Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 33

Small as she was, her grip and strength were shockingly strong, and I was helplessly dragged along wherever the child pulled me.

Then, as I was led into a room without really knowing how, I began to replay what I’d just heard in my head.

‘Who? Daddy?’

A child who looked a bit like Ehit and was about twenty years younger than him?

When I looked down at her, the child grabbed me tightly again with her tiny, fern-like hands and pulled me farther inside.

“Stay here for a bit, Auntie. Wait.”

“No, I actually have something I need to—”

The child put a finger to her lips and went “Shh.”

Without listening to the rest of what I was saying, she left the room.

With the soft sound of the door closing, I was left alone inside.

‘Should I… stay here? And where even is this place?’

Looking around, it seemed to be a study. Books filled the shelves from the floor all the way up to just below the ceiling.

I really did have something I needed to do, but as someone who loved books, it was a very tempting space.

‘Should I just take a quick look around?’

The study was huge. The estate itself was enormous, and this place felt like a small library transplanted whole.

‘Should I just drop the seal here and leave?’

That didn’t sound like a bad idea.

I moved farther inside the study, opened my bag, and was just about to take out the seal when—

“……!”

As I walked past one of the bookshelves toward the window, I noticed something and froze in surprise.

The window was open, letting in a breeze. And beneath it—

‘Ehit?’

Ehit was sitting quietly, asleep on a dark brown sofa leaning against the wall by the window.

I approached him without making a sound.

Looking at him sleeping so soundly, a thought crossed my mind.

‘He must’ve been exhausted. Yeah, his complexion was terrible, and the dark circles under his eyes were awful.’

That thought came a bit later. The very first thought I had was this.

‘He was here and didn’t come?’

I’d waited in the reception room for forty minutes.

As I cursed inwardly, Ehit frowned slightly. It was like he could tell I was bad-mouthing him even in his sleep.

His black hair, lightly covering his forehead, fluttered softly in the breeze.

I bent my knees and sat quietly in front of him, staring at his sleeping face.

‘So this is what he looks like when he sleeps.’

I thought he’d look frightening even while asleep, but he was breathing softly, fast asleep.

The situation felt strange. Being in the house of someone who was, at least in name, my fiancé, watching him sleep.

If I hadn’t known about my past life, I might’ve found this moment romantic.

‘Can I really break off the engagement?’

Yesterday, Elzers had asked me about the engagement—about what I hoped for and dreamed of. That same day, Ehit had asked me if I wanted to break it off.

It wasn’t a matter of wanting to. I had to.

What I needed for that was money first, and time to earn it.

Brothers who would hold the family together without letting it collapse in the meantime.

Myself, able to gather money safely, without burning out.

And—

“Please forgive me no matter what happens. Don’t be so harsh and cold.”

A future ex-fiancé who wouldn’t harshly judge my family’s problems, and who—even if he looked down on me—wouldn’t kill me.

‘He really is incredibly handsome.’

Ruined family or not, he really is absurdly handsome.

I was suddenly glad I remembered my past life. Otherwise, I might’ve lost my mind over Ehit’s face and body and given up everything I had…….

‘Stop thinking useless thoughts.’

Right now, the man in front of me wasn’t just a fiancé in name—he was someone who would drive me and my family to ruin and death in the future.

Just because nothing had happened yet didn’t mean nothing ever would. And that handsome face wasn’t going to save my future.

“Phew.”

I took the seal out of my bag.

What was the most natural way to give this back? Would he believe me if I said I found it on the street?

No—would it really be better to return it properly? Wouldn’t it honestly be better to just throw it away?

At that moment, Ehit’s eyelids trembled slightly.

Was he having a nightmare? His expression didn’t look good.

‘What kind of dream is he having?’

Even when he was awake, Ehit rarely looked relaxed—but this was worse.

His neat mouth twisted little by little. I could even hear his rough breathing.

“Ehit.”

Then Ehit grabbed his own neck, as if he were being strangled.

“Ehit!”

“Renia…….”

What did he say? It sounded like he called a name.

