Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 52

“Then don’t let me see you standing around like that by yourself again. And don’t just talk about the bamboo forest thing to me.”

“Ehh…….”

With that, Ehit simply shut the door.

“…T?”

Trapped alone in the huge, luxurious room, I just blinked.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

The first morning I opened my eyes at the Cloyden estate.

Naia had come to Bellachen, but it didn’t seem like she was staying at the Cloyden estate.

That was a relief for me. Maybe because I knew the original story, or maybe because of the aura she had, but she was kind of scary…….

After briefly looking out at the garden bathed in morning light, I walked around the estate. Since I’d decided to stay here for a while, I thought I should at least learn the layout.

‘That’s the study. Is that the kitchen?’

A delicious smell was slowly drifting through the air. As if drawn in, I headed that way.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen was Ehit.

“Ehit?”

At my voice, he glanced back. The sight of him wearing an apron perfectly somehow felt mismatched, yet surprisingly suited him so well that it caught me off guard.

“You’re awake.”

“You cook for yourself too?”

“I handle simple things myself. There isn’t a single person who can make food exactly the way I want it.”

That was an extremely picky palate.

But instead of pressuring others to find his preferred taste, he just did it himself, which was very Ehit-like.

Ehit had a more noble aura than anyone, yet he didn’t really show many “noble” behaviors.

‘Like not minding doing things like this himself.’

I quietly watched him prepare the food, then quickly went to wash my hands.

“I’ll help too. What should I do?”

I rolled up my sleeves properly and stood next to him.

Yeah, I’m staying here for free—out of conscience, I should help with something!

Ehit glanced at me. I shone my eyes confidently, feeling like I could do anything.

But Ehit turned his indifferent gaze away and continued what he was doing without answering.

“Ehit? I said I’d help.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

After I asked him to give me something to do about thirty-four times, Ehit tossed something at me and told me to peel it.

“Oh…….”

An apple?

“You can’t peel fruit?”

“N-no?”

Among the few things I wasn’t very good at, peeling fruit was one of them.

Still, since I’d been given the task, I tried my best.

“…What on earth is this?”

“Uh…… it’s an apple.”

Only half the apple remained.

“Ahahaha!”

I laughed awkwardly, but Ehit didn’t.

“I can do other things! Something else!”

This time, Ehit handed me an onion.

I worked hard to peel it, but I couldn’t stop the tears. I thought I’d used up all the tears stored in my tear ducts yesterday, but it seemed I had an underground reservoir of tears after all.

“Sniff…….”

Seeing me, Ehit was left speechless. His shocked expression said it wasn’t even worth scolding me.

“At least I peeled it.”

I shouted that I could do something else, but Ehit didn’t respond.

He just swept a look of disdain over me once, then silently went back to making his own breakfast.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to go!

With a face full of determination, I thought hard and then shouted,

“Then how about making snacks? I know how to bake cookies.”

“I don’t like sweets.”

“Oh.”

When I kept standing in the kitchen, Ehit looked at me with eyes that said I was more annoying than useless.

Only the servants guarding the kitchen door looked troubled.

“……”

I took a step back.

To be precise, among the few things I wasn’t very good at—well, it seemed cooking as a whole was one of them. Not just peeling fruit.

‘Right, let’s do what I can do.’

If I wanted to do something for him, it didn’t have to be helping with cooking!

I hurried back to my room and opened a drawer. Inside, I found some paper and took it out.

‘This should be pretty helpful to Ehit too.’

After laying the paper neatly on a wooden table, I drew a magic circle with a pen. If you sealed holy power inside, it could be used in emergencies instead of healing magic.

In other words, it was like a top-of-the-line emergency medicine.

It seemed perfect for Ehit, who was sensitive about his health and often visited the clinic.

“Phew.”

After making several sheets, I let out a deep breath. It didn’t look like much, but it was a technique that consumed a lot of holy power and stamina.

I plopped down in a chair and rested for about five minutes, then jumped back up. I carefully placed the papers into an envelope and headed downstairs with ambitious determination.

The delicious smell had grown even stronger.

‘Is it done? I should give it to him before eating.’

