C104
"It was a misdiagnosis."
The voice that echoed in the bathroom was exceptionally clear, and Asrahan could hear it without any misunderstandings, but comprehension was slow.
"...Really?"
"It was a misdiagnosis. I don't know where you heard it from, but I won't die. I'm perfectly fine," Lariette said, tightly securing the loose towel.
Her voice, raised in anger, had now calmed down. It was because she finally understood why Asrahan had shown such a strange attitude, seeming concerned that she would die and leave his side.
"That's why you followed me and didn't touch me."
It was quite heartbreaking to think that he must have gone through a difficult time. Asrahan still appeared confused, his blue eyes a mix of faint hope and deep anxiety. It was because there was still something suspicious.
"...You didn't cough up blood? Even after seeing the blood in your palm, your face remained calm as if it was nothing, and you even refused to call a new person. What does this mean?"
"Me? Blood?"
"Don't pretend. I saw you spitting blood in the hallway and rushing to the bathroom," Asrahan contorted his face as if distressed by the memory.
If it was a misdiagnosis, he didn't believe there was any reason for her to do that. Lariette stared at him for a moment and immediately exclaimed,
"Ah!" A slight smile crept around her mouth.
A hint of embarrassment seemed to emanate from her.
"It was tomato juice." It was embarrassing for her to see the scene. Lariette smiled awkwardly, while the furrows in Asrahan's brows deepened.
"No, it was definitely blood on the handkerchief," Asrahan firmly denied.
Because he could distinguish the difference between blood and tomato juice after spending almost his entire life on the battlefield. Only then did Lariette understand how all this misunderstanding had arisen.
"How can things get so complicated?"
She shook her head helplessly, as she was dumbfounded.
"What happened is..." Lariette explained the entire situation to him.
She had asked for juice because she was thirsty, and the maid had accidentally broken the tableware, getting blood on the handkerchief and feeling nauseous. To avoid any misunderstandings, they spoke in detail face to face, leaving nothing out.
"If you don't believe me, call the maid and ask her. She must still have a scar on her hand because she cut herself quite deeply. That would be proof."
"..."
"I didn't want to see the priest because there was something else, but if Asrahan is so anxious, you can call him and have me tested immediately, because my situation is not as important as you think."
It was a very simple explanation, and there was no reason for wise Lariette to lie so quickly. When she realized it, Asrahan's face turned as red as a rose. Everything he had done quickly passed through his mind. Suddenly, embarrassment flooded him in an instant.
"Really..."
But the joy outweighed that, the joy of not having to lose her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" His eyes, which had already dried up, became moist.
Even if Lariette teased him as a crybaby, he had nothing to say. Asrahan had never actually cried, except in his early years. Until he met her. So, the reason for tears in his life had always been her.
"Yes, indeed." Lariette's gaze softened.
She reached out carefully and wrapped her hand around Asrahan's face. The towel was about to come loose, but she was no longer embarrassed.
"I promised, I'll be with you forever."
...
"So don't cry," Lariette added, wiping away his tears.
Then Asrahan wrapped his hand around hers, which was touching his face, and kissed the palm of her hand.
Kiss sound.
It tickled like the pecking of a bird. Lariette grimaced in pain and let out a small smile.
"I'm sorry, I dared to doubt you. I was obsessed and upset."
"No, it was a misleading situation. More than that..." Lariette looked at Asrahan.
Before she violently got up from the bathroom and splashed, her white shirt was completely soaked. Wet clothes meant that the skin was exposed at first sight. In other words, beneath the tight shirt, his large muscles displayed remarkable performance, looking ecstatic. Her inherent appetite soared to the top of the sky.
"Can I touch it again now?" Lariette touched Asrahan's thick chest with her fingers before she could hear an answer.
Then her face turned red again.
"Can I hug you, kiss you, and do more things together?"
"Ugh, Lariette..."
"No, Asrahan?" Her eyes curved like a fox.
It was quite unusual to look at him up close, with her face near his chest and her back turned down. When Lariette's warmth spread over the wet clothes, Asrahan's eyebrows twitched, and even a moan escaped one after another.
"Just a little."
"What?"
"For a moment?"
Lariette tilted her head, wondering how she could 'touch a little' during their relationship, but that wasn't what Asrahan meant.
"Just a little, please." He asked again, looking at her with bright eyes.
Just by looking at his red face, rough breath, and forearms with many veins, it seemed like he would devour her right now. In reality, Asrahan was crazy about wanting to take Lariette for himself.
Even when he thought she was sick, his body used to react when she touched him, but now he knew it was a misunderstanding.
He held her sweet lips, bit the soft dunes, and squeezed the slim waist roughly. Asrahan hurriedly bit his lips at the endless imagination. If he thought about it any longer, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to bear it.
"After proposing marriage."
After that, he wanted to establish a relationship with Lariette. It might seem foolish, but if he did, he could formally marry her. It wasn't a three-month contractual relationship. But what if she hates it? It was a frustrating situation for Lariette.
In Astar, she could be tired of his attitude of waiting without stating the right reason, even though the wound was bursting. Asrahan looked at Lariette with a nervous gaze, suddenly anxious. But her face was warm enough to erase the anxiety.
"It's alright, I'll wait."
