One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 93

As she waited for Carlisle, stretching her limbs as usual, he quietly brought over some cleaned fish and a handful of washed berries, placing them gently in front of her.

I glanced at him. From his calm demeanor and unmarked appearance, it didn’t seem like he’d been in a fight. He was spotless, no traces of blood or any signs of battle.

“Thank you.”

“……If it’s not enough, tell me.”

“That’s enough.”

I still kept my distance by using formal language. I didn’t want to let my guard down—not in a moment like this, where even the smallest comfort could make me vulnerable.

Aireen took a bite of the red, round fruit. It was the first time she’d ever seen such a thing. It was also the tenth time Carlisle had given her fruit, as if to silently reassure her.

The cool juice burst in my mouth and moistened my lips. That small sensation felt oddly comforting. I closed my eyes and savored the gentle squeak of the fruit’s flesh.

Then, a soft cough broke the moment.

Coloc.

I thought I misheard. Maybe I imagined it, being so focused on the fruit’s texture.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

When the second and third coughs followed, Aireen could no longer pretend she hadn’t heard them.

I opened my eyes with a jolt.

“What’s going on?”

The words he tried to speak faded before they could form.

“Captain!”

Aireen’s voice rang out, filled with panic.

Carlisle, who had been covering his mouth with his sleeve to suppress the sound, was already halfway up, prepared to leave the cave.

But on his black uniform’s sleeve—and on the ground beneath him—there was a dark stain. A lot of deep, red liquid.

“It’s bleeding!”

There was no mistaking it. Blood—flowing straight from Carlisle’s mouth.

As Aireen stood in alarm and started toward him, Carlisle raised his free arm to stop her.

“Don’t come.”

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her. Aireen froze, instinctively halting in her tracks.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Of course, Aireen knew he was lying. His casual tone wasn’t fooling anyone. But eventually, she sat back down, no longer pressing him.

The moment she did, Carlisle left the cave again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He continued coughing. His hands were soaked in dark red blood.

—

It had been several days since they were shipwrecked. When Carlisle heard Aireen had gone missing, he had pushed himself into action without a second thought. But in his rush, he hadn’t brought a single pill.

The isolation lasted longer than expected. The medicine was gone.

After two days—the bare minimum he could endure without treatment—the symptoms returned.

The pain I had fought so hard to suppress with medication came flooding back. It worsened with each passing day.

When I was outside the cave, I could hide it. I could avoid Aireen’s eyes. But inside… I couldn’t relax, not even for a second. I never knew when the coughing would start.

I wished I could stay outside completely—but I knew how anxious Aireen would be if I left her alone.

In a situation where movement is already difficult, just the thought of being separated is terrifying. If someone you care about isn’t by your side, you’ll fear not only the present—but the uncertain future too.

So Carlisle tried his best to suppress his cough. It felt like a game worth playing—since coughing was the only visible symptom, he thought he could manage everything else on his own.

It was pure arrogance.

Not only did the coughing become more frequent than expected, but it also grew more intense. Aireen, who had noticed the change, reacted with more alarm than he had anticipated.

What should I do?

Only when the cave fell completely silent did Carlisle go inside and close his eyes.

But there was no way he could sleep peacefully while feeling Aireen’s presence so vividly. He hadn’t slept properly—not even once—since they had been left alone in this cave.

Even amid this anxious situation, my heart raced uncontrollably at the thought of being alone with her.

As time passed, I began to feel increasingly disconnected from reality. The more I drifted, the more I wanted to speak to Aireen—to reach out to her.

So, to keep himself in check and protect her, Carlisle stood guard while she slept. Once the sun went down, he searched for a path forward and dealt with the monsters nearby.

Maybe the symptoms of the curse had worsened because of accumulated fatigue.

Rustle.

I heard Aireen tossing and turning. Was she napping? She should’ve been in a deep sleep.

As I sat worrying about every little thing—feelings mixed with both fear and excitement—dawn arrived.

“…Are you okay now?”

Aireen was the one who broke the cold silence.

“Are you okay,” she repeated, more firmly.

Carlisle answered with purpose.

“I’ll go out with you today. My ankle’s almost healed now, so I can move without trouble.”

Carlisle looked closely at her ankle. The swelling had nearly gone down.

“I hope you won’t stop me. I’ve rested long enough—I can’t just sit around waiting for someone to rescue us anymore.”

Carlisle’s brow furrowed faintly at her determined voice.

