TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 219
Yuria had a disease she couldn’t tell others about.
It wasn’t an incurable disease or a condition with Limited Time Left, but rather a Disease of the Heart that corroded her from within.
A disease of not being able to trust Promises.
This Disease of the Heart had tormented Yuria for a very long time. It was the reason Yuria had no choice but to be Good and always show a bright face to others.
The origin of this disease began with a Promise Yuria’s Mother made during Yuria’s Childhood. It wasn’t a grand, sorrowful tale filled with drama. It simply stemmed from something that could happen to anyone.
That day, too, The North was cold and barren. To cure Mother’s mysterious Incurable Disease, Father went out to work while Mother lay bedridden.
-Mother, don’t be sick.
-Why would Mother be sick~?
-Sniffle…! I’ll climb the mountain and gather herbs…
-Hiss! Yuria! Didn’t Mother tell you not to climb the mountain? Didn’t I say the scary Wolf growls there?
-But still… because Mother is hurting.
-Mother is fine.
Mother, who always said she was fine, would always hook her pinky and make a Promise.
-Next spring, we’ll go flower-viewing together with Father.
-Yes…! It’s a Promise.
-That’s right. But only if Yuria becomes a child who listens well to Mother! Then Mother will get better, too.
-Yes.
Mother, who promised to go flower-viewing once she was healed and said, ‘Mother is strong, so it’s okay,’ couldn’t keep that Promise.
Her condition worsened.
The debt piled up.
Father wasn’t home.
Yuria, clinging to an unkept Promise, hooked her pinky with hope. She believed that one day, this Promise would surely be kept.
Was it innocence? Or was it because, in the desolate North, the only people she could rely on were her family? The Promises Mother made with a hooked pinky weighed heavily on Yuria.
-Mother…?
Mother broke her Promise.
Even lying in front of the stove filled with firewood, she had turned cold and wouldn’t respond.
The unilateral vows made with hooked pinkies. The Promise that she would get better if Yuria became a Good child—all of it was trapped in a Cold Frame and broken.
From that moment, Yuria stopped believing in Promises.
She couldn’t trust people, and she developed a Disease of Doubt, unable to believe in anyone.
Though she smiled outwardly, the disease that cried inwardly slowly settled into young Yuria’s heart.
Like a Fool.
Yuria tried hard to be a Good daughter to Father. Because he said it would make things less difficult for him. She thought Mother, who was in heaven, would also be pleased to see her trying to be a Good child.
-I’m sorry. This month’s interest is…!
But Darkness always crept in.
Father’s Promise to be with her on her Birthday if she studied hard, and the Debtor’s Promise that he would come back if she told him where Father was—none of them were kept.
So Yuria smiled.
Even if she couldn’t trust.
Even if Promises weren’t kept.
She always consoled her sadness with a smile.
Because it was better that way. Even when it was hard or lonely, everyone liked it when she smiled. So she smiled and smiled again.
Yuria always thought.
Am I being a burden?
Would things improve if I smiled more?
If I don’t hate others, will I be loved? She always carried these heavy thoughts on her shoulders.
-Hello, ma’am!
When she faced people with a smile, food increased. The snacks handed to her with a pat on the head, calling her cute and Good, tasted so delicious back then.
-Tsk tsk… What a pity.
Behind her back, she always heard whispers calling her a pitiful Little Kid, but she didn’t crouch in dejection.
Because she didn’t trust them. There was no reason to get hurt.
Yuria feared trusting others.
She knew it herself. That her story wasn’t a valid reason to doubt others. She knew and tried to fix it. But the situations unfolding before her eyes only made her heart ache and corrode further.
Because when she opened her heart, she was Betrayed.
-Hey, Ricardo was badmouthing you.
-He only talks to you so you’ll do his homework, doesn’t he?
-Yuria~ Come play with us! Oh, but isn’t that so cute? Are you really going to buy it for me?!
In truth, she wasn’t such a bright person, nor was she a Fool. The Disease of the Heart that had festered inside her for so long had created the foolish person she was now.
She wanted to receive affection.
She wanted to be loved.
She wanted to be seen as a Good child, but that desire turned her into a Monster that could explode at any moment.
Her true feelings were different.
In truth, she wanted to curse.
She wanted to hate.
She wanted to throw Whiny Complaints.
But her Obsessiveness didn’t easily allow it. Except for one person…. For that one person, the Disease of the Heart disappeared.
-I will protect you.
-…
-It’s fine if you don’t trust me. It’s fine if you dislike me. I’ll do what I want anyway.
-Why?
-Just because I want to.
She knew. She knew why her Emotions were so irregular.
Especially toward Ricardo, she knew she acted sharper, but it wasn’t easy to fix.
She got angry easily.
-I trusted you.
She got disappointed on her own.
-Wherever Ricardo is, trouble always follows.
She knew herself that her baseless suspicion was harsher only toward Ricardo. Because until now, Ricardo had never broken a Promise.
“Hah.”
Sitting on a Bench at The Northern Hospital, Yuria lowered her head, trying to erase her complicated thoughts.
Why did I do that?
Why did I speak coldly to Ricardo?
She always regretted it after the fact.
Her thoughts deepened, and her heart grew impatient.
When standing in front of Ricardo, when she saw him as someone she could rely on, she would recklessly whine and burst into tears.
When did it become like this?
Exhaling cold breath, Yuria recalled yesterday’s mistake with a gloomy expression.
No answer came to her.
How should I apologize this time? What should I say to approach him? If only I had trusted him a little more, if I had approached him without doubt.
Perhaps if I had treated Ricardo the same way I treated others, things might have been different. Yuria lowered her head, reproaching herself.
Private Room in the Hospital at The Northern Hospital.
-Clatter clatter clatter!
