Author's Note: It was brought to my attention that I made it horribly unclear where the party was located. They're back in Baticul. I added a line at the beginning of the last chapter explaining that. Sorry for any confusion.

Please wake up... please wake up...

Luke stared helplessly at the unconscious form of his wife, silently begging her to get better. He watched her breathe in and out, filled with the irrational fear that she would suddenly stop.

He tried to mentally calm himself down, but it was in vain; his head still spun from the shock of how quickly everything had happened. Not only that, but he still had no idea what had set her off in the first place. After she had passed out, he did not stick around to hear the story; his only concern was getting her out of there and to somewhere he knew she would be safe.

Not knowing what else to do, he had brought Tear home and back to their own room. He had laid her down on her side of the bed and was kneeling on his, watching her in a state of transfixion and desperately trying to figure out what would provoke her to act as rashly as she did.

Tear was not a violent person. She would fight and even kill if she had to, but he had never known her to do it without reason. If Veronica had somehow physically threatened her he would understand, but he could not imagine the pompous woman having the courage to do anything of the sort.

So what had caused it? He knew Veronica was aggravating, but Tear was level-headed and good at acting calm even if she did not feel it. Under normal circumstances, anyway. She was being overly-sensitive lately...

The woman before him moaned quietly, bringing him back to reality.

"Tear?" he asked hopefully.

To Luke's extraordinary relief, Tear slowly opened her eyes and looked over at him. She regarded him with a look of utter confusion. "...Luke? What happened?"

His expression remained one of concern. "I was hoping you could tell me that."

Tear sat up, but the sudden movement made her dizzy again and she dropped her head into her hands. Luke noticed this and moved a little closer to her, as if his proximity could somehow make her feel better.

She raised her head again, more slowly this time. Having achieved this she turned her gaze once more to Luke, still looking vaguely lost.

"I brought you here," he explained, hoping to alleviate her confusion, "after you passed out at the party..."

A look of understanding passed over Tear's face, quickly followed by surprise and then shame. She looked away from Luke and hung her head.

"You remember now, don't you?" he questioned timidly.

She nodded in response, but did not raise her head or say a word.

"Tear, please tell me what happened." Luke's tone was as gentle as he could make it; he did not want to say anything that would upset her further. "Why did you...?" He trailed off, unsure of a tactful way to put what she had done.

Silenced reigned for several seconds before Tear spoke up. A hint of bitterness was apparent in her voice. "She said you were inferior, because you're a replica."

Luke stared at her in disbelief. He was not sure what he had expected her to say, but that was not it. He had not realized she was so defensive of him being a replica. A part of him was touched by the sentiment, but at the same time he was greatly concerned; it was not like her at all to react so violently to a petty insult.

"Was that it?" The moment Luke said the words, he regretted them; in his shock he had forgotten his understanding tone, and the phrase came out sounding like an accusation. Tear flinched visibly, and he had the sudden desire to slap himself. He did his best to regain his previous tone of voice before continuing. "It's unlike you to let people get to you like that."

Luke's comment was met with silence. He realized that he would need to be more assertive if he wanted to find out what was really going on. "Tear, I know something's been bothering you. Tell me what's going on."

"There's nothing 'going on,'" Tear replied, though her voice was not as confident as it usually was. "I just haven't been feeling well lately."

A sense of mild annoyance came over Luke. "You said you felt fine before. Was that a lie?"

"I-I..." Tear stammered, but she could think of no good response; she had been caught.

"Remember when you made me promise not to keep stuff from you anymore?" She nodded, and Luke continued. "And remember how I asked you to make the same promise a couple years ago?" She nodded again, more slowly this time. "Can you honestly say you haven't been keeping anything from me?"

Tear sighed in resignation before speaking. "No, I can't. I'm sorry, Luke."

"That's okay." He was relieved that she was finally starting to be honest about it. "But... can you please tell me now?"

Once again there was silence, but this time it was because Tear was considering her response. Finally she turned to face Luke, her expression unreadable to him. "Luke, do you... like being a noble?"

It was Luke's turn to take a few moments to come up with a response. "I never thought much about it before. I mean, I have thought a lot about who I am, and a little about what it means to be a noble, but it terms of liking it... I guess I do. I'm pretty used to it, and it would be hard for me to live otherwise." Satisfied with his answer, he looked at Tear inquisitively. "Why do you ask?"

Her expression changed to one of sadness, and what appeared to be a hint of guilt. "Because I don't."

It took Luke a moment to process what she said, and connect it back to the question she had asked of him. When he finally did, he frowned. "Yeah, you did mention that you don't like dressing up and stuff. That is kind of an important part of being a noble."

