I Thought I Didn’t Have Long To Live! - Chapter 24

Chapter 24 (We Can Do It Here)

After learning the reason for Asrazan’s sprain, Lariette was excited and busy teasing him, but immediately changed her attitude after a day.

It was because she was drunk with the thrilling thrill of being able to tease the Duke of Kandel and recognized the most important fact he missed.

‘Wait, then you’re saying we won’t be able to make any progress for a while?’

He said that the request to proceed slowly meant progress in skinship, not cooking. In other words, it meant that we should do skinship slowly in the future.

It was an amazing request for Lariette. When are we going to go out slowly all of a sudden while acting as if the progress is going to go out all at once?

Of course, if she was a normal woman, she wouldn’t be so embarrassed. However, Asrazan and Lariette had a three-month love contract, and they had only 10 weeks left.

More than that, I kissed in the 4th week and went on to the next level in the 6th week… I didn’t have time to go through this step by step process. There is no more peace of mind.

‘I want to enjoy it when my body is healthy and fresh! why! I can’t do it!’

Lariette couldn’t speak, and just punched the pillow. I was upset that he didn’t do me a favor, but she couldn’t do it right away.

After all, dinner time is a few days later. Lariette could not stand it and asked Asrazan in a soft voice.

“Asrazan, you know… How slow are you?”

“You mean progress?”

“Yes, progress.”

Asrazan still insisted on replacing the word progress, whether it was embarrassing to mention it.

However, Lariette had to correct it again with a mischievous smile. Because it was so much fun to tease him who was shy.

To other people, he was as blunt and cold-looking as usual, but to her, it was even more enjoyable to see that he was embarrassed.

However, at Asrazan’s words that followed, Lariette’s face wrinkled as if it was fun.

“… I think we should go out as slowly as possible.”

As slow as possible and how slowly? She had no idea, but it was clear that she would not be able to achieve the speed she wanted.

Lariette raised both eyebrows and gave a gloomy expression. The plump lips pouted out automatically.

“But….”

Asrazan gracefully drank the coffee served as dessert without paying attention to the red lips as much as possible.

But the next moment, he was on the verge of spitting out the coffee in his mouth.

“But I mean, I want to do it with Asrazan right away!”

Clink! Luxurious tableware rolled on the floor with a sharp bursting sound. The servant, who had just arrived, secretly listened to their conversation, and was startled and dropped the bowl.

The servant raised his head with a puzzled face. Then he met the icy eyes and gazes of the monster Duke.

Without excuses, he was kicked out of the dining room at Halstein’s orders. I could never forgive him for breaking the mood at the moment when the notice of resolution of the aftermath was in front of his eyes.

Halstein quickly and naturally let the servants out. It was because I wanted to recreate the atmosphere somehow.

Asrazan took his gaze away from the servant and looked at Lariette again. In fact, he was fortunate that the bowl was broken at the perfect time. If the servant had not broken the bowl, he would have  broken the coffee cup first.

After a moment of silence, Asrazan gathered his thoughts and concluded that Lariette’s words were different from what I had accepted.

You should ask what you want to do. Since he had been hit several times, he never gave up his doubts.

Asrazan kept as calm as possible and asked questions slowly.

“What do you mean you want to do?”

“All right! Hugs, kisses, Seoof….”

And Asrazan immediately put a peach in Lariette’s mouth, preventing her from saying more. He couldn’t hear any more. He deeply regretted asking her directly.

Thanks to Asrazan’s blocking, the unfinished word took over his head in an instant.

‘Se… See… see….’

Note: Lariette said 성관 ( castle ) but if we add 계 (성관계) which is mean sexual intercourse; lovemaking

A man and a woman have physical intercourse through the genitals. or its relationship. If Asrazan didn’t block her. 

He bit the inside of his lip, preventing him from pleting the word. Eyebrows furrowed.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

Lariette munched on the peach that had suddenly entered her mouth and gave Asrazan a dissatisfied look.

Then, Asrazan sighed, covering his face with his large hands. The skin exposed between the fingers was pinker than usual.

After a moment of silence, he took a breath, then slowly opened his mouth in a low, subdued voice.

“… Lariette. As you know, my body is decaying with a curse.”

It was such a sudden story that she thought it was unexpected. But it was definitely something to point out.

