Chapter 131
“…Isha.”
“We need… to call the physician…”
Multiple voices tangled at her ears. With her blurred vision, Aisha dimly made out a faint light. Slowly, as her mind returned, she forced her eyelids open.
“Aisha!”
“You’re awake! Do you recognize me?”
The moment her hazy vision cleared, familiar faces came into view. They looked haggard and filled with worry, but otherwise unharmed. Aisha parted her lips.
“Hhh…”
Her voice wouldn’t come out. Like the little mermaid who had lost her voice to the witch, most of what spilled from her mouth was just air. Still, she pushed herself to shape words with what strength she had.
“I’m… okay… thank… goodness…”
Graham, who had been watching her most intently, was the first to catch her faint words. His eyes turned red, and tears rolled down his wrinkled cheeks. Aisha shook her head at the sight, trying to raise her hand, but neither her throat nor her hand obeyed her will.
“Damn it!”
Seeing her fingers twitch, Daniel squeezed himself in between their parents and grabbed his sister’s hand tightly with both of his. Dropping to his knees as though in prayer, he held it as his damp voice trembled.
“Do you know… do you even know how worried I was? Damn it!”
Uncharacteristically stammering, Daniel’s voice carried both relief and a storm of emotions. As his feelings burst out too loudly, Edward placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Daniel. Don’t raise your voice.”
To anyone else, Edward’s tone might have seemed composed as usual—but Aisha could tell. Her eldest brother too was struggling to hold back his emotions. She offered him a faint smile as if to reassure him, then moved the hand Daniel was holding ever so slightly. The small spark of life in that movement made Daniel mutter thanks to a goddess he didn’t even believe in, pressing her hand gently to his cheek.
Feeling his warmth, Aisha rolled her eyes toward another direction. There—her third brother, Arthur, whom she had glimpsed when she first woke, came into focus. Arthur flinched when their eyes met, but soon stepped closer.
He said nothing, unlike her other brothers, but Aisha could tell. His heart had been no less consumed with worry.
“I’m… sorry to make you worry…”
She inclined her head slightly toward Arthur. Then, as she looked again at the faces of her gathered family and tried to speak, pain suddenly surged from her lower abdomen.
“Aisha!”
“Call the physician! Hurry!”
The sound of her groaning turned every face pale. Daniel leapt up, ready to rush out immediately to fetch the physician, but Aisha caught his hand and shook her head. In a calm voice, she said—
“…I have something to ask.”
Her gaze dropped downward, to her abdomen beneath the sheet. A heavy silence fell. Everyone’s lips sealed tight, like clams pulled from the sea.
So it’s true.
From their silence, Aisha knew. She had half-suspected it even before she fainted, but hearing nothing confirmed was one thing—facing the truth was another. It felt like a heavy stone crashing against the back of her skull. Her eyes lost focus.
“…Leave us. You too, boys—out.”
As everyone fumbled helplessly, Marisa bit her lip and spoke to her husband and sons.
Daniel opened his mouth as though to protest but couldn’t bring himself to utter a word. Soon, Graham and the other men filed reluctantly out of the room.
“Aisha.”
Only after the sound of the door closing faded did Marisa call her daughter. Aisha, staring blankly in thought, turned her head toward her mother. Her dazed face was wretched to behold.
“…Did you know?”
Marisa laid a hand on Aisha’s forehead. Feeling her mother’s warmth, Aisha slowly shook her head.
“No.”
“….”
“I had no idea.”
“…I see. You didn’t know.”
Marisa nodded, locking eyes with her daughter. Just a month ago, Aisha had even undergone an examination. Yet not even the physician had realized she was pregnant. Her irregular cycle, combined with her lifelong illness and habit of enduring pain silently, had masked all signs.
When she collapsed, the physician had bowed repeatedly, confessing it was his failing. Daniel had nearly cut him down on the spot, but Marisa restrained her son and pressed the man for a cause. He had answered that Aisha’s frail body, worsened by severe shock, had likely led to the miscarriage.
