6. Are you... dying?
An Imperial event, maybe the Foundation Day Festival.
Most people in the capital would enjoy the Foundation Day Festival, but for me, a maid, it wasn't a particularly special day.
Foundation Day was no different from any other day. I only swept the floor with a worn-out broom, wiped the desk with a dry cloth, and occasionally straightened my back, which had been bent for a long time.
However, I wanted to spend today a little differently.
It's the last Foundation Day. The word 'last', which pierces my heart, made me unable to stay still.
I was engulfed in a desire to do something special. It was comparable to the strong emotional agitation I felt toward Arwin.
As soon as the desire arose, I lifted my body, which had been sitting for a long time. Once a decision was made, I wouldn't take it back. Because I only had seventy days left to live.
When I hurriedly gathered the money in my possession and left the room, I ran smack into someone.
"Oh my god! (Mommy!)"
I spat out the words most people say when surprised. Then, a stiff voice returned.
"I'm not your mom. There's no way such a handsome man could be your mom."
It was Dalton.
I don't know how he found out my room, but he was holding his clenched fist in the air as if he were about to knock.
"Were you going to knock?"
"As you can see."
"Did you come to find me?"
"As you can see."
We exchanged a few meaningless words. Truly unnutritious conversation.
I closed the door I had opened and stared at him intently. Come to think of it, this was the first time I met Dalton since disappearing with Arwin two nights ago.
Actually, I tried to visit Dalton first yesterday, but in the end, I couldn't go to find him. My back ached so much, and my legs trembled so much. It was the aftermath of the hot night I shared with Arwin last night.
Is Dalton... angry? I wondered if he was really waving his hand in the air out of anger this time.
Then gray dark clouds would loom over my head, and a storm loud enough to sting my ears would strike. I should have worn waterproof clothes.
I asked Dalton carefully.
"Dalton. Are you angry that I left as I pleased that night?"
Dalton raised one eyebrow and tilted his head close to me. He seems to like talking up close.
"That statement is one that greatly disregards the libertine me."
"Why?"
"A libertine does not rebuke a libertine life."
Having said that, he smiled slyly. What that smile meant was predictable even without asking.
The moment the words "With Arwin..." came out of his mouth, I cut him off.
"Didn't you say you were a lecher before?"
"Hmm. The word libertine somehow sounds more beautiful."
I don't know well how the nuances of libertine and lecher differ. However, I realized anew that his face, letting out a long groan as if in agony with his head held straight, is beautiful.
"You just thought I was beautiful, didn't you?"
Dalton smiled a profound smile. His odd eyes directed at me were shining brightly. It looked like a light that would never extinguish.
Since he was pretty enough that I felt sorry even to describe him as beautiful, I nodded my head as there was no way to deny it.
Dalton made a satisfied face. He seemed to feel good because I praised him. He asked me in a much softer voice.
"Iphoe. Where are you going now?"
"To a dress shop."
"Dress? Aren't you working today?"
"Playing hooky."
I worked without resting once in the past days. I didn't use annual leave, nor did I even use half-day leave. Ah, I did go out without permission briefly on the day I was diagnosed that my life had about three months left.
However, in conclusion, I was a very diligent maid, and there was no one to scold me just for playing hooky for a day. If I get scolded, it can't be helped, but I was a person determined to do something special today.
There was no one to stop me. Even if it were a terrifying storm created by Dalton.
"I'll get going first."
As I walked ahead down the hallway, Dalton chased after me. It was truly strange that he, who could control the flow of seasons with a wave of his hand, followed me tagging along three times.
"Then when will we talk about debauchery?"
"When would be good? I think I'll be a bit busy today...."
I wanted to buy the prettiest dress in the world and go to a place I really wanted to visit. A place I couldn't go if not today.
"What are you doing today?"
When Dalton asked as if curious, I stopped walking and stared at him again.
Just as I was contemplating whether to tell him my plan, I felt the air around me becoming thin. Of course, the air didn't actually become thin.
The problem was with me. Because my heart refused to function properly.
The amount of air entering my airway decreased noticeably. I couldn't receive enough oxygen needed to breathe. My heart, refusing to function properly, was delivering only feeble air.
Every time I barely exhaled, it hurt as if my lungs were tearing. Even my vision started to blur. Then, Dalton's beautiful face looked blurry. I staggered inadvertently.
"...Iphoe?"
Dalton grabbed my waist without hesitation and pulled me toward him. I helplessly fell into his embrace. I gasped for breath repeatedly, but as time passed, the amount of oxygen entering my body decreased further.
What I felt at that moment was death.
I thought if I were to die because I couldn't breathe, I wanted to die by Arwin's kiss. I still have seventy days left...
I hunched my shoulders tightly. I felt strength going into Dalton's hand holding my waist.
