To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 43

“Hurry.”

When Noah didn’t move, Scarlett commanded again. Noah skillfully avoided the scattered things on the floor and walked toward her.

“Bend your waist and reach out your hand.”

Noah remembered the ballroom parties of the upper class he had seen when he worked as a servant. He thought about how they had asked someone to dance.

Awkwardly imitating them, he hesitated for a moment and lightly kissed the back of Scarlett’s hand.

It felt like sparks burst from his lips. His heart burned hot. He wondered if a day would ever come when he could ask her to dance and kiss her hand without hiding his feelings.

He really wanted to cry. If that day ever came, he would honor her with all his heart.

“Hold my waist.”

As she said this, Scarlett placed one hand on Noah’s shoulder. With her other hand, she held his hand.

Noah felt all his nerves focus on his shoulder. Her touch was light, but it felt impossibly heavy.

“Hurry.”

“Ah, okay.”

He wrapped his hand around her slender waist, more beautiful than anyone wearing a dress. His body stiffened from nervousness. He was worried he might look like a fool.

He didn’t mind being a sinner for loving someone he shouldn’t, but he hated the idea of looking like a fool in front of the girl he liked. So Noah desperately tried to relax his body.

“One. Two.”

Scarlett quietly strengthened her grip on his hand. Noah felt the tension seep into him.

Scarlett began to move her steps. Noah stepped back, following her.

“Three. Four. Then turn.”

She spun lightly and gracefully. Noah moved flexibly, like someone who had danced before. Scarlett’s hair fluttered in the air.

The hem of her light dress lifted and wrapped around her body. Her beautiful body line appeared for a moment and disappeared again.

“Ha ha.”

Even more beautiful than her soft curves was Scarlett’s light laughter. Her sparkling eyes crinkled, and her bright laughter filled the air. And the warmth of their joined hands…

“I didn’t forget. Marie, look. I’m pretty good, right?”

“Yes, you are good enough. But you must not move too much. It will strain your heart.”

“I know. There are so many social dances I never learned because of that. But this time, I’ll dance a few times at least. When else will I have a chance to really have fun like this?”

Scarlett slipped out of Noah’s arms. She spun around with a loud tap of her shoes, stretching one arm out, then returned to his arms.

But then she accidentally stepped on a hat decoration lying on the floor and stumbled. Noah instinctively grabbed her waist to steady her.

Scarlett ended up completely in Noah’s arms. Their pressed bodies felt hot.

She could feel Noah’s breath and his touch so close. His clear skin and eyes that only reflected her stood out sharply.

The feeling of his hand touching her was strange. There was a fleeting discomfort, an awkwardness.

At the same time, an emotion she couldn’t name formed inside her.

It was strange and sweet.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Scarlett quickly steadied herself and stepped away from Noah.

Marie rushed over to check on Scarlett and then began to clean up the scattered items around them.

Scarlett collapsed onto the sofa, her legs losing strength.

Her heart was still trembling. A strange tension clung to every breath. She thought it was because she had almost gotten hurt.

“What are you planning to donate to the charity party?”

“A pearl ring. It was passed down from my grandaunt, who got it from her sister-in-law, the Duchess of a principality in Hiberk. It has a long history, so I think it’s quite nice.”

“Isn’t it a waste to give away something so historic?”

“So what. I don’t have a daughter to pass it on to, and I probably won’t have a child either.”

At her indifferent attitude, Noah frowned without realizing it. Scarlett kicked off her shoes onto the floor.

Seeing Noah’s darkening eyes, she smiled quietly to herself.

“Abigail will inherit a lot from her mother besides me. The Millers are a good family too.”

Instead of replying, Noah stayed silent for a while and then changed the subject.

“Have fun at the party.”

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the first time I’m dancing with someone who isn’t family. Wilhelm will be a good partner. And since I’m going with Wilhelm, the family is very excited. Aaron’s even acting like Wilhelm is his future brother-in-law—he plans to get him drunk and test him.”

Scarlett chattered cheerfully. The usual subtle wall between her and Noah didn’t exist today. She treated Noah like a younger brother or a friend.

Noah hated that.
He didn’t even know that Scarlett intended it that way.

Noah didn’t want to be someone who made her feel comfortable.
He wanted to be someone who made her nervous, just like she made him.

He couldn’t listen to her chatting any longer.
He tried to get up from his seat—
if only Scarlett hadn’t started coughing.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m cold.”

“It’s because your sweat cooled down. Let’s go to your room.”

“No. If I go to my room, I’ll just fall asleep. Bring me a blanket.”

“Wait.”

Noah quickly brought a blanket and wrapped it around Scarlett. He also added more firewood to the fireplace. The room warmed up quickly.

“Has… Read me a book.”

Scarlett frowned, feeling pressure in her chest. Her complexion quickly worsened.

Still, she firmly refused to go to her room and waved her hand.

Noah, worried about her, grabbed a book and some medicine, then sat on the sofa next to her.

“Read it to me.”

“…For some reason, Joseph thought the child resembled him. Though the child looked just like John…”

Crack crack.
The sound of burning wood filled the background as Noah’s low voice spread through the living room. Scarlett closed her eyes and enjoyed listening to him.

