Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 44

‘Is it only raining here? I wonder what the weather is like in Bellachen right now?’

I’d come far away, yet somehow it didn’t really feel like I’d left Bellachen.

Maybe because the worries I had there, and the person I’d been thinking about all day, were both here with me now.

Anyway, the time to return to Bellachen was drawing closer.

 

 

****

 

 

Screech—the sound of turning screws stopped. Under a sky faintly brightened by the reddish light of dawn, the repairman gestured with his hand.

With a whooo sound, the train released white steam.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Ehit asked the train engineer to allow the fleet members to board, then stepped away. One advantage of a world where just saying the name Cloyden solved everything was moments like this.

Ehit himself rather despised that fact, but he had to admit that sometimes it was the only solution.

He stepped off the train and looked toward the warship anchored at a distance.

Was Dapflen still asleep?

‘So Dellers had a reason for that warning.’

He’d said Dapflen couldn’t handle alcohol, told him to stop her from drinking, and asked him to take good care of her.

To be honest—truly honest—

He’d thought it was a bit overstepping.

Ehit closed his eyes briefly and shook the thought away. He must have been tired, to be thinking like that.

Maybe it was because Dapflen, so drunk, had looked dangerous the whole time.

‘I should get back to the ship first.’

He hadn’t drunk that much yesterday, yet his head ached strangely. Thinking about what happened yesterday gave him an odd, unsettling feeling.

As he left the train, he noticed a middle-aged woman wandering around near it, already up at dawn.

The moment Ehit recognized her, his steps froze. He considered turning back, but she was sharp enough to recognize footsteps.

Before Ehit could even turn the tip of his shoe, the woman turned around.

“You’re here?”

Her tone was relaxed, as if she’d been waiting. Quite different from the forced smile that showed she wasn’t exactly pleased.

His stepmother—Nya, that is—was always like that. A person so calm she never seemed flustered.

Because of that, she could brush off other people’s struggles without a second thought.

Nya pulled up the shawl on her shoulders and walked toward Ehit. When she stopped right in front of him, Ehit glanced at her sideways.

“How about a greeting?”

“Were you on this train?”

“Yes. An accident on the way back—what a perfect ending. So…”

Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Nya asked,

“How is your fiancée?”

“Are you curious?”

Neither of them sounded particularly kind.

Ehit asked the question back and watched Nya’s reaction. Why would someone who normally wouldn’t care about her stepson’s marriage ask something like this?

“Not really. Just making polite conversation.”

“I’ll be going.”

As expected.

Just as Ehit turned away, Nya’s next question stopped him.

“Is she a good person?”

“You said it was just politeness.”

“Then let’s make the greeting a bit longer, since it’s been a while. Is she a good person?”

“You should ask the Duke. He’s the one who brought her.”

Ehit didn’t want to go into details about Dapflen with his stepmother.

Not just because he disliked it—he didn’t even know what to say. Good or bad, it was still Dapflen’s life.

After learning about Dapflen’s illness, Ehit had believed this engagement wouldn’t end in marriage. So even if the Cloyden family learned more about her, there was nothing to gain.

“She’s not from a particularly impressive family. Does she have some other useful quality?”

“If she does, are you planning to make it unusable?”

His voice carried a joking tone, but there was steel underneath.

Nya looked at him quietly, then smiled. Her crossed fingers twitched, full of irritation.

“Of course not. Would it do me any good to earn your dislike?”

“There wouldn’t be anything bad about it either. You’re not someone who worries about things like that.”

With a polite nod and a faint smile, Ehit turned away.

To think Naya had been on this train.

It seemed he’d have to be careful to keep Dapflen and Naya from running into each other.

****

 

 

 

 

I was sitting on the terrace, looking out at the garden. A spring garden in full bloom. Then someone called out to me.

“……Ah.”

Who was it? I knew I was being called, but I couldn’t make out what name they’d said.

When I turned around, a girl with blonde hair tied into a single braid was standing there.

“Big sister?”

I called her that without thinking. My voice sounded young.

Only then did I realize I was in the body of a very young child.

I hadn’t reincarnated into a book character again and possessed a child’s body, though.

I got it. This was a dream.

The moment I realized that, the scene changed.

The blonde girl and a tall couple appeared, then vanished in an instant. This time, another young boy was holding out his hand to me.

