Chapter 12 – Part 2

‘This is my home.’

As she blinked repeatedly, her vision became more apparent. Eliana realized she was no longer dazed. She tried to sit up, but her body wouldn’t obey.

“Ugh.”

As she tried to raise her arm, she noticed someone holding her hand tightly.

Eliana lowered her gaze. There, gripping both of her hands, was Calix. He was dozing lightly, looking vulnerable.

She tried to wake him by calling his name.

‘Calix would be happier than anyone that I’m awake,’ she thought.

But before Eliana could open her mouth, Calix reacted faster. He sensed the slightest movement and lifted his head.

“Eliana.”

His voice cracked. Eliana realized the voice calling her when she was barely conscious had been his.

‘Of course… who else would search for me or call out to me but Calix?’

“I’m fine, Calix.”

Eliana wanted to reassure him, so her first words were to tell him she was okay. But words weren’t enough. She wanted to show him she was truly fine, so she smiled as she spoke.

“How can you say you’re fine?”

Calix’s voice trembled. His eyes reddened as if he had lost everything and then regained it.

It was a look Eliana had never seen from him before. Even when she pushed him away, his usual gentle gaze had been calm and unwavering. But now, as a tear fell from his eye, Eliana’s blue eyes filled with tears.

“Calix, really, I’m okay now.“

“Does nothing hurt?“

“No. I feel like I could even get up and run.“

“Don’t be ridiculous.“

“You’re right, but… I just didn’t want you to be sad.“

“….“

“Don’t cry because of me. I came back perfectly fine.”

At her words, Calix let out a sigh of relief.

“Did you save me?“

“When you didn’t come back, I went looking for you. People said you had fallen into the water.“

“I see… I’m glad you showed up before everything was over. I really thought I was going to die again.”

She had almost died for the second time. The fear was worse than her first death, so she accidentally said “again.”

But Calix didn’t seem to hear Eliana’s slip of the tongue. He was overwhelmed with joy that she was alive.

Looking at him now, Eliana thought that even if she seriously confessed about her reincarnation and told him this was her second life, he would accept it without hesitation.

“As long as you’re alive, Eliana, I wouldn’t care if it were your hundredth life.“

“I’m not going to let you go. I can’t let you leave.“

“….“

“You can’t go anywhere without me.”

It was a continuation of their conversation on the bench during the founding festival. Calix didn’t want to let Eliana go, whether it was death or beyond the empire.

“I thought I could just pack up and leave, even if it hurt you a little.“

Her feelings were different now. She had thought only Calix’s heart had shifted from friendship to love, but that wasn’t true. Her own heart had been slowly changing as well.

Tears welled up in Eliana’s blue eyes and fell. Calix reached out and gently wiped them away. His touch was so soft that Eliana forgot the ticklish sensation and remained still.

“Even your tears are beautiful.“

“That’s such a strange thing to say.“

“But it’s true.”

Eliana grasped Calix’s arm and tried to sit up.

“You can’t. The doctor said you need to stay lying down.“

“I want to get up. Help me up.“

“I said no.”

They argued, but in the end, Eliana won. Calix gently helped her sit up comfortably. The blanket covering her shoulders slipped off, and she felt a sudden chill.

“I’m cold.”

The temperature change made her lips tremble. Calix grabbed the shawl Mila had left on a chair and wrapped it around Eliana’s shoulders.

“Thank you.”

Calix began smoothing Eliana’s disheveled hair strand by strand. Once her golden hair was back in place and her lips stopped trembling, their gazes met and intertwined in the air.

Calix quietly lifted Eliana’s hand. He kissed the back of her hand, and the unfamiliar sensation stirred her heart, making it flutter.

“You have no idea how happy I am that you’ve returned. And how sad I was when I thought you wouldn’t.”

His red eyes were filled with immense relief. Feeling his relief made her realize that she was indeed alive.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Before she even finished expressing her gratitude, Calix intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled her into his arms. His breath, which seemed to carry the weight of long-held patience, brushed against her neck.

Their bodies pressed together, leaving no space between them. Even though his embrace was suffocatingly tight at that moment, she didn’t mind it at all.

* * *

“Mila, when did you prepare all of this?”

Eliana couldn’t help but be surprised when she saw the meal Mila had prepared. The table was filled with carefully made dishes.

“I made everything warm and easy to digest. Please chew slowly and take your time.“

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to eat.”

Though she wasn’t confident as her body hadn’t fully recovered, Eliana said this because she could see how much thought Mila had put into it.

While Eliana ate, Mila watched her from nearby.

‘Oh, My Lady… what were you thinking?’

Mila had heard how Eliana had ended up falling into the water. She wanted to tell her repeatedly not to help others anymore, but she held back. She didn’t want Eliana to blame herself.

‘To be fair, it wasn’t wrong of her to try to help someone. It was just that her good intentions had such dire consequences.’

Eliana had given Mila a day off on the Founding Festival day.

“I’ll give you the day off. You can go home or enjoy the festival as you like.”

Eliana even gave her some extra money, so Mila had spent a joyful day.

When she returned home, chaos had broken out. At first, Mila thought Eliana had accidentally fallen into the water, but the situation was more complicated than that.

“Has there been anyone suspicious around Eliana recently?”

Duke Calix had asked Mila with a furious look on his face.

“Is there anyone who might hold a grudge against her?”

“If it’s a grudge, recently, Master Paul was involved.”

Mila told him Eliana had clashed with Paul after revealing that he had deceived his father. When Duke Calix heard this, a dangerous light flickered in his eyes.

The Duke ordered the guards to search for the woman Eliana had helped and sent additional people to thoroughly investigate why Eliana had fallen into the water. Even before Eliana regained consciousness, the Duke had already found both the woman Eliana had helped and the man who had pushed her into the water. He had been faster than the guards.

“I was scared that the young lady fell into the water, so I ran away. I panicked, too, because I swallowed some water.”

That’s how the woman had tried to excuse herself.

“I didn’t do anything. You’ve got the wrong person. Why would I push a noble’s daughter into the water? This is unfair.”

The man claimed he had no involvement in the matter.

However, the investigation revealed that both of them were in severe debt from gambling. It was also discovered that they were willing to do anything if it paid well.

In the end, it turned out that the woman’s plea for help had been a setup to push Eliana into the water. Eliana still didn’t know the truth.

“Those two aren’t the end of it. We need to find who’s behind this. I’ll ensure they pay back tenfold for what they’ve done.”

Mila clearly heard Duke Calix say this.

“Yes, they must be severely punished, no matter who they are.”

Mila agreed with him. She felt reassured, knowing that Duke Calix would ensure justice was served.

On the night of the incident, Duke Calix stayed by Eliana’s side, not sleeping at all. This act could only come from someone who truly loved her.

Eliana had grown up lonely. Her former fiancé, who she had hoped would be a source of comfort, was selfish. The crown prince wasn’t even willing to give her a fraction of the love she had shown him.

But Duke Calix was different from Crown Prince Cedric. It was clear from the way he looked after Eliana. That’s why Mila naturally stepped back and allowed him to take the closest position by her side.

Eliana’s movements with the fork were slow, perhaps because she had little appetite.

“Would you like to stop eating? You don’t have to push yourself. You can eat more later.“

“No, I should eat quickly and recover.”