"Did Rashta give birth? So soon?"
The news did not come at a good time.
We had gathered as a family to celebrate my brother's return after solving the problem with the thousand eternal bandits.
It was a really bad time.
My family's faces contorted in different ways as the news broke.
The secretary, who brought the news of the birth of Rashta's baby, had first murmured that it was 'sensitive news'.
In fact, the secretary indicated to Heinley that he preferred to tell him in private, since it was news from the Eastern Empire.
But Heinley ordered the secretary to say it in the presence of everyone, probably wanting to show a dignified image in front of my parents, my brother, and me.
In the end, the celebration of my brother's return fell apart.
Leaving my parents and brother behind, Heinley asked his secretary in a heavy voice.
"If she gave birth now, it's a premature baby, right?"
"Yes. It's a girl, a princess."
This time the secretary looked at me when he answered.
I kept expressionless and just walked casually.
"Hmm… Your Majesty. Besides.. the Emperor sent an invitation."
"What invitation?"
"An invitation to a banquet to celebrate the birth of the first descendant of the imperial family."
"He invited us both?"
"Well. At the bottom of the invitation was a sentence that said, 'It is not necessary to attend.'"
The corners of my mouth curved reflexively.
It was not usual to add that sentence to an invitation.
What Sovieshu meant in other words is— 'I sent the invitation out of formality, but do not attend'.
I could understand him. If I appeared next to Heinley on the day of his child's birth celebration, Sovieshu would feel uncomfortable.
"The baby was born prematurely. What an irony of life."
After the secretary walked away, Heinley snorted in a cold voice.
"Isn't it, My Queen?"
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't she indiscriminately attack Lady Nian about her premature baby? But now her baby was also born prematurely."
"That's true. "
I had heard that Sovieshu did all the work, so I don't think she gave birth prematurely because she was overwhelmed.
"Something bad must have happened."
Four hours later, I learned from Nian what had happened.
"I heard that woman donated a huge sum of money at her wedding. Apparently, suspicions have been raised that this money might be from Your Majesty."
Surprisingly, it seemed that the incident of the promissory notes I had uncovered to protect my parents was what shocked Rashta so much that she gave birth prematurely.
Well, I don't think that's the only reason she gave birth prematurely.
"It's pleasant. Don't you think, Your Majesty?"
"Yes…"
Nian, who didn't know that I had been the one to uncover the promissory notes, smiled with satisfaction at what had happened.
But I felt strange.
Even if unintentionally, wasn't this the first time I had hurt Rashta?
I wonder how Sovieshu would react if he found out it was me.
Although I knew how he would react if I were the empress and Rashta the concubine, it was unclear to me now.
"Is the baby healthy?"
"She's a healthy baby girl despite being born prematurely. She's just a little small."
"Sovieshu must be very happy to have gotten what he wanted most."
I couldn't help but smile as I imagined Sovieshu. Not out of joy, but out of disgust, helplessness.
For Sovieshu, that baby symbolized the happy family he wanted to protect, even if it meant getting rid of me.
And for me, that baby was what drove us completely apart and almost dragged me to the bottom.
I knew it wasn't the newborn baby's fault, but I couldn't feel happy.
To tell the truth… now I cared less about what it had to do with them. I was more drowsy than surprised by the news.
I think I even fell asleep on an armrest of the couch because when I opened my eyes again I couldn't see Nian or my ladies-in-waiting.
"Lady Nian? Countess Jubel? Miss Rose? Miss Laura?"
Confused, I called them one by one and realized that I had spent too much time asleep.
I guess they all left without waking me up when they saw that I had fallen fast asleep.
I think I've relaxed too much since I've been here.
As the Empress, I shouldn't be like this.
As I reproached myself, I saw the end of a golden feather through the half-open door.
"Queen?"
I called out to him as I stood up.
Why does Heinley stay there?
"Queen."
By the time I opened the door, Queen was gone.
"Queen?"
When I looked up puzzled, I saw a plump butt running away quickly, wiggling from side to side.
Did he want to play hide-and-seek?
He looked really lovely running around like a penguin, so I deliberately followed him with slow steps.
But strangely, he passed through the corridors turned into a bird.
"Queen?"
Why was he walking around the palace like that?
When I quickened my pace in surprise, Queen flapped his wings and also quickened his pace.
Although it would be difficult to catch him because of how fast he moved his feet, I had to do it. I don't know why, but I felt I had to catch Queen firmly.
