Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 124

There were still things I needed to talk about with Ehit.

There were so many things left to say. So many futures still lay ahead of us.

For that, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.

“I’m saying that because you look like you mean it.”

Lady Veltia adjusted her position. Then she grabbed my arm and pulled me closer, as if telling me to come nearer.

I moved my chair closer to her.

Lady Veltia placed the back of her hand over mine and let divine power flow into me once more.

“You have quite a strong divine power.”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“At least among everyone I’ve seen, yours is the strongest. With this much, one person should be able to do it.”

Lady Veltia gave me a look as if asking whether I wanted to hear the method. When I nodded, she continued.

“You need to give up nine-tenths of the divine power you possess.”

In other words, she was telling me to give up 90 percent of my divine power.

“This is almost like bringing someone who is half-dead back to life. You have to give up that much to save him.”

Lady Veltia withdrew her hand and folded her hands over the book again.

“The reason I always say there’s no way to do it is because there’s no healer who could actually carry out that method. Honestly, even using all of one person’s divine power wouldn’t be enough. And even if it were possible, there’s no one who would willingly give up all their divine power.”

I was about to say something, but Lady Veltia continued without giving me a chance.

“Well, the ducal family would pay a suitable price, so perhaps someone desperate for money might agree. But as a fellow healer, I wouldn’t want to make someone do that. By the way, what exactly are you to Young Master Cloyden?”

At Lady Veltia’s sudden question, I thought for a moment.

I couldn’t describe my relationship with Ehit using a word that completely defined us, such as ‘fiancée’ or ‘wife.’

But there was still a word that described how I felt about him, and how he felt about me.

“We’re lovers.”

“Yes, that’s how it seemed.”

Lady Veltia raised an eyebrow again.

“You seem to have a reason to save that young master beyond a challenge as a healer or a huge amount of money. That’s why I told you how to save him.”

Lady Veltia finally stopped speaking after talking without pause.

She seemed to wait for what I would say next, but I kept my lips tightly closed.

“Tsk. I went to all that trouble to explain it, but I guess you can’t do it after all.”

Lady Veltia narrowed her eyes as she said that, but that wasn’t why I couldn’t say anything.

I was simply overwhelmed.

“……I can.”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

Lady Veltia looked slightly confused when she heard me.

I suddenly stood up. Then I threw my arms around the startled Lady Veltia and poured out my gratitude with a heart that felt ready to burst.

“Thank you, Lady Veltia!”

“W-What are you doing?”

“If I do that, I can save Ehit, right?”

Throughout everything Lady Veltia had told me, one thought had filled my mind.

Whatever the method was, there was a way to save Ehit.

It meant I could talk to him again after he opened his eyes, and look into those eyes once more.

“Please tell me how to do it. Do I need to make some kind of pill containing divine power? Can I do it right here?”

As all the words I had been holding back suddenly poured out, Lady Veltia looked slightly flustered and asked,

“Yes. But did you actually listen to what I said? I didn’t say you could keep nine-tenths. I said you have to give up all nine-tenths.”

“Yes, I heard you clearly. So if I give up 90 percent of my divine power, I can save Ehit.”

“That’s right. You understand quickly……”

Lady Veltia still looked puzzled by how happy I was, as if I could jump for joy.

But soon, she made me sit down again and explained the method while I struggled to contain my excitement.

“First, you’ll need a pill made from Delakin’s shell. And then……”

I calmed my heart and listened carefully to everything Lady Veltia told me.

But throughout the entire explanation, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to return to Kloyden immediately and take Ehit’s hand in mine.

 

***

 

 

Please wake up today.

It had been a week since I gave Ehit the medicine I made with my divine power.

I didn’t regret giving up most of my divine power at all.

But even after that, Ehit still had not woken up.

“When are you going to wake up? You said we would grow old together. You’re not planning to wait until I’m a hunched-over old lady before waking up, are you?”

I placed the back of my hand against Ehit’s cheek.

I touched his hair and gently traced his eyebrows with my finger.

“Ehit.”

I looked at him lying completely still and spoke.

“I know one future. A future where you and I are happy together. I have no idea what will happen from now on, and I can’t predict what the future will bring. But if Ehit is with me, there’s no way I could ever be unhappy.”