"If Asrahan said that, there must be a reason."
Lariette laughed and continued.
"Don't make me wait too long."
Asrahan nodded as if possessed. A smile spread to his mouth, stained by her.
"I'll be there."
"I won't rush, but I won't be late either."
He prayed for her to smile happily as she was now and respond that she would spend her life with him as a couple. He would prepare very carefully. Asrahan committed to deeply engraving her sweet smile in his heart.
-------------------------
The next day, Lariette called a new priest for an examination. Asrahan dissuaded her from calling if she didn't want to, but she decided with a firm heart because she wanted to alleviate her concerns.
"Let's begin."
However, when faced with a person in a priest's uniform, her whole body stiffened. Her face was pale, and her shoulders trembled. Apparently, it was a terrifying sight.
"Lariette, are you alright?" Asrahan stopped the new priest, approached her, and asked.
At first glance, it wasn't good; he felt like she was about to faint.
"It's okay, it's okay. Let's try again."
"Don't overdo it, your condition is..."
"It's okay, really."
Of course, it wasn't okay. The image of Doha continuously played out in front of her eyes. Screaming, reaching out to hit herself, she reminded herself of the struggle... There was nothing that wasn't terrible, but that was the worst memory.
"—Alright, please, miss."
A slightly embarrassing first encounter.
"—The important thing is that he was the one who had to die, and the lady is my savior. Just remember that, Rie."
Memories of consoling her in despair over her first kill.
"—Rie, why do you take life so lightly? How can I bear to see you die?!"
After saving her life, he was concerned about that.
"I'm delighted to see you too, it's really good. I missed you a lot."
Perhaps, based on how she looked when she already had feelings.
"I love you, I think I'm going crazy because I love you."
And the memory of confessing that feeling in the midst of an irreversible situation. It was the most painful for her to see when he told her he loved her, more than when he intimidated her. Lariette tightly closed her eyes. Was Doha to blame for being like that? She had thought about it countless times, but the conclusion was no.
He acted unforgivably, and nothing could justify the crime. She regretted thinking of Doha next to Asrahan. That's why she didn't want to face the new priest. But if she truly wanted to be honest, if she wanted to cut off any misunderstandings from the root, she would have to uncover all of that.
The new priest finished examining Lariette's physical condition. Her body still trembled after he withdrew his hand.
"She's fine and healthy! She can get pregnant right away," the elderly priest smiled and said.
"Did you hear that? You can do it now!" Lariette, playfully squinting her eyes, whispered to Asrahan in a low voice, and her effort to conceal her awkwardness was even more heartrending.
After the priest left, Lariette sat on the couch with her lips slightly parted, trying to say what she had been hiding. It wasn't easy to begin. But it was reassuring to see Asrahan sitting by her side, waiting for her to hesitate.
"A few months ago, I visited the clinic because I wasn't feeling well."
It started from the moment she received the wrong diagnosis. The story continued and reached going out with Ashrahan, and she didn't want to die in front of him, so she had to leave. And the story of Doha began.
"Ashrahan said he was going to find me and kill me. I tried not to believe it, but when I saw a woman with pink hair being captured by the knight of Candel, I was scared."
Asrahan listened to her. The mole that had been hiding among the knights had been captured a long time ago. Lariette explained step by step the journey she had taken with Doha.
She discarded the letter she had written to Asrahan, they pretended to be a married couple, shared a room, and enjoyed the scenery together. Although she thought he might be disappointed in her, she confessed everything. There wasn't much movement on his somber face. The only response was to Doha's arrest after kidnapping her, his neat eyebrows trembled with anger.
"...Aren't you disappointed in me?"
"No," Asrahan responded without a second of hesitation. He continued, gazing tenderly into her round eyes, "Why would I be disappointed in you when he deceived you so determinedly? What's wrong with someone who has been deceived?" Asrahan added.
"..."
"He didn't deceive you with ridiculous rhetoric; it was a cunning plan. Furthermore, the mastermind of the plan was Mikhail Doha Bellion. Not many people would be deceived."
"..."
"I would be lying if I weren't jealous, but there's no reason to be disappointed in you. It's just that I'm so afraid you'll suffer from terrible memories," Asrahan's voice was so sweet that Lariette was on the verge of tears.
But she couldn't cry; she had mocked him for crying, so she shouldn't do it herself.
"It must have been a difficult memory, but thank you for thinking of me."
"I'm... very grateful, and I'm sorry. I will never doubt Asrahan again, and no one will deceive me."
"The previous Lariette is gone!"
She sank into his arms, and Asrahan gently stroked her hair with a small smile.
"Don't contact anyone in the future."
"Hahaha!" Lariette unconsciously laughed at the obsession of pretending not to be herself.
When she looked up, she saw Asrahan's face, squinting his eyes and looking at her.
"I won't, I won't."
"Sleep and travel with me."
"Yes, I'll do anything with Asrahan."
Then he smiled with satisfaction and embraced her again, lifting her and seating her on his lap.
"Ah!"
"You're mine, Lariette."
It was a childish line. If others said it, she would have told them where they could find what belonged to them. But when Asrahan said it, it was charming that it was childish. Lariette responded, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yes, Asrahan is mine too."
The sound of their kisses was gentle.
Tags:
ITDHL (Novel)