“Lia, you look bright today. That’s a relief.”
“Hehe, it’s thanks to Mother and Father who bring good medicine everyday.”
“Ugh, I find it too bitter.”
“Fer, Lia’s body is frail. She needs to consume it, even if it’s bitter.”
The conversation that had been openly transpiring ended with the mother’s reprimands as the father, Count Leopold, passed by the twins, the youngest of the family.
Right next to the Count, Infrick, the Count’s successor and eldest son, sat down and smiled slightly at the series of events.
First, Infrick Leopold was a talented man who had outstanding literary skills and excelled in martial arts. There was a reputation among the public that he could immediately become the head of the count’s residence.
The two youngest siblings, born as twins, were so lovely that they made everyone smile. Carina also loved them.
Even though Carina wasn’t a very affectionate older sister, they were children who smiled purely.
But at the same time, she couldn’t help but be jealous. It was ironic.
Count Leopold had a family of good men and women. Carina thought so, when she saw the dining table where bright blondes, beautiful faces, and blue eyes coexisted.
‘……I used to wonder why I was the only one with dark brown hair.’
Only later did she realize that she had inherited the hair color of one of her grandparents, but there were times when she felt sad about it.
.
Carina put down her fork after eating a few pieces of salad. She felt bloated and it didn’t seem like she could go on any further.
She rinsed her mouth with water from the glass and got up from her seat.
“I’ve finished eating, so I’ll go in first.”
“You may do so.”
At that, she heard her mother’s reply.
Everyone was so busy talking that they didn’t pay attention to Carina properly. Her mother soon turned her eyes to Abelia and Ferdon.
With her low presence, Carina bowed her head familiarly and withdrew naturally.
As she was walking through the hallway, rubbing her palm against her bloated chest, she felt something popping inside her.
With her breath in, she looked to her left and right and walked with her shoulders wide open as much as she could.
She walked straight to the second floor in a familiar corridor where no one was guiding her.
But it also took a while. A pot came up before she could even climb up the stairs. Carina, covering her mouth, eventually rushed into the bathroom in front of her.
She bumped her face and retched repeatedly, vomiting all of the food she ate.
At the remains that had not been chewed at all and had passed through over and over again, she hurriedly flushed the water and trudgingly sat on the bed.
She felt completely exhausted.
She wasn’t told that it would quickly get worse like this.
Carina was dissatisfied.
A few days ago, she sneaked out of the mansion and went to a clinic.
“I feel a little bad saying this, but it’s a question on how your organs are barely showing half of their function.”
“…… is it serious?”
“Yes. Frankly, it’s amazing that you are walking around. You were originally healthy, but if it’s all of a sudden, I’ll assume it might be an art disease.”
“An art disease……”
“There’s someone who’s born with the talent of a great artist who creates ‘miracles’. Among them, there are cases where the condition for exerting the talent of that art is vitality.”
It may be a supporting character who lives an inconspicuous life, but where would it be who suddenly throws the word death in this way?
She thought the world was unreasonable.
But there was nothing she could do.
“Can you also cause a miracle?”
“……Yes.”
“You must’ve been in bad shape every time you used your abilities. Did you not get a medical checkup? People with this kind of blessings that usually cause miracles are supposed to have regular checkups.”
“It wouldn’t have been much if I had known in advance.”
“That’s true.”
Carina just nodded blankly at the on-point remark.
She’d never thought the miracle she caused would eat away her life.
She touched her forehead quietly.
It was a simple mistake. A mistake of not being informed about her ability.
The pride and arrogance of those who didn’t listen properly when she first tried to speak. And after that, she was just worried.
If this ability is revealed, the family will surely look at her.
But it seemed like she was uncertain if their eyes would be looking at her ability or herself.
So she hid it. She never expected it to come back this way.
“They said that you have anemia and hemoptysis? You couldn’t properly digest the food that you ate and even threw up a lot?”
“Yes.”
“That’s serious. I don’t know what to say, but… your body’s going to be in this condition for a year. You won’t be able to digest food and drinks properly. Your body will slowly get weaker and weaker, so you will probably last a year longer.”
The old physician in a white gown was treating the common people for a small price in a shabby clinic.
But his diagnosis was not questionable. The physician’s eyes were bright and clear.
“I understand.”