I lifted my skirt a little and ran towards him.
I ran through long corridors and down a spiral staircase.
Queen approached the throne in the hall and finally stopped.
"Why did you come here?"
Relieved to have finally caught him, I lifted Queen up.
Queen then pointed one of his wings towards the throne, groaning anxiously.
What about the throne?
As soon as I looked in the direction Queen pointed, I was startled and took a step back.
A huge eagle clung to the throne with its wings. It had a fierce look as if it belonged to it.
What does this mean? Does that eagle covet Heinley's throne?
When I swooped over furiously and swatted the monstrous eagle's butt, it reluctantly left the throne, stared at me, and suddenly began to shrink.
In an instant, the monstrous eagle shrunk to the size of Queen, then became smaller than Queen, and finally much smaller.
Its beautiful golden feathers turned into white fur as soft as a baby's skin.
When I hugged the monstrous eagle because of how lovely it was, it chirped and began to act as if it were docile, rubbing its face against my palm.
The eagle was as cunning as Heinley… just when I thought this.
"Your Majesty?"
Hearing Nian's voice, I suddenly woke up.
"Are you alright?"
"Where's the baby monster?"
"Huh?"
302It was a very vivid dream.
I still remembered clearly how Queen ran like a penguin, and how the monstrous eagle clung to the throne.
Nian left after telling me that I looked tired, and my ladies-in-waiting left after telling me to go to bed to rest.
As soon as I lay down on the bed, I fell asleep again.
But this time I didn't dream about the monstrous eagle or Queen. In fact, I didn't dream at all.
When I finally woke up, it was already dinner time.
What was amazing was the story Heinley told me that night as we ate dinner together.
"I fell asleep while working during the day, and I had a very strange nightmare."
"What nightmare?"
"Well… I have a collection of jewels."
That much I knew.
It was evident that Heinley was very fond of jewels because he always presumed that his country was the capital of jewels. A variety of rare jewels were displayed in his room and in the meeting room.
"When I went into my room to clean the jewels, I found an unfamiliar egg among them."
"An egg?"
"Yes. It was gold mixed with green, even prettier than the jewels. It was so pretty that I cleaned it and warmed it with my hands. But out of nowhere, out came a baby bird."
A baby bird…
"It had few feathers and tiny wings, but it was lovely. So I held it against my chest and stroked it, but the baby bird whined for this and that jewel to eat. What terrified me was that I gave it all my jewels."
Heinley muttered with a pale face as if he was horrified at the mere thought of it.
"I think I went crazy in the dream. In any case, when I fed it the jewels, the bird grew so big that it became huge in an instant."
A huge bird… The monstrous eagle I saw in my dream came to mind.
As I nodded with a sense of déjà vu, Heinley shuddered and continued,
"Suddenly, the place changed. This time, the huge bird wrapped itself around my throne and asked me too. It annoyed me, but strangely I couldn't even reprimand it, so I quickly turned to My Queen for help."
The sense of déjà vu was even stronger.
Didn't it seem to coincide with my dream?
"I managed to get that huge bird away from my throne with My Queen's help."
Heinley shook his head and asked with a serious expression.
"Could it have been a premonitory dream that someone harbored hidden intentions against me?"
"I don't know, but… I had a similar dream."
"What? Really?"
When I told Heinley about my dream, his eyes widened.
While they didn't quite match, they appeared to be very similar.
Soon Heinley's expression became really stiff, so I deliberately reassured him with affectionate words,
"The dream we had is so similar that it seems we really have become a completely rapport couple."
I feared that he would regard this dream as a premonition and worry about a rebellion.
Of course, one must have a contingency plan to deal with a rebellion. However, one should worry when some signs of that can be seen, falling into that worry right now would only make one's mind fatigued.
"So you don't have to worry, Heinley. I don't think this is a bad premonitory dream."
Heinley put a hand to his cheek and spoke slowly,
"No, My Queen. I wasn't surprised by that…"
"Then why?"
"On a distant continent there is a belief that if a couple have the same dream it means a baby is on the way."
What?
His words made me laugh out loud.
"That's absurd."
"But a baby eagle appeared. Isn't that significant, My Queen?"
"Not at all."
I shook my head.
Heinley's eyes sparkled, I didn't want to disappoint him.
"I got my period last month. Don't you know?"
"Yes, but you shouldn't have gotten it again these days."
