“Evie… a, are you crying?”

“I’m not crying.”

Dertosse seemed flustered and didn’t know what to do, but she silently wiped the corners of her eyes.

Even after being tormented by the people of this household to the point where she called herself a fool, the reason her past self had been unable to leave was because of the child.

The child had given her the strength to endure. She had wanted to give the child a father, a grandmother, a family, at the very least. Because Evian had been alone, and lonely.

And so she had not wanted to give her child that same loneliness.

It was all right if she suffered a little.

As though the child understood her heart, frequent kicks had let her know it was there. But she had not been able to bring light to that precious child, the child who had become her reason to live.

‘And… today I finally let you go. My baby. If you have another life waiting for you, another chance at living… find a father and mother who will love you, and be happy.’

In return, for as long as she lived as Evian, she would not have another child to take your place.

She looked at Dertosse, carrying the crushing guilt of having used the child. He seemed to feel the weight of it too, because he said nothing until they reached the room.

He simply walked, and walked.

The path back to the room was the same as always, yet it felt unusually long, like crossing a desert. Whether it was because of Dertosse, whose expression was so transparent she could guess exactly what he was thinking, even being carried in his arms felt like walking through a bed of thorns.

By the time she grew tired of it, they finally reached the room. The moment Dertosse set her down on the bed, he looked at Mary and Karla, who had followed behind.

“Go and bring the physician in.”

“…There’s no need to make a fuss. I already told Mary to call for a physician.”

“What? Did you anticipate this?”

“…Does that matter right now? Anticipate. Yes, I anticipated it. It was obvious your sister would come and cause a scene, so I called for a physician in advance. I was afraid my stomach might cramp again like last time… but… but…”

At those words, Dertosse pressed his lips together in silence.

“I’m sorry. Then let’s have the physician come in.”

“…Leave. I don’t want to be examined in front of you, Dertosse.”

“But Evie.”

“Right. You want to see it for yourself, that my prediction came true. Do as you like. Mary. Have the physician come in.”

Mary, who had closed the door the moment they arrived in the room, stepped outside and returned with the physician. Rezef, who had seen everything, from her sprawled on the floor to the shouting and the ugly exchange, wore a darker expression than usual.

“Are you all right, my lady.”

“I’m fine. Please examine me as you always do… my stomach hurts terribly. And…”

His eyes rested on her quietly.

Without a word from her, he seemed to understand at once what she needed, and opened his medical bag to examine her from head to toe. For the next twenty or so minutes, his hands moved swiftly. He pricked the tip of her finger to draw blood and let it fall into the medicine bottle he had brought.

He asked her nothing. He simply moved with purpose, like someone doing what needed to be done. The small badge that always hung from his chest like an accessory, the one that marked him as a physician, seemed to catch the light today in a way it hadn’t before.

After examining her thoroughly for a long while, Rezef let out a deep sigh.

“I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news to deliver.”

“…Unfortunate news.”

“It is as you expect. There is no sign of a pregnancy. The medicine that shows perfect accuracy no longer gives any reaction.”

Rezef held out the medicine bottle in his hand to Dertosse.

“…That’s impossible. It can’t be. It can’t be!”

“I am certain. And the blood from earlier… that amount of blood is not possible without a miscarriage.”

“…It must have been from an injury somewhere. Isn’t that right, Evie? Her arm or her leg…”

“…I already felt it. I felt it, I tell you. If you don’t want to believe it… call for another physician. Go ahead and do it.”

“Evie…”

“And listen. Listen to what your family has done to me!”

She bowed her head.

Even as she said these words, she found herself repulsed by her own behavior.

When she had truly lost her child, she hadn’t even been able to properly pour out her grief, and now here she was doing this.

‘If only the child had been in my arms… if only…’

She would have found any way to protect the child. She hadn’t been able to protect it then, and now she was doing this. It felt like nausea was rising from somewhere deep inside her.

“Calm down for now. Evie. Your face has gone completely white.”

“Does it come easily to you, staying calm?”

