So the Duchess Disappeared

51. Falling

Psyche blinked several times at that. With a slightly puzzled tone, she asked,

“What are you talking about? I’ve been away from the palace for several years now.”

“Well, isn’t now the time when your influence would be most significant?”

Alexa smiled.

She added a few more words.

“Except for Her Majesty the Empress, the position of the duchess is the highest. And since Her Majesty has not shown interest in social events for quite some time, it might not be a bad time to establish influence, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense.”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

Rumors of Psyche’s return to the Duchy had already spread among the nobility.

Everyone’s attention was focused on her. It was clear that no matter what she did, she would attract attention.

Psyche had made up her mind.

She decided to seize control of the social scene with her own power.

❖ ❖ ❖

It had already been two days since the Duke left.

With Clint absent, Psyche’s daily life was quiet and peaceful.

Thanks to Clint’s thorough management of the servants, there was no one to disturb her.

Psyche spent time alone with Shilard, contemplating how to take control of the social scene.

She felt a bit regretful that if Claude had followed her, she could have delegated some tasks to him. Nevertheless, this time, she decided to handle everything on her own.

So, she sketched various plans.

However, this morning, a messenger arrived with news that Clint would be returning.

“He can take a bit longer.”

Psyche said to herself while having a simple tea time in her room.

Alexa, standing beside her, was surprised to hear her talking to herself.

“Oh, sorry. I was talking to myself. What is Shilard doing right now?”

“Didn’t it snow this morning? He’s going crazy, saying he’s going to make a snowman and has been out since morning.”

“A snowman?”

Psyche brought the teacup to her lips and looked towards the balcony.

The snow that had been falling since early morning had now stopped, and light snowflakes were fluttering in the air.

“It must be cold.”

“I’ve instructed the servants to dress warmly.”

“Who’s playing?”

“It seems Shilard gets along quite well with the knights here. They said he even tried wielding a sword yesterday.”

“Really? He talks slowly, but he seems quick on his feet.”

Psyche nodded, bringing the teacup to her lips.

She was relieved that the Duke’s knights and servants treated Shilard kindly. Of course, not everyone looked favorably upon him, but that was unavoidable. As long as he didn’t cause trouble, she let it pass.

“Should we go see what Shilard is up to?”

“He should dress warmly if he’s going out. It’s still quite cold. Should I prepare something?”

“Huh? No, I’m not feeling too well, so I’ll just stay here on the balcony. It seems like I’ll have a good view from here anyway.”

Psyche gestured towards the large window.

“Aren’t you feeling well?”

Alexa looked concerned. Psyche waved it off, not wanting her to rush to inform the Duke about her condition over something trivial.

“It’s just the cold. Maybe I caught a chill yesterday.”

Psyche hastily changed the subject.

The reason for her poor condition lately was the contraceptive pills made from ivy leaves she had started taking. Since she began, she had experienced slight dizziness accompanied by headaches. Today seemed particularly severe. Nevertheless, she dismissed it as inconsequential.

“It’s nothing, I’ll wrap myself in a blanket and go out.”

“Yes. Please let me know if you’re not feeling well.”

Alexa replied earnestly.

Psyche stood up to show that it was nothing, but she felt dizzy as if the ceiling was spinning. Her body swayed momentarily.

‘Ugh… the side effects are stronger than I thought.’

She quickly grasped the table.

It seemed the dizziness would persist for a few days. Alexa was surprised.

“Oh my, madam!”

Alexa, who was standing next to her, hurried over to support her.

“It’s not good. It doesn’t seem like a good time for you to go outside. Please lie down quickly. Huh? You seem to have a fever too.”

Alexa tried to take Psyche to bed immediately.

Psyche waved her hand.

She thought the contraceptive pills made from ivy leaves were just reacting a bit strongly.

She figured her body would adapt if she continued to take them.

It wasn’t anything serious, she thought.

Knowing her own body well, Psyche resisted Alexa’s suggestion.

“No, it’s nothing serious. I’d rather feel the cold breeze…”

Perhaps getting some fresh air would alleviate the dizziness and stuffiness a bit.

And above all, it wasn’t a day she wanted to lie in bed, especially since Clint was returning today.

She recalled what he had said before leaving.

‘And on the night of my return, I will come to the lady’s room.’

Such a strange thing to say, that he would come to her room at night.

Thinking of Clint’s words, Psyche felt her face flush even more.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Well, I know my body best.”

Alexa seemed skeptical of her words, but she was too stubborn.

Above all, Psyche wanted to see Shilard interacting with others, not just with her.

It had been a long time since she’d seen snowfall.

In the end, she insisted and leaned against the balcony, covered in a large fur blanket.

The balcony, not very high, protruded slightly from the building, so she had a clear view of Shilard playing outside.

Satisfied, she adjusted the blanket and watched the scene.

The snow started falling again little by little.

But Psyche couldn’t take her eyes off Shilard playing.

At first, feeling the cold breeze made her feel much fresher, and even the dizziness seemed to fade away.

‘He’s playing so well…’

Psyche smiled as she watched Shilard rolling his eyes in a circle.

As time passed, it truly felt like raising a son.

She wondered if this was how it would feel if her child were alive.

“Oh? Mommy!”

Shilard, who was playing with some knights in the snow, spotted Psyche.

Instead of rolling his eyes, he waved his arms widely and drew a circle, greeting her. Even his wobbly movements were adorable.

“Be careful!”

Distracted by Psyche’s greeting, Shilard didn’t see where he was going and fell into the snow.

Psyche gasped in surprise, covering her mouth.

Shilard, who had fallen into the snow, quickly popped his head out between the snow. The sight of Shilard vigorously shaking off snow like a dog made the knights burst into laughter.

Shilard’s cheeks puffed up, and with a sulky face, he threw snow at the knights.

“Watch out!”

“Haha, look at Shilard!”

One of the knights deftly avoided the snow Shilard threw and ran away.

Making snowmen had turned into a snowball fight.

Psyche watched the scene with a smile.

She didn’t realize her body was freezing from watching Shilard.

She didn’t even notice her senses dulling and becoming numb to the cold. She was too engrossed in watching Shilard playing in the snow.

It seemed like everything would be okay for now.

Suddenly, the memory of her deceased child came to her mind, but this time, she refused to be consumed by past tragedies and shook her head.

Then it happened.

At the edge of her vision, she saw the main gate of the mansion opening.

‘…He’s back.’

She knew Clint had returned.

“Ah.”

At the same time, a heavy sensation struck her entire body.

She was surprised by the sudden chill that seemed to freeze her body like ice. Only then did she feel the seriousness of the situation and tried to go inside.

‘Ugh… I must have stayed out too long.’

But her body didn’t listen properly. She couldn’t even take a step properly. Unable to move properly, she froze in place.

In an instant, her senses numbed, and everything turned white before her eyes.

Suddenly, the dizziness intensified.

She groaned involuntarily.

“Ugh…”

She wanted to go inside quickly, but it didn’t work well.

Feeling too dizzy, she awkwardly sat on the edge of the balcony. It was a clearly dangerous position to be in.

Suddenly, it felt like the sky was spinning before her eyes.

“Ugh…”

Her stomach churned violently.

Her body felt cold, and her vision flickered.

At the same time, she saw someone urgently running towards the building where she was.

The scene that Psyche remembers is the last one.

The wind blew, and her body swayed with it.

Once again, the positions of the sky and the ground swapped drastically, and soon she felt as if her body was plummeting downwards, closing her eyes.

She heard someone urgently calling her name.

“Psyche!”

That’s when she was falling from the balcony.