Chapter 10
I Was Going to Make Her Lose the Baby
The attendant read out the Emperor’s message.
“His Majesty the Emperor has sent the following words to Lady Serenity Bifis: ‘Congratulations on your pregnancy, my lady. I hope you will give birth to a healthy child.’”
As soon as the message was delivered, silence fell over the garden. A moment later, hushed whispers began to leak out from behind the ladies’ folding fans.
“My goodness. Did you hear that? She’s pregnant? Lady Serenity?”
“Pregnant? But Lady Serenity has been living in Navis Palace for years now, and she’s not even married yet!”
“But the message came from none other than His Majesty himself. Surely it can’t be false….”
As the noblewomen murmured among themselves, forgetting to lower their voices, the attendant approached me and held out a neatly folded letter.
“His Majesty has sent a personal letter to Your Majesty the Empress.”
“……”
I took the letter, forcing my trembling fingers to steady themselves with anger, and unfolded it.
[Do you like the gift?]
The words made my head reel in disbelief.
Keeping Serenity confined within Navis Palace had been the right decision.
If she had been here, I couldn’t even imagine what would have happened. The mere thought of it made me dizzy.
Tristian… that madman.
I knew he was insane, but I never expected him to be this deranged.
‘Ah. I’ll be sending the Empress a gift soon, so look forward to it.’
Ha. A gift?
I had never once expected him to send me anything good, but I never imagined he would send this.
The realization of just how cruel the man I had once tried to love truly was made me shudder.
Struggling to maintain my composure, I folded the letter and signaled for the restless maids to remove the cradle. Then, I slowly lifted my gaze to the sky.
It was clear, without a single cloud in sight.
But I had no other choice.
“…It seems like it’s going to rain soon. It’s unfortunate, but I think we should wrap things up for today. I would love to invite you all again when the weather is nicer—would that be alright?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. In fact, we were just thinking that it would be best to head home early.”
“We will look forward to Your Majesty’s next invitation.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Ordinarily, it would have been terribly improper to end a gathering so abruptly. But the ladies were all eager to leave the palace and spread the shocking news, so no one objected to my decision.
Not that I was happy about the reason.
After hastily concluding the gathering, I went straight to Tristian’s office.
The closer I got, the harder it became to keep my expression in check.
By the time I reached the office, my eyes were burning with fury.
Bang!
I shoved past the knights who tried to stop me and flung the doors open.
Tristian, lounging at his desk with his feet propped up and a glass of amber liquor in hand, looked up and smirked.
“Judging by that expression, I take it you’ve received it already.”
“How could you do this?!”
I shouted, and the startled knights quickly withdrew, shutting the door behind them.
Tristian’s lips curled into a mocking grin.
“I put a lot of thought into that gift. You didn’t like it?”
“Did you expect me to? You saw it yourself when you visited Navis Palace last time! You know that if my sister is shocked, she could lose the baby! And yet you sent that—!”
“‘Could lose the baby,’ you say. What a shame.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
…A shame?
“…What did you just say?”
“I said, what a shame. ‘Could lose it’ means she hasn’t lost it yet, doesn’t it?”
“Your Majesty!”
Clatter.
Tristian set his glass down on the desk and rose to his feet, standing at an angle.
“Did I not call it a gift? I went out of my way to announce your sister’s pregnancy to the world for you, and I even tried to make sure she lost the baby in the process. Yet, you’re not pleased. I must say, I’m disappointed.”
…What?
A chill ran through me, freezing me to my core.
“…You’re disappointed?”
“That’s right.”
I knew he was mocking me, but I couldn’t hold back my fury.
The burning in my eyes grew worse, and I suddenly felt like I might burst into tears.
“That’s a wonderful expression. I am disappointed, but since the Empress came all this way just to show me that face, I suppose I’ll forgive you this time.”
Tristian strolled toward me, and I instinctively stepped back until my back hit the door.
He came close—so close that our feet nearly touched.
He lifted a hand and ran his fingers along the ends of my hair near my ear. The way his lips curled in amusement was so repulsive that I felt sick.
I forced my throat to work, barely managing to squeeze out a voice.
“…That child doesn’t even have a name yet.”
“And?”
“Your Majesty is the father of this empire. Please… have mercy.”
“What? Ha. Hahaha! Ahahahaha!”
Tristian burst into laughter.
He laughed so hard that he had tears in the corners of his eyes.
Finally, he wiped them away and leaned against the door, caging me in.
“Are you done lecturing me?”
I never expected him to listen. But I hadn’t thought he would laugh.
Still grinning, Tristian tilted his head down as if to kiss me.
“Listen well, Empress. Do you know why the Emperor’s position is so wonderful? Because if I want to, I can get my hands on all sorts of effective medicine for situations like this. So if you want to protect that child, you’d better spread your—”
Smack!
I lost control.
I slapped him with all my strength.
Pain shot through my palm, stinging and burning.
I regretted it instantly.
I should have hit him harder.
Tristian froze for a moment, stunned, before rolling his eyes to glare at me.
“…Empress. Have you lost your mind?”
“I suppose I have.”
How could he?
How could he use the life of an unborn child—possibly even his own blood—as a means to force me into his bed?
I had thought he tormented me simply out of cruelty. But he was even more of a monster than I had imagined.
Tears finally spilled down my cheeks as I choked out a trembling voice.
“…Even a beast would be better than you.”
Tristian’s face stiffened in shock. Then, his expression darkened with fury.
He raised his hand high, as if to strike me.
“……”
“……”
But he didn’t.
Even as his body trembled with rage, he didn’t hit me.
Feeling even more desolate, I turned and left the office.
Serenity glanced at the servant who had just placed a plate of soft pudding on the table before scurrying out of the room.
Before leaving, she cast another furtive glance her way.
Something was wrong.
Serenity picked up a silver spoon and stared at the door. Then, she rang the bell to call Greta.
Though physically weak, Serenity found the chattiest maid in Navis Palace quite useful at times like these.
“Greta. The palace feels unusually tense today. Did something happen?”
“Ah… well….”
Greta, like the other maids, kept sneaking glances at Serenity’s belly.
A terrible feeling crept over her.
“His Majesty sent a gift to the Empress today.”
“A gift? From His Majesty?”
Serenity’s heart sank.
She clutched her chest as it pounded violently.
“…He sent me a cradle?”
Tristian…
Why?
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