Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 102

“Hello—… huh?”

As I stepped into the fortune-teller’s tent, I froze and stared at the person sitting across the table.

“Fortune-teller?”

“Oh my, Young Lady. It’s been a long time.”

The fortune-teller smiled warmly and gestured for me to come closer.

Her orange hair was braided neatly down her back.

She was the fortune-teller from Herdens, the Bellazen fortune-telling shop I used to visit quite often.

After running into Ehit and now an old acquaintance as well, I briefly wondered if I had somehow ended up back in Bellazen.

Come to think of it, I used to visit Herdens a lot…

A flood of memories surfaced, and for a moment I found myself lost in nostalgia.

Maybe today was simply a day for meeting people from my past.

“Fortune-teller, do you not live in Bellazen anymore?”

“No. I wanted to enjoy the capital’s air for a while.”

Since I had been a regular customer, she spread several cards before me with familiar ease and without any lengthy explanation.

“What brings you here today?”

“Well…”

The fortune-teller smiled gently at my hesitation.

It was the kind of smile that said I could speak whenever I was ready.

Ever since meeting Ehit again, I had been unable to focus and felt a constant heaviness in my chest.

Part of me wanted to tell someone everything.

“Um…”

But when I actually tried to put it into words, it felt strangely vague.

What exactly did I want to ask?

What was my real concern?

The answers didn’t come easily.

What was I hesitating over?

What was troubling me so much?

“…”

The image of Ehit sitting before me earlier that day crossed my mind once again.

I bit my lip.

I never expected to feel this way again after a year.

Never expected these feelings to remain even after so much time had passed.

“You can take your time.”

“No.”

I released my lip and spoke.

After sitting down in this tent and thinking about seeing Ehit again, countless questions had surfaced.

Was I trying to figure out how to disappear from his life once more?

Or was I trying to figure out how to act calm and unaffected in front of him?

Or was I searching for a way to be certain that the tragedy from the original story—the destruction of my family—would never happen again?

But deep down, I already knew.

My real concern.

“I think… there’s someone I want to get closer to. No, there is.”

I began speaking slowly.

“I know I probably shouldn’t. But I think I want to anyway.”

The words slipped out like entries in a diary.

Nothing more than my honest feelings.

It was true that seeing Ehit again had shocked me.

I had believed we would never meet again.

But I couldn’t deny that my happiness had been many times greater than the shock.

Just hearing him say my name.

Just hearing the voice I had once given my heart to.

But is that really okay?

Instead of answering, the fortune-teller held several cards out to me.

I chose one from among the cards lying face down and turned it over.

“‘The Bird on the Tightrope.’”

A single bird with dark blue wings perched upon a thin rope stretched across a cliff.

“What does it mean?”

Was it good?

Was it bad?

Well, birds symbolize freedom, so maybe it’s something positive?

While I was thinking that, the fortune-teller gazed at the card and quietly recited its meaning.

“Either fly… or fall.”

“Oh.”

I gave an automatic response, but it sounded ominous.

The corners of my mouth drooped before I realized it.

The fortune-teller’s gaze shifted from the card to my expression.

“I’m sorry. It isn’t a particularly positive meaning, Young Lady.”

“…”

I suddenly felt like I had come here to lose money instead of gain wisdom.

Either fly or fall.

The interpretation seemed painfully obvious.

As if it were warning me that something bad would happen if I didn’t leave again.

I thought about it for a moment before forcing a smile.

“But… it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what will happen, right?”

The fact that I was saying that probably meant my heart already wanted a different answer.

Everything from a year ago had become the past.

What existed between Ehit and me was supposed to be over.

And yet.

Even now.

Was I really hoping to approach him again and start something new?

The fortune-teller looked at me and answered firmly.

“Unfortunately, Young Lady, some things in this world are destined to happen. There is no need to fight against them.”

The same thing she had once told Ehit when we first visited Herdens together.

Some events were meant to occur.

It was a statement I had spent years wrestling with after being reincarnated into a world from a novel.

At one point, I had even believed it completely.

But—

“I… don’t believe there is such a thing as an absolutely fixed future.”

In the end, I said the same thing again.

