"What's going on?"
My mouth moved on its own. A strangled voice flowed from my lips.
Rio opened his mouth hesitantly. And from Inside.
"That is... Master."
The words I feared the most flowed out. Rio, who had his eyes tightly shut, urged me.
"I think it would be best to move right now."
My mind went blank as I hurriedly left the procession and boarded the carriage.
"Hail to the heroes who protected the city!"
"Waaaaah! Long live the warriors!"
"You're so cool!"
Cheers from here and there passed by my ears. The voices that had been just like my heart just a moment ago now felt distant, like sounds from another world. The general did not participate in the triumphal procession. What could that mean?
The answer was so obvious that my heart pounded as if it were going to break. If he were to show up, the morale of the islanders would be undermined... Or. Or, in the worst-case scenario.
"We've arrived... Ah, ma'am!"
As soon as I got off the carriage, I lifted the hem of my dress and trotted along. The lobby, which had felt spacious and comfortable and elegant, felt incredibly vast today.
"Ma'am."
Butler Oren greeted me. Cold sweat was dripping down his wrinkled forehead.
"I've been waiting for you. Please come here quickly."
The usually calm butler guided me with an unusually leisurely gait. I quickly followed the butler down the hallway and soon reached the room at the end of the hallway. My heart pounded like crazy. At that moment, a distant voice was heard through the slightly open door.
"Do as I say."
... Ah. The moment I heard the voice, faint goosebumps spread all over my body. It was Dante's voice. Dante was on the other side of that door.
Only after I shook off the worst assumption that he might be dead did I finally breathe a little easier. I quickly approached the door. A voice came through the crack in the door again.
"Just stitch it up. What's the problem?"
It was a strangely languid and slow voice, unlike the one I knew.
"What's the problem, Master!"
The doctor's voice rang out like a scream. I froze in place for a moment.
"This absolutely cannot go on! We need to drain all the toxins and cleanse the wound before-"
"Don't make a fuss, just stitch it up, Doctor."
The fleeting hope faded in an instant, and my heart filled with anxiety again.
Stitching? Toxins? What does this all mean?
I paused for a moment, then gritted my teeth and pushed the door open.
"Hurry up. Before Ariana comes back."
My body froze again at the unexpected sound of my name.
"But, Master...!"
The doctor's anxious voice was followed by a soft sigh.
"I promised. I'd come back safely."
My eyes widened.
"I can't let my wife be branded me as a liar. So stop making a fuss..."
I couldn't listen any longer and pushed open the door. Our eyes met. Dante's hand, which had been rubbing his forehead, fell with a thud.
"Ariana?"
Dante's face turned bewildered.
"Why are you already here?"
I was speechless at the sight in the room. Bloodstains everywhere. Red surgical tools. And Dante sitting in the middle of the room...
'Ah.'
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to break. Dante had red bandages wrapped all over his stomach. I could see a purple wound beyond the torn bandage as if something had happened.
"Oh my, Ma'am!"
The attending doctor clung to me as if I were his savior.
"Welcome. Please persuade the master! Sterilization and treatment are the priority right now, not suturing! If you suture it like that, not only will the recovery be delayed, but he'll be in terrible pain until he recovers!"
"... Don't talk nonsense to Ariana. To someone who has hearing problems."
Dante, who had been frozen in surprise, frowned.
"Oren!"
I called the butler sharply.
"Explain it to me."
"It's nothing serious, and I came back safely, so don't worry and wait a little, I'll come see you soon..."
"Not a single thing."
I took a trembling breath and walked toward Dante.
Only then did Dante try to cover his wound. However, it was already too late. The wound I saw up close was even more horrifying. My body trembled involuntarily. It was a wound that a normal person would not be able to endure without screaming and fainting.
"You're not okay at all. You're not at all like that... Why are you telling such ridiculous lies?"
Dante's eyes opened wide in surprise.
"Ariana. Can you hear a sound?"
"That, that's not important right now."
I said, biting my lip.
"Do as the doctor says, right now."
"Ariana."
His fingers came up and ran over my eyes.
"Don't cry."
"..."
This isn't the time to be saying that. I tried to say that, but sobs threatened to escape my lips, so I clenched my teeth in a hurry.
"This is it."
Dante clicked his tongue playfully as he wiped my eyes.
"I tried to act normal, but I got hurt."
"..."
Even in the midst of all this, I was dumbfounded and just stared at him blankly. How on earth could he say something like that when he looked like that?
