FLBE Chapter 4 Part 8
by SYLPHRhetrik resumed eating, seemingly uninterested in continuing the conversation. Liena bit her lip in frustration. If she knew it would end like this, she wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. Today, she was reminded again how happy she felt when healing others.
With determination, Liena looked straight at Rhetrik and reiterated her resolve.
“I’m not talking about bestowing blessings. I just want to treat their minor wounds. They don’t get medical attention from anyone. If you dislike what I’m doing, at least let them receive treatment from the palace’s physicians!”
In a burst of emotion, Liena stared defiantly at Rhetrik. She couldn’t understand why she was so angry. It wasn’t just concern for the servants.
It was the irritation of having to seek his permission and beg for even the smallest things. Couldn’t she at least be allowed to do something she wanted to do?
“Here we go again.”
“……”
“How far do you think I’ll let this go?”
His previously indifferent voice turned cold, and his gaze chilled. Swallowing hard, Liena, wiped her sweaty palms on her dress and continued to face him squarely.
She was scared, but she didn’t want to back down. Her stubbornness resurfaced fearlessly.
This life, whoever it belonged to, was now hers. She didn’t know why this ‘Omega’ fate befell her, but she had no intention of being subjugated and mistreated like an animal.
‘If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it, they say’. She might not enjoy it, but she could confront it. Liena was now boldly challenging the lunatic Emperor Rhetrik.
She didn’t want to give up her life so easily. Rather than living and dying as prey for this man, she’d rather fight back, even if it meant being crushed in the process.
Clutching the hem of her dress, Liena’s eyes blazed with determination. Like a freedom fighter, she threw herself into the battle for her own peaceful life.
Kill me if you want to. Will it be your loss or mine?
Rhetrik, staring intently at the fiercely glaring Liena, suddenly let out a hollow laugh. He found it amusing and absurd how she shivered in fear at times, yet occasionally charged at him like a wild animal.
“I should lock you up.”
“You’re already locking me up, Your Majesty! I’m a Saintess, yet can’t I do even this? I’m not doing anything bad, just want to take care of injured servants! Did I ask for the palace physicians? Did I ask to be sent outside the palace? Can’t you even allow me this one thing?”
“Why are you so eager to do this? Most people dream of relaxing, yet you seem desperate to work.”
“It’s not about work. I’m just so bored I’d like to have a hobby!”
“Treating lives as a hobby. If the Pope heard this, he’d foam at the mouth.”
“Ah…!”
Liena realized she had gone too far when the previously cold man began to laugh. Even so, comparing her words to treating lives frivolously was a bit too exaggerated, wasn’t it?
Pouting, Liena’s indignation grew. The events of the previous night were long forgotten in her head, replaced by a singular determination to have her way.
“Come on… It’s a win-win situation. I get to use my skills without wasting them, and those people working hard for Your Majesty will get treated. It’s like killing two birds with one stone”
“From where does this sister and brother-in-law come from? And why should I care about doing good for them?” [1]
Ah, the frustration… The difference in worlds made communication difficult. She had never had such a vexing conversation before. Even when she referenced phrases from her previous life, Sonny and Anton understood them perfectly based on the context.
Not every emperor is smart, it seems. Hmph.
“It’s not about the first part of the phrase, it’s about the second part that’s important. Please try to understand the context of the conversation.”
“So now, in addition to understanding about some unknown sister and brothers, I need to grasp the context too?”
“Haa… forget about understanding that. Just try to understand me. Understand why I want to do this.”
“You ask for a lot. Seems you’re no longer afraid of me.”
Liena flinched momentarily at Rhetrik’s narrow-eyed, growling demeanor. Her habitual submission seemed hard to shake off.
Regaining her composure, Liena widened her eyes and tilted her head playfully. With feigned ease, as if to say ‘You’re no big deal to me!’, she smirked on one side of her mouth.
“I’ve been thinking. I don’t really need to grovel before Your Majesty. Of course, I was scared at first. I had a lot to live for back then.”
“So, you’re saying you have no regrets now?”
“Not that I don’t have any, but I’m now not that desperate. Alive or dead, it really doesn’t matter?”
“Really?”
“…Yes?”
“Are you truly indifferent to whether you live or die?”
Rhetrik’s pointed question left Liena speechless. She couldn’t backtrack now.
“Well… um, yes. What’s the point of living like this? If I can’t even do what I want, am I a person or a doll?”
“A doll… I despise dolls the most.”
“R-Right? Life is worth living when one can be truly human. I don’t want to live like a doll. So, please allow me this.”
“Hmm… Why is my permission so important in this situation? If I say no, are you planning to die?”
“T-That’s…!”
She couldn’t boldly answer ‘Yes!’ at this point. His dark eyes shimmered, hinting that crossing a certain line might be dangerous. She had only used death as a threat, not genuinely wishing to die. There’s a difference between preferring death over this kind of life and actually wanting to die.
Seeing his deep black eyes ripple like waves, she found herself unable to continue speaking. Various scenes from novels she had read flashed through her mind.
“Why can’t you speak anymore?”
Creak…
Rhetrik stood up abruptly with a loud scrape of his chair. It was only the second time that the sound of a chair being moved felt so intimidating.
[1] Here the idiom used was ‘누이 좋고 매부 좋은 거잖아요- If it’s good for the sister, it’s ultimately good for the brother-in-law, isn’t it?’ which in essence means killing two birds with one stone. That’s why he asked ‘where does this sister and brother in law come from.’