Chapter 111

"Iberin!"

"Don't shout. I'm fine — really."

But it was right then.

Lyssel seemed to be saying something, but the shape of his mouth wouldn't come into focus. The sound buzzed and split apart.

Peeeeeeee—

A ringing pierced her ears, and Iberin shook her head over and over, but she couldn't pull herself together.

Lyssel's face seemed to blur, fading.

What. What is this?

Lyssel's voice drifted out completely.

Like her body had been pulled away from the world.

It was a bizarre feeling.

Sinking to the floor under the strange sensation, Iberin slowly lifted her head.

And then, at the same moment, an inexplicable voice rang in her ears.

Come.

…Come this way,

To me…

Who's there?

She asked, but no answer came back.

…Come, to me—

But the strange voice kept coming.

Who are you!

Peeeeeeee—!

"Kyaaa!"

A sound that felt like it was tearing through her ears hit her at the same moment, and Iberin let out an involuntary scream and clamped her hands over her ears.

In that instant she felt her body lift, suspended in midair.

Iberin thrashed, breath coming hard.

Her ears hurt.

She could feel her body swaying without direction.

"Hh, hgh…."

She trembled, on and on, until suddenly the strength drained completely out of her, and she slipped under.

---

"…Where am I…."

She opened her eyes, recognized the ceiling above her, and shot upright in alarm. At Iberin's voice, Lyssel's eyes snapped open. He'd clearly been watching her from the chair beside the bed the whole time. Lyssel checked her over in a rush.

"Haaa. Iberin…."

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled her into his arms.

Iberin sat there in his embrace, dazed. Her body felt unusually heavy and slack, like she'd slipped back to before she met Rozelia.

"What… happened?"

Every time she opened her mouth, her dry, papery throat stung.

"Khm."

She cleared her throat without thinking, and Lyssel quickly held out the water glass that had been beside the bed.

Once she'd gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, she finally felt like she could function.

Her eyelids were heavy though, and her body was just generally in rough shape.

"What in the world happened, Lyssel."

Iberin asked, her eyes rolling toward him.

She'd been at the party hall, and this — this was clearly Nais's place.

Which meant she'd collapsed right there at the party.

Had her body gotten worse again?

With every kind of worry tugging at her, Iberin looked at Lyssel, her mouth pulled into a small frown.

Lyssel saw the look on her face, and something in him gave way — he started to tear up.

"…Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought something had happened to you, I…"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what this is either…"

When she'd walked into the party hall she'd felt a little woozy, but nothing close to passing out.

She hadn't been in bad shape lately, either.

Lyssel had clearly been on edge the whole time she'd been unconscious — both his eyes were puffy and swollen.

A pang of sympathy hit her, and she reached out and gently brushed under his eye.

"More importantly — won't you tell me why I collapsed? I'm scared."

"They said the cause is unknown…"

"Ah…."

Of course that would have worried him more.

"They said they didn't even know when you'd wake up… hk…"

The way he was forcing back tears looked exactly like Ether.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong. But look, I've woken up, haven't I?"

"You did nothing wrong. You just got hurt…."

"I'm not worse off anywhere, am I?"

"Your body's functions dropped sharply all at once, but they came back gradually with time. Though no matter how much holy power Rozelia poured into you, it didn't speed up the recovery."

"It didn't?"

"No. Everyone was very worried. Rozelia especially was anxious."

Worried that the holy power might stop working from now on. Worried that her condition would only get worse.

Lyssel, who'd looked like he was getting his tears under control, started shedding them again in heavy drops.

No wonder my body's been feeling so off.

"…Could it be the emperor's doing?"

"I don't think so. That day, when we hurried out of the party hall, we ran into the emperor and he looked genuinely thrown. The look on his face wasn't the look of someone who'd pulled the strings on this."

"He could be acting."

"He could, but if he were the one behind it, House Sherburn would have been in on it too, right? But even the Sherburns looked stunned."

"Hmm."

The viscount, maybe — but the viscountess and Yunet didn't look skilled enough to control their expressions.

So they really had been blindsided by something they hadn't seen coming.

Was the original story interfering?

She didn't know exactly when the original Iberin had died, but at the very least, she wouldn't make it past this year.

"So I'm going to die after all…."

Iberin muttered it without meaning to.

"No!"

Lyssel, sitting close, was near enough to hear.

He shouted it, almost convulsive.

"I'm going to save you, no matter what it takes. I'll find a way."

He clenched his teeth around the words like a vow to himself, and Iberin realized she'd slipped up.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say something so careless."

"Iberin. You can't lose heart. You have to hold steady. I'll try everything I can."

"All right. So please stop crying already."

Apparently the tear ducts had been thoroughly opened.

Every other thing she said, he was crying again.

"It's not something I can control… hk…"

"Pfft. Oh, you're cute."

"…Don't say that."