Thanks to connections, after giving a simple statement, I was admitted to a good hospital and lay peacefully on the bed, enjoying my leisure.
‘How long has it been since I last lay in a hospital?’
I couldn’t remember the last time I was hospitalized. Other than being admitted after getting hit by a car in my Previous Life, I don’t think I’ve ever been hospitalized. I was spending my time leisurely, taking in the long-forgotten smell of the hospital.
-Clatter clatter clatter!
Except for one thing.
The Young Lady noisily running around.
“Eeeek! Ricardo!”
The Young Lady, who had reverted to her Childhood, seemed to have regained her childhood stamina as well, as she couldn’t stay still. Wearing Teddy Bear Slippers, she flitted about, poking her face through the Balcony Railing of the hospital bed and exclaiming, ‘Whoa! Ricardo is dead.’ Then she’d run around sounding the Air Raid Alarm.
-Eeeek!!! Air Raid Alarm!
Really, the Young Lady had no regard for anything now that she’d become younger.
I let out A Chuckle and stopped the Young Lady, who was about to run into the Hospital Corridor. At this rate, the Healing I was finally enjoying might go to waste. Grabbing the smaller Young Lady’s Hair, I smiled faintly and said.
“Cough. Cough. Young Lady, could you get me some water?”
“Water?”
“Yes.”
“Ricardo can feed himself.”
“…I’m the patient, though?”
I pointed to my hospital gown with my finger as I spoke.
Implying that I was the patient, so couldn’t she take care of me? The Young Lady squinted her eyes faintly, nodded, and smiled brightly.
“Alright. Then don’t die.”
“I won’t die.”
“Okay.”
-Weeee!
Truly, the Young Lady was adorable.
It was almost regretful that her temporary youthfulness was fleeting; the Young Lady was so cute. Her chubby cheeks, her adorable pronunciation—things I hadn’t thought were cute about her when she was younger.
I let out an Empty Laugh and shook my head.
‘Still, I don’t like young girls.’
My preferences were firm. I couldn’t give up the Young Lady’s Treasure Pouch. Without the Treasure Pouch, the Young Lady was just an empty shell.
Trusting the Young Lady’s words that she would return after a day or so, I let myself relax.
Even though it was temporary, seeing the Young Lady able to walk made me feel good.
It wouldn’t be permanent.
Her body had reverted to its past state, healing the damaged nerves. To be precise, it was more accurate to say her body returned to its former state.
When the Dark Mana returned, the Young Lady’s Legs would go back to how they were before. Though it was regretful, both the Young Lady and I decided not to dwell on it too much. For now, I just wanted to enjoy this happiness.
Hearing the Sound of Footsteps of the Young Lady noisily running into the Hospital Room, I smiled faintly.
“Ricardo!”
The Young Lady, balancing a Water Cup on her head, came running with her nostrils flaring. Everything she did was so cute that it was almost mischievous.
Her expression was stern.
Her red cheeks puffed up as her shoulders heaved, making her look like a Villainess pretending to be aloof, which made me laugh.
The Young Lady thrust the Water Cup, which she had balanced on her head, toward me and said.
“Here’s the water.”
I let out an Empty Laugh as I looked at the half-empty Water Cup she had brought while running.
“Young Lady.”
“Okay.”
“There’s no water.”
“No way. I filled it to the brim.”
“No, there isn’t.”
“No way, I definitely… Huh?”
The Young Lady, staring at the empty Water Cup, looked at me with a puzzled expression as if asking, “Why is it empty?”
“Right?”
“Okay.”
“Would you go get more?”
“No. It’s Bothersome.”
I carefully took the Young Lady’s Water Cup and began drying her wet Hair.
“Weeee…!”
When I dried her soft Hair, the Young Lady tightly shut her eyes and shook her head, letting out a groan of “Stop it…!” in protest.
How much time had passed?
Outside the Window, the moon began to rise.
The Full Moon filled the sky over The North.
Sitting together on the Bed, gazing Outside the Window, the Young Lady and I blankly pointed at the stars in the sky.
“Wow. It’s so pretty.”
“It really is. These are the same stars you can see in Hamel, but they feel more special here.”
“Exactly.”
The sky, holding the Milky Way, began softly singing a lullaby.
With the Young Lady sitting between my legs, I gave in to the drowsiness and held her tightly as I lay down on the Bed.
“Eeeek!”
The Young Lady, squirming as if uncomfortable, began struggling to escape my embrace. I buried my nose in the crown of her head and spoke in a drowsy Voice.
“Lullaby, lullaby…”
“Eeeek, don’t put me to sleep!”
“Lullaby…”
“A proper Lady shouldn’t…!”
“It’s fine since you’re a child right now.”
“…Is that so?”
The Young Lady, picking her nose and nodding, soon accepted it and comfortably nestled into my arms to sleep.
I could hear her breathing evenly.
-Snore!
Though her breathing wasn’t exactly even.
I closed my eyes and surrendered to the Sleepiness washing over me. Thinking I should sleep early today, I relaxed for the first time in a while and drifted off.
*
-Knock knock.
A knock came from Outside the Hospital Room Door.
-…
The Hospital Room remained silent.
Standing Outside the Door, Yuria bit her lips and lowered her head. Hugging the fruit basket in her arms tightly, she stood silently in front of the unresponsive door for a long time.
About 20 minutes passed like that.
Deciding to at least leave the basket in the Hospital Room, Yuria cautiously opened the Hospital Room Door.
-Creak.
“Excuse me…”
“…”
Yuria stopped breathing when she saw the Silhouette of a Lady Through the Open Door.
A woman folding her arms and staring at her.
Seated in a Chair with Wheels, Olivia looked at Yuria with calm eyes.
“Come outside.”
“…”
Having regained her body, Olivia wheeled herself out of the Hospital Room.