“This may sound like an unbelievable story… but you died in the past. I was also killed at the very spot where you were beheaded.”
“…”
“And when I opened my eyes, I found myself five years in the past… I have returned.”
It was a hard story to believe. To have come back from the past—who would believe that?
As she laid it all out, it really seemed like a trivial story. A story of having had misguided beliefs and eventually getting beheaded because of them. In a way, it could be considered a common enough tale. But Kayden listened to that pitiful story without missing a single breath.
“… That’s how it happened.”
Hesitant but determined to finish her story, Diana lowered her gaze and pressed her lips together.
What kind of expression was Kayden wearing right now? She wanted to know, but at the same time, she never wanted to see it.
Before hearing this story, perhaps he might have thought he could understand everything about her. Of course, that didn’t mean Diana underestimated or disregarded his resolve. But this was about death. An eternal end. The conclusion of life. Even though time had rewound, making it as if it had never happened, the fact that Diana, driven by misguided beliefs and greed, had led Kayden to his death would remain as an indelible scar on her heart.
How many people could treat someone the same way after learning such a thing? Those who could weren’t ordinary, and for most people, it would be natural to feel at least a bit of discomfort. But knowing something and not wanting to accept it were different. Even though her mind told her she should understand if Kayden looked at her with a different warmth than before, her heart refused to confirm it with her own eyes.
“Diana.” A low voice settled in her ear.
Diana, like a sinner, kept her gaze down, waiting for the next words. And, as always, Kayden defied her expectations.
“I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
There was no way she couldn’t lift her head with those words. Diana reflexively snapped her head up. What she saw was a face twisted in sorrow as if on the verge of tears.
While Diana struggled to comprehend what she was seeing, a trembling hand gently stroked her neck. Probably right over the spot where the blade had cut in.
“You must have felt so wronged, and…”
“…”
“It must have been scary.” Kayden’s voice was thick as if submerged in water.
That expression, that voice—it drew even more tears from her than before. Diana’s face and knees were suddenly soaked.
No one else in the world would think like this. Even Diana herself believed her past was just the result of her foolish choices. She thought it was a responsibility she deserved to bear because of the wrong choices she had made. But even after hearing that she had killed him, Kayden was only worried about her wounded heart.
“I’m, sob, I’m sorry…”
As the apology and sobs that Diana couldn’t hold back escaped from between her teeth, Kayden pulled her into his arms with even more desperate hands.
“No, I’m the one. I’m sorry I didn’t know…”
Kayden’s hands and arms, which held Diana close, trembled without pause. He bit his lip painfully, where she couldn’t see. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe her story. The idea of not believing her didn’t exist in him from the start. Kayden’s heart ached because he did believe her. It was closer to empathy and love than to pity.
It couldn’t have been a good memory. Betrayed by the only faith she had, unjustly facing death as a result of it—those times and fears had been dredged up by him. If he had known it would be such a story, he wouldn’t have asked to hear it. Even such meaningless regrets crossed his mind.
After hearing Kayden’s apology, Diana shook her head as she buried her face in his shoulder. She spoke through her tears, struggling to form words. “No, it’s me… I drove you to your death…” She paused to catch her breath before finally scraping the deepest parts of her heart and letting the words out. “I dared to hold you in my heart. And for that, I’m sorry.”
Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but to Kayden, it was louder than thunder. He was so startled that he even forgot he was trying to comfort Diana and pulled her away from his embrace.
Kayden looked into Diana’s face and muttered in disbelief. “Just now…”
“Yes?”
“Just now, what did you say…”
Diana hesitated, biting her lip. It was the first time she had ever laid bare her true feelings to someone, so the words didn’t come easily. But even that awkwardness and discomfort couldn’t stop the feelings she had for Kayden. She smiled slightly through her tears and confessed.
“I like you, Kayden.”
“…”
“Maybe from the moment I first saw you all along.”
Diana Sudsfield had always been someone’s ‘something.’ To Rebecca, she was a capable subordinate. To Viscount Sudsfield, she was a pawn to be used. But in front of Kayden, she could always just be ‘Diana.’
