“It’s a temporary case of hyperventilation. Given her shaken state of mind, the symptoms might recur, so I’ll stay by her side for now,” the physician explained, his tone measured yet concerned.
How fragile the human body can become. Even without injury or illness, the collapse of one’s spirit alone can shatter it, leaving behind unbearable pain and a fragile thread tethering one to life.
Odelliana lay motionless, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. She couldn’t even muster the strength to lift a finger.
“How many episodes has she had now?” The physician asked softly, breaking the tense silence.
“This is the third,” Malena replied with a subtle sigh.
“Don’t dwell on it,” the physician advised. “Ruminating will only feed your anxiety, and that anxiety will trigger the symptoms again. The cause is entirely psychological—there’s no physical damage. Try to stay calm.”
But calm was impossible when the attacks came. They began with her airway tightening, her vision dimming, and her body freezing as if trapped in ice. Then came the haunting vision—a grotesque nightmare of being bound, her chest torn open, and her heart ripped out while she still drew breath.
“I’ve never been this scared in my life,” Odelliana murmured, her voice trembling.
Malena glanced at her, hesitating before speaking. “…That bad?”
“Far more terrifying than waking up in an unfamiliar place,” she continued, her tone distant. “Or the moment a silver blade pierced my heart.”
Malena leaned closer. “You must have had a terrible nightmare.”
“If only it were just a nightmare,” Odelliana whispered bitterly, her hands moving to roughly rub at the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
“You’re unusually fragile today, my lady,” Malena remarked, her voice laced with a teasing softness.
Odelliana let out a mirthless chuckle. “I’ve always been weak.”
Her quiet admission drew a small, knowing smile from Malena. “Weak? Where was that weakness when you decided to keep a monstrous beast by your side?”
Odelliana turned her head, but said nothing.
“While harboring the most fearsome creature, what is it you fear now?” Malena pressed gently. “Surely nothing could be more dreadful than the beast you’ve tamed.”
With casual ease, Marlena brushed back Odelliana’s sweat-drenched hair, her touch both gentle and firm.
“You once said you didn’t want to die, my lady. From where I stand, even if you wished for it, death wouldn’t come so easily,” she said, her tone a mix of pragmatism and reassurance.
Odelliana remained silent, her lips pressed tightly together.
“That beast of yours would never let you die so quietly,” Marlena continued, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Another pause. The only response was the faint rustle of sheets as Odelliana shifted slightly.
“I know your frailty makes you sensitive to matters of health and mortality,” Marlena added, her voice softening. “But there are things far beyond human control. Accept that, and perhaps you’ll find some peace of mind. Besides, I don’t believe there’s anyone capable of truly harming you. Do you really think that boy—the one who panics over the smallest scratch on you—would stand idly by and let any harm come to you? And I’ll protect you too.”
Her words hung in the air, offering a fragile kind of solace.
“Protecting you is my duty, my lady,” Marlena said with quiet conviction. “So rest without worry. Sleep is the best remedy for anxiety.”
Odelliana let out a small, dry laugh. “…You’re just trying to put me to sleep because my whining bothers you.”
Marlena’s lips curved into a rare grin. “I won’t deny it.”
With a sigh, Odelliana lay back down and draped her arm over her eyes, shutting out the faint light that crept into the room.
A life stripped of even its dignity, handed over without hesitation to serve someone else. A life dictated by necessity, leaving no trace of her will—no trace of my will.
For the first time, a flicker of curiosity stirred within her about the true owner of this body. The real Odelliana—an existence she had rarely thought of, much less pondered deeply.
A pitiful woman. One who had never known freedom, bound and controlled until the very end. Sacrificed under the noble yet cruel pretense of duty. Where had her soul gone—the soul that surrendered even her flesh to another? Did it still wander restlessly, lost in a world that had demanded so much of her?
The bitterness of that tragic fate clawed at Odelliana’s chest, chilling her blood with sorrow and fury.
How terrified you must have been…
Her thoughts turned inward, tinged with regret.
I regret those days when I carelessly believed that having died once, dying again wouldn’t matter. Here I sit, inhabiting your shell, mocking your life—a life where you struggled so desperately to survive—with such cruel indifference.
At the end of this realization, her mind went cold. It wasn’t fear that consumed her—it was a surge of unrelenting anger toward the Grüsewald family and an unyielding instinct to survive.
“I won’t let things go your way,” Odelliana vowed under my breath.
This time, the one to die won’t be me—it’ll be you, Odette.
