After putting Liebe to bed, Gelda went to Lilith's room. Gelda knocked on the door and said,
"Lilith, are you there?"
Lilith didn't respond. Gelda entered anyway and said,
"So you're the one who hurt Liebe, aren't you? It wasn't an accident."
Lilith said,
"No… the plate fell, and the glass pieces were what hurt him. It wasn't my fault."
Gelda said,
"Do I look like an idiot to you?"
Lilith muttered,
"Yeah… partially, of course."
Gelda snapped,
"I know you did it. There's no way glass could pierce that deep unless it was intentional. It was deep enough to almost be life‑threatening. And this wasn't the first time I've noticed! For the past week, whenever Liebe tries to come close to you, he ends up getting hurt one way or another. Even though he acts like it was all an accident, I know the truth. It's been you all this time. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Lilith whispered, her voice breaking,
"I don't know. I goddamn don't know what's wrong with me."
Gelda growled,
"What the hell do you mean?"
Lilith said,
"For the past few weeks, I can't even think straight. I don't know what's wrong. Every time I see Liebe, I'm scared… scared that he'll find out about Tenebris and ask me how—and even worse, why I did it."
Gelda said,
"So what? You have to stand up and answer. Didn't you swear to atone for your sins?"
Lilith shook her head.
"That's not why I'm scared. I'm scared that if Liebe gets too close to me, he'll end up suffering the same fate as Tenebris. I… I might end up killing him too."
Gelda stared at her in disbelief.
"What the hell is wrong with you? What a wimp! The path one takes to avoid a fate most often leads them there. And so what if you might? Are you going to curse your son to such a miserable existence because of your own fear?"
Lilith said softly,
"If it means keeping him safe, then yes… I will push him away, no matter what."
Gelda said,
"You're crazy."
The following day, Gelda went to visit the Black Rose psychologist, Dr. Dover. She knocked and said,
"May I come in?"
Dr. Dover said,
"Yes."
As Gelda entered, Dr. Dover stood up and saluted.
"At ease," Gelda said.
"How may I help you, ma'am?" Dr. Dover asked.
"I wanted to know something," Gelda said. "I wanted to know about Lilith's condition."
Dr. Dover's face turned grim.
"Unfortunately, I have bad news. I don't know how to explain it, but… she has PTSD and BPD."
Gelda frowned.
"Please elaborate."
"You already know about PTSD," Dover said. "And… BPD stands for Borderline Personality Disorder. It's not caused easily, but a series of traumatic incidents in a short period of time can trigger it. For Lilith, the death of Captain Domr and then murdering Tenebris caused her PTSD and BPD. When the young lord comes closer, she remembers the visual images of Tenebris's death, which forces her to push him away."
Gelda asked,
"Seeing visuals? How does that work?"
Dover explained,
"These conditions can disrupt how the brain processes and stores memories and images, leading to unusual visual phenomena. Whenever these images surface, she instinctively pushes the young lord away. And since she never had the chance to grieve properly, it's taken a heavy toll on her mental health. Because of her PTSD, seeing the little lord triggers those memories—and she ends up hurting him. That's what I can tell you for now."
"What can we do?" Gelda asked.
"At this moment," Dover replied, "there isn't much. The best way to heal would be to rebuild her life, but that's a luxury the captain can't afford right now. The young lord going near her only makes things worse. Keeping him away might help a little. Later, if possible, she could try to remarry—it might help her let go of Tenebris. The memory of Tenebris is holding her back from living a regular life. As a psychologist, that's my suggestion. She should also continue her medication. I don't know how long it will take for her to heal, but try to keep her away from stress as much as possible."
Gelda said softly,
"Understood."
She then used her portal to return to the Faust mansion.
Liebe ran to her.
"Gelda, you're back! Did you meet Uncle Dover? What did he say about Mommy?"
Gelda hesitated.
"Well… he has some bad news. I don't know how to say this. It's a bit hard to explain, but… well… h‑how do I put it? Uncle Dover said Mommy needs a bit of space right now."
Liebe tilted his head.
"Space? But Mommy's room is already so big. Does this mean Mommy will be sleeping in the living room from now on?"
Gelda said gently,
"Umm… that's not exactly what it means. When he said she needs space, it means Mommy can't talk much. She wants to be left alone for a while."
Liebe nodded.
"Okay then… for how long? Thirty seconds? Three minutes? Maybe one hour? I don't mind. I'll wait."
Gelda teared up and whispered,
"Well… I don't know. A month, maybe… at worst, over a few years."