When I Quit Being A Wicked Mother-in-law, Everyone Became Obsessed With Me - Chapter 158

***

About thirty minutes later.

Alexei burst into the townhouse, panting.

“Liche!”

“Alexei.”

Delphina, who had absentmindedly turned to her son, was taken aback.

It was the first time she had ever seen Alexei make such a face.

His usually indifferent expression was now replaced with one of extreme fear.

“Mother, how is Liche?!”

Alexei raised his voice again.

Delphina placed a finger on her lips and shot him a disapproving look.

“Calm down; you’re scaring the children.”

“But…!”

“Think about Liche’s situation.”

Delphina narrowed her eyes and reprimanded Alexei.

“Liche wouldn’t want the children to be frightened and worried.”

“…”

Only then did Alexei’s fierce demeanor slightly subside.

That was true.

His wife, who adored the children, would never wish for a situation that scared them.

“…So.”

He asked in a suppressed voice, “What exactly is Liche’s condition?”

“It would be better to hear it from the doctors than from me.”

Delphina sighed briefly and turned her body.

“Follow me. The doctors just finished treating Liche.”

“…”

Alexei followed his mother with heavy steps.

***

Alexei met the doctors with a cold gaze.

Before him stood the poison specialists from the hospital and the family physician of the Duchy of Balua.

All of them were hunched over as if they had committed a grave sin.

Their expressions alone proved that Anriche’s condition was very serious.

‘…What if I lose Liche like this?’

A chilling thought pierced his mind like an ice pick.

Alexei tightly shut his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his lips, his voice hoarse.

“What is Liche’s condition?”

“Well…”

The family physician, representing the others, began to speak but struggled to continue.

Alexei bit his lips until they bled.

“Just be honest.”

“…Her condition isn’t very good.”

At that answer, Alexei felt his heart sink.

He pressed the doctors further.

“Be specific.”

“First of all, we’ve managed to neutralize the poison…”

The family physician replied with difficulty.

“However, it took time to identify what kind of poison it was, which exhausted her body too much.”

“That means…”

“Next week will be critical.”

Critical.

At that word, Alexei clenched his fists tightly.

The physician cautiously added,

“From now on, we will focus on easing her symptoms based on her condition.”

“At least the poison itself has been neutralized, so she shouldn’t be in immediate danger, right?”

Alexei replied, his tone impatient.

The family physician shook his head solemnly.

“The way we treated the young lady was essentially suppressing poison with poison.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It means that the process of neutralizing the poison placed an immense strain on her body.”

The physician bowed his head gravely.

“We did our best, but whether she recovers now depends on the young lady’s stamina.”

“…”

In that instant, Alexei felt darkness closing in before his eyes.

That meant, if Anriche couldn’t hold on, she would die just like this.

He felt an overwhelming urge to scream in frustration.

‘If I can’t save her, then you all…’

The thought of threatening them rose to his throat.

‘No.’

Alexei forced himself to suppress his emotions.

To pressure the doctors was proof that he was not being rational.

Above all else.

‘…She wouldn’t want that.’

After a moment, he said, “I understand. Do your best to treat her.”

His voice trembled painfully as he spoke.

“We will do our utmost,” the doctors replied, bowing their heads before returning to Anriche.

Alexei stood there, dazed, watching their retreating figures.

He felt as if they would crumble at any moment.

Seeing her son like this, Delphina spoke up.

“Alexei.”

“…”

“Your hand.”

“…”

His dry, blue eyes fixed on Delphina.

She gestured to the fist he was clenching.

“Are you okay?”

“…”

Only then did Alexei realize he had been gripping his fist with all his strength.

The tension in his hand loosened.

He had squeezed so tightly that his nails had punctured his palm, leaving it bloody.

Staring blankly down at his hand, Alexei suddenly replied, “I’m fine.”

“Alexei.”

“…I’m fine.”

As if trying to hypnotize himself, he murmured those words.

But he couldn’t prevent the tremor in his voice.

“Liche must be… in much more pain than I am.”

“Alexei, that’s…”

Delphina tried to comfort her son, unsure of what to say.

But.

‘…Nothing I say will be comforting.’

He had lived his entire life as the perfect Duke of Balua.

Anriche was the one who had made him a normal person who could cry and laugh for the first time.

Yet now, Anriche was fighting for her life.

So, no words could comfort Alexei.

…Just like how nothing could comfort Delphina when she lost Aiden all those years ago.

“Haah.”

Alexei took a deep breath.

The calmness he had honed over a long time as Duke of Balua barely kept his reason intact.

“I’ll go see Liche now.”

“Do that.”

Delphina nodded.

With a gait that seemed on the verge of collapse, Alexei headed towards his wife’s bedroom.

And as soon as her son disappeared from view, Delphina burst into tears.

“Please, Liche…”

As a mother, Delphina couldn’t help but understand.

Alexei was slowly crumbling.

To restore him to his former self, Anriche had to be by his side.

Above all else.

“How can we live without you?”

Delphina clasped her hands tightly together, reaching out to a God she rarely sought.

“Oh God, please help Liche return safely…”

Her voice trembled pitifully.

***

Click.

The bedroom door opened.

Alexei rushed to his wife’s side, almost running.

The calmness he had embodied for so long as the Duke of Balua had completely vanished.

“Liche.”

He called out to her desperately.

She was deeply asleep.

Her pale face, her delicately closed eyelids.

Even her parched lips showed no sign of life.

…It felt as if she would dissolve into the air and vanish.

Instinctively, Alexei checked for Anriche’s breath.

Seeing her chest rise and fall faintly, he felt a slight sense of relief.

But that relief was short-lived.

‘Why…?’

Alexei’s face twisted in anguish.

A sense of déjà vu washed over him.

It was the day he had realized his love for her.

The time when Anriche fell into the water while saving Elliot.

She always threw herself into danger for others without a moment’s hesitation.

As if saving them mattered more than what would happen to her.

She didn’t seem to consider how those left behind would feel…

“You always… always end up like this while trying to save someone else.”

His voice was like sand scraping through the desert.

“Please, Liche.”