A Mother's Devotion
Just before her reason snapped and she rushed to Tina, Viviana left orders with Alphonse to dispatch a messenger bird and a carriage to the Bland Barony.
"Would it not be better to handle this matter in secret?"
Alphonse asked carefully.
"...There's nothing separate to hide. Send a carriage to the Bland Barony along with the news."
Though she was not one to place high value on human lives, she was not so base as to conceal from a mother that her daughter had harmed herself.
Since this had come about because of her, she believed she must not hide it from the mother, even if she might from others.
If she did otherwise, she would never again be able to face that mother with a clear conscience. She would inevitably sink into an ugly liar who could not even lift her head for guilt. And that was something the bloodline of Merdelia could never tolerate.
Roughly three hours had passed since the letter was sent, so the mother must have rushed over the moment she saw it. Judging by her unusually casual attire, she had not even possessed the presence of mind to observe formalities.
"..."
Her cheek throbbed.
Yet a pain hundreds of times greater ached in her chest.
"Tina...! Ah... Tina!"
The mother poured out tears and wailed in a voice of pure despair. She carefully stroked Tina's hand and called her name again and again, yet even those earnest maternal pleas left Tina's eyes firmly shut.
"Her life is... not in danger, they said."
"Shut up."
She had relayed the doctor's diagnosis in hopes of offering even a little reassurance, but all that returned were empty blue eyes that had lost their light.
"In this situation I don't even have the strength to hit you, and that alone makes me want to tear myself apart, so don't say a word."
"..."
The resentment and fury in the mother's gaze tightened around her chest still further. Unable to meet those eyes, she could only bow her head like a sinner.
"...My lord, let us give them space."
Iris spoke carefully from beside her. Lacking even the energy to form words, Viviana managed only a weak nod of assent.
Until the moment Viviana left the room on feeble steps, the bedroom remained filled solely with a mother's sorrowful sobs.
As if reflecting the bleak atmosphere of the Merdelia Ducal House, rain continued to fall beneath a gray sky.
Three days had passed since then, and Iris stood hesitating for a long while before the bedroom door. She could neither bring herself to open it nor walk away.
A woman who had once stood unflinching before dens of infamous criminals now could not take a single step past this threshold.
Her heart felt unbearably heavy.
She wanted nothing more than to flee that very instant, yet doing so would only earn her death at her lord's hands.
Iris let out a sigh that seemed to sink into the earth itself and steeled her resolve. Telling herself this too would pass, she forced her eyes wide and opened the door.
The bedroom, lit by only the faintest sunlight, was so still it felt chilling.
Three days had already gone by since Young Lady Bland lost consciousness. The doctor's assurance that she ought to have woken by now rang hollow; the young lady still lay quietly asleep upon the bed.
And at her side, Baroness Bland kept constant vigil.
"...I will change the IV."
No answer came. Baroness Bland merely held her daughter's hand tightly, her eyes emptied of all vitality. Iris swallowed dryly and walked slowly inward, carrying the food and fresh IV she had prepared.
She replaced the IV bag and set the meal and drink she had brought for the baroness beside her. The previous tray remained untouched; clearly almost nothing had been eaten.
"...Is the food not to your liking, by any chance?"
Knowing full well that was not the reason, Iris still addressed Artasha with careful caution. Artasha, who had been gazing only at her daughter, slowly turned her head toward Iris.
Her condition could not be called good. She had grown considerably haggard since first arriving. Having barely eaten, her face was gaunt, and her already pale complexion had turned deathly white, devoid of any warmth.
"If the meal is unsatisfactory, I can prepare something else..."
"I heard you called my daughter a whore..."
"...!!"
That feeble voice made Iris's heart plummet to the floor. Her trembling black eyes wavered aimlessly for a long moment, unable to find purchase.
...My lord must have told her.
She had expected as much. Concealing one's sins ran counter to the very nature of House Merdelia—an act of dishonor. A ducal lady who inherited the Merdelia bloodline more strongly than anyone would surely have confessed every truth to the young lady's mother.
Including Iris's own crime.
"I... that is..."
She opened her mouth to offer some excuse, yet the words refused to leave her lips. In the end all she could do was avert her eyes and bow her head.
"I... am sorry... truly..."
"..."
Baroness Bland regarded Iris with hollow eyes, then turned away again and began gently stroking her daughter's hair. Iris knew full well this was no acceptance of her apology. It meant she no longer wished to exchange even a single word.
Iris bit her lip and slowly rose. Though she knew no reply would come, she offered the baroness a deep, formal bow and left the bedroom.
With her spirit in tatters she trudged to her lord's study. After a brief knock she opened the door, and the acrid scent of tobacco stabbed her nose.
Just how much had she smoked? The ducal lady's study was thick with smoke. Waving it aside as she walked in, Iris found the lady reviewing documents with a face every bit as haggard as the baroness's.
"...Even for you, my lord, smoking that heavily is harmful to your health."
"...And Mother?"
A voice as cracked as her blue lips slipped from her mouth. That she still called Baroness Bland "Mother" suggested she had not yet abandoned her foolish hope.
