Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 113

“So, you’ve been well?”

The elegant drawing room was lined with still-life paintings.

Its owner picked up a strawberry from the plate before asking the question.

Her voice was both exacting and relaxed.

“Yes,” I replied.

“And have you been well too, Your Grace?”

“What could possibly happen to an old woman? One matter arises, another fades away. That’s all.”

“I’m glad nothing serious happened.”

Like everyone else, it had been well over a year since I’d last seen her.

Yet the Duchess seemed almost unchanged.

Perhaps it was because the air she carried about herself was exactly the same.

The unwavering confidence she possessed.

The dignified composure that naturally stemmed from it.

Whether I’d met her as Lady Bella, as the Duchess of Kloyden at the engagement ceremony, or now, that presence had never changed.

“Ah. I suppose there was one thing.”

“What was it?”

“While you were gone, my grandson went through adolescence. He’d always been such an obedient boy, even before coming of age.”

The Duchess chuckled.

I couldn’t quite imagine Ehit going through adolescence…

But apparently that was how the past year had looked to her.

“The funniest incident was last month. Someone claimed they’d seen you, and he skipped the family’s regular gathering because he insisted on meeting that person. Oh, don’t make that face. I found it rather amusing.”

“If you found it amusing… then I’m relieved.”

“The older you become, the more enjoyable it is to watch someone you’ve known for years change.”

She smiled.

“Though seeing him grieve so much simply because his fiancée disappeared—that was rather new.”

Come to think of it…

Why hadn’t she arranged another engagement for him?

I’d broken ours unilaterally and run away.

It wouldn’t have been strange if Ehit had long since become engaged to someone else.

…Now that I think about it, I really have no right to be sitting here.

“Why would I arrange another engagement?”

The Duchess answered before I’d spoken.

“I’d already chosen the girl I wanted.”

“But… we broke off our engagement.”

The word broke off came out smaller than I’d intended.

The Duchess merely smiled.

“Weren’t you always going to come back?”

She said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I couldn’t help reflecting on my own actions.

Did I really seem that weak-willed?

“Did it really look that way?”

“Whether it looked that way isn’t important.”

She shrugged.

“That’s simply how things were going to turn out.”

She spoke as though she’d known all along.

That I would break the engagement and disappear.

And that, eventually, I would return to Ehit.

…Could the Duchess know about the original novel too?

After everything with Sonya, the thought seemed surprisingly reasonable.

“Your Grace… by any chance, Flowers Blooming Upon the Rock—”

That was the title of the original novel.

But the Duchess only frowned, looking utterly baffled by my sudden nonsense.

No… if she’d known the original story, she’d have believed I’d died after the broken engagement.

Then Mendel’s words suddenly came back to me.

“Sonya believed it was all Kloyden’s fault. She thought none of it would have happened if the Duke hadn’t seen the future and changed it.”

I’d heard that the gift of foresight was inherited within House Kloyden.

Once it passed on, the previous owner almost completely lost the ability.

Still…

If even a trace remained—

Had the Duchess been able to see the future too?

“If you have something to ask, then ask.”

Her words made me flinch.

It was as though she’d read not only the future, but my thoughts as well.

“Can you… still use your foresight?”

“Hardly.”

She shook her head.

“It’s almost gone.”

“But a faint remnant still remains.”

“I see.”

“You’re wondering whether I saw my grandson’s future.”

Holding her fork with the strawberry still speared on it, she glanced at me knowingly.

“Well… yes.”

“I did.”

She smiled.

“This stays between the two of us.”

She slowly ate the strawberry before continuing.

“I saw his entire life—from childhood up to the present.”

His entire childhood?

I’d assumed she’d seen pieces of the future.

Not something on that scale.

“Then… there’s something else I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I…”

The moment the words reached my lips, they suddenly felt rude.

“…Never mind.”

The Duchess frowned, tapping her fan lightly against her palm.

“Out with it.”

“…Did you know Ehit would be lost?”

The tapping stopped.

She looked straight at me.

She appeared to be considering how to answer.

Yet the answer itself was obvious.

