Delphius had arrived.

Ever since she received word that he would be back in a few days, her heart had been pounding with restless excitement.

Since then, she had done nothing but gaze out of the window and wait.

Now, she sprang to her feet.

All she could see was the carriage crossing the garden towards her.

Her body moved before she could think.

“Milady?”

A maid called out, but Ilenia had already left the bedroom by the time she realized.

Her legs, weakened by days of barely eating, felt lighter than ever.

Without realizing it, she ran down the stairs.

The maid, chasing after her, gasped in shock at the sight of her dashing down the stairs like an irresponsible child.

“Milady! Please—you must be careful!”

“Okay!”

She brushed off the concerned reprimand of the maid, paying little attention as she turned her gaze away.

By the time she reached the entrance, Delphius was already there. As always, he handed his coat and belongings to the butler.

When the butler removed his hat to reveal his dark hair, Ilenia’s eyes trembled.

The moment she saw the face she had longed to see again, she felt tears threatening to spill over.

She quickly pressed at the corners of her eyes.

She didn’t want their long-awaited reunion to be ruined by tears.

“Delphius!”

At the sound of her voice, his familiar gaze turned towards her.

The instant their eyes met — his golden gaze fixed on her — Ilenia broke into a bright, unguarded smile.

With the same ease with which he had handed her his coat, he passed his hat to an attendant and strode towards her.

In just a few long strides, he covered the ground that would have taken her dozens of steps.

Their arms reached for each other at the same time.

Without hesitation, she threw herself into his embrace, exhaling softly.

The tightness that had weighed on her for so long seemed to ease, if only slightly.

However, as Delphius’s hand moved along her back, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He pulled her away and looked her over from head to toe.

“You look thinner.”

“…What?”

“I’m not mistaken. You’ve lost weight.”

Deprived of relying on faces, his sharp perception caught even the smallest changes.

“Aren’t you supposed to be eating well right now? Why have you lost so much weight? You look paler than usual, too.”

Even compared to the early stages of her pregnancy, or even before she had conceived, she looked noticeably thinner.

Her already slender arms appeared to have lost all their flesh — yet somehow, they had.

Seeing her reduced to little more than skin and bone, Delphius frowned.

Only then did he realize how remarkable it was that she had managed to walk all the way there.

“Did something happen? Don’t tell me… Daniel came here and started spouting nonsense again.”

“You… knew he came?”

Her tone carried a quiet certainty that he wouldn’t have known. But there was no way anything that happened in this estate could escape Delphius’s awareness.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“I received a report. A rather earnest message—asking for my understanding, since they couldn’t disobey the orders I gave.”

“Ah…”

“So, go on. Tell me—what happened?”

However, despite his insistence, Ilenia couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She had never told Delphius about her morning sickness.

She didn’t want to worry him or burden him with something that would pass in time.

Even though her symptoms were stronger and had lasted longer than expected, she remained resolute.

Not even when Anna kept urging her to tell him.

Besides, the nausea had slowly begun to ease.

At this rate, she might be able to eat normally again within a few weeks.

Ilenia gently bit her lip, then forced a small, reassuring smile.

“Maybe it’s because I’m pregnant… my appetite’s changed. Food just doesn’t taste the same anymore, so I can’t eat much.”

Perhaps her desperate excuse worked.

The sharpness in Delphius’s gaze softened as he let out a slow breath.

“It’s not the time to start being picky about food. You’re not responsible for just yourself anymore. Or is it the chef? Are you dissatisfied with his cooking?”

“It’s not that.”

It made sense that he wouldn’t understand.

When he was around, she had always eaten well.

So if she could just endure a little longer, she wouldn’t have to tell him about her condition at all.

“Don’t hold back. If there’s anything you want to eat, just say so. That’s what the staff are there for.”

That was enough.

“…Alright. Thank you—for worrying about me.”

Once she had smoothed things over, she reached out and took Delphius’s hand.

His hand was slender and refined. Yet faint traces of holding a sword remained, and the firm calluses on his palm were unmistakable.

While she held his hand, she felt sure that everything would be all right.

“Your busy schedule is over now, right?”

“Yes. There won’t be any more long trips like this.”

Then as long as this hand stayed by her side, she would be fine—no matter what happened.

That was how it had always been.

Because whenever it was him, he always found the right answer.

