Home / I Died While They Celebrated / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of I Died While They Celebrated: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

While my sister received everyone's congratulations, I died at home.At first, I didn't even know I was dead.Applause drifted down from upstairs. I instinctively stood to see if Lina's celebration was over.But my hand passed straight through the iron door.Behind me, another me was curled in the corner, wrists hanging from the chains, wearing the new uniform I'd prepared for my investiture.Mother had thought the gold buttons on the uniform were too flashy. Before she closed the door, she'd covered them with black cloth.Now that cloth lay on the floor, soaked through with blood.I reached to pick it up. My fingers closed on nothing.Someone upstairs called my name."Eve?"My head snapped up.My brother stood at the top of the stairs, the basement key in his hand.I lunged toward him, mouth open to call his name. But he turned and caught Lina as she ran up to him."Brother, we're cutting the cake. We're waiting on you.""Coming.""Is Sis still mad?"My brother put the key back in his

Chapter 2

They celebrated until the early hours of the morning.When Lina opened her third box of gowns, Mother called for the housekeeper."Eve's room faces south. Turn that side into a walk-in closet."The housekeeper hesitated."Where will the eldest miss stay when she comes home?""How many days a year is she even home? The guest room is good enough for her."I squeezed into the bedroom that was about to be emptied.On the nightstand was an old notebook, one corner of its cover burned.My brother came in to find a small knife for Lina to cut ribbons, and casually flipped it open.The last page held only a number.Ninety-nine.He snorted."Still keeping score."That wasn't the number of enemies I'd killed.It was the number of times they'd promised me something and failed to deliver.The first entry was from when I was ten.Before my awakening, Mother promised that no matter what color my dragon was, she would hold me.My brother unfurled his black dragon wings first.Then Lina revealed her s

Chapter 3

My brother grabbed Lina's wrist.There was only a red mark on her palm, but his breathing turned frantic."Who sent this?"Mother saw the name on the gift box, and her face changed instantly."Eve?"I recognized that box.Inside had been a protective charm. I'd bought it with my first military pay.When Lina was little, she always said she was afraid of dragon hunters.I spent half a year searching the border before I found someone who could get me a charm that could block one fatal attack.But now the charm was gone.At the bottom of the box lay a curse stone with Lina's name on it.Lina pulled her hand back into her sleeve."Don't blame Sis. I found it myself."Father's voice dropped."Where did you find it?""On my nightstand... It had my name on it. I thought she was still willing to give me a gift."I rushed forward, trying to turn the box over and show them.Under the charm was my custom order receipt.If they just pulled it out, they'd know the box had been tampered with.But my

Chapter 4

After dawn, I followed Mother to the healing clinic.Lina's hand had already been dressed, but Ryan was still at her bedside, holding her hand and refusing to let go.He was my fiancé.Seeing the blue ribbon at his waist, I reached to touch my own empty chest.I'd given him that ribbon last year.He said he'd always wear it. When I became commander, he'd pin the medal on me himself."Where's Eve?" he asked.Mother sat down by the bed."Still sulking. You talk to her. She only listens to you."Ryan picked up the messenger stone."Eve, come to the clinic immediately and apologize to Lina."He waited a moment, and his voice turned colder."Now that you've got the commander's position, you think no one can control you anymore?"Lina tugged at his hand."Forget it. Sis probably didn't mean it.""The curse stone was on your nightstand, and you're still defending her?"Ryan pressed the messenger stone again."I was going to give you the family gem after the investiture. Now it seems you don't

Chapter 5

My brother called my name and then waited for me to answer.He raised the light stone a little higher."Eve. Get up."My head hung against my shoulder. The gold buttons on my uniform were glued to my chest with blood. Only the bottom one still caught the light.Mother leaned against the doorframe."How is she sleeping in a place like this..."My brother stepped over the blood and reached for my shoulder.The body toppled sideways, revealing the slit-open front of my uniform.He caught me."Get the healer!"The light stone hit the floor and rolled to my feet.Father blocked the doorway. His lips moved several times before he turned and shouted up the stairs."Prepare the carriage! Now!"Mother finally crouched down, trying to straighten my clothes.Her hand touched the chain. She stopped."Unlock it first. Why is it still locked..."My brother fumbled for the key. He tried twice and couldn't get it into the lock.That hand had been perfectly steady last night when he cut Lina's cake."E

