“What… have you done?” I asked. My heart ached when I saw Steven so disoriented while covered


    in blood. I tried to walk over to him.


    His skin was a lifeless pale white that starkly contrasted with the dark red of the blood.


    I felt suffocated as an inexplicable panic washed over me.


    “Please, don’te near me,” Steven pleaded, seemingly afraid of me seeing him in this state.


    He frantically called out for Stephie as if he were afraid of losing her.


    “Please don’t look at me…” Suddenly, he dashed back into the room like a madman and locked


    himself in.


    I knocked on the door, but he wouldn’t open it.


    There were still remnants of his bloody footprints on the floor.


    Since my rebirth, I hadn’t fully grasped the severity of Steven’s condition. I knew he had a mental


    illness, was considered unstable, and might even be capable of murder.


    As far as I could recall, he appeared quite stable as long as he wasn’t provoked.


    Hence, I hadn’t paid much attention to his condition.


    When I saw him covered in blood, it frightened me.


    Ewan had experienced numerous such episodes. He promptly summoned the family doctor and


    barged into the room.


    I wanted to follow, but Ewan stopped me.


    “You’d better stay outside. Mr. Lincoln may not want you to see him like this.”


    He di


    He didn’t want me to witness him in a disoriented state during his episodes.


    “What’s going on?” I anxiously asked Ewan.


    Ewan remained silent for a moment and softly said, “It’s terrifying when Mr. Lincoln loses control. He


    feels the urge to harm others, but… he’s never actually hurt anyone. He only inflicts pain on


    himself.”


    Steven was too kind. He didn’t want to harm anyone, so he would hurt himself to maintain his


    sanity.


    I stood frozen, watching as Ewan entered the room. The doctor administered a tranquilizer to


    Steven, and his agonizing cries echoed through the door.


    What kind of torment did he have to endure to turn from a genius to what he was now?


    Even from outside, I could feel his pain and helplessness.


    Almost unconsciously, I found myself wanting to reach out and embrace him.


    When I snapped back to reality, I was bewildered by my own emotions.


    Tears had unknowingly streamed down my face.


    After administering the tranquilizer, Steven finally quieted down and drifted off to sleep.


    Ewan finally let out a sigh of relief.


    As he emerged from the room, he looked at me and fell silent.


    “Does this happen often?” I asked softly.


    “Yes, it’s quitemon, especially if he’s triggered,” Ewan replied.


    I paused for a moment, wondering if I had triggered him when I said I wasn’t Stephanie.


    “Mr. Lincoln is too kind–hearted. Otherwise, he wouldn’t resort to harming himself to cope,” Ewan


    said with a heavy heart. “We usually remove anything that could harm him from the


    but he managed to cut himself with shards after knocking over a ss of water.”


    room,


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    I paused, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. The ss was mine. I brought it into the room to


    give him some cold medicine.”


    I hadn’t expected Steven to harm himself. I had brought over the ss to let him have some cold


    medicine and left it there afterward.