The ducal lady herself denied that she felt anything for her pet young lady beyond the affection one might hold for a beloved animal, yet she could not hide the deep affection dwelling in those intense eyes.
Anyone with a keen eye would have known. How could one fail to notice when the gaze that always regarded others with cold-blooded detachment grew so honey-sweet every time it fell upon her pet young lady?
"...Baroness Bland still appears to be holding up, but with the way she refuses meals, I cannot say how long she will last."
"..."
Accepting this powerless version of her lord remained difficult. In so short a time, how deeply had she fallen for the pet young lady?
Her lord had kept the girl here to mold her into a perfect possession of her own, yet Iris was beginning to suspect that the one who had been cunningly ensnared was her lord instead. Like clothes soaked through by a fine drizzle without ever noticing, she might have been bewitched by that smiling gaze.
...Well.
Even Iris, who had barely exchanged a few words with the girl, felt this ache in her chest—how much worse must it be for her lord, who had spent every night at her side? In the end Iris swallowed her scolding with a short sigh and opened the study window.
"Tina... she needs to wake up soon... why won't she wake...? The doctor said she would wake any time now..."
Viviana's voice sounded terribly fragile. Looking closer, Iris saw her hands trembling faintly. At the sight of her lord reduced to such weakness, Iris frowned.
She understood, and yet...
She could not simply look upon it with favor. This was no mere personal matter; it concerned the entire ducal house. If Lady Viviana, the next Duchess, wavered, then all of Merdelia wavered with her.
Even so, she could find no words to speak. She knew she herself was far from blameless.
And so once more she remained trapped in an endless swamp of regret, waiting only for Tina to open her eyes as soon as possible.
A cruel silence pressed heavily upon Artasha. Only the faint pulse she felt at Tina's wrist offered her any comfort.
Artasha wore a sad smile as she carefully brushed Tina's hair aside. Even now her long lashes cast shadows across her eyelids, radiating an irresistible, captivating loveliness she could not suppress.
"Who did you take after, to look this pretty even while sleeping... isn't that right, Tina?"
Knowing no answer would come, Artasha still spoke with aching tenderness.
When the reply never arrived, tears finally gathered at the corners of her eyes. She squeezed them shut and buried her face against the bed. As a mother she could not allow herself to collapse before her daughter.
Forcing her trembling heart to settle, Artasha clasped Tina's hand tightly and whispered low.
"Tina... Mom really can't go on without you..."
In a gray, flavorless world, Tina had been her only light. The single precious treasure left in a worn-out life. Tina was her everything, the reason she lived. Without Tina, Artasha could find no meaning in living any longer.
And so, in this moment while Tina slept, Artasha could only remain captive to her own powerlessness, keeping watch at her daughter's side and praying she would open her eyes.
Praying desperately that she might once more see that lovely smile, Artasha had kept her hands clasped for three days and nights without rest.
Perhaps those earnest prayers had been heard.
"...Ah?"
A faint tremor passed through the hands she held.
Artasha's eyes flew wide as she jerked her head up.
Tina's tightly closed eyelids were beginning to flutter.
Then, little by little, her eyes opened.
At last, Tina's blue eyes revealed themselves once more.
"Ti-Tina...!"
Artasha called her daughter's name in urgent joy. The heart that had sunk to the very bottom only moments before soared in an instant to the heavens.
Thank goodness she was safe. Thank you for opening your eyes again like this.
At the thought that she would once more see her daughter's smile, Artasha's heart began to pound fiercely.
Yet opposite her, Tina merely blinked blankly up at the ceiling.
"...Tina?"
Artasha called her name again. Tina's eyes twitched, and then she suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed.
Artasha was startled by the abrupt movement, yet quickly steadied herself. Anyone who had attempted self-harm must have been driven to psychological extremes.
Thinking that what Tina needed most right now might be a warm embrace, Artasha opened her arms wide to hold her.
And in the very instant she resolved to wrap her daughter in love—
"Tina...!"
Tina's eyes twitched once more; then she rose from the bed, stretched out both arms, and ran forward.
Like a baby bird rushing to its mother bird.
She ran with that lovely little body.
Yet—
The place she ran toward was not Artasha's arms.
She ran instead to a mirror standing in the corner of the room.
"...Huh?"
Artasha blinked blankly.
When Tina coldly passed her by, the arms Artasha had opened wide were left hanging empty in the air, filled only with hollowness.
Turning her trembling head, she saw Tina resting her hands against the mirror and smiling.
"Now I'm not alone anymore... right? Hehe, I like it too..."
"Ti-Tina..."
"It didn't hurt that much. It's okay. More importantly, we're going to stay together forever now, right?"
As if someone existed inside the glass, Tina kept touching the mirror, smiling, conversing with it.
Her voice sounded strangely peaceful, and bizarrely joyful.
"Ah... aah..."
Her mind went blank; every ounce of strength drained away until even her legs seemed to give out.
For a long while Artasha stared blankly at the sight.
Then, filled only with despair and a sense of utter loss,
she collapsed weakly onto the floor.