ICTIMP CH 01

Chapter 1. A Death Flag Right from the Start (1)

Today was yet another chaotic morning.

“Ahh! My lady, blood again!”

“Ilina, aren’t you tired of being surprised every time?”

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and tried to get up…… but my legs had no strength, so I slumped back down onto the bed.

The pristine white bedding was covered in the blood I had vomited.

Ugh, I’m dizzy. Everything was spinning before my eyes.

“The intervals between your bouts of coughing up blood are getting shorter.”

Ilina wiped my mouth with a towel soaked in warm water. I was the one who vomited blood and was dying every ten days, yet Ilina looked like she was about to cry instead.

I reassured her.

“I’m still fine.”

“You’re not fine!”

Suddenly, Ilina shouted at the top of her lungs. Good grief, her voice was loud.

“Ilina, my head is ringing, so don’t shout.”

Ilina hurriedly apologized.

“S-Sorry.”

Ilina skillfully wiped my face, but my nightclothes and hands were still covered in blood. I sighed.

“I think I should take a bath.”

“You should take your medicine first.”

“It doesn’t work anyway.”

When I tried to casually brush it off, Ilina glared at me fiercely.

“It still helps reduce the pain.”

Ilina put down the towel and brought me my medicine and some water. I glared resentfully at the bitter medicine that made me shudder just looking at it.

Even if I stuffed that damn powdered medicine down my throat until my stomach burst, I was still destined to die anyway. I knew my body’s future far too well.

A month ago, I had become Anastasia Sinclair, one of the characters in a novel I had been enjoying.

Despite having a name that meant ‘resurrection,’ Anastasia was an incurable patient.

By the time the novel began, Anastasia was already dead, occasionally appearing through the male protagonist’s memories.

She wasn’t exactly the kind of first love that made your heart ache just from hearing her name, but Anastasia and the male protagonist, Adel, had been fairly close.

And on the day of Anastasia’s funeral, Adel met the female protagonist for the first time.

Talk about an extraordinary way to bring the male and female leads together—through death.

Anastasia was an astonishing beauty, the kind who could make people freeze or stare without being able to look away whenever they encountered her on the street.

Fragile eyes reminiscent of the moon, cherry-colored lips, and a sweet voice like blooming flowers. Her softly swaying hair was like starlight.

The novel described how most people felt as though all the blood had drained from their bodies the moment they saw her.

Well, let’s conveniently set aside the fact that she would inevitably collapse if she spent more than an hour outside.

Ever since becoming Anastasia, I had been so intoxicated by my own beauty that I could barely come to my senses.

Yeah, so what if I die soon! I get to live as a beauty like this!

No, this wasn’t simply a matter of being pretty. At this rate, once I became an adult, conquering an entire country might not even be a dream……

I had rarely been told that I was pretty in my previous life.

And…… my real body was probably in far worse shape than Anastasia, who was coughing up blood and slowly dying.

Mmm, it definitely must have died.

“Ugh, enough with the depressing thoughts!”

I stopped thinking and poured the medicine into my mouth. It was a bold move, but the medicine was damn bitter. Bleh. I’d rather vomit again than take this!

“M-My lady?”

“Chocolate…… candy…… anything, quickly…….”

At what sounded like my final dying wish, Ilina quickly took out some chocolate and placed it in my hand. The medicine tasted so horribly nauseating that even the hand that had remained steady while I vomited blood began to tremble.

While the other maids cleaned up the disaster in the bedroom, I munched on chocolate and went to the bathroom with Ilina supporting me.

No matter how many times I suggested changing the bed covers and blankets to darker colors, Anastasia’s parents refused to listen.

They seemed to think that being surrounded by bright colors might help improve my mood.

Even now, Anastasia’s family was running around desperately searching for a cure that didn’t exist. Whenever I told them it was futile, they only scolded me instead.

I had never experienced or received anything called familial love. Naturally, I didn’t know how to return it either. Yet my family never questioned me even when I acted awkwardly around them.

Originally, Anastasia had been quiet and indifferent even before she developed the incurable disease.

It made me a little sad. The people of the Sinclair family truly loved Anastasia.

So once I accepted reality, I began smiling at them at least once more and speaking to them in a warmer tone.

I thought that if I expressed my feelings, perhaps at least a trace of Anastasia’s smile would remain in her family’s memories.

Anastasia’s illness was so rare that it didn’t even have a name. In other words, no matter what I did, I was destined to die before turning eighteen.

In front of Adel’s eyes.

“My lady, the bedroom has been tidied up.”

By the time I had finished bathing and started drying my hair, Marin, who was in charge of cleaning, came to report to me. I was about to tell her she had done a good job when Marin added,

“And apparently Young Master Magnus is running here at full speed.”

“Gasp.”

I inhaled sharply. Adel had an uncanny ability to know whenever I had coughed up blood. Was it magic? Was it because of magic after all? I could do without this overpowered protagonist!

“Tell him I’m sleeping!”

I sprang up and tried to head toward the bedroom, but Ilina hurried after me.

