Chapter 37 Chapter Thirty-Six

At one point, I foolishly feared that D and S could not get along at all, but it turned out that I had once again overestimated my charm, because D's knowledge and demeanor had already earned him the respect of the other party.Although, Xiao S and Emily still knew nothing about his specific identity. In fact, they also know nothing about me. To them, I was a weird Asian girl (like wearing only black) who married a rich man in Eastern Europe at a young age. (Fortunately not the old man—at least outwardly, because he was actually over six hundred years old!) They didn't know the centuries-old cycle that had been tossed and turned between us, and they didn't know the curse of this relationship.They thought it was all accidental — including our trip to Venice and then falling into this eerie magical space in the rain — they thought it was all unfortunate accident.But for us, it was all meant to be.As clear as a knot in the thread of my fate.

The head told me that I would die soon.I don't know if this is actually going to happen, and I don't know what will happen to D if it does.This thought makes me sad. I'm mad at him, I'm depressed, I yell, I walk away from him.If there's one reason for all of this, it's that I love him. At the end of my life, I realized how much I loved him.For six hundred years, I've been wrestling with whether he loves me too, but now I know that none of that matters.The important thing is that I love him.Because love is giving rather than taking. At the end of my life, I realize that the only thing I want to see right now is his happiness.Even if I am still a substitute for the garden of his mind, even if there is still a deserted corner in the garden with a big rusty lock hanging, I still hope that he can continue to water his garden.

At the end of my life, I hope that I can be the Odile of six hundred years ago. I hope that I can be half as strong and brave as her, even if it is only for a day, an hour, or even a minute.Because I hope she can tell me how to make the only person we ever loved and are loving happy. Even if I can't continue to stay with him, I hope he can be happy. Even if the price is forgetting me... "You...why are you crying?" D looked at my face in confusion, and gently wiped away my tears with his cold fingers.He doesn't know why I'm sad.Because he can't read my mind. This is great.I can't let him know what I'm thinking.I can't let him know that I'm dying—that's the only thing that's on my mind right now.He is the prince of Romania. He once led thousands of troops to fight on the battlefield. He should not tie his hands and feet for my own safety.If Heath's purpose is only me, I hope that after my death, he can leave safely with Emily and Xiao S.They are innocent.So is he.

But apparently he didn't think so. "We will definitely find those four things." He said to me, holding my hand tightly. What he doesn't know is that they don't really matter to me.Yes, I used to be smug, and I used to try my best to resist my fate.Until I saw him again, until I realized I wasn't alone. Actually I never was.In fact, he has always been by my side, but I keep telling myself that he is not. "Don't be afraid, I will always protect you. As long as I am by your side, no one can hurt you." He spoke to me in a familiar tone, trying to comfort me.

But that's what I've been most afraid of.I was afraid he would say that, and I knew he would.Six hundred years later, he would not allow himself to lose me again.And I know I'm going to die soon.My death will drag everyone around me into danger again, everyone who cares about me and loves me. To prevent this from happening, I must act quickly. "Can we really get out of here?" I cleared my throat and asked him in a low voice. "That depends on whether we can find those four things." He shrugged. "I mean, do you really believe that head? You haven't even seen what it looks like. What if it deceives us? What if we can't get out at all?" I glanced at Little S and Amy Li, they are walking far ahead, I hope they haven't heard our conversation.

"Whether we can get out or not is not important to us." He also glanced at Xiao S and Emily, then turned his eyes to me, and lowered his voice, "We are different from them, you know what I mean." I nodded, he meant that we are not human.He meant that we could even live here forever.He meant that no one else mattered except us.But I hate this sense of superiority.It's as if I hate Little S's narrow nationalism.Because there is no difference between these two points in essence. "Then what if there is no shrinking of the head at all, and I made up all of this? Anyway, you can't read my thoughts now." I was a little angry, and said deliberately.

He stopped and looked at me seriously for a moment, "You have no reason to make up stories, do you?" he asked cautiously. "Maybe I have a reason?" I tilted my head to look at him. "I will protect you." He stared at me quietly, repeating his words.Even if he can't read my mind, he knows what I'm thinking.In fact, he has always known. I took a deep breath, my heart was struggling fiercely.Eventually I told him, "Head says I'm in danger." I swallowed and looked straight at him like I was actually terrified.Because this is my limit, I can't tell him the truth about my imminent death.

"We are all in danger here, there is no doubt about it. But I will protect you." D held my shoulders, and he repeated, "Believe me, this is not the first time this has happened between us." He said to me Put on a comforting smile like he did to S and Emily.He told me: "Regardless of whether we can escape from here in the end, we still need to find those four things first." His tone reminded me vaguely of the past, and he made me feel that everything in front of me seemed familiar.But where this feeling came from, I have no idea.So I just asked him the more obvious question: "Why are those four things so important?" I mean, if he doesn't know that my life is at stake, if we don't need to get from here" out", so why are we still looking for them?

"Because of Hiss." D answered me simply. "Hiss?" I don't understand, what do they have to do with Hiss? "Heath wanted us to enter his world, but he wasted four nights after finally finding us. Of course he didn't go to the trouble of sending someone to tell us four stories in Venice for no reason. Obviously, He asked us to find these four things. He was afraid that we would not find them, so he specially provided clues." "In other words, the head didn't actually tell me this matter? So is it related to Hiss?" "The head is not necessarily related to Hiss, it just serves as a reminder."

"I understand." I nodded, "But... why did we help him?" I stared at the fruit core in my hand, still puzzled. "We're not helping him. I'm pretty sure there's a reason for what we're doing now. It's just that we don't know it yet." D answered me patiently. In the field, we must abide by his rules of the game."