Revan quickly descended the stairs and lifted Hilane.
“Hilane! Wake up!”
He pressed a handkerchief to her forehead to stop the bleeding.
“….”
But Hilane’s limp body didn’t move.
Panicked, Revan shouted at the startled servants standing idly by.
“What are you standing there for? Get the physician immediately!”
Only then did the servants start bustling about.
“Papa, w-what about Mama?”
Chevelyn tugged at Revan’s sleeve, looking around in confusion.
Smack-
“…Because of you, Hilane got hurt.”
When Revan pushed her small hand away, Chevelyn fell back, landing on her bottom.
“Miss! Are you alright?”
The butler, who arrived late, asked, making Revan flinch.
Because of you?
‘What am I saying….’
It was an unintentional remark.
He should have apologized, said it came out wrong….
But seeing Chevelyn’s pale face made him unable to speak.
“Your Excellency, we should… take the madam to her room.”
It was strange.
Chevelyn, a daughter for whom he would gladly give his life, now made him feel uneasy.
“Take Chevelyn to her room.”
Being with Chevelyn was uncomfortable right now.
The guilt over his recent behavior washed over him like a wave.
Revan turned away and entrusted Chevelyn to the butler.
“Ah….”
Chevelyn tried to say something but bit her lip.
She turned away, crestfallen.
***
Revan gently laid Hilane on the bed. Fortunately, the bleeding on her forehead had stopped.
Just that one fact seemed to calm Revan’s pounding heart.
“Lord Marquess Rata, I greet you.”
“Forget the greetings and tend to my wife immediately.”
“Yes, understood…”
The out-of-breath physician, who had rushed over, took out his stethoscope.
“She fell down the stairs and lost consciousness afterward.”
“Then I will focus on examining her head.”
The physician, under Revan’s watchful eyes, carefully examined Hilane.
“It appears to be a mild concussion. She should wake up soon.”
Revan stared at Hilane with an anxious expression.
There were shadows under his eyes. He looked like he had lost weight in a short amount of time.
‘You need to eat better.’
Revan gently stroked Hilane’s sunken cheek.
As he turned his head, he noticed a bottle of headache medicine on the nightstand.
It was the medicine Hilane frequently used as her headaches had worsened.
Despite his advice to reduce its usage, the bottle seemed lighter than the last time he saw it.
He had heard that headache medicine could cause side effects and couldn’t just let it go.
“Is there anything else that could be wrong?”
“I will check again.”
At Revan’s insistence, the physician took Hilane’s pulse again.
“She is simply asleep due to accumulated fatigue.”
“…Is there nothing else to be cautious about?”
“No. Just ensure she gets plenty of rest today.”
“Wait.”
Revan stopped the physician who was about to leave with his medical bag.
“…Check on the child too. Inform the butler if there are any injuries.”
“Yes, my lord.”
After the physician left, Revan brought a chair and sat next to Hilane.
He clasped his hands together and let out a deep sigh.
“Hilane….”
He couldn’t be at ease. He feared she might never open her eyes again.
He regretted meeting Aria. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have doubted Hilane.
They wouldn’t have fought, and Hilane wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the process.
“Please wake up.”
He also felt guilty about his attitude towards Chevelyn.
“…Hilane?”
Hilane’s fingers twitched slightly.
Revan’s face brightened.
“Hilane? Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
He poured a glass of water and handed it to her, continuously talking.
“…Where is Chevelyn?”
“Take care of your own body first.”
“Where is Chevelyn?”
“Hilane, please.”
Even though Revan urged her to check herself first, Hilane didn’t listen.
“I will bring her here.”
“I’ll go.”
“Hilane. You just woke up….!”
Avoiding Revan, she pulled the bell cord to summon a maid.
“Mary.”
“Yes, madam.”
“Help me up. Where is Chevelyn?”
“The young miss is in her room.”
“Hilane!”
“Let go!”