Chapter 6

When Ryan arrived, he was still holding a box of medicine."Lina said her cloak was left here, so I brought it on my way—"He saw me on the table and stopped in the doorway.The medicine box fell. A tube of white ointment rolled to his boot.He walked slowly.Only when he saw my face did he lunge forward."Who did this?"No one answered.He lifted the cloak, then covered me back up, his movements gentle as if afraid I might catch a chill."Eve?"I looked at his hands.He was finally willing to hold my hand, but he didn't know where to put it.Palm. Wrist. Cheek. Every place he touched, he stopped to test my temperature."I told you to come to the clinic.""I was just angry.""The bonding isn't canceled. Do you hear me?"Mother cried and tried to pull him away."Ryan, save her. She always listened to you..."Armor clinked outside the door.The general walked in with my adjutant, followed by four military doctors.The adjutant saw me and stumbled, catching the doorframe to stay upright.

Chapter 7

Lina was brought back by military personnel.Her hand was still wrapped in gauze.She saw me on the table and stepped back first, then screamed and threw herself into Mother's arms."What happened to Sis?"Mother didn't hold her.She stared at the crown on Lina's head, her voice so hoarse it was barely audible."Last night, did you ask the military for leave on her behalf?"Lina froze."Sis told me to.""When?""Before the celebration... She said she didn't want to make you angry."The adjutant stepped forward."The commander never gave me any such message."Lina clutched Mother's sleeve."But that's what she told me. She also said, after my celebration, she was going to meet someone."Father looked up."What someone?""I don't know." She started crying. "Sis told me not to worry about it. Said she had her own arrangements."I watched her.Even with me dead, she could still use me to lie.The officer had my messenger stone brought out.Lina suddenly wiped her tears and spoke."You can

Chapter 8

While the military doctor examined Lina, I reached out and gripped that thread.My fingertips began to dissolve.But the white light in the crown grew brighter.Lina cried out in pain."Don't touch me!"The doctor's hand stopped in midair.He hadn't even touched her yet.I kept pulling.The white light passed through her hair and cast a tiny shadow on the wall.The adjutant saw it first."General, there's something on her head."Lina shot to her feet. The crown slipped and hit the floor.A gold plate on the inside came loose, revealing a dark red crystal embedded within.My brother reached for it. The military doctor stopped him."Don't touch it."He picked it up with silver tweezers. When he saw the patterns congealed inside, his expression changed."This is a dragon heart."Mother staggered and grabbed the back of a chair.A familiar burning pain rose in my chest.I looked down and saw a thin red thread trailing from my empty chest.The other end connected to that crystal.So I had b

Chapter 9

The dragon hunters were intercepted outside the city.I followed the dragon heart, sealed in a box, to the military interrogation hall.My body was placed in the next room, covered with a military flag.Lina sat at the far end of the long table, the seized letters on her lap.She kept her head down.Only when the dragon hunter was brought in did she glance up.The man saw her and immediately started cursing."Didn't you say only the heart would be taken, that no one would investigate?"Lina shook her head violently."I don't know him!"The officer placed the money pouch found in her room on the table.Her name was embroidered on the bottom.An identical one was in the dragon hunter's bag.There was also the dimensions of the basement vent window, the time I would be home, and a note reading "Strike after the anti-magic chain is locked."My brother picked up the note.It even said the key was on him, so there was no need to open the door.He looked at Lina."When you asked me to borrow

Chapter 10

When the verdict came down, Lina kept calling for Mother.She was stripped of her title and her dragon identity, and sentenced to death alongside the dragon hunters.The guards led her away. She stumbled and looked back, trying to grab Mother's hand."Mom, I'm scared."Mother's hand lifted, then pressed hard against her knee.Only after the door closed did she bend over, a cry squeezing from her throat.My brother was stripped of his rank and taken into custody for privately borrowing anti-magic military equipment and unlawfully imprisoning a military officer.My parents would also stand trial for my confinement.Ryan kept the complete call records.There was no way to delete "Stop acting" from anywhere.After all of that was done, my funeral began.I didn't go home.The adjutant sorted my belongings and placed the old notebook by the coffin.My brother asked to see it. The guard unlocked one of his shackles.He flipped past the blank pages and stopped at the last one.Ninety-nine.Bel

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