One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 119

“You finally came to your senses?”

The words slipped out more brusquely than Ashite intended.
As expected, Aileen shot him a sharp glare.

“Is that really the tone you use with someone who just woke up?”

“…You awake?”

Only then did Aileen relax her gaze. As if he couldn’t even recognize his own family anymore… honestly.

Ashite’s jaw tightened, and Carlisle, who had been quietly listening, offered a polite greeting.

“Yes. Thank you for coming.”

“…I’m the one in charge here right now. I came to check on the patient, so don’t worry about it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“…They said you’d be up in a day, and yet you didn’t open your eyes for three. Don’t tell me you can’t even lift a sword anymore?”

“You don’t need to worry.”

“Who said I was worried? You weakling—look at you, so frail!”

“Yes, sir.”

Ugh, this guy really…!

Ashite clenched his fists, barely holding himself back from smacking Carlisle on the head.

Watching the exchange between the two, Aileen hid a soft chuckle behind her hand. Her brother’s emotions were written all over his face.

“Any word from Santinu yet?”

“No.”

“If you hear anything, send him here immediately.”

“Obviously.”

They purposely avoided mentioning Siran.
Aileen didn’t want Carlisle to know he had tried to kill her.

Perhaps Ashite understood her feelings—or maybe he was still too hurt by Siran’s betrayal himself. Either way, he stayed silent on the matter too.

Normally, with Carlisle being the highest-ranking officer, everything should’ve been reported to him. But he was still recovering in bed, so Ashite remained in command for the time being—and for now, keeping that secret felt justified.

“Get some rest. I’ll have food sent up. Both of you, eat something. Oh, and I’ve already reported to His Majesty that you’ve regained consciousness.”

Ashite scanned their pale faces briefly, then turned and left without hesitation.

Not long after Ashite left—perhaps three hours had passed—a long-awaited guest arrived.

“Hey, so you’re finally awake.”

“Santinu!”

This time, the black war paint that had covered his face was gone. Perhaps because he was no longer on the battlefield, he had taken the effort to dress properly.

Of course, the massive sword was still strapped to his waist.

Ashite had yelled at him to leave the blade outside before entering, but Santinu just scoffed.

When he was told that Aileen had been waiting anxiously, Ashite had begrudgingly let him in, grumbling the whole time.

“Here, sit.”

As if he had been waiting for the invitation, Santinu dropped into the chair Aileen quickly pulled out for him.

“They said you were out for three days. I was getting seriously antsy. I got the cure yesterday, but they told me Sir Carlisle still hadn’t woken up.”

If that counted as a greeting…

“What?! If you had the cure, why didn’t you bring it right away?”

Aileen, who had long since abandoned formal speech with him, raised her voice in disbelief.

“What’s the point if he was still unconscious? Besides, I’m a busy man, you know.”

“…Just give us the cure already.”

“Sure.”

The ever-present smirk on Santinu’s face faded. With a rare look of seriousness, he pulled a small pouch from his side and handed something over.

“Here. Swallow this.”

It was small and bright red—about the size of a coin.

“What is it?”

Aileen narrowed her eyes, suspicious. Santinu sighed dramatically, as if hurt by the mistrust, and explained.

“It’s nothing weird. It’s a condensed mass of magical energy. One of the conditions for lifting the curse is to re-ingest the caster’s magic.”

“The caster’s magic… meaning…”

“Yeah. Old Gibita. The shaman I took with me. Since she’s dead now, all Carlisle has to do is swallow this.”

“What about the second curse? The one from the battle—it also shortened his lifespan.”

“Oh, that one? Don’t worry about it. Gibita was a much stronger shaman than the one who cast that second curse. This will override both. Once he takes this, all the curses on Carlisle will be lifted. And it won’t hurt.”

Only then did Aileen’s tense shoulders begin to relax.

Watching her expression ease, Santinu recalled Gibita’s final moments.

For so long, she had held the northern tribes in the palm of her hand, manipulating everything.
And in the end, her downfall had been pitifully empty.

She had stabbed herself through the chest, tears of blood streaming down her face, cursing him as a traitor.
Even though she had conspired with Hessiden, she had raged at him for siding with Edys and betraying their people.

She had driven countless innocent tribespeople into war.
Among them were some of Santinu’s childhood friends.

