Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? – Chapter 70

Author: Asternkm

Looking at Naya like that, I thought—

Maybe, from my position, it would actually be better to step back and do nothing at all.

After all, if I had confirmed that Naya was not my enemy, that alone was enough.

‘But for those two…….’

Rather than continuing to misunderstand each other, it would be better for them to grow closer.

Ehit didn’t have much time left.

At this rate, Ehit would never clear up the misunderstanding that Naya hated him, and Naya would regret never having conveyed her true feelings.

“Lady Naya. There isn’t much I can do to help, but at least…….”

Naya, who had been idly turning her fork, stopped and looked at me.

Resting one arm on the table, she leaned in slightly, listening.

“Please don’t think that warmth is the same as weakness.”

After talking with her, I could tell.
Naya was the kind of person who thought kindness, gentleness, and goodwill freely given—even at one’s own expense—were signs of weakness.

You could say she was like a high-teen male lead who liked someone but didn’t know how to approach them, and ended up hurting them instead.

“But if I show that side, won’t I lose my authority as a superior? That child might look down on me and grow even more distant.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Lady Naya.”

I didn’t bother adding that they were already so distant there was nowhere further to go.

“I haven’t spent more time with Ehit than you have, Lady Naya, but…… Ehit is actually a bit like you.”

“Me and Ehit?”

“Cold and scary on the outside, but in truth, you both think quite deeply about the people around you.”

“……Is that so.”

“And Ehit sometimes shows kindness, too.”

“That child?”

“Yes. But he’s never once looked weak or ridiculous when he does. If anything, showing kindness makes him seem even stronger.”

Naya, who had been listening closely, rolled my words around in her mouth for a moment before slowly letting them out.

“Do you think…… I could be like that too?”

“Anyone can.”

“Do you think I can?”

“Of course.”

“But just imagining it feels strange.”

“That’s probably because you’re not used to it. Don’t think of it as something big—just try one thing at a time.”

Naya nodded. Her gaze shifted toward the window, where the night had grown deep.

Beyond her cold expression, beyond her thorny words, and beyond the image of Naya I had always believed in without question—

I finally saw her.

Now, the woman standing before me was no longer the terrifying villain from the original story, nor a vile and arrogant mother-in-law or stepmother.

She existed simply as the person I had seen and felt with my own eyes—

Naya Kellen Cloyden.

A mother who loved her son more than anyone, but simply didn’t know how to approach him.

‘Then who was it?’

Who made me doubt Naya and locked me in the storage room?

“Um, Lady Naya. Do you happen to know a servant with dark red, curly hair……?”

“Yes. That servant is the one who led you to that room, right? The only dark red–curly-haired servant I know is Lily.”

“You know her?”

“She worked here a very long time ago. But she should have already been dismissed.”

“Dismissed?”

“She tried to steal from the mansion, so I fired her immediately. There are no exceptions for theft.”

“Lady Naya, then…….”

“Wait. About how you address me.”

“Pardon?”

“I’d like you to call me Mother instead.”

Naya smiled at me with a cold, unsettling grin.

It was the kind of smile that crushed the spirit of anyone who saw it—and I completely forgot what I had been about to say.

Maybe starting by changing that smile would be a good idea, Mother…….

****

“I-I’ll fix it right away.”

“If you’re going to do it, do it now.”

A voice cold enough to freeze the equatorial sea cut through the room.

The investigators of the Second Investigation Bureau knew exactly why their director was so sharp today.

Today was the engagement ceremony of her one and only son.

More precisely—she still hadn’t even left yet, because work had piled up on her.

“That’s enough. We’ll continue from here tomorrow.”

Naya stood up abruptly. The investigators rushed to stop her, but the moment her blazing gaze swept over them, their hands trembled and fell away.

‘I’m late.’

Naya hurried out of the bureau and onto the street. In her rush, she’d even forgotten to have a carriage prepared.

Rather than sending a telegram and waiting, it was faster to just take the tram.

“I’m late, damn it.”

She muttered indifferently while leaning against the tram wall, drawing people’s gazes.

It wasn’t just because of the curse she’d let slip.

A tall woman in the uniform of the Investigation Bureau’s director was rare enough to attract attention all on its own.

