I Thought I Didn’t Have Long To Live! - Chapter 43

Chapter 43 (That cat is my cat!)

The next day, it was around noon when Lariette woke up.

Before I knew it, the sun was hanging in the sky, and the air was warm with the flowing sunlight. The relaxed atmosphere of the early afternoon filled the cozy room.

She had a small chat with Asrazan until late in the morning, and then fell asleep and woke up very late.

But there was nothing to rush. Because today’s schedule was only to visit the festival together in the late afternoon.

There was no work to be done, no appointment with anyone. This relaxation was only in the blink of an eye, so Lariette put a faint smile on her sleepy face.

In front of my eyes, Asrahan, a handsome lover who was hard to adapt to, lay down. Unlike usual, he seemed to enjoy sleeping.

“Asrazan, I love it…”

Lariette murmured in a voice full of sleep, and dug into Asrazan’s arms. Even while he was sleeping, he opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

A warm, thick arm wrapped around her body, and the warmth passed through her skin. It was so satisfying that Lariette drew closer to him.

The large chest muscles touched the soft cheeks, a strong waist felt under the palm, and a hard touch pressed the stomach.

‘Hard…?’

Lariette, who was enjoying his arms without thinking, thought blankly at the unexpected touch. And when I realized the identity, the sleeping energy that was holding on to her ran away in an instant.

“Bi-big….”

Lariette dyed her cheeks pink and coughed in vain. However, for some reason, Asrazan did not wake up easily and just maintained his posture.

‘You’re still in good health.’

Lariette hesitated and thought to get out of Asrazan’s arms. It didn’t matter if it was like this, but it was clear that if Asrazan woke up and understood the situation, he would be ashamed again, so she was considerate of it.

Asrazan only opened his eyes when she was completely out of bed and was about to get out of bed. Then he asked in a low voice with drowsiness.

“… Lariette? Where are you going.”

When he opened my eyes, it looked very dissatisfying that Lariette was not with him. He frowned and took her hand as if he didn’t want to let go.

“Asrazan, I’m hungry.”

“I missed you, too.”

Asrahan seemed to be half awake even if he was half asleep. Unsurprisingly, he not only misunderstood what she was saying, but he also gently rolled his eyes and smiled mischievously.

Seeing that, Lariette groaned and grabbed her chest. My heart almost exploded when I was bombarded with good looks defenselessly.

She turned her head slightly in embarrassment and replied gruntingly.

“Well, you saw me before you went to bed! And it was not “I miss you” it was “I’m hungry!”

“I want to see you while I’m asleep.”

Asrazan said, kissing her hand lightly. It was only natural that Lariette’s face turned red like a blush.

At times, he acted like a person who had never been in a relationship before, and when she looked at him like this, it seemed that he had not one or two dating experiences.

Lariette, suddenly ashamed of her shabby love life, pouted her lips as if dissatisfied. Then I grumbled and pulled my hand out of his hand.

“Don’t be fooled, get up! We were supposed to go to the festival today.”

“All right.”

Asrazan had just woken up, he looked at Lariette with her eyes narrower than usual. It was him who recalled that he had made a mistake in her cold tone.

However, there was an unbearable joy on Lariette’s face as she turned around. She hurriedly left the room, struggling to control her twitching lips.

* * *

In the afternoon before the sun goes down.

“Asrazan, come quickly!”

Lariette shouted cheerfully while wearing a half-mask that covered her face up to her eyes and nose. It was a white mask with rabbit ears, and it went perfectly with her in a white dress.

Asrazan stared blankly for a moment as she smiled brightly under the dim light.

In order to properly enjoy the festival, she wore a dress with a simple design that commoners would wear, and her hair was also braided in a couple of braids in half.

It looked like everyone would point a finger at her saying that she was not aristocratic if they saw it, but in Asrazan’s eyes, she was just infinitely beautiful.

Lariette, who looked a little sloppy until she ate a light meal and got into the carriage, started running as soon as she arrived at Isis. She seemed very excited to come to the festival.

The purple eyes gleamed red under the white mask. She opened her reddish lips slightly and stared at Asrazan.

Asrazan also looked very different from his usual attire. The bandage wrapped around his chin was gone, and he was wearing a robe-type black coat, neatly dressed in a white shirt without decorations.