"It's not just that," Tear informed him sadly.

"What else, then?"

She paused a moment to give him an almost apologetic look before replying. "Everything."

"Everything?" Luke attempted to process what exactly her response meant, but was unable to grasp the gravity of it.

"It's more then just the clothes. I'm not comfortable having servants do my duties for me, or living in such extravagance. Even those I could probably adjust to, but the fact remains that the other nobles hate me. Including your father."

"My father doesn't hate you!" Luke cried, though his eyes were not as confident as his voice. "Yeah, he's still kinda mad that I refused to marry Natalia, and he can be pretty harsh sometimes, but I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

"Even if that's true, there's still everyone else." The sadness in Tear's eyes deepened as she continued. "I mean, I suppose I'm used to being an outcast. Growing up I never had many friends. But at least I was not forced to constantly socialize with those who despised me."

Luke regarded her with sympathy while he tried to come up with a response. After a moment he asked tentatively, "Are you really that miserable?"

Tear closed her eyes for several seconds before opening them again and replying, "Yes."

A sickening dread came over Luke; he felt like he had failed an important task. Tear was miserable. Because she was married to him.

Evidently his turmoil was apparent, because Tear quickly spoke up again. "Luke, please don't blame yourself. You are not the problem."

"But if you hadn't ever married me, you wouldn't have to-"

"Luke!" He immediately fell silent at her admonishment. "Don't you dare talk like that. How many times do I have to tell you how pointless it is hypothesize about if certain events never happened?"

"I know, I know," replied her distraught husband. "But, it is true that all of this is happening because you're with me..."

"Would you rather we hadn't been married?"

"No!" The response was almost automatic. "I can't imagine being with anyone else."

Tear smiled, though her eyes were still sad. "Neither can I. I do not regret marrying you."

Now Luke was confused. "But you're unhappy..."

"A part of me is. But another part is happier than I can ever remember being."

"I don't understand..."

Tear sighed in what Luke would have assumed was annoyance, except that none of it was present on her face. After a moment's consideration she leaned forward and shifted positions so that she could comfortably rest her head on his shoulder. She remained that way for a few seconds before she spoke. "I love you, Luke. I'm happy to be with you in a way that doesn't require keeping secrets from everyone else. I don't like being a noble, but I do like being with you."

Luke wrapped both his arms around Tear and rested his head against hers. "But I don't want just part of you to be happy. I want you to be completely happy." A thought occurred to him. "You're only a noble because I am. I could give it up, and the two of us could go live somewhere else. You know, start a 'normal' life. If that's what you want. I might have a little trouble at first, but it would be worth it if you didn't have to be miserable anymore."

Though the prospect did sound pleasing, Tear shook her head, never lifting it from his shoulder. "Luke, you know you can't. Where would that leave your parents? The duchy? The only reason your father allowed us to be married was because he was afraid of losing you as an heir if you ran off."

"I know," he replied dejectedly. "But what else can I do for you?"

"I don't-" Tear abruptly cut herself off before finishing the sentence. She closed her eyes and pressed herself against Luke, whimpering slightly.

Alarmed by her unusual behavior, he moved his head so that he could look at her. "Tear, what's wrong?"

"I don't... feel well..." she replied quietly, an admission she never would have made a few years ago.

The worry Luke had felt for her earlier returned, stronger this time; it appeared she was both mentally and physically unwell.

He had no idea what they would do about her dilemma, but at least he knew where to start with her physical symptoms. "Tomorrow we're taking you to the doctor."

Tear opened her eyes and seemed about to protest, but she caught the look of determination on Luke's face and decided not to argue. It probably was for the best that she get herself checked out anyway. She nodded in consent.

"That wasn't a question," Luke said in response to the gesture, smiling slightly to show that he meant it affectionately. "Now get some sleep. It's late, and you probably need it."

Reluctantly, Tear pulled away from him. She would rather just have gone to sleep the way she was, but she was still wearing her dress and needed to get into something more comfortable if she was going to get any decent rest.

Luke moved to change as well, as he was also still in his party clothes. He finished before her and lay down on the bed. She joined him a minute later, sliding over to be close to him. He got the hint and once again took her into his embrace.

Just when sleep was about to overcome him, Tear's voice stirred him.

"Luke?"

"Hmm?"

She gave him an odd smile. "You didn't say it back."

"Huh?" Luke stared at her in obvious confusion, hoping she would elaborate.

But she did not. She merely shook her head, though she was still smiling. "Never mind. Good night."

Luke spent a good five minutes replaying their conversation in his head, trying to figure out what she was referring to. He was rewarded a sense of triumph when he finally found his answer.

"Hey, Tear?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, too."