I Thought I Didn’t Have Long To Live!

The incident began with Lariette's frustration. She was so happy when she arrived at Candel Mansion, but soon her mood turned sour. After Asrahan disappeared, leaving behind a sweet kiss, she regained her senses and realized that she had been deceived by him.

It was impossible for him to be so restrained and take what he wanted with a violent kiss. Asrahan's suggestion to use a different room made complete sense. If he said it wasn't that bad, it would be a lie, but it was good for her condition, and having the right timing seemed to help them maintain a healthy lover's relationship.

So, the reason Lariette was frustrated wasn't because she hadn't agreed; there was another reason. On the second night of her arrival at Candel Mansion, they looked at each other and started their physical relationship with ease, drowning each other in champagne. There was a lover's atmosphere from the start, but there was no awkwardness. It began with a handshake, which soon turned into a passionate kiss, and their lips met with a loud sound filling the room.

"Uh, Asrahan..." Lariette showed a bewildered face, whispering his name, her voice filled with nasal sounds.

She kissed him, but he felt hot. In front of Lariette's sweet eyes, Asrahan tightly gripped her wrists and kissed her again, his body ached, and his movements were more intense than they had just been.

As he took her lips more aggressively, Lariette touched his thigh with her hand to maintain balance. It was a semi-instinctive act, but it was a great stimulus for Asrahan. Veins bulged in his temples, and tendons protruded from his arms, even their mixed breath grew heated. Dark nights, subtle lights, moderately high doses of champagne, and a bed nearby. It was a perfect condition to move forward.

"This lighting, temperature, humidity... perfect!"

Lariette's heart raced with anticipation.

"Lariette," even Asrahan looked at her with lust, his voice as low as possible.

She hoped he would grab her waist, her heart pounding. But the action that followed was something she didn't expect.

"I'm going to bed now."

"Y-yes? Yes?"

"I've been doing paperwork all day, and I'm a bit tired. I'm going to bed early," Asrahan smiled gently and lifted his body.

It was a composed response, as if they hadn't just passionately kissed.

"...?" Lariette seemed horrified.

In her memory, Asrahan was a man who always took control of her and was busy going to bed, but now he seemed different.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what, I mean..."

"Is that all?"

Desperately, Lariette swallowed the question that lingered in her throat. Then she smiled, trying not to let it bother her.

"Goodnight! Hahaha."

"Yes, have a good night too, Lariette," despite the awkward greeting, Asrahan smiled calmly and left.

So Lariette, who was left alone in the room, took a blank step and sat on the bed.

"Well, if you're tired, you can... It hasn't been resolved, and it hasn't fully recovered yet..."

She tried to think as positively as possible, but still, she regretted it. Finally, Lariette fell asleep, hitting only the pillow.

----------------------

If it had ended quickly, she wouldn't have felt so frustrated. Asrahan had ignored Lariette's flirting many times. Kissing was fine, but if she tried to go beyond that, it was beyond her position even if she had a strange excuse.

"This situation... feels strangely familiar."

Lariette thought to herself as she ate alone in the spacious dining room of Candel Mansion. Asrahan had managed to slip away from her, who continued pressing on without giving up. It was a familiar situation.

She had forgotten because she hadn't experienced it for a while, but wasn't this the same as what Asrahan had shown in the early days of their dating? Embarrassment at his touch, running away from her... it was like starting a relationship anew.

Asrahan had been busy with so much work those days and said his condition hadn't fully recovered, but in Lariette's eyes, it was just an excuse.

Poof!<

Lariette put her fork down defiantly. Then she picked up a steak with dripping sauce.

"Where do you think I'll let you run off to?"

Her eyes sparkled with an intense fighting spirit as she chewed the steak. Lariette Blanche, who erased the word "retreat" from her life after a misdiagnosis.

If Asrahan took a step back, she would take one forward. She had many ways in her head to seduce him as if she had already prepared for it.

There were also various places and situations. When she imagined doing this and that in the steamy bathroom, her face grew hot and thirsty. Lariette reached for her juice, but the glass was empty, apparently. Just in time, there was a glass of tomato juice near the maid standing next to the table, so Lariette opened her mouth without thinking.

"Hey."

"Ah!" The maid shrieked as if she had seen a monster.

The plate in her hand flew in Lariette's direction and soon crashed. It broke with a piercing sound and rolled on the floor. She, who had only said one word, looked bewildered at a piece of glass that had rolled near her. She was a little surprised, not angry. But the maid took it differently, turned pale, hurried, and knelt down.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Oh my God...! I'm so sorry!" The maid repeated her apology.

She hurriedly tried to remove the piece of glass, but with a tense hand, she pressed her bare hands against the glass, and the result was quite obvious.

"Oh!" The maid groaned and held her hand. The white skin was slightly stained with blood, a small deep cut. "I'm sorry."

The maid had been watching her all along, thinking that Lariette had been harassing the servants. She was so nervous, in fact, that Hallstein had given everyone in the house a stern warning that she would be the lady of the house in the future.

Unaware of this, Lariette scrutinized her arms seriously, wondering if her behavior had been that bad before leaving Candel House. She then took out a handkerchief and held it tightly in her hand.

"You need to heal it soon, it's done, so leave," she added softly, "Don't forget to apply pressure to the wound with a handkerchief."

The maid startled and quickly shook her head.

"Dare to take the future duchess's handkerchief with you!"

It was obvious that she would receive a scolding if caught by the eyes of others.

"No! It's too much for me."

"You can go now."

"No, no...! How dare I...?!"

