I was seven months pregnant now.
With my belly heavy and round, I gently rubbed it as I climbed into the carriage.
"Lloyd, where are we going?"
He had suddenly prepared a carriage and suggested we take a short trip.
"You said once you wanted to see the sea. It'll be hard to travel once you're full term, so let's go while we still can."
"That's fine, but…"
In truth, when I left Valdormer, the place I had hoped to live in was also by the sea. But because we fled so suddenly, I had ended up here instead, in the place Lloyd had prepared.
"I found a small house by the beach. You've been feeling heavy lately, so you haven't had any chance to relax. This will be good for you."
At his considerate words, I smiled softly.
"Thank you."
It was sudden, but maybe he was right—I needed a change of pace. Lately, I had been dreaming of Kallion more often.
Why that man—who gave me nothing but pain—kept appearing in my dreams, I didn't know. Each time, I woke unsettled.
"What are you thinking about?" Lloyd asked, noticing my silence as I stroked my belly.
Flustered, I forced Kallion from my mind and answered awkwardly.
"Oh, I was just wondering how long the trip will take."
"About half a day. We're going to the southern coast of Heister."
"Heister?"
Why go all the way to Heister…?
Seeing my confusion, Lloyd smiled kindly.
"I heard the southern Heister coast is beautiful."
From that smile, I understood what he didn't say aloud.
Kallion was searching for me in Marcellino.
Lloyd never mentioned Valdormer or Kallion in front of me, perhaps not to make me anxious—or maybe he wanted me to erase those memories altogether.
"I tried to make the carriage as comfortable as possible. How is it?"
True to his words, the ride was smooth, and the seats were cushioned so luxuriously that they felt softer than any sofa.
Watching him fuss over me, I gave him a gentle smile.
"Yes, it's very comfortable."
At my words, Lloyd returned a warm smile.
* * *
In a small Marcellino village called Sendaim—so quiet that outsiders rarely visited—five black warhorses entered.
On their backs were grim men, cloaked in dust, and at their head a tall, imposing man who was clearly a noble, with knights following him.
They had ridden hard, but wasted no time, handing off their horses to a local innkeeper before spreading out to search the town.
The tall man, his hair blacker than the horses, stopped in front of a fruit stall. His aura was overwhelming despite the fatigue on his face.
"Excuse me, I need to ask something," he said.
The shopkeeper, a woman, shrank back, intimidated.
"Y-yes? What is it…?"
Trying to stay calm so as not to scare her more, Kallion spoke evenly.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Someone…?"
Kallion pulled a folded paper from his coat—it was Yuliana's portrait.
She wore a splendid gown, her golden hair perfectly styled, though her face was expressionless and dry. It was different from the simple, bright Yuliana of now, but still recognizable.
Yet the woman said,
"I'm sorry, I've never seen her before."
And the same was true of every villager.
He spent half a day scouring the village, but not a single person admitted to having seen her.
Seven months he had searched for Yuliana. A whole month now spent combing Marcellino himself, without rest.
Exhausted, Kallion dragged a hand over his face and sighed.
"So not here either…"
At his mutter, one of his knights spoke cautiously.
"My lord, you've been away from the estate for a month. Perhaps it's time to return…"
Kallion's violet eyes blazed at him.
"We haven't found a single trace of Yuliana. And you suggest retreat?"
The knight lowered his head, silenced by that deadly glare.
It wasn't incompetence on their part. Yuliana had simply vanished without leaving behind a single clue. At times he wondered if he was chasing a phantom.
They had been married only half a year. Such a short time—yet why did it feel longer than his whole life without her?
Why did every day without her feel unbearable?
Deprived of sleep, he began seeing visions of her—smiling, tender, in ways he had never known her. Each time, tears welled up in his eyes.
Was it longing? Just for someone he had shared half a year with? No—he felt it was something deeper.
Why did it hurt so much that it felt like his chest would break? Why did breathing feel impossible?
He believed that if he could find her, everything would be resolved.
As that thought burned in his heart, the now-familiar headache struck again.
But this time, the pain was worse.
"Ghh…!"
A month of relentless marching, little food, little rest—even his gifted body was breaking down.
"My lord, this is too much! There's no inn here—please, let us at least move to a larger town," a knight begged.
Kallion said nothing. He let them support him as he staggered forward.
* * *
Rumble—Crash!
Yuliana's final month had come.
In a small cabin lit against the storm, cries of pain echoed inside.
Outside, Lloyd paced anxiously at the door.
He had found a proper hospital, safe from Valdormer's reach, but Yuliana had refused. Instead, a skilled village midwife was helping.
All she had prepared was a bucket of warm water, clean cloths, and sterilized scissors.
"Aaaahhh—!!"
At Yuliana's scream, Lloyd burst inside, unable to wait.
There, the midwife held a tiny newborn, dark-haired and crying. She swiftly cut the cord, wrapped the child in cloth, and placed him into Yuliana's arms.
"It's a boy," she said, stepping aside.
Lloyd came close as Yuliana, her face wet with sweat and tears, smiled.
Or rather—she wept with joy.
It was the face of someone so happy that she could die without regret.
* * *
Crash!
Bottles and glasses shattered across the floor.
Kallion clutched his head in agony, staggering by his desk.
"Ughhh…!"
It felt like his skull was being split in two.
Through the pain, blurry visions flashed before his eyes.
He saw Yuliana—not as she was before, but changed.
Smiling, warm, her eyes filled with love as she looked at him.
A Yuliana he had never known.
"Ghhaaa…!"
Thunder crashed outside. Each flash of lightning through his dark, whiskey-soaked study made his head feel like it was breaking apart.
"It's our child, Kallion."
In the vision, Yuliana smiled through tears, cradling a baby swaddled in white cloth.
"Our child."
The pain intensified, like knives carving through his brain.
He thrashed, knocking everything aside, desperately rummaging through drawers with trembling hands for medicine.
BOOM—!
A thunderclap froze him in place.
His wide eyes stared blankly into the air. His face looked as though he had just remembered something vital he had long forgotten.
His lips trembled as he whispered:
"Denian…"