“The skin is ragged, and the area around the heart is full of scars, as if it could be shattered at any moment. It’s so ugly and terrible that it wouldn’t be strange even if it was a monster.”

Lariette thought about telling him that it wasn’t terrible, but she didn’t. No matter what he said, he looked so light pared to his words that I couldn’t hold my tongue.

Asrazan gently rolled up the corners of his lips as if thanking her for that, and smiled. It was a sad smile.

“That’s why, for me and you… It is difficult to get close. I’m sorry.”

The fear that Lariette might get tired of himself because of the fast progress was actually incidental.

The biggest fear was in my body. You wouldn’t dare to touch her with this terrible body.

Perhaps, at some point, Lariette might sniff my dirty smell and frown. If that happened, Asrazan was truly about to collapse.

Asrazan slowly raised his gaze and met Lariette’s eyes. Contrary to his concern, her face was calm.

“Then there is nothing I can do.”

Lariette gently rolled her eyes. A bright smile spread across her face. It was the same smile he saw in the information guild.

“I have no choice but to work harder to fix Asrazan’s curse!”

“… Yes?”

Asrazan asked blankly. As always, her answer exceeded his expectations.

“The current Asrazan is so cool, so I want to have a close contact.”

Lariette extended the end of her speech as if it were a pity. He trembled slightly as her soft fingers touched the back of his hand.

“If I care about Asrazan, I have no choice but to purify it harder. So that Asrazan can reach me without difficulty.”

“… Thank you Lariette.”

Asrazan bowed his head and thanked her.

It was strangely warm to the touch that the warmth was conveyed by hand. It felt as if the warm smoke was waving softly in my chest. It was an unknown feeling.

“By the way, is it okay to hold hands and hug each other?”

Lariette asked with a playful voice with a clear smile. Seeing this as an enviable prank to change the mood, Asrazan answered with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Then what about kissing?”

“… If it’s slow, I think it’ll be fine.”

“That’s right- then we should hug each other every day!”

Of course, Lariette was more sincere.

* * *

That night, Lariette buried herself in the soft bed and began to think seriously. It was concerned about Asrazan.

‘I need to purify it quickly… There’s still quite a bit left to cleanse the upper body.’

I was working as hard as I could, but there was still no sign of being pletely purified. As I saw last time, the curse on the chest was exceptionally deep. This is because Lariette’s power of purification was exceptional, and other purification wizards couldn’t even dare.

Who the hell put such a curse?

Lariette shook her head, but it was a question she could not find an answer to. I don’t know who it was, but it must have been someone who was very good at cursing, or someone who resented Asrazan terribly.

As I recalled the words that Asrazan had uttered in a tragic tone earlier, I felt pity for him again. She couldn’t even imagine how hard it must have been to live with a cursed body since childhood.

It was understandable that the skinship was difficult. She was also in a state of shock when she first saw him, so it would not be unreasonable to feel ashamed of himself.

‘… Hmm? Something is strange.’

In an instant, a small doubt passed through Lariette’s head.

Asrazan who feels embarrassed by his own condition, and that makes it difficult for him to touch her. Asrahan, who cherishes and respects Laliette very much.

Everything was pletely different from the image she had initially expected. In particular, it was radically different from one of the reasons Lariette chose him for a three-month relationship.

-I’m going to die, so I can’t be in a serious relationship. With a person who seems to have met several women, lightly… only three months.

All of a sudden, I felt my chest tighten. Because it was something I hadn’t thought of.

‘Isn’t it… This isn’t your first relationship, is it?’’

It couldn’t be. Who would accept a three-month contract relationship as their first relationship?

Lariette shook her head in fear, desperately looking for something to refute. But when I remembered his inexperienced way to deal with women, I was even more suspicious.

In the end, Lariette decided to check it out tomorrow. It’s probably not, but it was because she thought she would feel guilty if he was really single all this time.

After that, she continued with other concerns.

Soon, the blinking speed gradually decreased, and soon the heavy eyelids closed and the sound of fluttering rang out quietly

In the end, with ‘By the way, is there a curse on the lower body?’, the worries that lingered on the pillow dispersed into a sweet sleep.

* * *

The next day, Lariette followed Halstein as soon as she finished breakfast. Because I had something to ask him.

Pretending to go to her room, she quickly changed direction and followed Halstein secretly. It’s a secret question, so I wanted to ask it when no one was there.

