I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 217
The next morning dawned.
“Ugh…”
Iruel groaned as he woke up, stretching his sore body. Sleeping hunched over in a chair had left his back aching.
Fertina was nowhere to be seen in the room, but the clinking of dishes outside the door suggested her presence.
‘She must be in the kitchen.’
Even though talking to Fertina still felt awkward, she had let him stay the night instead of sleeping outside, so it only seemed polite to at least greet her in the morning.
With that thought, Iruel slowly got to his feet. As he did, something fell to the floor.
It was a blanket.
‘Wait! How could there be a blanket so ugly and dirty?’
Without thinking, he picked it up. The blanket looked a bit rough, as if it had been hand-knitted by someone without much skill. But when he turned it over, he gasped, covering his mouth.
‘C-Cute…!’
Squirrels were embroidered on the blanket. And not just one or two. There was a squirrel clutching an acorn, another digging a burrow, and even one showing just its backside.
‘How is it possible for a blanket this cute to exist?’
Surrounded by all kinds of adorable squirrels, Iruel finally hugged the blanket to his chest, silently tearing up.
“Uh… Sir Iruel?”
“Sob… Thank you for showing me something so cute, to the noble person who made this blanket…”
“Um, Sir Iruel?”
“Ah.”
Startled, Iruel turned around. Fertina had somehow entered the room without him noticing, holding two steaming mugs.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, like I’d been knocked out cold by my mother.”
Taking the mug she offered him, Iruel peered at the liquid inside. It was tinged a strange green and smelled anything but pleasant.
“Oh, I mixed in a bit of holy magic-infused tonic. It’s good for you.”
“……”
Holy magic, really? Was she trying to kill him?
“It may look a little odd, but I promise it’s good for you. Just drink it down.”
“Y-Yes… Oh! Miss Fertina, there’s a cockroach by the door!”
“Huh? Where?”
As Fertina turned to look where Iruel was pointing, he took the chance to pour the contents of his mug out the open window.
“There’s nothing by the door.”
“Ah, I must’ve imagined it, haha!”
Returning the now-empty mug to Fertina, Iruel wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
“Aah, drinking that down really gave me an instant boost! Doctors truly are amazing!”
At that, Fertina’s face brightened.
Fertina then led Iruel to a small wooden table in the living room, where a modest breakfast was laid out.
“……”
Seeing the meal, Iruel was at a loss for words.
“Is something wrong?”
Noticing his hesitation, Fertina tilted her head in confusion as she picked up her spoon.
“…No, nothing.”
To be blunt, it was a pitiful spread. Iruel had seen simple meals at inns before, but even those seemed luxurious compared to this.
There was a watery cabbage soup, a small, rock-hard piece of bread, and jam that seemed to contain more seeds than fruit.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Fertina cracked the bread over the bowl as if breaking a brick, then glanced at Iruel. Looking closely, he noticed a spot of mold on the edge of the bread.
“Uh, Miss Fertina… What I’m about to say might sound a bit rude, but it’s not an insult, so please listen carefully.”
Taking a deep breath, Iruel finally exclaimed:
“How can you live eating something that, from any angle, looks like it belongs in a garbage pile, even though it technically isn’t garbage?!”
As soon as he finished, Fertina, who had been listening intently, replied with an awkward smile.
“There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Cutting off the moldy piece of bread, Fertina sighed.
“As you know, the demon subjugation campaign disrupted the harvest, so… this is what we have.”
“But isn’t there a food supply stored in the capital? Couldn’t you buy some food from there?”
“Ah, haven’t you heard the rumors?”
Fertina casually sprinkled salt into her cabbage soup.
“They say Princess Sordid is getting married soon. A royal wedding is a grand event. I think all the reserved food supplies will be used for that.”
In other words, there would be no food left for the commoners.
‘They’re wasting food at the royal palace while…’
Iruel stirred the soup, which was indistinguishable from plain water with floating bits of cabbage. Closing his eyes tightly, he took a sip, but it tasted awful. No amount of salt could improve it.
So Fertina had been eating food like this every day?
And it wasn’t just about food. The state of Fertina’s bathroom that Iruel had witnessed the previous night was nothing short of shocking. Bathing in cold water during this harsh winter when the cold was at its peak?
The fact that she lived without even a single magitool, which anyone with magic could easily make, left Iruel astonished.
‘Those nobles… they have magic to spare. Would it kill them to make a few magitools when they’re bored and distribute them to the commoners?’
He suddenly felt deep resentment toward the nobles.
Moreover, upon reflection, wasn’t Fertina a doctor? She should be among the more well-off in the village. If someone like her was living like this, what kind of life were the poorer commoners leading?
Armeta Forest was not too far from the kingdom’s capital. There should be a lot of people coming and going, and resources should be more abundant compared to the outskirts. Yet the situation was like this.
The watery cabbage soup and the hard bread smeared with bitter jam squeezed at Iruel’s heart. It felt as if a nail was driven into the center of his chest.
After finishing breakfast, Iruel kept his promise and shared his herbs with Fertina. He even gave her a whole sack of Cytiro, which was said to be available only in the capital. Fertina waved her hands, saying she couldn’t possibly accept so much, but Iruel insisted on placing the sack into her hands.
“Consider it a reward for not jumping me last night.”
Oblivious to social cues, Iruel ended up getting slapped by Fertina.
“Sir Iruel.”
Fertina followed him as he climbed onto the driver’s seat of the carriage.
“Please send my regards to Lord Rufus in the Inferna territory. And… if there’s a chance later, I’d like to meet you again.”
“Lord Rufus?”
“Not him. You, Sir Iruel.”
Her face turned red as she said that.
It was strange. He was the one who got slapped, so why were her cheeks the ones blushing?
Grabbing the reins, Iruel started driving the carriage. The wheels began to turn slowly. The carriage rattled noisily over the uneven dirt road.
Just as Fertina’s village began to fade into the distance—
“Sir Iruel!”
He heard Fertina’s shout from afar.
Wondering if he’d forgotten something at her house, Iruel turned his head.
“I like you!”
Was this what it felt like to be struck by lightning? Iruel immediately stood up.
“Don’t like me!”
“No! I’ll continue to like you!”
“Miss Fertina, you’re really a strange woman!”
“I know! But I still like you, Iruel!”
“Fine, do whatever you want!”
After shouting back, Iruel plopped down onto the driver’s seat. Then, as if to vent his frustration, he whipped the reins. The startled horses began to run faster.
As the clattering sound of the carriage grew louder, the voice of the woman standing in the distance became fainter.
I like you, Sir Iruel, I really do…
“Seriously, what is with that woman…”
For some reason, his cheeks felt hot. That woman, Fertina, must have been quite strong. Otherwise, why would his cheek, slapped some time ago, still be stinging?
‘She’s a strange woman, really.’
Clutching the reins tightly, Iruel pressed on toward the Inferna Barony, as if trying to shake off his thoughts.
