Dark clouds filled the sky.

It looked as though heavy rain would pour down at any moment, and the knights escorting the carriage hastened their pace.

Because of that, they arrived at the estate earlier than expected, but the place seemed strangely somber.

Something was wrong.

The Lady of Calante, who should have rushed out to greet them, was nowhere to be seen. Only the servants stood waiting.

If that had been all, it would have been one thing.

But even the servants who welcomed their master seemed… off.

Their expressions were downcast—no, closer to grief. It was painfully obvious they were struggling to hold back tears.

As if something—something had happened.

“What is going on?”

Delphius seemed to sense the strange atmosphere as well and demanded an answer from the butler beside him.

“Th-that is…”

He looked nothing like his usual efficient self. His usual composure was gone, replaced by someone barely holding back overwhelming emotion.

“Please, kill me!”

“…The wet nurse?”

The baby’s nurse suddenly appeared and dropped to her knees on the cold, damp ground.

“It is all my fault. The others are innocent. Please—let me atone with this worthless life.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I have no excuse, not even if I had ten mouths to speak… I only stepped away for a moment—to fetch the young master’s diapers from the laundry… I am so sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Unable to finish her words, she broke down completely.

Her tears soaked into the ground, and soon, faint sobs began to rise from those around them.

Ilenia couldn’t understand.

The words spoken before her—the scene unfolding—everything felt as though it was breaking apart, scattering inside her mind.

Sorry…?

For what?

Tap.

A cold drop of rain struck her cheek.

One by one, the raindrops began to fall, then quickly grew heavier.

Some of the servants hurriedly came to their senses, opening umbrellas over Ilenia and Delphius.

But the wet nurse, she remained exactly as she was.

Forgetting even the mud soaking into her white apron, she stayed kneeling, unable to lift her head, repeating her apologies over and over as she pressed her forehead to the ground.

It was a grotesque sight.

Ilenia shook her head quickly, trying to erase the thought forming in her mind.

That couldn’t be it.

There were so many servants in this estate.

Just moments ago, Delphius had said so himself that even the slightest cry from the baby would bring dozens running.

Reaching out, Ilenia grabbed the wet nurse by the shoulders.

She pulled her up, forcing her to look at her, though the woman trembled helplessly, still trying to bow into the muddy ground.

“Don’t do this… why are you out here? What about my child…?”

“I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

“No matter how gentle he is, he’s still a baby. You never know when he might start crying from hunger.”

“—I’m sorry…!”

“If even you leave his side… then who is with him? Who?”

No matter what she asked, the wet nurse only repeated her apologies like a broken record.

Ilenia let go of her shoulders and turned her gaze toward the estate.

Had it ever been this silent before?

Since she had arrived, since the child had been born, she had never seen this side of the house—and now, it sent a chill crawling down her spine.

‘No… it can’t be.’

As a dreadful thought grew stronger in her mind, Ilenia shook her head violently.

‘That’s impossible. No… no.’

“Ilenia!”

Ignoring even the umbrella held out for her, she stepped forward.

The rain soaked her from head to toe, drenching her hair and trailing down the length of her dress,
but she didn’t so much as blink.

Her steps turned into a run.

It was a path she walked every day.

There had been times she had considered moving the nursery closer to the bedroom, just as Delphius had suggested—it felt too far.

And yet, she hadn’t.

There had been only one reason.

She wanted their child to walk the same path Delphius always had. She wanted him to grow up tracing his father’s footsteps.

Like any child, she had wanted their son to admire him, to follow him.

Ilenia rushed down the corridor.

The pain in her legs, still not fully healed, no longer registered.

Her soaked clothes clung to her body, revealing the lines she would have once hidden, but none of it mattered.

Only one thing mattered.

Just one.

As long as that one thing was safe—

‘Please…’

Breathing like a hunted animal, she reached the door—

—and stopped.

The silence inside the room terrified her.

At the very least, there should have been something, the soft rustle of blankets, the faint sound of breath, even the smallest stir.

But the room was unnaturally still.

“……”

The child, who cried every few hours without fail, sometimes fell into such deep sleep that it seemed as though he had vanished.

It would be so quiet that even after seeing his chest rise and fall, she would still reach out to check his breath.

So, this must be one of those times.

It had to be.

On trembling legs, Ilenia forced herself forward, step by step, toward the crib.

Even until the very end, she clung to denial—
again and again—

desperately wishing—

that her child was alive.

