Beep, beep, beep, beep.
The familiar mechanical sound, the stinging smell of disinfectant, and the voices of various people from outside.
It was the most familiar yet terrifying fragment of memory.
When I forced my eyes open, despite how heavy they felt, there was a man and a woman looking down at me with tired eyes.
Sigh… How many times is this already…?
The woman muttered in a weary voice, her expression drained.
“You should’ve just stayed next to the child. As a mother, can’t you even take care of the caregiver? If only the caregiver had stayed properly…”
“Am I not working too? Are you the only one working? The caregiver sent a text saying she couldn’t continue—what am I supposed to do about that? Why are you blaming me?”
“Are you even the child’s father?”
“This is ridiculous!”
I couldn’t see my own expression, but I was sure I had the same exhausted look as they did.
Sigh, enough already. I’m already tired enough without you adding to it.
“Of course, it’s always my fault. Why did you irresponsibly say you’d take responsibility if you’re going to be this indifferent?”
“What?”
“I told you I didn’t want to have the baby! I said it over and over, that it would just be a burden…”
Sigh… It’s always like this. If it’s going to be like this, then I…
Their shouting grew fainter.
“Hah…!”
“Ah, miss? Are you okay?”
When I suddenly opened my eyes, a woman I didn’t recognize was looking at me with round eyes full of concern.
I tried to speak, but no voice came out. It felt like my dry throat was holding onto my words, not letting them escape.
“Miss, are you alright? Does your head hurt or anything?”
The woman, full of worry, asked, and I slowly nodded.
The young woman, probably in her twenties, breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly said how glad she was that I woke up.
“Thank goodness you woke up. You hadn’t opened your eyes for two whole days, and I was so worried. The madam couldn’t even sleep and stayed by your side the whole time. Oh, she just went to rest for a moment, but I’ll go get her for you in a bit.”
“…”
“Miss, are you thirsty? Here, drink some water. You must be thirsty with that fever you had.”
I took the cup of water the woman offered and brought it to my lips.
The lukewarm water didn’t go down easily due to my sore throat.
“Ugh… I can tell your throat’s uncomfortable, huh? Dr. Jayden said it’s because you’ve been breathing through your mouth, which would make your throat dry.”
Dr. Jayden?
“Oh, Dr. Jayden is the family doctor here. He has a bit of a strange personality, but his medicine works wonders. I had the flu recently, and I was completely better after just one day.”
I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information being bombarded at me, most of which wasn’t particularly helpful or interesting.
“Wait, I need to take your temperature. Dr. Jayden said to check it first thing when you wake up.”
The woman skillfully inserted a thermometer under my arm and smiled gently.
“It might feel a little cold, but bear with it. It won’t be accurate if I warm it up.”
I appreciated the thoughtfulness, but…
“W-who are you…?”
Who are you?
“Oh….”
The woman’s eyes widened as she suddenly realized and quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
“I’m so sorry, miss! I was so happy you woke up that I completely forgot to introduce myself.”
It took her quite a while to finally tell me who she was.
“My name is Ellie. I’ve been serving the madam ever since she came to Arelton. I’m so happy to meet you!”
Ellie introduced herself with a genuinely joyful expression and took my hand, squeezing it tightly.
The warmth I felt from her hand made the barrier I’d set up around myself begin to crack, and the affection and sympathy in her eyes only made my heart open faster.
“Sister… where’s our mom…?”
“Just call me Ellie. Oh, right! The madam said to let her know right away when you woke up. I’ll go get her in a moment.”
At my question, Ellie immediately stood up and quickly left the room.
I stared at the door she had left slightly ajar and pulled out the thermometer.
36.2°C.
It was perfectly normal.
It was hard to believe I had a fever at all; my body felt light as air. The only discomfort was the dryness in my throat from not having been able to drink for so long.
Ugh, huh, huh!
I coughed repeatedly, trying to clear the irritation in my throat, and grabbed the water cup again.
“Chloe! My baby!”
As soon as I emptied the remaining water in the cup, my mom burst into the room, opening the door wide.
“Mom!”
“Chloe!”
She dropped the cup roughly and rushed over, arms wide open, and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Ouch… my throat hurts a little.”
My mom gently touched the back of my neck with her palm and looked at me with worried eyes, inspecting my body for any other issues.
It wasn’t really pain, just discomfort, but I pretended it was worse to feel more of her tender care.
Then, a soft and cool hand touched my forehead.
“Luckily, the fever’s gone down.”
“Ellie, could you bring some warm quince tea with honey for her?”
“Yes, madam!”
Mom carefully laid me down and gave Ellie instructions with ease.
Mom, now dressed in a beautiful, lace-adorned dress, looked absolutely stunning, as if she had been born to wear it.
I realized once again that her usual plain-colored dresses didn’t suit her at all—her beautiful appearance deserved something far more fitting.
“Chloe, I’m so glad… I’m sorry, my dear…”
Mom stroked my hair, her voice trembling with unshed tears.
She hadn’t done anything wrong… the one who had was…
“W-what about that man?”
The one who claimed to be my father—Herald Arelton.
Mom hesitated, her face showing discomfort, and she couldn’t answer right away.
“But where are we? Oh! What happened to our house? I think I saw a huge lightning strike and everything turned black… Did I dream that?”
“Hmm? It wasn’t a dream, but…”
I hoped for even the smallest sign that it had been, but the troubled look on my mom’s face gave me the answer:
Our house had been shattered to pieces by Herald’s hands.
“So what about my piggy bank…?”
“…”
I shouldn’t have asked. When someone is in shock, they don’t even cry.
“The knights went to look for it… but…”
In this hopeless situation, my mom’s gentle touch did little to comfort me. I recalled the sight of my piggy bank shattered by the immense lightning strike, and my stomach churned.
Mom, understanding how I felt, continued to pat my belly and stroke my hair until I calmed down.
When I finally did, one thought came to me.
“Mom… what will we do now?”
“Huh?”
“Our house is gone… so where will we live now?”
“Hmm…”
Mom seemed to be struggling for an answer. Then, she grasped my hand tightly and spoke.
“Chloe, how about we live here for a while?”
“Hmm? Why?”
I had a rough idea but asked anyway.
“Well… right now we have no house, and your forehead is still very hot. If we stay here, we can see a doctor right away. Your health is the most important thing to me…”
So it was because of me. I was sick, our home was gone, and we had no money… my piggy bank, reduced to ash, came to mind again, making my stomach churn.
Reading the expression on my face, mom hurriedly added,
“I swear, just for a little while. Just a bit longer, and we’ll leave. Okay?”
“Mm.”
To be honest, I didn’t like the idea of depending on Herald, who my mom hated. Biologically, he was my father, but their relationship seemed strained, and from what I’d heard, his personality wasn’t great either.
Most of all, that man had taken my precious piggy bank…
I could already imagine my money, still yet to see the world, reduced to nothing. My fists clenched, trembling with anger.
“Chloe, if you keep clenching your fists like that, you’ll hurt your hand. Be good, my daughter.”
Mom gently pried my fingers open, as she always did when I was upset. She hated it when I got hurt, and it was always best to listen to her when she was like this.
Just as she finished, a new figure entered the room.
A handsome man in his thirties with long white hair tied back entered.
“I’m Dr. Jayden Blackwell, Arelton’s family physiciatrist…..
