Chapter 50
Serret knew her question was strange, but she couldn’t hold back her curiosity.
At the very least, she wanted to know the child’s name. No—she wanted to give one. If the baby had a name, it felt like the child’s existence would become more real.
Even if it was a child she would never get to see.
“Well… I’ve never thought about it.”
Yuan frowned slightly, as if it were a strange question.
He rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Henry.”
“Henry?”
“Henry Frectuster.”
Yuan spoke the child’s name.
“That’s a lovely name.”
Serret smiled, pleased with the name that had come from Yuan’s lips.
Henry Frectuster. As Serret silently pronounced the name in her heart, she held back the urge to cry.
She didn’t know if that would really be the child’s name, but she decided to think of the baby as Henry.
Now that the nameless child had a name, Serret longed to see him even more.
Henry, my sweet child.
She whispered the name to herself again and again.
The more she called it, the more beautiful it sounded.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Just as she finished her bath and was about to lie down in bed, there was a knock at the door.
“Yes.”
Serret answered as she approached the door.
Then the door opened, and Yuan stepped inside. Dressed in a nightgown, he was holding medicine in his hand.
Serret looked at the medicine in puzzlement.
Without a word, Yuan gently took her hand and led her to the bed. Once he seated her there, he knelt before her.
“Your Grace, what are you doing?”
Blinking slowly, Serret looked down at Yuan.
Without answering, Yuan lifted the hem of her nightgown.
“Yuan!”
Flustered, Serret quickly grabbed his hand, but Yuan calmly removed hers and looked up at her.
“Why pretend you’re fine when you’re not?”
“What?”
“Do you really think this knee is fine?”
Yuan gestured at Serret’s bruised, bluish knee.
Hannah had already caused a fuss about it during her bath. Her knee had ached a little, but she hadn’t realized the bruise was so bad.
“If it’s not broken, then it’s fine.”
Serret replied primly.
“I’ve asked Dr. Kane to come first thing tomorrow morning. You’ll get it examined.”
“It’s not serious enough for a doctor. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”
“What if it is? Records of treated injuries might be useful.”
“Useful for what?”
What good were medical records? Serret let out a silly laugh at the strange excuse, but that laugh vanished with Yuan’s next words.
“They could serve as evidence of a husband’s violent tendencies.”
“What?”
Serret’s face went pale at his words.
This must just be a tasteless joke. He couldn’t possibly know anything. Right? Her eyes trembled.
“I’m joking.”
Yuan answered with a blank face.
What kind of person makes that joke with such an expression? Serret gave an awkward laugh and moved to pull her nightgown back down.
But Yuan stopped her.
“I’m applying the medicine.”
“Just leave it. I’ll have Hannah do it.”
She refused, but Yuan didn’t back down. He opened the lid with firm determination.
He placed his finger, coated with ointment, against her knee and began to rub slowly.
His careful touch tickled, making Serret’s toes curl.
Even after he had thoroughly covered the bruised area, his hand didn’t leave her knee. His index and middle fingers kept moving softly.
Serret’s entire awareness was drawn to her knee. She began to doubt whether he was still applying medicine at all.
“I think you’re done.”
She shifted her leg to get away from his hand.
Looking up at her, Yuan spoke in a flat tone.
“It’s a medicine that requires thorough rubbing for it to work.”
His calm voice and gaze made Serret clear her throat. Embarrassed by her own wandering thoughts, the back of her neck flushed hot.
“Fine. I’ll do it myself.”
“Apply it often and rub it well each time.”
Yuan set the ointment on the nightstand.
“Thank you.”
At her words of thanks, Yuan quietly looked at her. After a while, he spoke in a low whisper.
“Don’t do something so dangerous again.”
“How could I just stand by while a child was about to be hurt? And not just any child—it was the Crown Prince and Princess’s baby.”
“So you mean you’ll do something dangerous again next time.”
“I’ll take care of myself, so stop worrying unnecessarily, Your Grace.”
Serret smiled lightly.