I closed my eyes tight and tried to control my breathing.
Calm your mind and take deep breaths. Since the day my heart stops hasn't come yet, my breathing will soon find stability. I comforted my mind in that way.
As I resolved to become calm, what came to mind was the golden bird I took care of a long time ago. Is that bird, which flew into the sky spreading its small wings, still alive?
A longing arose for something I had forgotten for a long time. It was a sentiment that didn't match the situation of gasping for breath like a dying person.
As soon as I recalled that bird, my breathing slowly found its place. The pain that had tightened my chest also began to subside. It was a strange thing.
I exhaled a somewhat calmer breath and looked up at Dalton. The face of Dalton I looked at had become quite serious. Had he, who had always been playful, ever made such a stiff face? I couldn't believe it.
The golden and silver odd eyes looking down at me looked somewhat sad. Eyes that made even the onlooker sad.
"Are you sad?"
I asked in a voice mixed with a metallic rasp. My breathing had returned to normal. Enough to make my behavior of acting like I was dying just a moment ago feel meaningless.
Dalton raised his other hand, which wasn't wrapping around my waist, and placed it on my cheek. His touch sweeping my cheek was terrifyingly gentle. He treated me exactly like glass that would break easily if touched.
Dalton, who was silent for a while, belatedly parted his lips. Strangely, a metallic rasp sounded in his voice too.
"Are you... dying?"
His question was words that intuited everything. There was a question mark, but not a bit of doubt was felt. Instead, it only sounded firm.
Did he see the shadow of death emanating thickly from me?
Whatever Dalton saw in me, he had pierced through me accurately. I nodded my head.
Nothing would change even if I confessed honestly to him. I was still a person who would die soon, and Dalton was still just a libertine Archmage.
"Thank you for holding me."
I straightened my body which had been leaning on his chest. Dalton, who had been holding my waist with a strong grip as if he wouldn't let go, let me go easily.
I took a deep breath and took a step forward. My body stumbled slightly, but I thought it would be fine if I walked a few more steps.
When I had walked about three steps, the sound of Dalton following quietly behind me was heard.
"Where do you plan to go after buying a dress?"
Dalton asked as if trying to regain the flow of the conversation. It was a cheerful voice, erasing the metallic rasp heard just a moment ago.
He didn't ask me the question 'Why are you dying?'.
I thought the reason Dalton didn't ask about my circumstances might be because our relationship is a light one where such questions aren't needed.
"A masquerade ball."
"What? The place you were going was there?"
I nodded my head without hesitation.
The masquerade ball held only on the Empire's Foundation Day was a quite big event among nobles. Everyone dances wearing various colorful masks and hiding each other's identities.
Is it just dancing? Dancing led to conversations of the body and also formed new relationships.
The masquerade ball was an event I, a daughter of a fallen Baron family from the outskirts, always envied. Since I am a fallen noble no different from a commoner, I thought I would never have a reason to go to that ball.
But as expected, I was a body that would die soon, and a woman determined to do something special.
"It's not a place I can't go."
"True."
Dalton, following behind me, secretly placed his hand on my shoulder and continued.
"Let's go together."
"...Pardon?"
"If you say you're with me when entering the masquerade ball, you'll be able to enter easily. How about it? Doesn't that spark your interest?"
I looked up at him blankly.
He was smiling a smile that pulled people's hearts as always. As I kept looking at that smile, my interest was sparked by his words.
Truly.
"Is it not awkward?"
"Not at all. You look like a talented woman from a famous noble family."
"If so, that's a relief."
I touched the hem of the dress awkwardly. The texture touching my hand was incredibly good. This will be the dress with the softest texture among the dresses I own.
It was a dress I bought by pouring out my entire salary for a whole month. I thought this level of texture should naturally be felt.
Having bought the dress, I got into a rental carriage with Dalton.
He followed me to the dress shop and waited for me to buy the dress. Of course, he didn't wait solely for me; he killed time by choosing a mask he would use.
I haven't been able to ask yet why he suggested we go to the masquerade ball together. I think I might ask slyly a little later. But it didn't matter even if I didn't ask particularly. Since I wasn't hugely curious about Dalton's circumstances.
Inside the carriage, Dalton sat next to me as if it were natural.
Throughout the carriage ride, I felt Dalton's gaze touching my face stickily. That gaze was so hot I felt like my cheek would be pierced sooner or later.
Eventually, I ended up saying a word.
"Dalton. My face is going to wear out."
"Because you never look at me. I have no choice but to keep looking."
Only then did I twist my head to the side and look at his face. Dalton's odd eyes directed at me looked like the only light inside the dark carriage.
What should I say about his shining gaze? It looked soaked in melancholy. As if meeting a longed-for lover after a long time. As if he had desperately wished for a person like me. It was a strange thing.read more on brightnovels.com