Winter Swan

Chapter 51:

Silje tried to stay calm, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. Her hands shook uncontrollably.

Why did Kail have to endure this horrible pain? Why?

‘It’s all because of me.’

Suddenly, Silje couldn’t stop the voices in her head.

‘It’s all because of me! It’s all me. If it wasn’t for me, Kail wouldn’t have to be beaten up like this. He would’ve been fine.’

As she continued to watch Kail bleed, Silje knew she couldn’t leave him. It was funny how only a moment ago, she hated him with all her heart. They fought and hurt each other constantly, so why did she suddenly feel this way?

Silje became breathless, and she blinked a few times.

Until recently, all she wanted was to escape Kail, but a few minutes ago, she called out to him. She screamed his name as if her life depended on it. Why? It was the chance she was waiting for. She could’ve escaped him forever, yet she called out to him.

And now, she was given another chance. She could just leave now, and it would be all over. Yet, she was hesitant and she couldn’t understand.

Why?

“Silje, you are my everything.”

“Silje, I like you. I like you.”

Silje felt breathless again. He meant what he said, confessing to her with all his heart — she couldn’t let it go.

She couldn’t leave him. Silje wished she could, but it was impossible. Something inside her changed and when she saw him hurt and bleeding, as if her heart was being shot. It hurt to see him in pain.

It felt like her body was burning.

“...Get up.”

She couldn’t understand her own feelings, but she knew she had no choice.

Felicien and the gang were smirking at Kail and Silje. Ignoring them, Silje slowly walked towards Kail who had collapsed on the ground.

Quietly, she whispered to him.

“Kail, can you hear me? If you... really want me, then stand up now. For me.”

And as if her words were magic, Kail started to move.

Flinch.

Like the last flicker of fire in a pile of ashes, Kail moved.

“...Give me your hand.”

His lips barely moved as he whispered to her.

“Take my hand.”

Barely breathing, his voice was weak, but Silje understood him. He wanted her with desperation. He wanted her to take his hand.

If she took it now, Silje knew it meant she could never let him go.

She had to accept him into her life.

Despite knowing that, she couldn’t refuse him. She didn’t want to let him go. As they looked into each others’ eyes, Silje knew she couldn’t push him away. Those green eyes... Her blood boiled at the thought of him.

One step after another, she walked toward Kail.

Silje took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she finally took his hand without hesitation.

“Finally,” Kail smiled.

His lips trembled as he whispered, “Finally, you took my hand. Now, I will never let you go. You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment.”

“...Do whatever you want, but before that, you should stand up first.”

She said coldly to him, “This isn’t like you at all, lying on the ground. And listen carefully, I don’t want to ever see Felicien again.”

“If you wish.”

Kail smiled lazily, and Silje thought it was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

Kail whispered, “I am at your command.”

It was snowing hard outside.

The sun was starting to set, and the street lights were turning on, one by one. They looked ominous as if hinting what was coming next.

“...”

The snow fell endlessly as if there was a hole in the sky.

Darkness was falling and Silje looked at the two figures standing in front of her.

“...”

It was Kail and Felicien.

Every time she let out a breath, a white cloud formed in front of her lips. The rest of the Kail’s gang no longer cared about Silje. They surrounded Kail and Felicien with their arms crossed, watching anxiously.

Kail the leader and his right hand Felicien. The two beasts looked at each other with detached expressions and the rest watched from afar. No one dared to get between them.

Smash!

The first punch was thrown by Felicien. As Silje watched them fight, she could barely breathe.

“...”

It was a vicious fight. Felicien was determined to get Kail’s face as he continued to aim high. Kail seemed to have a same strategy as he threw his punches at Felicien’s face as well.

Silje kept blinking anxiously. The snow kept coming, making the scene look surreal. Suddenly, Felicien screamed like an animal and ran towards Kail and they fell to the ground together.

“...”

The malicious fight seemed to go on forever. The snow on the ground around them was getting redder and redder with their blood.

Silje inhaled in disbelief. She desperately wanted to scream for Kail to stop and run, but she knew she couldn’t.

There was an unspoken rule among them; no one could interfere in a fight like this.

The match lasted a long time.

“...!”

It was a close fight when suddenly, Felicien managed to tie a rope around Kail’s neck and started to strangle him.

Silje covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She wanted run to them and help Kail, but she knew she couldn’t interfere. The fight was going to end only when one of them was defeated without a doubt.

Kail twisted his body in pain as Felicien suffocated him. Silje couldn’t breathe either as she watched anxiously.

“...”

Kail was trying to get away as he flailed in the snow.

Was this the end?

Silje closed her eyes. She couldn’t watch anymore. Was this how it was going to end? Like this?

“Oh!”

“AHH!”

Suddenly, Silje heard the others exclaim in shock. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that Kail was no longer being strangled. In fact, he was pushing himself up to stand.

She saw a knife in his hand that shone against the moonlight. Moving like a jaguar, Kail stabbed Felicien’s knee with deadly precision.

Silje couldn’t believe her eyes because it happened too fast.

“GYAAA!”

Felicien screamed in agony. He fell to the ground and shrieked, “AHHH! My leg! My leg...!”

Kail looked down at him coldly as he cleaned his knife and placed it back into his pocket. Felicien continued to scream as Gunhild and Dolf came to help him stand. Kail limped towards them quietly and asked Felicien, “Does it hurt?”

At his soft voice, Felicien bit his lips and shook his head.

Surprisingly, Kail patted Felicien’s head and tapped his shoulder a few times. It was a forgiving gesture; Kail was telling Felicien that he understood why he did this and that he forgave him. Felicien looked down in shame as Kail walked away from him.