Chapter 6

The servants, following Marie’s instructions, quickly transformed a room into one for patients. The doctor, who arrived like lightning, was also there. He was the renowned physician Albrecht had attached to his daughter, the reason Dawson had come to the annex.

Moreover, there seemed to be a desire to handle things quietly without informing the main building.

“What on earth is going on…”

“Don’t worry too much, Miss. He’ll wake up soon.”

The concern was more for her own safety than Kalik’s.

Natalie seemed to think Marie’s expression was one of worry for him. Of course, she was concerned about the injured person to a minimum extent.

It was just that the coincidence of deciding on a divorce right before such an event made her more flustered.

Could it be that I was being punished for having such thoughts?

The Emperor had planted a spy, so was Kalik made this way because of concerns about divorce?

“Just take care of him with all your heart. It doesn’t matter how much it costs.”

After giving such orders, Marie lingered outside the room. Dawson invited her in, but for some reason, she couldn’t muster the courage to enter.

Natalie stood by Marie’s side, peering into the room. Even if his condition wasn’t severe, she disliked seeing Kalik’s injured face with his eyes closed. Where was the man who usually acted all dignified and noble?

Marie bit her lip, feeling as if this incident was a consequence of her own ill thoughts. If this was punishment, then so be it.

While it wasn’t likely that a deity was involved in this trivial divorce.

The problem was that Kalik, who had been lying down, didn’t wake up for over two weeks. With his eyes closed, he just lay there, breathing heavily and hovering between life and death. Neither the doctor, medicine, nor time seemed to help.

His complexion was pale, with the only sign of life being the faint blush on his cheeks that looked as if it might fade at any moment. Under his eyes were dark purple circles, as if soot had been smeared there. Even when water was fed to him, it just dribbled out, making it hard to believe this was a condition caused by a fall from a horse.

He was truly deserving of being called a living corpse.

Despite the devoted care from Viola, who belatedly learned of her son’s accident, Kalik showed no signs of waking.

Even so, this was too much.

“What on earth is going on here?” 

Marie glanced at Dawson. Dawson, however, remained indifferent, keeping his gaze fixed on Kalik.

“It’s real.”

“I know it’s real. But you said he was fine last time, didn’t you?”

Dawson wouldn’t have lied or downplayed the situation. While Lily’s wailing could be attributed to her penchant for dramatics, if it had truly been a severe fall, they would have gone to the main building, not the annex.

So, following the usual course, Kalik’s fainting should have been a temporary loss of consciousness due to shock.

“Could it be that it wasn’t just a simple fall?”

A rare gulp came from Dawson’s throat.

“No. He did perform a proper breakfall… but unfortunately, he hit his head on a rock.”

“His head?”

Marie frowned and touched the side of her head. The word ‘head’ made her left temple throb reflexively. Of course, her pain was psychosomatic, a one-time headache caused by excessive sympathy and empathy.

“Then it wasn’t just a brief loss of consciousness.”

“At the time, he regained consciousness immediately, so I assumed it was temporary…”

“Haa.”

If he had mentioned the head injury from the start, she wouldn’t have let him into the annex. There was a high chance they’d blame her for not providing proper treatment.

Just like now.

“Are you hiding something?”

“Hiding what?”

“That his condition improved or something……”

That he had regained consciousness but wasn’t saying anything.

Marie realized she had gone too far and stopped herself. The latter was an unfounded suspicion, even by her own standards. Why would Kalik pretend to be unconscious while relying on Odillia?

If it were Kalik, he’d spit in her face rather than play such tricks.

So this was neither a scheme nor a jest; it was real.

“I fully understand your concerns, but for now, let’s wait and see.”

“…Alright. Let’s wait and see.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. She refrained from saying it wasn’t really worry.

But she overlooked what kind of reaction ‘waiting and seeing’ would provoke. Because she viewed Kalik’s injury too intuitively.

When she thought of a head injury, only one thing came to mind.

And as the days of him lying down grew longer, his condition naturally became known.

Kalik Escael had fallen into a coma due to a horseback riding accident.

They said he might pass away any day now.

Rumors circulated that the knight order had already started searching for a successor.

‘At this rate, I might really become a widow.’

So Marie began frequenting the room where Kalik lay. It was purely out of fear that he might die.

I won’t let him die. I don’t want to earn the nickname of a widow on top of everything else.

He had to wake up.

Whether they divorced or not.

* * *

“Oh dear, how did things turn out like this after the cover-up?”

Marie glared at her father, who made a bizarre analogy while grumbling. He claimed to be visiting the sick, yet he came dressed in black and stood by Kalik’s side, saying such things.

Huh…

Huhhh…

Oh dear…

No matter how much Marie nudged his side and gave him looks, it was useless. After a while of sighing, Albrecht offered condolences to Viola, wishing for a speedy recovery. It was an obvious empty gesture.

Viola, displeased, made a sour face before nodding and leaving the room. It seemed she didn’t want to add more stress.

“You saw, right? These days, the atmosphere is strange in many ways.”

While Kalik lay there, the seasons changed. From late spring, summer had suddenly arrived, turning everything around them green. At this rate, autumn would come easily. And what about winter?

“I really don’t know what to do…”

“What do you mean?”

“What if he dies like this?”

That was the worst-case scenario she could imagine. The next was him remaining in a coma indefinitely.

However, Albrecht’s answer was straightforward.

“Just write a note saying you want a divorce and leave.”

In the end, the crux of this situation was divorce, wasn’t it? That was all Marie needed to worry about. This was just a common misfortune that happened on the day she decided to divorce.

But his thoughts were slightly different from his daughter’s.

“Aren’t you concerned about your daughter’s reputation?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle the aftermath.”

“Then don’t say it! Why handle it? We should end it formally like we started! I’m going to follow the procedure.”

“Wow. You’re my daughter, but you’re the best.”

“What?”

“You’re really stubborn, oh dear.”

Albrecht lightly patted his daughter’s shoulder, who was about to lose her temper, and left.

Still, he had some sense. He had worried about what would happen if he insisted, but after confirming Kalik’s poor condition, he had stopped visiting. He seemed to think that the current situation was favorable to Marie, even without shouting for a divorce.

For Marie, who was experiencing such a situation for the first time, she frequently visited his hospital room. At the very least, she didn’t want to hear that she did nothing when he woke up.

Moreover, if she created a debt of gratitude now, she might use it when the time came, and seeing it with her own eyes would make her believe Dawson and Lily’s words that he hadn’t woken up.

As time passed, the doctor said it was strange. He overturned his initial diagnosis that there might be internal injuries despite no external injuries and admitted he didn’t know why Kalik wasn’t waking up.

Still, Marie waited day and night for Kalik to wake up. She even dreamed of him waking up. Of course, upon waking, she reminded herself that she didn’t have the loyalty to hang on so desperately and felt inexplicably annoyed.

It was around this time when the ominous thought—or rather, rumor—started circulating that Kalik might never wake up.

Dawson came to visit Marie and knocked on her door. She eagerly followed him, as she had been waiting for ‘news’ every day. The man who had been maintaining a stern demeanor was now wearing a mysterious expression, which was also a reason.

“Could it be that he’s… dead… dead…”

“Why do you seem to like the idea of death so much? No, he’s not.”

“Oh.”

“He’s woken up.”

“…!”

Marie momentarily covered her mouth and bowed her head.

She almost screamed. Tears welled up inexplicably. Just the fact that he had woken up felt like compensation for all the hardships she had endured.