That's true, but…
"Even if I had a baby in my womb, I would be two or three weeks pregnant. You still can't know for sure if I'm pregnant."
On many occasions banquets were hastily held in the belief that the wife was pregnant, but in reality was not. I didn't want to go through the same thing.
However, Heinley remained positive.
"Then it could be. It could be that you're pregnant, My Queen."
I shook my head again.
The more hope one has, the more painful the disappointment.
Even if it was true that I was pregnant, I preferred to wait for a while to be sure.
"My Queen, why don't you let the palace doctor check you out?"
But for some reason, Heinley insisted.
Heinley used to obey my will most of the time, unless it was in bed at night.
When I frowned, Heinley apologized with great regret,
"I'm sorry, My Queen. But you work all day, sometimes until dawn the next day. If there's any chance you're pregnant, I think it's best to know in advance so you can take the necessary precautions."
"It's because there's a lot of work to do."
"My Queen, you have to rest properly even if you are not pregnant."
When I was in the Eastern Empire, the palace doctor also told me to rest.
Would it be different with the palace doctor of the Western Empire? No. It would be the same this time.
What would be different is that Heinley would take all the work away from me if the palace doctor said something like that.
Although that hadn't happened so far, it was entirely possible given how attentive Heinley was to me.
"My Queen."
Heinley held out his hand, calling to me in a gentle voice,
"Navier. Yes?"
As soon as I was about to flatly refuse, he immediately became Queen, and I remembered the baby eagle rubbing its cheek against my palm as if it were weak.
"…. All right."
I wasn't thrilled about it, but reluctantly agreed.
"But don't get your hopes up too much, Heinley."
The next day, as soon as I changed my clothes after breakfast, Heinley called the palace doctor.
Fortunately, Heinley didn't tell the palace doctor to 'check to see if I was pregnant.'
He was worried that I was uncomfortable, so he told the doctor it was for a general check-up.
As the palace doctor checked me up, Heinley looked at me anxiously.
I was a little nervous, so I tried to think of other things.
On Whitemond, on the delegations that should have arrived on the Hwa continent, and so on.
Eventually, the palace doctor's hand descended to my belly.
Unconsciously, I stared at the doctor's lips.
At that point, the palace doctor slowly opened his mouth.
303"The baby His Majesty fought so hard for turned out to be a princess…"
Marquis Karl muttered helplessly.
His expression was full of disappointment. He didn't even bother to hide it.
Marquis Karl would have been overjoyed if this was a princess born in a normal situation.
However, for this princess he had given up an extraordinary empress.
It was inevitable to have high expectations compared to a descendant of the imperial family born in a normal situation.
Under the circumstances, a baby girl would only be a loss for the Eastern Empire.
The baby had silky hair, black eyes and well-defined features. Her skin was wrinkled and reddish when she was barely born, but a few days later it turned (became) white and smooth.
The baby that looked like Rashta was the most beautiful girl Marquis Karl had ever seen.
However, what Sovieshu needed now was not a beautiful baby, but a healthy and intelligent successor.
Although he felt sorry for the baby girl, Marquis Karl could not help but feel dissatisfied.
Eventually, Marquis Karl asked Sovieshu directly.
"Your Majesty, will you have a second child with Rashta?"
As the emperor's close aide, he knew that Sovieshu had been gathering evidence of Rashta's crimes, which would become her weakness. Naturally, he did not believe that Sovieshu would have a second child with Rashta. But he asked anyway.
Sovieshu shook his head as he held the baby, then Marquis Karl said in an impatient voice,
"Your Majesty, in that case you should divorce Rashta as soon as possible, and this time bring a young lady from an honorable family to have the prince."
He married Rashta for the baby in her womb, but that baby had already been born. Marquis Karl saw no need to choose Rashta who was in a difficult position in many ways to have a second child.
"The baby was born when Rashta was the empress, so the baby girl will still be a princess even if she is deposed."
The baby touched both Sovieshu's chin and cheeks with her small hands as she squealed.
Sovieshu shook his head again with a grave expression after listening carefully to Marquis Karl.
"If a new empress arrives, this baby will find herself in a difficult position."
"Do you really intend to keep Rashta as the Empress?"
"By no means do I plan to. I intend to divorce Rashta. If a quick divorce is not possible… I'll have to employ a harsher method."
"And what about the Prince?"
Marquis Karl wondered who would give birth to the Prince. Suddenly, an image came to his mind and his eyes widened, "It can't be."