And he was also wearing a half mask similar to Lariette, but unlike hers, his ears were cat-shaped and black.

Illustration 

‘It’s super cute…!’

Cat ears are the best! Long live the festival!

Lariette shouted to herself not to be too silly. His cuteness was so serious that tears seemed to come out.

She felt like bowing to her friend Doha, who recommended the festival as a date course.

Of course, Doha had absolutely no intention of doing so, but to Lariette, who did not know this, he was merely her best friend and love teacher.

Isis was, as rumored, a really beautiful city. Most of the building was white, and strangely, there were blue flower pots on the wall.

Some houses opened their gates to reveal a beautifully decorated garden. There was a beautiful garden contest, and I think it was because of that.

Thanks to the festival, the colorfully decorated road was filled with the smell of flowers and the twinkling lights were beautiful from early evening. Besides, since everyone wears a mask, it was good to cover their faces.

You can put cat ears on Asrazan for a good reason! I had no regrets even if I died right away.

“Hehehe.”

Lariette let out a satisfying laugh and clasped Asrazan’s hands.

Asrazan flinched at the mere touch. It was because he was not used to being outside the mansion.

Seeing that reaction, Lariette laughed even more happily. He was shy, so I felt like I had won.

“Would you like to see the night market first and then go to the town square? I heard that the masquerade is held there, but there is still some time left until it starts.”

“Yes, that’s good.”

Asrazan clasped her hand vigorously. Now he knew how much power he could give.

Lariette led Asrazan around the Lulu-Lala alley. It was my first time seeing a proper festival, so I felt like I was floating on the clouds.

On the other hand, Asrazan loved her like that, but worried that other people might be afraid of him or avoid him, so he looked around quietly.

As expected, he could feel the eyes staring at him with a glimmer. However, strangely, the type of gaze seemed quite different. Previously, the eyes were full of fear and disgust, but this time….

“Asrazan, look at this!”

Lariette’s bright voice broke Asrazan’s thoughts.

A soft cotton candy was in her hand. It was a pink cotton candy that resembled the color of her hair.

Lariette gently curved her eyes and took a bite of cotton candy. A cloud-like thing melted in her mouth, and a sweet taste drifted on the tip of her tongue.

Other people’s eyes no longer entered Asrazan’s field of vision.

He was just busy staring intently at her plump lips, the pink cotton ball disappearing between them, and the red, moist tongue that was exposed.

“Would you like to eat too, Asrazan?”

“… Yes.”

Asrazan fixed his gaze on her lips and answered.

Lariette handed him a cotton candy in response. But strangely, Asrazan’s face with his head bowed was closer to her than to the cotton candy.

And the mask touched with a rattling sound, and in an instant, their lips overlapped.

Asrazan licked Lariette’s lower lip, and soon after, he scanned the soft mucous membrane through the lip gap. The red and moist things touched briefly, and the taste of sweet cotton candy was conveyed.

The lips dropped with a wet and sultry sound. It was a very short kiss.

“It’s sweet.”

The tip of Asrazan’s lips drew an arc. The sharp eyes were curved in satisfaction. It was a wild smile.

Lariette, who could not understand the situation for a moment, looked up at him with a blank expression, and then came to her senses and blushed. Unwanted hiccups followed.

“Hiccup!”

Then she quickly punched him.

“What are you doing outside!”

Puck! Lariette’s hand hit Asrazan on the shoulder with a dull sound. But it was she who immediately screamed. It was because his shoulders were too stiff.

“No one saw it.”

Asrazan naturally lied. It was because no one in the public saw Gerard, who was hiding in the distance, clearly saw it.

Lariette smirked with a red face. It’s been a while since he trembled just because he held my hand, but the change in posture was too quick.

Skinship in front of people wasn’t my taste, but with him, there was no big deal.

But the reason she was pouting was that, strangely, she didn’t like his skillful attitude. It was a reason I couldn’t fully understand myself.

“I don’t know, I hate it.”

Lariette shook off her throbbing hands and turned around and took a step back. Then it quickly broke through the crowd.

Asrazan, startled by the sound that resembled a clear thunderbolt, was restless and followed Lariette.

However, her small and skinny body was able to easily pass through crowds, while his body was too large and thick to keep up with her.