“That’s not it. I’m just worried I might lose you too. Physician. You are certain of what you’ve said? This is the marquisate. If there is even the slightest error in what you say…”

At that, Rezef shook his head firmly.

“I stake my name on it. There is no misdiagnosis. If I am wrong, I will surrender my badge on my honor as a physician.”

To a physician, the badge was as precious as life itself.

No amount of money would make a physician sell or trade that badge. Becoming a physician required five long years of examination, and the title was one of honor. No one would ever sell it.

The reason Rezef had managed to hold on was likely because he had kept that badge. In this place, the physician’s badge mattered more than the physician’s name.

And seeing Rezef stake even his badge, which was as precious as his life, Dertosse gave a heavy nod.

“So it’s that certain.”

“Yes.”

“Then… it must be true. That Evie lost the child.”

She looked at him with resentment.

It was then that Dertosse’s expression, which had been watching her quietly, changed. Like someone who had made up his mind, he gave a small smile and settled onto the edge of her bed.

“So you lost the child in the end. That’s why you’re sad. Then… let’s have another child. You won’t be sad anymore. If you want, right now…”

“What?”

She was truly at a loss for words.

Right now? Her lips twisted on their own in disbelief.

“I really am clever. That was it. Right. The reason you’re this sad, Evie, is because you lost the child.”

“…Yes.”

“Then think about it. If you have a child again, that sadness will go away. Clever as I am, I came up with a way to get through this grief in an instant.”

“…What?”

“That child was just a little weak. Don’t be so upset, let’s have a new child right now. A sturdy one this time! Then you won’t be sad.”

This lunatic.

She had thought he had come to his senses when he stood up for her and got properly angry in front of her sister-in-law and mother-in-law, but this man was beyond saving.

She shoved him away as he tried to climb onto the bed like some kind of pest.

“What are you doing!”

“What do you mean, what am I doing? Doesn’t this make sense. You said you tumbled, didn’t you? If a child is lost from something as minor as a tumble, then that child was just weak. So…”

“Stop talking nonsense. Are you actually out of your mind? I just lost a child, and you’re saying what to me?”

Whether he lacked empathy or simply had something wrong with him.

Was he a sociopath? What on earth was going through this man’s head.

Dertosse said things she could never have imagined. And when she screamed at him, he just blinked slowly, as though he genuinely couldn’t understand why.

“Why are you shouting like that?”

“…Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“Ah. I understand now.”

“…What exactly do you understand?”

“You’re upset because I left Mother and Sister as they were and came here, aren’t you? If it’s not the child, then it must be that.”

“Ha…? Dertosse. That’s not it.”

“What do you mean, not it. Women are all like that. You feel less wronged when someone properly takes your side. All right. I’ll go and sort it out properly.”

What a madman. There was no word to describe his state other than mad.

“Of course you should sort it out, but that’s not the point right now, Dertosse! You really… aren’t you sad at all that our child is gone?”

“I am sad.”

“…You didn’t even believe it when I said I had a miscarriage.”

“That’s true. I was also shocked that a child could be lost so easily… I didn’t think it could happen, but… the physician said it so definitively, what more is there to say.”

“…Ha.”

She was truly at a loss.

“You really… you really are…”

“I’m saying something reasonable.”

“What’s reasonable about it.”

“I understand well enough that I lost the child because of my sister. I’ll make sure she’s held responsible for that. But there’s no way to bring back a child that’s already gone. So is there a better solution than having a new child?”

Setting aside all emotion and thinking about it plainly, what he said wasn’t wrong. But the person saying it to someone who had just lost a child was clearly not in his right mind.

“…What do you even see me as?”

“What do I see you as. As my wife. And Evie. You did your best to faithfully carry out your duties as my wife. You carried a child and tried to take good care of it. But you weren’t able to do that.”

“…What?”

“I won’t hold you responsible for it. Your body must be hurting too, Evie. But shouldn’t you carry out your duties as my wife faithfully once again?”

“…Dertosse.”

“Right. Everything I’ve said makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“No, get out.”

She had tried to put up with just about everything from him, but this she could not endure. How could anyone say something so spectacularly insane?