Thinking about it, her brothers were right. If the rebellion succeeded and Rondimio died, there would be no reason for Louise to remain by his side.

Yet the fact that she had been thinking of staying by Rondimio’s side might have been because she wanted to see him a little longer. Or perhaps she had been unconsciously considering the possibility that the rebellion might fail.

“Duke Havent and Marquis Miko didn’t tell me about that. And it’s difficult for me to escape from the palace right now.”

“You said earlier that you meet Marquis Miko’s daughter every day, right? Talk to her about it. We’ll also meet our confidants in a few weeks and try to find a way to help you escape.”

Louise looked at her two brothers, who spoke with heartfelt voices.

I came here with a plan to help my brothers escape after three years, but they immediately thought of a plan to protect their incompetent younger sister too.

There was nothing more to consider. Louise decided to accept her brothers’ wishes.

“Alright. Then… I’ll try to find a way to leave the palace before the rebellion starts.”

A way to leave the palace before the rebellion starts.

After giving her brothers in the underground prison the duplicated key and poisoned daggers, Louise had nothing more she could do for them. Instead, she needed to think about how she herself could escape from the palace.

“I’m so anxious I can’t do anything….”

She was afraid of accidentally mentioning the rebellion when with Ciel, and she felt uncomfortable when with Margaret because it made her think more about the rebellion.

She had tried to bring up the subject of her escaping the palace to Margaret, but everyone seemed too busy preparing for the rebellion to pay attention to Louise.

Sitting in the empty central hall of the empress’s palace without a single maid, Louise looked at Rondimio’s gifts piled up on one side of the hall.

These were gifts that Rondimio had sent with care every day for Louise and the child, unaware of her complicated feelings.

The bouquets that arrived without fail every morning were neatly arranged to decorate various parts of the empress’s palace, but she couldn’t bring herself to open the adorable imperial ceremonial clothes and shoes for the unborn child.

“Rondimio, I wanted so much to give you a child.”

Having betrayed him and chosen her brothers, the thought that she still wanted to give him a child made her feel so deceitful that she could cry.

After contemplating in front of them for a long time, Louise finally gathered the courage to open the gifts for the unborn child after several months.

Despite having said she wanted a pretty daughter resembling both of them, there were an equal number of lovely dresses and lace bonnets for a girl, and imperial uniforms embroidered with the imperial crest for a boy.

The child would have to be at least three or four years old to wear these clothes he had sent now.

Louise, who had no close friends except Rondimio since childhood, was receiving gifts for her unborn child for the first time.

If she could escape the palace before the rebellion started, should she take just a few of the gifts Rondimio had given her? So that she could show something to the child later if the child asked about their father….

While thinking thoughts she would ultimately not act on, holding the small clothes in her arms, she heard a knock at the door of the central hall of the empress’s palace.

Knock knock.

Hearing the knocking sound, Louise hurriedly began putting away the gifts for the child that she had taken out.

She didn’t know who it was, but she didn’t want to show them how much she was looking forward to the child in her womb….

“Louise, I came to give you a gift I wanted to give you.”

The person knocking at the door of the central hall of the empress’s palace opened the door before Louise could grant permission, as was his usual behavior.

Looking alternately at Rondimio standing at the door and the gifts she hadn’t managed to put away, Louise wore a flustered expression.

No. Think positively.

It’s a face I won’t see again after some time. I should show the child in my womb their father’s face a little, rather than avoiding him because he makes me uncomfortable….

“You were opening the gifts I sent.”

“Yes. There were so many cute gifts, weren’t there? You send so many gifts every day, and yet you’ve brought another one.”

Louise smiled brightly as she organized the small children’s clothes and toys back into the box.

But seeing him come to the empress’s palace in person to give a gift, does that mean imperial affairs aren’t very busy these days?

Until recently, imperial affairs had been so busy that he couldn’t sleep for long in the empress’s palace or visit suddenly like today.

Or perhaps he was focusing on something other than imperial affairs…?

Surely, he wouldn’t know that her brothers in the underground prison would escape the palace and start a rebellion soon.

At least on the surface….

And if he did know, he should be having heated discussions with his confidant knights to prevent the rebellion, not spending time delivering gifts in person.

“I found a mysterious ceremonial sword emanating mystical energy in the emperor’s palace by chance, and I wanted to give it to you.”

“A ceremonial sword all of a sudden…?”

Is it even possible that he just happened to find it in the emperor’s palace?

Louise received the box containing the ceremonial sword from Rondimio with a suspicious look. True to the name ceremonial sword, it was unusual with its scabbard elaborately crafted with jewels.

It did seem to emit a mystical energy as he said…?

She had received countless gifts from Rondimio until now, but this was the first time she had received a weapon that could harm someone.

She couldn’t understand where he had found this object, what kind of object it was, and what his intentions were in giving such a gift.

As she was about to open the scabbard of the sword to check the blade without much thought, Rondimio’s large hand gently wrapped around hers, stopping her.

“Handle it carefully. Although it’s a ceremonial sword, it’s been sharpened enough to kill someone if it pierces a vital spot.”

“Then… did you give this to me for self-defense?”

Louise placed the sword she had received as a gift on top of the box full of gifts, then faced Rondimio.

It seemed like there had been a trend at some point where even noblewomen who weren’t skilled with swords carried daggers for self-defense….

“That’s right. I thought you should have one, even though there are many knights in the empress’s palace.”

You might find yourself in a situation where you have to leave the palace alone.

Startled by Rondimio’s words, which seemed to hit too close to home, Louise quickly turned her head in the opposite direction to hide her expression.

As he said, if she were to leave the palace before the rebellion, it might be good to take a dagger for self-defense.

However, receiving a gift that served such a necessary purpose during this time when Louise’s heart was so complicated made her feel strange.

Rondimio, do you really not know about the rebellion that will happen soon…?

“Thank you for the gift. I’ll use it well, Your Majesty.”

Louise organized the gifts for the child in her womb once more, then caressed the properly closed scabbard of the ceremonial sword with her fingertips.

She felt like she had heard about a ceremonial sword emitting mystical energy somewhere before… but she couldn’t quite remember.

Well, how important could such a sword be anyway?

“By the way, when will our child start kicking? I want to feel the baby move as soon as possible.”

“The imperial physician said that with my belly this size, I should be able to feel movement… but even I, carrying the child, haven’t felt it yet.”

Fortunately, Rondimio seemed to have no interest in the ceremonial sword he had given as a gift and was only concerned about the child in Louise’s womb.

Seeing him place his hand on Louise’s swollen belly after a long time, kneeling and rubbing his cheek against it, something deep in her heart stirred.

Louise pretended as usual, wearing a happy smile and acting as if she was eagerly counting the days until she would meet the child in her womb.

No, was there even a need to pretend about this?

Louise didn’t need to pretend to happily await the day she would meet the child in her womb. It was just that… she knew Rondimio wouldn’t be there when that day came.

The reality of having to choose between her brothers and Rondimio was truly painful.

Even so, she hoped that her brothers would safely escape from the underground prison, and that she too could escape the palace before the rebellion began.

In Rondimio’s embrace, Louise wished that time would flow a little more slowly, if only for a moment.

Perhaps she was even wishing that nothing would happen at all.