Dr. Lemon returned in the middle of the following night. Even then, he had originally planned to come back several days later, but Kailen had sent a car directly, and the doctor had no choice but to comply.

Kailen moved Adeline, who had fallen soundly asleep on the sofa, to the bed, then called Mrs. Lien and Dr. Lemon into the study. He asked them about the circumstances that had led to Adeline’s pregnancy.

Kailen sat in front of the desk, rolling an unlit cigar between his fingers without putting it to his lips. He waited for their somewhat delayed answers without pressing them with a single word, but both the housekeeper and the doctor grew tense in the frozen air.

In truth, Kailen was not angry at them. He simply wanted to understand the full picture.

Mrs. Lien held out a small notebook densely filled with the dates and times she had administered the medication. It was exactly the kind of thing one would expect from a meticulous head housekeeper.

“As you can see, I gave it to her without fail, except on the occasions when the madam was away from the residence.”

Mrs. Lien was one of Kailen’s people, beyond any need for suspicion. Dr. Lemon, who had conveniently been away, was slightly suspect, but his explanation was that a family member had suffered an unexpected incident and he had briefly returned home. It matched what Kailen had confirmed through his own people.

Mrs. Lien’s complexion was poor as she fumbled for words, her brow furrowed.

“How could this have happened…”

Dr. Lemon, his expression one of bewilderment, tilted his head and parted his dry lips.

“…It is not as though I have absolutely no idea. There is a possibility that the madam has a constitution that does not respond well to the medication…”

But he added that this was an extremely rare case, and after a brief hesitation, continued.

“Or she may have taken something separately that counteracted the medication… In that case, a blood test would tell us.”

“A blood test.”

Kailen repeated the words briefly and rubbed his jaw.

“Yes. If she took something separately, a drug reaction would show up. However, this too is difficult to confirm. Depending on the substance, it may not be detectable, and to begin with, results take more than two weeks to come back.”

Lost in thought, Kailen tapped the end of the cigar against the desk.

The Dr. Lemon he knew was a man who preferred certainty in all things. Dr. Lemon, having offered an ambiguous solution, kept stealing glances at Kailen.

Kailen rolled his stiff neck once and broke the silence of the study.

“Start first thing tomorrow morning. Tell my wife it is a simple test to confirm the pregnancy.”

“Yes.”

Dr. Lemon and Mrs. Lien bowed their heads. With those two speaking in unison, Adeline would give her blood without a moment’s suspicion.

As the two of them bowed and said their farewells, Kailen looked down at the tops of their heads and parted his lips.

“…The pregnancy itself.”

“Pardon?”

“Run a test to confirm whether she is truly pregnant.”

The diagnosis had come from a city doctor whom no one had interfered with, so the word that she was pregnant was likely not wrong. Even so, the reason he ordered another test was because he had never once given any thought to the existence of a child that might come from the two of them. It did not feel real.

He also did not want to believe it.

“…Understood.”

They left their answer and departed, and Kailen alone remained.

The next day, the results of Dr. Lemon’s examination came through Mrs. Lien. The result sheet in his hand stated that the pregnancy was confirmed.

“A child…”

A low breath scattered from between Kailen’s lips as he faced that brief string of words, the proof that a child carrying his and Adeline’s blood existed in the world.

* * *

Kailen was busy in his own way, and Isabel was busy in hers. Throughout the previous week, Isabel had been attending breakfast and dinner gatherings with the executives of the Varsen branch, so even though they were under the same roof, it had been difficult to see each other’s faces. So it had been quite a while since Adeline had shared a morning meal with Isabel like this.

It was a gathering that had begun with breakfast at the table with Isabel and continued into a light tea time afterward. Isabel’s smile was warm but rather quiet.

“Congratulations. It seems I get to take one piece of good news with me before I return to Frenon.”

It was a composed reaction, the kind that suggested she had already suspected, to some degree, that Adeline was carrying Kailen’s child.

