Chapter 48

Lariana, who was screaming wildly, collapsed. She knelt in front of her husband and fell to her knees, now letting her chest heave.

“Cain, Cain, Cain Delacroix. I can’t do it. I can’t do it anymore. If I had a knife, I’d just rip open my chest. It hurts. My chest hurts!”

“Take a break.”

The hand that was hitting her own chest grew stronger. Cain leaned down, as if he were going to do something to her delicate breastbone if sahe kept this up.

He locked eyes with his wife. And she stopped her actions just moments ago.

Cain silently looked into Larriana’s face. 

He felt a tightness in his heart and his chest felt stifled. He had never deeply thought about the child, the heir. He even thought it would be better if there wasn’t one. It was better that no child would be born from the crazy him and carry the burden of being a Delacroix. But it was different for his wife.

“Please investigate your mother. I’m sure she put poison in my food.”

“….Did you say poison?”

“The food tasted strange and I couldn’t eat for several days. I’m sure she put poison to kill the baby! Suddenly everything changed! I started having good meals, everyone was nice, and the cleaning was done with care… and my mother was being kind to me… everything was so strange!”

As Larriana’s wailing continued, Cain’s expression became more and more distorted.

He also knew that the relationship between his mother and his wife was not good.

Through Butler Hanson, he was aware of Larriana’s situation. At least according to him, the Dowager Duchess was not lacking in her treatment of her daughter-in-law.

He had also never revealed Larriana’s suffering. Of course, he did not closely monitor her movements. He had at least some trust in her.

“Is that so strange?”

“…Cain?”

“Is that so strange to you? Has everything you’ve enjoyed as a Duchess been so strange? Do you have to insult Mother and Delacroix on top of calling me crazy?”

The mad Cain was an indifferent husband. Without the madness, Cain was blinded by love and only focused on their sexual relationship.

Whether he was mad or not, Cain never saw or knew about the pain that Lariana was going through in her marriage. 

“I’m not insulting or mocking, I’m just stating the facts. I’ve… ” Lariana couldn’t continue her words. There was an unwelcome visitor in the bedroom. It was Marcella and the butler Hanson. 

“Cain! You’re back!” Marcella approached Cain with tears in her eyes, wiping them with a handkerchief. Lariana sneered at her mother-in-law’s disgusting act. 

“Mother, please don’t act.” 

“Lariana Delacroix!” Cain yelled his wife’s name as if it were a command. Normally, Lariana wouldn’t have been so emotional towards Marcella, but she had no reason now. 

She had reached her limit, which everyone acknowledged. 

“Cain. Don’t scold Lariana. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t asked her to take a walk, this wouldn’t have happened…” Marcella sat down on the floor next to Lariana, trembling. “Cain. I’ll calm her down.” 

“Yes. You’d better, she seems to be out of it from the shock.”

Seeing Lariana crying out, Cain furrowed his eyebrows and stood up, rubbing his hands together. 

“I’m fine! Don’t leave. We haven’t finished talking!” 

“Hanson, make sure the mistress doesn’t step outside the bedroom until I give permission.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Ignoring Lariana’s screaming, Cain left the bedroom. Marcella gestured to Hanson, who closed the bedroom door and left. 

Her expression changed as soon as he left. 

“How dare you kill the noble Delacroix’s bloodline and blame it on someone else?” 

Lariana’s eyes turned red with anger. She glared at Marcella, but the older woman sat down calmly at the table, as if mocking her. 

“Why would I kill a Delacroix child? I would’ve taken the child away.” 

Lariana got goosebumps on her arms. Marcella’s expression was sincere, and there was not a hint of deceit in it. She spoke coldly to her daughter-in-law, filled with only the truth. 

“Poison? How ridiculous.” 

She mentioned poison, probably because she had heard it from Cain. 

“Even if Cain investigates, no poison will be found. What I gave you was a medicine to check your health. The good food, clothes, and cleaning? They weren’t for you. They were for the child in your womb. I sincerely wanted you to give birth to a healthy child. Then I could take the child and raise it as Cain and Evita’s child! But you killed the child.” Marcella kept poking Lariana with her nails, mocking her. 

