Sickly? Husband's Contractual Wife

Chapter 93

“Then, being poisoned…”

“If I can’t bear a child, I’ll be useless.”

A sudden chill pierced through my body, forcing me to shrink.

“Surely, because of that.”

In “Lady Crown,” Amoide ultimately died without an heir, leaving Selene alone.

“I’m not, I’m not!”

Camilla, who lost her son and her sanity, would have done anything.

To anyone, even to the daughter-in-law designated to bear the successor.

“…Amoide.”

I softly called out his name.

Whenever I called his name, a corner of my heart inexplicably ached.

I didn’t know why.

“Are you… dying?”

Is he really going to die because of that disease?

And am I going to die because of Camilla’s rage?

I clasped my hands around my neck.

“No, don’t die.”

I reached out and touched the crescent moon hairpin adorning my head.

He probably wanted to buy this for me.

So.

Worrying about him was also just my heart.

No one else’s business, just my own heart.

“Amoide.”

He looked at me as if wondering what was going on. His eyes briefly shifted from the book he was reading, as if my presence was a surprise.

“What are you reading?”

He seemed quite haggard over the past few days. Not only was his complexion paler than mine due to not eating properly, but it seemed like he had lost even more muscle and weight.

“What’s wrong?”

Even his voice lacked some strength.

Yet, his eyes weren’t on me as he spoke.

“Amoide, I…”

If it’s true that I’m pregnant. If your child is breathing inside this belly. Could it be a source of hope for you? Or would you hate it to the point of death? I couldn’t be sure. I still didn’t have the courage to speak. Above all, I couldn’t even be sure if I was pregnant.

As I stood there hesitating in front of him for a while, he finally couldn’t ignore me anymore, lifting his eyes from the book to look at me.

“Why?”

His gaze, piercing as if probing, made me slightly flustered.

“….”

Is this person really going to die? Will all my efforts be in vain?

“Do you have something to say?”

I took another step towards him.

His eyes, looking at me, seemed to shake slightly.

I threw myself at him.

“….!”

I could feel Amoide being taken aback as he held me tightly, surprised by my sudden embrace.

“Selene?”

The voice calling my name was mixed with surprise and confusion.

I wrapped my arms around him even tighter.

“….I will save you.”

“What…?”

“I promised. I will definitely save you, so… so, don’t die.”

I squeezed him even tighter in my arms.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

“I don’t know what happened.”

Sometime during that, he was gently patting my back.

“Calm down.”

Listening to his calm voice, I suddenly felt very embarrassed.

He came worriedly, only to end up holding and crying like a child.

I pulled away from his embrace and looked Ahmed in the eyes.

“I…”

What should I say? Despite rushing here, my mind was too chaotic to know where to start.

Did Camilla overhear what she said? About you dying because of a disease passed down through generations? Or maybe about possibly having your child?

Would that be a source of hope for you, or…?

“Tell me.”

He frowned slightly as he saw the tears welling up in my eyes. It was when he reached out to my eyes with his hand.

“It’s time to take your medicine.”

As the door opened, I turned my head to see Emma pushing the door open and stepping inside. She looked at me, hesitated for a moment, then quickly smiled at Amoide.

“I must be interrupting. I’ll leave. But you must take your medicine at the right time…”

“No, come in.”

I quickly said, wiping away the tears from my eyes. As I hurriedly got up, he stubbornly followed me with his gaze.

Avoiding his spider-like gaze, I looked at Emma.

“Thank you, Emma.”

“It’s my duty.”

There was a faint smile on Emma’s lips as she looked at me.

“Just because I’m tired of taking care of you, unlike someone who just falls apart when they leave.”

It was a sarcastic remark about my absence for a few days. But I couldn’t help but agree. I was too afraid to face reality, using the excuse of not having the courage to look at his face, leaving Amoide alone.

“Yeah, Emma is an amazing person. There’s no one better than Emma when it comes to caregiving.”

“Of course, I’ve also worked as a nurse at a hospital.”

“I remember you said you worked at a hospital. Which one was it?”

“I worked at the Metis Mental Hospital. It’s not a place that accepts just anyone as a nurse, since it’s where high-ranking nobles go.”

Emma seemed to take great pride in her profession.

“Yeah, Mother said she picked you out especially because of that.”

In Raymond’s absence and for emergencies, Camilla inquired at hospitals for a suitable nurse to serve as Ahmed’s maid. Although she didn’t treat me as anything more than an employee, she seemed to be doing her best to take care of Amoide. More than just doing her job for the pay.

“Will you stay here?”

At Emma’s question, I hesitated and looked at him. But as soon as our eyes met, I turned my head away.

“Well, I’ll come again tomorrow.”

After bidding farewell, I left the room. I didn’t even dare to lift my head properly to meet Amoide’s gaze.

As the door closed, I saw Emma’s eyes meet mine for a moment before she turned away.

“Fool, idiot, coward.”

Quiet self-deprecating curses escaped my lips.

Even if Emma mocked me, I had nothing to say. It was me who left Amoide alone for days.

As I closed the door and turned around weakly, I noticed a faint patch on the floor.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a stain but a white cloth-like material.

“….”

Just as I was about to pass by, the strange thing caught my eye, and I cautiously approached it, picking it up.

“What’s this?”

The object, about the size of two fingers, resembled plastic. It looked similar to something I had seen in a past life, with intricate patterns imprinted on it. Due to its small size, I couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but its appearance seemed familiar.

“This pattern…”

It looked like a small piece of shed snake skin.

“Why is this here…?”

I quickly folded it in my hand and hurried my steps. If there were snakes still roaming around the mansion, immediate action needed to be taken.

As I walked out of the main building, I heard a familiar meow somewhere.

Meow.

I looked up and saw a white furball running towards me from a distance. No matter how many times I saw it, the white fur always seemed unfamiliar, belonging to Nuar, the mansion’s cat.

“Nuar, what are you carrying?”

As the white cat approached, I noticed a long white object hanging from its mouth.

“What is this?”

Meow.

Nuar rolled around on the floor with a thin, transparent, and tough membrane-like material, as if playing with a toy.

Meow.

Watching Noir play with the thin, white membrane, I suddenly realized what it was.

“Noir, hold on a moment.”

I grabbed the object wrapped around Noir’s body.

Noir, having his new toy taken away, protested with a disgruntled voice, but I couldn’t hear anything.

The toy Noir was playing with turned out to be a piece of snake skin, completely different from the one I picked up earlier. It was long and intact, allowing me to guess the size and shape of the snake.

I looked up and surveyed the direction from which Noir had come running.

Between the annexes stood a two-story building, which served as the maids’ quarters.

“You, did you come from there?”

Meow.

Noir continued to ignore me, focusing on poking the snake skin in my hand with his claws.

I found a half-open window among the rooms on the first floor.

“This is…”

According to what I had heard from Rona when I sneaked into Greta’s room last time, this was Emma’s room.