Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 103

“So I’ve been quietly gathering information.”

Naia finished speaking and crossed her arms.

What she meant was this: she was searching for my biological family, and since there were several noble houses claiming they had lost a daughter around my age, she planned to meet them all today.

There were simply too many families contacting her to arrange individual meetings, so she had decided to use today’s ball as the opportunity to meet them all at once.

“More than twenty families reached out. If even one of them is real, we’ll be able to figure it out, so it’s better to meet them all together.”

I was shocked once by the fact that Naia had been searching for my biological family, and again by how many possible candidates there were.

“So the conclusion is that I want you to come to the ball today. See? That only took five minutes.”

It did take five minutes… but it felt like only the introduction had been covered.

Naia handed me a paper with the location written on it.

“Have the carriage ready by 4 PM.”

“Ah, I finish work at 5.”

“Then be ready by 3.”

“Pardon? I said I finish at 5!”

“You must come, Dapflen.”

Naia smiled as if it were a joke, but her eyes were serious as she looked at me.

“If you still want to hide yourself—if you plan to disappear somewhere else again—then this might be my final request. You can grant me that much, can’t you?”

“…But as you may have heard, I’ve given up the name Aileta. I don’t think I’d be allowed into an event like that.”

At my words, Naia replied as if it were obvious, almost amused.

“Dapflen, the one inviting you now is Cloyden. Do you really think you’ll need any other guarantee than that?”

I ended up nodding without thinking, swept away by her confidence.

As Naia left the medical center’s reception room, I saw her suddenly grab Ehit, who was walking toward her.

While I was watching them, I heard a voice from behind calling me—Doctor Rahel.

“Yes! I’m coming!”

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Time slowly drifted toward evening.

The closer it got, the more nervous I became, to the point where I even gulped down a glass of water right before finishing work.

Even though I hadn’t thought much about it while listening to Naia earlier, as evening approached, something about it felt strange.

“Biological family…”

The thought that I might meet such people today suddenly felt very real.

After learning I wasn’t truly an Aileta, I had assumed my real family must be somewhere out there.

But I hadn’t seriously tried to find them.

“So… do I really have a real family somewhere?”

I repeated the phrase “real family” slowly in my mind.

“What even is family…?”

I sank into abstract thoughts, when a memory suddenly surfaced.

“…What is family?”

It felt like something I had heard when I was young, but who asked me that?

I shook my head and pushed the thought away.

“Right, let’s just go!”

It might be interesting, and there was no harm in going.

Time passed again, and it was 5 o’clock.

I hurried out of the medical center after finally finishing work on time. I didn’t want to break my promise after agreeing to go.

“Ayoung lady! Lady Dapflen!”

As I stepped outside, the carriage was waiting as promised—and so was an unexpected guest.

“Marier!”

I exclaimed in delight as soon as I saw the curly-haired woman standing by the carriage.

“Marier! It’s been a while! What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? If Lady Dapflen is going to a party, how could I not come?”

Smiling brightly, Marier held up a bag from the carriage. It was her magic kit.

Even after a year, she looked exactly the same, and I couldn’t help but smile widely.

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

Marier’s preparations were as fast as her skill.

“My lady, this little sprout has really grown now!”

As I boarded the carriage after getting ready for the ball, Marier whispered to me.

“Of course. Now I can’t even tell which plant that sprout used to be.”

“I’m glad.”

With Marier’s soft smile, the carriage door closed and the wheels began to roll.

“A ball… it’s been a while.”

I opened and closed my hands on my lap. They were gloved in white, matching the pale blue accents of my dress.

Since leaving Belachen, I hadn’t attended anything like a ball in a year.

I wasn’t going to enjoy it, but wearing something like wings made me feel a little excited anyway.

The carriage raced toward the sunset before stopping in the palace gardens.

When I saw the palace, I let out a small gasp.

Wow… it’s huge.

The ball was being held in a palace in the southern part of the capital.

As expected of the capital’s royal events, the scale was overwhelming—big enough that it felt like it could fit the entire city.

Rows of fancy carriages filled the grounds, making it feel like I had stepped into another world.

That feeling slowly shifted from excitement to unease.

I thought my life had become calm again after leaving Belachen, but in just two days, everything felt like it was changing.

Under the evening lights of the vast garden, people in elegant dresses and suits walked around.

I pulled out my feather fan and covered my face.

“Let’s find Naia first.”

I walked forward with only my eyes peeking over the fan.

There were so many people that my brow furrowed.

How am I supposed to find her?

At events like this, people rarely come alone. They usually arrive with escorts, family, or friends.

Walking through them alone felt strangely difficult.

“If you keep walking alone, you’ll stand out.”

“Why would I be walking alone?”

A voice answered my muttering, making my shoulders jump.

Ehit walked beside me calmly, tilting his head slightly toward me.

When I looked up, I flinched even more at his appearance.

Unlike usual, his hair was neatly styled back, and he wore a deep navy jacket and shirt that looked like the sea at night. His broad shoulders and muscular build stood out even more in his tailored outfit.

“Let’s go.”

A voice that overwhelmed everything in front of me.

Ehit walked with me as if we had always been together. It was so natural that I couldn’t even find a moment to step away.

As we walked, I kept my face covered with my fan, looking forward. Even without looking, I could feel his gaze turning toward me often.

“You look good in that.”

His words only made me more flustered.

“Don’t you have an escort?”

“I do.”

“Then go find them.”

I pointed forward with my fan. “Let’s stop at that tree.”

Ehit agreed easily.

But when I turned to leave after reaching the tree, he started walking again.

“Why are you following me?”

“I’m just going this way.”

He said it so casually, yet matched my pace perfectly.

I tried a few times to shake him off, but eventually gave up.

Honestly, I had expected to see him here. No—more than expected, I thought it was inevitable.

He was here under the Cloyden name, and if Naia called me, she would have called him too.

Still, seeing him like this—brighter than I remembered—made my mind go blank.

“All eyes on your step,” Ehit said, gently pulling me aside.

That kind of kindness—Ehit’s kindness—felt especially overwhelming after a year.

“Is it really okay for this to feel like this?”

It wasn’t a strong warning that I shouldn’t. It was more like a vague uncertainty.

Maybe I wanted to keep walking beside Ehit like this, and didn’t want to fully face my situation.

“Why are you hiding your face?”

“Habit.”

“You did that the first time we attended an event together too.”

I nodded and pulled the fan up a little higher.

We passed through the long corridor and entered the hall. Under the golden chandelier, people laughed and talked as music played.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure…”

“Anything in particular? No alcohol.”

“Why not alcohol?”

“You know why.”

He smiled slightly and called a servant, who brought two drinks.

“My mother is probably in the Central Gerke room.”

Ehit seemed familiar with the palace layout and escorted me there.

As we walked and talked about trivial things, a thought lingered in my mind.

What does Ehit think of me right now?

From his perspective, I was just a former fiancée who disappeared after breaking off our engagement for unclear reasons.

So why was he spending time with me again?

“Who is that young lady?”

“Isn’t that Ehit Cloyden? I heard the engagement was broken off. Is she his new fiancée?”

The whispers from behind drifted toward us.