Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 120

“Daphlen, does the main character really have to make a late entrance?”

“……?!”

Martha, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, shouted excitedly.

Oliver and the others from the Bellachin Medical Center were also laughing heartily as they watched Ehit and me drift ashore in a daze.

“How did you……?”

“The Admiral invited us! It’s a party to celebrate Daphlen’s return!”

“That’s right, Senior Daphlen. We’ve been waiting for you for ages!”

By the time I blinked a dozen or so times, the boat had docked.

I turned to look at Ehit.

His eyes were cold, and he didn’t look particularly happy. Judging by the way he adjusted his grip on the oars, it almost seemed like he was thinking of rowing us back to the other side, but……

For now, he took me with him and stepped onto the dock.

Ridel, who had been talking to people on the other side, came running toward us.

“Daphlen! I was wondering if you’d taken the wrong rapids or something. I’m glad you made it back safely. Nothing happened, right?”

“Nothing happened.”

Ehit cut in with a brief answer and hurriedly tried to take me away.

But Ridel blocked our path with an incredibly bright and cheerful expression.

“I prepared this party for you and the Colonel. Enjoy yourselves to your heart’s content!”

“…….”

“You look surprised! Are you perhaps moved? How was my boat event? Wasn’t it pretty romantic?”

Ridel kept firing questions at us without giving us a chance to answer. Then someone called her from the other side, and she dashed off again.

Swept up in her energy and left stammering as if I’d been bewitched, I stood there dazed for a moment, watching Ridel’s retreating figure.

Then I looked at the blond hair swaying among the lights and at the people filling the small party venue.

“Pfft.”

I burst out laughing.

Ehit looked at me. There was still some displeasure in his eyes, but after watching me laugh for a while, his gaze gradually softened.

“Since things have turned out this way, let’s enjoy ourselves.”

“Yes, all right.”

“But no alcohol.”

“At a party like this?”

There were all kinds of people at the party.

Members of the Trustia family, of course, as well as the people from the Bellachen Medical Center and those from the Karkan Medical Center, where I currently worked.

“Daphlen, you’re late even for something like this. Can’t you see your family has been saving food for you because they’ve been waiting? They even set aside all those dishes!”

“What are you talking about, Adlen? Enric has practically eaten everything already.”

“N-no, I haven’t. It was already like this. Anyway!”

“Daphlen, try this. The strawberries are really delicious. Here. Say ‘ah,’ Daphlen.”

“Boys, just keep eating what you’ve already got. Did you have a good time, our Daphlen?”

“It’s so nice to see you again after just a few days. Where has your husband, Chloyden, gone?”

Aileta’s family had also been invited and were eating dishes here and there.

“So you finally found your family. I knew you would, my daughter-in-law.”

“Lady Nia?!”

“Sister, the little sprout has fully grown now, hasn’t she?”

“Lady! How did you grow so much?!”

“Right? I’ve grown a lot, haven’t I?”

Lady Nia and the members of the Chloyden family were there, including Jaimon, who had grown so much in just a year.

At this point, setting aside Ridel’s ability to take action, I couldn’t help but admire her ability to gather people.

“Daphlen, just a moment.”

I wandered around with Ehit, frantically exchanging greetings with everyone.

Then Ridel called Ehit from the other side, giving me a chance to stand in a corner and catch my breath.

I hid under the shade of a tree and looked around the party venue.

As I gazed at the beautiful lights hanging from the tree, I remembered the autumn banquet at the Fallen estate, where I had first met Ehit.

Back then, I never imagined I would end up in a relationship like this with him.

Hmm, but what exactly did “a relationship like this” mean?

We had broken off our engagement, so we weren’t fiancés anymore.

“Daphlen!”

Just then, I heard someone calling me from the other side. It was the familiar voice of a man, full of playfulness.

“Dellus?”

Unable to hide my happiness, I broke into a bright smile.

It was Dellus Bright, my friend whom I saw once a year.

“Did everyone from the fleet come?”

“Yeah. The others are talking over there.”

Seeing me smile so brightly, Dellus raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly,

“What’s this? You’re so happy to see me that it almost seems like you’re acting.”

“Why would I act around you?”

“Try it sometime.”

He gave my arm a light tap.

I deliberately overreacted and replied, “It hurts so much I could die, but I’ll endure it because I’m so happy to see you.”

“Dellus, you were upset that I didn’t even contact you, weren’t you?”

“Of course I was. But……”

With his usual playful smile, Dellus held out his right hand.

“It looks like you’ve finally found your place again.”

I held out my own right hand and shook his.

“If this was how things were going to turn out, why did you leave in the first place? Honestly, Daphlen, you’re a pro at stirring things up!”

“There were very complicated circumstances, my friend.”

“You said you’d treat everyone to another big round next time. Did you run away because you didn’t want to pay for it?”

He deliberately scolded me. I shrugged in response.

“That’s true, too.”

Dellus made no secret of his frustration. He looked up at the sky and let out a sharp breath before finally smiling.

“Still, welcome back. I hope your life is filled with nothing but happiness. You deserve that.”