"...Stop talking nonsense, and promise me that you'll do as the doctor says."
The doctor nodded with earnest eyes. Dante looked at me and the doctor, clicking his tongue.
"Doctor. Do whatever you want."
"Then let's get started!"
As if he had been waiting, the doctor stepped forward and nodded to his assistants. As soon as Dante gave his permission, the major surgery began. While the surgery was in progress, the Duke's Knight Commander came to see me and explained the whole story. Every story I heard was dizzying. When I heard that Dante, who was fighting on the front lines, was hit in the abdomen by a dagger from one of the enemy's assassins, my eyes closed tightly.
"It was my fault for not being able to properly assist my Master. I'm so sorry."
I let out a sigh of relief in front of the knight commander who bowed his head. After something like that, I went home and tried to act fine. What on earth was I thinking?
After what felt like an eternity, the attending doctor finally came out of the room. Wiping the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead, the attending doctor said the words I had been waiting for for a long time.
"The surgery was completed successfully, Madam."
"... Ah."
Only then did the tension that had gripped my entire body ease a little. I entered the room with Sophie's support. Dante was asleep. His face looked peaceful with his eyes closed. As if he had simply fallen asleep. I stared blankly at him for a long time.
When I came to, all the servants had left the room, and it had become dark outside the window.
'I told you that he probably wouldn't wake up today.'
I thought back to the attending physician's words and leaned my head against the bedside.
"... Ariana."
"Your Grace?"
Dante opened his eyes. I looked up in surprise.
"Are you awake?"
Instead of answering, Dante stared at me and said something strange.
"You're crying again, you."
As he said that, Dante reached out to my eyes. I quickly wiped my eyes with my sleeve and said,
"How are you feeling? The doctor said
You wouldn't wake up today... How's the pain? Are you feeling better?"
"No."
My heart sank at the answer I got.
"I'm dying of pain."
"Really?! I'll call the doctor right now!"
I was startled and tried to pull the rope. But a large hand stopped me.
"What's wrong? The doctor said to call him right away if there's anything wrong with the Duke-."
"No, doctor."
Dante's mouth curled up.
"I think I'll feel better if you give me a kiss"
"How..."
"..."
I opened my mouth blankly.
Only then did I realize that he was joking. can such a joke come out in this situation?
"If you were not careful...."
A shallow gasp escaped my mouth.
"If you were not careful, you could have died."
"Ha. What do you mean by something like this?"
Dante snorted.
"Let it go. As you get older, you just get more and more fussy."
"Too much... sob."
I swallowed my tears as I trembled slightly. How could you say something like that even at this point?
"I think you're being too, too pretentious. Stop it, please. You almost got in big trouble!"
It would have been better if you had just told me that you were hurting as much as you were. Dante chuckled.
"Pretentious? You're the one who's going too far. I'm hurt."
"Just because of something like this?"
He had never once complained, and now he's talking about his hurt for the first time over something like this. I was so shocked that I raised my voice without realizing it.
"You could have really died... because of me."
The words that had been weighing on my mind the whole time flowed out without me realizing it. Dante opened his eyes wide.
"Why you?"
Of course, in the future I experienced before I died, there was no war like this. Corruption was rampant, and the deposed Prince ascended to the throne and became a tyrant, but at least Dante was alive and well, unharmed. If that future changed as a result of my constant movement and Dante was wrong, I thought I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.
Dante blinked blankly after checking my expression and frowned.
"It's probably the opposite. They say your efforts were instrumental in cutting off the enemy's supply."
"It wasn't enough."
I shook my head.
"I had knowledge of the future, but I should have made better use of the weapons that no one else had. I should have acted more cleverly..."
If I had, Dante wouldn't have gotten hurt like this.
"...Ha."
Dante let out a soft sigh and pulled me closer.
"Come here. Stop talking nonsense."
I was dragged away, losing my balance, by a force that was uncharacteristic of a patient.
A warmth that felt warm, even hot, enveloped my whole body. Dante's scent, his body temperature. It seemed that I had missed these sensations for a week more than I thought. Even in the midst of all this, when I saw my heart pounding and beating.
"Ariana. Did I say that I saved you?"
A low voice flowed slowly from above my head.
"No. In fact, you saved me."
What was this all of a sudden?
I blinked blankly for a moment, then immediately had a feeling. What Dante was about to tell was an old story.
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