The Duke's Daughter's Third Life

Chapter 64

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Everything else became a blur in Aeliana's eyes after the bandit incident she and her father experienced during the journey back to the dukedom. The rest of the guards slaughtered all the bandits before quickly returning to the town, as it was closer than the journey back home.

Aeliana had bloodshot eyes as she stayed by her father's side the entire time, never leaving. Even when the doctors and mages came, she simply remained by the bed without saying a word.

She couldn't respond to anyone when spoken to. Her body had turned to auto-pilot—only eating, washing, and sleeping. The only other thing she did was stay by her father's side.

Her brothers all heard the news and immediately rushed to the hotel where they resided temporarily. They burst into the room their father was currently in and saw Aeliana sitting by the bedside with her head down.

"Aeliana! Are you okay—" Leon's words trailed off as soon as she turned towards them.

Deep eyebags, bloodshot eyes, and sunken cheeks. Anyone who saw Aeliana could see she wasn't okay in the slightest bit.

"..." she stared at her brothers before turning away, her eyes back onto her father's lifeless figure.

"Aeliana...how long have you been sitting here?" Claud cautiously asked as he slowly approached her, touching her shoulder.

She didn't answer him for a long while.

"...I don't know," she replied listlessly.

Her hand grasped her father's pale and motionless hand. She pressed it against her forehead before muttering,

"This is all my fault."

Leon frowned, "What are you talking about? None of this is your fault."

"It is!" she yelled, abruptly standing up and causing the chair to fall backwards.

Tense silence hovered around them as Aeliana stared at them with guilt in her eyes.

"If I hadn't just stood there and dodged the blade, Dad would have been fine!!" she said as she repeatedly hit her chest.

"He wouldn't be deeply injured and be in a coma if I moved!"

Aeliana turned to their father and fell to her knees, her face buried into the covers as she muttered repeatedly, "It's all my fault."

"Eli..." Darius mumbled, extending his hand towards her and placing it on her head.

"I'm glad you're safe."

Aeliana stiffened.

"What...?"

"I'm glad you're safe, Eli. I'm sure Dad thinks that as well."

Marius nodded at his younger twin's words, "Yeah, it's good that at least you are safe."

Claud hummed, heaving a sigh, "If you got injured also...I'm not sure what would happen to all of us."

Suddenly he gasped and waved his arms around, "O–of course we are sad that Dad got injured, but thanks to his intervention, there was less damage that happened!"

"Brother...you are far worse than Marius in comforting.."

"What!? I'm really good at comforting!"

Leon bent down and looked directly into her pink eyes.

"Aeliana, what we mean is that although this all happened and Dad happened to be injured, we don't think it's your fault or blame you for this. This is not your fault."

Aeliana glanced at all her brothers, "But because of my faults, Dad nearly died protecting me."

"If it was the other way around, would you jump in front of Father and protect him?" Leon asked.

She stared at him and nodded. He showed her a small smile, "So if you were in Father's position, would you think it's his fault?"

"No of course not!"

"See? It's the same, so don't blame yourself anymore."

"Yeah Aeliana, it's not good to keep blaming yourself for things that weren't your fault!" Claud backed up Leon, nodding rapidly, together alongside the twins.

She looked over at them before finally, a smile that didn't reach her eyes rested on her lips, "Thank you but...I think I need some time alone."

Before she allowed any of her brothers to speak, she rose and headed towards the door, exiting the room. Just before she did, she glanced over at their father and murmured, "Please wake up soon, Daddy."

She left and shut herself in another room. Burying her face into the palms of her hands, she heaved out a heavy sigh.

Despite her father barely surviving the attack, the fact that she wasn't able to protect him left a bitter taste in her mouth. Not only that, just before her brothers had arrived, dread washed over her as she thought about her death.

Was she going to die at the age of seventeen? Was that her determined fate she couldn't avoid?

She shook her head. No, her father is alive this time but...she didn't know for how long. What if it was genuinely unavoidable and he may pass away in his comatose state?

What if the same thing happens to her as well? How can she be sure that she wasn't going to die either? Maybe the best she could do was prolong her death but there was only so much she could do before death grabs her by the neck.

"Just when everything was going so perfectly..." she whispered to herself, fear overtaking her.

"What do I do..."

'Do I hide in my room again? Should I never leave the room just like I had been doing in my second life? I'll never go to town anymore and protect myself in my room. Won't I be safe then?'

Fear and anxiety overtook her thoughts. That plan sounded good right now—too good in fact. Maybe she'll do it; that way she will survive longer.

She let out a hitched breath and slapped her cheeks.

No, she had already promised herself she wouldn't do the same things as she had in her second life. If she locked herself in her room, nothing will ever change.

But Aeliana truly felt lost. Her anxiety wouldn't calm down whenever she thought about her father and her death at seventeen.

'What if Dad never wakes up?'

'No, I still have my brothers. I won't be alone this time...'

'But my death..'

Aeliana didn't leave the room for three days straight. Her mind kept spiralling down as her thoughts began to blur and cloud her brain further.

When she tries to sleep, she wakes up with cold sweat running down her forehead as nightmares from the previous fiasco plague her mind. Sometimes, she would wake up after letting out a painful gasp, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She could feel her body screaming to eat and drink water but had no energy to move. Her body was curled up in a corner of the room as she drowned in her thoughts.

A loud, clear knock echoed through the room before a voice called out to her, "Aeliana."

"..." She didn't respond, her head buried in her arms but the knock persisted.

"Aeliana, come out and eat."

Again, she didn't respond to the voice calling from the door, pressing her head between her knees harder in hopes of drowning out the voice.

Leon ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed. A deep frown rested between his eyebrows before he walked away from the door. As he returned to the room their father was residing in, he heard his three younger brothers speaking to him.

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Author's Note: see! he's alive #trust also I recently got a cat and its named batman because it has a mask on its face bc of its black fur HAHAHAH