Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 68

On top of that, telling me to treat myself—how heartless…….

“Get up.”

“We’re leaving right now?”

The Duke smiled faintly and left the reception room.

At her single remark, the entire estate sprang into motion. Before much time had passed, both families had finished preparing and gathered in the garden.

I, too, came out into the garden wearing a beige autumn dress that screamed outing, complete with a fedora.

Soon after, I saw Ehit appear in an ivory shirt with an olive vest layered over it. He came to stand beside me.

“Are you really feeling all right?”

“Probably……?”

At my vague answer, Ehit looked ready to walk straight over to say something to the Duke.

I hurriedly grabbed his arm.

“Don’t.”

After confirming that everyone had gathered, the Duke boarded the carriage first.

‘I was recuperating just a moment ago, and now we’re suddenly going on an outing.’

The blue sky certainly made for outing-worthy weather, but still……

Somehow, I had a bad feeling that the closing event of this engagement week would be rather uncomfortable.

‘But where is Yurente Hill?’

Yurente? I felt like I’d heard the name before—but it wasn’t a hill.

 

 

****

 

 

The carriage stopped deep within a forest.

Judging by how my body had been tilted backward the entire ride, we must have climbed a steep uphill road for quite some time. Even after getting off the carriage, we walked for another ten minutes or so.

Under the blue sky, green grass was crushed beneath our feet.

“Huff, huff…….”

Only Naya and the Duke at the front kept up a conversation; no one else spoke.

‘Suddenly hiking…….’

You called this a hill—how is this a hill in any way?

I was almost at the very back of the group. The people of Cloyden seemed accustomed to marches like this, advancing silently.

Ehit, who had been ahead, soon turned back toward me.

He probably thought I might wander off or fall somewhere if left alone.

“I can walk, huff, huff,” I said, holding out both palms as if to stop him.

I was worried he might pick me up again like at the estate.

“I know.”

He said that, but his expression didn’t look convinced.

Ehit repeatedly reached a hand toward me, then pulled it back, as if conflicted, before finally turning away.

“If it gets harder, say so.”

I clenched my teeth and kept walking. And then, at the end of what was supposedly a hill—no, a mountain trail—what appeared before us was……

‘That’s a cliff.’

A sheer cliff that looked as though it could swallow clouds, and far below it, a deep lake whose bottom couldn’t be seen.

‘It is beautiful, though.’

A cool breeze brushed past my cheek, as if welcoming this engagement-commemoration march—or rather, outing.

“So this is Yurente Hill?”

“Who said that? A hill?”

“The Duke did…….”

“You were fooled by Grandmother.”

I stepped a little farther forward, shivering at the sight of the terrifying cliff whose depth was impossible to measure.

Looking over, I saw Jaiman holding Naya’s hand and walking right along the very edge of the cliff.

‘Hey—what if he falls?!’

Just watching made my mouth go dry. Maybe that was why I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“One, two!”

Jaiman was chanting as he walked.

“Wow, it’s amazing! Mother, this is incredible!”

Exclamations poured nonstop from the child’s mouth. Just what kind of view was he seeing from there?

I was curious—but there was no way I’d dare go over there alone.

“It’s fun!”

Jaiman came trotting back inward. His face was flushed red, his eyes sparkling as he excitedly showed off what he’d seen to both me and Ehit.

“Is it that amazing, young lady?”

“Yeah!”

“Jaiman, that’s too casual.”

Ehit shot Jaiman a sharp glance as he corrected him.

“It’s fine.”

“No, it isn’t. This is when he needs to learn proper forms of address.”

For a moment, I imagined Jaiman all grown up.

Would there still be a time when this child and I talked like this? After a broken engagement, staying close like that would probably be difficult.

“A grown-up Jaiman… I am curious. It’d be nice if I could see that.”

I murmured while imagining a future I probably wouldn’t be part of. By then, Ehit might not even be in this world anymore.

‘Then the time I spend talking with the people of Cloyden like this wouldn’t really exist at all.’

I suddenly realized I was wearing a rather wistful expression. I hurriedly smoothed it away into a smile and looked at Ehit.

“We’ll be able to see it, right? In a few years, of course…… Ehit?”

Ehit abruptly turned his head away.

What was that? His eyes looked red.

“Ehit.”

“The wind’s strong. My eyes sting.”

The wind was strong, but not enough to sting your eyes. I looked at him quietly, but Ehit kept his head turned, refusing to look my way.