He had once subtly asked if she wouldn’t consider joining him, but even that had been more about wanting to become friends. So she couldn’t help but love him, couldn’t help but fall in love. Maybe it was inevitable.
“…”
On the other hand, Kayden found himself unable to even breathe after hearing the confession he had longed for so desperately. He stared blankly at Diana for a long time, then unconsciously moved his lips. “…Because of guilt?”
“No.”
“Then, because you pity me…”
“It’s not that.”
Diana cut him off sharply. But Kayden, still unable to fully grasp reality, continued to repeat himself.
Finally, Diana narrowed her eyes and glared at him as if she was sulking. “Are you pretending not to know because you actually want to reject me?”
“Absolutely not.” Even in his confusion, Kayden responded with a firmness that could have cut through a mountain.
Diana ended up laughing. Her laughter made Kayden, too, let out a deflated chuckle, though he soon grimaced.
“Ugh…”
“…Ah! Your wound!”
As Kayden instinctively looked down at the spot where he was injured, Diana realized she had forgotten about it and quickly got up. She found a small vial in the inner pocket of the hood she had been lying on while unconscious and returned to her spot. She immediately reached for the knot of his bandage.
“Let me undo your bandage.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Do you remember how I treated your wounds on the day of the Founding Day parade? I brought the leftover potion with me just in case. It would have been better if we didn’t have to use it, but…” Diana trailed off in a regretful tone as she removed the bandage from Kayden’s torso.
She cut off a piece of a relatively clean bandage that Kayden had found in the cabin, soaked it in the potion, and gently cleaned his wounds.
Ah, it’s healing. Although she had seen it before, it was still fascinating to watch the wounds heal so quickly.
Diana stared at the wound with wonder, then refocused on treating it. But the patient, Kayden, couldn’t do the same.
“Ugh…”
Every time Diana’s fingers brushed over his bare skin, Kayden trembled, unable to stifle the rather suggestive moan that slipped through his teeth.
Diana paused and looked up at him. Her grip on the bandage unconsciously tightened.
“…Ah.”
In the pale blue moonlight, his ears and the nape of his neck were flushed red, and his eyes, filled with desire, were fixed solely on her. Seeing him like that made it feel as if a fire had ignited in her belly.
The air in the cabin suddenly grew warmer, strangely but undeniably.
Diana struggled to suppress her now ragged breathing as she smiled. “Your wound…” But the words she was about to say were lost as something soft pressed against her lips.
The moment their lips met, the thin thread of reason that had been barely holding on snapped. It wasn’t clear who moved first, but their desperate hands reached out for each other. Their lips crushed together as their tongues entwined and saliva mingled.
There was a bed in one corner of the cabin that was at least in decent condition, but neither of them had the presence of mind to move there. Pushed by Kayden’s strength, Diana eventually found herself lying on the floor. Their clothes were disheveled, and their hands slipped under the fabric. The previously cold fingertips quickly warmed up.
“Diana…”
“Ha, hnn…”
There wasn’t a single part of her body that wasn’t touched by his lips. What had started as endless moans became irregular sobs. The back of Kayden, marked by the struggles for survival, moved relentlessly. Every so often, Diana’s nails would dig into his back, leaving scratches, but it didn’t hurt.
“Ah…!” At some point, Diana let out a sound that was almost a scream and clung to Kayden’s neck. Her fair arms wrapped around his neck trembled violently.
Kayden finally collapsed on top of Diana, gasping for breath after a little more time had passed. A deep sense of fulfillment swept over both of them.
Kayden gently wiped the tears that had streamed down Diana’s face and whispered. “I love you.”
“…I love you too,” Diana responded with a smile, curling up the corners of her lips. Despite his efforts to wipe them away, new tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving long trails.
As Kayden wiped them away, his lips found hers again, pressing into her mouth. Diana, too, stopped crying and pulled him closer to her with all her strength.
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