Second Month (2)

Reichardt politely excused himself and left the dining room.

Alicia, still in shock that she wouldn’t be allowed to go hunting despite now living in the main castle, barely gave a reply.

It was only after finishing two cups of tea that she realized Reichardt had said something strange.

“Make sure to lock your door when you sleep.”

It was an oddly random statement.

“What a strange thing to say.”

At Alicia’s murmur, Baroness Connie of Rens chuckled in agreement.

“Indeed. He’s a frustrating man. So very frustrating.”

She was smiling as she spoke, but for some reason, fury seeped from Connie’s face.

Alicia couldn’t figure out why she was suddenly angry.

“Is that so…”

“It is! Thank goodness you’re such a sincere person, my lady.”

Alicia didn’t quite understand her, but she smiled and let it pass.

Anyway, from today on, she would be staying in the Tessen main castle.

Night had fallen deeply.

Inside the Grand Duke’s study, however, it was brightly lit, unlike the darkness outside.

Soft lanterns were placed all around the room, and only the sound of a quill scratching paper filled the space.

The hand dipping a quill into the inkwell paused.

Reichardt set the quill down and brushed his hand along the edge of the desk.

The loosely placed quill in the holder slipped out, unable to bear its own weight, and rolled across the desk.

Thunk.

His heavy chair slid back and then tipped over with a crash.

The slender candle stand fixed to the desk edge wobbled dangerously as if hit by a gust of wind.

The flame flickered, on the verge of going out, before regaining its glow.

Reichardt gripped the desk, bones showing in his clenched hand, but it didn’t last long.

The elegant candle stand shook again.

His solid frame struck the finely carved desk.

Moments later, unable to hold on, Reichardt collapsed to the side.

Thud!

He tried to keep his eyes on the swaying flame.

His vision blurred instantly, and afterimages flooded his sight.

He let out a hot breath and grimaced.

His mind went blank as his whole body was engulfed in searing pain.

His throat dried up as if scorched.

Despite the burning sensation, his body was growing colder and colder.

Gasping for breath, Reichardt clenched his fist.

A sharp pain stabbed the back of his head, making his body convulse.

His clenched hand slowly opened, trembling violently.

A sharp, needle-like pain struck his fingertips and toes.

Something gnawed at his empty mind, accompanied by the unpleasant buzzing of an insect.

The sound echoed directly in his skull, more irritating than anything else.

These painful episodes were always the same—utterly horrific.

But this one had come on especially suddenly.

It wasn’t time yet.

The pain that arrived with the second moon, Rua, always came without warning.

But Rua hadn’t risen yet.

Trembling under the searing heat and cold contradiction racking his body, Reichardt forced himself to breathe.

“Your Grace!”

Henrik shouted from beyond the door.

He must have heard the sound of the fall and rushed over.

“…D-Don’t… come in!”

Reichardt croaked out with a parched, rasping voice.

His throat was so dry, he thought blood might come up.

He feared that saying even one more word would cause him to vomit blood.

He felt pathetic and miserable.

Each time, the agony crushed him.

He’d writhe on the floor, groaning in pain, often thinking of death.

“Your Grace, please call me if you need anything!”

Henrik’s voice outside the door was full of concern.

“Leave me… all of you…!”

Reichardt forced himself to rise amid the pain.

He drew the dagger at his waist and stabbed it into his arm.

Instantly, a jolt of pain snapped through his shaking wrist.

When he pulled the blade out, there was no gushing blood—instead, the wound slowly healed.

He wasn’t surprised at the bizarre sight.

A body that could heal like this had long been his reality.

Using the dagger as a cane, Reichardt pushed himself upright.

While he still had a shred of clarity, he needed to return to his bedroom.

For some reason, this episode’s peak pain came much faster than usual.

For the pain-drenched Reichardt, the short distance from his study to his room felt endlessly far.

Unaware, he kept muttering the vilest curses he knew.

If Henrik or anyone else saw him, they’d raise hell.

Yet Reichardt struck the back of his hand with the dagger twice in the hallway before his bedroom.

The long corridor annoyed him.

The burning dryness in his throat ignited his fury.

Amid that fury, Reichardt cursed again and again with no one to aim at.

He stumbled into his bedroom and threw himself onto the bed.

Curled up, he endured the pain with only curses.

“…Damn it all…”

Among the past Grand Dukes of Tessen, some summoned every doctor in the land to find medicine to suppress the pain.

No medicine worked during this period.

Neither poison nor elixir had any effect.

Trying to medicate was a waste of good ingredients.

Some resorted to prayers.

Others turned those prayers into curses.

Some destroyed everything around them and mutilated their own bodies during these episodes.

But even that rarely lasted long—

The pain was usually too great for them to even move.

Reichardt only stabbed himself when necessary.

He poured all his hatred into cursing the late Emperor, his father, for passing on this bloodline.

He regretted not having killed the Emperor when he was alive.

He thought of the Emperor, who always coddled him as if it were atonement for some sin.

