#18. Prelude to Turbulence

“Is it… impossible forever?”

Though various emotions swirled inside him, he suppressed them all and asked in the most composed tone possible. The physician frowned briefly before shaking his head.

“It depends on how much and to what extent she has been poisoned. Fortunately in Her Highness the Consort’s case, we caught it relatively early. Though there is already some poisoning present, making pregnancy difficult for the next 1-2 years, she should return to normal after more time passes.”

A long sigh escaped at the physician’s answer. That was somewhat fortunate. While Aidan didn’t think he needed a child right away, that was just his thoughts and needs — Karina might feel differently. Whether they stayed together or divorced and went separate ways, she shouldn’t be left with infertility as a problem. Especially not because of him and the imperial power struggle.

The more he thought about it, the more his anger rose. He couldn’t forgive them for daring to touch his person, nor for trying to make Karina infertile for such a reason.

“I’ve administered emergency treatment, so the pain should subside soon. I’ll also prescribe detoxification medicine to help her recover as quickly as possible. Please ensure she takes it in the morning and evening without fail.”

After the physician left, Aidan returned to Karina’s bedroom. He stood by the unconscious Karina’s side, silently gazing at her face for a long while.

‘Please divorce me. That’s what I came to say.’

A bitter smile escaped as he recalled her words when they first met. He reached out to brush back the hair that had fallen across her forehead, but there was no response. If her chest hadn’t been rising and falling slightly with each breath, he might have thought she was dead, her face was so pale.

Though they said it was poison to prevent pregnancy, was it really not life-threatening? Just drinking tea with certain ingredients had caused such a violent reaction and pain — was it really okay?

His heart felt heavy, as if a large stone had been placed on it. It was an unfamiliar ache he’d never felt before. He had never imagined another person’s pain could affect him like this.

That’s how important Karina Hewitt has become to me.

He closed his eyes and took a long breath.

‘It’s fine to date women, but don’t fall deep. The moment you have a weakness, it becomes easier for others to cut your throat.’

The boss ‘Park Jin-hoo’ served used to say that habitually. As expected, the boss never kept a specific lover. Just women he’d meet and part with casually. None of them had the boss’s child either. No, perhaps some did. He just made sure no one knew.

“A weakness…”

Bitterness spread across his face as he muttered.

Every world is equally heartless and messed up. Humans were always selfish. When they wanted something, they didn’t hesitate to sacrifice others. The Griffith Empire’s imperial family was no different. He was painfully reminded now that they didn’t hesitate for a moment to take others’ lives.

*

Her body felt extremely heavy. Though she had regained consciousness, even moving a finger was difficult. Karina finally managed to lift her eyelids with great effort. She unconsciously frowned at the sunlight streaming through the window.

“Have you regained consciousness?”

A familiar voice greeted her. When she turned her head, she saw Bernice sitting right beside her. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

“You don’t know how worried I was… sob…”

Just as it seemed she might hold back, tears finally dropped from her eyes. Her words broke off as she sobbed.

“How long have I been like this?”

Seeing Bernice’s reaction, Karina figured quite some time must have passed since she collapsed during dinner with Aidan. If she had woken up right away, Bernice wouldn’t have such an extreme reaction.

“It’s been three days already. I thought you might never wake up.”

A groan escaped at her answer. No wonder Bernice was making such a fuss. It clearly wasn’t a simple stomach ache. If it had been from eating something bad, she wouldn’t have been unconscious for three days.

“The physician said you were fine, that you were just unconscious because all your energy was focused on recovery, but you don’t know how anxious I was.”

Having built up anxiety over that time, Bernice burst with emotion. Karina couldn’t help but smile seeing how she managed to say everything she wanted to say even while crying.

“What did they say was wrong?”

It was her first time being sick enough in her life to lose consciousness. Plus, waking up after several days meant there must be some issue, so she asked.

“I don’t know.”

Karina frowned at Bernice’s answer. The physician had visited but couldn’t find the cause? That seemed impossible…

“His Highness seems to have been told the cause, but he hasn’t said anything. He just told us to take good care of Your Highness.”

It was even stranger that Aidan knew the reason. She tried to put strength into her body to get up, but her arms wouldn’t cooperate as much as she expected.