“Lariette.”

Asrazan called out her name softly and stretched out his hand, but did not reach her. He was extremely reluctant to touch other people, and he stepped forward without hesitation of bumping into people.

Meanwhile, Lariette, who was pretending to be angry, was enjoying this situation where he was following. There was no way that I could not feel the sign when a man with a bigger head than others was chasing me.

‘Should I stop making fun of him?’

It seemed that this was enough for the price he paid for kissing on the street arbitrarily.

Actually, I was quite excited. Lariette thought so and turned around.

And what she found with a happy smile on her lips was the scene where Asrazan was standing facing another woman.

Lariette, unable to grasp the situation, stared at them blankly. The pretty-looking woman was smiling softly at Asrazan.

‘Do they ask for directions?’

Lariette tried to think positively. However, the woman’s voice soon shattered her hopes.

“Hey, Mr. Cat. Are you alone?”

As if seducing, the woman looked at Asrazan with a subtle gaze and tried to poke his shoulder with her finger. Even her belly-twisting gesture, calling him Mr. Cat, seemed to pretend to be infinitely fatal.

Lariette barely resisted the desire to grab the woman’s hair and shout, ‘That cat is my cat!’

“No.”

Asrazan gave a short answer and turned slightly to avoid her hand. His voice was as cold and blunt as when he first met Lariette.

However, contrary to how he cold look, he was actually in a state of great embarrassment. This was because this was the first time except for Lariette’s. 

What Asrazan was familiar with was the blatant gaze of feelings of fear and contempt. Those who noticed that he was the Duke of Kandell were terrified of him and disgusted by the smell of death from him.

However, the ordinary woman in front of him was staring at him with eyes full of goodwill and interest. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the smell at all.

‘The smell seems to have faded these days, but..’

Even if it was buried in the smell of flowers, you wouldn’t even notice it. It was a moving and shocking moment for Asrazan.

Of course, this did not mean that he had a rational interest in women. He was busy thinking about his curse without giving her a single glance.

However, the appearance of him standing firmly without passing the woman right away was enough to mislead others.

“Would you like to come with me today?”

The woman looked at Asrazan’s handsome face with joy and suggested. Even though it was covered with a mask, her natural beauty was not hidden.

And Lariette, who had been watching them from afar, turned around and started walking again. Because of that, she couldn’t hear Asrazan’s answer.

Lariette grabbed the collar near her chest with both hands and walked as if it were a lifeline. The stride was bigger than usual, so it was almost like running.

My heart was pounding uncontrollably. The cheeks that had heated up with embarrassment had long since cooled down.

‘Asrazan and other women.’

She did not think that Asrazan would abandon him and play with the woman earlier. The man she knew was a polite person and he loved her, so he wouldn’t do such a shameful thing.

So that wasn’t the reason she ran away.

The only reason she left her place was because she remembered something she had never thought of before.

‘If I leave, Asrazan will fall in love with another woman.’

It was natural.

What Asrazan is doing now is only a three-month love contract, and after her death, he should find a better woman, love her, and start a family.

But when I imagined Asrazan smiling at the other woman, holding her hand, and saying he likes her, it felt like my heart was breaking into pieces.

‘No. You can’t do this!’

Lariette stopped after moving at a fast pace for a while. She had no idea where she was or where she came from because she was running like crazy.

Hot, rough breaths scraped her throat and burst out. She gasped and breathed heavily, trying to make up her mind.

‘I should pray for Asrazan’s happiness. That’s what I do.’

He was the first person to bring joy to her monotonous life. He was also her favorite person.

So, what Lariette should do is not to be jealous, but to sincerely pray for Asrazan’s happiness.

– I’ll make sure to purify it all up, body and mind. Even if I leave, you can continue to be happy.

Looking at his sleeping face a long time ago, I remembered the goal and the last bucket list I had decided on.

Lariette was biting the tender flesh on the inside of her lips, trying to get rid of the inappropriate emotions that fluttered in her chest.

And then, a large shadow fell over her. It looked like someone was standing behind her.

Has Asrazan already found me? It’s hard because I haven’t been able to make up my mind yet. Lariette thought so and turned around slowly.

But what came into her sight was an unexpected person.

“Miss?”