If there was any consolation in the end, it was that Gibita hadn’t been entirely rotten to the core.

In exchange for releasing Carlisle from the curse and taking her own life, she agreed to spare the Tanil tribe.
Santinu had honestly thought she might refuse even that. In a way, her final acceptance came as a surprise.

“Hurry and eat it.”

Aileen urged Carlisle.

Carlisle silently studied the orb of condensed magical energy, then slowly reached out and took it from Santinu’s hand.

Will the curse really be lifted if I eat this?

It hadn’t even been a full year, yet that single curse had changed everything.
He had hurt Aileen, broken their engagement, been cast away and rejected.

Like a series of flashing images, those moments rushed through his mind.
His hand trembled as he slowly brought the orb to his lips.

A strange, surreal sensation settled on his tongue. And only once a chill began to spread did, he finally swallow.

“…So? How do you feel?”

Aileen watched him nervously as his throat moved with a large gulp.

“…Yeah.”

“Huh?”

“It’s gone.”

“Carlisle!”

The curse—was lifted.

It felt as if something that had been drained from his body had returned to where it belonged.
He knew it instinctively.

The curse was gone.

Carlisle stared at his trembling hands. His throat tightened. He couldn’t speak.

Even now, as the moment he had longed for finally arrived—it still didn’t feel real.

He moved his fingers slightly, and a memory rose in his mind.

Touching Aileen’s hair without hesitation.
Caressing her cheek.
Kissing her.

Those simple, everyday moments had been so precious—and he hadn’t realized.

“Carlisle.”

A soft voice drifted to his ear.
Carlisle slowly lifted his head.

“You’re not going to hold my hand?”

Aileen was smiling gently.

Carlisle raised his hand. It hovered, hesitating, then slowly reached toward her.

But then it stopped—midair.

Can I really touch her?
Will it be okay?
What if I hurt her again…? What if just touching her takes her life?

Fear rushed through him. He began to pull his hand back—

“Why stop halfway?”

Suddenly, Aileen’s small hands reached out and wrapped around his.

“…Ah.”

A quiet breath escaped him. His eyes widened.

Nothing happened.
He didn’t absorb her life force. He didn’t take her strength.

There was only the warmth he had yearned for so deeply.

“See? It’s fine.”

As they both stared at their joined hands, Aileen looked up and asked softly.
Carlisle couldn’t look away. His eyes found hers as if drawn by a string.

“Aileen…”

Aileen was smiling brightly, eyes full of tears.

“Never do that again, okay? Don’t push me away. Don’t act like you can’t touch me. Because I won’t give you a second chance next time.”

What answer could possibly compare?

“…Alright. I won’t hide anything from you again.”

Carlisle leaned in slowly, and his lips met Aileen’s.

Santinu, who had very much not wanted to watch the reunion of a couple who had gone through far too much, quietly slipped out of the room the moment Carlisle swallowed the orb.

He stood outside the door for a while.
Only when he heard the joyful voices from within did he finally start walking.

“How’d it go?”

Just before he reached the stairs, Ashite—leaning against the hallway wall—asked gruffly.

“Can’t you tell? It went great.”

“Tch. Then if your work’s done, hurry up and get lost.”

Ashite waved him off while eyeing the massive blade still strapped to Santinu’s waist like it was an annoying bug.
Santinu had to stifle a laugh. He knew from experience just how quickly that beautiful face could twist in fury.

“I’m going. See you around. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Peaceful allies, after all.”

He didn’t promise he wouldn’t be annoying.
Smiling slyly, Santinu gave Ashite a wave—gentle and mocking.

“Scram already!”

“Later, Prince Revart!”

Santinu bolted out of the castle like he was fleeing for his life.

“Looks like it’s finally over. Hopefully, from now on, no more family members will have to die—and we can live peaceful, full lives.”

A quiet voice spoke from beside him.

His aide had stepped up alongside him and murmured those words.

Santinu looked up at the vast, clear blue sky, squinting slightly.

There was still a mountain of problems ahead.
But with Gibita gone, this was the northern tribes’ one chance to change.

It had taken great effort to seize this opportunity.
Now, they had to handle it carefully—make sure not to waste it.

He would never become like Gibita.

“…Let’s head home.”

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