This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
T/N: According to what I have read from online sources, it’s possible that a woman will bleed so much it looks like she is having a miscarriage, not associated with pregnancy or menstruation. It could happen when one is under too much pressure and stress, leading to hormonal imbalance because of high levels of cortisol production.
Early in the morning, a knight standing guard at the entrance of House Winter in the capital rubbed his sleepy eyes and let out a yawn. He was idly watching the rising sun, its first rays beginning to pierce the horizon.
Squatting down, he stared quietly at the ground.
“…Was that just my imagination?”
He was sure he had felt a tremor in the earth, but all was silent.
Just as he convinced himself he must have imagined it and began to rise to his feet, a cloud of dust began to rise in the distance. Recognizing it as the telltale sign of galloping hooves, the knight craned his neck, and the ground trembled once more, this time violently.
It was rare for anyone to ride at such an early hour, so the knight narrowed his eyes.
Then he saw a familiar face and muttered blankly.
“…Your Excellency?”
It was none other than the head of the very household he was guarding. Having never seen the Duke leave at such an hour, the knight was understandably flustered.
“Open the gate!”
As Edmund drew closer and shouted, the stunned knight scrambled to open the massive doors.
Without delay, Edmund vanished inside.
The knight, now watching the mansion erupt in chaos, retraced what he had seen.
There was a woman in the Duke’s arms. The Duchess, pale as death, as if she might stop breathing at any moment.
— — —
Edmund had returned at dawn after vanishing without a trace. But he was not alone. With him was Daphne, unconscious and ghostly pale.
Baroness Nouvelle, who had been asleep, was called to Edmund’s chambers without even time to change properly.
The moment she saw Daphne, the Baroness gasped. The hem of Daphne’s simple beige dress was soaked in blood. Realizing the situation was grave, Baroness Nouvelle began immediate treatment.
With no reliable physician on hand, everything was up to her alone.
Time dragged on through wave after wave of critical moments. Only once Daphne regained some color in her cheeks could the Baroness finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Phew…”
Wiping the cold sweat from her brow, she straightened her back after hours. After checking her temperature and confirming the bleeding had stopped, she opened the door, certain that Daphne was out of immediate danger.
And there he stood, Edmund. Startled by his presence, the Baroness clutched her chest.
“Your Excellency.”
“How is Daphne?”
His gaze passed over her shoulder into the room, more precisely, to Daphne.
“She’s narrowly pulled through.”
Edmund closed his eyes, let out a shallow breath, then opened them again.
The Baroness recalled the face she saw when she had first entered. Edmund, standing by the bedside, staring at Daphne, as pale and breathless as she was. The way he looked at her as if the entire world had fallen away and only Daphne remained.
Even when she said she needed to begin treatment, he didn’t respond right away. His gaze never left Daphne until the door shut between them.
It was a side of Edmund she had never seen before.
“But the bleeding was severe, and her body was extremely weakened. After enduring two major events back to back, she’s grown even thinner.”
In just a few days, Daphne had become noticeably more gaunt. Not that it was entirely her fault. The environment gave her no chance to recover.
“To make matters worse, the poison is still in her system, which will slow her recovery significantly.”
Despite the time that had passed, enough for a normal person to fully recover, Daphne’s fragile body still harbored traces of poison.
“If you had been even slightly later… it could have ended very badly.”
Even as she spoke, the Baroness shook her head, unwilling to imagine such a tragedy.
Had Daphne suffered a worse fate while Damian still remained unconscious and the situation was spiraling, there would have been no coming back from it.
“Is there… anything else you’d like to ask?”
The Baroness asked carefully. Perhaps about the child… or the child that had been.
“Is there anything else I should be cautious of?”
The unexpected question caught her off guard. She swallowed hard before replying, just a beat late.
“Ah… oddly, her hands are badly injured. Some fingernails are so damaged they’ll soon fall off, and she has bruises. It looks like she struck or scratched something hard.”
“I see. I’ve made quite a commotion this morning. Go get some rest.”
The Baroness turned to leave.
“Your Excellency.”
She hesitated for dozens, hundreds, of steps before turning back.
“There is something I must say.”
“Is it about Daphne?”
He asked, as if he had been expecting it.
“…Yes.”
“We’ll speak of it later.”
His eyes weren’t on her. Following his gaze, the Baroness spotted Johann standing not far away.
“Please give us some privacy.”
Though Edmund hadn’t spoken of it, the Baroness was certain something had happened between the two men. She silently excused herself.
Edmund looked at the approaching Johann and murmured coldly.
“I don’t recall calling for you.”
“I beg your pardon, but I must speak with you. I’ll accept any punishment you see fit afterward.”
Casting a glance toward the room where Daphne lay, Edmund turned and walked off.
“Follow me.”
He led Johann to the study. The room was cold from the night before. Edmund took a seat.
“I’ve heard what happened this morning.”
A flicker crossed Edmund’s brow.
“I believe Your Excellency knows what I’m about to say.”
“Speak.”
It was an invitation and a warning. Johann met his gaze steadily.
“Use this.”
“….”
“Tell them the Duchess miscarried. Attack the Imperial Family. This is your chance.”
“….”
“They don’t know her condition. You didn’t bring her to an imperial physician. They have no way of knowing.”
Johann fell silent. Edmund didn’t explode, nor did he dismiss him. He simply tapped his desk slowly.
He reached inside his coat, hesitated, then pulled out a sheet of paper and a cigar.
Fsshh—
The tip ignited. With no windows open, the room quickly filled with smoke.
Johann endured it for as long as he could, only faltering once half the cigar had burned down. Still, he straightened his posture.
Edmund stared at the scar on his hand, then slowly lifted his gaze.
“I’ll divorce Daphne and marry the princess.”
“….”
Johann’s eyes trembled.
“So that was… the price of taking her back?”
“That’s only a fraction of it.”
Edmund’s answer was vague, neither a denial nor confirmation.
“Do you think this incident could still be used against the Imperial Family after the divorce?”
“…I’ll take full responsibility and prepare everything myself.”
“You’ll report through someone else. That will suffice.”
Edmund was clearly disappointed in Johann, and Johann accepted it.
“Yes. I’ll send all the reports through the butler.”
“Leave.”
With that, the conversation was over. Johann bowed and left the study.
Edmund set the cigar in the ashtray, staring silently at the smoke curling in the air. Then he lifted a hand to his chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart was still pounding.
The moment he heard that Daphne had collapsed, bleeding, he had turned around without a second thought.
[“Daphne!”]
What he first saw was the blood-soaked hem of her dress, as if it were about to devour her. Absurdly, in that moment, he shoved aside the imperial physician trying to examine her and lifted her into his arms.
Her hand, already limp from unconsciousness, fell through the air.
[“Your Excellency! Her condition is critical. You must put the Duchess down at once!”]
At the physician’s cry, Edmund shook his head.
[“No.”]
[“Do you not want to save her life?”]
Do I not want to save her?
If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have come running like this.
The question was so absurd he nearly scoffed until he looked down at Daphne’s pale face. Then he moved.
[“Where are you going?!”]
Ignoring the physician’s frantic call, Edmund mounted his horse and rode straight for the mansion.
Only then did he realize he hadn’t even changed clothes. Daphne’s blood had dried on his hands and clothes. As he unbuttoned the soiled shirt and reached for a fresh one, he suddenly paused.
His eyes fell to the torn, blood-stained hem of the shirt.