‘Joseph…!’

Covered in flesh and fresh blood that clearly belonged to someone until just moments ago, he looked like a merciless murderer, or an evil spirit moving only for the cruel purpose of killing.

But despite that, I didn’t feel afraid of him at all in this moment. Rather…

“I’m in pain right now.”

He felt like a savior.

“It feels like chronomancy is eating away not just my head, but all the organs in my body.”

In this moment, my heart fluttered artlessly.

“Still… please wait just a moment, Lieselotte. I’ll finish this as quickly as possible.”

Ah…

“Please keep your eyes closed.”

It won’t be a pleasant sight.

I could feel Joseph’s voice trembling finely with anger as he said that.

His eyes, which always creased kindly when we met, were now bloodshot and sharp.

Splash. Stepping in the pool of blood he had created himself, Joseph took a few more steps towards Dorothea.

“I should have killed you earlier, but I suppose I was too sentimental.”

She was still struggling desperately to shake off the invisible force choking her neck.

But it didn’t seem to be easy.

Transparent liquid flowed out of her purple-tinged eyes, nose, and mouth along with foam.

“…To think even someone like this is called a mother.”

The title he used to address her was full of contempt and hatred.

And unlike the seemingly polite tone, the emotions contained within were not polite at all.

“Kheuk, keok… You, h-how did you! Keheuk…!”

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t ease up to let you ask questions. It’s so I don’t kill you too easily.”

In the brief moment Joseph gave her, Dorothea raised her voice angrily. Then the invisible force began to grip and twist her neck again.

In this way, Joseph repeatedly gripped and released Dorothea’s neck several times, painfully prolonging her life. It was truly torture.

“You need to realize what you’ve done to me. And in the most painful way possible.”

“Kheuk, keheuk, sa-save…!”

“How dare you…”

Squeeeze.

“Crush my life.”

The sound of skin being compressed each time the force field strongly squeezed her neck was chilling.

“Not content with mistreating my woman…”

“Keok, keokeok, keok!”

“You even dared to lay hands on the children.”

Crunch.

“…What those children meant to me.”

The last words uttered were like an agonized scream.

Barely suppressing sorrow and despair. Instead biting his lips, clenching his fists until they bled…

It was like a blood-curdling cry of those painful emotions he had swallowed.

Crunch crunch crunch.

Suddenly an enormous sound shook my eardrums.

It was clearly the sound of bones and muscles twisting. Fear crept in chillingly.

Not because of Joseph’s cruelty.

It was just worry that this grotesque sound might have harmed Joseph’s body.

“Ah.”

But that was my needless concern. Joseph’s breath scattered dejectedly.

“To die already.”

She should have suffered for at least three days, he said…

Joseph stood blankly for a long while, exhaling empty breaths.

“Your senses will return slowly.”

With Joseph’s return alone, the situation was quickly resolved.

He easily found the key in Dorothea’s limp bosom. The medicine to quickly normalize relaxed muscles also came soon.

It took three days for my breathing to finally become comfortable.

I hadn’t known before that inhaling and exhaling naturally was such a great blessing.

And being able to speak too.

“…Eu, Euphie…”

“The Princess is safe. You can rest assured she’s been safely put to bed in the castle.”

“Ah…”

“Lord Sergei… can’t be said to be unharmed, but his life is intact.”

Strength still wasn’t properly entering my body. Nevertheless, those words were reassuring enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I hurriedly embraced him. Just as Joseph had done to soothe his headache.

Enveloped in his blood-stained arms, I searched for his scent amidst the smell of blood. At that moment, the emotions I had been suppressing welled up.

“Kard, Kardiel…”

“…”

“Kardiel is dead. My son, my child… Our Chelsie too, is dead.”

“…”

“I, I…”

What should I do now?

Joseph didn’t say anything. He just held me tightly.

To me, his silence was rather the warmest comfort of all.

Thanks to that, I was able to let everything go and wail as if vomiting it all out.