At this moment, it would be best to bow one's head in gratitude and leave, calling someone else. From her clumsy behavior and tone, it was clear that she was an uneducated servant, and her face also looked very young. Lariette took back her handkerchief, thinking that her kindness might be a burden for her. It would be better to give up so that she could receive treatment quickly.

"Alright, then stop the bleeding with that cloth."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, my... lady!" The maid, who almost called her 'Miss Martha' unknowingly, was surprised and corrected herself, then quickly left the dining room, so embarrassed that she wanted to escape.

Lariette picked up the quite blood-stained handkerchief and stood up. It already had blood on it, but she could still use it, although it was cute how the maid disappeared without saying she would wash it or return it later.

"Ah, juice." Lariette, trying to head to her room, found the tomato juice in question and picked it up.

She felt her thirst had decreased in an unexpected situation, so she was going to refresh her throat with just a sip. But as soon as the salty liquid touched the tip of her tongue, she regretted it.

"How disgusting! This is salty tomato juice!"

Tomato juice tasted better when it was sweet, and she doubted the chef's taste for a moment for making salty tomato juice. She wanted to spit it out immediately, but she couldn't do it in the hallway. So Lariette walked out with juice in her mouth, intending to go to the bathroom to decide whether to spit it out or just swallow it.

Walking down the hallway, she finally decided to swallow it like an adult. She didn't know what the connection was between adults and tomato juice, but it seemed to be the case anyway.

Glup, glup.

The salty liquid ran down her throat. Maybe because she forced herself to eat something she didn't want, she coughed quickly.

"Cough, cough!" Lariette covered her mouth with her hands and spit out the liquid that came up from her throat.

Red tomato juice flowed through the palm of her hand. Unable to stain the fine carpet with tomato juice, she quickly took out her handkerchief, wiped her hands and mouth. It was a silly act.

"I forgot about the blood on my handkerchief and put it around my mouth!"

The smell of fish pierced her nose, at the same time, the image of someone whose shoulder had been pierced instead of being saved flashed through her mind, and she turned around.

"Eup!" Lariette roughly threw the handkerchief onto the table and ran with her mouth covered.

She felt everything she had eaten coming back up. Finally, when she reached the bathroom, she coughed out what was inside. She had only swallowed a sip of the juice, and the result was vomit.

"The burden of adults is heavy..."

Lariette instinctively thought, wiping away her tears, unaware that Asrahan had misunderstood.

--------------------

"Asrahan!" Lariette entered the office, shouting his name with a clear voice.

Her purple eyes burned with determination to do something more with him.

"...You're here," Asrahan responded with a dark expression.

There was a deep sadness in his eyes, it was inevitable. He saw his lover who had barely recovered bleeding, where could anyone be fine? Asrahan had wanted to ask her many questions as soon as Lariette came out of the bathroom, but he couldn't. It was because he remembered that her gaze, which was looking at the blood on her hand, was so calm.

"I know, I think..."

It was very likely that she wouldn't even utter a word about the situation she had been in today.

"I just thought I had healed everything..."

It was pathetic of him to think that she would have recovered from her illness just because she went with Mikhail. With such familiar blood vomit, the disease must have progressed considerably. The pain would also be severe, he felt as if his heart was breaking into pieces.

"Why don't you tell me?"

Asrahan looked at Lariette with a piercing gaze, and his face, which suggested he wanted to say something, was so pale that he could cry.

"And then I'll have some ice cream..."

"Lariette."

"What?" Lariette tilted her head when Asrahan suddenly stopped talking.

Now that she looked at him, his expression was serious.

"What's wrong?"

Lariette rolled her eyes and thought, the question that followed was enough to keep her alert.

"What are you hiding from me?"

Cough!<

She almost coughed again. Startled, trying to suppress the hiccup, but managed to stop it. 'Hiding,' yes, it wasn't a lie. She wanted to tell him the whole truth but wanted to conceal Doha's work. If she talked about him, she had to say that she was kidnapped, she had to tell the whole story of his betrayal.

Still, for Lariette, the incident was so terrifying even to mention. Although she had heard related stories, her heart was soft and her body trembled. So she responded, avoiding his gaze.

"...Nothing."

"That's a lie."

Asrahan thought, his blue eyes trembled.

"Why are you lying to me? Don't you trust me?"

With a negative response, Asrahan bit his lower lip hard. He continued, anxious for her to tell the truth.

"That's how it is... alright, Lariette. It's been a while since I had a medical check-up, so I'll call a new doctor. Are you free today?"

When the image of Doha returned to her mind, Lariette suddenly stiffened. Then she shook her head firmly.

"I'm healthy, it's fine, haha."

"But just to be sure..."

"No! It's a waste of time, I know my body better. I'm really fine," Lariette took a step back from Asrahan.

She still wasn't ready to overcome that memory. After taking some time to regain control of her mind, she wanted to visit the new temple. But for Asrahan, who was unaware of what had happened between Lariette and Doha, his suspicions grew stronger.

Lariette had a terminal illness, and he was convinced she was trying to hide it from him.

"You said we would be together forever."

He felt a surge of emotions.

"Did that eternity mean your own eternity? Moreover, are you going to leave me?"

It might be easier to experience it twice, since she had escaped once before.

"Now that I think about it, there's something I need to do, I'm going to..."

"Lariette," Asrahan grabbed Larriette's arm as she turned to leave.

It wasn't a painful grip, but his hand was firm.

"Didn't I tell you?"

"I can't let her escape any longer, I won't let her go for any reason, be it death or anything else."

Boom!<

The door that Lariette opened slammed shut with a loud noise. Asrahan looked at her, trapped in his arms, with a gaze full of obsession.

"I won't let you go anywhere," he said with a deranged smile.

The voice that sounded infatuated was grim.