"I called you cute and now you're crying again, why."

"I'm not cute…"

"You've turned into a complete crybaby, really."

Iberin laughed like she'd given up trying to manage him.

Lyssel couldn't bring himself to laugh along.

But seeing Iberin smiling at him was enough to settle him.

She really is awake.

While she'd been out, he'd felt like he was living in hell — and only now could he breathe.

---

Iberin worried he hadn't slept a wink while taking care of her. Lyssel said he was still too anxious and just couldn't fall asleep.

In the end, she gave up on getting him to sleep, and tried light conversation to ease the mood.

They'd been talking for a while when the door burst open, and there stood Rotte with a startled look on her face.

"Lady I-Iberin!"

"Hi, Rotte."

Iberin, still leaning into Lyssel's arms, just lifted her head and gave her a small awkward wave.

"How is that a hi! Waaah!"

"R-Rotte."

Rotte broke down into open sobs, and Iberin moved to get up in alarm, but Lyssel caught her.

Wondering what was going on, she glanced back and tried to free her hand, but Lyssel didn't budge.

He clearly had no intention of letting her go.

"Lyssel, Rotte's crying. I want to comfort her…"

"You may not. Stay by my side."

"Waah. Do you have any idea how worried I was — Your Highness too, and everyone…."

Rotte was outright pounding the floor and wailing.

Startled by the sound, others came rushing in one after another. They were met head-on with the sight of an awake Iberin.

"Haha…."

Every one of them had the same expression, and Iberin laughed awkwardly.

The ones who hurled themselves into her arms were Ether and Rozelia.

"I'm sorry, everyone. You were so worried."

The only thing Iberin could say was I'm sorry.

Ether shook his head back and forth from inside her arms. Rozelia cried so hard she couldn't even get a breath out — it was painful to watch.

Kal just stood watching from a little distance, but tears were rolling down his cheeks too.

"What do I do?"

She couldn't handle all of this on her own, and she looked to Lyssel for help — only to find that he'd somehow started crying too.

After all that crying earlier!

"Lyssel, why are you crying again."

"Hgh…."

It really was just sad, apparently.

Half-resigned, Iberin decided to wait until everyone had cried themselves out.

How long passed?

"So, are you feeling better now?"

The first to pull herself together was Rotte.

She barely managed to calm down before she started checking Iberin's condition.

"Yes. I feel a little heavy, but I'm fine."

"I'm just so glad you woke up. That alone, I'm grateful for."

"Thanks for saying that."

"Hk. In any case, you've gone a full day without eating — you must be famished…"

She'd been so caught up in crying she hadn't even thought about it.

The moment Rotte mentioned it, her stomach kicked in.

Growl—

At the sound from her stomach, Rotte let out a small laugh.

"I'll bring something right away."

Rotte and the maids stepped out, and Nais tactfully slipped away too, leaving Lyssel and the children in the room.

"Mommy, you're really okay now?"

"I'm okay."

"…You were in my arms but you weren't moving and it was so scary…. Hk, hgh."

Iberin held Ether tight and patted his back, quiet.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Hgh. It's not mommy's fault. Don't apologize to Ether. Ether's sorry too…."

His skin looked rough — he probably hadn't slept since she'd collapsed.

It was a small mercy she'd only been out a day. Any longer and things could have turned serious.

"Mommy. Ether's such a crybaby, what do I do?"

He was tear-prone, that was true.

Recently he'd cried because Rozelia disappeared, cried because he'd come home hurt, and now he was crying the second Iberin opened her eyes.

He'd probably cried a tremendous amount while she'd been asleep, too.

Before Ether had learned what love was and gotten used to family affection, he'd at least made an effort to hold it in — apparently that wasn't possible anymore.

"Hm?"

"The tears just keep coming…."

"It's okay. Crybaby or not, mommy loves Ether."

"Hk. Really?"

"And Ether is still five. The age when tears come easily. So it's okay."

"……Then that's a relief."

Watching him cry in steady, dripping tears, he looked like a little Lyssel.

Earlier, when she'd looked at Lyssel, she'd thought of Ether.

"Hk."

Now Lyssel and Lyssel-in-miniature were sitting side by side, crying.

My favorite and my second-favorite are crying side by side….

A faintly dazzled look came over Iberin's face, and just as she went soft and pliant, Ether had — somehow — pushed Lyssel right out and claimed her entirely for himself.

Lyssel watched with a stunned look. Ether had his face buried fully in her chest and wasn't lifting his head.

He must have been missing the warmth.

"Kal, Rozel. You two come over here too."

When Iberin called them, the children settled in on either side of her like they'd been waiting for it.

With Ether claiming her lap in the middle, Lyssel got fully shut out.

"And me…?"

She heard Lyssel's pitiful voice but didn't move.

He'd been with her this whole time and gotten plenty of comfort already — now it was the children's turn.