Shioana was on her way home after finishing work.
As she walked slowly with her hands full of apples and fish given to her by a merchant, the smell of burnt smoke mingled with the night wind, as if a fire were being lit somewhere.
"...?"
A man was loitering at the entrance of the alley. Seeing his sophisticated attire, which was rarely seen in District 8, she felt a momentary tension.
'Who is it?'
The figure from behind looked like someone she knew, but she couldn't be sure.
"I apologize for coming to see you like this."
As she approached, Viscount Conrad, with a pale face, greeted her.
As the man who rarely got flustered stammered, Shioana instantly sensed that something serious had happened.
"W-what is it?"
"Please, His Excellency, spare his life."
The Viscount sobbed as if he were about to collapse right where he was standing.
"So, I'm asking what's going on."
Even before she could hear the words, Shioana's heart was already tightening severely. Although he was a man she hated and despised, she had never wished for Etienne to become unhappy or sick.
'No. On the contrary—'
Etienne wanted to forget all the wounds of the past and be happy.
"His Excellency is seriously injured, but he is refusing treatment."
"...Ah."
How serious is the injury?
The pale face of Etienne, who had collapsed clutching his heart or bled profusely after being struck by an arrow, flashed through Shioana's mind.
"He listens to no one. His Excellency will probably stay just like this—"
"What do you mean by leaving it like this?"
One could sense the terrible situation from the Viscount's face, as he bit his lip tightly and dared not speak.
“In fact, during this time, His Excellency..."
Cedric, who had been hesitating and saying he wasn't sure if he should say this, opened his mouth.
“Get the carriage right away.”
As Shioana hurriedly boarded the carriage, she asked Martha to pass on a message.
The rattling carriage sped down the night road like an arrow.
"It can't be. It's not."
The story the Viscount told her kept lingering in her ears. He said Etienne had been acting strangely ever since Shioana left the mansion.
'He didn't sleep at all and spent every night drinking.'
It was he who suggested going near Shioana because he felt like he was going to die.
'Your Excellency said that he would not dare do so...'
He pushed away Etienne, who said he wouldn't do so because he wasn't worthy to stand before Shioana.
'But as you know, that didn't end well.'
On the night he returned, drenched in rain, Etienne's face was grimmer than anything ever seen before. He looked as if he had lost all will to live, and also appeared angry.
'His Excellency deeply regretted his past failure to trust the Duchess.'
Then a problem arose.
Thanks to Raul's tip, it was learned that Count Noah was still staying in Urcheka and was looking for Shioana.
'They say he stormed in there all alone, without even Bernhard's soldiers.'
Raul and the Viscount rushed over belatedly, but Etienne's situation was not good.
'Even as His Excellency closed his eyes, he instructed that the Duchess never be told.'
Soon, the carriage arrived at Bernhard's mansion in Zone 1.
The place Viscount Conrad showed her was not the Duke's bedroom in the mansion. It was a small treehouse in a secluded corner of the Bernhard estate garden.
"...Why."
"You will know once you go inside.'
The Viscount stopped walking as if he could not go any further, and handed the lantern to Shioana.
“Sorry and thank you.”
He left a brief greeting and disappeared the way he came.
Shioana walked along the narrow path, relying on the faint lamp she held in her hand.
"Is it a little similar to Regbell?"
There was a lake nearby, and this small house looked just like a hunter's shelter.
"It looks like it's new."
Shioana, standing in front of the door, hesitated for a moment.
She wanted to see Etienne right away, but she didn't.
'Please spare His Excellency.'
Recalling the Viscount's words, Shioana pressed her fist against the door. With a creaking sound, she stepped inside.
The interior was as simple as it appeared from the outside. There was no particular furniture, and a small fireplace and a bed were placed there all alone.
The smell of blood was mixed with a strange incense.
'There it is.'
The figure lying on the bed was clearly Etienne, even though it was dark. It was the first time she had seen him since they parted ways in the vacant lot on a rainy day.
As she saw him, her heart, which had started beating even before she opened the door, pounded as if it were going to jump out.
'What should I do?'
Shioana stopped and pressed her hand tightly against her heart. Walking carefully because she couldn't see well, Shioana placed the lamp on the bedside table.
"..."
