I Thought I Didn’t Have Long To Live!

“I beg your pardon?”

Lariette spoke in a soft voice.
Her pale fingers trembled hearing the doctor’s words.
The sleepy old doctor lowered his brows apologetically.

“I am sorry, but it was a misdiagnosis.”

“What?”

“Yes, Lady Blanche.
There is no disease, you will not die!”

This was the absolute worst for Lariette Blanche.

‘I had been acting as though I only had three months to live.
It was a terrible outcome with my fiancé cursing after me and my parents threatening to sell me out of the family registry.
Most importantly, the Chief Prosecutor of the empire — Duke Kandel— was chasing after me.’

“My Lariette, wherever you are, I will find you.
So, don’t make any plans to run away.”

Remembering his words and friendly gaze, her heart melted.
At the time, she had assumed it was a gentle whisper tickling her ears.
But now, after running away from him, she realized it was a definite threat.
The doctor who had pushed her into this personal hellfire was laughing, not knowing the situation he had just put her in.

‘I’d rather die!” Lariette screamed in her head, barely holding back overflowing tears.

***

Everything started three months ago.

The place was the same.
‘Visiting Zakakov’s institution on the outskirts of the Capitol.’

Lariette was worried about her weak and sore body as of late.
She had known the journey would be tiring.
Yet, she only took one staff member and not informed anyone else.
An old doctor had come to examine her.

He sighed several times, stroking his beard in silence.
Lariette felt anxious holding her breath and waiting for news.
The doctor, who had been quiet for a while, raised his head and faced Lariette.
Seeing the deep sadness inside his green eyes, she knew that it was not good.

“Having trouble sleeping recently?”

“Yes, that is correct… Also, I keep craving strong flavors yet feel uncomfortable after I eat.”

“Does your heart race? It will sound as if you can hear your own heartbeat.”

Lariette nodded and the doctor looked at her with meaningful eyes.

“Yes doctor, how did you know?”

“Hah… how should I say this…”

His hands covered his face, a painful expression upon his features.  The situation seemed to be worse than anything she had expected.

“It is a rare cardiac disease that appears in very few people who are born with too much mana.
It usually manifests before adulthood, but fortunately it’s too late for Lady Blanche.”

“What is it? Is it incurable?”

“The mortality rate for Lokadura disease is 98%.”

“Oh…”

“Lady Blanche, you will most likely die within three months.”

He had been hesitating to tell her this, but it seemed to be the truth.

*****

Lariette returned to the mansion with a calm expression; not looking like someone who was just diagnosed with a time limit.  It was all happening so suddenly that she didn’t know how to act.

‘How do people usually respond to time sentences?’

With the help of her maid, she changed into another dress.

In a daze, she thought ‘Should I cry? Or should I have shaken the doctor’s big belly and screamed at him to save me somehow?’

Lariette realized that she did not possess the energy to cry or carry the doctor’s weight.
And in the first place, she had no great greed for life.

“Lady, you’re very quiet today.
Was it tiring visiting the city?” asked Lariette’s personal maid with a smile.

Lariette wondered for a bit.
“Anne, you know… What if?”

“‘What If’ game starts again.”

“ I’m serious this time.
”

Anne shook her head in a bored manner.
It was common for Lariette to always ask about hypothetical situations.

“If you find yourself dying soon, what would you do?”

“Dying already? Lady, I’m barely into adulthood.”

“I mean, if you have a ‘rare disease’ for example.”

“I don’t know.”

Anne steadily combed Lariette’s hair in preparation for dinner.
Her pink hair was dazzling, but it was difficult to manage because of its long length.
The difficulty, of course, was maintained by the work of the maids.

“Wouldn’t it be sad? I’d feel sorry for the people who I would leave behind and for all the things I hadn’t done yet.”

“Things I hadn’t done before…”

“Yes, I would put together a bucket list and then die!”

“Bucket list?”

“A list of things to do before you die.
For example, buy an expensive cake and eat every bite!”

Anne looked like she was dreaming of sweet cakes from a classic dessert shop.  A bucket list seemed unfamiliar to her.
Lariette became dazed and continued to mutter the word in her mind.

“But what would I do? I cannot even brush my hair by myself.”

Anne laughed playfully at her answer.
Lariette grumbled, saying that she could comb her hair alone, “I just do not feel confident about performing tasks on my own.” After all, the maids were highly trained.

Suddenly, in the mirror stood a finely dressed lady Blanche.
Her pink hair curled naturally and hung around the waist, her cheeks were tinted apricot, and her skin was smooth like dough.
Under the long eyelashes, purple eyes shone like beautiful glass orbs.
Her full lips were painted in elegant rose-red.

“Lady! Doesn’t your makeup look wonderful today?”

“Isn’t it just my face that’s good looking?”

“It’s just alright.”

Lariette went out of the room giggling earnestly.
On the way to the dining hall, she reflected on Anne’s answer.
Lariette, unlike Anne, did not feel sad about her situation

.

But it was truly unfortunate that she had not done many things in this life.
Lariette