As I was about to transfer to a carriage after barely crossing the imperial border and arriving in the Grand Duchy of Wilboyer, Duke Haiman tried to kill me by blowing me away with the wind.

At that time, Liam exploded his fire ability to catch me, and they say we fell into a valley.

“Duke Bersi reduced our falling speed. It was high, but the impact wasn’t as big as I thought.”

Of course, I thought Duke Bersi couldn’t have done that.

Liam took me, unconscious, to a shallow cave. He lit a fire outside the cave and laid me down inside. There was warmth, but my body was cold because my clothes were wet.

Wrapping my shivering shoulders, I looked at Liam.

“I dried the moisture with my ability.”

His expression as he looked at me wasn’t good. I was about to answer that I was fine, but sneezes poured out.

“If you just give me clothes, I can remove the moisture.”

Unable to ask a woman to undress, Liam cleared his throat with a “Hmm.”

I looked down at my wet dress. If I keep wearing wet clothes like this, I’ll catch a cold. I’m already weak and being a burden to Liam.

“I’ll undress.”

“No! Wait.”

As I tried to undo the knot behind my waist, Liam hurriedly took off his shirt and threw it to me.

“I’ll go out and find something to eat. Change your clothes.”

I saw his back as he went outside.

He had a bandage wrapped around his waist. Red blood was seeping through, as if he was wounded.

It’s because of me. While trying to save me.

The wet dress was difficult to take off. My body felt unwell, and the sensation in my fingertips was dull.

After being kidnapped by Duke Bersi, I crossed the border in a daze. This place is the Grand Duchy and the Empire of Ethesia.

‘Just a little further and we’ll be at the Grand Duke’s residence.’

Once I help Liam’s younger sibling there, my role will be over. No, I should leave as many blessing flowers as possible for Liam after that, but that’s something I can do while hiding somewhere.

The dress knot seemed tangled and wouldn’t come undone easily. After tugging a couple of times, the strength left my hands.

‘It’ll be over soon.’

My life until twenty-two.

There was still time left until then, but it felt like everything would end when we reached the Grand Duke’s residence. Forcing my hands to move despite the feeling of my body getting heavier.

“Ah.”

Liam was about to enter the cave but stopped when he saw me. It hadn’t been that long, but he was holding meat that was already prepared. It must have been hard to see clearly at night, but he’s really impressive.

I was glad to see his face, even though I knew he would return.

“You’re back?”

“Don’t, don’t get up!”

His shout left me in an awkward half-risen position.

“What?”

“Stay like that! Sit as you were!”

As I sat hugging my knees in front of the bonfire as he wanted, Liam roughly ran his hand through his hair and furrowed his brow.

He fixed his gaze on the wall, not looking at me.

“Wait.”

I had taken off the dress and was wearing only the shirt Liam had given me. His shirt, which came down to the middle of my thighs, was so big that it covered my legs.

Liam glanced to check my appearance and let out a deep sigh.

He draped the thin chemise that was hanging on a tree over his bare shoulder. Soon steam rose, and he handed me my dried chemise.

It was still a bit damp, but much drier.

“I’ll turn around, so put it on under the shirt.”

Then he chased me to the inner part and turned his back to start grilling the meat.

It became an odd outfit with his shirt over my chemise, but Liam frowned at my appearance, displeased about something. However, he didn’t say anything else.

Liam turned the meat occasionally as he grilled, but it took longer than I expected.

‘Cooking takes time, I guess.’

The bonfire crackled as it burned, and an owl’s hoot could be heard from somewhere.

It was quiet, but the silence wasn’t awkward.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Liam just glanced at me to check but didn’t answer.

“How did you know where Duke Bersi had imprisoned me?”

Duke Bersi isn’t a careless person.

No matter how exceptional Liam is, it even rained that day. It couldn’t have been easy, but he appeared as if he knew where I was.

“I left a mark on the princess’s neck.”

“Ah, an ability to track location.”

Liam avoided my gaze and poked at the well-burning bonfire.

“I’ll remove it when we reach the Grand Duke’s residence.”

“I survived thanks to you.”

By leaving a bit of ability on someone, you can track their location.

Royalty learns about the abilities of the dukes. And in my second life, I experienced it firsthand.

Not only Haiman, who ascended to the throne, but other dukes left marks on my body.

Even though I don’t want to think about it, it naturally comes to mind.

“It’s not because I doubt the princess, but for safety.”

I was recalling the past, but Liam spoke as if making an excuse.

My expression must not have been good.

It wasn’t because I doubted his intentions.

In the moment I took to choose my words, I missed the chance to respond.

“It’s done cooking.”

He cut the meat into chunks on thick leaves and gave it to me. He put the mostly bone parts left in his mouth and chewed them all, grinding them.

“Even though it’s imperial territory, we’re close to the border, so Glisian knights might be roaming around. I’ve set traps nearby, so we’ll know if anyone approaches, but we can’t stay here forever, so we’ll have to move tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

The bandage wrapped around his abdomen kept catching my eye.

He was wounded because of me.

If he receives a blessing, even if the wound doesn’t heal immediately, his body condition will improve and recovery will be faster.