“You wouldn’t be Serret Frectuster if you listened to me.”
Yuan sighed as if resigned, then left the room.
“And I wouldn’t be Serret Innohater if I listened to Yuan Frectuster.”
Left alone, Serret grumbled as she stared at the ointment Yuan had left behind. She grumbled, but somehow, it felt like the balm had reached the tight knot in her heart too.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Barefoot, Yuan walked down the cold corridor. His reason gone, his steps had carried him toward Serret’s bedroom.
He had dreamed again of Serret dying. Each time, the dream erased his reason, leaving only the desperate urge to see her.
Entering her room, Yuan finally came to his senses when he heard her steady breathing.
Lately, this kept happening—he would dream, then awaken only to find himself standing before her.
Only after confirming she was still breathing properly could his sanity return.
Carefully, he reached out to her head. Her soft hair danced between his fingers.
“Serret.”
He whispered her name softly, gazing at her sleeping form for a long time.
Sometimes, Yuan wondered if he was going mad.
Even when not dreaming, waves of anxiety came over him. Unless he confirmed Serret’s safety, he felt like he would lose his mind.
At times, even when she was right in front of him eating, the anxiety suffocated him. In those moments, he had to call her name and meet her eyes just to be reassured.
With a heavy sigh, Yuan shook his head.
Leaving Serret’s room, he stayed awake through the night until morning. He replaced breakfast with tea and waited for Dr. Kane.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Dr. Kane arrived ten minutes early. After greeting him, Yuan led him to Serret’s room.
She was seated quietly at the tea table, waiting.
Although she had refused treatment yesterday, she obediently showed her knee to Dr. Kane.
“There doesn’t appear to be any damage to the bone. I’ll send you medicine and ointment—if you take and apply them properly, you’ll recover quickly.”
“Thank you, Dr. Kane. Ah, and Hannah’s test results too. Her bloodwork came out well, so I’m relieved.”
Serret smiled at the doctor.
“If anything concerns you, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
Dr. Kane bowed politely and stepped out with Yuan. Yuan turned to him.
“Let’s have a word.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Yuan led him into the study.
He offered Dr. Kane a seat on the sofa, then sat opposite him.
Yuan opened his mouth several times but couldn’t bring himself to speak.
To say the Duke of Frectuster was losing his mind was not easy—especially to admit it himself.
Dr. Kane, taciturn and steady, waited patiently in silence.
“I’ve been having strange dreams.”
At last, Yuan spoke, as if steeling himself.
“Strange dreams?”
Dr. Kane straightened his posture.
Yuan explained the dreams, how they made him feel afterward, and the actions he would take.
“If I don’t confirm that my wife is alive, I feel like I’ll go insane.”
“Do you only feel that way after having the dream?”
At the question, Yuan dragged a hand down his face.
“At first, yes. But it’s been getting worse.”
“Can you describe that more precisely?”
Dr. Kane drew out a notebook and pen.
“I find myself anxious even in daily life. Wondering if she’s safe, if something’s gone wrong.”
“And what do you do when that happens?”
“If she’s nearby, I check on her.”
“And when she isn’t?”
“I endure it.”
Even when anxiety boiled in his chest, there was nothing else he could do. As long as it wasn’t right after a dream, he still retained some reason.
But how long that reason would last—no one could say.
“Can you recall when this anxiety first began?”
“Well…”
Yuan searched his memory.
Was it after Serret asked for their engagement to be broken? After she said she hated him? After the dreams began? He couldn’t be certain.
Perhaps it was all of those things combined.
“There must have been a trigger, something that released what was buried in your unconscious.”
“If I learn what it is, will I be freed from this state?”
Dr. Kane answered with a troubled look.
“I can’t give you that assurance.”
“After I wake from the dream, I run barefoot to my wife. Only after I confirm her breathing do I realize I have no shoes. Sometimes, I even forget how to breathe myself.”
“……”
Meeting Dr. Kane’s grave eyes, Yuan let out a sigh that was almost a laugh.
“Tell me… is someone like me normal?”
