After Yukiko has called for help, the servants immediately arrived and carried Hanako onto her bed. Due to the fall, Hanako had a miscarriage and as a consequence, her health rapidly deteriorated. For many days after her miscarriage, Hanako had high fever and was often delirious. Even after the doctor came, he was unable to work out the cause of her delirium, which only Hanako herself knew to be due to her sadness and hopelessness. Several weeks after she arrived in Japan, Hanako acknowledged herself to be pregnant and she became less melancholy. Not because her expected to bear the General's heir and increase her status in the household, but for Hanako, her child was her hope and motivation to stay alive, because she felt that she was no longer alone in this foreign land.
At the beginning of her illness, the General often came to her room to visit her. Nevertheless, as the days go by and her health did not seem to have improved, but instead has worsened, the General's visits became less frequent and Hanako was often left alone in her room for hours, contemplating her life.
A tiny yet highly significant incident led to the complete termination of the General's visits. One day, as the General walked past the kitchen, he overheard a conversation between two kitchen maids.
"Don't you think Hanako-sama is a bit suspicious?" said an old kitchen maid named Chouko.
"Why's that?" enquired her colleague.
"She got pregnant very soon after she got here," replied Chouko. "What if, and I'm only guessing here so don't take my word for it, what if she got pregnant before she was here?"
"My lord!" exclaimed the colleague. "Surely, you don't mean to say that she had a lover before she came?"
"Shh! Don't be so loud, they'll hear it," shushed Chouko. "She's so pretty, I don't believe she doesn't have a lover in Taiwan before she arrived. I mean, the age difference between her and General-sama is too large, they can't love each other."
"Who knows, I think you're right!" answered the colleague. "That does indeed explain why she looked so sad after she lost her baby. If it was the General's baby, she needn't be so sad as they can always have another one. It must be because she lost her only tie with her past life that made her so sad. Poor thing!"
The General suddenly remembered seeing Hanako walking with Ahuat back in Taipei and he clenched his fist in anger, completely doubting Hanako's innocence. "Filthy b*tch, how dare you defy me! Go die!"
~To be Continued~
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