“I am very glad to be able to bring you joy, Mother.”

Adeline flushed shyly, and Isabel offered her one more word of blessing before mentioning that she planned to return home in four days.

“Please give birth to a healthy child.”

Since learning she was pregnant, Adeline had decided to cut back on tea and coffee. She was holding her glass of sparkling water when her eyes went wide.

“What? You are leaving already?”

“Yes. I have been here nearly two months now. I have stayed far too long. Those who must leave should go.”

Adeline set her glass down in a hurry and tried to persuade Isabel to stay.

“But Mother, you haven’t even had a proper chance to spend time with him because he has been so busy. Please stay just a little longer.”

She had only just started to feel that Isabel was accepting her a little, and now she was already leaving. It felt disappointing and hollow.

“Mother… please stay just one more week. Just one week.”

Adeline earnestly appealed, saying that not having given birth to someone did not make them any less a mother, and that she could never be unaware of the devotion it took to raise a child. She asked Isabel to please allow her to call her Mother. At that, Isabel stopped addressing her as Princess. She still spoke with the same respectful formality, but still.

“No. There is still work to resolve at the main office, and young people should live cozily among themselves.”

Isabel said firmly that an old woman like her could not afford to be in the way any longer, and cut off Adeline’s request.

“Still… if you leave like this, I won’t be at ease. Kailen is always busy, so starting tomorrow, let me take you around so you can at least feel like you’re on a little trip.”

The downtown area of Varsen was dazzling, but lately it was nothing but noisy, so there was not much worth seeing unless one wanted to shop.

But if you drove along the outer roads for about five hours, you would reach Sedor, a tourist city known for its beautiful coastline at sunset.

Adeline suggested that Isabel might like to stay two nights in Sedor and explore the surrounding area, adding that the autumn scenery there was lovely. She earnestly added that she would very much like to accompany her, if it was not too much trouble. But Isabel smiled warmly and slowly shook her head.

“I cannot ask someone who has just conceived to push herself like that. Sitting in a car that long stiffens the body. All the more so when you are pregnant and in the early stages. Please take care of yourself.”

“…Yes, then even if not Sedor, what about spending some time with me somewhere closer?”

“Next time. Next time, when the baby is born, let us meet again then.”

Isabel said, gently but firmly, that she had no intention of changing her already set plans. At times like these, Adeline thought that even though Isabel was his adoptive mother, she and Kailen were truly alike.

Over the rim of her teacup, Isabel looked at Adeline. The small face that could not let go of its reluctance showed no trace of manufactured pretense.

“Yes. Then, next time, I will come to welcome you with the baby.”

Isabel had judged, separate from any reservations about the bloodline Adeline was born into, that the person herself was not bad.

Isabel answered with a smile, and her gaze dropped to her teacup. The memory of when Kailen had unilaterally informed her that he intended to marry Adeline suddenly came to mind.

At that time, Isabel had not been in Frenon either. She had been staying in Chenover, about five days by train from Krauben, when Kailen had found the time to come to her.

〈I do not understand the meaning of this marriage. Your marrying that princess is not something that would throw off what you have been working toward. If anything, would she not only add complications for you later on?〉

I am not pleased by this.

Isabel had not made a great fuss or vehemently opposed it, but she had made her position clear to Kailen, her adopted son, telling him not to get entangled with Adeline.

〈I will do it regardless.〉

But there was no way that a man with a nature like an iron horn, who once he made up his mind charged forward without ever looking back, would listen.

〈There is nothing for you to worry about. If anything, it is a marriage I am entering for my own peace of mind.〉

That stubborn man. Isabel had not pressed further, thinking her words would fall on deaf ears anyway. Having raised him for over a decade, she knew from experience that Kailen was never a man who spoke empty words. And so Isabel had set aside her worries about Kailen.

Still, she had been thinking that she ought to see the two of them with her own eyes at least once before long, and that was what had brought Isabel to Krauben this time.