Holding back my drooling, I entered the dining room connected to the kitchen. Ehit, who was sitting at the table, gestured with his chin toward the seat across from him.

There was another plate with a sandwich placed in front of that seat.

“Wait, is this mine? You made one for me too?”

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Of course I am!”

I quickly went over and sat down. After confirming that I was seated, Ehit began his meal.

“It’s really mine?”

“It would be yours. I didn’t make two because I planned to eat both.”

“I didn’t think you’d give me one. I thought you were just going to eat alone.”

“Do I look that lacking in basic decency?”

“Oh, no.”

Actually, yes—but I waved my hands and pulled the plate closer to me.

As I started nibbling at the sandwich, Ehit lifted his own and asked,

“How many days do you think you’ll be staying?”

“Hmm, until the official residence is repaired, probably three or four weeks…… what is this?”

The moment I took a bite, my eyes widened as I looked it over. Ehit’s dry gaze asked what the problem was.

“What did you put in this? Why is it so good?”

“I told you. There’s no one else who can make it.”

“Still, this is just…… ridiculously good.”

With a serious expression, I took another bite.

Ehit stared at me for a moment with a face that was hard to tell whether he was expressionless, pleased, or annoyed.

“Teach me too. I’ll try making it next time.”

“As if.”

Without a second thought, Ehit shot back that reply and continued eating.

Partway through the meal, he suddenly added,

“All the ingredients are healthy ones too.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’s safe and healthy food without any harmful components. Eat quickly.”

After suddenly adding what sounded like a KC safety certification, Ehit continued his meal with the same flat expression.

Throughout the meal, I kept muttering things like “Wow, this is good,” and “What is this?”

“Are you serious, or just making small talk?”

“Of course I’m serious. When it comes to food, I’m really serious and honest.”

“Only when it comes to food?”

I shot Ehit a sharp look. It almost seemed like a very faint, subtle smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

But just as I tried to look more closely at his face, he finished his breakfast in an instant and started to get up.

“Wait, you’re done already?”

“As you can see.”

“Hold on, just a moment before you go.”

I wiped my hands with a napkin and placed the small navy envelope I’d set aside onto the table.

“Open it.”

Ehit opened the envelope and checked the several sheets of paper inside.

“What is this?”

Three words filled with even more doubt than before.

Well, if you didn’t know, it just looked like paper.

“Think of it as something like emergency medicine. I put holy power into it, so it works for minor injuries.”

“With this?”

“Yes. So you won’t have to visit the clinic so often anymore.”

Right! With this, he wouldn’t come to the clinic as often as last time, using trivial excuses.

That was a side reason, though. The real reason I prepared this was because I wanted to repay Ehit in some way. Really.

Ehit looked at it for a moment, then closed the envelope again without expression.

“Eat your meal first.”

“For the meal, and letting me stay…… it’s repayment for that.”

“Paper? You’re settling it with something like this?”

“Settling it? Do you even know what kind of paper that is? It’s really hard to make. People can’t get it even if they want to.”

“Is that so.”

Why does he always have to sound so mean? Sharing holy power like this was a high-level technique…….

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”

But when I tried to take the envelope, Ehit irritatingly pulled his hand away again.

“I’ll accept it. Payment for this meal.”

Holding up the envelope, Ehit stood and started to leave the dining room.

“Wait, Ehit!”

“What now?”

“This was really, honestly delicious. Thank you for the meal.”

Holding the sandwich in both hands, I smiled and thanked him.

Yeah, Ehit could be annoying, but even in annoying moments, a first-rate person smiles.

“Don’t ask me to make it again.”

That was his reply as he turned away, looking at first-rate me.

The facial muscles holding my smile almost deserted formation, but I barely managed to keep it.

And just like that, Ehit left.

I glared at his back as if lasers were about to shoot from my eyes, scrunching up my face as I thought,

Being first-rate really is hard.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Several days had passed since I started staying at Ehit’s estate.

Flash— I woke up in a wonderful room with a full view of Bellachen’s emerald-colored sea.

Even after seeing it over and over, I still couldn’t get used to the nice room, bedding, and view as I got out of bed.

‘Please let nothing happen today.’

After praying to all the gods of sky, land, and sea, I opened the door to my room.