“So… you did know.”

“I did.”

She calmly lifted her teacup for a sip.

“I knew when he’d be lost.”

“Where.”

“And where Bellina would take him.”

“You knew all of that?”

“Then why…”

Why hadn’t she stopped it?

If she’d known everything—

Why let it happen?

“Your Grace.”

Only one conclusion remained.

“You didn’t lose Ehit.”

“You allowed him to be lost.”

“Why?”

Everything that had left Ehit unable to trust others…

Everything that had scarred him…

It had all begun back then.

So why…

Why let it happen?

“Because I already knew.”

“Knew what?”

“When you know only one thing, you’ll desperately try to change it.”

She folded her hands neatly.

“But when you know ten things…”

“A hundred things…”

“You don’t.”

I couldn’t understand.

It must have shown on my face.

“At that time, I’d already seen the best possible future for that child.”

She spoke gently.

“But no outcome is achieved through pleasant events alone.”

“…”

“And once you’ve already seen that future…”

“You mustn’t interfere.”

“Everything happens because countless events gather together and intertwine to create that ending.”

She set down her teacup.

“Even events that seem unrelated.”

“Even those that appear unfortunate.”

“Do you understand?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t.”

The Duchess clicked her tongue softly.

She looked less disappointed than mildly amused.

“Would you like me to explain again?”

“So what you’re saying is…”

I stared at her.

“You knowingly allowed Ehit to be hurt because it was part of reaching what you believed was his best future.”

That was all I’d understood.

“Correct.”

She answered without hesitation.

“In the long run, it was for his sake.”

Her eyes remained calm.

Steady.

Convincing enough that part of me almost believed her.

She had lived far longer than I had.

She knew far more about the world.

So perhaps—

“…”

No.

I still couldn’t accept it.

“Do you understand now?”

“No.”

“I thought you finally did.”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

“But I never would’ve made that choice.”

“Go on.”

Her refined tone carried an unmistakable pressure.

For a moment, I shrank back.

I wasn’t even sure how to explain what I felt.

Still, I took a steady breath.

“Whether we know the future or not…”

“In the end, every choice belongs to us.”

Looking directly into her eyes, I spoke carefully.

My voice trembled slightly.

Whether from anger or simply because I stood before the Duchess, I couldn’t tell.

“But even so…”

“The future isn’t some road we’re forced to walk.”

“It’s something we choose.”

“Moment by moment.”

That had become my conclusion after everything I’d experienced—from the day I learned about the original story until now.

“And even if that choice leads to the worst possible future?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“I’ll still believe in the choices I make.”

“I’ll give everything I have in every single moment.”

“And I’ll believe in the future those choices create.”

“And besides…”

I murmured the last words almost under my breath.

“What even is the ‘best possible future’?”

The Duchess suddenly laughed.

“Good.”

“Daphlen.”

“I think we’ve both heard everything we wanted to hear.”

“Are you upset?”

“Not at all.”

“If anything…”

“I’m delighted.”

Whether she truly meant it or not, she certainly looked pleased.

I glanced around awkwardly before finishing the last of my tea and standing.

“I should be going.”

“I enjoyed talking with you, Your Grace.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it as well.”

“…”

Truthfully, I wanted to argue more.

To ask whether she’d never thought about how much Ehit had suffered.

To ask just how extraordinary this so-called best future really was.

But the past was already over.

Knowing an old future no longer mattered.

Whatever future she’d seen—

I’d create one even better.

Holding onto that resolve, I left the Duchess’s room.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Just as I thought.”

Leaning back against the sofa, the Duchess of Kloyden murmured to herself.

She recalled Daphlen standing before her without backing down, saying exactly what she believed.

Such a dependable girl.

No matter where life placed her, she’d manage.

And she was exactly the kind of person Ehit needed.

The Duchess slowly closed her tired eyes.

Her thoughts drifted back more than a decade.

Back then, Ehit had been House Kloyden’s only grandson.

How could she not have wished for his happiness?

But at the time…

Her grandson had been far too incomplete—

Far too fragile—

To obtain anything that could truly be called happiness.