Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? – Chapter 39

Author: Asternkm

“Who could have done something like that…….”

“It’s nothing serious. It seems someone just hid it for a short while.”

“Is that so? Still, I’m really glad you found it.”

“It’s not something for you to worry about, my lady. You were concerned for no reason.”

“No, not at all. It’s only natural.”

Miss Winhen’s face flushed shyly again.

I quietly watched the two of them talking, then simply turned my head away. Whether it was because of the seal or something else, my heart felt unsettled the whole time.

‘Maybe I should just go to another car.’

People were already gathering anyway, and Nyaia might arrive soon too. So before that—

“My lady.”

At that moment, Ehit called out to Miss Winhen again.

I was about to leave, but somehow I became curious about what Ehit was going to say to her.

‘I’ll just listen to what he says, then go.’

I turned the toe of my shoe—already stepping away—back toward Ehit and looked at him.

Ehit spoke in the same gentlemanly tone as before.

“What do you mean by ‘of course’?”

His tone was definitely polite. But his expression……

‘Why does he look so scary……!’

With a cold, expressionless face, without even a hint of a smirk, Ehit asked calmly,

“Didn’t I tell you? This isn’t something you need to worry about. I was simply stating the facts.”

“Pardon?”

Miss Winhen’s eyes wavered. Her clear gaze was filled with unfamiliar confusion.

But Ehit continued, still cold.

“I don’t know you at all. And I don’t particularly enjoy hearing someone I don’t know speak as if they know me well.”

“Well, I…… The navy and the Investigation Bureau interact often, so I’ve heard a lot from my father.”

Clutching the hem of her dress tightly, Miss Winhen continued in a slightly trembling voice.

“I heard about the seal from my father too, and about every incident related to you, Colonel. So I thought I knew you well.”

“So you even heard about such trivial matters from my residence.”

Ehit’s gaze shifted to Baron Winhen. His sharp voice fell quietly but pointedly on the baron.

“It seems the Deputy Director treats investigation cases rather lightly. At this rate, the entire empire will know that my seal went missing.”

The baron’s face reddened.

“N-no, it’s because I knew it wasn’t a serious matter that I mentioned it.”

“So if it’s not serious, it’s fine to spread it around? Is that the Investigation Bureau’s stance?”

The baron had likely been hoping to use this incident to strike up a closer conversation with Ehit.

But Ehit clearly had no intention of indulging him.

“Colonel, you do have a sense of humor, haha!”

“That wasn’t a joke. It was a question.”

“No, ah, that’s not what I meant—”

The flustered Baron Winhen stammered. At this point, I almost felt like I should step in and take his side.

“Yes, yes, it just seems someone hid it. Oh dear, still, what a relief. Who could have done such a thing.”

The baron hurriedly changed the subject, and the conversation quickly shifted to guessing who might have hidden the seal.

Without realizing it, I kept watching them. Then, thinking I should leave before Naya arrived, I turned away.

“Excuse me. I’ll pass through.”

As I pushed through the gathered crowd toward the rear train car, whispers reached my ears from all sides.

“Could it have been Lady Jaiman?”

“Why would she?”

“She’s still young, isn’t she? Maybe she thought the seal was what tied Ehit to someone like Aileta. The engagement document would’ve been stamped with it too.”

Jaiman was Ehit’s younger sister.

After taking a few steps through those whispers, I stopped.

“That does sound possible. She’s young, after all.”

“And she’s a ducal lady. It wouldn’t be strange for her to think everything belongs to her.”

The biased murmurs had already turned into something treated like fact.

Listening to them felt like walking on a road full of thorns, step by step.

‘That’s a misunderstanding. Ehit’s sister did nothing wrong.’

It felt like I was the only one who knew the whispers weren’t true.

My steps froze. Standing there with my hands clenched tightly, I finally shut my eyes and let out a deep breath.

‘Ah, seriously.’

Then I turned back toward where Ehit was standing.

“No. I’m the one who put the seal there.”

All eyes turned to me. Ehit’s included.

