Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? – Chapter 99

Author: Asternkm

“Is that what it means?”

Ehit’s brows furrowed.

“I’m not the biological daughter of House Ailette.”

“……Dapflen.”

“I said before that I don’t really remember my childhood. Maybe that wasn’t because I forgot. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t even in House Ailette at that time.”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s all in the past—”

“How can it not matter?”

My voice cut him off, rising slightly.

“From now on, I’m going to leave this house, this family. If I’m not even Ailette’s child, then there’s no way this engagement is valid.”

Fortunately, the words that followed came out in a tone even I found strangely dry.

Good. At least my voice didn’t break.

I could feel his gaze growing colder and colder. As if it had turned to ice. As if it had shifted into something like scorn.

“Do you remember the promise you made before?”

His voice was calm, as if my words hadn’t shaken him at all.

I met him with the same calmness.

“You said you would grant one of my wishes in exchange for me granting yours.”

“……”

“Let’s use that wish now.”

His voice did not tremble.

It didn’t sound desperate either. Just calm.

Ehit said, in that indifferent voice,

“Don’t leave.”

“……”

“And don’t bring up breaking off the engagement again.”

I let out a laugh, as if his words were a joke.

“Ehit. You remember the promise you made, right?”

“……”

He looked at me with a stiff expression. He didn’t even ask what promise I meant.

“You said you would grant me one more wish. You said you’d grant anything.”

I smiled with all my strength.

“I’ll use it now. My wish is—end the engagement.”

“That really isn’t a joke.”

I heard Ehit’s quiet breath. To me, it felt like a blade.

After staring at me for a moment, he spoke again.

“Dapflen, I’m not foolish enough to watch a ship sail away and just stand there.”

His voice was cold, impossible to read.

“So I’ll ask you one more time. You will have to take responsibility for your words.”

A firm voice asked me,

“Do you really want to end the engagement that badly?”

My throat felt stuck. I swallowed hard, held on for a moment, then answered.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I just don’t like it. From the beginning, I didn’t want this engagement.”

Ehit murmured “from the beginning,” his voice low. A faint, almost mocking tone mixed in.

“So it was all a lie.”

“Not everything was a lie. But it’s not something I want to continue either.”

Every word felt like a blade scraping against me—my body, my throat, my chest.

While I endured the cuts, I focused on keeping my voice steady.

“Then I’ll take that as your agreement.”

“So you really did hate it that much.”

“…Yes. I don’t like it.”

Ehit ran a hand through his hair.

After staring into the distance for a moment with a hollow expression, he looked back at me.

His gaze was sharp—like anger, like hurt.

“I understand.”

He let out a short, empty laugh. His eyes looked like he no longer cared enough to hold onto me.

It hurt, but it was better that way.

I remembered something a fortune-teller from Herdens once said.

‘What is meant to happen will happen.’

I don’t agree with that. I still believe things can be changed if you try.

But there are things too dangerous to rely on that possibility for. Things you cannot risk losing everything over.

This was one of them.

Last night, before I said this—I had thought about something.

Could Ehit ever become someone who might kill me?

Depending on the situation, could he choose to destroy House Ailette, even lead my family to ruin?

If it were the Ehit I knew… it didn’t seem likely.

But how could I know that for certain?

Could I be 100% sure?

I didn’t think it was baseless hope.

The Ehit now might not do that even if events unfolded like in the original story. He might just open a door for me instead of pointing a blade.

But if that wasn’t certainty—only possibility—then relying on it meant risking everything else.

In that case, I had to choose the safest path.

Even if it meant I got hurt, as long as everyone else was safe.

“……”

I would suffer without Ehit. More than I could imagine.

But if staying led to something worse, if it made everyone suffer…

I couldn’t endure that.

I had to choose what was my best possible decision for Ehit’s sake.

Unfortunately, my “best” decision right now was this.

To end things now, with a shallow wound, in order to prevent a deeper one later.

So I returned to my original answer.

I didn’t want to remain by his side as a ticking time bomb, even if there was a chance I could change things.

It was better for me to become someone from his past.

“Ehit, let’s end the engagement.”

This time, I said the ending I had once been pushed into—but now chose myself.

Ehit, who had been silently watching my face, nodded as if accepting everything.

Behind a hollow laugh, there was no intention left to hold me back.

That was fortunate.

I was glad his feelings hadn’t deepened further.

“So be it. The paperwork will be handled soon.”

Ehit turned away first.

I stayed there long after his back disappeared, standing in the same spot for a long time before finally returning to my room.

And in that room alone, I cried for a long time.

Dapflen had left.

She disappeared without even saying goodbye.

It seemed she didn’t even want to remain in the same city as him—she left Bellachen entirely.

When did she decide that?

Or maybe she had already decided from the very beginning. Just like she said that day.

The one who leaves simply leaves. It was foolish to think otherwise, and perhaps that had been proven once again.

Ehit picked up the white paper on the table with an emotionless face.

A short letter and the Shalia flower bracelet from the engagement ceremony.

Dapflen had left only those two things behind.

“I will take responsibility for everything said in the past.

Just in case, don’t use foresight too often.

And I know you’re capable, but don’t act recklessly. Even if you go out for everything else, please avoid the battle at the Lennon Strait. Also, don’t always wear such a cold expression—try to smile a bit. And, well.

Forget it. You’ll probably do whatever you want anyway.

Anyway, I hope whatever remains of your life is filled with good things. I hope you don’t lose what you want to hold onto, and above all, I hope you stay true to yourself.

Life is short for everyone, so it’s too precious to waste on useless things.

So it means you can forget about me completely. I’m the one who ended things first so you wouldn’t regret it later—so just let it go cleanly.

May the rest of your days be filled only with blessings. Goodbye.”

There was no name at the end.

Ehit read the letter again without expression.

It sounded cheerful, as if she felt no regret at all.

He read it once more, then locked it deep inside a drawer.

Days passed again.

News of the broken engagement between Clowiden and Ailette filled every newspaper. Naturally, new marriage proposals poured in.

It was unexpected that the duke, who once said he would personally choose a partner, remained silent.

It was hard to tell whether that was a good thing or not.

Ehit wondered what would happen if a new fiancée appeared.