Volume 2 – Prologue

“You’re having allergy symptoms. Fortunately, it’s not too bad, and since the medicine is effective, you’ll be fine soon.”

The Marquis of Grit’s physician was able to act quickly, thanks to the nimble servant, and a moment later the chef arrived.

“I heard you asked for me.”

It an uneasy atmosphere, the tense chef entered cautiously.

“Do you have anything with pineapple in the dishes that you prepared? Sauces, anything?”

“No, there’s nothing except for the fruit itself…”

The chef paused as he answered Eli’s serious question.

“Oh, come to think of it… there is one, although it is not from any of the dishes prepared for tonight’s party.”

“What is that?”

“I didn’t make it.”

Eli asked with a sharp glare, and the chef’s throat tightened even more as he quickly added.

“The handmaiden took some pineapple fruit with her, saying she wanted to use it.”

“Does the handmaiden make food?”

“That’s……”

Hesitatingly, the chef mumbled,

“She probably used it for some tea. Everything we brought at that time was various kinds of tea. I heard the Dowager wanted to make a special tea for the guests.”

“Did they serve tea?”

Eli asked Ruby just to be sure. The tea the men drank was the usual black tea.

“Yes, Lady Marie prepared a special tea for today, maybe there was pineapple in it.”

Ruby responded calmly.

“Tea with pineapple?”

It was the physician who expressed surprise. When the attention of the people around focused on his voice, he hastily closed his mouth.

“First, let’s move the patient to a comfortable place and monitor the progress.”

The physician had brought up the subject of the patient in an attempt to change the atmosphere and do his job. As far as he was concerned, this wasn’t the right place to discuss the details about pineapple.

“Countess Chain, the Marquis of Grit will care for you until you recover. We will also adequately compensate for any mistakes made by our family. So please focus on recovering.”

After finishing his words, Eli called a few maids to guide Lady Iana to a room and support her.

“It may be difficult for you to leave now, so we will guide you to a place to stay until you recover.”

“I will go and take care of the lady.”

Ruby also followed Iana and Count Chain.

“You can go too.”

After the chef left, only Eli and the physician remained.

“With regards to the Countess of Chain, I need you to keep an eye on her and give me a status report.”

“Yes. And there’s something I need to tell you, My Lord”

Eli nodded as if urging him to speak.

“Well… when it comes to eating pineapple, it’s not a bad food, but drinking it as tea is a different story.”

Eli’s expression became serious.

“Does it vary depending on how it’s consumed?”

“In a way, yes.”

“How does it vary?”

Until now, Eli had only thought of fruits as being mildly bad for the body.

“Well… it weakens the ut*rus.”

It was an unexpected answer from a physician. Eli’s expression involuntarily frowned.

“… Continue.”

“If you drink it as tea, it weakens the woman’s ut*rus, making it difficult for a baby to settle.”

“So…”

“In simple terms, it makes it difficult to conceive.”

At that moment, Eli remembered Ruby’s words.

“I can’t have children, one more reason to get a divorce”

The physician spoke carefully.

“As long as you don’t drink it regularly, a single dose shouldn’t cause any problems.”

“Then…… how much does it take to make someone unwell?”

Eli asked, looking serious.

The physician mistakes it as a look of surprise, similar to that of someone who just learned something they didn’t know.

“The longer you take it, the worse it gets.”

“Three years.”

“My Lord?”

“What happens to your body after three years of drinking?”

The physician was puzzled by the specificity of his question, but the physician answered straightforwardly.

“Your ut*rus will become so weak that you won’t be able to get pregnant, and you’ll have frequent stomach pains.”

The physician saw the Marquis of Grit’s face fall in despair at his answer.

“Okay,” he said, “……now go to the Countess of Chain.”

“Is the Marquis all right?”

The Marquis looked stunned at the order.

The physician looked as if he needed to see his white face first, but Eli held out his hand as if he didn’t want to be examined.

He eventually left the Marquis behind and headed for the patient.

* * *

“You’ll be fine soon. The physician is a skilled one.”

“Lady Grit”

Iana called to Ruby, who was beside her, reassuring her that she would be fine.

“It’s about pineapple tea.”

“….”

“Don’t drink it.”

Iana spoke quietly.

“It’s not good for women.”

Ruby looked worried.

“After the allergy, our physician said pineapple is a strange fruit. It seems normal most of the time, but it behaves like a child with a temper when it encounters something hot. If you are currently carrying a child in your womb, you may miscarry, and even without one, your body will become difficult to conceive.”

