Chapter 281: Something Money Can’t Buy (3)
Time was running out, as Pomeranian’s words were indeed true.
Tzz tzz tzz tzz tzz…
Before Juliet and Romeo, a massive door appeared.
The door of death.
The door was so large and heavy that opening it once, closing it once, seemed incredibly difficult.
So, once it opened and closed, there was no turning back.
Romeo turned to Juliet with a sad expression.
Juliet, too, looked at Romeo with tears in her eyes.
“Didn’t I tell you before? Wherever you go, I will follow you.”
On that rainy night when they made that promise.
Romeo, wanting to depart to where the deceased should go, and Juliet, wanting to follow him.
At that moment, Damian intervened.
“No! This can’t happen! Absolutely not!”
Damian shouted as if having a seizure.
“Juliet! You are still alive! How can you follow the dead!?”
To that, Juliet replied in a sad voice.
“You said the same thing on that night.”
Having heard his daughter’s words, Damian stepped back in shock.
Come to think of it, he did say something similar on that night.
“Juliet! You are the heir to the Bourgeois! How can you get involved with such a man!?”
\Damian stammered out excuses.
“This, this is different! I would approve if it were marriage! It’s all this wretched father’s fault! I admit it! But this… This is not right! Romeo is already dead! You are alive!”
“Just ‘yet,’ Father.”
“What, what?”
Juliet met Damian’s gaze with a cold look.
“Without him, I’m as good as dead.”
“D-daughter!”
“No matter how many times you say it, it won’t change. Even if I wake up again, It won’t change.”
Upon hearing this, Romeo gently caressed Juliet’s face with a sad expression.
Juliet also placed her hand on the back of Romeo’s hand on her face.
Damian, in despair, muttered.
“Daughter. You’re a spirit? Spirits cannot go to the afterlife. Your body is still alive, connected by a strong thread. I don’t know about Romeo, who is already dead, but you cannot cross the threshold of death…”
Suddenly, Damian stopped speaking. Then, he looked at Juliet as if struck by lightning.
“Juliet, you can’t be…?”
Juliet lifted her tear-filled eyes at that moment.
Immediately, she knelt before her father.
“Father, please let me go.”
Everything was just like that night.
“I’ve always listened to Father’s words, haven’t I?”
“I’ve never once disappointed you…”
“So, just this once.”
“Can you send me off as I wish?”Damian couldn’t discern whether the voice echoing in his ears was from the past or the present.
Only the tears that he thought had dried up long ago continued to flow.
“…Ah, I see. I crossed the river of no return. Yes, that’s what happened.”
For a brief moment, upon hearing his daughter’s voice, he had a fleeting illusion.
That everything could be returned to normal.
But it was an absurd delusion because he hadn’t fully felt the weight of his mistakes yet.
And now, facing reality, Damian was finally feeling the true weight of his past actions.
“What are you going to do?”
Vikir asked briefly.
With a faltering voice, Damian asked, “How much time is left?”
“About thirty minutes.”
It was truly a short amount of time left.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Damian nodded abruptly.
And quickly rushed to the servants beyond the door, shouting with all his strength,
“Prepare for a wedding!”
* * *
The wedding preparations were simple but quickly completed. The only attendees were the bride, Juliet, the groom, Romeo, and Damian on the groom’s side. According to the family law that forbids relatives to participate in ceremonies, Vikir stood in as the officiant.
Pomeranian held the bride’s dress and took on the role of handing over the bouquet. Vikir adjusted his plague doctor mask and spoke briefly from the podium.
“Always remember that I am here for you, not for myself. Live well, as you always have.”
It was a ceremony that omitted many aspects compared to the hours-long rituals of high nobility but included essential elements. Juliet and Romeo looked at each other, smiling with tear-streaked faces. And then, the bride and groom kissed.
Damian, sitting alone in the seat of honor, teared up at the sight. Eventually, with a slight scraping sound, he stood up and looked at his daughter’s soul.
“Live well.”
Simultaneously, he reached for the pillow beside him. Damian’s gaze fell on Juliet lying on the bed, breathing quietly.
“Live well, my daughter. You must live well…”
A trembling hand. Damian’s grip on the pillow tightened. He pressed the pillow firmly against Juliet’s face.
There was no need for much strength. Juliet, weakened by lying for a long time, offered no resistance. The faint, almost inaudible breathing gradually diminished until it ceased altogether.
