HDBMTD 52

~Chapter 52~

While carrying Aria out of the forest, one of her shoes slipped off.

“I’ll get it for you.”

Nocturne set her down on a rock for a moment, picked up the shoe, and was about to put it back on her foot when something caught his eye. Beneath her slipped-down sock was a strange mark on her ankle.

‘Ah… this must be the mark they were talking about. But this pattern…?’

He stared at it, feeling a strange familiarity, then quickly looked up.

“Wait, what is this mark?!”

“Oops, did I forget to tell you?” Aria smiled.

“You’re my partner.”

“…What— you mean—” Nocturne couldn’t finish his sentence, still shocked. Aria gave a small laugh.

“Do you think I’d kiss just anyone?”

His face slowly turned red. Now he remembered — the first time they met, she had looked closely at his core and had been interested ever since.

“So… you knew from the beginning?”

“Not at first. But once I knew, of course I became more interested. Still, the most important thing was…” Aria looked straight at him, smiling slyly.

“Your face, obviously.”

“…What?”

“Just kidding.”

Seeing her bright smile, Nocturne grumbled.

“You should’ve told me earlier. I—” He trailed off. Aria’s expression softened.

“I thought you knew. I only realized today that you didn’t, so I planned to tell you… but then that beast appeared.”

“Don’t lie. You could’ve told me earlier, but you just kept teasing me.”

The thought of her saying she’d marry her partner but date him made him flustered and embarrassed. Aria gently patted his head.

“Sorry… but you were acting too tease-worthy.”

“What did I do?”

“Your reactions are just too cute.”

“Cute? What are you—”

After the short fuss, Nocturne started walking again with Aria on his back.

“Your ankle okay?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Good. But next time, don’t follow me like that — it’s dangerous.”

“No way. My partner runs into danger and I should just stay back? Not happening.”

“….”

“You’re blushing again. Do you like hearing ‘my partner’?”

“…Yeah.”

She trembled slightly against his back, laughing.

“By the way, about our first kiss earlier—”

“What now?”

“You said it tasted like lemon and sweet stuff. How can both be true? Lemons aren’t sweet.”

“…Good point.”

“Then let’s split it. Second kiss, I’ll eat lemon. Third kiss, I’ll eat something sweet. Okay?”

“…Sure.”

Not long after, rescuers found them. The incident made headlines, and with Nocturne being re-evaluated as S-rank, the whole Empire buzzed with his name.

Later, during an interview, it came out that their “kiss” that day wasn’t a real kiss, which caused unexpected uproar. Aria argued it still counted (something about a “bird kiss”), but Nocturne disagreed.

Through all this, Nocturne learned more about Aria:
Beautiful. A princess. Intelligent yet clumsy. Overthinks things, sometimes does odd stuff. Devoted. Kind. Playful. Shameless in a charming way. And even after seeing the ugliest sides of the world, still dreams innocently.

Loving, loving Aria.

Love changes people. All the time we shared made you a part of me. You said my world was reality, but with you, even my world had fantasy in it.

After losing you, even more so.

Now… I believe in heaven.
I couldn’t stand life without believing it.
I dream of miracles now.
I miss you.

I was deep in darkness. Only a steady beeping sound echoed around me. In the lightless void, fear pressed in.

“Nocturne…?” I murmured.

Warmth wrapped around my hand.

“I’m right here.”

Relief flooded me, and my breathing eased. But after a while, something felt off.

‘Wait… why is Nocturne here?’

My consciousness sharpened, and my eyes slowly opened. The first thing I saw was a pure white hospital room. Through a slightly open door, a white curtain swayed gently.

Pads were attached to me, connected to a golden frame beside the bed. Three crystal orbs glowed yellow within it.

A life-sign detector… so this is a hospital.

I started to move, but the warmth in my hand made me stop. Turning my head, I saw Nocturne, asleep, holding my hand tightly.

The breeze from the window stirred his black hair. Without his usual sharp tension, his sleeping face looked peaceful. His features were balanced, lashes casting shadows… and his hand clutched mine like something precious.

‘So…’

I remembered — when I called his name in my sleep, he had held my hand. That wasn’t a dream. He might have even answered me, half-asleep.

And thinking back, this wasn’t the first time. Every time I’d unconsciously called him, someone had held my hand. It must have been Nocturne, again and again.

‘Why?’

Why did he do that? And why was he now so exhausted that even my movements didn’t wake him? But more than that…

Why was I even alive?

“What… happened—”

My murmur must have woken him. His eyes opened, and when he saw me awake, my breath caught.

“You’re awake?”

His face lit up with a smile — the smile of someone who had regained what was most precious to them.

That warmth in his eyes — which I thought I could never truly have — was directed at me.

‘Maybe… I already died and came to heaven.’

‘But could someone like me go to heaven?’

I glanced sideways suspiciously. While the healers checked my pulse and temperature, Nocturne stayed by my side.

“Her recovery is remarkable. A few more days of rest and she’ll be fine,” one said.

Nocturne’s relief was visible. When they left, he came closer.

“Are you feeling okay? Any pain?”

“….”

“I gave you painkillers this morning, but if you still hurt, tell me.”

“…Why… cough—” My throat was dry, so I coughed. Nocturne quickly picked up a cup. I tried to take it, but instead he scooped water with a teaspoon and held it to my lips.

“They said you have to drink it like this.”

“….” I drank it, then asked,

“Why are you doing this yourself instead of having a caretaker?”

“I wanted to.” He hesitated. “If it bothers you, I can call someone else.”

“No… I just don’t understand.” I looked at him.

“Why did you save me?”

He stared for a moment, then said, “Your throat… must hurt.”

“…What?”

“They had to insert a tube while you were unconscious. And you barely drank for six days. Your throat must be sore, so we should talk later.”

“No, wait— cough—”

“See?” he said, feeding me another spoonful.

Each time I tried to speak, he stopped me with the spoon. I glared at him, but drank. He smiled faintly.

“Why did you do something like that? We could have talked it out instead of hurting each other.”

“…Ugh.”

“In the past six days, I made a promise to myself.” He set down the half-empty cup.

“That if you opened your eyes, I’d agree to anything you wanted.”

His voice was gentle, almost like speaking to a child.

“But let’s postpone the Q&A until you’ve recovered. You’re still weak.”

“….”

“Until then, just eat well, sleep well, and rest. Not hard, right?”

Looking at his smiling face, I thought,

‘Nocturne never used to smile when angry…’

Then I noticed something else.

Nocturne no longer called me by any title at all.