“It would be nice to have a family meal out.”

“…….”

Raphael, who suddenly appeared, spoke as if it were the most natural thing. To an outsider, it might seem like a warm family suggestion. Wasn’t it enough for him to face each other over meals at home, that they had to do it outside too?

It was hard to understand why such a busy person had come all this way. It took her a while to grasp the reality after staring at him and thinking for a long time.

“Your Grace? Why are you here?”

“I thought it was getting late, so I came to pick you up.”

Anyone else might think he was a caring husband. He probably didn’t realize how terrifying the phrase ‘I came to pick you up’ sounded. It’s as if she could never run away for good.

“……There was no need for you to come.”

“Do you dislike my coming, wife?”

Yes. She wanted to answer immediately but couldn’t. She wished he would stop calling her that, wife. The word was so absurd that Amelia’s brow furrowed deeply. Wife? Since when had he started calling her that? Amelia pretended not to hear the new term of endearment, but Raphael did not stop despite her reaction.

The more he did, the more she strictly maintained the title of Your Grace for him. Was there ever a passage in the book where Raphael treated Amelia tenderly?

Maybe it was a whim before he killed her. The fact that she was being swayed by him remained unchanged.

“I was surprised by your sudden appearance. Now that Your Grace is here, it would be best if we returned.”

Amelia held Leonel’s hand tightly. She had a feeling that from now on, escaping would be difficult.

“If you don’t hate that I showed up here, let’s go to the restaurant together.”

“…….”

Did he really think her reaction wasn’t one of displeasure? If he wasn’t pretending not to notice her forced smile, he would have known. Who could honestly say they hated him when they faced Raphael?

“There’s… no one here.”

“I wanted it to be just our family.”

As expected, the restaurant was empty, with not a single person in sight. This was a place she had once passed by with Leonel. It was so popular that reservations took a long time, and she had given up on it. Every time they passed by, it was always full of people.

Is there really no one there? And without even a reservation, it must have been decided on the day itself. Once again, she felt his influence.

“It’s said to be the most famous restaurant around here, I wonder if my wife will like it.”

It seems his words about becoming a good father and husband were not just a joke. Amelia couldn’t hide her sneer at Raphael’s act of playing the considerate husband.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If there’s somewhere else you’d like to go, you can tell me.”

It would be a relief if she wouldn’t get sick from eating. It was difficult to guess what was on his mind. It was too heartfelt to be just a whim…

She didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with the word ‘family’. Could it really be that her death was not far away?

“Is it that you don’t like the food?”

“No, it’s delicious.”

Amelia quickly shook her head and mechanically chewed her food, worried that she might trouble the restaurant. If she didn’t, she couldn’t predict what this madman would do. Raphael these days was like a ticking time bomb, unpredictable. One wrong move and it could explode.

“You’re not neglecting your studies to hang out with your mother, are you?”

“I’m not…”

“I make sure all his classes are done before we go out.”

Amelia quickly retorted, worried that he was scolding Leonel. Interest flickered in Raphael’s eyes at her response.

“It seems you’re getting too close to him, I feel quite neglected.”

“……”

At Raphael’s response, she bit her lip hard to prevent any words from escaping. Otherwise, she might say something strange without realizing it. This was a new kind of suffering.

“It seems you’ve repaired your relationship with your son quite a bit…”

Now she was afraid of what might come out of his mouth next. Recently, all the words that came from him were shocking statements. So she couldn’t help but be tense. As she swallowed dryly from nervousness, he looked at her. Smiling an unsettling smile.

“How about deepening your relationship with me too.”

What is this man saying? Deepening? Could it be he’s not in his right mind because he took some drug? If not that, then maybe Raphael wasn’t really Raphael.

“Who are you?”

“……What?”

“You’re not Raphael Lloyd Siegfried, are you?”

It was true. She wasn’t the only one who entered the world of the book. Amelia concluded that the man before her was not Raphael. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be saying such a thing. His perplexed reaction only made her more certain.

“Yeah, something was off.”

That was it. But when she first came to this place, Raphael was just as he was in the book, wasn’t he? Had he changed midway?

“I understand what my wife wants, but unfortunately, I am not someone else.”

Amelia stared at him, stunned, trying to hold back laughter. So the one who spoke these words was the real Raphael. He hated Amelia so much that it would have been considered a success if he didn’t scowl at her. But the Raphael before her now was smiling.

A man who never smiled before.

“…Did you take some kind of drug?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

The more Amelia asked, the more frustrated she felt. She couldn’t find any reason at all.

“Or are you sick?”

“I’m too healthy for my own good.”

This wasn’t a question one would normally ask Raphael. Who would ask him if he was sick? But Raphael’s recent behavior was undeniably suspicious.

“Then… I must be the one who’s sick.”

As soon as she finished speaking, his face quickly hardened.

***

Thus, the meal at the restaurant came to an end. After that, Raphael, completely stone-faced, didn’t say a word. It was rather she who had to be careful of his mood. The same was true on the way home in the carriage. Judging by his reaction, it seemed that it was not he who was sick, but her.

“Ha…”

How ridiculous must it have been for her to struggle so desperately to survive. It was strange. There was no particular reason why Amelia had taken her own life. She couldn’t understand why she had left Raphael’s side with such determination.

“So you’re being kind to me because I’m going to die soon.”

That’s when I understood why Raphael’s attitude had suddenly changed. Even though I already guessed the reason, I don’t know why I feel so disgusted. After becoming Amelia, I wasn’t particularly sick. I hadn’t been short of breath, nor had there been any changes in my body.

“Perhaps an incurable disease?”

Something that can’t be cured with magic? This world relied more on magic and divine power than on modern medicine. It seems that even what acts like a panacea has its limitations.

“I feel sick.”

When I said I wasn’t afraid of dying because I had already died once, it was all a lie. The mere possibility of being ill scared me enough to tremble.

I don’t want to die.

If you’re going to kill me again, why did you send me here?

“You should have just dropped me in hell or heaven.”

It was worst, to give someone a new life and let them harbor hope. And to think that he hid his wife’s illness until the day she died, that was truly remarkable. I realized once again that Raphael Lloyd Siegfried was a cruel man.

I had no idea how much I sweated trying to calm down Leonel, who was more shocked than I was. I promised several times to get a check-up from the physician tomorrow. But I had no intention of getting examined. If it’s an incurable disease, it’s better not to know.

“Ignorance is bliss.”

Often, not knowing is better than knowing. The moment she found out about the illness, the more she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“Your Grace?”

“……”

But it wasn’t like I was calm about it. My hands trembled at the thought that I might die again. Raphael, with a terrifying face, entered the room. The more I knew about him, the more I seemed to see new sides of him.

“You don’t plan to get examined.”

Did he just hear what I said? I couldn’t understand why he looked so angry. Wasn’t he the one who would be happy if I quietly disappeared?

“Make up a good story for Leonel.”

“Why……”

Amelia quietly watched him as he hesitated, as if he were in pain while he talked. Really, what did that man say on the day Amelia died?

“Why won’t you get examined?”

“Because nothing will change.”

“Still……”

It was strange. She was the one who was sick, yet why did he seem to be in more pain? He was the one who would welcome her death more than anyone else. She started to wonder if even this was an act. Now that everything was out in the open, there seemed to be no need for pretense.

“I won’t die right away.”

For now, it was certain she could last until next year. Unless she took her own life, she might live even longer. Of course, as for the year after next… it was uncertain.

“Aren’t you the one who would be happiest if I died?”

“I……”

His pupils were shaking.