“…Is that so?”

Ruby asked a little late, her voice lacking in pitch.

But Iana didn’t notice the subtle difference.

“The Marquis doesn’t seem to know, so you should tell him. You should be careful, especially if you are the one who’s supposed to bear an heir.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ruby replied obediently.

“I’ll do what my husband said and compensate you as much as I can, but please take care of yourself.”

“It’s partly our fault for not informing in advance since we received the invitation.”

Count Chain took Iana’s hand and stood by her side.

Ruby, watching over the situation from beside the physician, left the room after a while.

She wondered if she should go to the party hall.

“Ruby.”

Before Ruby could take a few steps, she heard a voice calling her. Eli was waiting for her.

“Eli? I thought you were going back to the party hall.”

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“If you don’t go back soon, they might think the Countess’s condition is serious.”

Thinking that he had returned to the party, Ruby stayed by Iana’s side.

“I’ve sent someone. Fortunately, everything is fine, and I told them I would come back after checking more.”

Ruby nodded in response to his explanation.

“So, let’s talk for a moment.”

There was a full expression of worry on Eli’s face as he said that.

“What happened?”

As soon as Ruby entered the room with him, he asked.

“The Countess was just able to consume a small amount, so it’s okay. Count Chain and the Countess thanked you for your concern. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Ruby tried to comfort him by telling him what she had seen and heard.

“You said that to me before, right? That you can’t have a child.”

After she attempted to comfort him, Eli suddenly uttered words that caught her off guard.

Surprised by the unexpected question, Ruby’s eyes widened.

“Is it because of Mother?”

Eli was asking to confirm, but he seemed to have some idea of the truth.

“The tea with pineapple that was served today. It was a tea that Mother intended for you to drink, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“You knew what kind of tea it was. Right?”

Ruby briefly considered lying, as she always did, pretending everything was fine.

“You knew?”

Once again, he asked, and Ruby seemed to understand that perhaps he wanted her to say that she didn’t know.

“Yes. I knew.”

Upon Ruby’s admission, he wiped his face with his hand in embarrassment.

“Then why? Why did you drink it when my mother continuously served that tea to you in Shuban?  Why did you go to such lengths!”

Holding Ruby’s shoulders tightly, Eli faced her with a pleading look.

“…It was because I thought that was the only way I could stay by your side.”

Contrary to his agitation, Ruby’s voice remained calm.

“At that time, I just wanted to be by your side, even if it meant doing that.”

Meeting Eli’s gaze, Ruby’s eyes were as calm as her voice.

“That’s how much I love you.”

Ruby smiled as if trying to soothe him after explaining her attempt to lessen his worries.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“…….”

“We would have been together anyway.”

Ruby couldn’t look away from his firm gaze.

“That’s right. Why did I love you so much back then?”

Her slightly disappointed voice held a small laugh. It was a laughter directed at her past self.

“But that’s all in the past”

Looking at Eli, Ruby spoke as if reminiscing about her past feelings.

“I know that you wouldn’t have divorced me if I hadn’t asked for it first.”

“But why…”

“To stay by your side, I had to become someone who didn’t cause you any trouble. You hate things that are bothersome and annoying. So, I did my best. That’s all.”

His eyes widened as if he’d just heard something unexpected.

“So I don’t regret it, because I did everything I could for you, and I don’t resent you as much as you think I do, I did it because I love you.”

“It’s the same with this marriage, just sharing the same last name as you, and being able to look you in the eye even if nothing special happens, is more than enough for me” Ruby added

In response to Ruby’s answer, Eli’s eyes wandered like a person lost in thought.

“Now… what do you think of me…?”

His voice trembled, much like his wandering gaze.

“I still love you.”

Ruby didn’t hesitate to answer.

It was ridiculous, and that’s why she found herself wavering every moment of her happy life with him. In the end, she had to admit, she couldn’t get over him.

But she still had to get a divorce…….

“But now I’m leaving because I care about myself more than you.”

A weak smile appeared on Ruby’s lips, so feeble that Eli felt desperate.

“I made a mistake…”

Eli apologized, and Ruby lifted her head, acknowledging his apology.

“Eli, I want to do things differently this time.”

She turned to face Eli, who hugged her tightly and wouldn’t let go.

“But thank you for apologizing,” she added.

Eli hugged Ruby harder, not wanting to let go.

But it was too late. He had to admit that turning back time wasn’t enough to mend Ruby’s broken heart.