Chapter 69: Rosemary’s Pregnancy

“I don’t know… I haven’t had any of the usual symptoms. I think the dream about the orca was just a coincidence.”

“Aww…”

Princess Charlotte visibly drooped in disappointment, lowering her head.

It was at that moment that the dining room door opened and Anna approached. Her voice, as she leaned close to Edelweiss’s ear, carried an unusual tension.

“My lady, the young lady of the Riche family is here to see you. She urgently requests an audience.”

“…Lady Riche?” Edelweiss’s brows furrowed slightly.

It was generally considered rude to visit at such a late hour—especially during mealtime.

The fact that she had come regardless meant something urgent must have happened.

Edelweiss’s heart pounded with anxiety. Could something have happened to Damian?

Forcing a smile toward Princess Charlotte, who was still busy eating her strawberry cake, Edelweiss slowly rose from her seat.

“Lady Shasha, I just remembered I have some urgent paperwork to take care of… I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t worry about me! Go on!”

As she left the dining room, Edelweiss bit her lip with unease.

Damian will return safely. The victory banquet for the navy will go ahead as planned.

So, it must not be about Damian.

It must not be.

Then what could Lady Riche possibly want?

Her stomach turned again as she walked.

When she entered the drawing room, Lady Riche was clutching a teacup with trembling hands.

Normally composed and graceful, she now seemed visibly disheveled.

“Lady Riche… nothing has happened to His Highness Damian, has it?”

“…Ah, no, nothing like that. Please don’t worry. You must’ve been startled by my sudden visit. I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

At her reply, Edelweiss exhaled in quiet relief.

Thank goodness—nothing had happened to Damian.

With just that one answer, the tightness in Edelweiss’s chest finally began to ease.

“…Did something happen?”

“I’ve never told anyone this before, but… actually, I liked His Highness Adolf. I always have. But since I’m Prince Damian’s cousin, and the two of them don’t get along… I knew it would never happen, so I kept it buried in my heart.”

Lady Riche covered her face with both hands and began to weep.

“…My lady.”

“But then, Rosemary Benel—”

Edelweiss blinked in surprise. The revelation that Lady Riche had feelings for Adolf was unexpected, but it was quickly overshadowed by what she said next.

‘Rosemary… what about her?’

“She—Rosemary—she’s pregnant with His Highness Adolf’s child.”

“…What?”

“She’s having his baby. Hic… the person I hate most is carrying his child…”

Rosemary, pregnant?

With Adolf’s child?

“And even if they can’t marry formally, they say she’ll become the Countess of Skan, one of the titles held by His Highness Adolf…”

Edelweiss tilted her head slightly, unable to make sense of it.

After all, Jane had once told her she would make Rosemary infertile.

Of course, Edelweiss hadn’t fully trusted Jane’s words—so she had met with Rosemary’s personal physician in secret not long ago.

After Rosemary injured her ankle, the physician—mistreated and insulted by Rosemary—had eagerly confided in Edelweiss.

“Lady Rosemary was already born with a body that makes it very difficult to conceive. But now… it’s completely impossible.”

“Who else knows this? My sister?”

“Of course not. Lady Rosemary would blame me for being incompetent if I said anything. Please, Your Grace, be cautious too.”

So Rosemary was supposedly infertile.

But… was that truly the case?

Edelweiss realized she needed to confirm whether Rosemary’s pregnancy was real.

She gently comforted Lady Riche and sent her home.

“Anna. Go to the Stern ducal estate. Don’t forget to do exactly as I told you before.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

***

The next morning, Anna visited the Stern duchy.

When she was granted entry, Rosemary looked at her with a cold, scrutinizing gaze.

“Edelweiss sent this? How did she even know I was pregnant?”

“She heard the news from Lady Riche.”

The “gift” Edelweiss sent was a cradle.

At first, Rosemary was startled that Edelweiss had found out, but it didn’t take long for her to understand—it must have been when she told Adolf she was pregnant, and saw Lady Riche run away after overhearing.

“What was her reaction?”

“She was happy. Though, of course, she was worried about Lady Riche.”

Rosemary glanced at Anna, who stood politely before her, and then turned her attention to the cradle.

Pure white wood, gently flowing vine carvings—

Its craftsmanship was exquisite, clearly shaped with great care.

It was perfect.

She loved it—

“…Ugh.”

Suddenly, she gagged.

Nausea rose in her throat, as though she truly had a child growing inside her. Goosebumps prickled down her skin.

“My lady, are you all right? Shall I call the physician?”

“…Fine, never mind that. Come here.”

Rosemary gestured to Anna. When Anna stepped closer, Rosemary whispered softly.

Edelweiss’s personal maid.

If Jane wasn’t enough, what face would Edelweiss make when she learned Anna had betrayed her?

‘I did give up the opal earrings Father gave me, but I’ve gained ears that’ll bring me information—so it wasn’t a total loss.’

Imagining Edelweiss’s face collapsing, she curled her lips.

“She definitely didn’t like me. When she heard I was pregnant, weren’t she jealous? I mean, she’s only just married, but I’m the one carrying His Majesty’s first grandchild. Wouldn’t she feel uneasy?”

“…When she first heard, she did look conflicted.”

“Right, of course she did.”

Just that single reaction Anna relayed was enough to reassure Rosemary that all her efforts hadn’t been wasted.

“Still, she said she was worried about you—said it must be hard being pregnant without even a proper wedding.”

“Huh. And who is she to pity me?”

“Right after her wedding, His Highness went off to war, and the late marquess’s funeral was before that. She seems very lonely.”

The words Anna delivered made Rosemary’s insides twist with irritation.

It felt as if she had become someone Edelweiss pitied—yet at the same time, she was relieved.

The ruby necklace incident had left Rosemary feeling uneasy about Edelweiss.

But hearing that Edelweiss was lonely without her and worried for her eased those doubts.

Edelweiss still considered her close. So the ruby necklace must have been a simple misunderstanding.

Rosemary could finally let go of her suspicion toward Edelweiss.

‘Countess Lumire must’ve schemed to get the necklace back because she regretted giving it to me.’

In fact, the story about a limping woman selling it at auction also came from Countess Lumire, who had openly hated how Rosemary was favored by Empress Roxanne.

‘One of the servants must have taken the necklace to Countess Lumire that day.’

Not having thought of that and accusing Edelweiss, Rosemary now understood the sharp reaction she’d seen at the wedding.

So did Edelweiss also steal the double ledger and keep it?

Even turning her rooms upside down yielded nothing, and she couldn’t dismiss servants for no reason—Rosemary’s head throbbed.

‘I should have checked more carefully before acting. Well, that girl still trusts me, anyway.’

She recalled Edelweiss’s wedding, stroking the cradle’s wood grain as she replayed the humiliation.

Between the two blessed by the Pope, Rosemary’s eyes had stung as she watched. Even now tears threatened to fall.

Everything she had ever wanted ended up in Edelweiss’s hands—

The Stern castle, Damian…

Still, one consolation was that Damian’s heart was turned toward her.

‘His Highness Damian loves me. Not that girl, Edelweiss—me.’

…She was sure their eyes had met on the wedding day.

He had been conscious of her.

And it wasn’t just that day. Every time they met, he stared at her, as if trying to pierce through her.

Why give such repeated glances to someone he didn’t care about?

‘We do look alike.

He proposed to Edelweiss only because she’s the legitimate sister. He couldn’t marry me, an illegitimate child who never became the Stern heiress.

So he found that way to linger near me.’