You Are Dead – Chapter 046
When I woke from the long dream, I was faced with an unbelievable situation.
Why was Cardin—the one I had seen in my dream—here, right in front of me?
More precisely… why was I in his arms?
“Have you woken up?”
Cardin, who had been closing his eyes, asked me. I pressed my lips together and nodded.
Forgetting, for a moment, that he wasn’t looking at me.
“Ah.”
I quickly tried to sit up but slipped.
Panicking as I came uncomfortably close to his face, I scrambled to get up.
Because I had hurriedly risen, my legs wobbled, and Cardin caught me.
“I wasn’t sure if it would be all right for others to know that you collapsed, so I brought you here.”
Ah… it must have been Alec who requested this.
It seemed he had asked him, just in case Fabiban got wind of it.
Cardin slowly stood. I tilted my head upward to follow him.
“Thank you for helping me.”
The fire burning nearby made it obvious that we were in a cave.
Silence settled over the cave where it was just the two of us.
“Um… am I… in your arms, Your Highness?”
Cardin glanced down at the spot where we had been together.
“The floor is cold, and I was worried you might catch a cold.”
“Ah.”
It must have been such a simple act of consideration, just because the floor was cold.
Even now, after I had gotten up, my heart was racing.
Still, I was relieved. At least I hadn’t been clinging to him intentionally.
“I had no ill intentions.”
Knowing him, I nodded and smiled—a bit bitter, a bit relieved.
“I know. Your Highness always shows kindness.”
Cardin frowned for a moment, as if my answer didn’t sit right with him.
“I meant I don’t misunderstand.”
I hurriedly added that, but Cardin didn’t relax his frown.
It seemed like he had some complaint, yet he didn’t respond further.
“And the others…?”
“They separated there. They probably returned to the barracks. Don’t worry—they’ll keep today’s events a secret.”
“Oh, yes. I will.”
Looking outside the cave, darkness had already settled in.
“Fortunately, the rain has stopped.”
I was puzzled, since the sky had seemed clear when I lost consciousness, and he chuckled lightly.
“It seems the gods hold the Saintess in high regard.”
I found myself staring at his smile without realizing it. Realizing our eyes might meet, I quickly erased my expression.
“You don’t believe in gods, do you?”
“Since gods exist, wouldn’t that mean the Saintess does as well?”
I hadn’t expected him to answer that way. Perhaps seeing me use holy power made him believe in their existence.
I smiled faintly, feeling a surge of pride at that moment.
“Were there no more monsters?”
I asked for confirmation, even though I had seen them before collapsing.
“Yes.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You overexerted yourself.”
I had indeed pushed myself, but the fact that I became a useful Saintess kept a smile on my face.
“It’s good that everything’s resolved. Shall we go now?”
The night had grown deep.
We couldn’t stay here any longer, so I began walking.
When I didn’t hear Cardin’s footsteps, I turned slightly and tilted my head.
“Your Highness?”
“Do you collapse when using holy power to that extent?”
I shrugged, still unsure at what point the strain would make me collapse.
“This is actually my first time, so I don’t know either.”
“…From now on, you don’t have to do that.”
He wasn’t exactly praising me, but hearing that made me feel as if my usefulness had vanished, and my smile faded.
“I used my power where it was needed. I am the Saintess…”
“I worry. I worry you might collapse again.”
The little resentment I had felt melted away like snow in spring.
His worry was so strong that even comfort and concern felt sweet.
The moment felt so tender that a bitter memory popped into my mind, and I stepped closer to him.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“How… how do my eyes look now?”
After using so much holy power, I worried if they were truly fine—or if their color had faded.
Cardin gazed quietly into my eyes without answering.
Though holy power still lingered inside me, I worried because this life had many variables.
My time as a Saintess was supposed to last seven years. With my latent power fully unlocked, I had more holy power than before—but today was the first time I had exerted it so much.
When his answer took too long, I called him again anxiously.
“Your Highness?”
“They’re beautiful.”
“Eh?”
“My eyes. They’re beautiful.”
I unconsciously inhaled. Cardin, however, seemed completely unbothered. That made me feel even more embarrassed.
“Did you ask because you didn’t know?”
I waved my hands frantically at his words. Denying it made it seem like I was claiming my eyes were pretty, so I hastily clarified.
“Oh, no! That’s not it! I just wanted to see if the color had changed.”
For a moment, silence settled between us.
Even the black pupils that had once contained me quivered slightly.
Cardin cleared his throat, brushing his brows, and asked,
“Does the color of the eyes change when holy power is used? I haven’t heard such rumors before.”
My pounding heart finally calmed a little.
The eyes he had just called beautiful would eventually fade.
I forced a faint smile, trying to hide the bitterness.
“They say the color fades after all the holy power is used. So I just wanted to check…”
Cardin kept staring, so I smiled deeply and turned away.
“It’s getting late. I’ll go now.”
I left the cave first. Cardin’s footsteps followed after a while.
The forest, damp from the rain, felt cool.
The whole way, there was little conversation between us.
Was it because of what happened in the cave? Or recalling how I looked when my holy power vanished?
I didn’t speak first either.
The awkward atmosphere wasn’t heavy, so I walked while sorting through my thoughts.
Cardin seemed lost in thought as well.
When the barracks came into view, Cardin spoke first.
“The knights of Nicholas probably don’t know that the Saintess used her power or that you collapsed.”
I wondered what conversation had passed between Raymon, Alec, and Cardin while I lay unconscious, but I didn’t ask.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
Perhaps Cardin wanted to ask why Alec tried to hide my power.
Alec’s personality wouldn’t have allowed him to say much, and Cardin didn’t ask me, making it hard to imagine their conversation.
Given the circumstances, maybe they hadn’t revealed their curiosity.
“Today, did Raymon… no, did Prince Nicholas want to go with me?”
“No. I wanted to go.”
When he stayed silent, I added quickly,
“You asked if I could tell by seeing the God’s flower. You gave me an excuse to go there.”
As we walked together, the barracks that had seemed distant now loomed close.
I looked up at Cardin.
“Thank you again today, Your Highness.”
“Shall we go together tomorrow?”
“Eh?”
“If you’re curious.”
If the God’s flower had been there, I would have sensed it. I hadn’t felt it today.
But the villagers would be curious too.
If I didn’t confirm whether the legend was true, they’d risk themselves to go see it.
“Yes. That sounds good.”
“Understood.”
We stopped between the barracks, facing each other.
As I turned to leave, Cardin spoke again.
“Saintess.”
“Yes?”
“Even if the color fades…”
I looked up at him blankly. He avoided my eyes, scratching the back of his neck.
“Even if the color fades, your eyes will remain beautiful.”
I couldn’t answer, and he said no more.
We stood there for a long time under the dim moonlight.
