I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 214
“Miss Fertina! Could you come here for a moment?”
He called out toward the room, careful not to barge in since she might be changing.
After a moment, the door opened.
“What’s the matter?”
Fertina appeared, a towel wrapped around her head, likely from drying her hair.
“Are you picking a fight, telling me to wash with freezing water?”
Fertina looked at him, bewildered.
“Is there another kind of water?”
“What?”
This time, it was Iruel’s turn to be confused.
“How can you wash with cold water in this freezing winter?”
“That’s just how it is… What do you bathe with where you’re from, Sir Iruel?”
Fertina’s straightforward reply left Iruel speechless for a moment, until he realized something he’d overlooked.
‘Ah, that’s right. Commoners barely have any magic.’
He’d forgotten for a moment that Fertina was a commoner, and so was everyone in this village.
In the Eustice household, they never had to wash with cold water, even in the height of summer. The noble family, along with high-ranking servants like the butler, all had magical powers, which they used to heat water as needed.
But commoners without magic? How could they even heat their water?
‘No, wait, but they could buy a magic-imbued water container, couldn’t they?’
In the kingdom of Hevania, enchanted items, or ‘magitools’, were fairly common. He remembered the Eustice estate servants taking portable magitools to heat water every time they washed the master’s prized horses.
Surely, even commoners could have at least one of these magitools at home, right?
But Fertina’s response dashed his assumptions.
“A magitool? Where would I get the money for that?”
“Aren’t they inexpensive?”
He’d asked innocently. How expensive could a magitool be, really? You just had to grab a regular water bucket and infuse some magic into it. Even someone like Iruel, with minimal magic, could make one right now.
Fertina looked at him as though he were clueless.
“Sir Iruel, you really don’t know how the world works, do you? Where exactly have you been living?”
Groaning in frustration, Iruel glanced sideways at her. Now he realized she still had no idea he was a noble.
Which was understandable. Iruel never saw himself as behaving like a nobleman. Truth be told, he often thought a street beggar might carry themselves with more dignity than he did—at least they had the basic drive to secure food, clothing, and shelter for themselves.
Should he reveal his status to her now?
Just as he was debating, another thought struck him.
“Wait a minute. Don’t tell me you wash with cold water too, Miss Fertina?”
“Of course. What else would I use?”
Oh, merciful heavens.
Now that he thought about it, he recalled that her lips had a slight bluish tint earlier—he hadn’t imagined it. Even her neck had goosebumps.
“Are you cold-blooded or something? Aren’t you freezing?”
“That’s not something I expected to hear from someone standing there shirtless, Sir Iruel.”
Only then did Iruel realize he was standing there without a shirt on.
“Miss Fertina, why are you staring at a man’s bare body?”
“And why are you showing it off?”
Fertina’s gaze traveled slowly over his body, her eyes lingering briefly on certain areas. Yet, despite the bold stare, her face turned red.
“……”
What kind of woman was she?
Iruel was baffled. Either openly admire or feel embarrassed—pick one!
“I’m sorry. You just have a great physique, and I couldn’t help… uh, oops.”
“I didn’t hear a word of that, hah hah!”
Feigning ignorance, Iruel turned his head away from her.
“Anyway, Miss Fertina, if you keep bathing in cold water in winter, you’re going to catch a cold.”
“I know. That’s why I hurry through it.”
“Um… Has it ever occurred to you to heat the water?”
“We don’t have nearly enough firewood to heat water every time.”
“No, I mean, there’s another way.”
Iruel led Fertina back to the bathroom.
“Watch this.”
Placing his hand on one of the water buckets lined against the wall, Iruel infused it with magic. A bright glow instantly traced the rim of the bucket.
Fertina’s eyes went wide with astonishment.
“What did you just do?”
“I put magic into the bucket. Now, any water you pour in will heat up automatically. It won’t last forever, but it should work for a few months.”
“Huh? Magic? Perhaps, you’re telling me…”
Yes, not “perhaps”—I’m actually a noble. Yes, I am indeed a noble. And yes, I inherited that lousy title from my noble father.
While preparing to explain, he heard Fertina’s exclamation.
“So… you’re a commoner with magic, Sir Iruel! Thank you so much!”
“…Sure, think whatever you’d like.”
Turns out, she was a bit clueless.
“Amazing. The water in here is actually warm…”
As she bent down to touch the water in the bucket—
“Ah!”
She slipped on the damp floor, losing her balance. Instinctively, Iruel reached out and caught her.
