Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 32

It was fine. This was something that could be let slide within the bounds of good manners.

The left side was the tramway anyway, and Dapflen was the sort of person who might dart off at any moment—so it was nothing more than him standing there to block her before she could jump into a tram……

‘What am I doing, damn it.’

Once again, he muttered a curse at himself under his breath. Ehit’s face twisted as he realized he was acting like this without even noticing.

He didn’t like the person he was right now.

 

 

****

 

 

When I returned to the infirmary after sending Ehit off, Masa ran up to me and handed me something.

“Dapflen! This is for you.”

“What is it, Masa?”

“You know your handsome older brother, Elzers? He asked me to pass this on.”

It was an envelope with something inside. A quick glance showed a small item wrapped in paper and a note.

Back in the infirmary office, I sat down and placed the envelope on my desk.

A note—what on earth did he want to say?

I carefully unfolded it. It was longer than I’d expected.

「Dapflen, my colleagues saw you with the colonel.」

I could see that he’d originally written “brother-in-law,” then crossed it out with two lines and corrected it to “colonel.”

「You were holding hands and running side by side—it looked like you were getting along well. I finally feel a bit relieved.

I couldn’t say this to your face, but I was worried you might be getting hurt if things between you and the colonel had grown distant.

Of course, you’ve always been confident, so I thought you’d be fine. Still, an engagement is a major event in life, and you must have your own hopes and dreams about it.

Having someone like the colonel join our family carries great meaning. That’s why I ended up doing something I normally wouldn’t.

I only hope that the colonel becomes someone important to you, and that you also become someone important to the colonel.

—With affection, Elzers.」

 

Contrary to my expectations, the note was filled with sincere words. My heart felt strange.

‘Because my family doesn’t know how this engagement will end.’

Naturally, they assumed a happy ending—that even if things were a little distant between Ehit and me now, we’d eventually reconcile.

As Elzers said, an engagement really was a big event in one’s life.

He’d caused me so much trouble over the past few days, but reading this letter softened my feelings toward him. Even if he didn’t know why I was struggling, the fact that someone cared about me was comforting.

‘Elzers, you should’ve said things like this to my face.’

As my gaze dropped, I noticed a postscript at the end of the note.

「P.S. I happened to pick this up while I was in Bellachen. Don’t tell anyone I picked it up! Just quietly pass it on to the colonel for me.」

Now that he mentioned it, there was something else inside.

I opened the envelope and took it out.

‘What is this?’

The moment I unwrapped the paper, my lips went dry.

‘……’

This is…… a seal?

‘What was stolen?’

‘A seal.’

“…….”

The emotion Elzers had thrown at me dried up before I could even properly receive it.

All that remained in front of me was the stolen Cloyden family seal Elzers had left behind—or perhaps a disaster.

‘Why does this have to be in my hands right now?’

After going through a series of events over the past few weeks, I’d realized something.

In a world where mysterious powers like foresight existed, it wasn’t strange for unbelievably bad luck to exist as well.

 

 

 

****

 

 

“What brings you here today, young lady?” the fortune-teller asked with a gentle smile, her curly orange hair braided neatly.

After hesitating for a moment, I spoke.

“There’s something I picked up. I could return it, or I could not—it wouldn’t really matter either way.”

“Yes.”

“Would it be better to return it?”

Once I said it out loud, it sounded like a question straight out of a children’s ethics textbook.

“No, I mean, I know the theoretical answer, but, um…….”

I cleared my throat awkwardly after asking.

The fortune-teller of Herdens held out a deck of cards toward me.

“Please choose one.”

I drew a card that felt right.

‘Please, let it be a good one!’

Praying to every god I could think of, I looked at the card.

“…….”

It showed a shattered mirror. Not just cracked, but completely smashed to pieces.

Anyone could tell this was a bad card.

The fortune-teller took the card, closed her eyes briefly with a mysterious smile, then spoke again.

“It seems you already know the answer.”

“No, I don’t.”

“What is meant to happen will happen anyway. Don’t try to avoid it.”

“……So it’s better to return it?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

I let out a deep sigh.

‘I was hoping you’d say no!’

I glanced uneasily at my handbag containing the seal.

I’d come out intending to return it, but I wasn’t confident. And it wasn’t something I could ask others about.

That hesitation was why I’d come in here—but now.

