Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? – Chapter 56

Author: Asternkm

“……”

The voice that slipped through the wall was quiet, but unmistakably clear.

I stood there for a moment, then opened the door again. Ehit was already gone, vanished down the distant hallway.

I went back into the room and threw myself onto the bed.

There are things that come easily to everyone, and things that are difficult for some people. Something as small as an apology, for example.

Maybe that was why the words he offered only after the door had closed felt unexpectedly heavy.

That night, I lay with my face buried in the pillow, and only fell asleep after a long time had passed.

****

“Boooo—!” With a long blast of steam, the train departed for the capital.

Beyond the window stretched a red autumn forest wrapping around the coastline, vivid and brilliant.

Naya had already left Bellachen with Jaiman, and Ehit and I were sitting across from each other on the train.

Ehit, wearing a white shirt with a fitted violet waistcoat and a black jacket, kept his eyes fixed calmly on his book.

“It’s a paper on the current state of the imperial economy.”

“Huh?”

That was, in fact, the first thing Ehit said to me all day.

He’d seemed like he wanted to say something since morning, hesitating again and again, yet his words were fewer than usual.

And now, this was how he finally spoke to me.

“You kept looking over here. I assumed you were curious about what I was reading.”

I nodded, then lowered my gaze to my own violet skirt. Meria had prepared it for me, and by coincidence, it matched Ehit’s clothes.

“The weather’s nice.”

“The coastal railway from Bellachen to the capital is famous as a sightseeing route. A significant portion of this line’s operating revenue likely comes from this course.”

It was an answer fitting for someone reading a book about economics, and Ehit returned to his reading.

Meanwhile, my mind was restless. Very, very restless.

The scenery of blazing autumn leaves and the sea was beautiful enough that under normal circumstances, I would have been absorbed in watching it pass by.

But right now, my head was filled with what had happened earlier.

Before boarding the train to the capital, I had stopped by the residence office to handle some paperwork.

“Lady Aileta? They said you have returned mail. You should check the post office.”

And at the post office, I found a letter from Enric—no sender listed, but unmistakably his.

It wasn’t long. It looked hastily written, telling me to come to “Villa Reilly” in the capital as soon as I read it.

‘What on earth happened?’

I’d thought things were quiet for too long. I’d hoped no news meant good news—but maybe it was just the calm before the storm.

The journey to the capital didn’t take very long. A few hours, perhaps. Even that felt short as I tried to steady my turbulent thoughts.

The train entered the platform and soon came to a stop. The moment I stepped down, I took a step back from Ehit.

“Um, I want to look around the capital a bit!”

I blurted it out hastily and tried to run off.

“There are things I need to take care of at the residence. You can sightsee after the engagement ceremony.”

“So you go do your work at the residence, Ehit! I’ll just take a quick look around in the meantime!”

“Then let’s go together.”

Ehit stepped closer to me. This was bad.

“Didn’t you say you were busy?”

“It’s something that just needs to be done today.”

“But it’s better to finish it early, right?”

“It’s fine.”

One step back, and Ehit took one step forward.

But in my current situation, I had no intention of going to the Cloyden ducal residence in the capital with Ehit, then sneaking out alone afterward to get to Villa Reilly.

If I was going, it had to be now—alone.

“The tram looks like it’s coming soon! I’ll just take a quick look around!”

“If you’re sightseeing, you should at least take a carriage.”

I tried to dodge the issue, but everything bounced right back against this ironclad man.

In the end, I just blurted it out.

“I want to go by myself. I don’t want to go with you, Ehit!”

It seemed he hadn’t been prepared for that response. Ehit’s expression darkened slightly.

“No—it’s just that you’re a well-known figure. Once the engagement ceremony happens, it’ll be hard for me to walk around freely on my own. So I want to enjoy my last bit of freedom. Please understand.”

With that, I turned around immediately and ran toward the tram stop.

‘He’s not following me, right?’

When I looked back from the tram, I saw Ehit sharply turn his head away.

‘Good. Let’s go, let’s go!’

