Chapter 002
In the midst of the urgent situation where soldiers were chasing us right behind, learning how to target vital spots that could kill a person in a desperate situation felt entirely surreal, like a dream.
Noticing my condition, the duke carefully grasped my shoulder and met my gaze.
“It’s okay.”
As he slowly patted my shoulder, I felt my trembling gradually subside, like a lie.
Once I regained some stability, I saw the duke’s previously rigid expression soften slightly.
“Thank…”
Just as I was about to express my gratitude,
“There they are! Capture them!”
The soldiers were running towards us. The man pushed me back hard once more.
“We can’t delay any longer. Keep running and don’t look back.”
The man whose complexion had deteriorated dramatically drew the sword from his waist and raised his voice.
Seeing his back drenched in sticky blood, he shouted again at me as I hesitated, taking a breath.
“Go!”
I forced my reluctant feet to move and began to run forward.
“Ugh…”
Tears streamed continuously from my eyes.
By now, the Duke was probably in a state where he couldn’t even stand properly due to the poison.
I ran, sobbing, and soon saw an exit leading outside just a short distance away.
And at that moment:
Thud.
“Gasp…!”
I felt a pain like my chest was on fire, and my breathing stopped for a moment.
Looking down, I saw blood spreading around the sword that had pierced through my chest.
I managed to glance back, and a few steps away, I met the gaze of a man.
“He gave up everything for a woman like this….”
The man, Grand Duke Acsif, scowled at me in annoyance.
‘Could he be talking about the Duke?’
The grand duke looked at me as if I were a bug, clicking his tongue in disbelief.
‘I need to tell him it’s not true.’
If I could just tell the grand duke that he and I had nothing to do with each other right now, he might be able to receive treatment.
But in my fading consciousness, all I could manage was to barely move my lips.
Soon, my vision completely faded to black.
***
I thought I was dead, but…
“Gasp—!”
“Oh my! Lady Dahlia!”
As I felt my body tilt downward, my palm scraped against the ground, creating a sharp pain.
Since I’m dead, I shouldn’t be feeling pain, so what’s going on?
“Are you okay? Oh my! You’re bleeding.”
Moreover, the voice that had been fussing beside me felt strangely familiar.
As I turned my head to face the source of the voice, I was shocked.
“May…?”
Why is May standing in front of me?
She was a maid who had retired to take care of her ailing family when I married Delos and entered the palace.
There was no way May could have died with me.
I quickly looked around, unsure of what was happening.
My room, where I resided until my marriage, evoked a strange and realistic sensation in my body.
And May, who was right in front of me.
“May, why are you here?”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked her.
“Why would I not be? You said you were going to see the dress you’d wear for the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet in five days.”
“Banquet…?”
Could she be referring to that bastard who abandoned me just a few hours ago?
“What birthday banquet is it?”
“Huh?”
May’s expression turned enigmatic as she looked at me.
“Isn’t it a celebration for his twenty-second birthday?”
May appeared to be assessing my response as if to ask, “You’re not really asking because you don’t know, are you?”
“Twenty-second…?”
But I had no time to focus on her expression.
Delos and I were the same age.
And at the age of twenty-four, I had died with a sword stuck in my chest.
As that thought crossed my mind, I shook my head repeatedly and dashed out of the room.
“Oh, Lady Dahlia!”
I heard May calling me from behind, but I ignored her and hurried my steps.
The scenery of the hallway was eerily familiar.
‘Am I dreaming after dying?’
As I wandered aimlessly down the corridor, lost in thought,
“What are you doing right now, Dahlia?”
A strange yet very familiar voice called my name.
“Father…”
When I turned around, there stood my father, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.
It was a face I had only seen in public gatherings after I cut ties with him and left the house due to his opposition to my marriage to Delos.
Even that ceased after my father passed away in a carriage accident following the marriage.
‘Right. This was about the time when my relationship with my family began to deteriorate.’
It was during this period that Delos broached the topic of marriage.
Without any hesitation, I accepted his proposal.
My father, who had been watching me from the side, was deeply angered by my decision.
He had never approved of me dating the notorious Crown Prince, Delos.
“Ah….”
As I reflected on the past, my expression quickly darkened.
I recalled the day I had a huge fight with my father, who strongly opposed my marriage to Delos.
“I will never allow my daughter to marry the Crown Prince!”
“Well, then, I guess I’ll just not be your daughter anymore. Fine! I’ll leave this house today.”
When my father stubbornly refused to give his consent, I ended up severing ties with my family in a fit of madness.
As memories of my father’s wounded expression came flooding back, my eyes began to sting.
‘Dahlia. What on earth have you done?’
I felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness as the scenes from the past flashed by like a panorama.
Standing there in a daze, I suddenly heard a heavy sigh in front of me.
Looking up, I saw my father, his brow furrowed, looking at me.
“Running around the hallway barefoot. What on earth are you thinking these days?”
His expression showed signs of weariness.
It’s understandable that he would assume such a thing, given my state of mind at the time.
I had been acting violently, bristling with thorns, in rebellion against my father, who was urging me to break up with Delos.
I looked at my father with trembling eyes and slowly opened my mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
My father’s eyes widened in surprise as he heard my words, which came out like a sigh.
It was as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
With my head bowed low, I spoke to him again.
“I’m really sorry. It’s all my fault, ugh…”
As I spoke, tears began to well up in my eyes.
The ceaseless tears soon traced a path through the air and fell to the floor.
‘What’s there to apologize now?’
I should have apologized a long time ago.
As I choked back my tears, my father hesitantly approached me.
“Oh, no. It wasn’t that bad… Calm down.”
His face showed clear signs of confusion, mixed with concern for me.
Seeing that only made my sadness swell even more.
How long did I cry and apologize?
“Alright, alright! I understand, so stop crying!”
My father began to soothe me in a much gentler tone, trying to understand why I’m crying.
And soon he added that it was okay to walk around barefoot from now on. When I heard that, I ended up sobbing uncontrollably.
“Waaahh—.”
“What is this…?”
I felt the gazes of the attendants around us, all looking at me with the same shocked expression as my father, but I couldn’t stop crying easily.
***
Six hours later.
I stared blankly at the moon in the night sky and muttered to myself.
“This isn’t really a dream, is it…?”
After crying uncontrollably during the day, I felt something was wrong.
No matter how much time passed, there was no sign of waking up from this dream.
Even when I pinched my cheeks or hit my head with my fist, actions that would make others think I was crazy, nothing changed.
All that increased were my swollen cheeks and the stinging pain.
“Am I really alive again?”
It was a story that no one would believe.