"Your Majesty, do you still expect Navier to come back?"
"I wish so. But even if Navier doesn't return, there won't be a next empress."
Marquis Karl was puzzled.
'Rashta will be deposed, but there will be no next empress… So what about the prince? What about the successor?'
Sovieshu looked with narrowed eyes at Marquis Karl as if he could clearly read his thoughts. Then Sovieshu said with his daughter in his arms,
"This baby has my blood, so it doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy."
"What?"
"I will raise this baby as my successor, Marquis Karl."
Marquis Karl was stunned for a moment.
Shocked, he belatedly exclaimed,
"Your Majesty! The Eastern Empire has never had a reigning empress! Only a prince born of the Empress can become his successor!"
Marquis Karl was so astonished that he could not keep his mouth shut.
Although there were times when it was the Empress Consort and the Empress Mother who actually ruled, they only did so through the Emperors.
'But Sovieshu will make the princess his successor!'
"That has never happened in history nor is it stipulated in law, Your Majesty!"
"When this girl becomes the first reigning empress, a precedent will be created in history. Nor does the law stipulate that only a prince can be the successor. It's just a custom, right?"
After speaking firmly, Sovieshu held and looked at his daughter tenderly,
"The princess will be named Glorym. May all the splendor of the world shine upon this baby."
Marquis Karl sat on the couch on weak, wobbly legs.
"But many will object…"
"Of course I won't make it public until the time is right. We have to prepare slowly."
Sovieshu spoke categorically, and looked his daughter in the eyes.
Dozens of things were already going through his mind.
'My daughter will be intelligent, and she will be even more so with the best teachers. She will need to acquire practical skills and learn about political affairs from a young age.'
Without an empress, this girl will have to dominate high society, so it will be convenient to establish connections early on.
'Mages… yes, the priority is to solve the phenomenon of mage decline.'
The power of the Emperor of the Eastern Empire came from the mages. In order to easily suppress the opposition of the archaic nobles, he had to reorganize the strength of the mages and take absolute control.
'This army must also be commanded properly…'
"There is much to do, my baby."
The baby made a strange sound, stretching her little hands in the air.
"Grow healthy and smart."
Sovieshu whispered, placing his fingers between her little hands. As if she could understand, the baby held Sovieshu's fingers tightly.
Unable to calm his startled heart, Marquis Karl stared at him in a daze before sighing deeply.
Well. Times change and every story has a starting point. If the baby were to become as intelligent a woman as Empress Navier, then it would be quite likely.
"Your Majesty. Do you intend to tell Rashta that you plan to make the princess your successor?"
Sovieshu frowned and said with determination,
"Of course not."
304Once Rashta had recovered somewhat, a banquet was held for three days and three nights to celebrate the birth of Sovieshu's first baby.
Numerous nobles and distinguished guests, who had received an invitation beforehand, gathered at the Imperial Palace with carriages full of gifts.
They were excited to meet the baby born to the Emperor and Empress, who were admired for their beauty.
When they entered the banquet hall, everyone was very impressed to see the rumored Princess Glorym.
The princess, who resembled Rashta, was as charming as a little fairy.
The baby looked small and fragile, perhaps because she was born prematurely, but it didn't seem to have been detrimental to her health.
"She is a really beautiful baby."
"She is already so lovely, Your Majesty must be very pleased."
"I have never seen a princess who looked so smart, Your Majesty!"
Those present came forward at the same time to congratulate Sovieshu.
Sovieshu held the baby in his arms like a proud otter that does not separate from its calf.
That protective attitude of the emperor made those present involuntarily laugh.
'Right now I'm the only one who is suffering.' Rashta thought as she contemplated the happy scene.
Leaning back in a soft armchair, Rashta stared dazedly at her daughter in Sovieshu's arms from a distance.
Three times.
That was the number of times Rashta had seen her daughter after the birth.
Suddenly there were murmurs about the incident of the promissory notes followed by voices laughing among themselves. Those present seemed to mock her for what had happened.
Rashta put her hands on her belly, where the swelling had not yet gone down completely, and pursed her lips.
The nobles who realized that Sovieshu now only had eyes for his baby, began to change toward Rashta.
Since Sovieshu would not even allow Rashta to be near her daughter, people thought that Sovieshu, angered by the incident of the promissory notes, had deliberately separated the baby from Rashta.
It was so even in Rashta's eyes.