“My lady, your hair isn’t dry yet!”

“That’s not important at all!”

I shook off Ilina’s hand and flopped onto the bed. I pulled the fresh, fluffy blanket all the way over my head and pretended to sleep as hard as I could.

I heard Ilina reluctantly close the door.

I breathed in and out regularly, but my heart was pounding. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Adel Magnus was the ideal nobleman, as though he had gathered up all the goodness in the world.

It was something that happened much later, but in the novel, he was called an incorruptible knight and a hero born to lead people down the right path.

He was kind, diligent, and noble.

Even if someone was his enemy, Adel never insulted or looked down on them and always treated them with courtesy. He was never arrogant, not even for a moment.

Although he was the heir to the Magnus Duchy, one of the most powerful families in the empire, he showed kindness and courtesy even to passing commoners. Regardless of their status, he spoke politely to everyone.

On the other hand, he had been raised so properly that he was rigid and inflexible, often driving me crazy.

Just when I thought I might as well really fall asleep like this, a refreshing voice came from beyond the blanket.

“Excuse me. Are you asleep?”

He’s here!

My heartbeat was so loud that I felt like Adel might be able to hear it.

Ever since I had once collapsed alone in my room and was discovered much later, Adel had started using magic that made him invisible to others so he could come in and check on my condition. This was already the third time.

Well, there hadn’t been any description in the novel of Adel enjoying breaking into people’s rooms. Apparently, I had somehow lost his trust.

“It seems you have coughed up blood again. There are still faint traces remaining.”

Whenever I heard Adel’s refreshing voice, it was enough to make my eardrums feel blissful. It was crisp like lemon juice, red grapes, and citrus. As expected of the male protagonist.

“Anastasia, forgive me for being rude for a moment.”

I was grumbling inwardly when suddenly the blanket was whisked away.

“Whoa!”

When I opened my eyes in surprise, Adel was looking at me without even the slightest hint of surprise. What the hell was with that insane handsomeness? Refined elegance practically overflowed from him. I rubbed my eyes without thinking.

“So you weren’t asleep after all.”

I was so stunned by Adel’s looks that I realized my anger a beat late.

“H-How dare you pull off a lady’s blanket while she’s lying in bed!”

I glared at Adel for a moment, but then his calm eyes somehow made me uncomfortable, so I slowly turned my head away.

As Adel lowered the blanket, he said,

“You keep avoiding my gaze. Is it because you feel uncomfortable seeing me after what happened yesterday?”

We had met last night as well.

My family had gone far away in search of a cure, and there was a festival going on outside, so I had planned to go watch the fireworks. But somehow, Adel had found out and come looking for me.

Even though I told him not to worry because I would be accompanied by the maids, Adel blocked my path, and I became extremely angry.

‘I’m fine! I said I’m fine, so why are you interfering? I’m going to die anyway, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it! If you understand that, then just leave me alone and let me do whatever I want until I die!’

I didn’t have much time left to enjoy this world as it was, so telling me to stay cooped up in my bedroom was too much.

“……You know I don’t have much time left. I’m grateful that you’re worried about me, but I don’t want to spend the time I have left trapped in a tiny room.”

“You might still be able to find a cure.”

Adel calmly tried to reassure me. I flatly denied it.

“You won’t find one even if you search the entire world.”

“Is there a reason you can say that with such certainty?”

“Because I’m the only person who has ever had this disease. Besides, Adel? Other than coughing up blood and feeling dizzy, I can endure it fairly well. So stop nagging me……”

“Couldn’t you hold on to some hope, at least for the sake of the Count and Countess, and for me?”

Adel tirelessly tried to fill me with dreams and hope. It had only been a month since I became Anastasia, yet I was already sick of this conversation.

An overly rigid and optimistic male protagonist possessed the power to turn the person beside him into a complete mess.

I shook my head, hoping Adel would finally understand.

“No, I can’t. I’m definitely going to die.”

“Anastasia.”

“I’m not being pessimistic. Just think of it as facing reality head-on. We’re done talking now, right?”

Come on, go back. I’ll see you out. Your face relieves all my stress, but your nagging makes my blood pressure shoot through the roof. In the end, it’s a net zero!

When I abruptly got out of bed, Adel furrowed his brow.

“We’re not finished yet.”

Adel carefully took my wrist and made me sit back down on the bed. Then he immediately let go.

“Don’t try to go out alone like that. The outside world is too dangerous for you.”

I lowered my voice.

“I’m not a child, Adel. You’re not my guardian.”

“Even so, you can’t.”

“Ugh, you brick wall! You’re so stubborn!”

I finally exploded. Adel didn’t even blink.

“It’s because everyone is worried about you.”

“I don’t need it! Just! When someone talks to you, at least pretend to listen!”

“Anastasia, you’re becoming rather harsh in your speech.”

Adel replied in an utterly innocent and composed tone. I genuinely wanted to smack Adel.

Whose fault do you think all of this is?! Thanks to you, my blood pressure is going to shoot through the roof and reduce my remaining two years of life to a single month!