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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The cafe in the lobby of the Erze Hotel.
Tia sat quietly. The cafe’s partially partitioned booths offered a sense of privacy, perfect for confidential conversations.
She checked her appearance in the wall mirror while waiting for Ethan.
Her red dress seemed to complement her fiery red hair especially well today.
Finally, Ethan entered.
“Sorry I’m late. Did you wait long?”
“No… I just arrived.”
Actually, she’d been waiting for thirty minutes. Ethan was only five minutes late, but Tia had arrived early to work on some documents.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure, I’ll have an ade.”
“I’ll have the same.”
She pressed the call button, and a waiter appeared shortly after. Tia smoothly ordered two ades.
Two glasses of lemonade arrived, filled with ice.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“I’d like to use the wish coupon you gave me.”
“Okay, sure. What’s your wish?”
Tia hesitated. ‘I want to spend the night with you.’ The words wouldn’t come out.
‘You know, Ethan likes girls with big breasts.’
‘How would you know…?’
She remembered that conversation with Sepia at Ethan’s apartment when the three of them had been alone.
Sepia had subtly hinted that she’d spent the night with Ethan, even flashing a victorious smile and a shrug.
It had made Tia feel inadequate.
“Um… well… you go first, Ethan. You said you had something to say.”
Ethan hesitated too. But he needed to know for sure.
“Tia, do you… like me?”
Tia’s eyes flickered at the sudden question. She had anticipated it.
After all, she had performed a song Ethan liked at the festival, hoping he would notice her feelings.
And he had.
After forming their alliance, they had promised not to confess their feelings first. Tia hadn’t technically confessed.
It was more of a loophole, conveying her feelings without explicitly stating them.
Ethan took her silence as confirmation.
“I see.”
“…”
“I’m sorry. But I can’t return your feelings.”
Tia’s eyes widened at his abrupt declaration. She quickly composed herself.
Her pride was wounded. More than that, her heart ached. Of course, with someone like Professor Sylvia around, with her high social standing, wealth, and family background, it wasn’t surprising he wouldn’t be interested in Tia.
‘Even Sepia is beautiful, rich, from a good family, and talented. Tesha too.’
Compared to them, she felt insignificant.
But wallowing in self-pity wasn’t her style. She needed to know why.
“Why?”
“Because I…”
How could he explain that he was a transmigrator, someone from another world? He struggled to find the words.
He hadn’t had much time to prepare. Tia had asked to meet him tonight, right after seeing her performance at the festival.
Even if he told her, would she believe him?
‘You’re a character in a novel, and this world is fictional.’ He’d be lucky if she just laughed it off.
“Well… one day, I might just… disappear.”
He finally managed to force the words out.
Tia tried to understand what he meant. Her eyes widened, then filled with tears.
One day, he might disappear. That meant death.
“You’re… dying?”
“Something like that.”
There was only one conclusion Tia could draw.
“Ethan… you’re… terminally ill…”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Is it a disease? Or a curse? Did you get cursed fighting a demon?”
There were many curses Tia didn’t understand, especially those inflicted by demons.
Even Luke Amos, the previous hero, had died from a demon king’s curse that had given him a limited lifespan.
‘Terminally ill from a curse…’
Tia’s interpretation made sense. Perhaps what had happened to Ethan was a kind of curse.
‘It’s better if she believes that…’
At least that was something she could comprehend.
Even Ethan himself would have been bewildered if, back in Korea, his friend suddenly claimed to be a transmigrator in a fictional world.
Most people would laugh it off. Or assume he was having a psychotic break.
“If I had to define it, I’d say it’s a curse.”
“When did it start? On Arvis Island? Or in Atlan? Somewhere else?”
Tia’s voice was filled with concern.
“…Just tell me. How long do you have? A year? Three years? Less than that?”
He wasn’t sure if or when he would return to his original world. The author who had abruptly brought him here could just as easily pull him back, perhaps at the moment of his greatest happiness.