Even when grandfather passed away, when Teacher Rogier closed his eyes, I had never cried out like this.

No, I had never cried out loud like this even once since I was born until now.

Even when I lost my two children, it hadn’t been this bitterly sorrowful…

When I came to my senses, I was in Daiern Castle.

It was eerily quiet around me.

Loretta’s energetic voice that made every morning bustling now seemed hazy like a distant dream.

Three days had already passed.

As I repeated crying, fainting, waking up to cry again and faint again, time had mercilessly flowed by.

‘That’s not it.’

In fact, no matter what pain I suffered, no matter how much I agonized, the principles of the world applied equally to everyone.

The world doesn’t stop because Kardiel died. Not all laughter in the world disappears because Chersion is gone.

I ended up surviving.

In a disgustingly intact state.

Rustle. I pushed away the blanket covering me and sat up. Apart from my eyes being a bit swollen from crying so much, my body was irritatingly unharmed.

If I had been even a little injured or in pain, I could have thought I was receiving some punishment at least.

“You’re awake.”

Suddenly a gentle voice came through the open door.

When I turned my head, I saw Joseph dressed neatly in pure white clothes, completely different from what I last remembered.

“You’ve been skipping meals for days. Let’s have you eat a little today.”

An invisible force moved to set a light table on the bed where I was sitting.

Soon a bowl of soup and a glass filled with water were placed on the table.

It was like a scene from a fairy tale book. But I didn’t have the strength in my body to just marvel naively.

“…I’m sorry, Joseph. I don’t have any appetite right now.”

I couldn’t even grip the spoon. To tell the truth, I really had no appetite.

Even the thought of swallowing a sip of water made me feel nauseous already.

“Then when do you think you’ll feel like eating?”

“I don’t know. More importantly, how is Euphie doing?”

Joseph replied with a bitter smile.

“Lord Sergei says she’s in much the same state as you, madam. She’s refusing all food and drink, saying she has no appetite.”

Ah, that’s serious. I furrowed my brow. It seemed I should go see Euphemina right away…

“By the way, I don’t recommend meeting the Princess right now.”

For what reason? When I glared at him, Joseph shrugged his shoulders.

“She’s feeling quite guilty. Meanwhile, in that… I apologize, but meeting the Princess in your current state might be counterproductive.”

What’s wrong with my appearance? Before I could turn my head to look for a mirror, Joseph moved.

A mysterious power created a thin membrane mirror in front of my eyes.

“Ah.”

My appearance was certainly a mess.

My puffy eyes were dark underneath, my cheeks were gaunt, and my pale skin was rough and in shambles.

“…I see what you mean.”

He was right. I couldn’t meet Euphemina looking like this. I knew I had to force myself to eat something.

However.

“Urgh…!”

It was still too much. As soon as I swallowed, rising nausea promptly rejected the food.

Cough cough, Joseph gently stroked my back as I ended up spitting out bile.

Then in an instant, he magically cleared away both the small table and plate.

“No… cough. It’s okay. I’ll try to eat a bit more. It’s just because I haven’t eaten for so long that my stomach can’t handle it.”

“Lieselotte.”

“Cough, cough cough. I’m fine.”

I gestured for him to bring the soup back. Joseph’s kind eyebrows suddenly turned stern.

“I told you before, saying you’re fine doesn’t mean you’re well.”

“…”

“And you’re not fine right now. You’re forcing yourself. If you do that, your body will break down.”

His voice was quite firm. At that moment, something welled up inside me.

“Then what am I supposed to do!”

My voice rose in a sudden outburst without me realizing.

“You said Euphie is starving herself. You said that child is suffering from guilt!”

But you say I can’t meet her in my current state. Then shouldn’t I at least try to eat something and regain enough strength to do my makeup?

“I’m that child’s mother!”

It didn’t matter if my body broke down.

“…Euphie is all I have left now!”

But I couldn’t let the one child I had left go wrong. I…

“If I lose that child too… I can’t go on living, Joseph.”