I Thought I Didn’t Have Long To Live!

ircle.
However, unlike usual who accepted jokes, Lariette’s face was only hard.

Halstein, who had been watching for a while, left, and Lariette stared at the envelope as if it were an enemy.
Then, with hesitating hands, she cut the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

The first thing she found was a small piece of paper that could be called a note.
Above it was written in elegant handwriting, Madame Charbet’s name and a brief description.

I’m sending it this time because she’s in mourning, but I promise that this will never happen again.
-Zenvir Charbet>

Lariette bit her lip and placed the letter on the desk.
Then she pulled out another letter from the envelope.

Soon I saw a familiar handwriting.
I couldn’t not know because it was a handwriting that I sometimes ghostwritten.

There are so many things I want to say to you.
Could you please meet your mother separately just once, just once? I’ll wait for you at the restaurant Almeier at 5 o’clock this evening.>

The hand holding the stationery trembled.
The letter paper of high-quality paper crumpled mercilessly because of the power.

“Why now….”

An infinitely weak voice echoed through the room.

After that, Lariette sat with her head down, like a stone, for a long time without any movement.

* * *

It was past five o’clock.

The elegantly dressed Duchess of Blanche stood lonely in the special room of the restaurant Almeier.

The Duchess continued to glance at the door, but after more than half an hour had already passed, there was no sign of anyone she’s waiting.
She continued to fiddle with her well-groomed nails, as if nervously.

Cling—

When she was about to give up and go back, the door finally opened with a soft sound.
And through the open door, Lariette appeared.

“Lariette! You have come!”

The Duchess of Blanche stood up and walked towards Lariette.
However, Lariette looked at her with cold eyes for a moment and sat down without saying a word.

If it had been before, she would have been scolded for being a not polite princess, but the Duchess did not care and returned to her seat.
Then she ordered to bring food in a hurry.

Soon, warm and colorful dishes filled the table.
The Duchess smiled as she pushed the restaurant’s most famous signature menu to the front of the Lariette.

“Eat this.
It is delicious to eat while it is warm.
Or do you prefer fish dishes? Hurry up and eat a lot.”

Haah.
Lariette let out a short laugh.
Because it was the first time she heard it.

The Duchess would always tell Lariette, ‘You are a girl, eat in moderation’, and if Raon refused to eat with her, they sent Lariette to her room.

The kind words that were once longed for, but now the kindness is only offensive.
Lariette looked into her mother’s eyes and said with a firm voice.

“You said you had something to tell me.
Tell me.
I came to hear that.”

“First of all, the food….”

“No, start with what you have to say.”

The Duchess of Blanche shrugged, as if embarrassed by Lariette’s cold attitude.
She was silent for a moment, choosing her words, and then opened her mouth with a serious expression.

“Sorry.”

“What?”

“There… There are too many to count.
I didn’t take good care of you.
That’s what I’m most sorry about.”

Was my mother someone who could say she was sorry easily? Lariette muttered to herself and clenched her fists under the table.

The Duchess continued to speak as if it were a sacrament of confession.

“It was only after I lost you that I realized the importance of you.
After you left, I suffered for a long time in shock… No one came to see me.
Raon was busy spending a lot of money, and your father only attached the new building and didn’t come to visit.
Rather, I was harassed for not doing the Duchess’s job.”

She drank the water as if she was thirsty.
Lariette waited for her next words without saying a word.

“I found out then.
That you were the only one who came to me when I was sick.
That you were the only one who truly cared about me.
And yet, I’ve neglected you like that all this time.”

“…….”

“Just as I married your father due to family circumstances, I thought you could do the same.
I really regretted that you would at least find a better marriage partner.”

Lariette slowly closed her eyes.

It wasn’t that she hated her parents because they couldn’t get a good marriage.
The Duchess seemed to be going properly, but she couldn’t figure out what hurt Lariette the most.

But Lariette knew this was her limit.
Perhaps my mother would never understand.

“I heard the apology.
Then I’ll just go.”

“What?”

Lariette got up from her seat with no regrets.
Then the Duchess turned into a face full of embarrassment and grabbed Lariette.

“Where?”

“… Did you think that I would return to the Blanche mansion?”

Lariette asked with an expressionless face.
As if the correct answer, the Duchess of Blanche didn’t say anything and just licked her lips.

‘I even apologize.’ It was obvious what was in her mind.
Lariette was a good listener, so she seemed to think she would come back if she apologized and coaxed her.

It was both funny and heartbreaking for Lariette.
If you’re really sorry for me, you shouldn’t have asked for it.

“My memory doesn’t disappear just because you apologized.
Just like no matter how much you wash a dress covered with red sauce, it only blurs and the marks don’t disappear.”

“But, Lariette…”

“So I will no longer go back to Blanche.”

Lariette cut off the Duchess’s words and made a resolute declaration.
Because she had no intention of ending her short life in such a hellish place.

The Duchess clutched Lariette’s collar even harder, feeling restless.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally sighed deeply as if she had given up.

“Hah… Lariette.
I am so sorry.
This is the truth.”

It was an unexpected apology.
Just as Lariette wondered if she was going to apologize one last time, she felt a commotion outside the door.

And soon after the door opened, what appeared was a group of enlisted Dukes led by Duke Blanche.

“Take her.”

At the same time as the Duke’s order, the knights rushed towards Lariette.

However, they were soon blocked by a hard protective magic and were unable to move.
It was because Lariette quickly casts a spell as soon as she finds them.

The Duke frowned and began to unleash his dispel magic.
However, it was of no use because Lariette’s magical power was superior to that of him.

“Joel.”

“… Yes, Duke.”

When a familiar face appeared, Lariette looked at him with trembling eyes.
He was Prince Joel, a wizard belonging to the Duke of Blanche and the teacher of Lariette.

“Master…!”

“I’m sorry, Lady.”

Joel closed his eyes tightly and cast a dispel magic.
As the Duke’s magic joined in with his master’s, the shield Lariette had created was shattered in an instant.

Lariette tried to perform another magic, but the knights were already surrounding her.
A dull shock hit the nape of her neck before she could even lift her lips.

Bang!!

Illustration 

The knight struck Lariette with his sword.
Suddenly, her eyes flickered darkly.

Before she lost consciousness, the last voice she heard was her father’s.
I will no longer call you father.

“I didn’t tell you, madam.
The way to get a runaway daughter back is not an apology.”

* * *

How much time has passed.

Lariette felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck and barely lifted her heavy eyelids.
A familiar face appeared through the dim vision.

Blanche’s mansion, Lariette’s room.
And the locked white door.

Ah, it was that door again.