“You used a lot of your ability, right? A blessing…”

I just raised my hand towards him, but Liam jumped up, startled. He looked terrified.

“I’ll ask if I need it. I received enough when crossing the border.”

“Um, okay.”

He even changed his speech pattern, showing how much he disliked it.

In my previous life, I didn’t have the chance to give him a blessing.

But this time, he was averse to my blessing. Why does he avoid my blessing?

Seeing him retreat with rare bewilderment made me worried.

‘Could it be that our compatibility doesn’t match?’

The dukes always wanted more, so this was a first. It doesn’t seem like he took the medicine given by the empire either.

It would be good if there’s no pain or problem with his activities, but still, a slight feeling of disappointment and regret rose.

“Eat more.”

Liam urged, noticing that I had stopped eating the meat.

“You need to eat to move tomorrow.”

Even though I hadn’t eaten all day since yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t eat any more.

“I ate a lot.”

He looked at me disapprovingly, but I was sincere. It felt like food was stuffed up to my throat. Liam took away the leaf plate in front of me.

It was food I was eating.

“Ah.”

“Are you going to eat more? If I leave it, insects will gather and make it inedible.”

“Is it okay? It’s food I was eating.”

“It’s just food, what’s the problem. It’s better to eat it than to starve. If you get hungry at night, eat the fruits over there.”

He had also gathered small apple-like fruits when returning from hunting.

After gulping down the meat I left in two bites, Liam looked at me seriously.

“Now that we’ve finished eating, I have questions for the princess.”

“Yes.”

“What’s your purpose?”

Purpose.

That was simple.

Liam continued speaking in a slightly colder voice.

“It’s good that you approached with the intention of saving my sibling. Not just words, but with blessings too, so we’ll find a way to live somehow.

We had to leave Glisia as you wanted since we need to go to the empire. But that’s not all, is it?”

His cold eyes were the same as before.

Liam had never pitied me and only saw me as a Beltoa.

I didn’t expect him to easily open his heart to me just because the situation had changed.

After all, we just temporarily joined hands for our respective purposes.

“Isn’t it time to tell your real purpose? What do you want, injuring even my body?”

‘I want you alone to live a different life.’

I couldn’t say those words.

“The princess has left Glisia, and when we go to the mansion, you’ll give my sibling a blessing. That’s our promise. What do you plan to do after that?”

He asked about my future.

I have experienced death three times and know when I will die. Even though I understood it sufficiently, the word ‘future’ brought a strange surge of emotion, making my chest feel tight.

“…I want to live for myself. Freely.”

I always craved others’ affection and tried hard to be loved. As lives repeated, hopes were broken one by one, and I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t have it.

If that’s the case, I want to cherish myself at least, but the time given is not much.

“For myself.”

But Liam’s expression became colder. I could feel by the atmosphere that his mood had changed.

“Then why did you try to die?”

I froze.

His straight eyes held my gaze, preventing me from looking away.

“Do you think I don’t know what you were thinking when you were captured by the duke and looking at the window?”

At that moment, this place was no longer a cave but became the space where I was kidnapped by Duke Bersi.

When I felt that I was captured by Duke Bersi again and my previous lives were repeating, a hopeless despair came over me.

Wondering if I couldn’t escape no matter how many times I lived again, I became despondent about the unchanging dark life.

Thinking there was only one way to escape, at that moment, Liam appeared.

As he always did.

Whenever I was imprisoned and dying, giving up on life, he appeared before me.

“Kyler sometimes has the same expression as the princess. When he wants to throw everything away and just end it all.”

Liam’s expression contorted. His suppressed voice had quite a gentle warmth.

“If your life is so worthless and living is so hard, don’t think of anything else.”

Like a devil tempting one to fall into hell, those words were too sweet.

The bonfire light flickered on his face as he looked at me.

“Leave it to me. I’ll take all the complicated matters and responsibilities. So, give me that life of yours.”

How nice it would be if I could do that.

Even if I want to give it to him, my life is not long.

The inside of my eyes felt hot. Liam blurred with the tears welling up.

‘I shouldn’t.’

My heart wavers.

I had accepted death.

The limited time given to me was God’s blessing. I thanked God for knowing the end and preparing to use the remaining time meaningfully.

Grateful even for this short life.

I met Liam again and left Glisia by my own choice. I was able to change Liam’s life.

But even the truth I had turned away from flowed out.

“I don’t want to die. I want to live.”

I had accepted it as the end and faced death with peace. But when I opened my eyes, it was my fourth life.

I didn’t feel burdened by the repeating lives.

The sunlight I met again, the air entering deep into my lungs, the faint flower fragrance wafting in, and even the dessert melting in my mouth.

Everything made me happy.

“Then live.”

I want to live too.

I want to taste the empire’s desserts, make picnic plans, worry about the weather, and complain about getting blisters on my heels from new shoes.

I desperately want ordinary days.

“Live as you wish, princess. I’ll make it happen.”

Feeling like I would burst into tears if I opened my mouth, I only answered Liam with a smile.

I will die.

Certainly.