Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Thanks to the coachman going all night, they arrived at Heath before nightfall.

Eric went straight to the sea without stopping at the inn where Chloe was staying. Since today was a good day when the stars were visible, she must have been at sea.

As he expected, she was at the beach.

As she was sitting on the beach, she was facing the rushing waves and the gusting wind. He paused for a moment, gazing at her back. The wind blew too strong, and the night flowed in faster than expected.

He stared at Chloe, who was sitting on the boundary between night and evening, and sunset and starlight.

Her face was emaciated and was extinguishing like a dying candle.

Soon, he made the decision that he couldn’t leave her swaying in the sea breeze any longer, and this judgment set him in motion. He ran over and grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Chloe.”

Did she sense Eric’s presence? Chloe turned her head away, not showing the slightest hint of surprise. She glanced at him.

“Why…”

She opened her chapped lips slowly.

“…are you here?”

It was a calm voice, a voice without any emotion.

Eric felt momentarily choked. At the same time, his heart was throbbing and hurting. He gasped and looked down at Chloe.

“I came because I missed you.”

Eric spoke the words that stayed in his mouth the whole time.

“I missed you so much that I couldn’t bear it, so I came.”

When she finally met his eyes, he could see her blue eyes tremble slightly. Eric clenched his fists.

“You…”

He spoke sparsely.

“…Didn’t you miss me?”

Chloe’s eyes widened again. However, this did not seem to be due to any agitation or change of heart. The extinguished candle dipped in her eyes. Looking at her glow, Eric bit his lip.

“Now you’re here, then what?”

As expected, what came back were just cold words. Feeling that she didn’t really want to see him, he closed his eyes, realizing that she didn’t think of him at all.

“Chloe.”

He opened his eyes again and grabbed Chloe by the shoulder.

“How long are you going to stay like this?”

She gazed at Eric with a grave look.

“Until I die.”

Eric let out a pitiful sigh.

To die… Chloe was dying. Every time he imagined this terrifying future, he felt his breath choke. It shouldn’t be. She should never die. There was no way he could just sit still and watch her soul volatilize like this.

“You will not die.”

He continued.

“Because I will save you.”

Observing the steadfastness on his face, his will to save her, Chloe gave a short laugh. He was a man who wouldn’t listen no matter how many times she spoke… a man who never tolerated her opinions.

Why did she love this man? And why was she still in love…

Chloe lamented her own stupidity but, at the same time, admired herself for being truly unchanging. She shook her head slowly.

“I don’t want to live.”

Eric took a deep breath and sat next to her.

“That.”

The next moment, he grabbed her hand. Not the sleek and lean hands like in the past, but bruised and withered hands.

“Because you have accepted the day you will die. Because you know you’re going to die soon, you don’t want to live. Still, if you can live, if you can not die… you will definitely want to live. I’m sure.”

Chloe, who listened to Eric’s words, wanted to laugh out loud.

…How could he be sure of her life? How could he prevent her death? By what right and by what qualification?

Even though she tried not to think so, she was forced to think again that Eric was responsible for more than half of her body condition, that was, this body that wanted to die.

If Eric had taken care of her a little more carefully, if he had been interested in her, if he had sent a real doctor from the Capital, if he had looked at her a little more properly… had it been so, this situation could have been avoided.

Chloe came to have a grudge against Eric, and it was soon embodied in words.

“I don’t think you have any idea how great my helplessness is.”

“Chloe, that…”

“Still, you wouldn’t even think about it.”

She stared at Eric with a calmer tone than ever, showing off enough voice, expression, and gestures to hurt Eric.

“I wanted to live better than anyone else. Reading romance novels, I lived with the imagination that I could be the main character. Looking back, it was such a stupid imagination, but I was as happy as I was when I imagined it because I was sure I could. I’m using the conviction you speak of here… I am sure.”

As he bit his lip at her excessively cold words, Chloe looked at Eric and continued.

“Even until I married you, that imagination was valid. Since you were the person I fell in love with at first sight, I thought that my married life with you would be as sweet and romantic as in many romance novels… but that wasn’t it.”

“…What did you say?”

Eric slowly opened his eyes. His wide-open eyes are full of surprise and wonder.

“You fell in love… at first sight?”

Chloe breathed in and recalled the past.

The first time she saw Eric. It was the time when she was in a hurry to hide her heart while looking at him, who was shining anytime and anywhere, and the time when she regretted not seeing Eric any more than leaving this beloved academy at graduation…

Recalling those long but short years, Chloe nodded her head.

“Yes. I have loved you ever since.”

“Oh, my God!”

Eric shouted with a white face. He ran his hand over his face and closed his eyes tightly.

…Chloe loved him, too. She said she loved him from the beginning, too.

Upon realizing this fact, he experienced a dizzying experience as if his feet were collapsing.

What if they knew each other’s feelings from the beginning? What would it have been like if they had let go of their inferiority complex, let go of Chloe’s pride, and held hands while acknowledging that they loved each other… to be sure, something so heartbreaking would never have happened.

Eric opened his mouth, feeling his heart tearing.

“I was like that, too. Yes. I know that admitting it now is really foolish and stupid! I, too, have loved you since then. Looking back, it was love. There is nothing more precious than that, that kind of feeling.”

“….”

“Even now, I don’t want to let go of this love I have realized. So Chloe… come back now, please.”

Chloe couldn’t believe the reality of a man with great pride bowing down in front of her.

She sighed, trying to catch her breath, avoiding Eric’s gaze. To be honest, she had to admit it. She was shaking. She had to admit that she had a little bit of a desire to go back holding Eric’s hand, clinging on like this.

Still, admitting it or shaking her heart wouldn’t change anything. She was a woman with some stubbornness, and she didn’t even seem so eager for Eric to defeat this stubbornness.

She shook her head.

“If you really loved me, why did you make me this way?”

“That…!”

Eric reflexively shouted but could not find the words. It was because he could not justify the actions he had done to her. He clearly did wrong to Chloe, and although he was now in remorse… there was no turning back.

Seeing his quivering eyes, Chloe continued.

“Free cheese is only in a mousetrap. I was bitten by a mousetrap once. I don’t want to get hurt again.”

Eric clenched his teeth hard.

“So!”

He shouted once again with earnestness.

“Are you saying you’re just going to die? There must be a way to save you!”

She trembled again, but it was just a moment. Chloe was too old and tired to revive the will to live with this short conversation. She shook her head slowly again.

“If you wanted me to live, you should have done a little better. You, who made me lose all will to live, can’t act like this now.”

Even though Eric opened his mouth, he was still speechless. Chloe laughed briefly as she witnessed the shame, embarrassment, and anger spreading across his face.

“Am I too cold? Do I look too emotional?”

“…Chloe.”

“What can I do? Now I have nowhere to retreat.”

As she slowly raised her body, she gave Eric a quick glance as she folded the blanket she was wrapped around.

“Just go back. It’s cold.”

Soon, Chloe left the place and Eric stared blankly at her as she left.

How could she be so cold-hearted?

He was very surprised to see the changed Chloe, but he had to stop her first. After ending the conversation here, he couldn’t go back, giving up.

“Chloe…!”

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