Although he sent numerous doctors to take care of her body's recovery, a real wall could be perceived in Sovieshu's attitude.
But Rashta was not inside that wall. There was only her daughter and Sovieshu himself.
"Didn't you know?"
"So… it was true."
"… I never liked her."
"Well, in the end she is a commoner from a fallen noble family…"
Rashta slowly stopped walking and looked towards the direction where she heard several voices.
'If they're going to talk about me, why don't they do it in a place where I can't hear them?!'
But Rashta did not know that at one point Navier had heard such murmurs.
The maids behind Rashta did not know it either.
Only Viscountess Verdi, who had a pale expression, was aware of this fact.
Recalling the events of the past year that seemed to overlap, Viscountess Verdi spoke bitterly,
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. It's not worth worrying about."
"How can I not worry when I can hear them?"
Rashta replied coolly, but from her expression it looked like she was on the verge of tears.
'Why is this happening to me?'
The world had changed after the birth of her daughter. While for others the world became brighter and livelier, for Rashta, it became darker.
In the days of celebration for the birth of the princess, she was not the center of attention.
The baby received all kinds of compliments from the attendees, and Sovieshu received all kinds of praise. But Rashta, who gave birth to the baby, became a laughing stock.
'How is this possible?'
During the months she had carried her daughter in her womb, she had made an effort to take care of the princess. The baby was like her alter ego, born from her own body. So then why…
"Who do you think will be the next empress?"
"Most of the young ladies of His Majesty's age are already married…"
"So young ladies Laura's age will be the candidates?"
"Isn't it possible that Miss Evely will become the Empress?"
"No way, His Majesty will not accept a commoner as Empress twice."
"It's true. Commoners seem to have no shame even if they are smart. Just look at the Empress who bragged about someone else's promissory notes… what the nerve."
"Isn't Princess Soju still single?"
Rashta stopped as she approached the voices, surprised that they were talking so soon about the next empress.
Are these really the same people who said I was lovely and beautiful no matter what mistake I made?
Despite the incident of the promissory notes and Sovieshu's cold treatment, it was not exactly that that made them change their attitude.
There were already hints of this disdain from before.
To be precise, since she became the Empress.
The nobles, who had been tolerant of all her actions when she was a concubine, suddenly began to judge harshly everything she did as soon as she ascended to the top.
As if the fact that she became the Empress had been the trigger.
Well, they were always like that.
Only they used to talk secretly before, and now they do it blatantly.
Rashta wanted to scold them, but in the end she left the way she came.
It was not because she was afraid of them. In fact, it was because she feared that after making a fuss, what little affection Sovieshu had left for her would disappear.
The promised time as empress was one year. If she had given birth to a boy, that period could have been extended, but now it was impossible.
She had to remain as calm as possible until she found a way not to be thrown out.
There was one person who observed the scene from a distance.
It was Baron Lant.
As he came down the stairs, he saw this through the window and clicked his tongue.
Although he could not hear anything, it was not difficult to roughly understand the situation.
Apparently, Rashta overheard the nobles talking about the rumors circulating while she was taking a walk.
Seeing how she walked away with her pale complexion, it was clear that they were making really nasty remarks.
'There are only maids around her, so no one is able to step forward.'
If instead of maids it were ladies-in-waiting around her, they would have stepped forward when they overheard such scornful remarks.
It was not because the ladies-in-waiting had a greater sense of justice than the maids, but because the ladies-in-waiting had the status to do so and not be looked down upon.
In contrast, the maids were still commoners no matter how much they were maids of the empress.
It was impossible for a maid to angrily intervene in a conversation between nobles, unless she was willing to take the consequences.
Baron Lant left the documents in his hands at the secretariat and immediately went to Sovieshu.
"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you."
"Is it urgent?"
"It's about the Empress."
"I don't think it's urgent. Later."
Sovieshu's change of attitude toward Rashta was noticed even by Baron Lant.
Even if he really was busy, Sovieshu used to put it all aside to listen to him when it came to Rashta.
In the end, Baron Lant had to wait a couple of hours before he could communicate what he wanted.
"Your Majesty, I think you should be more attentive to the Empress."
Sovieshu frowned as he pressed his tired eyes.
"I assign her the best doctors to take care of her 24 hours a day. The chef prepares her all the proper food and appetizers for a woman who has recently given birth, and I fill her room with all kinds of gifts. What else am I supposed to do?"
