Chapter 84 — Uriel Wayne Daina Alfred
‘Carriage sounds……?’
In the early morning, as Uriel prepared for work, she turned her head at the sound of a carriage pulling up outside amid the falling rain.
‘He…… doesn’t have lectures today.’
Setting aside her rising curiosity, Uriel sat on the edge of the bed and meticulously straightened her hair and attire.
Knock knock.
“……?”
But at the sound of the knock, Uriel quickly realized it wasn’t Ferzen come to see her.
Because he had a key to the house.
If it wasn’t Ferzen, then who would come calling at this hour……
‘Gerard……?’
No.
It wasn’t time for students to leave the dorms yet.
Tilting her head in puzzlement, Uriel rose and opened the door.
“Ah……”
There stood an elderly man holding an umbrella and leaning on a cane.
As she faced her grandfather, Coleone Wayne Barreta Alfred, Uriel instinctively stepped back.
“G-Grandfather……”
The sheer presence of him folding his umbrella and stepping inside made Uriel shrink involuntarily.
“June 9th. Return to the mansion.”
“……”
“No reply?”
“Understood……”
Meekly responding, Uriel lowered her gaze.
And then……
“What are those marks on your neck?”
“Ah……”
At Coleone’s pointed remark about the traces on her bare neck—she wasn’t wearing a scarf—Uriel hurriedly raised her hand.
“Remove it.”
“……”
But with a single frown and curt command from Coleone, Uriel sadly lowered her hand, fully exposing the blatant marks Ferzen had left.
“Who did this?”
“……”
“Gerard? Or……”
“Ferzen…… He did it……”
“Ha…… hahaha!”
Coleone erupted into mad laughter at Uriel’s answer.
“Eek!”
Spotting marks extending lower beneath her neckline, he thrust out his cane and yanked her collar open.
Of course, she offered no resistance.
Coleone was the brand of obedience imprinted on her very soul.
Pop!
Buttons forced open revealed the lewd cleavage of her breasts and the vivid red marks etched around her collarbone.
Confirming them, Coleone curled his lips into a smirk.
“You’ve been quite busy while I wasn’t watching.”
“……”
“The marks a man leaves on a woman are proof of ownership, after all. No ventilation means no complaints from me.”
With that, Coleone turned away.
“Then, see you in four days, granddaughter.”
“Yes…… Farewell.”
Covering her chest with her hand, Uriel politely saw him off.
Click.
As the door shut behind him, she sat on the bed and fumbled to button up.
“June 9th……”
It wasn’t a date hinting at anything special.
Simply……
Uriel lowered her hand.
She stroked her lower abdomen.
Calculating from her last menstrual cycle, June 9th marked the start of her fertile window.
‘This……’
Coincidence?
Creak.
Her mind growing restless, Uriel set aside her thoughts, rose from the bed, and headed to the Academy for work.
Entering the faculty lounge, she sat in her chair and brewed some black tea.
‘……’
Suddenly, she pulled the cup from her lips.
Black tea.
Another of Ferzen’s favorites.
She’d forgotten since that day, but lately she’d become aware of it more and more.
Her hobbies, favorite foods, beloved books.
All connected to Ferzen.
‘Even if I hadn’t been raised to fit your mold……’
Would these feelings persist?
Unable to even properly hate him, quietly savoring the remnants of her love-hate, Uriel closed her eyes.
‘Someday…… what a vague word.’
He’d said he’d come.
But no sign of him.
Too much water rots a flower’s roots.
Too little, and it withers.
A delicate balance is needed.
‘You……’
Do you want me to always thirst?
Patter patter.
The rain continued outside.
A prolonged rainy season.
Yet feeling parched amid it, Uriel found herself pathetic.
* * * *
Finishing her morning lecture, Uriel left the classroom and walked on.
Lizzy had suggested lunch together, but……
She declined.
“Ah……”
Entering the main building and climbing to the faculty lounge, Uriel spotted Gerard leaning quietly against the wall.
Noticing her too, he subtly turned his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
“I realize my words that day were too much.”
“So.”
“But it’s not entirely my fault. I tried to keep my distance, to respect you. You reassured me there was no need to rush…… but if you’d just admitted you still had feelings for him, I wouldn’t feel so betrayed. Neither of us is naive enough to mistake kindness for affection.”
