Elma told how Kardian had treated Damion. It was a horrific and cruel story. Ansi’s hand gripped the phone tighter.

“Did the Duke and Duchess really know about this?”

Kardian was a meticulous person, and would have hidden his true nature from the Duke and Duchess. Then perhaps they didn’t know how terrible the relationship between their sons had become.

– They know. When I said I would tell the Duke and Duchess about this, the young master… cried for a long time, saying his parents already knew.

“Ah…”

– When I looked closer, I could see. It wasn’t that they didn’t know, but that they were pretending not to know. To them, the young master is not a son.

“…Thank you for telling me.”

The not-so-short call ended, and Ansi hung up. She stared at the ground with blurred vision as she walked to the hospital room.

While keeping vigil alone by Damion’s side yesterday, she had been thinking constantly. About how to treat the Duke and Duchess when they came.

She thought that no matter what, they would be very sad since he was their son. This was separate from the fact that they were Orphera. It was guilt she felt from knowing how much Sofia had suffered after losing Derul.

But in the end, they never came.

Even though their son had been shot, and was lying here asleep like this…

“Ansi!”

Just as she was about to open the door to Damion’s room, a familiar voice called out. Ansi looked up.

Marianne came running down the hallway. Basilov strode alongside her and flung open the door.

“Damion!”

Basilov shouted. Not to be outdone, Marianne rushed into the room and examined Damion’s face.

“Mommy’s here, wake up!”

Her voice calling for her son was pitiful, and her hands shaking him were urgent. But Ansi watched the scene impassively.

“…You’re late.”

At Ansi’s words, Marianne faltered. Basilov cleared his throat.

“We’re late, but don’t be upset. Yesterday we were exhausted trying to calm the guests. Since you were at the hospital, someone had to be there to handle the situation, right?”

“Yes. We were so worried about Damion too. But with His Majesty there, we couldn’t just leave abruptly.”

They went on at length about why they had only come to the hospital after a day had passed.

Ansi stared blankly at the couple’s faces as she listened.

She gazed silently at Basilov’s neatly combed hair, at Marianne’s face meticulously covered in makeup.

Then a derisive laugh escaped her.

The Duke and Duchess opened their mouths in surprise. They had naturally assumed Ansi would treat them warmly.

“Child, did you just laugh?”

“The surgery went well, they say. Though I’m not sure if you really cared to know.”

“What did you just say?”

Basilov frowned deeply. Ansi also glared at them with a hostile expression.

“You don’t need to pretend to be sad. It’s only me here seeing you now anyway.”

“You, what nonsense are you spouting!”

“The fact that you don’t know how unnatural it is to tend to guests first when your son has been shot, is because you’ve gotten used to ignoring and cleaning up situations since he was young.”

Marianne and Basilov exchanged glances. After a moment, Basilov closed the door to the room. Marianne folded her arms and asked:

“So, are you trying to lecture us?”

Originally, they had pretended to be on good terms with that child at Damion’s request.

But from the way Ansi was speaking, it seemed she already knew everything. There was no need to continue the act when the person involved already knew.

There was even less need to put up with being turned away at the door at this point.

“You’re not hoping for Damion to die, are you?”

Marianne asked in a subtle voice.

“What do you mean…”

“No, you might have shot Damion yourself. If Damion dies, you’ll receive his inheritance, won’t you?”

It was a fairly reasonable suspicion.

On the other hand, it would be disadvantageous for Marianne and Basilov if Damion didn’t wake up like this. They hadn’t yet properly obtained what they wanted from that child.

“…Inheritance? Is that something to say in front of someone who’s asleep?”

A question tinged with futility came from Ansi.

She was dumbfounded by the parents’ behavior of viewing their son as property. And because the statement that she had shot Damion was not incorrect.

“We’re saying it because he’s asleep.”

“If you had ever sincerely cared about Damion even once…”

“Ansi, you seem to be misunderstanding something.”

Marianne raised an eyebrow.

“Whether you or I sincerely care about Damion or not is none of your business. We’ve gotten along fine without any sincerity to begin with.”

The benefits given to each of them by maintaining the framework of family. For that, they had always excellently maintained the appearance of a family. This was true not only for the Duke and Duchess, but for Damion’s position as well.

So it was they who truly wished for Damion to wake up. Not Ansi.

“This happened while he was with you in the first place. If it weren’t for you, Damion wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“Marianne is right. We’ll take good care of my son, so you should leave now.”

Basilov pulled Ansi towards the door. When Ansi shook off his hand, he flung the door wide open and pulled her again.

“Now, get out…”

Basilov trailed off.

Because there were guests in front of the hospital room.

“…Greetings, Your Grace.”

Henet bowed. Beside him, Elize looked into the room with wide eyes.

“And who might you be?”

“I am Henet de Maron, Damion’s friend.”

“I am Elize de Baileys. We came to visit… Where are you going?”

Elize’s eyes turned to Basilov’s hand roughly gripping Ansi’s arm. Her brows furrowed.

Basilov naturally released his grip on her. Then he patted Ansi’s shoulder as if comforting her.

“Our daughter-in-law has been working hard watching over Damion, so we were telling her to go in and rest.”

“I’ll stay here.”

Ansi answered immediately. Basilov forced a smile.

“Haha, such stubbornness…”

“How is Damion doing?”

“Ah… He’ll wake up soon.”

At Henet’s question, Basilov quickly put on a face full of worry and sighed. Marianne pretended to wipe tears with her handkerchief as she moved towards the door.

“We’ll see you later then, dear.”

Marianne and Basilov decided to take a step back. If there were onlookers, it would be disadvantageous for them to continue conversing with Ansi here.

The Duke and Duchess left the room, and the door closed.

Henet headed towards the bed where Damion lay. Watching him seriously examine his friend, Ansi bowed her head like a criminal.

“They say the surgery went well.”

“…Damion will wake up soon. So please don’t be too sad, my lady.”

Henet smiled deliberately. Elize, who had been biting her lip tightly, hugged Ansi abruptly.

“Elize…?”

“It’ll be okay, Ansi.”

“Yes. I know.”

“But why does your face look like that…”

Elize whimpered.

Ansi couldn’t understand their words.

Sadness, was it. Ansi did not judge the emotion she was feeling now to be sadness.

Guilt, fear, or sympathy perhaps.

Ansi was surprised at her own dryness.

After all, she had not shed a single tear since Damion was shot.

She had not whispered sweet, positive words to Damion that he would surely wake up. How selfish, she had even blamed him with the lie that it was Damion who fired the gun.

But why did Henet and Elize say she was sad…

“That’s right. Just cry, Ansi.”

At Elize’s words, Ansi suddenly realized that her eyes had reddened. Soon, large teardrops began to fall.

“Ah…”

Once the tears started flowing, it was as if a dam had burst and tears poured out uncontrollably. The welling tears brought out emotions that had been hidden deep in her heart and flowed with them.

Guilt from betraying the man.

Fear that he might not wake up like this.

Sympathy for the man who spent his childhood without anyone to lean on.

What rose up amidst all that was an immense sadness.

She was so very sad right now.

It was a pure emotion she felt about this man’s current state, unaccompanied by any reason.

The first person Damion met in his dream was a girl with blue eyes.

The girl who had saved him when he threw himself into the water wanting to die asked him again.