Certainly, in material things he gave her in abundance. However, no matter how much jewelry and good food he would send her, it meant nothing as long as Sovieshu did not go to see her.
More importantly—
"You haven't let the Empress be with the princess…"
Baron Lant muttered helplessly and looked to the side.
There was a cute baby crib that didn't fit in with the formal office. There was no need to look at who slept in the crib.
It was already known to everyone in the Imperial Palace that Sovieshu took care of the baby from time to time while he worked.
"Baron Lant. Do you think Rashta, who plucked the feathers off a fragile little bird to blame Navier, will take good care of her own daughter?"
Sovieshu smiled bitterly.
"A bird and a baby are different, Your Majesty. Just because one is good at hunting does not mean one is a ruthless person."
"If you observe how someone behaves you can tell what that person is like. In any case, I will divorce her."
Contrary to the harsh words, Sovieshu remembered Rashta with her first baby in her arms.
"Your Majesty, let the baby be with the Empress even for a little while. Do it for the sake of the princess. Surely the princess misses her mother's arms too."
After much thought, Sovieshu sent the baby to Rashta at night.
Viscountess Verdi was overjoyed when an aide to the Emperor brought the princess. She quickly held her.
Viscountess Verdi was by Rashta's side during her pregnancy and delivery, so she grew fond of the princess whom she had barely seen.
She was very upset that Sovieshu would not even let her get close to the baby. She was very happy to be able to hold her in her arms again.
"How can the princess be so calm and beautiful?"
Viscountess Verdi smiled broadly as she held the baby. Then she hurried over to Rashta, who was lying in her bedroom, and showed the baby,
"Your Majesty, look at the princess. An aide to the Emperor brought the princess."
"My daughter?"
Rashta got up at once. Her shadowed face also brightened.
However, she could not accept the baby and merely clenched her fists repeatedly.
Joy followed by anguish, sadness and grief welled up inside her.
The baby was lovely, but she felt tormented as she remembered how her position had collapsed in an instant because of this baby.
"Your Majesty, take the princess in your arms."
Rashta hesitated when Viscountess Verdi tried to give her the princess, but did not hold her.
However, as soon as the princess began to cry from the awkward position she was in, Rashta couldn't help but reach out her hands quickly and hold the baby in her arms.
"I'm sorry, baby. Mom's sorry, baby."
Rashta lightly patted the baby's back and rocked her.
305As her small body flailed in her arms, Rashta felt an emotion rise up her chest.
She had given birth twice, but this was the first time she had held a baby in her arms like this.
Maybe that's why she felt so strange, though she liked it.
"The baby is wiggling."
When Rashta murmured, the baby blinked with tear-filled eyes as she looked at Rashta.
In that instant, Rashta realized. She could never blame this girl.
She already loved her daughter.
As soon as she was aware of this fact, the emptiness and weakness she felt before disappeared. She was determined to protect her daughter.
'Yes. I have to be strong.'
This was no time to stand idly by. If she was thrown out of the empress position, her daughter would be raised by another woman.
A smart and astute young lady from a good family would become the Empress.
No matter that the new empress was as good as an angel, their children would still be compared, the family of that empress' mother, and even the people around her, would reject the first princess.
Even if the nobles looked down on her, she was determined to maintain her position as empress. Only in this way could she protect her daughter.
At this point, the princess's crying stopped. Perhaps because the baby was in her mother's arms or because she was in a more comfortable position.
In any case, the intense vitality that could be felt throughout the princess' body diminished drastically when she calmed down. She seemed inert.
Rashta stared in horror at the princess with her head bowed. Suddenly feeling the same sensation of the past when she held the dead baby in her arms.
At the grisly horror that swept over her from head to foot, Rashta gasped and threw the baby away,
"Out! Out of my sight!"
After throwing the baby, Rashta trembled as she clutched her head with both hands. She felt as if there was a sickening corpse smell on her arms, so she hastily swiped them across her knees and the sheets to get it off.
"Princess!"
The baby, who had been thrown to the floor, was crying inconsolably. Only then did Rashta calm down a little and asked with a blank stare.
"Is she, is she alive?"
Viscountess Verdi remembered Delise for a moment, whose tongue Rashta had cut out and imprisoned after she saw something 'she wasn't supposed to see', and the maid whose father was nearly executed for talking too much.
At the thought of what Rashta had just done, Viscountess Verdi swallowed hard.
"Is she alive?"
Rashta asked again in a rough voice.