Unlike his delicate appearance, his voice was deep and masculine.
It was quite low, with strength.
His pronunciation was clear, and there was a relaxed tone in his voice.

Scarlett didn’t realize she was focusing more on his voice than the story.

At some point, Scarlett’s hand slipped and fell.

Noah, startled, wondered if something was wrong and hurried to check.
He quickly held his hand under her nose—
she was breathing.

“Thank goodness…”

Feeling relieved, Noah suddenly noticed her face was terribly pale.
Just to be sure, he placed his hand on her forehead.

“Oh no…”

Her fever was burning hot.
It wouldn’t be surprising if something serious happened right away.

Meanwhile, as Scarlett fell asleep, an old memory surfaced in her mind. It was a kind of dream.

It was before Isaac was even born, back when Isaac’s father, Chris Brown, was still alive.

“Carly, do you want a younger sibling?”

“A baby is not a younger sibling, it’s a niece or nephew! Stupid Chris!”

Scarlett was dancing with Aaron, her foot stepping on top of his as they moved in rhythm.
Her big and strong second brother had asked playfully.

“Youngest one. When the baby is born, you will have less time to play with Susan and Chris. Do you still want a little sibling?”

Scarlett hesitated before answering. She was scared that the new baby would take away the love she had.

But if she didn’t love the baby, maybe her brothers would hate her.

“Yes. I want to meet the baby soon.”

“What do you want to do when you meet the baby?”

“I’ll share my cookies. We’ll play with dolls and ride the swing together.”

That part made her excited. She didn’t have any friends her own age.

“John, Amanda, Susan, and Chris are all married now, so from now on you’ll only have me and Scott to play with. Andy won’t be home anymore because of school.”

Aaron said it as a joke, but for the little girl, it was serious.

“Hey… Then when the baby comes, will you and Scott leave me too?”

“……”

At her question, all her brothers looked at her. Scarlett grabbed Aaron’s pants, about to cry.

“I’ll give you money. Please don’t leave me. I have a lot of money.”

“……Oh dear… Carly. Why would we ever leave you!”

“Oh… My gosh.”

Her brothers rushed to her. Scarlett suddenly started to cry. The first one to hug and comfort her was Chris.

“Why would you think that? Everyone loves their little sister so much.”

“B-but you’re not my mom and dad. I want a mom and dad too. Waaah!”

“No, no. No one is leaving you. Don’t think like that.”

All her brothers were always too busy. For a little girl without parents, the maids’ care was enough for daily needs, but not enough to make her feel loved.

“Then… do you want to be my daughter instead? If I were your dad, I would never leave you. Because you’re the cutest and sweetest girl in the world.”

“Waaah! No! Then I would have to leave my brothers and sisters!”

“See? Just like you don’t want to leave us, we don’t want to leave you. So don’t worry, okay? If you keep crying, you’ll have to take medicine again.”

Chris gently wiped Scarlett’s tears. She sniffled and slowly calmed down.

Chris’s hand was so kind that Scarlett almost felt jealous of the baby who was about to be born.

But Chris passed away from an illness before Isaac was even born. And then her nephew, who looked just like her, was born.

The moment she saw his gray eyes, just like hers, she fell in deep love and made a vow.

She swore she would protect this poor child without a father, no matter what.

At least in Scarlett’s dream, she succeeded. She leaned against her own grave and watched the visitor who came to see her.

“Auntie, I’m here. Croissant.”

Isaac, who had grown very tall, was now fully an adult.

Scarlett felt relieved when she saw Isaac. Her brother, her nephew, and her dear friend had survived.

“I can’t really remember your face well anymore. Mom and Uncle Andy say I look a lot like you. It’s hard to believe that little nine-year-old grew up like this, right? I’m already twenty-four.”

“Mom is very sick these days. She was really shocked when Uncle Aaron was murdered by the mafia for revenge. After that, Uncle John’s depression got worse, and he ended his own life…”

“Sometimes I think about it. Maybe if you hadn’t died, Auntie, Mom and the uncles would have been okay. If you hadn’t tried to protect me back then, maybe you wouldn’t have died.”

‘No.’

Scarlett tried to touch Isaac’s cheek, but her hand passed right through him. She couldn’t make a sound.

“If it weren’t for me, Uncle Scott wouldn’t have done that terrible thing after you died. He was executed for starting a war with Natalia… It’s horrible. But at least Uncle Andy stayed with him until the end, so he wasn’t alone.”

Isaac gently wiped the dust off Scarlett’s grave.

“Uncle Andy is doing well. Even after all the chaos, he didn’t give up being a priest and still helps people. Even when I asked him to help me, he said he wanted to stay true to his faith.”

Isaac’s voice trembled. Scarlett felt like her heart was tearing apart as she screamed silently.

“This morning, Noah Ashford… that man died. My uncles started it, and I finished it. The revenge is finally over.”

‘Isaac…’

“But… there’s no one left. They’re all gone. Auntie… Maybe I’m being punished for surviving. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Auntie… You saved me, but I couldn’t be happy… I’m sorry…”

Her “Croissant” crumbled apart.

As Isaac sobbed bitterly, hot tears ran down Scarlett’s face too, even in her sleep.

Support