But this wasn’t the time to think about that. I hurriedly tried to pull his hand away from his neck.

But the moment my hand touched his—

“……!”

Ehit opened his eyes.

Whatever dream he’d been having, his eyes—just waking—held a trace of sadness.

But the instant his gaze landed on me, it froze cold.

Startled, I tried to stand up, bracing myself on the sofa. If I’d known it was this soft, I wouldn’t have.

My hand sank in and bent awkwardly, and my body tilted toward Ehit.

Just before our faces collided, I caught myself with my other hand.

With our noses nearly touching, I forced a smile and tried to straighten up.

“Hah, Ehit. You’re awa—”

Before I could finish, my body was flipped in an instant, our positions reversed.

A solid knee pressed heavily against my side, trapping me. Without even a moment to blink, the man fixed my gaze on his and looked down at me from close range.

Ehit grabbed my wrist tightly, like he was restraining a criminal.

Trapped between his body and arm, I looked up at him in panic.

“……You’re awake?”

Silence answered me.

Only his gaze—devoid of any warmth—delivered a quiet question.

What were you trying to do?

That fierce stare asked it clearly, pressing for an answer before I could even speak.

I kept my lips tightly shut, then frowned slightly and asked back,

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“That’s not something I should be hearing from an intruder in my study.”

“I’m not an intruder. Your staff let me in. And someone—some kid—guided me here.”

Looking annoyed, he undid a button at his collar. The spot he’d been pressing earlier was red, even bruised.

“What were you trying to do?”

His cold eyes were filled with wariness.

“It looked like you were having a bad dream, so I was just trying to wake you.”

“You weren’t trying to steal a kiss or anything?”

I froze at the sharp gleam in his blue eyes. His tone was openly mocking, his expression stiff.

Instead of answering, I silently reached toward his neck.

“What are you do—”

My hand touched his neck again. A faint, sacred warmth wrapped around the red mark.

Ehit, who’d been about to say more, fell silent. It seemed he hadn’t even realized his neck was injured.

I pressed my lips together and focused on healing.

The room grew quiet. Only footsteps from a distant corridor, our breathing, and the rustle of pages stirred by the wind through the window could be heard.

As the healing finished, I spoke again.

“What kind of dream were you having?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Yes, yes. It’s always like that. I know.”

Maybe my voice sounded irritated. Ehit shot me a slightly annoyed look. But he always grilled me with questions and never shared anything himself.

When I finished, I lowered my hand and lightly patted his shoulder twice.

“Are you going to stay like this?”

“…….”

Ehit was still lying over me, pinning me down.

His cold blue eyes wavered slightly. Seeing that, I felt a small urge for revenge.

Smiling faintly, I threw his own words back at him.

“Oh, were you the one who wanted to steal a kiss?”

Given my situation, the upper hand was always Ehit’s, and I knew that better than anyone. Still, this much petty revenge should be okay.

I could clearly see his gaze shake. My smile deepened.

Yeah, you’re the male lead. This is uncomfortable, isn’t it?

Ehit wasn’t the type to enjoy someone acting like this toward him. In the original story Stone Flower, he hadn’t even initiated affectionate contact with the woman he adored—people even joked that the male lead was “broken.”

So please, hurry up and move.

“…….”

“…….”

Why aren’t you moving?

Move. Why aren’t you moving?

I could see his Adam’s apple move, following the shift in his eyes, but Ehit just stared down at me as if something in him had malfunctioned.

Is he actually broken? What’s wrong with him?

“Ehit?”

And at that moment—

“Miss? Are you in he—”

The door swung open. A servant peeked in, and our eyes met.

“…….”

“…….”

Five heartbeats’ worth of silence passed.

“I—I’m sorry!”

Bang! The door slammed shut.

While Ehit stared blankly at the doorway with a stiff expression, I shoved him away and stood up. I hadn’t thought much of it before, but to anyone else, it definitely looked bad.

Ehit also sat up. From behind his turned head, I heard his voice.

“Why did you come?”