Whispers broke out everywhere, people wondering who I was. It seemed no one recognized me as Ehit’s fiancée.

“Dapflen?”

At Ehit’s single word, sharp intakes of breath and gasps echoed around us.

My eyes drifted down and stopped on my own appearance.

‘Come to think of it.’

I was filthy from treating people all day, with blood stains here and there. My face still had things on it too—I hadn’t even had the chance to properly wipe it clean.

I couldn’t have looked more different from Miss Winhen.

That woman is Aileta? So… Aileta stole the seal? Why?

Hearing those murmurs, I thought to myself.

Dapflen, are you crazy? Do you not know your reputation? You know it—so why act so boldly?

People already had their own image of me, and my actions would be interpreted to match it. Just saying I put the seal there would naturally make them think I stole it.

Ehit’s gaze landed on me.

More than anyone else, Ehit was the one I worried about most. He was the last person I wanted to know the truth—that the seal had ended up in my hands.

I didn’t want to be misunderstood, of course, but he was already worried I might act carelessly under the protection of the Cloyden name.

Tightly tense, I called out to him.

“Ehit.”

What should I say?

If everyone else was looking at me like this, how would Ehit see me? It wouldn’t have been strange if he hurled words full of contempt.

“Well, the thing is—”

“Oh, this was my mistake.”

Before I could even begin making excuses, Ehit spoke as if something had just occurred to him.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry. I forgot that you said you would take it.”

He looked so genuinely like he’d only just remembered that even I almost wondered if I had actually said that.

When I just stared at him without answering, Ehit smiled.

“I’ve been busy with work. You understand, right, Dapflen?”

After a brief pause, I replied with an awkward smile.

“……Of course.”

“I told you to rest on the ship. Why did you come back? You must have had a long day.”

Ehit stepped closer and wiped the dark smudge from my cheek. Then he gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Let’s go for now.”

I heard him whisper.

Of course, I had never taken the seal, and Ehit had never forgotten that fact. The only true thing he said was that I’d worked hard all day.

But covering up the truth felt meaningless right now.

At least, not until we could leave this crowd—

Not until it was just the two of us.

****

Ehit led me out of the train. Walking through the field, he stopped and searched for something inside his coat.

From the inner pocket of his uniform jacket, he pulled out a purple handkerchief. After hesitating slightly, he held it out to me.

‘That handkerchief… It’s the one I picked up for him before.’

It was quite worn, yet he still carried it with him. I had thought it must be something important to him.

“Are you not going to take it? Wipe your face.”

“Is it really okay for me to take this?”

“Is there any reason it wouldn’t be?”

“It just… seems important.”

“That’s enough. Just wipe your face.”

I obediently took the handkerchief and wiped my face.

Watching me for a moment, Ehit suddenly snatched it back, as if he couldn’t stand to watch anymore.

‘As I thought… Maybe it was too important to lend to me.’

But instead of putting it away, he held it firmly and started wiping my face himself.

“Mm—what are you doing?”

When I tried to step back, he caught my back and said flatly,

“Stay still.”

“I can do it myself!”

“All day long, then?”

His tone was so firm that I just closed my mouth and shut my eyes tightly. As I stood there obediently, his movements grew a little gentler than before.

When I opened my eyes, Ehit was fully focused on wiping my face. His serious expression—like someone shaping fine pottery—made me feel oddly solemn. Then, remembering what had happened earlier, I spoke as if making an excuse.

“The seal… I really just picked it up by chance.”

“So it’s true that you had it.”

He replied without looking away from my face.

Pouting slightly, I answered,

“It’s true that I had it. But I wasn’t the one who took it out. I really just picked it up.”

“Where?”

“…Where was it again?”

Why did I answer so stupidly? I should have at least thought that much through.

‘But even if it’s true, Ehit wouldn’t believe that Elzers—who hasn’t even been in Bellachen long—just happened to pick it up.’

No matter how real it was.

So I said I picked it up, but since the lie wasn’t perfect, my words tangled.

“Anyway, I went to return it and then dropped it.”