Was it because of what I’d said? After all, Ehit wouldn’t be able to see Jaiman grown up.

“……I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Ehit didn’t know that I knew about his illness. And with his pride, I couldn’t tell him—or explain how I knew.

“Just… lots of things.”

Only then did Ehit’s gaze return to me. They really were red—far too much to blame on the wind.

“Just enjoy the view.”

Ehit turned away again and gently nudged me forward.

When I turned my head that way, I saw Naya this time holding the Count of Cloyden’s hand as he walked along the cliff’s edge.

“Wow, this view really is something else.”

As I stared blankly at several people admiring the scenery, Naya’s gaze shifted toward me.

“Curious?”

“Huh?”

Naya gestured for me to come over.

When I just stood there blinking, she walked up to me and held out her hand.

“I’ll hold you. Try walking.”

At her offer, I froze for a moment. I felt Ehit’s gaze shift toward Naya as well.

“Go on, Dapflen! Try it! Your future in-law is showing you a rare sight!”

From afar, my parents were cheering at what looked to them like a harmonious scene between in-laws and children.

“Uh, I…….”

What should I do?

The one holding out her hand to me was Naya. Naya—the villain of the original novel.

This was a sheer cliff. If she let go of my hand here, I would die instantly.

If Naya said I’d slipped, no one would doubt her.

My lips went dry. Her sneers and cold words from the story flashed through my mind.

“…….”

But that wasn’t all that came to mind.

The next moment, I remembered the kindness she had shown—the words that sounded as if she truly worried about and thought of Ehit and me.

Was Naya really a bad person?

Even in the original story, she’d always acted as if nothing were wrong in front of Ehit.

The version of her I’d seen—maybe that, too, was all an act.

“…….”

Naya’s gaze stayed fixed on me.

Seeing my wavering eyes, she pulled her hand back.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I only wanted to give you a nice experience. I won’t force you. It’s just…….”

“No!”

But still.

In the end, I decided to try trusting Naya.

“Please help me, Madam Naya.”

I held out my hand to her.

Ehit grabbed my shoulder. But I turned to him and smiled.

I just—really just—wanted to try believing.

That she was someone who wanted to be a good mother to Ehit, but was simply clumsy at it.

What I had seen and heard with my own eyes. My instincts. What I would have chosen if I hadn’t known the original story.

It might have been reckless—but I wanted to believe in those things and follow them.

She took my hand, and I stepped onto the cliff.

A place where the wind struck my cheeks twice as cold, where the depth below was dizzyingly vast.

“Don’t worry. I’m holding on tight.”

Leaning on words that might have been sincerity—or might have been a mask—I took a step.

One step. Then another.

Soon, the breathtaking view beneath the cliff came into sight.

“…….”

A tranquil-looking lake, and beneath it, a deep hole visible only from this spot.

Inside that black hollow, contrasting with emerald-blue water, schools of fish glowing with a pale violet light swam together.

I swallowed a gasp without realizing it. It was a sight I’d never seen in my life.

It was several times more magnificent than the willow spectacle the prince had once shown me at the palace lake.

‘This is the kind of view that belongs in a book called 100 Things You Must See Before You Die.’

A strange tension coexisted within me—the tension of standing atop a sheer cliff, and the tension of not being able to be absolutely sure that the owner of this hand wouldn’t let go.

“Look over there too, Dapflen.”

At Naya’s words, I turned my gaze northwest.

And in that instant—

“Ah……!”

My body tipped downward.

Flap— a bird took flight. I felt my foot leave the ground.

The sheer cliff. The sky pulling away.

Fear surged back—fear I’d felt somewhere like this before.

Had I fallen like this once before?

“Dapflen!”

Several voices struck my ears at once. My mind went white, and even those sounded like a distant ringing.

“…….”

But the next moment, Naya’s arm, which had been holding me, yanked me back hard.

Ehit, who had been standing close by the whole time, practically threw himself forward and pulled me into his arms.

“……I-I’m sorry.”

I was the one who apologized.

I’d nearly fallen, but it wasn’t Naya’s fault. I’d just been tense, and when the bird suddenly flapped up, I’d been startled and misstepped.

‘Almost died after seeing just one thing from 100 Things to See Before You Die…….’

“Dapflen! Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

My family rushed over in panic—but I wasn’t injured at all.

If anything, the injured ones were Ehit and Naya.