Then the fortune-teller pressed something into my hand.

It was a piece of paper infused with lavender-scented oil.

“It’s a charm that calms the mind and brings good dreams. It lets you meet the person you desire in your dreams.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m not buying charms.”

“It’s just a kindness. You looked very troubled from the moment you walked in.”

“Is it that obvious on my face?”

“Don’t think too hard about it. Life has a way of finding its place if you let it flow.”

If I let things flow, it feels like everything will go terribly wrong…….

Looking at me with a cheerfully reassuring expression, the fortune-teller said,

“I can see not only the future, but people’s nature. You have a clear and pure disposition, young lady. You’ll find your path in the end.”

“Thank you!”

Encouraged by her warm words, I stood up with a bit more strength than before.

“Wait a moment, young lady.”

“Yes?”

The fortune-teller shook the payment box with a kindly smile.

After receiving some capitalistic encouragement, I paid the fee and set off for the Cloyden estate.

 

 

 

****

 

 

‘All I have to do is return it.’

I hid in a park overlooking Ehit’s estate, watching the entrance from afar.

I’d gone to the naval base only to learn it was his day off, so I’d come here instead.

‘Just hand over the seal and it’s done! How simple is that?’

It would’ve been better if we’d never talked about the seal at all.

After going on about who would steal such a thing, showing up to say I’d picked one up—it was awkward, to say the least.

‘Even I would find myself suspicious.’

What troubled me more was that I couldn’t be entirely sure my brother had held onto this seal without any ulterior thoughts.

Elzers said he’d picked it up by chance, and I didn’t think he was lying.

No matter how blinded by vanity he’d been, it wasn’t like Elzers would suddenly have the nerve—or the athletic ability—to sneak into a duke’s estate and steal something.

But once the seal was in his hands, there was no guarantee other thoughts hadn’t crossed his mind.

Now that I knew the future from my past life, I’d managed to resolve Elzers’s problem.

‘But if I hadn’t.’

He would’ve been crushed by debt, sold the Cloyden name, and wanted a more certain way out.

And then he would’ve picked up this seal.

‘Maybe the very “plausibility” of this world was designed so that Elzers would pick up the seal. After all, our family was destined for ruin in this story.’

Of course, I had to make sure that didn’t happen now.

After taking a deep breath and rehearsing what I’d say, I headed toward Ehit’s estate.

Getting inside was surprisingly easy.

A servant recognized me immediately and guided me to the reception room. All I had to do was sit on a spacious sofa and wait for Ehit.

“Please wait here. I’ve informed the young master.”

The reception room was so large that just looking around could easily take thirty minutes.

But more time didn’t pass. After about forty minutes, I started to get bored.

I just wanted to hand over the seal and leave.

‘Should I just put it back where it belongs and go?’

Just then, I heard a small child’s voice from somewhere.

“Auntie?”

It was such a cute voice—completely out of place in Ehit’s house—that I thought I was hearing things.

I looked around, but saw nothing.

‘What? Did I mishear?’

But then I heard it again.

“Auntie?”

“Who’s there?”

Holding my breath, I searched for the source.

There was no one else here—so where was it coming from?

“Auntie!”

I heard it again. Still no one in sight—just the voice.

Just as I started to feel scared, I sat back down on the sofa and bent forward to adjust my clothes.

And nearly toppled backward.

“Auntie!”

A little girl with huge eyes was lying under the sofa, peeking out at me with only her face visible.

“Aah!”

I screamed in surprise as if I’d seen a ghost, and the child grinned with satisfaction.

‘Who is this kid?!’

As I tried to calm my racing heart, the child wriggled out from under the sofa.

She looked to be about four or five years old—a girl nearly twenty years younger than Ehit.

‘She kind of resembles Ehit…… but who is she?’

Just then, I heard a cry of “Miss!” from outside the room.

The door flew open and a maid with neatly tied hair rushed in.

“Oh! I’m so sorry.”

She froze when she saw me, then quickly lowered her voice and called to the child.

“Miss! Miss! You were told to stay in your room.”

“By who? Daddy?”

The maid tried to scoop the child up, but the girl slipped away like a slime and hid behind me, tugging on my clothes as she shouted urgently.

“Auntie! Hurry!”

The child bolted toward the reception room exit.

And still being held onto by her, I ended up running along with her, completely caught up in the moment.