Episode 116

It had been half a month since I returned from the south.

“…….”

I sat in the greenhouse, spacing out.

Sunlight streamed through the glass and warmed my body.

The sound of birds chirping, the scent of flowers. Everything was so peaceful.

“Haa…….”

But my mind couldn’t have been more tangled. In the end, I buried my face in my hands.

I could feel Nella’s worried gaze watching me from a distance, but there was nothing I could do about it.

‘What should I do?’

I absentmindedly bit my fingernail, lost in thought.

There really wasn’t much time left.

Robert was developing the cure, and… I had to leave the Empire!

It was a strange mix of excitement and anxiety.

My mood swung dozens of times a day, and right now, anxiety was winning.

I knew it was the only choice if I wanted to avoid a disastrous ending, if I wanted to save Ludwig.

‘No matter how much I think about it, it’s just not an easy thing to do.’

For the past few days, I had been selecting possible places to live outside the Empire.

Somewhere out of the reach of Bergaus’ influence.

After narrowing it down again and again, I finally decided on the Kingdom of Devar.

It was a neighboring kingdom to the Empire, and the way of life wasn’t too different.

More than anything, the Gescht region of the Kingdom of Devar was said to have such a beautiful sea that it was called paradise on earth.

The land prices were sky-high, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about that right now.

In the end, without even visiting it myself, I impulsively bought a pure white mansion I had only seen in pictures — just yesterday.

When the contract documents arrived this morning by express mail, reality suddenly hit me hard.

‘Is this really the only way?’

If Askan shows up again, I need to grab him and ask one more time.

‘It’s not like I’m being exiled or anything, but what is even happening to me?’

It felt like I was being filtered out like some impurity from the original story.

It left a weird feeling in my chest.

Anyway, I was so busy worrying that I didn’t even notice the time flying by.

I stared blankly at the envelope placed next to the cake on the table.

A few days ago, Robert had sent me a letter saying the cure development was almost complete.

‘He’s not someone who says things he doesn’t mean… maybe I’ll hear good news soon?’

I was thinking that, slowly sipping my tea, when the door to the greenhouse opened and a servant stepped in.

The moment I saw who it was, I shot up from my seat.

It was the servant I had assigned to handle the correspondence with Robert.

“My lady, a letter has arrived from the person you mentioned.”

“You mean from Robert?”

“Yes, as you ordered, I brought it right away.”

I took the letter from the servant and opened it on the spot.

“…….”

Without hesitation, I moved immediately.

The faint flush on my cheeks said everything about how I was feeling.

* * *

Since the lab was located within the estate, it didn’t take long to get there, but I was so anxious that I kept urging the coachman to go faster.

In the end, I arrived in less than thirty minutes, and I saw that a Karsian carriage was already parked in front of Robert’s residence.

I stepped down from the carriage, struggling to calm my trembling heart, and opened the door.

The first thing I saw was a familiar face.

It was Ludwig, standing at the entrance as if he had been waiting for me.

“You’re here.”

“Ludwig! You got here first.”

“I happened to be on my way to the Drenihan manor and stopped by when I heard the news.”

“To the Drenihan manor…? Did you leave something behind last time?”

Because he had been away for several days, Ludwig had been even busier lately.

He would occasionally make time to come visit me, but lately, even those visits had become rare because of how overwhelming his workload was.

Still, the last time we met had only been about a week ago.

“I just… wanted to see you.”

Ludwig smiled lightly and said it without hesitation.

He spoke his true feelings plainly.

My eyes widened in surprise.

Looking down at me, he smiled even more.

“A-are you just going to start saying these things so casually now?”

“I’m only speaking the truth. I never thought not seeing you for just a week would make me miss you so much.”

Ludwig said, locking eyes with me.

“All day, you’re the only thing on my mind. I can’t even focus on work….”

He looked genuinely troubled.

“If you ask me about that, well…”

“Yes, it’s my fault. I lost my heart to you on my own, so you don’t need to worry.”

‘No, I’m totally worrying though?!’

Truthfully, I had been thinking about him all day too.

‘Though… in a slightly different sense…’

The deed for the mansion I had stuffed somewhere in my room popped into my mind.

I sighed quietly to myself, feeling bitter that I couldn’t be as honest as he was.

But Ludwig, as if knowing there was no time to waste, took my hand and said,

“Let’s go. Isn’t this the moment we’ve been waiting for?”

“Yeah. Is Robert inside?”

“He’s been waiting for a while.”

“He said he needed to draw blood one last time to complete the cure.”

“Yes. If all goes well, he should have it finished by tonight or tomorrow.”

Hearing that, I nodded brightly.

‘Right now, let’s just focus on this.’

There’s nothing more thrilling than seeing hard work finally pay off.

And above all, to finally break free from something that had shackled me since childhood.

My heart pounded so hard it almost hurt.

I could feel it beating stronger than usual.

It was right then, just as we started walking toward Robert’s lab.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, my body wobbled.

Thud.

If Ludwig hadn’t grabbed my arm, I would’ve collapsed right there.

“Sierra?”

Barely keeping my balance, I clung to Ludwig’s arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, my legs just gave out, all of a sudden.”

I laughed awkwardly, and Ludwig chuckled too.

“Are you overwhelmed with emotion?”

“Haha, maybe.”

Saying that, I tried to move my legs again, forcing myself to walk.

Maybe all the tension in my body had suddenly released.

But after only a few steps, I sensed something strange.

It felt like my whole body was floating, disconnected from reality.

‘It’s not pain, it’s not dizziness…’

Just a vague, numb sensation, like all my nerves had gone silent.

Maybe it was from all the sleepless nights lately.

I thought to myself that I definitely needed to sleep well when I got home.

That’s when it hit me — a sudden, twisting feeling deep inside.

“……Ugh.”

With the sensation of something burning rising up from within, I yanked my hand free from Ludwig’s and covered my mouth.

“Sierra?”

Ludwig, who had been walking ahead, quickly turned back toward me.

“Cough, kkh…!”

He froze, his eyes wide, as he saw me clutching my mouth.

“Sie…ra…?”

A metallic taste flooded my throat as blood trickled down my hands.

“…….”

I blankly stared down at my clothes, now stained red.

I had occasionally coughed up a little blood before, but this—this was the first time I’d ever vomited blood like a surging wave.

Even I was stunned. My brain froze as I looked back up at Ludwig.

My legs gave out completely.

As I staggered, Ludwig caught me in his arms.

“Sierra!”

Red spread across his white shirt.

‘Damn it…’

Right down that hallway, what I had been waiting for all this time was finally within reach.

But my damn body collapsed right before the finish line.

Seriously…

‘I’m always like this.’

A string of curses ran through my mind.

“Haa, ha…”

Staring up at Ludwig’s twisted expression, my heavy eyelids finally closed.

In Ludwig’s arms, I could feel him trembling.

And when our eyes briefly met before I lost consciousness, I saw it clearly.

Fear — for the first time in his eyes.

It really didn’t suit him at all.

I wanted to tell him, even if it was a lie, that it was okay.

But no words would come out.

In the distance, I heard a door slam open and the sound of hurried footsteps.

“W-what’s going on?! My lady!”

“Sierra!”

It was Robert and Sharon’s frantic voices as they rushed toward me.

“Damn it, Sierra!”

Even Ludwig’s desperate voice calling my name grew faint.

And just like that, I blacked out.