Ilenia stretched lightly, easing the stiffness in her body with a few slow, deliberate movements. After loosening the lingering tension, she took a few light steps.

She tidied the bedding she had left to the maid until now and prepared herself on her own. Then, as she sat before the vanity and began to brush her hair—

A couple of knocks sounded from beyond the door, and soon Amanda entered, carrying a basin of wash water.

Under normal circumstances, she would never have opened the door without first hearing a response from inside. But given the situation, it seemed she had grown quite accustomed to letting herself in.

Setting down the basin she had been holding to open the door, Amanda lifted her head to draw back the curtains that had been left closed since the night before.

“Uh…?”

The moment her eyes met the sight before her—Amanda, without realizing it, dropped the basin from her hands.

Clatter!

With a loud crash, the basin slipped from her hands, spilling water across the carpet. The liquid quickly seeped into the fabric—soaking the rug, then the hem of Amanda’s skirt.

And yet, even in the midst of it all, Amanda couldn’t move.

She didn’t even register the mistake she had made. Her eyes—fixed, unblinking—were drawn entirely to a single figure.

“M-My Lady…?”

“Amanda. Good afternoon.”

“Oh my… oh my…”

Her eyes widened, and in an instant, they filled with tears.

“Oh my… oh my…”

She repeated, over and over, squeezing her eyes shut and opening them again, as if to confirm that what she was seeing was real.

“Strangely enough, I felt increasingly drowsy, so I decided to lie down for a while, but I ended up sleeping until now. It’s almost embarrassing to face the daylight now.”

While Amanda stood there in stunned disbelief, Ilenia remained calm and serene. It was hard to believe that she had neither spoken nor moved for a whole month.

“You must have had the hardest time, having to heat the wash water again and again.”

“Are… are you really alright now?”

“Yes. It’s time I got up. I’ve been idle for far too long.”

“Oh… thank heavens. Thank heavens…”

Though she was not particularly devout, Amanda found herself wanting to offer a prayer of gratitude in that moment.

‘My Lady has finally regained consciousness!’

She had to share this joy with everyone.

Amanda rushed to the doorway, leaning out into the corridor to grab the first passerby and relay the news.

The one who heard her was no less shocked. Their eyes widened before they hurried off, forgetting all decorum, intent on informing the master.

Even after witnessing that reaction, Amanda still couldn’t quite believe it. She returned to the bedroom once more and there she was, just as before, seated exactly as she had first seen her.

‘How much my lady must have suffered all this time…’

Unable to hold it back any longer, Amanda covered her mouth as tears spilled over.

“I don’t even know what I should say first… I—I mean, just seeing that you’ve woken up safely… I’m so overwhelmed that I can’t seem to find the words…”

“Amanda? What’s wrong? I simply woke up after a good rest.”

“Of course… yes, of course. I’m just… so happy. That’s all.”

“You’re this happy just because I slept in? Then perhaps I should sleep in more often—for your sake.”

She smiled brightly, just as she used to.

Then, as if something had suddenly come to mind, she gently placed a hand over her stomach, caressing it with quiet affection, her gaze lingering on her still-flat abdomen with unmistakable tenderness.

“By the way, could you prepare something simple for me to eat? It wouldn’t be good to let my stomach stay empty for too long.”

“Ah—yes. I’ll inform the kitchen right away and have something prepared.”

“Please do. Even if I neglect myself, I can’t neglect the child’s nutrition, can I?”

At those words, Amanda—who had been about to rush off to the kitchen—froze in place.

“…The child? What do you mean by that?”

“The child in my womb, of course. You were there when the physician said it would be dangerous if I didn’t eat properly. What are you saying?”

Just as Amanda’s face stiffened in confusion—

“Ilenia.”

“Delphius!”

He must have rushed here in great haste.

Delphius—who never once lost his composure or dignity—appeared at the doorway in complete disarray.

“You’re already back?”

“…I heard that you had woken up.”

“Oh my. Has news of my oversleeping already spread throughout the entire estate?”

Blushing faintly, she pouted.

“How could you let that happen? The servants are gossiping about my humiliation, and you just stood by and allowed it. That’s not fair.”

Even as Ilenia complained, Delphius could not take his eyes off her.

It had been nearly a month.

Not the Ilenia who lay silently in bed, lost in sleep—but the one who stood before him now, smiling, speaking to him.

The very sight he had longed for was right before his eyes.

And so, he could only stare—wordless, drinking her in.

