Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 66

From the arms holding me tightly, I could hear a heart pounding hard, beating hot and fast.

Maybe Ehit had been worried about me too, at least a little.

Seeing him like that made me want to pat his back.

But I had no strength left in my body, so I just held tightly onto Ehit’s clothes instead.

‘Still… you came.’

I had hoped he would come. And he really did.

“Oppa, I’m tiiired….”

Just then, I heard something from below our legs. When I looked down, Jaiman was wedged awkwardly between Ehit and me.

When Ehit loosened his hold, Jaiman finally slipped free, panting loudly as he ran off to the other side.

“Dapflen!”

“Delphi!”

The noise that followed belonged to my family.

My parents rushed into the room as if they were about to fall over, and the moment they saw me, they burst into tears.

“I’m okay……”

Hearing my barely-alive voice, they started sobbing even harder.

My brothers followed behind, supporting our parents as they approached me.

Adlen looked furious, Elzers was crying along with our parents, and Enric had his lips tightly pressed together, wiping away tears with an angry expression.

“I said I’m okay……”

“Delphi! You little troublemaker!”

“What did I even do…….”

As I let out a weak breath, Ehit lifted me into his arms.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

“I can wa—”

“No.”

He cut me off firmly and stood up.

“Right, Delphi. Let’s go rest quickly, okay?”

“Delphii……”

Listening to my parents’ and brothers’ noisy voices, I left the storage room.

Among the crowd, I spotted Naya, watching me with what looked like a deliberately worried expression.

 

****

 

 

 

I fell asleep while being carried by Ehit.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a bed big enough for at least five people.

“Ughh.”

“Are you awake?”

A sharp medicinal scent tickled my nose.

I could tell just from the smell—this was really high-quality medicine.

A large hand rested on my forehead. With half-open eyes, I looked up at it.

‘It’s Ehit.’

Ehit glanced down at me and asked casually,

“How did you end up in there?”

“A servant here took me there. A woman with dark cherry-colored, curly hair.”

Ehit rang a bell, calling a servant who was outside.

“Bring me any servant with dark reddish hair and curls. Immediately.”

“Yes, young master.”

He looked like he might interrogate—or even torture—them on the spot.

“What did they say to take you there? They didn’t just say they’d show you around the estate, did they?”

“Madam Naya…… said she was looking for me.”

I trailed off at the end.

At the sound of Naya’s name, Ehit’s expression hardened.

‘But… is that really true?’

Did Naya really lock me in there herself?

It was strange. No matter how I thought about it, that hadn’t been the face of someone who locked a person up.

‘And besides that…’

Ehit stood up abruptly.

“I need to see Mother.”

“Wait, Ehit!”

I tried to get up to stop him, but my vision spun. When I grabbed my forehead and slumped down, Ehit hurriedly sat back down.

“What are you doing? Lie down immediately!”

“Don’t go. I’ll talk to Madam Naya myself.”

“Then I’ll have her brought here.”

“No. I’ll speak to her separately. Please, just find that servant first. Okay?”

“……”

“Please, Ehit.”

“Will you really be all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. More than that… I want to wash up.”

“All right. It will take some time to heat the water.”

When he rang the bell again, a servant entered.

“Prepare the bathwater, and get ready to assist with her bath.”

“It has already been prepared. We were told to escort the young lady to the bath whenever she feels comfortable.”

“Whose order was that?”

“Madam gave the order. She said the young lady must have been frightened, so calming herbs were added to the bathwater.”

“Mother did?”

“Yes.”

Ehit didn’t respond for a moment, and I asked the servant to pass along my thanks.

See—this was what felt strange. Not just the expression I’d seen through the vent, but things like this too kept confusing me.

Actions, words, expressions that Naya—at least the Naya I knew—would never do.

Because of that, what I had believed without question started to shake.

Was Naya really a villain? Someone I needed to be careful of and avoid at all costs?

Or was she just someone who was bad at showing kindness?

‘Instead of believing what you think you know, it’d be better to train your eyes to properly see what’s in front of you.’

What I “knew” were things my past-life self had seen in the original story.