Then she could see Etienne with his eyes closed. He was so devoid of color that she could have believed he was a corpse.
"...Your Excellency."
Shioana let out a small sound, but he did not move at all.
It wasn't the first time she had seen Etienne collapse, but it was the first time he had been this serious.
"Your Excellency, can you hear my voice?"
She opened her mouth again, but Etienne seemed not to be breathing.
"Why, why aren't you taking your medicine?"
Sobbing sobs overflowed from Shioana's throat.
Cedric asked that the Duke take medicine and receive treatment.
He said that ever since the day he returned injured, he has refused all treatment and just lies here sleeping.
Like someone who really wishes to die.
"Etienne, Etienne!"
Shioana, who had slumped onto the floor just as she was, called out Etienne's name loudly.
At that, a slight crack appeared in his face, which had been frozen cold.
"..."
It was Etienne who turned his head as their eyes met.
"Do you still hate me that much?"
“...Uhm.”
When Etienne did not answer, only letting out a groan, Shioana clutched the medicine bottle on the table.
"It's okay to hate each other. But this isn't right."
They said the wound was so severe that he might die from rotting away if he didn't take medicine. Even the bleeding wouldn't stop properly, yet no one dared to touch his body.
“Let me go.”
It was a rough voice, just like the day he opened his mouth after remaining silent for a long time in Regbell.
"Why are you trying to just die like this?"
Shioana knew all too well how he was feeling right now. She felt the same way when she found out she was addicted.
'Even if you call it irresponsible.'
Even if someone criticized Shioana's decision, she had no will to live at that time. She knew she should find strength when thinking of Martha, Harriet, and the baby in her womb, but she felt nothing but lethargy.
'Could it be that Etienne was trying to poison himself?'
It was a ridiculous suspicion, but the look in his eyes and his attitude in his last moments were enough to kill himself several times over.
When she thought she had lost Etienne's love, she didn't want to live.
"You said you're the only one who can punish me?"
He closed his eyes completely at Shioana's trembling voice.
"Show me your wound."
"...Stop it."
Despite Etienne's refusal, Shioana carefully lifted the blanket covering his body. The cloth wrapped around his shoulders and sides was already damp with blood, and blood was still seeping out.
"...Ha."
It was a situation not much different from when he was dying in the warehouse because of Eli.
Why does Etienne keep showing this side of himself in front of her?
Tears, which had started flowing at some unknown time, dripped down Shioana's chin.
"You'd better not stop me."
Shioana's face flushed red with anger. To think that Etienne had nearly died trying to kill Count Noah.
'It's all my fault.'
As the wet cloth was removed, Etienne's muscles twitched as he stifled a groan. His body was covered in scars.
The scars running across the chest and abdomen beneath the muscles were densely packed on both sides and shoulders as well.
After calmly finishing changing the cloth, Shioana handed over the medicine bottle.
However, Etienne still kept his head turned, gasping for breath. A sweet scent, as if life were draining away, wafted from the corners of his feverish mouth.
Shioana became anxious because she had taken on the role before.
"Open your mouth, Etienne."
She took the vial of medicine, but Etienne refused it just as he had in Regbell's barn. Left with no choice, Shioana pressed down on his wrist and forced the vial into his mouth.
However, Etienne spat it out with his tongue, refusing to swallow it.
"I don't care whether you want to live or not."
Then, as now, Shioana had no intention of just standing by and watching someone die.
Even more so if the opponent is Etienne.
"Just leave me alone."
Etienne spoke with difficulty, unable to even wipe the medicine off the corners of his mouth.
"You didn't listen to a single word I said either. You chased after me as you pleased and kissed me as you pleased."
When was the time you chased after Shioana, even after saying goodbye?
"You suspected and insulted me as you pleased—."
"Because I love you so much—"
"You say you love me that much, yet you're going to die right in front of me?"
"..."
He flinched in surprise when Shioana shouted while holding the medicine bottle.
"Or is that person lying too? Just like how you tricked me into thinking I was a slave?"
"...Ugh."
Swallowing a groan, Etienne struggled to sit up.
"That can't be. I am yours forever..."
Shioana was speechless at the confession Etienne made to her in the basement of the annex where they had spent their first night together.
"So, Shioana, don't cry."
"When did I ever cry?"
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