Rain poured over the ruins.
The rain, soaked with pale taupe eyelashes, flowed down the pale cheekbones and down the jawline.
At first glance, it looked like he was shedding tears. But I couldn't read anything from the man's frozen face. There was only a looming shadow of desolation and emptiness.
He dropped his arm as if he couldn't bear the weight of the rainwater. A heavy sigh flowed from between his lips as he exhaled his uncontrolled breath.
"Let's go back."
"..."
I just looked up at him with my dark eyes. Then a crack appeared in his face, which looked like it had hardened wax.
"You, you can't be like this... blood."
As if the flow of thought was not smooth, he continued to speak.
"Blood... You shed a lot of blood. So if you cool yourself..."
His voice was muffled by the sound of heavy rain.
I thought that maybe he had swallowed the back words. The man approached slowly as if approaching a fearful wild animal, and sat down on one knee in front of me.
His white hands, his bones bulging, wrapped around my dirty hands. I felt a faint warmth on my cold skin.
The man, who was holding it in both hands and carefully rubbing it, brought it to the hot nape of his neck. I remembered that he had once done the same to an unsightly bird that had fallen into muddy water.
The fever that had subsided was rising again.
"Let's go."
He wrapped his arms around my grim back through my thin pajamas.
I twisted my body to push him away.
I was genuinely scared of this man who could lift me up to the clouds just by reaching out.
I resented him for making me hopeful. If I had been at the bottom all the time, I wouldn't have suffered the pain of falling.
Even though I knew it was an unfair accusation, I wanted to criticize him.
Why didn't you leave it rotting in the pile of dirt that day?
Why didn't you leave me in the shadow of the imperial palace?
Why did you make me dream of happiness?
"I don't want it anymore. Leave me alone!"
As I twisted my body as if I were having a seizure, he wrapped his arms tightly around my body, preventing me from struggling.
I burst into tears in a sense of helplessness. My hot palms burrowed into his wet hair and wrapped around the icy nape of his neck.
A voice heavy and rough like metal poured over the top of my head.
"You have to go now."
Realizing that he was trying to force me to take me, I twisted my head and looked at the grave.
The image of a baby trembling in the cold dirt flashed in front of me.
The sound of the rain was mixed with the cry of a newborn baby again. I wanted to hug him and soothe him somehow, but I wanted to die because I couldn't do that.
I, who was panting heavily as if I was about to die for breath, reached for the grave, and soon my limbs fell limp.
The whole world was submerged in rain and tears.
I'd rather sink into it.
I felt my vision gradually becoming farther away, and I prayed through my tears.
Please, let me sleep forever like this. To help me escape from the painful reality...
***
Tiuran was climbing the stairs with a bowl of cold water when he spotted Darren Drew Sheerkhan standing on one side of the hallway and stopped in his tracks.
As if there were an official event, a man dressed in a luxurious doublet, fitting to his tall frame, and a breastplate with fine workmanship, was talking to a young aide. Then, upon spotting the young woman at the foot of the stairs, he offered her a formal greeting.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Tiuran shook her head with a nervous face.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, it's not a big deal. I just came to find out what the condition of the Grand Duchess was."
The woman pointed to the bedroom door in the back hallway with a sideways glance.
Tiuran put the bowl she was holding on the floor and carefully chose the words with her dry lips pursed.
"It wasn't until noon today that her fever finally went down. Right now, she's taking medicine and sleeping."
"So. Is the dangerous time completely over?"
Tiuran looked at the man with a cautious gaze.
She was also aware that some vassals were questioning the Grand Duchess's ability to reproduce. Apart from feeling disgusted by their heartlessness, Tiuran hoped that Thalia would no longer be hurt. So she gave a rather affirmative answer.
"Fortunately, Her Highness is recovering little by little. In a few months, she will be able to return to her old state."
"Does it take that long?"
The man furrowed his thick eyebrows.
Tiuran held back from wanting to make an Impression.
What does this man think about childbirth?
Although it was a premature birth, the stillborn child was large for a seven-month-old, and the pelvis of the Grand Duchess was narrower than that of a normal woman.
The situation was almost no different from a normal birth.
In addition, the bleeding did not stop, so it was not to the point where her life was in danger. It was only natural that recovery would take time.
Instead of explaining in detail, Tiuran retorted in a cold tone.
"This is a general speed of recovery. Isn't a woman's body more delicate and delicate than that of men?"
"After all, she's not in a dangerous state anymore, right?"
The man asked in a somewhat sullen tone.
After hesitating for a moment, Tiuran nodded.
Then the man let out a sigh of relief with a satisfied face.
"Then he doesn't need to stay by her side anymore."
Only then did Tiuran realize that they had come because of the absence of the Grand Duke, and her face hardened.
"Sorry, just because the wounds in the body have healed does not mean that the mind has recovered. Her Highness has lost a child whom she has cherished in her heart. She needs her husband now."
The expression on the man's face disappeared from the somewhat presumptuous remark.
Tiuran tensed her body. Darren Drew Sheerkhan was not such a cruel person, but the high nobles could be infinitely ruthless to the common people.
She hid her shrinking expression and paid attention to his reaction, but the man with an unhappy expression immediately explained calmly.
"It may be unreasonable to ask you to understand the obligations that aristocrats must bear in your status. But I'll explain it to you myself. Barkas Raedgo Sheerkhan is a monarch who must be in charge of millions of eastern women before he becomes someone's husband. By His decision, all the troops of the East will move, and hundreds of lords will gather. If he does not fulfill his duty, the nobles will think."
"..."
"If he does not fulfill his role as a monarch, why should we serve him?"
Tiuran lowered her head with a speechless expression.
The man added in a calm tone.
"I am trying to uphold the authority of the Grand Duke. If you are also loyal to the Sheerkan family, please inform the lord that there is no problem with Her Highness the Grand Duchess's health and that there is no need to worry about it anymore."
"...I understand what you mean. Please forgive me for my rash remarks."
She bowed her head politely, and the man immediately moved to one side of the hallway, as if he was relieved.
Tiuran lifted the bowl she had left on the floor. Carefully passing through the hallway to avoid overflowing water and approaching the bedroom door, the two men stood in the hallway and continued to talk.
Tiuran felt Darren's eyes on her and carefully tugged at the doorknob.
As she went inside as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the Grand Duchess's sleep, I saw the Grand Duke leaning on his back on the head of the bed.
Tiuran was about to tell him that she had brought water to him, but she held her breath without realizing it.
He looked so young as he sat at an angle, wearing a loose tunic and his disheveled hair pulled back.
Only then could Tiuran remember that he was a young man, only twenty-four years old.
"What are you doing standing still? Bring it here."
The man who was carefully looking at the forehead of the woman lying next to her said in a quiet voice.
Tiuran, who was standing firmly at the door, hesitated and approached the bedside.
The young man was quietly looking down at his wife's face without even looking at her.
As she glanced at him, Tiuran suddenly noticed that the Grand Duke's face was as emaciated as the Grand Duchess's.
Come to think of it, have you ever seen this man sleep?
She went in and out of the room day and night for several days to take care of the Grand Duchess, but she doesn't remember seeing this man with his eyes closed.
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