Lorendis bit his lip as he loosened his cravat, seemingly frustrated. His narrowed eyes looked down at Catherine. The gaze that passed over her indifferently was visibly hardened even at a glance.

“Won’t you divorce me? I’ll leave quietly. I can really stay quiet.”

“Catherine Helen. Don’t make me angry. Where would you go with that body? Why is a person so detached…… At least cry.”

From his awkward way with words to his expression that seemed genuinely angry. The gaze looking down at Catherine was full of coldness. Was it disappointment? Was it emptiness?

“If you’re going to mention divorce again, stop it.”

“Please listen to me first……”

“You’ve always mentioned divorce so easily.”

He looked down at Catherine quietly and frowned. That gaze was still cold. He lowered his gaze coldly and glanced away. Then he quietly closed his lips.

“That’s enough.”

Even at that moment, she already sensed it. He had no intention of letting Catherine go.

* * *

Dennis knelt before Lorendis with a solemn expression.

“I will take responsibility and save her.”

That was a pledge Dennis made to himself. Though the lady acts detached as if she has let go of everything, her heart must be festering and sick inside.

“Is it serious?”

“I don’t know. But what’s certain is that I will stake my life to save the lady. So please trust me, Your Grace.”

For some reason, he felt confident that treatment was possible. It was a pledge staked on his own life. Dennis bit his lip and pleaded.

“The lady is a person with a weak heart. Don’t see her only as a patient in front of her. Not only her body, but her heart must be festering and sick inside right now.”

Pity is forbidden for such a person. To prevent her from becoming self-deprecating, someone must hold her close. Whether Your Grace is capable of such a thing, I don’t know…….

“The lady is lethargic toward life. To treat such a person, one must first steady their heart. So please help the lady not to let go of herself, Your Grace.”

Dennis reported with a tearful voice. If the lady has weakened, Your Grace must stay by her side and hold her.

Lorendis took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. The acrid smoke spread like a heat haze.

“Is there anything else I should be careful about?”

Dennis hesitated, then spoke after careful consideration.

“The lady is not sick. We just need to find an antidote. Anyway, it’s a strange poison. For such a slight poison to accumulate this much, I wonder how much exposure would be necessary……”

“What about her life?”

“I will ensure it’s not endangered.”

It was a marriage formed as a one-year contract from the beginning. Catherine mentioned separation from the start and lived like someone who was going to leave for somewhere.

‘How frustrating.’

It was a marriage he made to bring in a wife who was just for show from the beginning. Lorendis was planning to go to the battlefield, and after the wedding ceremony, they’ll pass by each other and part ways.

“Bring that disciple you mentioned.”

“I will bring them right away.”

Dennis gathered himself and left the place.

* * *

Catherine lay blankly on the lawn, looking up at the dry sky. She was lying covered with a fox fur cloak when Brady knelt beside her, murmuring.

“My lady, what are you doing here?”

“I was looking up at the dry sky.”

“With such a sorrowful expression while looking up, you look like someone who wants to ascend to heaven.”

Catherine pondered deeply why this person brought up such a topic. And she reached a conclusion.

“Are you worried because I’m sick?”

“Of course I’m worried.”

“Brady, please don’t pity me. I’m living comfortably in my own way. Honestly, if I left Helen, that would be more comfortable but……”

Since it’s clear Lorendis won’t allow it, she’s staying in Helen for now. It’s true her body feels lethargic and lazy, but she’s not sick or sad.

“I’m happy even now.”

“If my lady says so……”

“I’m living happily, but if you all pity me, I become an unfortunate person, so please don’t pity me in front of me.”

Catherine whispered quietly. Then she carefully raised her gaze. That gaze reached Lorendis in his office.

“His Grace said to bring the lady, who’s lying here like an earthworm, back to her room.”

She burst into laughter. If they had fussed over Catherine anxiously, that would have been more uncomfortable. Because that sadness would have been transmitted to Catherine too. Rather, it was better for Catherine to be watched from an appropriate distance like now.

“Yes. This earthworm will go to the bedroom now.”

Brady gave Catherine a strange look as if to say, ‘Is that funny?’ Catherine is terminally ill, but she doesn’t pessimistically despair over that fact. Sobbing and being sad in front of such a Catherine would have been the worst thing to do to her.

“Please smile.”

“How could I……”

“Do I look sick right now?”

Brady examined Catherine with a puzzled expression and then shook his head.

“Honestly, I don’t know if you’re sick.”

“I’m still not sick and enduring well, but if Brady pities me, it feels like I’m someone who’s about to die.”

That’s true, but seeing someone treating her like a walking corpse right in front of her would make her uncomfortable too.

After lying there blankly for a while….

Catherine gradually suffered from boredom.

Moreover, those pitying gazes toward the sick were uncomfortable. So she decided to escape from that sight for a moment.

“Then please be careful on your outing.”

After getting permission from Dennis, she went out. She had only mentioned to Lorendis that she was going out.

‘We’ve been more awkward for the past few days, what should I do?’

Well, this was how it should have been from the beginning.

‘It’s stranger that we’ve grown closer in the past few days.’

Lorendis returned from the battlefield only when Catherine was about to die from her terminal illness, and even after that, he lived as if he had forgotten her.

That was the future Catherine had glimpsed.

Lorendis and Catherine were destined to meet again only a few months before Catherine’s death, live as if they had forgotten each other, and reunite at the funeral. Why was such a relationship deepening only now?

‘It would be better if we just forgot each other like this……”

Catherine blankly looked up at the dry sky. Today, the weather was nice, so she had visited the central square of the territory. The blue sky seemed particularly high today. Despite the clear weather without a single cloud, her mood was low.

“What should I do now……”

Nancy asked awkwardly.

“My lady, is something wrong?”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t look happy at all even though you’ve come outside. Shall we get new clothes made? Or perhaps jewelry would be nice. Try to change your mood a bit.”

Nancy spoke with a bright smile. She still doesn’t know what’s wrong with Catherine. It was still a secret to the people outside, except for a few people in the medical wing and Lorendis.

‘I’ll have to tell everyone later.’

Catherine wandered the streets of Helen like a lost cat. Each step she took was light as a feather.

‘The suppressants and painkillers are quite effective.’

As she smiled broadly, a small commotion reached her ears.

The distance was quite close, and when Catherine realized its source…… her expression became extremely cold.

‘Emily Milden.’

Catherine’s stepsister.

Her red hair, unpleasantly bright, shone in the sunlight. Her delicately folded eyes smiled prettily, and the way she fluttered her fan to cover her mouth made it hard to see her as a country girl.

“Th-that woman! Why! My lady, I’ll take you another way.”

“I thought I might run into family at some point….. Nancy, how does she look to you? Is my sister’s face full of joy?”

Seeing her sister’s face full of happiness made her feel petty jealousy.

“M-my lady, I apologize.”

“I heard that no one from the Milden family could cross the laurel gates, did I misunderstand?”

“That’s correct! They cannot approach the inner castle. However, the center of Helen is the outer castle and is open to the public, so there’s no specific restriction……”

Catherine slowly traced her chin. Emily is a weak-willed child. Though she appears upright and aloof, she’s empty inside and cannot solve even small, trivial matters by herself, always wanting someone else to solve them on her behalf.

‘I thought it was about time they would come looking……”

The letters that her stepmother had been sending to Helen had stopped. So she had forgotten about news from the viscountcy.

After all, the viscountcy was Catherine’s last inheritance. Even if delayed, everything rooted in Milden would return to Catherine.

In that sense, her family remained the same. They used that name again in the way Catherine hated most.