And what stood before my eyes now were the people of this world, right here.

Which should I believe?

“Let’s go.”

Ehit stood up and held out his hand toward me. Not knowing what he meant, I reached my hand out—and he immediately picked me up.

“……Ehit!”

Startled, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I can walk!”

“You probably can. But if you collapse again, that becomes my problem.”

“Then just be troubled!”

“I’ll pass.”

There were so many servants we passed along the way. My face burned as I kept my head down.

As I was carried toward the bath, trying to hide my flushed face, I thought to myself—

Everyone in the Cloyden family was just confusing, one way or another.

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

 

 

After washing up, I fell asleep again like I was dead, and only woke up after who knew how much time had passed.

But when my consciousness returned, I felt a presence in the room.

‘Is someone here? Who?’

Still half-asleep, I kept my eyes closed and thought for a while.

‘Wait… this doesn’t feel like just one person.’

I snapped my eyes open. At once, the servants guarding the room all greeted me together.

“Lady Dapflen, you are awake.”

“……?”

I flinched at the perfectly harmonized greeting, like a chorus.

It wasn’t just “not one person.” There were one, two… around fifteen servants surrounding the room.

“We were ordered to serve you with our utmost care while you stay at the estate.”

“By who?”

“We were told not to say.”

“Was it Ehit?”

“……We were told not to say.”

From that moment on, the servants followed me everywhere.

Even stepping out briefly meant a whole crowd moving with me—it felt like the Pied Piper.

‘This is way too uncomfortable!’

There were at least fifteen of them—that meant at least thirty eyes watching me. And whenever our eyes met, they smiled brightly.

Among them was Meria, the most familiar face. Unable to stand it anymore, I quietly approached her and whispered.

“Meria, please take them away.”

“I’m sorry, miss.”

“I’ll talk to Ehit myself. Okay?”

“Meria doesn’t have the authority……”

“Meria, please?”

When I looked at her with tired, pleading eyes, hers wavered.

“Um, uh… s-should I tie your hair again?”

It was a failure.

Back in my room, I forced a smile and hid under the blankets. While I was squirming in frustration, there was a knock at the door.

I knew it instantly—the person who locked me in this sea of eyes, and the one who could free me, had arrived.

“Young master, have you arrived?”

“Is Dapflen inside?”

The moment I heard that from outside, I was already running to the door and throwing it open.

“Ehit!”

When I rushed out, Ehit looked startled and immediately picked me up again, laying me back on the bed before I could say a word.

“You still need rest.”

“I’m fine!”

“You have a slight fever.”

As he tried to straighten up again after laying my head on the pillow, I quickly grabbed him.

“You’re leaving?”

His silence made it obvious—if I hadn’t stopped him, he really would’ve left.

Then why did you even come?!

I tightened my grip on his clothes with both hands.

“Please send them away.”

“No.”

“So it was you who put them here!”

When I asked in a low voice, Ehit pretended not to hear.

“Either way, no.”

Why though?! Wasn’t this way too much, putting this many guards inside the house?

“Hey, Ehit. No matter what, having this many people is excessive.”

“It’s not ‘this many.’ It’s fifteen.”

“That’s still too many! No one in the Empire lives like this inside their own home!”

“This isn’t just anywhere in the Empire. This is Cloyden.”

“Wow. People who aren’t Cloyden must be dying of unfairness.”

Watching Ehit calmly counter everything I said without even blinking made my blood boil.

But as if even that didn’t register, he said,

“We don’t know what might happen. The culprit still hasn’t been caught.”

“Even so.”

“Is there a reason people shouldn’t be here?”

“There is!”

I wanted to say it was uncomfortable, but with servants listening, I felt strangely self-conscious. After all, they were here for my sake.

I rolled my eyes, searching for another answer, while Ehit—annoyingly—ignored my hesitation and said,

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“There is.”

“Then say it.”

“Well……”

He looked like he wouldn’t listen to most answers anyway.

Ehit opened his mouth with an expression that clearly said he’d just reject me again.

Panicking, I blurted out whatever came to mind.

“……Because I want to be alone with you!”