Chapter 87
After that day, Kallion—awkward as he was—tried hard to show his heart.
He postponed work so he could share meals with her instead of eating alone.
On sunny days, he brought her flowers.
On rainy days, he drank tea with her, saying the sound of rain was music enough.
He did whatever he could to spend time with her.
He wasn’t openly affectionate, nor did he whisper sweet words, but Yuliana felt his sincerity.
She knew this was the most expression he could show—and for her, that was enough to make every day happy.
“Father!”
Now able to walk, little Denian often toddled after Kallion.
Though stern and stiff when handling affairs or speaking with vassals, Kallion’s expression softened whenever Denian clung to him.
“Denian, what’s all this around your mouth? What did you eat today?”
“Strawberry tart!”
Kallion gently wiped Denian’s messy mouth with his own hand. The maids panicked and rushed to offer handkerchiefs, but he waved them away.
In his past life, he had never once shown his feelings to Yuliana or to Denian. Because of that, father and son had grown apart, and Denian had grown up lonely.
So in this life, Kallion devoted himself completely to Yuliana and Denian.
Thanks to his efforts, laughter never left their faces.
When Kallion lifted Denian onto his shoulders for a piggyback ride, the boy laughed brightly. Watching them, Yuliana smiled with endless joy.
***
At sunset on Dalrot’s beach, Kallion looked warmly at Yuliana, who smiled peacefully at his side.
In her arms slept Denian, tired from playing by the sea. Her face overflowed with happiness as she gazed at their child.
Bathed in the crimson glow of the sunset, holding her baby close, she looked to him like the most beautiful painting, like a goddess herself.
Sensing his gaze, Yuliana lifted her head and smiled silently. Her smile shone more brightly than the waves breaking under the sunset.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Because you’re beautiful,” he answered without hesitation.
Her face turned as red as the sunset.
“Sometimes, I can’t get used to this new side of you.”
Kallion murmured like a vow, “I’ll never go back to how I was.”
The foolish man who had once lost her had already died, buried in time. He would never be that man again.
From now on, he would repay her with every word he had left unsaid.
And their child—
His gaze softened on Denian, sleeping like an angel in her arms. Except for his dark hair, the boy looked just like Yuliana.
Maybe that was why, in the last life, he had avoided him.
But as Denian grew, he would begin to resemble Kallion more.
He remembered the grown Denian—cold, stiff, treating him like an enemy. Kallion had ignored him outwardly, but inside, he had been rotting away.
Perhaps, from the first moment he saw the child—so much like Yuliana—he had known he would love him. And that fear had made him crueler.
Now, gazing at the sleeping boy, Kallion thought:
From now on, may your life be full only of smiles. May you grow up happy, together with your mother.
As your father, I’ll give everything to protect that.
And if you do grow up smiling… then maybe I’ll have the right to beg your forgiveness.
As Kallion’s eyes grew heavy with emotion, Yuliana gently placed her hand over his.
When he lifted his gaze, she was looking at him tenderly.
“Your eyes… they look sad,” she whispered.
Her words pierced him. He smiled bitterly and pulled her into his embrace.
Still holding Denian, she sank into his arms without resistance.
With his wife and child in his arms, Kallion’s chest brimmed with an overwhelming joy.
“I love you, Kallion,” she said.
I love you too, Yuliana.
But the words caught in his throat. Every time he tried to speak them aloud, the weight of his past sins strangled him.
If he could bring Yuliana and Denian happiness through his own efforts—then one day, sooner than later, he would say it with confidence:
That he loved her enough to give up everything.
He believed that day would come. He believed their happiness could last forever.
***
But their happy days did not last long.
Why hadn’t he realized? That the misfortune of the past could repeat itself?
“KYAAAH—!”
A maid’s scream broke the quiet estate.
Startled awake, Kallion instinctively reached for the space beside him—Yuliana’s place. But she wasn’t there.
A chill of dread froze him. Just then, the butler burst in, pale and gasping.
“My lord! The madam—!”
Kallion didn’t wait to hear the rest. Throwing on only his robe, he rushed into the halls.
Servants stood frozen near Denian’s room, hands over their mouths.
Without hesitation, Kallion pushed inside.
“…Ah.”
The room was drenched in red.
The floor was soaked with blood.
And there, lying on the cold, wet floor, was Yuliana—clutching little Denian in her arms.
The woman he loved. The child he loved.
Entwined together in a pool of crimson.
“Why…?”
Kallion knelt beside them, stunned.
“What is this… how… why…?”
Broken words tumbled out.
Then he remembered—her death in his past life. She had been killed protecting Denian.
It was around this very time. How had he forgotten?
Why hadn’t he thought ahead?
Had he been so blinded by happiness that he believed it would last forever?
Fool. Fool!
Why… why had he forgotten something so important?
“…Ahh… ahhh…”
With trembling hands, he stroked Yuliana’s pale cheek.
And Denian’s small body, lying still in her arms.
In his past life, Yuliana had died to protect the child.
In this one, he had lost them both.
Where had it all gone wrong?
He had thought they could finally live happily.
Why—why did fate do this?
It felt like a dream. No—like punishment from the god of death himself. How else could destiny be so cruel?
***
After that, Kallion was hollow.
Even his tears dried up. His soul felt dead.
He ate nothing. He slept not at all.
Until finally, he couldn’t endure it anymore.
In the very room where Yuliana and Denian had died, Kallion ended his own life.
When he opened his eyes again, Kallion gasped for breath.
His office. His familiar surroundings.
He looked around in disbelief. Could it be…?
Then the scream rang out—familiar, piercing.
Like a man possessed, Kallion bolted from the room.
He ran straight for Yuliana’s chamber. The maids stared in shock at his frantic pace.
Ignoring them, he burst inside.
“Hah—hah—”
There she was.
“Almost there! Push harder!”
“AAAHHH—!!”
Yuliana gripped the maids’ hands, writhing in labor.
Tears welled in Kallion’s eyes.
He had returned.
To when she was alive. To the moment Denian was born.
“It’s done!”
A baby’s loud cry filled the room.
A tear rolled down Kallion’s cheek.
He walked slowly, as if in a trance, to Yuliana’s side.
Exhausted, she looked up at him in confusion.
He was crying—this man who had always been so cold.
Seeing his tears, she forgot her pain for a moment.
Looking down at her, Kallion smiled through his tears.
Yuliana stared at his tear-streaked face, stunned.
“You worked hard, Yuliana…”
His tears dripped onto the back of her hand.
And in that moment, Kallion swore:
This time, I will never let you die.