Sigh…
Juliet’s body became even more limp. At that moment, a change occurred in Juliet’s spirit. She became clearer, and finally, she could hear what Romeo was saying.
“Incredible! Juliet! Now I can hear your voice!”
Juliet embraced Romeo with a wide smile. Eventually, Juliet and Romeo stood before Damian.
Romeo bent his waist ninety degrees to greet Damian, and Juliet slightly bowed her head, expressing aristocratic etiquette.
“Father, we will live well.”
“…What’s the point of you living, when you’re already dead?”
Damian mumbled with a hoarse voice. His eyes, red and swollen, were already filled with tears.
Dang, dang, dang…
The clock chimed twelve times, announcing midnight. After bidding their final farewells to Damian, Juliet and Romeo held hands and walked toward the door of death.
In the end, the bride and groom crossed the boundary.
The boundary between the mortal realm and the afterlife opened the heavy and somber door of death.
Crossing over, Juliet and Romeo departed into their own world.
…Thud!
The massive door closed as if it would never open again, sealing the separation between death and life, the afterlife and the mortal realm.
Silence, as profound as the stillness of a tomb, weighed down on the surroundings. Damian, head bowed low, muttered, “Be happy. My daughter. Be happy. You must be happy together there. Definitely.”
His face contorted, frozen in a hardened expression, and restrained tears fell heavily onto the red carpet.…At that very moment.
Bang!
The door of death suddenly opened with a tumultuous noise.
“Dad!”
Juliet, kicking the heavy door open, pushed her head out, looking in this direction.
“Dad, goodbye! Goodbye! I love you! Truly love you! We’ll meet again someday!”
Juliet was crying. With a radiant smile never seen before, she called out to her father, crying genuinely.
Simultaneously…
…Thud!
The door of death finally closed completely.
It faded away slowly, just as it appeared, concealing itself from everyone’s sight.
And then…
Plop!
Damian knelt on the ground. His face stretched wide, his nose and mouth gaping open.
“Huuuuuuuuuuuuu-”
His once heavy expression completely crumbled. Tears streamed from his eyes, mucus from his nose, and drool from his mouth, leaving his face a complete mess.
…Meanwhile, Vikir remained silent, standing still.
Beside Vikir, Pomeranian approached.
“Uncle. Why is that old man crying?”
Then, Vikir stared intently at Pomeranian’s face.
“I don’t know either.”
“What? Uncle doesn’t know?”
In response to Pomeranian’s words, Vikir turned his head again.
‘If death separates us, I wanted to be together even beyond that.’
Why was it? The face of a woman flashed in his mind.
Vikir spoke in a subdued voice, “Of course, there are things I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, you should learn!”
“Well, I didn’t really want to learn in the first place…”
Pomeranian made a puzzled expression, and Vikir turned his gaze away. Then, he added shortly, “It might not be bad to find out tho…”
At that moment, Damian, who had been sobbing for a long time, lifted his head. Vikir patiently waited until he composed some of his emotions.
Finally, Damian, with tears in his eyes, looked at Vikir, the ghost standing near Juliet’s bed, and asked, “Are you real or in my imagination?”
“If it’s a dream, dream it when you’re alone. It’s time for settlement now.”
Vikir firmly reminded him of reality. Damian nodded at those words.
“Yeah. Now, I have to pay the price. But before that, there’s something I want to say to you.”
“What is it?”
“Thank you.”
It was unexpected. Damian bowed at Vikir, showing his gratitude. After a brief silence, Damian lifted his head and said, “Thanks to you, I could send my daughter away. Truly let her go.”
Whether he meant sending her to marriage or the afterlife, the vague situation fit either interpretation. Damian chuckled.
“Haha. I feel relieved now that the troublesome daughter is sent away, wherever it may be. It’s a mix of happiness. After all, whether it’s a wedding or a funeral, they’re quite similar. Originally, marriage is like death anyway.”
“Clean your face and speak.”
“Oh, my apologies.”
Damian took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears, mucus, and drool. Eventually, with a serious and solemn expression, Damian, looking more composed, asked Vikir straightforwardly, “What do you want from me?”
“The Bourgeois family’s necklace.”
“Alright.”
An oddly casual conversation.
It was an excessively brisk transaction.