We’re in a Contract Marriage, But I’ve Imprinted - Chapter 135

I could feel my body and mind deteriorating, but ironically, I had no intention of fixing it, so I neglected it. I kept thinking about Ian’s incomprehensible words, but I couldn’t figure out why. I wanted to ask someone, but there was no one to ask.

Out of desperation, I asked for Henry to be called, but the maids, as before, ignored me. They must have eerily sensed that I had fallen out of favor with Ian, the head of the family.

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t saddening.

But I had been ignored for a longer time before, so I quickly gave up.

Lately, I’ve been going out every day. The servants gossiped noisily about it, saying I was carefree going out for spring outings.

Is it important that it’s spring? My heart feels like it’s still in winter.

I’ve been missing Nicola a lot lately. How did she manage to overcome everything so bravely? I should have asked her for advice. I should have paid more attention to her. I shouldn’t have let it end so meaninglessly.

Or, at the very least, I should have been more persistent in asking Ian about the location of her grave.

Really, I feel like I’m going insane.

The aimless outings left no impression on my mind. I felt like I had gone somewhere, but I couldn’t remember.

Slowly, bit by bit, I was falling apart.

I couldn’t feel the passage of time or the change of seasons. I was just counting down to the expiration of the contract, like someone with a terminal diagnosis.

On the day the contract expired, I actually wished I could just die. The days were so painful that I even considered death, something I had never thought about before.

Even when the young maid looked at me with concern, I didn’t want to do anything or move. I just stared blankly into space when a heavy knock sounded.

I was so startled because it had been a long time since someone had visited the annex.

The door swung open without waiting for an answer, making me brace myself, thinking it was my departure. I didn’t want to part with him in such an unresolved state, at least I hoped to clear up any misunderstandings.

But the voice that came was not the one I expected.

“Please come to the main house immediately.”

Startled, my eyes snapped open at the nanny’s voice.

“The young master is very sick.”

Before her words even finished, I was rushing to the main house without a second thought.

I didn’t hear the murmurs of the servants. From the moment I stepped into the main house, all I could hear was the sound of a child crying. I had never been to Diers’s room, but I knew where it was.

The door was wide open, and servants were going in and out.

“Waaah!”

“Dia!”

I entered the room out of breath and saw the child wailing on the bed. At that moment, I didn’t even notice Ian who was also present.

I hurriedly picked up the child, and alarmed by his burning hot body, I called for the doctor.

“What’s going on here?”

I had never yelled at him before, whether he ignored me or not.

The doctor, clearly flustered yet trying to remain calm, explained,

“It’s an unexplained fever, common in infants at this age.”

“How can there be a disease without a cause? Are you sure you’ve examined him properly?”

“….I’ll prepare some fever reducer right away.”

“Hurry.”

To soothe the child, I gently released a faint trace of my pheromone. It was a weak pheromone, but Diers seemed to really like it because I was his mother.

“Baby, shh. Mom’s here. It’s okay.”

“Huuhng…”

Just as my own mother had done for me long ago, I held the child and rocked him gently. I patted his small back, hoping his pain would quickly go away.

Then I instructed a nearby maid,

“Bring some fresh water. It shouldn’t be too cold. And prepare several clean cloths.”

“….I understand.”

I walked around the room holding him until the preparations were complete, whispering to him and kissing his forehead.

“Mom will take away Dia’s fever.”

“Ma, Ma!”

“Dia, just be sick a little and get well soon.”

“Ung…”

The child seemed to try to breathe in more of my pheromone, snuggling deeper into my embrace. His little body sagged worryingly in my arms.

The maid brought new water and cloths. I laid the whimpering child on the bed and used a wet cloth to wipe him under his clothes, a method my mother often used when I was a child.

While I was frantically wiping the child’s body, a low voice commanded nearby.

“Everyone, leave.”

Only then did I realize that Ian was also present in the room. It had been so long since I had seen him…

However, I lacked the courage to turn and face him, focusing instead on soothing the sick Diers. After calming him and giving the fever reducer provided by the doctor, I changed him into clean clothes.

Only after seeing his face relax a bit did I feel reassured. I sighed with relief and picked him up, cradling him gently. I sang a lullaby while patting his back.

“Ma…”

The words he murmured in his sleep made me smile. Although the child had fallen asleep, my heart remained unsettled, so I continued to hold him.

Ian, who had been silent up to now, finally spoke.

“You might want to put him down now.”

“…I want to hold him a little longer.”

“The doctor mentioned it’s better to keep him cool. What if holding him causes his temperature to rise again?”

His voice wasn’t as cold as before, but it was still business-like, causing my heart to race.

Did I make another mistake?

“…Alright.”

I didn’t want to part from the child, but under Ian’s stinging gaze, I reluctantly laid him down. As I stroked his forehead, I continuously released my pheromones, hoping it would calm him.

While I was desperately hoping that my pheromones would soothe him, a powerful wave of pheromones enveloped us.

Ian had also released his pheromones for Dia.