The author had thrust him into this world without warning. Who knew when he might be yanked back?
Perhaps he was worrying for nothing.
He might live in this world as Ethan forever. If he knew that for sure, he wouldn’t be so conflicted.
“I’m not sure how much time I have left…”
“Right. It might not even be a problem. Or I could disappear tomorrow. Nothing is certain.”
“So that’s why… I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
Tia felt a pang of guilt. She’d been so preoccupied with winning Ethan’s affection, oblivious to his suffering.
Her worries seemed trivial in comparison.
“Keep this a secret from the others.”
“Of course. I swear on the honor of the Erze Trading Company.”
“By the way, what was the wish you wanted to make?”
Tia bit her lip. She understood why Ethan couldn’t reciprocate her feelings.
“Ethan, after hearing your story, I don’t think I should ask for my wish.”
“I don’t mind. Just tell me. What happened today won’t change anything between us. Just… pretend I never said anything.”
For Ethan, this was a burden he’d carried ever since arriving in this world. Talking about it wouldn’t change anything for him.
He would continue living as he always had.
Even if he never returned to his original world, he had plenty to do before reaching the end of this story.
He had already accomplished more than Sonny had in the original story.
‘If I hadn’t known, it would have been easier to ask…’
Tia hesitated.
“What is it? Why are you hesitating? It’s not like you.”
Because I love you. It was a feeling Tia had never experienced before. And she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Hearing that Ethan was terminally ill made her want to hold him close.
“…Hold me.”
“What?”
“Hold me… Ethan. Let me hold you close.”
Tia nervously took a sip of her lemonade. Ethan had said he would decide whether to grant her wish after hearing it.
“That’s your wish?”
“…Is that… not okay?”
Worried he might refuse, Tia quickly added,
“Am… am I not comforting enough? Or are you worried about responsibility? If it’s about responsibility, I don’t mind. What happens today won’t burden you.”
If it was about her lack of appeal, she could accept that and move on.
‘Ugh… I wanted to be cool about this… but I’m practically begging…’
Her desperation was evident in her tone. She felt so embarrassed she wanted to run away.
‘She wants to cuddle as her wish…’
Ethan was a man. Tia was beautiful. And rejecting her after she’d been so vulnerable would only hurt her pride.
“Please… tell me…”
“Okay. Fine.”
Fine. His voice sounded strangely detached. A flicker of hope appeared in Tia’s eyes.
They went upstairs.
While Ethan showered, Tia was lost in thought.
‘What if he thinks I’m too forward…?’
She knew Ethan wasn’t like that, but she couldn’t shake the worry. She shook her head.
‘Ethan is a true hero.’
Still, there was always a ‘what if.’ This was new territory for Tia. She wanted to make sure he understood.
The bathroom door opened.
His wet, black hair, his obsidian eyes, the well-defined muscles visible beneath his white bathrobe.
Tia’s heart pounded.
‘Am I really going to cuddle with Ethan?’
She couldn’t believe it. It felt surreal, and she didn’t know what to expect.
Tia gulped, her nervousness intensifying.
Ethan, stepping out of the bathroom, saw Tia sitting on the edge of the bed, her nervousness palpable.
“Tia, come here.”
“O-oh, okay!”
Tia stood up and approached him.
“I’m… a little nervous…”
“Really? Then I’ll give you a shoulder rub. Lie down on the bed.”
“Huh? My shoulders?”
“Yeah. You said you were nervous.”
Hesitantly, Tia lay down on her stomach. She glanced at him over her shoulder. Ethan chuckled, finding her nervousness endearing.
“L-like this?”
This wasn’t like her. She knew it.
The confident, assertive only daughter of the Erze Trading Company. That was Tia.
Ethan sat on Tia’s back and began rubbing her shoulders. Tia, unsure at first, gradually relaxed into his touch.
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