When no answer came from him, Ilenia puffed her lips slightly.

“Ever since I became pregnant, I keep getting so sleepy… What am I supposed to do when I keep dozing off without realizing it?”

“…Pregnant?”

Only then did Delphius sense that something was terribly off. His brows furrowed.

Pregnant…? What was she talking about?

“Why is everyone looking at me like that today? Did something happen?”

While everyone else stood frozen in indescribable shock, Ilenia alone blinked her wide, innocent eyes, utterly confused.

***

“There are no abnormalities in her body. Although her strength has weakened from being bedridden for a month, she is in remarkably good health.”

After the examination, Delphius had deliberately summoned the physician to the study, out of Ilenia’s earshot. Now, he glared at him.

“Good health? Do you take me for a fool, that you would dare lie to my face?”

“That is not the case. How could I possibly lie to the both of you? I have always spoken nothing but the truth.”

“My wife insists there is a child in a womb that holds nothing—and you call that a healthy condition?”

To stand there and bear the full force of his master’s anger—Delphius’s anger—felt as though one’s very lifespan was being shaved away.

But a physician’s duty was to care for the patient.

Swallowing hard, the doctor steeled himself.

“…Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but it is possible she is deceiving herself due to the shock of losing the child.”

“Her milk returned. It had stopped two weeks after she lost the child—yet it began to flow again.”

“…It is not entirely without precedent. There are cases among certain animals where, without mating, they experience false pregnancy—producing milk and even abdominal swelling due to delusion—”

“Are you suggesting, in front of me, that my wife is no better than a beast?”

At last, unable to restrain his fury, Delphius seized the physician by the collar and lifted him.

The man was easily a head taller, yet his legs trembled helplessly as he was hoisted into the air.

“Th-that is not what I meant! Absolutely not!”

Desperate to survive, the physician waved his hands frantically.

“I was merely giving an example of the symptoms! It seems that milady—having endured such severe emotional distress—may be experiencing a degree of mental confusion—”

“You’ve just made two grave mistakes.”

The hand gripping his collar tightened in an instant.

“First—failing to properly understand your patient’s condition. And second—daring to insult the Duchess of Lukehardt in my presence.”

“Cough—That is not my intention at all…! Please, I beg you—hear me out!”

He pleaded desperately, casting aside all dignity. If he didn’t, he truly believed his life would end in Delphius’s grasp.

“Then speak properly this time. If you behave like a quack again, I’ll have you thrown in prison.”

The moment he was released, the physician gasped for air, hastily drawing in breath as he struggled to steady himself.

Between bitter truth and a comforting lie. Weighing the facts against his own life, the physician squeezed his eyes shut.

“…Milady is in a very fragile mental state. She cannot even begin to imagine a world where the child is no longer by her side… and so she clings to this delusion.”

“…And?”

Delphius’s voice was low.

“How do we fix it?”

“…It depends entirely on milady’s will. Once she comes to understand that the child is truly gone, her body will gradually return to normal as well. The lactation… the swelling of her abdomen without cause—those will all subside.”

“……”

For a long moment, Delphius said nothing.

Yet even in that brief silence, it felt as though he were walking back and forth between heaven and hell.

‘Should I lie?’

‘Should I fall to my knees right now and tell him everything is false, that with the proper medicine and treatment, milady can return to how she was before…?’

The physician wavered endlessly—

“…What if.”

“Yes?”

“What if she never realizes the child is gone?”

“…What do you mean—”

“I’m asking… if she never notices the loss… and truly believes she is still carrying the child—what happens then?”

The physician’s brown eyes trembled.

Even as he tried to read his master’s intent, he frantically searched through his knowledge.

“…In that case… milady would carry the child for ten months and give birth without ever doubting it. Her body was already prepared, after all.”

“……”

“…You may leave.”

Perhaps that had been the answer he wanted.

The physician hurried out of the estate, fearing that if he lingered even a moment longer, he would be dragged to the underground prison.

“…Without ever doubting… she would bear the child…”

Delphius slowly turned his head toward the wall.

His gaze settled on a portrait—painted before his wife’s belly had begun to swell.

He stared at it blankly.

The faces in the painting—his own, and Ilenia’s—felt unfamiliar to him now.

Only the atmosphere of that time, that moment, remained.

And one thing was certain, the two of them had been happy then.

Delphius raised a hand, tracing over the smile that now felt like it belonged to a stranger.

As his fingers followed the soft curve of those lips, his eyes sharpened with a clear, resolute light.