“……Someone who thinks about their child that much is this careless?”

Resentment rose up first. But the moment she turned his words over in her mind, she realized she couldn’t argue back. It truly had been a close call. If he had been just a little later, if his arm had been off by just a little.

“You’re right.”

Adeline’s shoulders visibly drooped.

“It was my mistake. I was careless. But…… there’s no need to be this frightening about it.”

Kailen said nothing.

The silence felt too long. Adeline couldn’t bear the stillness. Over the two days she hadn’t seen his face, the words she had been storing up inside found their way out.

“And…… a protest, really.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she felt her own emotions slipping out of her control. Whether it was the pregnancy, or the fact that her body had been unwell, her mood had been swinging up and down for no reason. Even as she acknowledged her fault, the hurt still wouldn’t fade.

“I’m the one who wants to ask.”

Adeline’s eyes turned to Kailen.

“You’re the one who has been…… finding fault with me lately.”

She swallowed once, then looked straight at Kailen and let the words pour out.

“I’ve had a lot of hurt feelings too. You never tell me anything. I know nothing about you. That said, I’m not doing anything like a protest or whatever.”

She dropped her gaze for a moment, then looked at him again.

“If you have any complaints about me, tell me all of them. I’ll listen, and if it’s something I can fix, I’ll try to fix it.”

“Try to fix it?”

Kailen repeated the words in a low voice. There was a laugh in them, but not a trace of warmth. It was closer to a sneer.

“Ha, Adeline. Haven’t you heard the saying that you can’t fix a person?”

“……”

His voice was terribly cold. Adeline couldn’t say a word.

In that moment, everyone around them froze. Not just Tanya, but Collen, the head housekeeper, and the other servants too. No one could meet anyone’s eyes; they all cast their gazes downward.

They could no longer look at the head couple the way they once had, yet they couldn’t leave either. Unable to step in, unable to disappear, everyone stood there like stone.

Only the air sank heavy, pressing down on the space before the staircase.

Why on earth was he this angry? It even seemed unfair, at a glance. There were people who got angry when their worry went too far, but this seemed to cross a line. He was so cold and cutting that she almost wondered whether she was even the right target of his anger.

“……I understand. Let go of…… this.”

Adeline became aware of those around her first. She only now felt the eyes fixed on them. She steadied her breath and chose her words carefully, but her voice still trembled.

She tried to pull free from Kailen’s grip. But his hand still held her arm firmly. She could feel each of his fingers pressing down to the bone.

“I want to go back to the bedroom.”

She spoke a little more quietly, almost like a plea. It looked like she was running away, but right now, the only thought in her head was that she wanted distance from him.

“So…… let go.”

The grip in Kailen’s hand loosened for a moment. Just as she thought he was going to release her, the pressure returned.

Adeline drew in a breath. The corners of her eyes grew hot. Tears threatened to spill at any moment, but she didn’t want to cry here. In front of all these people, she didn’t want to show anything more.

She felt his breath close to her. Somewhere hot, and rough. Like someone suppressing a wild brushfire.

Without meeting Adeline’s gaze, Kailen slowly released her shoulder. Instead, he readjusted the shawl that had come loose. His hands were still not gentle, awkward like someone trying to hold themselves together.

“Be more careful from now on.”

It was a short sentence. Adeline couldn’t make out what emotion lay inside it.

Kailen said nothing more and turned his back. His straight-backed figure grew smaller as he descended the stairs.

Adeline stood there for a while, staring blankly at his retreating figure. Then, coming back to herself, she slowly walked down the stairs.

The moment she returned to the bedroom, all the stiffness that had built up in her body released at once. The moment she sat on the bed, her stomach twisted with unease. It seemed the fear and tension from just moments ago were only now catching up to her. Adeline, on instinct, placed her palm over her belly.

“It’s okay.”

She spoke softly, barely above a whisper.

“It’s okay. Your father…… did that because he was worried about your mother.”

She steadied her breathing and stroked her belly once more. She prayed that whatever she was feeling now would not reach the child.

“Don’t be startled.”

Her words were gentle, but her fingertips still trembled ever so faintly.

* * *

Evening came early that day.

The moment Adeline lay down on the bed, she fell asleep. In truth, calling it sleep felt like a stretch. Her consciousness simply cut out because she could no longer endure the exhaustion, something closer to passing out than actual sleep. The tension and fear and waves of emotion that had built up throughout the day all crashed in at once and dragged her under.

Kailen stood on one side of the bedroom, looking down at her.

Her breathing was steady, but her face was paler than usual. Even her sleeping face looked somehow unsettled.

Over the past few days, she had clearly been walking around with her head somewhere else. Today, that had simply led to an accident. He clicked his tongue and gave the faintest shake of his head.

……Why is she doing this?

The scene at the staircase came back to him. The moment her body lurched, that split second when she had been about to call his name, and then…… the sight of her tumbling down the stairs.

Surely not.

Surely she hadn’t been trying to die in front of him.

Kailen tried to push the thought away. It’s not like I said anything that bad lately. No. That can’t be it.

She just missed a step.

Besides, falling down the stairs wouldn’t kill a person that easily.

Rationally, he knew that clearly. And yet, his thoughts stretched in a direction unlike him, toward something strange.

……Or.

Or, had she been trying to lose the baby?

The moment that thought surfaced, he startled himself. He shook his head immediately. No, that’s not it. That can’t be right.

She had shown an attachment to the child that bordered on excessive. The hands that cradled her belly, the way she worried about the child first even at the smallest sound. None of that could have been a lie.

Right.

Don’t read too much into it.

Kailen clenched his jaw. Deep in his mind, a shadow he had believed was completely buried began to stir.

It seemed he still hadn’t fully broken free from that woman, that woman he couldn’t even call a mother.

……Idiot.

In the end, the one who had acted like an idiot was himself. Shouting without reason, grabbing her, frightening her. He found that version of himself pathetic. Unacceptable.

His expression twisted without him realizing it.

Just then, Adeline’s eyes slowly opened.

Kailen hadn’t managed to hide his expression in time. It was the same face he had worn at the staircase earlier, far too serious.

The moment she met that face, Adeline’s heart dropped. The feeling of sinking somewhere along with the bed. The drowsiness vanished in an instant.

“……?”

She reflexively tried to sit up. But his hand pressed down on her shoulder right away. The force was more firm than she expected, and she found herself lying back down on the bed.

“Don’t get up too quickly. I told you to be careful.”

“W, wait……”

Adeline started to speak and stopped. Her mouth had gone dry and her tongue wouldn’t move properly. Her body, just woken from sleep, was still heavy, and inside her chest, unease was slowly swelling.

“About what happened earlier…… the baby……”

The next words wouldn’t come easily. Her breath caught like something was blocking her throat. She placed her hand on her belly and looked up at Kailen.

“Nothing went wrong, right?”

She asked carefully, her voice nearly shrinking into itself, then added,

“R, right?”

A faint crack crossed Kailen’s face. It lasted only a moment, but it was clearly visible. Something in his firmly set expression had fractured.

……That blasted baby again.

The thought shot out like something he was chewing and spitting. He clenched his jaw and looked away.

“Ha.”

A short sigh escaped. Where that sigh fell, the air in the bedroom turned noticeably colder.

Kailen said nothing. Instead, he turned and walked straight toward the door.

“Kai……!”

Before Adeline could even finish calling out, the door opened and closed. There was no time to stop him. His footsteps moved quickly away beyond the corridor.

Only silence remained in the bedroom.