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Chapter 39
“You keep being stubborn, so I’m crying for you instead.”
“Stay… still.”
Damia tried to wipe her tears with her sleeve, but Cassian was a step faster.
A cool fingertip touched her eyes, and Damia grasped his hand.
It was an unconscious action, and a hint of surprise crossed Cassian’s face.
Damia, pretending to be calm, wiped her tears across the back of his hand.
“What… are you doing!”
“I’m worried your clothes might get dirty.”
“You…!”
“All your pajamas are expensive! Mother bought them for you.”
“No matter what, on someone else’s hand!”
Damia tilted her head with a mock look of grievance.
“You told me last time, Young Viscount, that you placed the handkerchief on my expensive dress to protect it, not for me.”
“You still remember that?”
“Of course. I hold grudges.”
Cassian let out a short, quiet laugh, as if at a loss for words.
“……”
Could it be because she was holding his hand so firmly?
He seemed to feel his irregular breathing gradually calming.
“I’m fine now, so let go.”
“No.”
Damia shook her head.
If she let go, Cassian would probably be dragged back into that terrible pain.
“But… don’t you think contact works more effectively than the treatment?”
“No. The medicine is far better.”
Cassian answered firmly. Whether it was the truth or just what he wanted to believe, she couldn’t tell.
“Then where’s the remaining treatment? I’ll get it.”
Only empty glass bottles rolled beside the bed.
“It’ll be hard to find.”
“Then I’ll figure it out.”
Knowing Cassian’s meticulous personality, she doubted he would leave the medicine in an obvious place.
Damia looked around and lowered her head to peek under the bed.
It was dark, but one of the wooden slats on the floor was slightly askew.
She pressed it gently.
Click.
Lifting the plank revealed a hidden compartment. The glass bottles were neatly arranged inside.
“I found it, didn’t I?”
Damia smiled triumphantly.
Cassian let out a deep sigh and slowly took the medicine.
He grimaced at the difficulty of swallowing it, but his complexion gradually improved.
“Thank you.”
Cassian moved his lips for a long while before finally saying,
“I know.”
“You really…”
“Adorable, right?”
“Don’t say it.”
“Now, Young Viscount, you really can’t do without me, huh? I must be very precious to you.”
It was a lighthearted joke to ease the awkward atmosphere.
She expected him to brush it off, but instead…
“You’re right.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Yes, you’re right.”
Damia’s cheeks burned hot.
“So… you’re glad we met, right? Honestly, isn’t this the luck of a lifetime?”
He simply nodded, even though she had deliberately pushed him for a bigger response.
“Great! Then I can relax and devour the Young Viscount.”
“Do as you please.”
“No, usually you’re grumbling and picky. Suddenly acting like this, I can’t adjust.”
“…Forget what you saw today.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t usually act weak like this. You don’t need to pity me.”
He seemed embarrassed that she had seen his weak side.
“Why would I pity you, Young Viscount? Don’t worry.”
“Are you serious?”
“You know how much I rely on you. How could I depend on someone I pity?”
Cassian’s expression finally relaxed. He seemed somewhat reassured.
“But why are you up at this hour? Why weren’t you sleeping?”
“I had a nightmare.”
“What kind of nightmare?”
She hesitated but decided honesty was best today.
“The man who mimicked the coachman on the day I was kidnapped appeared in my dream.”
Cassian’s eyes immediately sharpened.
“I thought it would be okay, but it must have shocked you.”
“Nothing like that will happen again. Don’t worry.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ll make sure of it.”
“I’ll trust you. But from now on, don’t hide your weak side from me. I want to rely on you too.”
“……”
“Excuse me? Promise me.”
Damia extended her pinky, and Cassian hesitated briefly before linking it with hers.
It was a very short, light touch, but in that moment, it felt closer than ever before.
“Ah… Miss…!”
Damia, who had stayed up late, struggled to get out of bed.
“What is it?”
Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, still half in a dream.
“They said there’s a fire at the Viscount’s residence. They say the flames are under control, but…”
“…What?”
Her whole body stiffened at the unexpected news. This hadn’t happened in her previous life.
“It’s a pretty big fire, so the damage seems serious. They say half the mansion has burned…”
“Father…?”
“Well… they’re not sure yet…”
Romi’s voice faltered as she spoke.
Her heart raced uncontrollably. Her imagination ran wild with worst-case scenarios.
Damia sprang up.
“I have to go.”
She woke fully, as if doused in cold water.
Had her father and the servants safely evacuated?
She recalled the things left in the mansion—would the herb garden be safe?
No, why had the fire even started?
‘Could it have been because of those wild herbs?’
Images from her nightmare flashed through her mind. The dragon who mimicked the coachman, his grotesque smile…
Could it have been a warning, not just a dream?
“Damia!”
Her father ran toward her, face streaked with tears, clothes torn, and hair singed.
Fortunately, he didn’t appear injured.
“Father…”
He hugged her. A faint scent of smoke clung to him.
Seeing him safe, she finally began to regain her composure.
‘Everything’s burned.’
The small Viscount’s residence appeared completely destroyed. The exterior walls were blackened, and the roof looked ready to collapse.
“Are you all right?”
Cassian followed and asked her father.
“Yes, Young Viscount. Thanks to you… we survived.”
Damia didn’t quite understand what he meant. She glanced at Cassian in surprise.
“I had some knights stationed at the mansion, just in case of danger.”
She hadn’t known until now. Cassian was far more thorough than she imagined.
“That’s right, Damia. Cassian’s men dealt with the wolves and controlled the fire.”
“Wolves?”
“The wolves suddenly appeared, and while everyone was distracted, someone seems to have set the fire.”
Damia’s hands trembled slightly. This didn’t seem like a mere accident.
Those wolves were likely not ordinary beasts—they were probably monsters.
“No one was hurt, but the flowerbeds you tended are a mess.”
Her breath caught. She couldn’t even blink.
“Damia! It’s dangerous, come with me!”
Ignoring Cassian’s voice, she ran toward the backyard.
The garden was utterly destroyed.
Damia stopped, unable to take another step.
“Ah…”
She couldn’t say a word.
Nothing remained. Trampled by beasts or burned in flames, the debris was scattered everywhere.
Had she been too complacent? Should she have been more thorough in preparing before leaving the Viscount’s residence?
Damia collapsed to the ground.
Someone’s hand touched her shoulder.
“Young Viscount…”
Cassian looked at her with a clumsy expression, unsure how to comfort her.
“I’ll help you start over.”
His voice was low and careful. Damia swallowed the rising tide of tears.
She needed to quickly check if the purple herbs were intact.
Damia staggered forward. Her heart pounded as she approached the spot where the herbs had been planted.
Even if she lost everything else, she felt she could endure if just the purple herbs survived.
A few wolves lay dead at the edge of the garden. Their tongues hung out, eyes wide open.
Their eyes were a horrifying red.
‘They were monsters, after all.’
No miracle had occurred.
All the herbs were uprooted and burned. Nothing remained.
“Damia, are you okay?”
Cassian caught her as she swayed.
“Why are you crying? Was it important?”
“……”
“I’ll help you restore it. You can even transplant it to the Viscount’s residence. So please… don’t cry.”
“It’s impossible.”
“What?”
Tears blurred her vision.
Her lips trembled, unable to form words.
How could she tell Cassian… that the one thing prolonging his life had just been completely destroyed?
It was a far more certain and proven method than the fleeting effects of physical contact.
And it might have been because of her carelessness.
So many words hovered at the tip of her tongue, but only sobs escaped.
