If you don’t love me, I will die.

Ania had a nightmare.

People next to her disappeared one by one, leaving her alone in the pitch-dark darkness.

“Mom…”

Wandering in the darkness, Ania called out to the vanishing people.

“Dad!”

However, they left without a trace.

“Ricktman!”

Like someone who never existed from the beginning, no one was by her side.

“Edward!”

Ania shouted desperately, but no one answered. The unpredictable darkness just roamed around her.

“Don’t leave…”

You’re alone.
No one loves you.

Echoing voices surrounded Ania, and she screamed.

Please come back.
I was wrong.

I won’t make the same mistake again.
Don’t leave…

After crying for a while, when she opened her eyes, Ania realized it was a nightmare.

When she wiped her eyes in a daze, clear traces of tears were on her hands.

She felt shiveringly cold because her whole body was soaked in a cold sweat.

Also, a cold wind was blowing from somewhere.

Ania raised her head to see where the cold wind was coming from.
She noticed that the window, left open while she slept, let in the chilly early winter breeze, causing the thin curtains to flutter wildly.

“Brr, it’s cold…”

Though it was only a nightmare, an ominous feeling lingered in her chest.

Whether due to the effects of the dream or the fact that the window was left open, Ania realized that her hands and lips were lightly trembling.

Ania covered her trembling body with a blanket and closed the window.

She slowly walked to the full-length mirror in the cold room, only to find a swollen, unattractive woman standing there.

‘In this state…’

No matter who looked at her, it was an unpleasant sight.
The idea of having a meal with Edward in this condition was downright repulsive.

However, a promise was a promise.
They decided to have meals together daily while she stayed at the mansion.

Ania tried her best to cover her swollen eyes and face with her hands and applied makeup, but there wasn’t much change.

Her face looked so ugly that she crumpled the lipstick in her hand and threw it on the floor.

At that moment, a gentle knock on the door echoed.

“My Lady, the meal is ready.”

It was the maid who came to wake her up every morning.

Without responding, Ania sniffled.

“My Lady?”

The maid knocked on the door again.

Ania suddenly found the sound of the knocking on the door unbearable.
Frustration built up as she looked at her deformed reflection and burst out angrily.

“I won’t eat!”
“Uh, My Lady?”

However, it seemed the maid didn’t leave at the sound of Ania’s rejection.

The maid spoke again with a trembling voice.

“My Lady, My Lord is waiting.”
“I said I won’t eat!”

As Ania forcefully exclaimed, the maid’s startled gasp was heard from beyond the door.

“Don’t come in! Don’t ask questions! Just leave me alone!”
“I apologize…”

As the maid’s footsteps faded, Ania finally took a deep breath.

With a sigh of relief, her agitated feelings calmed a bit, and she began to feel a faint sense of embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean to get angry like that.”

Why did she always end up getting angry at the people around her?

It happened at the ball, too.

She remembered getting angry for no reason at Edward, who had done nothing wrong.

Ania buried her face in the pillow, suppressing a quiet cry.

Why does she keep losing her temper with others?

In the quiet sobs, she acknowledged that she might be the kind of person Edward could tire of.

Even so, the sadness came from the realization that he was the only one who had stayed by her side when everyone else grew tired and left.

She had needlessly gotten angry at Edward, the one person who had stayed by her side when everyone else abandoned her.

And she attacked him without reason.

If Edward disliked her, she could do nothing but cry.
The fact was painfully bitter, and Ania couldn’t stop the tears from pouring out.

***

After finishing breakfast, when I headed to the training ground, I noticed the resentful expression on Ricktman’s face and the lifelessness of his eyes.

“My Lord…”

Although I was practically a sold man, Ricktman had always treated me as a nobleman’s son and provided me with aristocratic treatment.

However, his expression, filled with resentment, sent me shivers today.

“Let’s begin today’s training.”

The atmosphere was tense, and as expected, Ricktman showed no mercy.
A swiftly swung sword hit me, and though it was just a practice blade, it hurt as if I had been hit with a real one.

“Ricktman.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“Today, the sword feels unusually fast.”
“It’s your imagination, My Lord.”

Ricktman swung the sword again emotionlessly.
While he usually lowered his skill to make it suitable for a sparring match, today’s attack was ruthless.