Hilane shook off Revan’s hand and, with assistance, moved her trembling legs.
* * *
“Sweetheart!”
Hearing Hilane’s voice, Chevelyn turned and ran into her arms.
The impact made Hilane stagger slightly.
“Madam, are you alright?”
“Shh. Leave us.”
Hilane, soothing Chevelyn who showed no sign of leaving her embrace, said.
“Yes, madam. If you need anything, please call.”
The maid left, closing the door behind her.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Chevelyn? Let mommy check.”
“….”
Once they were alone, Chevelyn slowly looked up.
Hilane, worried Chevelyn might be injured, carefully examined her.
Relieved to find no injuries, she was able to calm down.
“…Mommy, I’m sorry. It’s Cherry’s fault. Don’t hate Cherry.”
Chevelyn spoke formally, overly cautious.
“Mommy’s fine. Why would I hate my daughter?”
“But… Cherry ran, and it’s Cherry’s fault. Because of Cherry, Mommy got hurt.”
“Sweetheart….”
Hilane noticed something odd in Chevelyn’s words.
She was blaming herself for what had happened.
This was different from her usual behavior.
Even if she hadn’t been hurt, there was something that had sharply heightened her sensitivity.
“No way….”
Hilane tried to suppress her growing emotions.
‘It can’t be. No matter what, it can’t be….’
Taking a deep breath, she asked.
“Chevelyn. Did Daddy say anything to you?”
Chevelyn, who had started crying again, gasped for breath.
“Sniff, Daddy said Mommy got really hurt because of Cherry. Daddy was so scary….”
“It hurt your feelings, didn’t it? Yes, you were worried about Mommy.”
“Sniff, Cherry….”
Only when nestled in her embrace did Chevelyn finally let out her sorrow.
“Mommy, are you okay?”
“Yes. Thank goodness you’re not hurt. It’s okay. Mommy is here. I’ll always be by your side.”
Hilane responded to Chevelyn’s tearful, garbled words one by one.
“Mommy’s fine now.”
It took quite some time to calm Chevelyn down.
Even after falling asleep, Chevelyn didn’t want to let go of Hilane’s finger.
“…Mommy will protect you. My beloved daughter.”
Hilane stroked Chevelyn’s head as she slept fitfully.
‘Blaming Chevelyn for my injury! What did you say to her to make her so scared?’
Watching her, Hilane’s anger towards Revan bubbled up.
‘This can’t go on.’
Unable to endure any longer, she went outside to find the butler.
“Butler, where is Revan?”
“The master… is in the study.”
Hilane headed straight to Revan’s study.
* * *
Revan stood by the window in the study, lost in thought.
“Revan!”
“…Hilane?”
At her voice, he turned and approached her with small steps.
“….”
Standing close, Revan said nothing.
“…You.”
Hilane broke the oppressive silence.
She loathed him for blaming Chevelyn for her fall.
‘At least don’t take it out on the child.’
She couldn’t forgive Revan for hurting Chevelyn.
No matter what, she had considered it a misunderstanding.
Now, she realized it was just her own wish not to disturb Chevelyn’s happiness.
“When you asked if Chevelyn was really my daughter, it broke my heart, but I endured it. Even when you insisted on seeing another woman against my wishes.”
“….”
“I thought we could talk it out slowly when you returned, that we could clear up the misunderstanding….”
Because she tried to believe him until she heard the full story.
She was furious when she heard he had postponed the baptism ceremony and called him back.
She had planned to talk things through calmly after cooling down a bit.
“Yeah…. I planned to….”
Maybe because she had already sorted out her thoughts, her voice was calm.
“…Hilane?”
“I don’t want to continue this anymore.”
It wasn’t just making her cry to the point where she couldn’t breathe properly.
She worried about being hated by her mother.
Hilane no longer wanted to maintain this family.
“Let’s get a divorce.”
♡♡♡
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