Remembering those words, Marisa clenched and unclenched her fists. Her daughter had been born weak, always a source of worry—and now her health had declined even further. The pain in her chest was sharp, suffocating, as if her lungs were filling with water.
“My dear… let’s just think of it as a bad dream.”
Swallowing her anguish, Marisa tried to soothe Aisha with a gentle voice. No matter how much she hurt, it could not compare to her daughter’s pain. However shattered she felt, Aisha had to be suffering more. Tears welled in Marisa’s eyes.
“This isn’t your fault. So let’s forget it and focus on your health first—”
“Mother.”
Marisa faltered as Aisha’s blurred gaze lifted and her lips parted. Meeting her daughter’s eyes, she froze.
“…Maybe… it’s for the best.”
Marisa went rigid at the unexpected words. Aisha turned her head away, placed a hand over her stomach, and forced a twisted smile.
“How could someone like me… ever be a mother? For the child too, maybe it’s better… maybe…”
Her lips curled upward, but she was neither smiling nor crying. Her eyes, wide and hollow, were drained of all emotion. Her fingers trembled ceaselessly, spasming with nothing to hold onto. It was the image of someone broken.
At last, Marisa’s restraint shattered. Her shoulders slumped, and tears she had held back spilled down her face. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Yet even as she watched her mother weep, Aisha did not shed a single tear. She only drew faint, powerless circles over her belly with her hand.
The windowpanes were frosted white in the cold weather. Carrying a tray with fragrant tea, Mari glanced at the ice on the glass.
The thin but jagged frost looked bitterly cold, and Mari’s gaze, fixed beyond it to the man standing at the mansion gates, grew just as frigid.
Still there…
Against the snow-covered ground, his figure was small, but his golden hair shone unmistakably. Mari bit her lip hard and snapped her head away.
He’s here again today?
Yes, for hours now.
In this cold? He’ll freeze to death at this rate…
The maids’ whispered conversations from earlier echoed in her ears. But Mari felt no sympathy. Not for him. Not after everything. She muttered every curse she knew at the man—at Ian—as she walked.
Hmph! Freeze or die, what do I care? Let him rot in hell.
Aisha had hovered at death’s door for days before barely regaining consciousness. Mari had been one of the few at her side the entire time.
Our lady nearly died…
Mari grit her teeth at the memory. The blood—so much blood spilling from such a small body. The sheets drenched in red as her face grew paler and paler. The tiny life that had been inside her… remembering it all, Mari thought Ian deserved to die a thousand times over.
Still burning with fury, she soon arrived at Aisha’s room. At the door, she took a breath and practiced a smile. Even awake, Aisha had not left her room. Her body was weakened, yes, but Mari sensed her spirit was wounded far deeper.
Knock, knock.
“My lady. It’s Mari. I’m coming in.”
Forcing cheer into her voice, Mari entered. The room was warm from the fire, but on the bed, Aisha lay curled up tightly.
“My lady…”
“…Mari?”
“I brought your favorite tea. The scent is so bright—it smells almost like something rare and precious.”
Slowly, Aisha pushed herself up to sit. Mari poured the tea into a cup, placed it on its saucer, and handed it to her. The fragrance of citrus and berries filled the room, but Aisha’s expression did not change.
“How is it?”
“Ah…”
“….”
“It’s nice.”
Even to such a simple question, Aisha only stared blankly into space before answering, as though her spirit were elsewhere. She had been like this for days, and though her family saw it too, no one reproached her. They only watched in silent anguish.
“Edward himself procured this for you. Please have as much as you’d like. The weather is so dry—you need to drink plenty.”
“Mm…”
“Don’t you feel stifled? Should I open the curtains?”
“As you wish.”
“And the room’s a little warm. Should I open the window for a bit?”
“….”
But just then, Aisha froze. Handing the cup back to Mari, she fixed her gaze on the dressing table.
“Mari. Could you help me up?”
“What? My lady, you shouldn’t go outside yet—”
“I’m not going outside. Just… help me to the dressing table.”
Mari followed her gaze. Does she want to put on some makeup, maybe for a change of mood? Hoping that was the case, she carefully helped Aisha over to the vanity.
<3