In an old room, the boy sitting beside me looked a little smaller than the girl from before.

The child with black hair falling over his eyes handed me something.

“Here. ……Ah.”

He seemed to be calling me too, but again, I couldn’t hear the name.

Why was I dreaming something like this, anyway?

‘It’s a charm that lets you meet the person you want to see.’

The words of the fortune-teller from Herdens came back to me.

Ah—so this was a dream where I could see the person I wanted to see?

‘But all I’m seeing are people I don’t even know?!’

Something felt off. Stranger still was the fact that, when I looked at them, my heart felt tender every time.

Just as I was thinking how strange it was to feel that way toward strangers, the scene shifted again.

And standing in front of me was—

“Dapflen.”

It was Ehit.

“Dapflen.”

He approached with a gentle voice I’d never heard before. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close.

“…….”

As I stood there blinking blankly, my mind white, Ehit spoke.

“May I kiss you?”

 

 

****

 

 

 

I jolted upright.

It felt like I’d jumped up after landing on thumbtacks.

That was all a dream, right? Was I crazy? Why would I dream something like that?

‘What time is it? Where am I?’

That charm had to be total nonsense. Otherwise, there was no way I’d dream of a bunch of strangers—and Ehit too!

Ugh. My head hurt. Right, I’d drunk quite a bit yesterday.

‘And I talked about all sorts of things with Ehit. We even played forehead flicks…’

I traced my memories back. Thankfully, everything seemed intact.

Whew. That was a relief. If I’d lost my memory… who knows what I might’ve said.

Especially since I had plenty to feel guilty about. Not knowing what I’d blurted out would’ve been terrifying.

“Hoo.”

Only after confirming my memory was fine did I look around.

I was inside a cabin. Clean and orderly—somehow it reminded me of Ehit.

‘Is this… Ehit’s cabin?’

A strange, ringing feeling hit me.

I didn’t remember sleeping sprawled out on this bed.

Then where had Ehit slept?

Just then, a knock came from outside.

“Are you awake?”

“Ehit?”

“If you’re awake, I’m coming in.”

The door opened. It still looked like dawn outside. I stared at him, mouth slightly open, at how diligent he was even this early.

So where had Ehit slept?

“G-good morning, Ehit.”

“You don’t look very happy for someone saying that.”

“I do. This is a good face.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth, then asked the real question.

“Where did you sleep?”

“Pardon?”

“Last night. If I slept in your cabin, then where did you sleep?”

At my question, Ehit frowned slightly.

“Don’t you remember?”

“……Huh?”

He looked like he was smiling, but it wasn’t a warm smile. More like a ‘what are you even saying?’ kind of smile.

What did I do yesterday?

Ehit walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

‘No, that can’t be…’

Just him sitting there made the bed feel smaller. Meaning there was no way two people had slept here.

If we had, I’d be stiff and sore all over from being squished. Trapped against Ehit’s solid, thick-looking arm, I probably wouldn’t have been able to breathe.

The moment I finished that logical reasoning, I asked quickly,

“We didn’t sleep in the same bed, right?”

“Is that what you think?”

“…….”

Is that what I think?

Instead of answering, I bit my dry lips and thought again. Just moments ago I’d been sure it wasn’t the case, but his words shook that certainty.

‘Well, someone neat like Ehit probably doesn’t move around much. Maybe sleeping side by side would’ve been fine.’

The bed was narrow, but if we lined up properly, it wasn’t impossible.

Still, a man and a woman sharing a bed always meant something.

I glanced at Ehit, then at myself. At least we were both properly dressed.

While I was thinking hard, Ehit watched me for a moment, then let out a short laugh—the kind that completely disarms people.

That was when I realized what was going on.

I flared up and asked,

“We didn’t sleep here, right? Right?”

“Did you really think we slept together?”

“No? Not at all? I’ve never even imagined that—not even to the very, very tip of your hair!”

“Then that’s good. It would be troublesome if you had.”

“I said I didn’t! Anyway, we didn’t lie down in the same bed, right? There was nothing like that?”

“I said we didn’t sleep. I never said we didn’t lie down.”

“Then that means—huh? What? What did you say?”

“Seems you really don’t remember what happened yesterday.”