Still, Naya had lived her entire life without caring about others’ stares. Instead of the people glancing at her, her eyes turned to the scenery outside the tram.

Then something caught her eye.

A lottery shop on Lugitel Street—the same one she had passed a few days ago.

“…….”

Seeing it, Naya suddenly remembered something she had briefly forgotten.

‘Enric Aileta!’

Naya jumped off the tram just as it was about to depart, then ran straight back to the Investigation Bureau.

‘Just wait three hours. I’ll get you out soon.’

She’d said that—and then completely forgotten.

Naya glanced once more toward the lottery shop on Lugitel Street.

Her mind drifted back to a few days earlier.

A few days ago—

She had seen Enric, Dapflen Aileta’s brother, right there.

****

Next to the lottery shop on Lugitel Street, illegal street vendors lined the road.

From shady fortune-tellers to shops selling counterfeits, those pop-up stalls were giving the Bureau a headache yet again.

Naya had come out personally to inspect the situation.

“Director! Over there!”

“It looks like some shops are already empty. Didn’t we say inspections would be unannounced?”

“……Ah.”

“Did those shops catch on and run? Or did they quietly comply with our bureau’s policy?”

“We really did come without notice, but h-how did they know and leave…… I’m sorry!”

As the adjutant prepared to bow deeply, Naya cut him off.

“Wait.”

Her gaze locked onto two people standing near the lottery shop entrance.

‘The Marquis Helbike’s only son.’

Jemmin Helbike.

A brute so protected by his father’s influence that no investigator had ever properly put him on trial.

This time, though, Naya had a feeling she might finally catch something.

She approached the lottery shop carefully, making sure not to draw Jemmin’s attention.

‘Is the one beside him a servant?’

Their conversation reached her ears.

“If you go tonight, make sure you really enjoy a round, Lord Jemmin.”

A round?

Naya smiled darkly. The marquis’s son always slipped away through connections whenever evidence was unclear.

Maybe this time, there was a way to cut one of those strings.

“Good. They say this drug came from the northern regions, so it’s pretty strong. If I win big this time, I’ll take care of you too.”

Rumors had spread through the Bureau about noble youths gambling with drugs on the line.

Oh? So the marquis’s son was involved in that.

Naya’s smile deepened.

“Who could possibly stand against Lord Jemmin?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Even someone from Cloyden wouldn’t stand a chance. That family’s young master isn’t anything special.”

They were talking about Ehit.

In an instant, Naya’s expression froze.

How dare they speak of her son like that.

“…….”

She almost stormed out, but barely held herself back.

“They say he’s completely wrapped around some girl who’s nothing special either.”

“Ah, that Dapflen Aileta or Leta or whatever? I saw her at a banquet once.”

“What did you think of her?”

Encouraged by the servant’s flattery, Jemmin puffed up and sneered.

“At the party, she looked like the kind of woman who’d climb into my carriage with just one word.”

That was the last straw.

Naya stepped forward. Under imperial law, a punch thrown at someone who openly humiliated another with lewd remarks was considered understandable.

But in that moment, someone else’s hand shot toward Jemmin first—

More accurately, a fist.

A man with light brown hair and green eyes.

“Say that again!”

He glared at Jemmin, furious.

Landing a punch on that scum of a noble?
It was satisfying.

But if left alone, he’d likely rot in prison for years thanks to the Helbike family.

“Hey—”

“Director! Over there!”

At that moment, the illegal vendors began fleeing.

There was no time to hesitate. Naya chased after them. Behind her, she heard the sounds of chaos erupting near the lottery shop.

And when she returned—

“…….”

The area in front of the lottery shop was quiet, as if nothing had happened.

‘How irritating.’

Even if it was officially reported, Helbike’s connections would surely pull his son out again. The man who’d been with him would probably take all the blame.

Naya let out an irritated breath and returned to the Bureau.

A few days later—

“Have you been waiting long?”

“N-No, Lady Naya! Not at all!”

She had found the owner of that fist.

“Thank you, Lady Naya…….”

“No. I need you too.”

After all, he had heard Jemmin Helbike talking about drugs and big bets.

‘And besides…….’

Enric Aileta.

Dapflen Aileta’s brother.

‘This might be a good chance to have a long talk with that girl too…….’