Lariette also used wind magic to block out the sound. However, despite such efforts, it was discovered too quickly.

“Do you have anything to tell me, lady?”

“Ugh! Uh, how did you know…!”

“It’s about noticing your follow-up, which is a basic virtue as a butler.

Halstein smiled with a friendly expression. Lariette couldn’t understand what the connection between the following and the virtues of the butler was, but she just smiled awkwardly.

“I… It’s nothing. It’s about Asrazan….”

“What do you want to know? Wealthy? size of power? Or how happily the Duchess can live?”

Just ask anything! Halstein said with excessive flashing of his eyes. If it were someone else’s words, it might sound like sarcasm, but his expression was too bright for that.

Lariette waved her hand saying it wasn’t like that. In fact, I wanted to ask if the Duke of Kandel’s wealth was enough to live in another kingdom as rumored, but he refrained.

“Asrazan… Have he never been in a relationship before?”

She smiled modestly and asked the question carefully.

And at that moment, Halstein felt the shock as if he had been hit in the head with a bat, but he maintained a calm expression like a seasoned butler.

‘What am I supposed to answer?’

Halstein shook his head desperately. Which one is the correct answer!

When Halstein was young, he used to like someone who had never dated before, but these days it’s a lot different. All men who were twenty-seven and had never been in a relationship were busy shaking their heads. That was burdensome.

Considering that the negative words of ‘maybe’ and ‘not sure?’ appeared in Lariette’s question, she seemed to want him to have dating experience.

Should I speak frankly and decrease the likability or maintain the likability with small lies? It was obvious that Halstein would choose.

“Huh no way, I don’t know the details, but probably not.”

“Ah, right? I asked a useless question. Sorry.”

“No.”

Halstein deliberately avoided a tone of certainty. It was to avoid questioning afterwards.

After hearing Halstein’s answer, Lariette left with a bright face. The step back was infinitely light.

Halstein sighed and wiped his chest. Looking at her face, it seemed that lying was the right answer.

Meanwhile, on the way back to her room, Lariette met a familiar back in the hallway.

A tall man wearing a white shirt over a bandage and holding a thin, long coat in his hands. Just by looking at the back, you can clearly see that he is handsome. It was Asrazan.

‘Yeah, no matter how traumatized you are, you’re so handsome. How could you not have a relationship?’

Yeah, not like that! Lariette smiled and agreed. With her heart lightened, she ran one step at a time and threw herself at Asrazan. I thought I’d surprise him.

“Ahh-!”

“It’s dangerous if you run like that.”

However, Asrazan naturally turned around and took Lariette’s body as if he had expected it. During the war, he was able to block enemy attacks even while he was sleeping, so it was not unreasonable.

“Hey, it’s not fun. Are you here to see me?”

“Yes. I was heading to your room.”

Asrazan answered, carefully lowering Lariette’s body to the ground. Lariette looked up at his handsome face with delight.

Suddenly she seems to have forgotten something! and cheered. Then, with her arms wide open, she spoke in a cute voice.

“Asrazan, hug me!”

“… What?”

“You said a hug was okay! Please give me a hug today!”

Asrazan’s ears turned red again. He thought it was meant as a joke, but apparently it was the truth.

“There are a lot of servants here, and it’s a hallway, so next time….”

Of course, this was because Asrazan’s heart was beating so fast that he found an excuse. But Lariette took those words very seriously.

“Hmm, then.”

Without hesitation, she took Asrazan’s hand and led him. Although it was a weak force, Asrazan could not resist and was dragged along according to her will.

Lariette opened the door to the unused inner room and recklessly put Asrazan into it. Then he went in and closed the door.

Click! The door locked with a sound.

So Lariette and Asrazan were left alone in the dark and narrow inner room with no windows.

“We can do it here, right?”

Lariette said with a sly smile.

At that moment, the fear and suffering that had been hovering in Asrahan’s mind these days, disappeared in an instant.

And all that was left was instinct.

Asrazan’s large hands immediately embraced Lariette’s shoulders and back. Soon, the stiff muscular body and the soft, small body overlapped without any gaps.

Lariette smiled and hugged Asrazan’s broad back. The deep hug was more satisfying than I expected.

But for a moment, Lariette’s face suddenly turned red.

It was because she felt a strange sensation down there.

It was stiff.