“Lariana. Remember clearly. You killed the child, not me.” 

“Lies. No, it’s not true! It’s not true!” 

“The child died because of you, who was delusional.” Lariana covered her ears, denying the reality. If Marcella hadn’t done anything… If she hadn’t… 

“Tsk, poor thing. The dead child is pitiful. May the goddess of Vuerin protect the dead child…” 

Lariana clutched her knees and murmured. “No, no… I didn’t kill the child.” 

Marcella gently stroked Lariana’s platinum blonde hair with a satisfied expression. 

She patted Lariana’s head several times before squeezing her hair in her fist. Lariana’s head shot up. 

“Get out of the Delacroix on your own. This will continue to happen. Even if you give birth to a child safely, it will be taken away.” 

Marcella left the bedroom with light steps after removing her hand. Even after her mother-in-law disappeared, Lariana touched her empty womb for a long time and mournfully murmured, “Baby… I’m sorry… Mom is sorry… Please, please forgive me.”

* * *

It was a perfect night as the sun set and the moon rose. 

Cain was already back from dawn, but couldn’t find Lariana as usual. He was frustrated as he recalled the incident before in his memory. Would Lariana be able to forgive him? 

It seemed unlikely. But if it was him, he would forgive her no matter what she did wrong. The first thing Cain did when he woke up from his madness and regained his sanity was to ask Hayden to find out about the poison Lariana had mentioned. 

But instead of poison, her stepmother used a good medicine for her illness. Marcella was only thinking about the prosperity and success of Delacroix. 

Even if she didn’t like Lariana, she wouldn’t be the one to kill his child. She might take the child away and ask her to divorce him, but not kill. 

“It seems that the Duchess was unstable after her pregnancy and misunderstood. It must have been worse since you were absent.” 

“It’s ultimately my responsibility.” 

“My lord. The Duchess’s miscarriage is no one’s fault. It was just an unfortunate accident.” 

Cain smiled sadly as he took a sip of whiskey from the bottle. Hayden, who was standing in front of the desk in the office, took the whiskey bottle from him. 

“I didn’t want a child. No, let me correct myself. I didn’t want a child who looked like me. If it was a child who looked just like Lariana… ” 

“My lord.” 

“You know my childhood was terrible. If it was a daughter, it wouldn’t be so bad, but if it was a son, he would have to sacrifice his life for Delacroix and his homeland Martessen. I didn’t want another monster like me to be born. But I didn’t want the child to die either. Was my twisted thinking the problem? Was that why the child died?” 

Cain confessed in a dismal voice. Hayden couldn’t say anything. He knew that no words could comfort his lord. As Cain slowly climbed the stairs, he headed to Lariana’s bedroom, struggling. 

In front of the bedroom door were the gifts he had sent, piled up without being touched. He tried to open the door, but it was firmly locked. 

“Lari, it’s me. Please open the door.” 

Cain couldn’t wait any longer and tore the doorknob off with force. 

“Lari.” 

Despite the noise of the doorknob falling, she was sitting at the tea table, counting numbers. Jena, who was standing by her side, stood up. Her eyes were full of contempt for Cain. 

“Get out.” Lariana continued to focus on counting the numbers on the handkerchief without paying attention to her husband’s visit. 

“Lari, it’s me.” 

“…Yes. It’s you.” 

When he forcibly took her hand and pulled her, Lariana finally looked up. Her pale lips trembled. She didn’t make any sound, only her lips moved. Cain listened carefully for a long time. 

“I was worried.” Lariana’s lifeless lips murmured. She didn’t make any sound, only her lips moved. Cain listened carefully for a long time. 

“I…I’m sorry. I won’t act childish anymore.” Cain’s mind went blank at her words. In his insanity, he had stabbed her continuously with his words. Now the attack was coming back to him.

 “I’m sorry. What was I saying to you?” 

“…I won’t blame my mother.” 

“It’s not your fault.” 

“No. It’s all my fault. I couldn’t protect the child and made excuses for my mother. I killed the child. I am a murderer.”

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