🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 7
Seizure
Rian hated Anasta.
He hated how she possessed a healthy, able body yet shut herself away in this cramped room.
He hated how she had two perfectly free legs, yet shamelessly waited on him.
She probably pitied him. That was the most unbearable part of all.
“My mood is extremely foul right now, so get out within five seconds. If you don’t disappear from my sight, I’ll scream.”
Rian flaunted his power. He seized her wrist mid-air and squeezed hard, issuing a terrifying warning to the woman who offended his eyes.
Even after suffering something like that, Anasta always behaved as though nothing had happened.
“How could he make her quit?”
“Ah.”
That was when Rian felt a change in his body.
The tingling sensation—something he had experienced a few times before, yet never grown used to.
The numbness that began at his fingertips and slowly spread through his body.
“Damn it!”
Even though he took his medicine without fail, numbness or convulsions like this struck him every so often.
“Young master?”
Anasta noticed the change and approached him.
“Damn it—d-don’t come any closer.”
“Young master.”
“Ugh.”
The seizure had begun in earnest.
The numbness that started at his fingertips crept up his arms, which then began to shake violently.
Convulsions spread to his legs and waist as well.
Rian had once seen himself like this reflected in a mirror.
It was a truly grotesque and pitiful sight.
A body flailing like a fish caught in a net—it no longer looked human at all.
‘Yes. I must have looked like a monster.’
“Young master!”
“Get out—get out, I said!”
He didn’t want anyone to witness him like this. Especially not this woman, Anasta.
He clenched his teeth, but the convulsions wouldn’t stop, and the numbness crept up to his neck. The color drained from Rian’s face, turning deadly pale as he gasped for breath in agony.
“Head maid!”
Anasta hurriedly called for the head maid and the butler.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, they rushed to Rian’s bedside, holding down his arms and legs and opening his airway.
“Young master! The doctor will be here soon, so please hold on just a little longer!”
Rian heard nothing—no sounds, nothing at all.
Tears pooled in his eyes, his lungs exerted at his throat. After flailing for what felt like an eternity, he slowly felt sensation returning and clenched his fist with what strength he had left. Fortunately, it was a brief seizure.
“Breathe out.”
Following the head maid’s words, he exhaled steadily. Hoo… hoo… As his mind cleared, Rian noticed the gazes of the people huddled around him.
A horrifying moment.
Today, that horror felt even worse than usual.
For the first time, Rian saw fear on Anasta’s face. Her expression was one of pure shock, as though she had never seen someone having a seizure before.
“This is a seizure that can commonly occur with this illness. It’s fortunate that it subsided quickly.”
The doctor who arrived after the seizure let out a deep sigh.
“Have you been taking your medication regularly?”
“…”
“Young master.”
Rian, still sitting out the window, seemed dazed. The sharpness and irritability were gone; his hollow eyes, emptied of emotion, gazed at the matching window layout.
“You must take your medicine properly, young master.”
“…”
“There’s a chance another seizure could occur, so please remain in the estate today.”
The doctor was just about to stand up after finishing the examination when—
“Doctor… when am I going to die?”
Rian whispered in a voice that sounded cracked and broken.
“You must not lose hope, young master.”
“For three years, all I have had is hope. They say this illness is the most frightening—this damned disease is exactly that. I’m fine most of the time, and then suddenly a seizure hits. Every time it happens, it feels like my life span is being shaved away. Now the seizures come even when I take my medicine properly. I’m starting to want to die. Isn’t it about time?”
“… Please excuse me.”
Even after the doctor left, Rian continued to stare vacantly out the window. Only then did he notice Anasta’s absence.
‘Where is Anasta?’
Did she run away in fear? Well, that face of hers had been quite a sight.
“The young lady went to see Madam.”
“Madam?”
“Yes. You heard about the medicine incident last time, didn’t you?”
‘Ah, that incident where she secretly took my medicine?’
It seemed his noble mother intended to blame this seizure on Anasta. Rian let out a bitter laugh.
