Chapter 6
What lay before me was a familiar ceiling.
I slowly sat up and turned my head toward the dressing table.
The gift box that should have been there was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an unused golden music box sat alone, abandoned.
“…So I haven’t returned yet.”
My voice cracked unpleasantly. Frowning, I reached for water and fell into thought.
I didn’t know how many days had passed, but seeing that I hadn’t died despite vomiting so much blood, it seemed that, fortunately, the gods had kept their promise.
As I sat quietly, I heard the careful sound of a door opening and turned my head.
“Ah! Miss! You’re awake!”
Wendy, sneaking in quietly to avoid making a sound, looked shocked and rushed inside without even closing the door.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“How can you be fine after drinking wine laced with poison! You’ve woken up after a whole week! Even though we quickly administered an antidote, the doctor said you could have died… Ah, this isn’t the time! I’ll call the doctor immediately!”
“Do so.”
Wendy fussed as she left, returning with an even more panicked doctor.
“A miracle! A miracle! The poison in the wine was basilisk blood! Such a deadly poison that no antidote could work—just keeping you alive is nothing short of a miracle! Ah, thank goodness, thank goodness!”
The doctor, loudly crying and proclaiming the miracle, only calmed down after seeing me eat warm soup and drink a potion.
Once the doctor, who had been the biggest disturbance to my peace, left, the room finally grew quiet.
“Miss, if you need anything else, please tell me. I’ll prepare everything for you!”
Wendy clenched her fists, declaring her resolve energetically.
“Then will you help me stand?”
“Huh?”
“Quickly.”
When I extended my hand, Wendy came over and carefully helped me to my feet.
As I cautiously moved toward the window, I felt Wendy hesitate. I ignored it and pulled aside the curtains.
Sure enough, a man stood straight at the grand entrance, far from the room.
Even amidst the stares of those around him, he maintained a rigid posture. Seeing him, I couldn’t help but laugh, knowing he was exactly as I expected.
“How long have you been standing there?”
‘I suppose ever since I collapsed.’
Wendy hesitated before answering my question.
“Ever since the day after you collapsed, miss. The duke said he would contact us when you woke, but he has come every day.”
I nodded at the expected answer and issued a short command.
“Even if he’s a member of the royal family, I can’t make him wait. Bring him in.”
Wendy, flustered, dashed out, unable to resist my gaze.
Leaning against the window, I imagined Leandros walking in soon and let out a suppressed laugh.
‘How can someone be completely white from head to toe?’
I felt a twinge of pity thinking about how I would color him with my presence—but fate binds people together.
When I opened the door to the magnificent parlor, just as I remembered, Leandros was sitting on the sofa.
Rigid and tense, he immediately sprang to his feet upon seeing me.
“My lady! How are you…?”
His question faltered, unable to continue.
It was natural. Compared to his usual extravagance, my hair long and braided to one side, a thick shawl over thin indoor clothing, a pale face without makeup—it was no wonder his question got swallowed.
“As you can see, I’m not okay.”
My body trembled at even small movements from the lingering effects of the poison, so I had to exert effort. It was bothersome, but since I was still unwell, I didn’t have to pretend.
As I sat across from him, Leandros also awkwardly took a seat.
“I heard your father asked you to stop coming, yet you came every day. Is that true?”
At my direct question, Leandros did not hesitate to apologize.
“I wanted to check on your condition, my lady, and in doing so, I failed to observe proper etiquette. If it upset you, I apologize.”
“Oh, it didn’t upset me at all. I was glad that you cared for me so much, enough to create a space for just the two of us without even a maid.”
Even when I spoke honestly, his expression did not improve.
‘Well, if my words could have made him feel better, he wouldn’t have done the foolish waiting for a whole week.’
A satisfied smile crept onto my face, but he did not return it, offering another apology.
“I heard that the wine you drank contained basilisk blood.”
“Yes, that’s right. The doctor said it’s an extremely deadly poison with no antidote. Just surviving it is considered a miracle.”
My words made his already pale face even whiter.
“They said the wine was specially served to the guest of honor at the banquet. It was an assassination attempt. My lady, you…”
He paused to catch his breath and then continued slowly.
“You acted to prevent the poisoning I would have suffered before the regression, and to ensure I would believe the truth.”
Satisfied with his answer, I smiled and nodded. Then he apologized again.
“I misjudged your intentions, my lady, and am sorry for not trusting you. If you took such an extreme action, it is entirely my fault.”
‘Even in a situation like this, he doesn’t blame others. So upright.’
I had disliked that about him in the past, but thinking of him as a comrade I would walk the path with, it didn’t feel bad anymore.
“Don’t blame yourself too much. It’s the person who tried to poison me who’s at fault, not you.”
“But…”
“And since I’ve teased you up to now, it’s natural you would be suspicious. If you had believed me blindly, you might have been disappointed.”
At my words, Leandros looked confused, unsure how to respond.
“Since we’re here, let’s be honest. If you have anything to say, please say it openly.”
Encouraged by my words, he finally opened his tightly pressed lips.
“I thought, until now, that you disliked me.”
“Really?”
“So I didn’t want to see you happy.”
“I see.”
“And I thought you enjoyed causing me trouble.”
“Not wrong. You did in the last cycle too. You even tried to kill me—though all attempts failed.”
At his words, his face turned pale.
“Oh, was I too honest?”
He stiffened again, seemingly embarrassed, and I erased the smile from my face as if I hadn’t been smiling.
“But if I hadn’t said this first, there would have come a day when you misunderstood my actions.”
“Did I do that in a past life?”
“I don’t want to bring up the past life, but we weren’t on good terms.”
Instead of a precise answer, I deliberately spoke ambiguously and continued.
“From now on, I ask that you never doubt me, no matter what crises we face.”
“You make it sound like I’ll face a life-threatening situation.”
“Because your death brought us here.”
Smiling again, his expression turned serious in a different way.
“May I ask for the details?”
“Of course.”
I slowly told him about my past lives—the cursed relic, dying in a carriage accident, returning, the fleeting joy, the repeated deaths and regressions, and finally the truth I learned by praying to the gods.
‘I can’t show all my cards yet.’
So I deliberately saved the story of the mission the gods would give for later.
“It seems the gods love you very much, Sir Leandros. They even turned back time to save you.”
When I finished, he looked like a man about to collapse from despair.
“Because of me…”
I stopped him immediately, as if he were about to bury himself in guilt.
“Don’t blame yourself. I got the chance to be reborn because of you. I’m glad that the one I’m bound to by fate is you.”
My resolute answer made his blue eyes tremble slightly.
“So don’t make that face. Until now, it was impossible alone, but if we’re together, we can surely overcome anything.”
Then he expressed his firm resolve.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, I will do it—anything at all.”
In his eyes, deep guilt lingered.
“That’s good. I will need your help desperately from now on.”
I clasped my hands together and smiled brightly.
“I want to stay by your side and protect you.”
And I abandoned the wish I had risked even drinking poison to achieve.
“So, will you make a place for me at the temple?”