“Have you eaten?”

“It seems your meals are the more urgent concern right now, not mine.”

He gently brushed his fingers against Ilenia’s cheek.

The skin that had once seemed as though it might spill sweet juice at the slightest touch had lost its glow. It was now pale and lifeless.

Was she well all over?

Really?

Delphius stared at her intently.

Her unfamiliar eyes, fixed solely on him, reflected his image back.

He searched for even the faintest trace of a lie, but found nothing.

“You’re seeing the physician regularly, aren’t you?”

“Of course. He said there’s nothing wrong.”

“…I see.”

A quiet sigh of relief slipped from him.

The foul, lingering words of the Duke of Lukehardt—like something rotten in his ears—seemed to fade, if only a little.

“Go to the kitchen and have them prepare dinner.”

“Yes, sir.”

Delphius took Ilenia’s hand in his.

“Let’s eat together. It’s been a while.”

He muttered under his breath, forcing himself to suppress the growing desire within him.

The raw, immediate urge to take her burned beneath the surface, low and crude, but he restrained it, clinging tightly to what remained of his patience.

Ilenia was pregnant.

She was carrying his child.

He pushed those darker impulses aside and chose to focus on something simpler and steadier instead.

It wasn’t the warmth he truly longed for, but perhaps it would be enough to dull the cold settling deep in his limbs.

However, when the dishes were placed before her, Ilenia was thrown into a quiet panic.

Not once, not even after becoming pregnant, had she ever felt nauseous while dining with Delphius.

And yet now—

—the moment the scent of the food reached her, her stomach twisted violently.

Why?

She had been fine just moments ago.

Lowering her gaze to her stomach, Ilenia looked at it helplessly, as though pleading with the child within.

“You can’t reject your father like this… not now, my baby.”

She tried again and again to calm it, gently coaxing it to settle, but the nausea refused to fade.

‘If you listened that easily, I wouldn’t be suffering like this…’

She picked up her glass of water, intending to put it in her mouth to mask the smell.

But the moment she brought it close, she knew it wouldn’t work.

The slice of lemon floating in the water was enough to make her feel sick.

In the end, she managed to moisten her lips no more than once before setting the glass down weakly.

By then, the main course had already been placed in front of her.

The moment Delphius saw it, his eyes narrowed.

“What is this?”

“Th-that… is the main dish, sir…”

“And you think someone can go about their day eating nothing but this?”

The dish he pointed to was nothing more than a thin, watery soup.

With no real ingredients to speak of, and only a few herbs floating on top, it looked utterly pitiful.

“Lately, Milady has been unable to eat anything else…”

“So you simply let her live on something that barely looks better than gruel?”

At his angered tone, every servant carrying dishes lowered their heads at once.

“No wonder she’s losing weight. How could she possibly maintain her strength eating like this?”

What was the point of claiming she could eat anything when this was all they gave her?

“To safely carry a child, her health should come first. And yet you’ve allowed her to survive on this? As attendants, how could you neglect your responsibilities like this?”

At this rate, it was clear every servant in the room would soon face dismissal.

Ilenia quickly stepped in.

“I was the one who asked for this. My stomach hasn’t been well.”

“…Even so, this is far too little. It’s nowhere near enough to provide proper nutrition.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to eat better from now on.”

“Ilenia.”

Delphius set down even the knife he had been holding and looked directly at her.

“You don’t need to worry about anything else. Just focus on protecting the child.”

“The child…”

“Yes. Our child.”

“Your morning sickness hasn’t improved—it’s only getting worse. You’re already unable to provide enough nutrients for the baby, but at this rate… both you, Milady, and the child could be in danger.”

At that moment, she was reminded of the physician’s warning — that they could both be in danger.

The memory of those chilling words — that neither she nor the child might survive — tightened around her chest.

Ilenia clenched her hands in her lap.

Before she could stop herself, the dreadful thought filling her mind escaped her lips.

“…If—if I were to miscarry?”

“What are you saying?”

Delphius had always given her answers.

He had always untangled the chaos within her with ease.

Believing he would calm this fear as well, she forced herself to continue.

“I mean… just if. If something were to happen—if I lost the baby…”

“Don’t even speak of such things, Ilenia.”

But he was angry.

And that anger was directed at her.

“No matter who it is—even you—I won’t tolerate words like that.”