I didn’t know what had happened to Enric, but if it was something that could affect the engagement ceremony, that would be a disaster.

By custom, both parents and siblings were expected to attend an engagement ceremony. There was even a grim saying that if you broke that rule, you’d only receive half the blessing.

What scared me wasn’t the saying itself, but the fact that it would put the Aileta family at an even greater disadvantage.

We were already at a loss to the point where I wondered why they’d even proposed this marriage to me in the first place—if we only received half the blessing on top of that…

People would be well within their rights to gossip.

‘I can’t let things get worse.’

If I slipped up, the new sprouts that had only just begun to grow might wither away again.

‘That won’t do.’

Holding onto a tram pole as the wind blew in, I rode all the way to the eastern side of the capital.

Villa Reilly was about a ten-minute walk from the Grand Theater in the east.

“May I see Enric Aileta?”

The building seemed to be used for gatherings of some sort.

When I mentioned Enric’s name, the owner tilted his head as if he didn’t recognize it.

“Enric Aileta…… Is he not here?”

“Enric? You’re looking for Enric? Wait—Lady Aileta?”

A passerby spoke to me then. I turned immediately at the familiar reaction.

It was a face I’d seen before when visiting Enric’s place—one of his associates named Gart.

“Well, it’s just that—”

Gart gestured for me to come closer. After checking to make sure no one was nearby, he spoke in a low voice.

“Enric was arrested. He’s in jail right now.”

“……?”

Had I misheard?

“What?”

“He’s in jail. Right now.”

The shocking news—his life already reaching a jail ending—hit me squarely.

“…….”

Thank you for loving the life of Dapflen Aileta up until now…….

“Lady! Are you all right?”

Clutching my fading consciousness, I asked Gart,

“Where do I go?”

Even to my own ears, my voice sounded like all the blood had drained from my body.

****

“……Delphi?”

Enric really was inside a detention cell.

Seeing my brother trapped behind iron bars made my head spin and sent chills down my spine.

“Delphi……!”

Enric sprang to his feet.

His beige trousers were stained black in places, his brown vest filthy, and there was even a dark bruise on his face.

“What happened, Enric?”

Setting aside my headache, seeing a family member locked up like that made my heart sink.

Enric hurried toward the bars and bit down hard on his lip.

“I just… things happened, and I ended up like this.”

“What do you mean ‘things happened’?! Are you saying you didn’t do anything and they just locked you up?”

“Anyway…… it’s nothing serious. Don’t worry about it, Delphi.”

“How am I not supposed to worry? Isn’t this why you called me here?”

“No!”

At my question, Enric stepped back from the bars and shouted.

“Don’t lie. I saw the letter you sent.”

“That wasn’t why!”

“Then what was it?”

“I’ll tell you once I get out of here.”

“How are you planning to get out?”

“That’s……”

“Why were you locked up, Enric? You have to tell me so we can figure something out.”

Frustrated, I glanced around for the guard and then reached through the bars.

I applied a bit of healing treatment to the bruise on his cheek. It would still take time to fade, but at least the pain would ease.

‘At the very least, he has to be out of here by tomorrow morning.’

Not only was he imprisoned, but having a family member unable to attend an engagement ceremony would be a serious disgrace for the Aileta family.

And if he couldn’t come because he was in jail—especially so.

It was ironic for me, someone who wanted to break off the engagement, to worry about disgrace, but I still didn’t want to trouble my parents starting from the engagement day itself.

Our innocent parents probably believed that my engagement to Ehit was progressing smoothly. That expectation alone must have been making them happy.

And I didn’t want to shatter that happiness already.

“Tell me. How did this happen?”

“I just…… got my fortune told while walking down the street.”

“Your fortune?”

“And they said it was the perfect time to buy a lottery ticket. So I went to a lottery shop, and……”

“Did you steal someone else’s ticket?”

“Dapflen, what do you take your brother for? Do I look like someone who’d do that?”

“…….”

“Dapflen, could you answer me?”

Enric shot me a sharp look and continued.

“I just got into a bit of a fight. But unfortunately, the guy turned out to be from a pretty influential family……”