Have My Child - Chapter 19

Bang.

As Reinhardt entered the edge of the deep forest, he brought down the largest alpha wolf with a single shot and lowered his rifle.

Assistants and hunting dogs rushed in, quickly retrieving the carcass.

Taking down the most dangerous predator—the one responsible for the most human casualties—with a single bullet…that should be enough to satisfy both the purpose and the formality of the hunt.

Even so, no matter how much their numbers had grown, no matter how much harm they caused…taking a life was still something he found distasteful.

A contradictory thought—almost hypocritical—for a soldier who had taken tens of thousands of lives.

But every time he watched the light fade slowly from a creature’s eyes at the moment its life slipped away…he was reminded of himself, long ago—dying pathetically on his first battlefield.

The life he lived now…was one Sienna had begged for.

Reinhardt let out a quiet chuckle as he looked at the handkerchief Sienna had clumsily tied to the handle of his rifle.

Of all the wives present, hers was probably the worst tied.

Still—this life he held now was one she had given him.

More than the fact that he was about to become a father, what pleased Reinhardt most was something else—the certainty that Sienna would no longer try to leave him because of the child.

She didn’t seem particularly happy about the pregnancy.

But to him, the child was essential.

That child would be the thread that kept her alive—the chain that bound her to him—and the lock that would hold their family together.

Sienna would give birth to his child.

And he would do everything in his power for both of them.

They would become a real family.

“Let’s head back.”

The plan had gone so smoothly that it almost made him uneasy.

Just as he secured the wolf’s body to his horse and prepared to return to Sienna, his adjutant came riding toward him at full speed, breath ragged.

“Sir… I… that is…”

Despite arriving in such haste, the man hesitated.

Under Reinhardt’s cold, pressing gaze, he finally forced the words out.

“Sir… you need to return immediately… Lady Helares… she’s… she’s bleeding…”

At first, Reinhardt couldn’t comprehend it.

Just moments ago, she had been perfectly fine.

Why—

Lady Helares.
Bleeding.

They were familiar words yet his mind refused to form them into meaning.

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t understand it—not until he saw it himself.

Without another thought, Reinhardt turned his horse and raced back toward the starting point.

But Sienna had already been taken to the hospital.

The place where she had been was stained red—blood not yet fully cleaned, a silent testament to the chaos that had unfolded.

That much blood…could someone even survive that?

For a moment, his heart dropped—fear striking him that Sienna might be dead.

But he was told she had been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment…and that she was still alive.

Only then did he regain his senses.

He arrived at the hospital in haste, where the physician who had treated her explained the situation.

Severe hemorrhaging…everything had been expelled…

He didn’t listen beyond that.

“Explain what happened to my wife.”

Instead, Reinhardt turned to the adjutant who had been assigned to guard her.

The man bowed stiffly and began to recount the events.

The explanation was simple.

Claiming she felt unwell, Lady Helares had sent her guard away under the pretense of fetching medicine.

Not long after—she was found, bleeding heavily.

Reinhardt listened in silence at first, thinking there must have been some unavoidable cause behind it.

Miscarriages in the early stages of pregnancy were not uncommon. It could happen—suddenly, without warning.

‘It’s fine.
As long as Sienna is alive… that’s enough.’

That was what he told himself.

But then, the adjutant opened his palm and showed him something.

A small vial.

It had been found nearby—likely dropped by Sienna.

“This medicine was developed during the monarchy as a pain reliever and antipyretic. However, it was later discovered to cause acute hemorrhaging in pregnant women as a side effect. The royal family confiscated all of it and banned its distribution. It appears that the Madam ingested this drug.”

At those words, Reinhardt fell silent.

Why?

Why would she take something like that herself?

It made no sense.

“…Is it possible she didn’t know about the side effects?”

The adjutant hesitated before answering.

“This drug was directly developed by the royal family. When the side effects became public, the backlash from the citizens was severe. To quell the outrage, the Princess herself personally visited the victims—offering comfort and healing. It’s unlikely she was unaware of it. And… considering she had a drug that had been confiscated by the royal family…”

Even as something about it felt wrong—unnatural—Reinhardt’s thoughts, by long habit, turned toward the darkest conclusion.

Sienna had taken the drug on purpose. Because she didn’t want the child.

So she had gone that far…

A flicker of anger ignited in his eyes as he raked a hand through his hair.

All his efforts—everything he had done to keep Sienna from slipping away—had been reduced to nothing.

Everything he had built had collapsed back to the beginning.

He clenched his jaw.

He would try to suppress any news or rumors, but too many had witnessed what happened at the event.

Sienna had failed to protect the hero’s child. She would once again become an enemy of the people.

Her position would grow unstable again.

And Reinhardt—he had lost the very chain that bound her to him.

Fury surged through him, rising to the very top of his head.

But he forced it down.

Coldly, he began to think.

The “child” as a card was gone. He needed to decide his next move—quickly.

First… he had to see Sienna himself.

Taking a steady breath, Reinhardt composed himself and opened the door to her hospital room.

She had already been pale before—but now, lying there like a corpse, she looked even more drained.

The sight irritated him.

And then, suddenly—an image surfaced in his mind.

Sienna, surrounded by those who pointed at her and called her a witch, standing there, trembling helplessly as blood streamed down her legs.

A sharp pain pierced somewhere deep inside his chest.

***

“Sienna.”

Calling my name, my husband entered the room, his expression as calm as ever.

I forced myself to sit up.

I had to tell him.

I had to explain everything—that I had no choice in that moment.

But—his face.

It wasn’t just cold.

It was something far worse—something I had never seen before.

And faced with that chilling expression, I found I couldn’t speak at all.

We stared at each other in silence.

Like prey frozen before a predator, I couldn’t even turn my head away.

I could only sit there, trembling.

Reinhardt let out a long, heavy breath.

His eyes were sharp—glinting coldly.

“…Why did you do it?”

It was my husband who finally broke the long, suffocating silence.

His voice was unlike anything I had ever heard before—low, heavy, as though it had sunk deep into some distant abyss.

“Why… did you take it?”

He spoke as if he were already certain.

“Why did you take the drug yourself?”

“…Did you know what it was?”

“I—I didn’t take it on purpose…”

“You didn’t? Then what happened?”

His eyes were sharp, unforgiving—like he was interrogating a criminal trying to lie their way out. There was contempt there. Disgust. The kind of gaze reserved for something far beneath him.

I had to tell him.

No matter how afraid I was, I had to explain what happened.

But the more he pressed, the more I froze.

Where should I even begin?

That Ludwig threatened to detonate bombs if I didn’t take it—that I had tried not to—
that I wanted to ask for help—

‘Then why didn’t you?
You could have told someone.’

Because he forced it on me.

Because he said he would accuse me—twist everything—claim that I had helped him.

‘But weren’t you close with Ludwig?
Why should I believe you?
Isn’t it more likely that you helped him?
This doesn’t make sense. Are you making excuses?’

My husband already despised me.

He already saw me through a lens of doubt and prejudice.

He wouldn’t believe my words.

And if I wanted him to—if I wanted even the slightest chance of convincing him—then I would have to expose everything.

All of it.

Because everything that had happened was connected.

That I had pretended to be a refined princess—when in truth I had been born low, abused and exploited like a slave by my father and Ludwig.

That I had grown so exhausted from being controlled, that I had taken my own mother’s life with my own hands.

That every time I used my healing power, my life was shaved away, that I did not have much time left to live.

All of it…would have to be laid bare.