It was rather ironic to come seeking wisdom from someone like her only to argue with fate, but after all my years of thinking, this was the conclusion I had reached.

“What do you mean?”

“I know there are futures that are more likely than others. Maybe this world is even designed to steer people toward certain outcomes…”

“If you understand that, then why say otherwise?”

“Because.”

I clenched my fist and took a breath.

“People have something called free will, don’t they?”

“Yes.”

“Then I want to change what I can.”

“Even if it proves extremely difficult? Even if it causes you pain?”

“If I do nothing, there will probably be an even worse future waiting for me.”

The fortune-teller listened before gathering the cards back together.

Then she smiled calmly.

“You already know the future.”

“Ah, no. Not exactly…”

She met my gaze.

Her eyes looked as though they already knew everything.

“Not because I can see the future like you can. I just happened to hear about it somewhere. But I’m not afraid of that anymore. The thing I’m truly afraid of is…”

The more I spoke, the clearer it became.

What I was truly afraid of.

“Whether I’m allowed to be there at the end of his life.”

I was afraid that if I reached out carelessly, something would break.

Afraid my selfishness would ruin the little time he had left.

That was what frightened me far more than any danger to myself.

The fortune-teller looked at me for a long moment before setting aside the payment box.

Then she spoke gently, her voice soothing as a lullaby.

“There is nothing more for you to gain here. You may leave.”

“…”

“But remember one thing. There are events in this world that truly must happen. And sometimes, unavoidable pain comes with them.”

Though she smiled softly, there was concern hidden beneath it.

 

 

*****

 

 

 

The next day.

“Do not come.”

“I’m just checking something for a minute!”

At the entrance of the Central Medical Center in the capital, I spotted two people arguing the moment I stepped off the tram.

“…?”

The man in the perfectly tailored black military uniform was Ehit.

And the woman beside him, wearing a cape and with her long hair tightly tied back—

“Lady Naia?!”

The words escaped before I could stop them.

Both heads snapped toward me instantly.

The moment Naia saw me, she came charging in my direction.

Ehit tried to stop her but failed.

All I could do was stare in shock as she barreled toward me.

“Where have you been?”

Naia collided with me.

Well.

Not exactly collided.

It was more of a hug.

Holding me tightly, she muttered,

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, my one and only daughter-in-law.”

“…?!”

Something had clearly become distorted over the past year.

I wasn’t even her daughter-in-law back then!

Naia squeezed me so tightly I could barely breathe.

“W-Wait, cough—”

Before I could finish, Ehit pulled her away from me.

Looking utterly troubled, he stepped between us.

“If you do this, Mother, Dapflen hiding for an entire year becomes meaningless.”

“That’s my line. Do you think she hid because of me? She ran away because she didn’t like you.”

Naia’s words struck like a knife.

I expected Ehit to argue immediately.

Instead, he looked at me.

Then he answered while staring directly into my eyes.

“…That’s not it.”

His blue eyes seemed to be asking for confirmation.

But as he himself had said, I had hidden for an entire year.

And now, suddenly standing before this storm, I couldn’t bring myself to jump into it willingly.

“…”

Naia glared at Ehit before shoving his shoulder.

The gesture looked casual, but there was enough force behind it that even Ehit took a small step back and narrowed his eyes.

“Five minutes,” she said coolly.

“I have something to discuss with Dapflen. Disappear for a while.”

Her tone was icy.

Not malicious.

I knew that.

Still, hearing it again after so long was terrifying.

Though maybe five minutes wouldn’t be so bad.

“Okay, Lady Naia.”

For once, Naia’s face brightened visibly.

Ehit still looked uneasy, but eventually folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

“Five minutes. I’ll wait here.”

“You seem to be under a misunderstanding. Whether you wait five minutes or five hours makes no difference.”

Without even waiting for his response, Naia hooked an arm around my shoulders.

“Come along, Dapflen.”

 

 

****

 

 

 

The entire way to the reception room, Naia refused to remove her arm from my shoulders.

I was practically being dragged along by her pace.

Only after I shouted, “I’m not going to run away, Lady Naia!” did she finally let go.

I assumed we would simply spend five minutes catching up after so long apart.

But the conversation Naia wanted to have was much deeper than that.

It wasn’t about her.

It was about me.