Uriel swept her hair behind her ear at Gerard’s earnest words.
He wasn’t wrong.
Unintentionally, she had toyed with his heart.
And how many men approaching a political marriage infuse it with genuine personal affection?
Considering that, even accounting for his harsh words, it was hard to call Gerard’s actions reprehensible.
If a fiancée meant for marriage came back covered in another man’s marks and he didn’t snap, that would be strange.
“You’ll be unhappy. He has a wife, and he only wants you as a concubine to bolster the Aslan family’s position in the north.”
“I know.”
Ferzen had admitted as much himself, so Gerard’s personal feelings for her were likely far stronger.
But those feelings were built on political standing through the Alfred family anyway.
And most importantly……
“Complaining to me won’t change anything. Even if we grew closer personally, the Alfreds…… my grandfather decides the endgame.”
“Drawing such a cold line now…… Fine. But one question. Ten years ago, I heard the engagement fell through. No contact since. Why do you like him?”
Uriel gave a wistful smile at Gerard, who clenched his fists and feigned composure.
Then she spoke.
“A child raised with shackles on its ankles retains that shape even after they’re removed.”
“What does that mean……”
“Pour molten iron into a mold, and it hardens to that form.”
Having phrased her own shameful truth indirectly, Uriel considered it the utmost kindness she could offer.
Brushing past Gerard, still wearing a confused expression, she entered her office.
And flopped onto the sofa.
“Haa……”
She was exhausted.
* * * *
June 6th.
Was the rainy season finally ending? Ferzen twitched his eyebrows at the faint sunlight filtering through the window after so long, slowly opening his eyes.
Controlling Laura during her lycanthropy while retaining his sanity had been quite taxing, so aside from meals yesterday, he’d slept solidly—now his condition was gradually returning to normal.
‘Was it chilly at dawn?’
Turning his head, he saw Euphemia curled up asleep.
A habit from her threadbare days in Ruerg—she always huddled like this if cold at night.
Adorable.
Confirming the early hour, Ferzen pressed against her back, embracing her to share his warmth.
‘Feverish……?’
Feeling her higher-than-usual temperature, he reached out to touch her forehead.
Not quite hot, but…… warm.
A slight fever, probably.
The physician had warned of such symptoms in early pregnancy, so Ferzen stayed calm and gently shook her awake.
As expected, upon opening her eyes, she complained of deeper fatigue than usual, struggling even to sit up, barely managing to rest her head on his knee.
“……Rest. I’ll call the physician. The Academy won’t suffer without you there.”
“Yeah……”
Just before 7 a.m., summoning a physician on demand was no issue, so before heading to work, Ferzen received the female doctor to examine Euphemia.
“No relation to abdominal pain, so no major concern. There are antipyretics and painkillers, but…… at five weeks, I don’t recommend them unless severe.”
“Harms the fetus?”
“Low probability, but cases exist. Epidemiological data confirms it. The impact was on relatively fragile blood vessels compared to controls. No miscarriages.”
Ferzen glanced at Euphemia.
No miscarriage cases, so it was her choice now.
“I won’t take any…… Lying down helps. A day’s rest should fix it.”
“Very well. Still, just in case……”
Ferzen instructed the physician to stay at the mansion for the day.
Well-compensated for such duties, she didn’t refuse, seeing Ferzen off to work with Euphemia and tending to her in place of the maids.
Based on past experience, worsening symptoms were unlikely—but if it happened, her head would roll with near certainty.
Of course, no one had authority for summary execution over medical errors unless intentional.
Officially, that is.
Without backing from origin, family, or connections, physicians treating nobles—especially powerful ones—faced discreet, brutal ends for mishaps.
That’s why imperial physicians were every doctor’s dream.
Few could touch those under the imperial shield.
Arriving at the Academy by carriage, Ferzen happened to cross paths with Uriel just as he stepped out.
She’d walk to work, so what business brought her to the parking lot?
“Coming from the flower beds. Not waiting for you, so drop that annoyed look. Hilarious……”
Not an excuse but the truth, Uriel let out a disbelieving chuckle at Ferzen’s oddly suspicious expression.
She started walking, but soon glanced back, realizing the plain green-haired girl she always trailed was absent.