The Refusal to Resurrect

If Ecke had been seen by Yodel, Yodel would have certainly noticed the deathly illusion on him and could have saved him in time.

But for some reason, the eldest prince was late. By the time he arrived, Yodel had already stopped looking for him, and thus missed the deathly illusion.

Ecke actually had a chance to be saved, but it slipped away through a series of coincidences.

Yet what was done was done. It was too late for regrets. The living mattered more.

“Alright, regretting now won’t help. Let’s talk about how to deal with Frank.”

But Cecilia did not step out of the shadows.

If it were just her brother’s death, she could accept it. But she couldn’t accept that his death was related to her.

That day, she had actually thought about telling him the truth, but her ambition stopped her.

In the end, although she loved Ecke as a brother, she also saw him as a stumbling block on her path to the throne. That was why she chose to conceal the truth, indirectly causing his death.

Her brother died for her, yet in his final moments, she was still scheming to defeat him and ascend the throne.

“I didn’t know… I didn’t know this would kill my brother…”

“I should have told him… maybe… maybe then he wouldn’t have died in vain…”

Suddenly, Cecilia thought of something. She rushed to Yodel and grabbed his hand tightly.

“Yodel, you can resurrect the dead, right? Just like you resurrected me? Can you bring my brother back?”

Yodel didn’t answer immediately. He couldn’t give a guarantee on the spot, because resurrection fundamentally required Thanatos’s nod. It wasn’t up to him.

But Cecilia took his silence as a refusal.

She fell to her knees with a thud, clutching Yodel’s right hand.

“No, please! Tell me what I must do to bring my brother back. I’ll do anything!”

At this moment, she abandoned all princess dignity and royal decency, begging only for Yodel’s consent.

“I can give you anything. Everything I have can be yours. I’d trade my life for his.”

“Cecilia, you don’t have to do this…” Yodel started, then stopped. A strange thought crossed his mind:

If the same thing happened to him, would Yali make the same choice as Cecilia?

Probably, yes.

“Alright, I can ask for you, but I’m not sure if he can be resurrected.”

He pulled Cecilia to her feet and turned around.

“Boss, are you free right now? Could you come back? I have something to ask you.”

Then, as Yodel stared wide-eyed, a head of white hair suddenly poked out from behind the throne in the Hall of Death. Thanatos casually stepped out from behind it.

“Ahem… Yodel, what do you need?”

“Wait, were you just back there…”

“Don’t mind the details. First, the business, first the business.”

“Alright… Boss, you heard just now. Can you save him?”

Yodel wanted to save Ecke not only because of Cecilia’s plea but also out of practical considerations.

“If Ecke can be resurrected, he can identify the murderer. That will make our fight against Frank much easier.”

“And given Ecke’s personality, his love for his sister, plus the favor of resurrection, he will likely abdicate the throne to Cecilia voluntarily. He won’t become an obstacle in my plan.”

When Cecilia saw the black-robed figure appear again, her heart, which had turned cold, began to beat once more.

The last time she was resurrected, this figure had appeared. Now it appeared again. Was it going to resurrect her brother?

Thinking this, the discomfort and fear deep in her heart lessened considerably. Cecilia now looked at Him with pleading eyes.

Things seemed to be developing as she hoped.

Although Cecilia couldn’t understand what the shadow was saying, Yodel seemed able to communicate with it. After a moment, the shadow appeared to agree to the request.

Yet a minute passed, and nothing happened.

Three minutes passed, ten minutes passed. Ecke’s soul did not appear.

Yodel also grew puzzled.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Can Ecke not be resurrected?”

Was there a soul in this world that even the God of Death couldn’t handle?

Thanatos’s expression was quite strange. She said softly,

“Resurrection is no problem, but this Ecke Windsor actually refuses to be resurrected.”

“I’ve been calling him for ten minutes, but he just won’t come back.”

Yodel was baffled. “Why refuse resurrection? That doesn’t make sense. He was killed, not a suicide. Why would he do this?”

“Brother… doesn’t want to come back?” Hearing Yodel’s words, Cecilia felt like she had fallen into an ice cavern. She had just seen a glimmer of hope, only to have it vanish in an instant.

“Actually, I think I know why Ecke refuses resurrection. His soul keeps repeating one sentence. Let me play it for you.”

The next second, Ecke’s voice echoed through the hall, sounding both like a lament and a roar.

“Frank… I’ll be waiting for you… I’ll be waiting for you, the sinner, in hell.”

Yodel immediately understood. Wasn’t this Ecke’s last words before he died?

The eldest prince was serious. He really intended to wait for Frank in “hell,” even after death, he hadn’t forgotten to avenge Cecilia and himself.

Such obsession was so strong that it made him refuse resurrection?

“Can you persuade him? Tell him that only by resurrecting can he deal with Frank better.”

“It’s useless. I tried for ten minutes, but he just kept repeating that line. He won’t listen to reason…”

“Can we ignore his will and force a resurrection?” Yodel was getting anxious.

“I’m quite good at forced death. Forced resurrection… well, it’s possible, but there’s a chance the forced measures might damage his soul. If he were a supernatural, with a stronger soul, it would be easier.”

“Troublesome. I didn’t expect the problem to be with the eldest prince himself…”

“Troublesome? Is it really that troublesome?” Cecilia’s voice was flat. “Just kill Frank, throw him down there. Once my brother’s wish is fulfilled, he’ll be willing to come back, won’t he?”

She said something quite terrifying in a very ordinary tone.

“If Frank is killed… my brother will be willing to come back… Just kill him… and my brother will return.”

Her muttering echoed through the hall. Her voice, once as pleasant as silver bells, now sounded somewhat horrific.

Thanatos sidled up to Yodel and nudged him with her elbow.

“Hey, hey, is this girl okay? I don’t really understand the emotions of the living, but even I think she’s acting strange.”

“This… could it be that her mentality has collapsed, and she’s turning dark?” Yodel said uncertainly.

Great, he had just cured the yandere tendencies of the God of Death, and now he had a dark princess on his hands.

But the God of Death’s yandere problem originated from Yodel himself, and a few words could soothe it.

Cecilia’s darkening, however, stemmed from her guilt over her brother. Without saving Ecke, this darkness couldn’t be resolved.

And to save Ecke, Frank had to be killed.

Round and round, it all came back to that psychotic killer. He had to die.