“…My baby?”

“……”

“My baby… little Del… it’s Mother.”

With trembling hands, Ilenia gently brushed her baby’s cheek.

The soft, plump skin felt colder than the rain outside.

“No… no, no, no…”

She lifted the child into her arms.

But unlike before, what rested in her embrace felt like a cold, lifeless weight.

No matter how desperately she searched his body, she could no longer feel the warmth that had once been there.

“Ah… ah…”

His closed eyes did not open.

Even when he slept deeply, he would always blink up at her the moment she held him. Even when he cried loudly, he would quiet at once the instant he saw his mother.

“Ah… ah…”

A broken, strangled sound escaped her throat.

Tears streamed down her face, falling one by one onto the child’s growingly cold body.

Was it because she had stepped away, even for just a moment?

It hadn’t even been half a day.

Had it been a mistake not to take him with her, thinking the world outside was more dangerous than the estate?

No—

Perhaps the fault lay in her insistence on going where she need not have gone.

Perhaps it was her stubbornness, following Delphius so that Ariella would not take her place at his side.

‘If only I had stayed.’

If only she had remained by her child.

If only she hadn’t been so stubborn.
If only she hadn’t been greedy.

If only—

if it meant her child could live—

she would do anything.

“Milady!”

Those who arrived too late rushed forward, catching Ilenia as she collapsed.

Several maids grabbed hold of her, trying to restrain her as she clutched the child and shook her head wildly.

“Call the master—quickly… the physician…!”

Fragments of words—sedative, injection—reached her through the haze.

Why… why were they trying to treat her?

Her child—her child wasn’t breathing—shouldn’t they look at him first?

“…Nia, Ilenia.”

A familiar hand gripped her shoulder.

Her vision darkened, and the familiar woody scent filled her senses.

“…Delphi… us…”

“…Yes. It’s me.”

Delphius pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

He took the child from her and passed him to a nearby maid, then drew Ilenia firmly against his chest.

“Call the physician… please call the physician…”

“……”

“Our baby isn’t breathing… please… Delphius… our baby isn’t breathing.”

“…Ilenia.”

“He’s our child. Not mine alone—he’s yours too. We promised we would give him only the very best… didn’t we? Please… call the physician… please, my child… my baby…”

“Stop. It’s already… too late.”

Too late?

For what?

“You’ll only keep the child from resting in peace if you go on like this. So—”

The surge of emotion bursting inside her could no longer be contained.

Ilenia struggled wildly, clawing and striking at the arms that held her, as though trying to tear herself free.

Even then, her fury refused to subside.

“Dead? How could you say such a thing about our child? How—how could you…!”

“……”

“And you still call yourself his father? Do you even deserve to? How could you say something like that to him—how could you…!”

“……”

She raked her nails across his skin, pulled at his hair, lashed out without restraint—and still, Delphius endured it all.

As if none of it mattered, he only held her tighter, swallowing down whatever rose within him.

“The baptism is soon… We were finally going to announce our child’s name in Mateo… you can’t do this now, can you?”

“……”

“He hasn’t even seen spring yet. He was born in late autumn—he’s only ever known the cold… and now, only now the weather is finally growing warmer… Delphius, please. Please, save our child. Call the physician…”

“……”

“Aah—ahhh!”

As Ilenia’s cries turned into a near-hysterical scream, the physician finally stepped forward.

A needle pierced her arm, held firmly in place by Delphius, and the medicine began to flow into her veins.

“It’s a sedative. We’ve administered a stronger dose than usual. She will calm down shortly—”

‘This isn’t what I want.’

‘Please, look at my child.’

‘I don’t care what happens to me—just save him…’

Through her fading vision, Ilenia saw the maid holding her baby.

He was still so small, so small that one had to look closely just to catch a glimpse of his cheek within the swaddling cloth.

‘If I had known… I would have had him baptized in secret.’

The sacred laws of Mateo, none of that mattered now.

The thought that she had obeyed them, mindful of others’ eyes, now struck her chest like a heavy weight.

‘What if… God doesn’t see my child?’

‘What if He takes him away without even knowing his name…?’

Ah—

If only this were all a dream.

Her body no longer felt like her own.

As her thoughts unraveled and the medicine dragged her into darkness, Ilenia remained in Delphius’s arms, sobbing without end.

Outside, the rain battered against the windows—fierce and unrelenting.