But that future was useless if Ehit wasn’t there.

“So you need to open your eyes soon.”

I waited for a long time for an answer that never came.

“I have so many things to tell you, too. There’s already another whole day’s worth of things since yesterday. And……”

I quietly lay down beside Ehit. Then, as I looked at his sleeping profile, I murmured softly.

“I haven’t even gotten to tell you I love you that many times. I still need to say it ten thousand more times, no, a million times. If you wake up late, I’ll have to spend days and days saying only that.”

I reached out and hugged Ehit.

Whenever I held him like this, I felt as though I became more complete.

It wasn’t simply because I had used nine-tenths of my divine power on him.

It was because he was Ehit.

I fell asleep for a while.

I dreamed that he opened his eyes while I was sleeping and gently touched my hair.

‘If only this were real.’

I didn’t want to wake up, so I squeezed my eyes shut and sank into a deeper sleep.

And after enjoying that happy feeling for a little longer, I slowly opened my eyes to the feeling of warm arms embracing me as I held him.

“Daphlen.”

Ehit was looking at me.

His two beautiful blue eyes were clearly looking at me through his tousled hair.

The firm, warm arms holding me and the voice filled with affection were all truly Ehit’s.

It wasn’t just a dream.

I opened my mouth. I wanted to call his name, but my throat was too tight for my voice to come out properly.

Ehit reached out and pulled me into his arms.

For days, I had always been the one holding him.

But this time, Ehit was holding me.

“Ehit.”

I called his name as if breathing the word into his collar.

Ehit answered by calling my name again.

“Daphlen.”

The days without hearing his voice had felt so long that I wondered if the sound of Ehit calling me now was simply a dream created by my desperate longing.

“I’m sorry for making you wait.”

At Ehit’s words, I bit down hard on my lip.

“Daphlen.”

His gentle voice called my name again.

In the end, I forced myself to smile mischievously and nodded.

Tears were still gathered in the corners of my eyes.

Ehit reached out and wiped away my tears.

I took his hand and pressed my cheek against it.

“Thank you for waking up.”

Everything felt precious, as if I had come back from the dead.

The fact that Ehit was alive like this.

And the fact that I could share this warmth with him.

 

 

****

 

 

As soon as the people of Cloyden heard that he had woken up, they came rushing over, and countless people who knew him continued to visit.

So I had to wait another full day before Ehit and I could finally talk about everything that had happened.

But that time passed incomparably faster than the time he had spent asleep.

Perhaps that was because the time I spent without Ehit had felt like years.

It wasn’t until night that we met again on the terrace in the garden.

It had only been a day since he woke up, so I told Ehit that he should rest, but he firmly refused and came to meet me.

As if the sky knew who had awakened, it was filled with stars as well.

Under the starry night sky, on the terrace, I faced him once again.

It had felt the same that morning when he woke up, but being able to see those blue eyes again still felt almost unreal.

We talked for several hours.

Ehit told me about the dreams he had while he was asleep.

“Daphlen was in almost every dream.”

“What was I like in the dreams?”

“I was rather rude to you.”

Ehit narrowed his eyes sharply.

“I looked at you with eyes as sharp as these. I did, didn’t I, Daphlen?”

For some reason, I felt wronged and protested, “When did I ever do that to you, Ehit?!”

Even after my complaint, Ehit didn’t take back what he had said. Only after I called out, “Ehit!” in an even more aggrieved voice did he finally smile.

“I’m joking.”

“You’re really joking, right?”

“Yes. They were dreams, but they were so sweet. I think I couldn’t wake up easily because I was happy just knowing you were there.”

“……Really?”

“But little by little, I began to realize something. That the real you was waiting for me. And just before I woke up, the you in my dream said it, too. She told me to hurry and come meet the real her.”

“I’m glad my message got through.”

I told Ehit everything that had happened while he was asleep.

Several more hours passed, and when the night had deepened into early morning, Ehit looked at me quietly and said,

“My foresight ability is gone.”

“I see…… Wait, what did you say?”

His voice had been so casual that I almost let it pass.

But it was not something I could simply ignore.

I nodded automatically, and the moment I understood his words, my eyes widened as I asked again.