Viscountess Verdi knew what was coming. She had witnessed a scene 'she wasn't supposed to have seen', so Rashta would try to kill her. Rashta was now stunned, but would no doubt do so once she came to her senses.
The Viscountess stepped back, holding the baby tightly.
"Viscountess? Do you not hear me? Is the baby alive?"
Rashta asked in bewilderment.
Viscountess Verdi barely managed to open her mouth to say a few words.
"The baby… looks shocked. Please wait a moment. I'll go examine her."
She spoke quietly, so as not to irritate Rashta, took another step back, and hurried out of the bedroom.
Then she left the drawing room and ran down the corridor.
She feared that the knights and maids under Rashta's command would come after her at any moment, so the Viscountess desperately ran to the East Palace with the baby in her arms.
When Rashta finally came out of the shock caused by the dead baby, she realized that Viscountess Verdi had gone somewhere with the princess. She also realized that Viscountess Verdi had seen her throw the baby to the floor.
"Oh no!"
Rashta hurried out into the corridor and asked one of the knights stationed at the door.
"And the Viscountess Verdi? Where has the Viscountess gone with my baby?"
The knight responded with a puzzled look.
"She ran off in that direction with the baby in her arms."
Rashta turned pale and ordered,
"Catch that bitch! Right now! That bitch has kidnapped my daughter!"
The knights were startled for a moment and looked at each other.
They considered it far-fetched that the Empress's only lady-in-waiting kidnapped the Princess in the Imperial Palace.
But from her red eyes and pale face, it seemed it was no joke.
The knights went after the Viscountess in haste. However, Viscountess Verdi had already arrived at the East Palace.
The Knights of the Imperial Guard came to her aid as they saw her running scared.
"What's going on?"
"His, His Majesty, I need to see His Majesty."
Viscountess Verdi pleaded desperately.
She wore a terrified expression, so the Knights of the Imperial Guard immediately informed Sovieshu.
Hearing that Viscountess Verdi was coming with the princess in her arms, Sovieshu let her into the drawing room.
As soon as Viscountess Verdi saw Sovieshu, she fell to her knees and cried out through tears,
"Your Majesty, the Empress threw the princess to the floor! Please protect the princess!"
The palace doctor was slow to open his mouth, but then spoke quickly.
"Pregnant! You're pregnant!"
He repeated these words several times, unable to suppress his astonishment.
Then he jumped to his feet and stared at me with his eyes wide open.
"Empress! Oh, my! Oh, my! Oh, my!"
I looked at the palace doctor quizzically.
I couldn't think of anything, it was as if my mind was blank.
Looking at him puzzled, the palace doctor coughed and smiled awkwardly,
"Congratulations, the Empress is pregnant!"
Heinley clenched one hand into a fist and covered his mouth with the other.
I could see how his fist trembled slightly.
Heinley, who had remained as if absent, suddenly looked back at me with tear-filled eyes.
When he removed his hand from his mouth, I saw him bite his lip.
"My Queen."
Heinley called to me in a shaky voice, stretched out his arms and hugged me tightly.
"Are you sure? Isn't there a high probability of misdiagnosis in the early weeks of pregnancy?"
However, as soon as I asked the palace doctor firmly, Heinley's arms went limp.
The palace doctor quickly responded to my question,
"Of course, it is common to misdiagnose at this time. But Your Majesty, I have never been wrong on this."
When I was in the Eastern Empire I witnessed several misdiagnoses 'on this', so I preferred not to take it for granted yet,
"When can we know for sure?"
"In two weeks it could be known for sure."
"Okay, check me again then."
I asked the palace doctor not to tell anyone about this, and the doctor in his excitement, said he reluctantly understood.
"But until then, you must reduce your workload and take more time to rest, Your Majesty."
After the palace doctor left, I ask Heinley as well,
"Heinley, don't tell anyone about this. There are people who would make fun of us for revealing that I am pregnant without first confirming it."
It was weird. Although I spoke calmly as usual, the voice that came out seemed shaky.
Why?
It was the same even after I coughed a couple of times before speaking again. As I bit my lip in confusion, I suddenly felt a strange tingling all over my body.
Later I could understand what I was really feeling. I was afraid and anxious.
What if the doctor says it was a misdiagnosis? When that thought came to mind, my whole body shuddered.
I rubbed my hands together nervously and wrapped my arms around my body, but the feeling didn't go away.
Then Heinley wrapped me in his arms.