Nanalie had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, and Reiner shouted, “Call a doctor!!!”
As Reiner’s voice resonated through the halls, the air in the mansion grew tense. The staff knew there were very few reasons for Reiner to raise his voice and demand a doctor that way. They began to wonder if the day they were all dreading had finally come. Anxiety and panic began to fill the air.
Garren the butler was the quickest to respond. “Send a messenger for the family doctor!” he instructed the staff. “Prepare a carriage! I will go find out what the situation is from Sir Reiner. Everyone else may continue handling their usual duties.”
Once he’d given those orders, Garren headed for Nanalie’s room, where his master was. On the way there, he ran into Reiner, who had been rushing down the hall from the other direction. Reiner appeared to be the same as always, wearing a stern expression while maintaining his composure, but he couldn’t hide the tears welling up in his eyes.
Garren remained levelheaded as he carefully but quickly chose his words. “Sir Reiner, I have sent a messenger to bring the doctor as quickly as possible.”
Reiner covered his eyes with his right hand and averted his gaze as he quietly replied, “Understood. Could I trouble you for some water?”
It was clear that the margrave was trying to suppress it, but a sob had slipped out between his words.
“Of course, my lord. I will have some water brought to you right away.” Garren fell silent for a moment before asking the question on everyone’s mind. “Sir Reiner, if it is all right for me to ask, how is the margravine?”
“She’s all right,” Reiner assured him, still covering his eyes.
Garren silently bowed his head and left. Now alone, Reiner leaned against the wall and quietly began crying.
“She’s okay,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m so glad she’s okay...”
Garren eventually returned with his master’s water, and Reiner was back to his usual stark self. He chugged the water, then instructed the butler to find him as soon as the doctor got there. With that, he returned to his wife’s room.
It wasn’t long before the doctor arrived. Nanalie was a bit exhausted from her flare-up earlier that day, but she wasn’t in critical condition. The doctor finished his exam, and he couldn’t find anything of note, so Nanalie’s symptoms earlier were considered a sudden fit and nothing of concern.
Once the doctor was gone, Reiner instructed Reid, Sandra, and Nanalie to all keep the events that had taken place in that room a secret. The four proceeded to discuss how they would handle Nanalie’s treatments moving forward, and it was decided that she would have a supply of the mana restoration drug so that she could take the medicine whenever she needed it. Sandra would also start monitoring Nanalie’s mana levels, and they decided to have a maid stationed in her room at all times in case she had another flare-up and wasn’t able to take her medicine on her own. Nanalie was visibly a bit upset about the last point, but Reiner absolutely refused to budge, so she agreed.
Once the general plan for Nanalie’s care had been decided, Reid and Sandra left the room. Nanalie and Reiner were now left alone. Nanalie was sitting up in her bed, while Reiner was standing by her side. Now that the two were alone, there seemed to be a sense of bashfulness between them. It had been a long time since they’d last been alone like this. The way they were a bit nervous about each other’s presence made them appear like a young, innocent couple.
Nanalie finally broke the silence by clearing her throat and saying, “Why don’t you sit down, dear?”
“Oh... Yes, I will...”
Nanalie had offered the chair beside her bed to Reiner, which was where Reid usually sat when visiting her. Reiner did as his wife suggested and took a seat.
“It’s a bit small,” he remarked.
“I’m not surprised, since Reid or Mer are usually in that chair,” she replied with a giggle. “I thought it might be a bit small for you.” She smiled at her husband, amused by his awkwardness.
The couple proceeded to spend their time together with some lighthearted conversation, as though making up for all their lost time.
As their conversation went on, Reiner’s demeanor began to change. He eventually lowered his head apologetically to Nanalie and said, “I’m sorry I left you to go through so much pain all alone. I failed to be by your side during the most difficult time in your life. No, rather, I wasn’t able to accept the fact that you might soon be gone, so I was running away. Reid was right. I’m truly, deeply sorry.”
Nanalie’s eyes widened in surprise. It was the first time she’d ever see her husband lower his head like that. At the same time, she found it incredibly endearing to see that her husband cared for her so deeply. She gently wrapped her arms around him, lightly patting the back of his head in the same way a mother would comfort her child. Reiner didn’t seem to dislike that—in fact, he seemed to be very relaxed.
“I was wrong too,” she said. “I should have complained sooner and relied on you...”
Once those words left her mouth, she began sobbing uncontrollably. Reiner’s head shot up, and he pulled his wife toward his chest, now embracing her instead. Nanalie stayed there for a while, crying in her husband’s arms.
As he held his wife, Reiner thought about how she was so much smaller and frailer than he imagined. He began to lament the fact that he hadn’t come to be by her side sooner, and he vowed to make sure he no longer had regrets when it came to his wife.
Nanalie eventually calmed down, and the two began to feel a bit embarrassed by the situation they were in. The couple’s faces turned red as they glanced at each other, and they began to giggle from both the embarrassment and silliness.