“What’s this, won’t you ask me if there’s a way to live? I thought you would ask for sure.”
“Is there a way to live?”
“No, as far as I know there is none.”
Carina simply nodded at the physician’s words and put down two gold coins and turned around.
The physician sighed as he stared at the gold coins she had given him. Looking at Carina’s back as she was about to leave, he said something significant.
“Even so, you might be able to increase your lifespan, so come back, if your heart desires to.”
Carina left the shabby clinic, absent-mindedly listening to him.
Those words were like a bolt out of the blue.
It felt like her body’s rapidly deteriorating, so she went to see a physician, who was not the Count’s family physician, just in case.
‘No, she couldn’t go to the family doctor…”
Rather than worrying about the family, she didn’t trust the person.
He was a very young, skillful, and reputable physician, who was in charge of the Count’s health.
But up until now, he’d been watching and often didn’t hesitate to tell lies when necessary.
Furthermore, he cared about Abelia like his own sister.
‘It might be an useless idea, but if I tell Abelia about my sickness, she might be shocked….’
If it was deemed harmful to her, it was likely that he was going to lie.
Her rumbling stomach calmed down a little. Carina stroked her chest and sat by the window.
Standing under the sunlight, her skin became more transparent. She saw a bird flying in the sky.
It flew and sat on that tree.
“If only I had wings.”
When I die, I want to try to fly to the sky as much as I desire and die.
Doing what she wanted to do and die after. She trembled at the growing desire.
Frankly speaking, it wasn’t that Carina wasn’t loved. Her parents tried to be fair. But someone was sick, and someone was young and needed assistance. Then there was a part that couldn’t be fair.
In that sense, the second child was quite insignificant.
One of Leopold’s twins was often treated for minor illnesses. The other one was extremely reckless that she used to get hurt here and there.
On top of that, she wasn’t a successor like her first brother. As a result, the amount of attention given to the second child who acted well on her own was as small as a grain of sand.
After experiencing all those things in person, Carina decided to describe it as ‘an interest as if it was nonexistent.’
The world seemed to revolve around the Count. At least there was money dropped in their way.
But there are only plenty of jagged stones in Carina’s path.
Of course, she loved the twins, but it was also true that she was jealous.
They were raised in the house and stomach the same as hers, so how were they not similar, even for just a little bit?
As she kept feeling jealous and hating them, she looked ugly in her own eyes.
The fact that they were her younger siblings were also hard for Carina.
“…… Does that mean that I’m going to die?”
Actually, from the time she threw up blood, she expected it a little.
“Should I just leave?”
In the mansion, Carina was always forced to smile.
She had to be a strong person who could do everything by herself, and also needed a generous heart that could yield anything.
But she didn’t want to do that while her own death was approaching her.
She couldn’t imagine what kind of face her family would make.
If she would have to deal with that difficult situation, it seemed like she would never get up again.
Carina didn’t have the slightest intention to let her family know about her situation.
She didn’t have the strength to cry. For a long time, she also didn’t leave her room. But no one cared about Carina. Because she said she could handle it by herself.
‘If I leave, where should I go……?’
Carina worried about it, sitting on the windows frame and leaning her forehead against the glass.
At the most, 1 year. Compared to the 20 years she had lived, it was a very short time. Compared to her older brother who was good at everything and the charming twins who were full of cuteness, she never showed her presence.
She needed someone who could look after her. Even if that someone hated her. Just someone who will look after her.
“Lady, what’s with that squid face? You shouldn’t have come out if you didn’t want to. If you had refused, this wouldn’t have happened.
What suddenly came to mind was the first meeting with her fiance.
That man’s face was so graceful and perfect that it was almost as if God had abused his power for him.
The face of the man who didn’t seem human, fierceless, looked at her with a wrinkle in his forehead.
‘Even though you also didn’t refuse it.’
That time I couldn’t say even a word to him, but thinking about it, that was not the case.
The thin blue eyes reflected on the window.
Her skin and even her eyes were paler than before.
The anemia got worse. Fortunately, she didn’t have too much work to do, so she was able to live an undemanding life.
“Should I go to the North?.”
Without anything. With her own feet. Moving by herself.
The firmly closed lips slowly opened.
“Let’s go.”
Because she had little worries and a short time to decide, she decided to go to the North alone.