This one is short because this episode (ep.26) hurts a lot. as in HURTS.
The nails in his heart were painful, but the pain was nothing compared to her betrayal.
The corridors in the prison were dark, but Tantai Jin walked through them as if they were well-lit and bright.
I used to live in darkness.
His heart throbbed at the pain of the six Soul-Slaying Nails embedded in it.
I return to darkness.
He continued to walk the corridors as if he was walking on broken glass.
"I did this to you, because I hate you."
The nails inched deeper in his heart.
"Why don't you kill me now? Don't you have dignity?"
Tantai Jin swayed and leaned on the damp walls for support. He clutched his chest as blood filled his mouth and trickled down his lips.
"Your Majesty…" Nian Baiyu quickly approached him, ready to assist, but Tantai Jin waved him off. He slowly stood up straighter, and continued walking.
People who used to live in darkness eagerly look forward to the light of tomorrow. But once they see it, they fear that any time, they might lose it.
She was the light in his dark life. The light that he yearned for, the light that he basked in, the light that warmed his cold heart and grew into the love threads that had been missing from his life for so long. He had eagerly looked forward to the day when they would be married in front of everybody in the kingdom, to finally live together as husband and wife, and to grow old together. He embroidered his joys and hopes into her wedding veil, and prayed fervently to the gods to let him live his life together with her.
The gods didn't see fit to grant a devil like me a precious blessing like her.
He clenched the fist that dared to cast a killing spell on her. It had come out unbidden, and he had barely withdrawn it before it took her life, but not without causing significant damage on her. Her blood that spattered on the ground were as bright red as the wedding dress she wore.
No matter. If I were them, I wouldn't give me her either. I am a monster who had always had the instinct to destroy everything I touch.
Her desperate scream echoed on the walls of the dark prison.
I deserve nothing less than her hate, much as she deserves no less than my hate.
The moonlight that greeted him as he exited the prison glared into his eyes.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"The guards at the prison report that Third Miss Ye has not yet eaten or drunk this week, only a little bit of water," Nian Baiyu reported, looking a little wary at the stone-faced emperor on the throne, reading one of the memorials stacked on the table in front of him. "She sleeps a lot too, and is so still that at times a guard checks her wrist if it still has a pulse."
The hands holding the scroll clenched a little bit.
"She is quiet in the daytime, but the guards are afraid of her in the night."
"How so?" The scroll moved a little bit, but the eyes looking at it remained emotionless and calm.
"The guards say that she screams in her sleep, and that the screams were terrifying to hear."
"Nian Baiyu."
Hearing his name called in a cold, emotionless voice, Nian Baiyu looked up fearfully at the emperor whose eyes never left the scroll. "Your Majesty?"
"There is no need to report everything she says or does, whether she eats or drinks, or whether she sleeps quietly or not," the same emotionless voice said. "Just check if she's alive or dead."
Nian Baiyu lowered his head. "Yes Your Majesty."
"Leave me."
Nian Baiyu nodded. "Yes Your Majesty," he said, bowing quickly and leaving the room as fast as he could.
The door closed behind Nian Baiyu. The empty silence in the royal audience hall was deafening. The scroll was slowly lowered on the table.
The cold, emotionless eyes gradually darkened.
My affection meant nothing to you, so you shall have a taste of my hatred.
The hand on top of the scroll clenched tightly into a fist.