Maybe that would be for the best. He thought it would be good if Anasta, after being harshly reprimanded by his mother, were simply driven out.
He never wanted to see Anasta’s face again.
—Smack.
Anasta’s head snapped to the left as her cheek was struck. A vivid red mark bloomed against her fair white skin.
“I heard it from the head maid. You caused a pointless commotion by taking Rian’s medicine, didn’t you?”
Anasta kept her mouth shut. It was already a known truth, and she knew excuses were useless, so she remained silent—only for her cheek to be struck again.
“Did you take his medicine again this time?”
For someone who had just struck her, her tone was elegant and composed. She took out a handkerchief, wiped the hand that had slapped Anasta’s cheek, and then calmly sat down.
“Answer me. I asked whether you took the medicine again this time.”
“No, I did not.”
“Then why did he have a seizure?”
To that as well, Anasta had nothing to say.
Rian had eaten his meals without fail and had taken his medicine on time.
In case she might give him the wrong dosage, she even confirmed it with the head maid and the butler before giving it to Rian.
Everything had proceeded dutifully, like clockwork—yet Rian still suffered a seizure.
“Ha… I suppose it was another sudden seizure.”
Realizing that it wasn’t Anasta’s fault, the Duchess let the matter go without a single apology.
“This is what’s most troublesome. How am I supposed to explain this to him?”
Her concern sounded less than a mother’s ruin and more about dealing with the aftermath.
Anasta swept her gaze over the woman sighing with clear eyes.
Was it because he was a child from another mother? She treated Rian coldly, as an inconvenience. If there was any reason the Duchess cared about Rian at all, it was because of his father—the Duke of Solter.
“Madam, The Duke has returned.”
At the butler’s announcement, a deep crease formed between the Duchess’s brows. She rose as if burdened by a heavy load, then shot a glare at Anasta, who stood there blankly.
“You come as well. I was just about to introduce you.”
By now, had he calmed down? He would need to take his evening medicine before bed…
Her worry didn’t last long.
The Duke, who had just returned to the estate, entered with a deeply dark expression. Unlike the composed Duchess, his face—heavy with wrinkles and fatigue—resembled Rian uncomfortably.
“Oh, dear. You’re back already?”
“I came as soon as I heard. I was told Rian had a seizure. It’s been quiet for some time—why now…?”
“Well, you know… the environment has changed. There’s a lady in the household now, after all…”
“His wife.”
The Duke’s sharp, gray eyes turned toward Anasta.
“So you finally brought a wife into the household. Wasn’t you planning to marry him once Rian’s condition improved?”
“And what if he missed the right age in the meantime? Recently, Rian’s condition has been quite stable.”
“And then he had a seizure!”
“There won’t be any more incidents like that. And as for Rian’s wife, I will educate her thoroughly.”
As she spoke, the Duchess flicked a glance at Anasta’s reddened cheek. That, apparently, was proof of “said education.”
Understanding the implication, the Duke said no more and instead examined Anasta’s appearance carefully.
Beautiful blonde hair, green eyes that seemed to hold somewhat limit.
A slender figure, a smooth face as if sculpted from porcelain, long legs and arms, doll-like round eyes and lips.
“She’s you said from a count’s family?”
“She’s a child I brought in after much consideration. Before she even came here, she diligently received bridal training.”
“And does the boy like her?”
He was asking about Rian. The Duchess flinched slightly, then smiled awkwardly.
“They’re still in the getting to know each other stage. It’s a political marriage, after all.”
“Be that as it may, I must see my son.”
Anasta and the Duchess observed proper decorum as they watched the Duke hurry toward the annex.
“Child.”
The moment the Duke disappeared from sight, the Duchess dropped her smile.
“Be careful for now on. You must not do anything that upsets Rian or causes trouble.”
“…”
“I’m the one who brought you here. Don’t forget that your improper behavior would stain my reputation.”
“Yes.”
Anasta answered obediently.
However, the very next day, she came face to face with Rian, who was hanging from the window in an attempt to die.
