Chapter 26: Jewels and the Crossed Sword

Looking down at the two unconscious Tulip Guards on the ground, stripped to nothing but their undergarments, Lin Wei’s lips curled into a playful smile. “They actually changed into the guards’ armor and sneaked away... As expected of students from the War Academy. Even in such peril, they could make such meticulous decisions.”

“But... did they really think this would let them evade the Tulip Guard’s search? How naïve.” A cold sneer flashed across Lin Wei’s mouth.

...

The forest outside Tulip Manor.

Jon grasped Selmea’s hand, running swiftly.

They were now dressed in the uniforms of the Tulip Guards, cross swords hanging from their waists. Unless one looked closely, it would be hard to discern their true identities.

Branches spread in all directions; the uneven ground tested their stamina, and both were clearly struggling.

“Selmea, don’t stop,” Jon urged, breathing hard, “I’ll get you outside the city. Then we’ll disguise ourselves again and flee the Tulip Domain.”

Selmea wiped sweat from Jon’s chin with her hand, offering a faint, sorrowful smile. “Thank you, Jon. You didn’t have to do this.”

“No! This is exactly what I should do!” Jon suddenly hoisted the exhausted Selmea onto his back, gritting his teeth. “I used to be the most idle, reckless noble heir in the Tulip Domain, causing trouble everywhere, learning nothing, until I met you. Only then did I learn what it means to be responsible, to strive. You changed me. I want to spend my life repaying you.”

Looking at Jon’s determined, sweat-streaked face, Selmea’s eyes grew misty.

“Thank you... Jon...”

“There’s someone here!”

Suddenly, a shout echoed behind them.

“Damn! The pursuers are here! All my worries were true!” Jon’s heart clenched, and his steps quickened.

“Put me down, Jon!” Selmea’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“I won’t!” Jon roared.

His eyes reddened. He knew the pursuers had arrived; escape was impossible now for Selmea and himself. Yet he refused to give up, stubbornly pressing on.

Selmea no longer protested. She closed her eyes, resting her head against Jon’s back. Though countless pursuers were behind them, at this moment, Selmea felt utterly at peace.

Suddenly, Jon stopped.

Before him stood a tall, handsome young man.

“Master Jon, go back,” Lin Wei said, his gaze fixed on Jon, a flicker of complexity in his eyes.

Jon swallowed, his dry throat aching.

“Lin Wei, let us go,” Jon pleaded.

“Master...” Lin Wei shook his head.

Jon suddenly screamed, “Lin Wei, I beg you, spare Selmea!”

The once lofty Jon, for a woman, had cast aside all noble dignity, pleading to Lin Wei.

“Jon...” Selmea sobbed softly.

The Tulip Guards who had caught up surrounded them.

Lin Wei spoke quietly to Jon, “I’m sorry, Master Jon. This is the Count’s order. I cannot disobey.”

“Why!” Jon looked around at the Tulip Guards in hysteria. “Get out! Leave! If you dare take Selmea, I’ll kill every last one of you myself! Get out!”

Selmea slipped down from Jon’s back, accepting reality.

She pulled Jon’s head into her embrace, holding him tightly.

Jon wept like a child in her arms.

Selmea looked at him and smiled gently. “Jon, don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.”

Jon cried even harder.

Selmea turned to Lin Wei, her voice steady. “Mr. Lin Wei, what will happen after you take me away?”

Lin Wei’s expression did not change. His tone was indifferent. “You will be sent to the capital.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Selmea,” he added after a pause.

Selmea was clever; she understood. Once she was sent to the capital of the Ascendant Kingdom, she would become a bargaining chip in negotiations between two warring nations—a traitor to the Buwell family, a traitor to the entire Kingdom of Snowthorn.

Selmea gently patted Jon’s back and pushed him away.

“Mr. Lin Wei, I cannot become your bargaining chip,” she said, smiling at him.

Lin Wei said nothing.

Selmea looked at Jon with endless tenderness in her eyes. She reached into her bodice and drew out an orange gemstone set in a necklace.

She unfastened the necklace and placed it around Jon’s neck.

Jon stared at her, bewildered.

Selmea stepped back, unfastened the cross sword from her waist, and placed it in Jon’s hands.

Having done all this, Selmea’s face bore no trace of heaviness as she gazed at Jon.

“Jon, I’m glad to have known you. That orange gemstone was a gift from my mother; now I give it to the one I love most. And the cross sword, too, must be yours.”

Her voice was light.

“I give you my love, and I give you my sword. In this world, only you can hurt me.”

Jon’s body trembled; his tears, just stemmed, spilled forth anew. “No... no, no!”

“Kill me, Jon!” Selmea’s eyes flashed with fierce resolve. “I cannot become a traitor to the Kingdom of Snowthorn! Let me die by your hand—that would be the greatest grace you can give me.”

“I won’t! I won’t!” Jon cried, throwing the cross sword to the ground.

A hint of reluctance flickered in Selmea’s eyes, but determination quickly replaced it.

In a swift motion, she snatched the cross sword from Jon’s waist.

“Farewell, Jon.”

Her smile was heartbreakingly beautiful.

With a swift thrust, she plunged the sharp cross sword into her own chest.

Blood blossomed.

Jon stood motionless, petrified, staring as Selmea collapsed before him.

“It’s all false... I’m dreaming, this is all false!” Jon’s agonized scream tore the air.

Lin Wei stood silently at the side.

Jon glanced at Lin Wei; his gaze held neither hatred nor resentment, only indifference.

He stood like a traveler in a desolate wasteland, like a lone boat battered by wind and rain—existing, but with no home.

Jon walked to Selmea, who lay as quietly as if asleep, and gently gathered her into his arms, just as she had embraced him moments before.