He raged at the Emperor’s decision to name him heir despite having no other successors.

He bit his lip thinking of his brothers who cherished him— and the nobles who treated him like a mere tool.

His lips split and bled, but the wounds healed quickly.

Kill them all…

He muttered that same phrase—his mantra during these nights—in a language only he could understand.

Each day dragged by like a year.

It was dreadful knowing he still had ten days of this left.

‘Yes, I’ll kill them all.’

Reichardt groaned in pain as he repeated his vow he would never fulfill.

He wished the pain would ease enough for him to fall asleep.

Or that it would intensify so quickly that he’d pass out.

The man who swore to kill them all made sure no one approached during his agony.

He feared that in such pain, he might lose control and take innocent lives.

He was in pain.

And that pain made him angry.

And in that anger, he resented everything in the world.

And in that resentment, he could barely control himself.

It was the kind of night when he wanted to strike down everyone with a blade, simply because they were people.

Even as he drowned in pain, Reichardt ensured that no one came near.

The torturous hours passed slowly. So painfully slowly.

It had been raining since dawn.

A torrential downpour.

Rain poured as if the sky itself had split open.

It was so heavy one might wonder if Tessen had a monsoon season.

Alicia was awakened by the sound of rain mixed with thunder and lightning.

Rainy mornings were damp and cold.

She thought she might need to have every fireplace in the house lit.

“So cold.”

Alicia drank cup after cup of tea that Daisy brought her.

While grumbling about the chill, she suddenly remembered Reichardt’s words—that she wouldn’t be able to go out for walks.

She wondered if this was what he meant, but how could he have predicted such a storm?

Besides, Reichardt’s order to stay inside the Tech House didn’t begin until tomorrow.

“My lady.”

The door to the dressing room opened, and Daisy entered.

In her arms was a large jewel box.

Annie followed behind her, carrying bonnets with minimal decoration.

Liz brought raincoats and umbrellas that matched the bonnets’ colors and quickly began setting them up.

Alicia was getting ready to go to the Breguet House.

She was already wearing the morning dress they had chosen last night.

Her hair had also been done.

Just as she was about to leave, the three women stopped her.

Daisy, Annie, and Liz acted as if the sky would fall if their lady left the room without accessories.

Alicia didn’t dislike jewelry.

But on a gloomy day like today, with no special audience scheduled, she thought she could skip them.

When Alicia pointed out that there was no one important to meet today, the three sharply reminded her that she’d be seeing His Grace the Grand Duke.

“This one. This one. And this one.”

Alicia picked whatever caught her eye from the jewelry box Daisy opened.

It seemed like all three had something they wanted to say, but Alicia pretended not to notice.

Next came choosing a bonnet.

‘Girls, it’s raining outside.’

Alicia didn’t bother asking whether bonnets weren’t meant for sun protection.

If she did, she was sure she’d be met with stern faces again.

She casually pointed to a dark-colored bonnet that looked like it might handle the rain well.

The raincoat, however, wasn’t up to her.

The three divided up the task among themselves and threw the largest one over her.

And, of course, they added an umbrella on top of that.

‘I won’t die from getting a little wet!’

Alicia grumbled internally as she stepped out.

The force of the rain was more impressive than the sound.

Even with the triple defense of bonnet, raincoat, and umbrella, Alicia’s cheeks were damp.

Annie and Liz busily shook out the soaked umbrellas, while Daisy helped her remove the raincoat.

It was Connie who untied the bonnet strings for her.

“My lady.”

Connie had been waiting at the entrance early to greet her.

Taking the rain-soaked bonnet, the gentle-faced woman cautiously opened her mouth.

“Has His Grace not risen yet?”

“I think you’ll have to go without seeing him today. He’s unwell…”

Connie, who usually spoke and acted so precisely, trailed off.

“The physician?”

Alicia was surprised to hear that Reichardt Tessen could even get sick.

This was the man nicknamed the Devil for fighting in battle the day after taking a sword to the side.

There was even a time he’d been grazed by an arrow across his face, yet was later seen without so much as a mark, which stirred endless rumors.

“He already came and went.”

It was Henrik who answered.

“Is it serious?”

Connie, unable to speak, gathered the wet bonnet and stepped aside.

Henrik approached Alicia and spoke gently.

“He’s not doing well. He’s asleep right now. He’s not someone used to being sick, so when he falls ill, he doesn’t let anyone near. They say he turns into a child when he’s ill.”

Henrik phrased it as though teasing his master.

The implication was that an audience with the Grand Duke today was impossible, and because he was in poor health and foul mood, even sharing a meal here wouldn’t be easy.

“The Baron of Rens must be having a tough time. His Grace must get very irritable when he’s sick.”

“Don’t even get me started. It’s dreadful that you’ve come all this way in such weather, and yet we can’t even serve you tea. I’m terribly sorry, Lady Alicia.”

“You’re not even offering tea?”

At Alicia’s words, Henrik bowed his head deeply.

“My sincerest apologies.”