“You too, Dellus.”

After shaking our joined hands twice, Dellus finally let go.

“If I keep standing here like this, I’ll get kicked out of the fleet.”

He glanced toward the area behind me.

When I looked back, I saw Ehit leaning against the wall with two glasses of fruit wine in his hands. He was openly watching us while pretending not to look in our direction.

Only when our eyes met did Ehit finally walk over.

“Well, then.”

Dellus bowed politely to Ehit with a smile, then turned and left.

Ehit came to stand beside me and held out his arm as if inviting me to link mine with his. I smiled faintly and slipped my arm through his.

He handed me one of the glasses of fruit wine he was holding.

“You told me not to drink alcohol.”

“It doesn’t contain any alcohol.”

“Oh, come on. What a letdown.”

“What’s with that expression?”

“What did I do?”

I laughed and linked my arm even more tightly through Ehit’s.

Ehit asked me again what Dellus and I had talked about.

“We just exchanged some good wishes.”

“Good wishes?”

“Yes. Things like ‘let’s live well’ and ‘I hope you live happily.’ That sort of thing.”

“Major Bright is worrying about something pointless. There’s no way you wouldn’t live well.”

Ehit seemed to shoot another sideways glance at Dellus, who was standing some distance away.

Wait a minute. Could this be jealousy?

“Are you jealous, Ehit?”

“Me?”

I asked him as soon as the thought came to mind, but Ehit let out a dry, composed laugh.

Was he not? Oh well, never mind.

I’m going to get jealous, though.

Whenever a similar situation came up, I looked forward to getting jealous and smiled excitedly. But as Ehit studied my expression, his eyes wavered slightly.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Huh? It’s nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“Well, I thought it might be fun if I got jealous over you, Ehit. I was just imagining it for a moment.”

“Does that make you happy?”

“It’s a privilege of someone who can feel secure enough to get jealous without worrying.”

That’s right. Because I believed this man loved me, I could experience what people called “cute jealousy.”

Even if I saw him with someone else, I knew his heart belonged to me. And I knew I had the right to show my jealousy from time to time.

I had experienced jealousy when I didn’t have that certainty, so I knew how precious and enjoyable it was to be able to acknowledge those feelings and express them freely.

“…….”

Ehit watched me smile to myself in silence, then cleared his throat once.

“……I do it, too.”

“Huh?”

“Jealousy. I’m telling you that I get jealous, too.”

His confident voice sounded almost like a declaration.

As I blinked at him, Ehit pulled me closer.

“But I don’t know anything about enjoying it. I just spend my days and nights worrying about you, Daphlen. Even earlier, when I saw you holding hands so familiarly with Major Bright……”

It looked like he was clenching his teeth pretty hard.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. If this is jealousy, then I’m jealous.”

Ehit’s expression twisted into a frown.

Oh, my.

Why is he so cute?

When I smiled brightly, Ehit’s expression grew even more displeased.

Just then, the Duke’s attendant came running toward us from a distance.

“You two, the Duke would like to see you.”

Looking in the direction the attendant had come from, I saw the Duke slowly beckoning to us with her fan.

The Duke was sitting on a chair beneath a tree, wearing a simple yet striking purple dress. She gestured for us to sit in front of her.

There were no other chairs, so I asked, “On the ground?”

Just then, I saw the Duke’s attendants running toward us from a distance, carrying chairs.

“The ground isn’t so bad. Would you prefer to sit there?”

“You’ll hurt yourself.”

The Duke remained seated and made what sounded like an insincere remark. Ehit answered calmly, as if he were used to this.

“Yes, I’m joking.”

“I know.”

Their conversation continued with words that sounded like jokes but contained no hint of laughter. Perhaps this was the usual pattern of humor among the people of the Chloyden family.

“You’re my grandson, but you really are a boring fellow. I thought you might at least put on a little show when you came to a party.”

“If that’s what you expect, you’ll have to find yourself another grandson.”

“That’s the funniest joke you’ve ever made.”

“A joke?”

“You’re saying it wasn’t one?”

……So this wasn’t their usual pattern of joking?

The Duke’s expression was fierce, while Ehit’s gaze remained dry.

Unable to bear listening any longer, I burst out, “Ahahaha!” and stepped between them.

“Like the Duke said, this is a party, right? A fun party! Let’s all smile and enjoy our conversation!”

I personally lifted the corners of Ehit’s mouth, trying to bring a smile to his face.

Perhaps thanks to my efforts, Ehit managed a forced smile, and even the Duke gave a snort that was almost a laugh.

“See? It’s a party, so let’s have fun!”

But just then, I heard someone behind me say, “Wait a moment.”

It was Nia’s voice.

She strode toward us with her long legs.

“There’s still something you haven’t resolved, isn’t there? You can’t just enjoy yourselves yet.”

Unlike earlier, when she had greeted me warmly, her voice was now cold. Without even realizing it, I began to think back over my past.

Something I hadn’t resolved…… What on earth was she talking about?

There are so many things that I don’t even know which one she means!