[CHAPTER 77]
“Welcome back, Young Master.”
“How is my sister?”
“…She is having another seizure.”
“We have dismissed all the servants and are burning incense made from medicinal herbs said to help, but if these intermittent seizures continue like this—”
“Stop.”
The butler, who had been speaking in a worried voice, immediately closed his mouth.
Sian rubbed his face with his palm and let out a long sigh.
“I will go see her myself.”
The eldest daughter of the House of Alistair, Karin Alistair.
Born two years older than Sian, she had always been a bright and talented person.
That was, until she collapsed after falling ill.
Those born with divine power were, by nature, physically robust.
However, Karin, who possessed such an abundance of divine power that she had once been mentioned as a candidate for sainthood, rapidly weakened after contracting her illness.
Everyone firmly believed she would soon shake it off and rise again.
But she never once left her bed after that.
And so, three years passed…
Renowned physicians came and went, even the High Priest personally examined her, yet there was no improvement.
They could not even diagnose the exact illness, calling it nothing more than a “rare incurable disease.”
The divine power that had once overflowed within Karin vanished during the course of her illness.
No one had ever heard of, nor seen, divine power disappearing like that.
To the family, it felt as though it meant Karin’s body had become one that could no longer sustain life, and despair consumed them.
All the grief-stricken family could do for her was burn incense made from herbs with pain-relieving effects to ease her suffering.
Each time she suffered a seizure, the sight of his sister writhing in pain was unbearable to watch.
Since the first time she collapsed three years ago, the intervals between her seizures had been growing shorter and shorter.
At this rate…
“Oh my, Sian. You are here now?”
“Mother.”
On his way to Karin’s room with a heavy heart, Sian encountered his mother, the Marchioness Alistair.
She too appeared to be heading to Karin, having heard the news, and her expression was grim.
“Yes.”
“I see…”
The Marchioness trailed off, her gaze settling on her son.
“Have you not gone to see that young lady?”
“That young lady… ah, do you mean Jerena?”
“Yes, your guest.”
“I planned to see my sister first, then visit her.”
“…It seems everyone thinks that young lady is your lover.”
“Pardon?”
Confusion spread across Sian’s face, as though the thought had never crossed his mind before.
“You said it yourself, didn’t you?”
“That she is someone you must take responsibility for, and that she should be treated well.”
“So it is only natural that people would think that way.”
“No, that is—”
“So I asked her to leave.”
Walking beside his mother, Sian froze in place as if nailed to the floor.
“…What?”
“She is not human.”
“……”
“You are not going to tell me you did not know.”
Sian did not refute her.
It might have been more accurate to say he could not.
“Do you know what people have been saying about our family since Karin became like this?”
The Marchioness tried to hide the trembling of her fingertips.
She even forgot to conceal her expression as she unfolded her fan.
“They say we are a family abandoned by the gods.”
“That Karin was cursed.”
“And that you too…”
She paused.
Sian saw her lips trembling uncontrollably.
“That you are taking leave from your duties because you are afraid of being exposed as well.”
“They are nothing but ignorant people spouting nonsense.”
“Yes, I know.”
“But when such words pile up one by one, they eventually gain power.”
Sian remained silent.
The Marchioness looked at her son for a moment, then gently took his hand.
“I must protect this family.”
“Your future, this house…”
“…and Karin’s honor, even after her death.”
“I cannot afford to lose any of them.”
“Mother.”
He felt sorry toward his mother, who had been forced to say words she did not want to say.
And he felt sorry toward Jerena, who had been forced to hear words she did not want to hear.
When the two of them arrived at the door to Karin’s room—
“……”
What greeted Sian and the Marchioness was the sight of Karin’s door standing open, and a maid in front of it, staring inside with her hand clamped over her mouth in shock.
The tray she must have been carrying, filled with medicinal herbs, lay scattered across the floor along with the herbs themselves.
The corridor was filled with the herbal scent that should have been confined inside Karin’s room.
Most of the pain-relieving herbs used for Karin contained mild sedative properties.
For that reason, whenever they were used, all servants were dismissed, and neither doors nor windows could be opened carelessly.
The Marchioness, alarmed, called out to the maid.
“You there, what do you think you are—”
“M-Madam, Young Master…”
Startled by the scolding voice, the maid turned her head.
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked at them.
Thud.
It felt as though his heart had dropped into the pit of his stomach.
No. Please, no.
“You should begin preparing yourselves…”
“If these intermittent seizures continue like this—”
The voices of those who had spoken of her final moments echoed in his ears.
I am not ready to let her go yet.
Not yet…
He wanted to hold on to his daughter, his sister, just a little longer.
Without a word, the two rushed into Karin’s room.
Their hearts pounded violently, convinced that something that must never happen had happened.
But what awaited them inside the room was…
“Shh.”
Karin, sitting on the bed, looking utterly exhausted yet smiling as she looked at them.
“She just passed out.”
“Let’s just leave her be.”
And sprawled across her bed was Jerena, completely worn out.
Jerena’s body lay slumped forward on both knees on the floor, her posture almost resembling someone deep in prayer at a glance.
