WLTIS | CHAPTER 30

Chapter 30

Lincia placed her hand on her belly.

Harvich’s gaze followed the movement.

“……It will be fine. The physician said the child is safe.”

Harvich wiped Lincia’s forehead with a dry cloth.

His touch was very careful.

“There was a medicine you are already taking, so no other medicine could be used.

If your body temperature rose too high, it would harm the child, so I cooled your body with a cold towel.”

Where had Anna gone, and why was Harvich doing the work that servants should be doing?

Lincia had many questions she wanted to ask, but her voice would not come out.

“Your maid is resting now.

Since the day you collapsed, that maid has barely slept.”

“……”

“I did not intend to overwork your maid, but I thought I should consult you before attaching another handmaid……”

At his words that sounded like an excuse, Lincia gave a faint smile.

Feeling much more at ease, Lincia let go of Harvich’s collar that she had been holding.

When Harvich saw her hand release, he rose from his seat.

“Then I will bring the physician.”

***

As soon as they returned to the Grand Duke’s castle, Harvich planned to keep his distance from Lincia.

Honestly, even to himself, he had looked pathetic recently.

Just spending a few days with Lincia, his heart wavered, and he let things slip.

Even though he had clear proof that the child was not his, he went so far as to alter and conceal it.

If Lincia had not collapsed, Harvich would have distanced himself.

Certainly.

“Y-Your Grace, my lady is……!”

That dawn, Lincia’s maid came to him.

The maid knocked on the study door as if to break it, saying Lincia was in critical condition.

The maid said she first went to Oberok but his door was locked, so she could not wake him, and tears streamed down her face.

When Harvich arrived at Lincia’s room ahead of the maid, the heavy atmosphere of a sickroom lingered.

The woman’s face, breathing shallowly, was deeply flushed.

Her pale body burned with fever, and Harvich felt a kind of emotion.

Something like foreboding……

Seeing the woman lying lifeless like a corpse brought back a moment buried deep in memory.

Forcing himself to ignore it, Harvich quickly turned his body.

He broke down Oberok’s door, grabbed the still half-asleep physician by the collar, and dragged him into the bedroom.

Once he saw Lincia’s condition, Oberok quickly came to his senses and began issuing instructions to Anna.

A chaotic day passed.

Harvich regretted not selecting a maid in advance.

He could only stand inside the room, watching Anna care for Lincia.

But time passed and Lincia did not improve, while the maid grew more and more exhausted.

She often dozed while holding a towel.

“Do not punish my maid.”

If Lincia woke and saw her maid, would she think Harvich had punished her?

Harvich approached the maid who was worn out from fatigue.

“……What should I do?”

“……Pardon?”

“To care for the patient.

If my wife wakes and sees your condition, she will be worried.”

At first the maid refused, saying it was her duty, but after he asked several more times she finally taught him how to nurse.

“Please rest.”

“……May I stay until my lady opens her eyes?”

“If you wish to worry my wife, I will not stop you.”

Not wanting that, the maid bowed deeply and left the bedroom.

Following what the maid had taught him, Harvich used wet and dry towels to wipe Lincia’s body.

Even while groaning in pain, Lincia only worried about the child.

Her attitude of not caring what happened to her own body made his stomach churn.

Seeing a woman suffering as if she might die at any moment, a certain memory inevitably returned.

Harvich’s mother, Asella Cassius, was not from this land.

Born and raised in the warm South, Asella especially could not endure the cold of the Grand Duchy.

When the season of snow began, she would fall ill.

And in the end, that season took Harvich’s mother away.

And even took the man who lost his wife.

Even a healthy grown man could hardly withstand the cold of Cassius Territory.

That was why Harvich had wanted to marry a woman born in the North.

If she had been raised in this land, at least she would not be weakened by a simple illness.

But contrary to his wish, the bride who came to him was born in the far South.

“It is heaven’s blessing. The child is still alive.”

“Can medicine not be used?”

“No, unfortunately not. Because the child is in the womb, the medicines that can be used are limited.

And the few that can be used are incompatible with what she has already been taking……”

“Incompetent.”

At that moment, Harvich suddenly thought it would be better if the child in her belly were gone.

Then they could immediately use the medicine Lincia needed.

If she had known, she never would have forgiven him.

“For now, cooling her body with wet towels is the best method.

If the fever grows too severe, the chance of miscarriage rises, and if she were to lose the child in this weakened state…… the outlook would not be good.

Once her body temperature drops, she should recover.”

“Enough. Leave.”

After sending Oberok away, Harvich was left alone again in the bedroom.

In the quiet room, Lincia’s breathing could barely be heard.

Her faint breath seemed as if it might stop at any moment.

He was anxious.

No, beyond anxious—he was afraid.

Even Harvich did not know why he felt such emotions.

He thought about doing some work while waiting, but he could not even read letters properly.

Before the season of snow fully began, the hunting festival had to be held.

There was much work left to do……

It was then.

From Lincia’s lips came a cracked, dry voice calling, “Harvich.”

Though faint, Harvich immediately set down the papers he was holding.

He walked toward Lincia.

It had been a long time since he last saw Lincia’s violet eyes.

***

“The patient has awakened.”

“I will prepare. I will call Anna, so Your Grace should also rest.”

“No, I am fine.”

Harvich returned to Lincia’s bedroom with Oberok.

When she saw Oberok, Lincia moved her lips and pointed to her belly.

Oberok immediately took her pulse and examined her condition.

“The child is safe.

Considering how much the mother was ill, the child is remarkably healthy.

The medicines you had been taking helped.”

Finally relieved, Lincia smiled brightly.

“From now on, do not skip meals.

Also, you should continue taking the medicine I prescribed without fail.”

Lincia nodded.

“I will leave now, so rest peacefully.”

After Oberok left, Harvich thought the turmoil inside him would settle, but it did not.

Words crowded in his throat.

Do you know you almost died?

Do you truly wish to protect the child so much?

But seeing the woman whose face clearly showed relief, he could not say anything.

“I will stay only until your maid arrives.”

That was the first thing Harvich said after gathering his emotions.

Lincia raised her head to look at him.

She opened her mouth but could not speak, so she shook her head instead.

“……Am I unwelcome?”