“M-Mom?”

Was this a dream?

But my mom was definitely awake.

Was I dreaming again on this happy day? As if God was giving me heaven before giving me hell, my mother woke up.

It was an incredibly perfect day.

“Mom!”

In an instant, the Grand Duke, who was holding me in his arms, approached my mother.

“Are you okay?”

Before I could, he opened his mouth.

But my mother didn’t say anything. Perhaps because he was talking to me or thinking about it, but the Grand Duke dropped me off on the bed.

I sat down in front of my mom in a hurry.

“Mom, Mom! Are you awake? Mom, you can say anything.  Is it because you’re scared of him? You don’t have to be. We saw each other last time. He’s the one who saved us. I have so many things I want to say when you wake up. Do you know what happened?”

My mouth moved in front of my mom like a child.

In the past, my mom was very happy to see me like this. She would look at me with a happy smile. I thought so again, but my mom didn’t say anything. Just like the past, even the words ‘your daughter’ didn’t get her to look at me.

“Mom? What’s wrong with you? Huh?”

Contrary to the idea that there will be some reaction, there was no reaction at all. Like a soulless person, she did not move even if I shook my mother’s body and grabbed both her cheeks.

“Oh, Mom…”

“What’s wrong with me?”

Perhaps the Grand Duke next to her also felt strange, but he grabbed my mother’s arm slightly and shook it.

It would have been surprising if the Grand Duke had caught her, but the mother did not send any biological signals.

“Why… What’s wrong? What’s wrong with you, Mom? Mom…!”

Tears fell down.

I thought it was just to save my mother. Then everything will be solved.

I thought so. I believed so. If I found someone to protect us and let us stay at their house, she would never die again.

“I believed so… I thought so… No. Mom… Mom…”

Couldn’t I save my mom?

“What I’ve done so far… Was all that effort useless? Actually… You actually couldn’t live?”

Tears fell down. No matter how much I touched her, no matter how much I closed my mouth, tears burst out like a baby.

Mom… Mom…

“Don’t do this…”

You could live now, but why did Mom become like this?

If she was going to be like this, just kill me, too. Just don’t come back, not just go back in time so I didn’t even have any hope.

I wouldn’t have tried from the beginning. I would have just lived and accepted death.

I was able to live because of the thoughts that I might be able to save my mother, who was the only one who loved me, but everything didn’t happen.

“No… If you’re going to be like this… I’ll just die too… I don’t want to not have my mom… Mom… Mom… ”

At that time, the Grand Duke rang the small bell next to the bed. Someone came inside with a clear bell.

“Cecilia. Go out and bring in the priest right away.”

“P-Priest?”

“It doesn’t matter how much money it takes, so hurry up and come. It’s urgent.”

“Yes, yes. I see.”

When I heard that it was a priest, I hurriedly bit my lips and looked at him.

“A priest… is it… for my mom?”

It was said that if you receive a blessing, even a sick body could get better at some point. But a priest?

“Because it’s your mom.”

“That’s right… It’s my mom… My mom… Why… What’s wrong with me? Why… If you’re going to do this, I wouldn’t have done it…”

Then his big hand wiped my eyes.

“It’s going to be okay. It could be because she slept for a long time. Stop crying. You’ll be surprised when your mom wakes up.”

“…Will my mom be surprised? Then I’ll wipe off my tears.”

I wiped the area around my eyes with my small hand.

Maybe it’s because of me. Was it because I put my mom to sleep for too long that she couldn’t stay awake?

But now I couldn’t feel my power from my mother.

“Then why…”

I wondered if my mom would come to her senses, so I wiped off my tears and tried to smile and look at her.