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Chapter 6
The ceiling above me was one I knew well.
Slowly, I pushed myself up, turning toward the vanity table.
The gift box that should have been sitting there was gone.
In its place sat the golden music box—untouched, abandoned, and collecting dust.
“…So I haven’t gone back again.”
My voice cracked, a rasp I could hardly stand to hear. I grimaced, pouring myself water and drinking deeply as thoughts tumbled through my head.
I didn’t know how many days had passed. But to have coughed up so much blood and still be alive—perhaps it meant the god had kept His promise.
The door creaked open with unusual care. I turned my head.
“Ah! My lady! You’re awake!”
Wendy slipped in, feet silent, as if trying not to disturb me. She gasped, abandoned the door without closing it, and rushed forward.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“How can you say that? You drank poisoned wine! You’ve been asleep for a whole week! The doctor said you might die even with urgent treatment—oh, no, what am I doing! I’ll fetch him right away!”
“Go on, then.”
Wendy dashed out in a flurry and soon returned dragging the physician, who was even more frantic than she was.
“A miracle! A miracle indeed! The poison in that wine was basilisk’s blood—pure venom, incurable by any antidote! To keep you breathing was miracle enough, but to see you awake and speaking—ah, it defies the heavens themselves!”
He wept, wailed, and proclaimed his astonishment until he finally saw me sip broth and swallow a potion. Only then did he retreat, muttering about rest, leaving the chamber blessedly quiet.
“My lady, if you need anything—anything at all—just say the word. I’ll bring it!” Wendy said, fists clenched with determination.
“In that case, help me up.”
“What? Now?”
“Hurry.”
I stretched out a hand. Reluctantly, Wendy came closer, steadying me as I rose. With careful steps, I crossed to the window. She hesitated, uneasy, but I swept aside the heavy curtains.
There, far in the distance before the ornate gates, stood a man.
Unmoving. Straight-backed. As if carved from stone, ignoring every curious glance cast his way.
A laugh nearly slipped from me. Of course. Exactly as I expected.
“How long has he been there?”
The answer was obvious—since the day I collapsed.
Wendy shifted, conflicted. At last, she confessed.
“From the day after you fell, my lady. Every day. The duke told him he’d be informed the moment you awoke, but still he comes.”
Exactly as I thought. I inclined my head and gave the order.
“He’s a prince of the realm. We can’t leave him waiting at the gates. Bring him in.”
Wendy faltered, but under my gaze she bolted.
Left alone, I leaned against the window and laughed at last. Soon he would be here—my pale, unyielding Leandros.
“From head to toe, how can someone be so utterly white?”
A pity, really. He would soon be painted in my colors.
That was the fate of those bound together.
The parlor was just as I remembered—lavish, suffocating in its splendor. Leandros rose sharply the instant I entered, rigid with alarm.
“My lady! Your health—”
The words died on his tongue.
Of course they did.
I was no longer the glittering jewel of the ballroom. My hair hung in a single loose braid, my gown was nothing but soft indoor wear beneath a heavy shawl, and my face was pale, untouched by cosmetics.
“Plain to see—I am not well.”
My body trembled with each breath. Even sitting took effort. But the weakness served me; no need for feigned frailty this time.
I sank into the sofa opposite him. He mirrored me awkwardly.
“I heard you’ve been visiting every day, though Father asked you not to. Is it true?”
Without hesitation, he bowed his head.
“I failed in courtesy. My concern for your health overcame me. If I caused offense, I beg your pardon.”
“How could I be offended? I was… touched. That you thought of me so much you even ensured we would be alone, with not a servant in sight.”
The honesty drew no smile from him.
‘Of course not. A man like him wouldn’t wait an entire week if he were easily swayed by words.’
Still, his sincerity made me laugh.
“Your wine was poisoned with basilisk’s blood, I’m told,” he said gravely.
“Yes. The doctor said there’s no antidote. My survival was called a miracle.”
Color drained further from his already pale face.
“That wine was a special gift, meant for me alone. It was an attempt on my life. And you… you drank it because you knew. Because you remembered.”
At last, the words I wanted. I smiled, nodding.
He pressed on, guilt in every syllable.
“I wronged you. I doubted your warnings, your heart. All of this happened because of me.”
‘Even now, he refuses to lay blame anywhere else. Always so righteous.’
Once, I had despised that quality. But now, seeing him as my comrade, I found it almost endearing.
“Don’t take the blame upon yourself. The fault lies with the one who poisoned the wine, not with you.”
“But—”
“And truly, after all the tricks I’ve played on you, wasn’t it natural for you to doubt me? If you had trusted me blindly, I’d have been disappointed.”
His brows knit, confusion breaking through his composure.
“Let’s be honest, shall we? Say what’s in your heart. I won’t be offended.”
His lips parted at last.
“I thought you hated me.”
“Did you?”
“I thought you couldn’t stand to see me happy.”
“Mm. I see.”
“I thought tormenting me brought you joy.”
I laughed softly. “That part isn’t entirely wrong. In the last life, I did torment you. I even tried to kill you more than once. Though, as you can see, I failed.”
His face went stark white.
“Oh my, too blunt?”
I dropped the smile as quickly as it had come.
“But if I hadn’t told you this, someday you’d misunderstand me all over again.”
“In that past life… we were enemies?”
“I’d rather not dwell on it. Let’s just say we weren’t friends.”
I left it vague, intentionally. Then I leaned closer.
“From this day forward, whatever danger comes, I ask you—do not doubt me.”
His voice was low. “You speak as though I’ll soon face mortal peril.”
“Of course. Your death is what brought me here.”
The smile I gave him was sharp. His eyes hardened in turn.
“Tell me everything. Please.”
And so I did.
The cursed relic. The carriage accident. Death, and rebirth. The cycle, repeated again and again. The final desperate prayer to the god, and the truth revealed.
Not all of it, of course. I kept the god’s promised mission close to my chest.
“Clearly, the god loves you deeply, Leandros. He rewound time itself for your sake.”
When I finished, he sat crumbling before me, crushed beneath guilt.
“All because of me…”
I cut him off before he could bury himself further.
“Don’t. Don’t think like that. Because of you, I was reborn. Because of you, I have this chance. And I—” I smiled, light but fierce. “—I’m glad it’s you I’m bound to.”
His blue eyes wavered, the storm in them barely held at bay.
“Then we’ll face it together,” I said. “Whatever comes, if we’re united, we’ll overcome it.”
He drew himself upright, resolve flashing in his gaze.
“Whatever I can do—whatever it takes—I’ll do it. You have my word.”
In that moment, he was nothing but guilt wrapped in silver light.
“Good. I’ll be needing your help more than you know.”
I clasped my hands gently, smiling at him like dawn breaking.
“I want to stand beside you. I want to protect you.”
And then, at last, I laid my true request before him—the wish I had nearly died to claim.
“So, Leandros… will you give me a place at the temple?”