I twisted my body to avoid and block the sword, which hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Master, you should counterattack.”
“Ricktman, just a moment…”
“To protect Miss, you need to become stronger, don’t you think?”

In the end, I raised both hands, signaling the end of the training.

As usual, my whole body was soaked in sweat, and Ricktman had beads of sweat running down his forehead.

Wiping away sweat with a towel, I sat down, and unexpectedly, Ricktman, who would usually say, “Let’s end today’s sparring here,” while sheathing his sword, came over and sat next to me.

“My Lord.”
“Don’t make me talk. I’m dying from pain.”
“In that case, you don’t have to respond. I want to tell you something, whether it’s off-topic or not.

Wiping away the beads of sweat that had formed, Ricktman, with a casual expression, began to speak.

“It may be an overstepping remark, but do you happen to know why Miss Ania got angry?”

It wasn’t a simple question; he knew the answer.
He’s asking if I’m aware that I’m the reason.

“I said I won’t respond.”
“Is that so…”

Ricktman quickly agreed and looked up at the sky.
Snowflakes began to fall, and as the world was dyed in silence, Ricktman, who broke the silence, continued.

“My Lady is more delicate than you might think.”

He said with a faint smile.

“Although she may appear rigid and mature, it seems she’s still quite young.”
“It doesn’t appear so to me.”
“Haha. Well, you are her husband, after all.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“In front of the man she loves, a woman’s heart wants to act like a child.”

It was utterly nonsense.

Ania Bronte is a villainess.
A villainess who knows her charm and uses it.

“Delicate person, my foot.”

Lichtman fell for Ania’s show of pretense.

“What do you want to say, Ricktman?”
“Just a request to take good care of My Lady.”

The retired knight stood up, patting his rear as he laughed.

“I may be the My Lady’s guard, but I’m not the one to protect her heart.”

***

The next day, Ania still didn’t leave her room, leaving her meals untouched.

Although I was worried about her, unfortunately, I also had a schedule.

It was strange timing for such an arrangement, but it was an invitation I couldn’t refuse.

It was for a firearms demonstration under the command of the Crown Prince.

You might wonder what kind of firearms were in a medieval setting, but this era was rapidly advancing.

We were transitioning from the age of swords and bows to the age of gunpowder.

Thanks to this, as a representative knight of the Radner family, I had to go to the imperial capital to demonstrate the new weapon, the musket.

“The carriage is ready.”
“I’ll be right out.”

After fixing my appearance and putting on the well-prepared knight’s uniform, I left the room.

But something strange happened.

As I walked down the corridor, Ania’s room caught my eye.

Then, unknowingly, I found myself stopping in front of her door.

‘My Lady is more delicate than you might think.’

Ricktman’s words from yesterday echoed in my ears, and the image of Ania’s wounded expression at the ball surfaced vaguely.

‘What does that have to do with me?’

I didn’t need to concern myself with Ania’s feelings. I just had to adjust enough to continue our married life.
After all, I was only here to survive and eventually return to my original world.

Despite consciously turning my head away from Ania’s room and taking a few steps, my heart kept feeling uneasy.

“Sigh…”

My steps faltered as if someone were holding me back.
Eventually, I found myself back in front of Ania’s room.

After lightly tapping on the door, I took a deep breath and spoke.

“My Lady.”
“…”

No response. I knocked again.

“I apologize for yesterday.”

There were many things I wanted to say, but standing in front of the door, my mind went blank, and I couldn’t remember why I should be sorry.

“I’ll be going now.”

Eventually, with those words as the last, I turned around and walked towards the main gate.

Upon boarding the carriage, the coachman immediately urged the horses into motion.

Inside the carriage, as it exited through the main gate, I could see Ania.
She leaned against the window, gazing into the distance with a vacant expression.

Her ears and nose were tinged with red due to the chilly wind.
A woman who could easily catch a cold with such a fragile body…

“My Lady!”

As I called out to Ania, she lowered her head and looked at me.
I wanted to caution her about catching a cold, but when I met Ania’s eyes, my words seemed to freeze.

It felt as if my heart, like a boy experiencing love for the first time, couldn’t stop pounding.

“…”

Meanwhile, the carriage distanced itself from the mansion.
Ania’s face became smaller and smaller, like a distant dot.

I stared at her shrinking face, my mouth still unable to move, as the carriage drove away.