annihilation because of that person?”
As she asked, grabbing his sleeve, Zagnac did not answer her question. Nonetheless, his lips curled in an arc seemed to be telling the answer instead.
Lane frowned.
“You’ve already decided to do that.”
She couldn’t bring herself to believe that he would actually choose self-sacrifice. The method she had revealed to Azela was more of an insurance policy—a way to protect herself in case Zagnac made the wrong choice and failed to consume her soul.
“You are crazy.”
However, as she observed Zagnac’s resolute expression, she couldn’t help but feel flustered. She believed he was just realizing his own emotions, caught up in the fleeting nature of human existence.
After all, in the grand scheme of things, a human’s lifespan was but a brief moment.
The only difference lay in dying by consuming her soul now or succumbing to mortality later, when their respective lifespans reached their end. In the end, humans died, and Zagnac would only be prolonging the existence of a human who would eventually meet their demise.
…And all at the cost of his own annihilation.
“Wake up.”
It was an incomprehensible matter.
Love.
Love… what the hell was that? What the hell was that feeling? Why was it so broken? She couldn’t understand at all.
“As long as you didn’t talk vainly to Azela, that’s fine. The rest is my job, don’t mind it. Even if Azela comes to visit you again, Lane, stay out of our business.”
“Humans die anyway.”
“I know.”
“Are you going to stake your annihilation for the lifespan of a human who dies in the end regardless?”
Lane asked with an incomprehensible face. He answered her question with a hardened face but with unwavering eyes.
“Yes.”
Ha.
She let out her breath with an astonished face. White breath leaked out.
He already seemed to have made his choice no matter what she was persuaded. Lane couldn’t say anything.
In her library, Lane had delved into books about love before coming to see Zagnac. There were countless descriptions of love, each portraying a different facet of human affection. Still, amidst them all, she struggled to comprehend the love that blossomed between men and women.
“How could that be?”
How could they risk their lives for one another with a single word, ‘love,’ when they weren’t even bound by blood? And why would they subject themselves to the anguish of betrayal, a pain so intense it could drive them to their demise?
No matter how extensively she delved into the subject, she couldn’t grasp the essence of such a sentiment.
“You can’t understand… because I was the same, too.”
With a downcast gaze, Zagnac responded to Lane’s question in a subdued tone, adjusting his disheveled sleeves. Once their conversation reached its conclusion, he lightly waved his hand at her before turning back towards the mansion and walking away.
Observing his departing figure, Lane let out a soft sigh. She then picked up her fallen parasol from the floor and brushed off the dust on it.
“Foolish b*stard.”
With an emotionless and indifferent gaze, she scanned her surroundings.
As she brushed off the dust from her parasol, her attention shifted towards the path Zagnac had taken, although he had already disappeared into the mansion. Azela had done a good job concealing it, too. It meant that she was willing to sacrifice her own life for Zagnac’s sake.
Lane’s gaze ascended towards the sky.
“…It will rain soon.”
Raising her palms to the sky, she straightened her broken parasol and walked away.
“Finally, it’s tomorrow.”
“…Yes.”
Azela, naked in his embrace, nodded her head.
Tomorrow day marked the anticipated party they had been meticulously preparing for—an occasion where they would announce that they would become a couple in front of everyone, and she would officially assume the title of Duchess Ferial.
“Are you nervous?”
“…I’m okay.”
“I will properly prepare for the wedding, so let’s wait until then.”
With a tender expression, Zagnac leaned in, his cheek brushing against her, while he held her tightly. Azela nestled her face against his chest, finding solace in his embrace, and nodded in agreement.
Anxiety gnawed at her, fearing Lane’s unexpected visit prior to the event, but fortunately, that scenario didn’t happen. Just one more day, she told herself, clenching her chest and gently shutting her eyes.
…So that she could die as Duchess Ferial.
“Azela.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know if I can ask you this.”
“What? Ask.”
“When did you realize you loved me?”
Azela raised her head, which was buried in his chest when Zagnac asked so.
“It’s the first time I’ve felt this kind of feeling, so even though I thought about it, I don’t know. In fact, if someone hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even know what love was.”
“Hmm.”
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