There seemed to be more monsters in the area than before. The forest hadn’t fully settled yet… what if something launched a surprise attack?

A wave of anxiety rose within him. Could he really protect Aireen in his current condition?

“Even if you say no, I’m going. You look worse off than I do now.”

Her tone was calm, but there was a quiet edge of resistance in it. Carlisle could no longer push back against her strong will.

“…Just be careful. Don’t vanish on me again. And don’t stray too far.”

“All right.”

Now that she had convinced him, Aireen gripped her sword tightly. Carlisle took one final glance at her condition, then stepped out of the cave with her.

“We’ll circle around to the other side of the water. Don’t let your guard down. Sometimes, monsters are good at hiding.”

“Yes,” she replied quietly.

Aireen followed closely behind Carlisle, tension rippling through her frame as she kept her weapon ready.

Carlisle turned briefly, judging the distance between them, then turned back to face forward without saying a word.

How many steps had I taken… leaving behind only the faintest of traces?

The air shifted—just slightly. Carlisle noticed it immediately and stopped.

“A monster might appear. Stay alert.”

Aireen gave no reply. She simply drew her sword and held it steady in her hand.

“Now!”

Carlisle shouted in a low voice, then quickly swung his blade in a horizontal arc.

“Kaaaak!”

The monsters that had dropped from the trees screamed and charged. This time, it wasn’t just one of them.

“…It wasn’t like this before.”

Carlisle’s quiet muttering reached Aireen’s ears. At the same time, the word “again” surfaced instinctively in her mind.

The same feeling I had at the beginning of the expedition—when I saved Niar.

Fueled by the unpleasant déjà vu, I fought harder than usual. The monsters kept coming, even if I barely moved. My still-healing ankle didn’t matter anymore.

But it only lasted for a moment.

“Aireen!”

A monster suddenly burst from the ground. Before the full-scale subjugation had even begun, the same monster that Carlisle had already slain once—when it had tried to attack Aireen—came charging at her again.

It was the kind of strike I could have easily avoided under normal circumstances. But my injured ankle gave out without warning.

“Ah.”

A quiet gasp slipped from Aireen’s lips.

“No!”

Aireen’s scream rang out, cutting through the air like a blade.

“Captain!”

Carlisle, who had protected her with his sword the last time, shielded her this time with his own body—turning his back to the blow.

If it hadn’t been for Carlisle, she would have given up without a fight. A cold sweat ran down Aireen’s spine.

Crunch. The monster’s body was cleaved in two. Carlisle’s back had been torn wide open, blood gushing through the shredded fabric of his uniform. Yet, with his free hand, he still swung his sword without hesitation.

Despite the gruesome wound, he seemed unfazed and quickly distanced himself from Aireen, focusing on the remaining monsters.

Aireen couldn’t take her eyes off him. Blood flowed down his back like rainfall. She blinked hard, forcing herself to snap out of it, and began dealing with the scene around her.

“Check your wound—now. Hurry!”

When only the two of them remained alive, Aireen ran to Carlisle’s side and urged him to turn around.

“Let’s go back first.”

“Shouldn’t we stop the bleeding first?”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it later.”

“…Captain.”

He was barely holding on. Cold sweat drenched his temples, but Carlisle stubbornly pressed forward.

He grabbed the bottom of his uniform and tore it, wrapping the cloth around his torso. It didn’t even cover half of the injury.

In the end, I had to yield to his stubbornness again.

Aireen picked up her pace. She couldn’t even attempt first aid because every time she reached out, Carlisle instinctively pulled away.

There was only one thing left to do—get him back to the cave as quickly as possible.

“You’ve brought me here like you wanted. Now let’s get started on the treatment.”

Aireen hurried inside, grabbing herbs, leaves, and fibrous stems Carlisle had previously collected. She sat down in front of him.

“Sit down and stretch out your back.”

In her urgency, Aireen didn’t even notice her voice had softened.

“I’ll do it.”

Carlisle pressed his back against the wall even more, driving Aireen to the edge of frustration.

You can’t just abandon someone like this… even if you’re angry, even if you resent them. He’s still human. And this injury—it’s my fault.

I thought I’d feel better if I could just do something. But Carlisle wouldn’t let me.

“This is the last one. Hurry up and come back. You’re bleeding a lot—you have to hurry.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Even with blood loss and pain clouding his mind, Carlisle didn’t waver.

Eventually, it was me who became angry—furious that even while injured, he would rather dodge my touch than let me help him.

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