“Are you trying to get up?”

Bernice quickly noticed and came to support Karina.

“Of course you’re weak since you haven’t eaten properly for days. I’ll have food brought right away.”

After helping Karina sit up against the bed’s headboard, Bernice immediately left the bedroom. Karina couldn’t help but smile hearing her excitedly giving various instructions in the corridor. Though she felt sorry for causing her worry, she was truly grateful for Bernice’s nurturing care.

She examined her body as she sat on the bed. Though she felt weak, the previous pain seemed to have disappeared. When she rubbed her stomach with her hand, she couldn’t find any other problems either. Was she better now?

Speaking of three days… Not just Bernice, but Aidan and her parents who must have heard the news would have been worried too. She hoped the news hadn’t reached her parents. While she thought Duke Hewitt would know since he frequently visited the palace, she also thought Aidan probably wouldn’t have openly spread news of her collapse.

She needed to meet Aidan first. Getting the situation from him would be the surest way to understand what had happened.

She felt slightly disappointed that he wasn’t there when she opened her eyes. Though she understood that someone with many responsibilities couldn’t stay by her side all day, she couldn’t help wishing he had been there when she woke up.

He would probably come in the evening. Since they always had dinner together, she should be able to see him then. Plus, news of her waking up would have reached him, so he might come before dinner.

Though it was disappointing she couldn’t see him right away, she would see him soon enough if she just waited a little while.

She consoled herself with these thoughts, but that evening, Aidan did not come to see Karina.

*

Bernice, sitting in a chair pulled up beside Karina’s bed, kept glancing at her nervously. Karina put down the book she was holding and turned to her.

“What’s wrong?”

Bernice smiled broadly at Karina’s question.

“Dinner. It’s been quite a while past the time, but you keep saying you’ll eat later.”

It was already dark outside. Though she couldn’t know the exact time, it was certainly past dinner time.

“All you’ve had is soup earlier. You need to eat properly to recover quickly…”

She had only eaten lightly right after waking up since food didn’t seem appetizing. That’s why Bernice was so anxious now. She wanted to feed her a proper meal soon.

Karina’s gaze naturally drifted to the bedroom entrance. She wanted to eat together when Aidan came…

“Did you tell His Highness that I woke up?”

Still looking at the entrance, she asked, and Bernice let out a low “Ah…” sound.

“Well… we did tell His Highness, but…”

When she kept trailing off, Karina turned to look at her. As she stared with an expression asking what the problem was, Bernice hesitated before taking a deep breath.

“We did tell His Highness. Properly. But he might not come.”

Karina tilted her head. Though the moment she collapsed wasn’t clear, she remembered Aidan holding her with a pale face. How could someone who had been so worried not come to see her after hearing she had woken up? It made no sense.

As she stared at Bernice, her expression must have shown her lack of understanding, because Bernice let out a troubled groan.

“I don’t know why, but His Highness hasn’t visited here once since that day.”

She still couldn’t understand what Bernice was saying.

“Did something happen at the palace?”

“No.”

“But he hasn’t come even once?”

“…Yes.”

Bernice’s face contorted as if she disliked giving this answer. Karina also found it strange. Given his usual behavior, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had tried to stay by her side all day, but instead he hadn’t shown his face at all?

“Has something happened to His Highness…?”

Could the Empress or Lloyd have done something in the meantime? Could he be unable to move after being ambushed like last time? All sorts of thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.

“I need to go see His Highness.”

When she tried to get out of bed, Bernice blocked her way and stopped her.

“How can someone who just woke up after days and hasn’t even eaten properly have the strength to go there? Nothing is wrong with His Highness. So please calm down.”

“You might not know everything.”

If it were Aidan, he might not show any signs to the outside world even if something had happened. He was the type of man who would go to great lengths to prevent unfavorable rumors about himself from spreading.

“No!”

Bernice’s voice rose slightly. She thumped her chest in frustration when Karina tried to force herself to go to Aidan.

“I checked directly with Sir Kai. Nothing is wrong. He said His Highness is doing very well, too well even.”

But why?

She couldn’t even begin to guess what Aidan was thinking or why they said he hadn’t visited even once.

*