Tears welled up her eyes as she walked along. The happiness of having a child faintly engulfed her whole body, but it was too faint. Because the father killed the child who was never able to see the light of day.

“Huuu… huuh…”

Sorrow choked her throat. Even as she tried to pass it over, the sudden outburst of cries heated her heart. Her heart was beating so hard that it felt like it would burst as is.

Anne continued walking, dragging her trembling legs. With each step she took, the cold piece of metal tapped her back. However, having lost her reason, her head was only filled with the thought that she should end everything today.

Her trembling hands clenched the scissors and she placed her hand on the doorknob where the Grand Duke slept. Just as she was about to turn the cold iron that sent chills down her spine, someone suddenly grabbed her hand.

Marie’s face entered her vision.

“Madam…”

Marie widened her eyes when she saw the pair of scissors Anne was holding.

“Pretend you didn’t see me.”

Anne said coldly and turned her head away. She shook off Marie’s grasp and tried to open the door again. Her wrists were caught again.

“Madam, you can’t do this.”

Marie pleaded in the quietest voice possible. Perhaps she had wondered what the Grand Duchess was up to. She, too, knew that the Grand Duke had consistently treated the Grand Duchess badly. So she understood Anne, but this wasn’t the answer.

“This… is not it. It’s all my fault. For lying to Madam… huuh… I told everything to His Grace.”

It seemed that Anne could finally understand the Grand Duke’s incomprehensible words when he said he knew everything that happened in this castle. Marie had been serving as his ears.

Since Marie had been following Anne everywhere she went, she couldn’t even imagine the extent of the news that Marie had told about her.

Anne even forgave the lie of Marie being a mistress, but she never thought Marie would have acted as a spy… Feeling betrayed, Anne glared at Marie with cold eyes.

“Who are you touching? Let go of me.”

The hand holding her didn’t come off at all.

After a while, a silent scuffle began to ensue. Anne’s hands, who was about to enter and kill the Grand Duke, and Marie, who was trying to stop her by any means, were tangled in the quiet hallway.

“Let go of this. If you meddle…”

As Anne was about to shake off Marie’s grip, a sharp pain arose in her stomach. Suddenly, her eyes spun and her legs went limp.

Marie, who struggled to support Anne as she fell, took one look at the door with a restless face and left the place. She didn’t forget to pick up the scissors, which had fallen to the floor.

After that, it was past noon when Anne opened her eyes again. Anne buried her face in the bedding again.

She fainted. As she went through the sadness of the sky falling, she couldn’t just do anything on her own, as if her body had just collapsed.

“Leave me alone.”

Anne didn’t know anything about what had happened in the early morning, and when Emily asked about this and that, she only said one sentence and dug herself back into the covers.

* * *

For a while, Anne could not properly face the Grand Duke. Her memories from her past life haunted her. Even though it was a thing of the past, as long as she regained all her memories, she could not live as calmly as before looking like she knew nothing.

I should have killed him that day.

When she was blinded by rage at dawn, she should have gone into the Grand Duke’s chamber and dealt with it. Afterwards, even if she collapsed, she would have had enough time to stick the scissors into the Grand Duke’s chest if only Marie hadn’t stopped her.

From that day on, Anne forbade Marie from entering her room. Even though she turned a blind eye to her mistake, it was disgusting that Marie had stood in her way. She doesn’t know if Marie confessed the day’s events to the Grand Duke or not, but judging from how quiet the Grand Duke was, it seemed like he hadn’t been informed.

What should I do now?

Anne thought deeply about her future. Whether it was for a successor or whatever, there was no reason for her to be here anymore. As it was, he would catch her again. Taking revenge on the Grand Duke or leaving this place, she has to choose between the two.

“Madam, have some of this. You keep losing weight.”

“Ung…”

Knowing that the Libelois family had become like that and Anne was heartbroken, Emily brought her meal to bed with worried eyes. Anne was about to take a spoon of the beef stew Emily had brought.