Chapter 74: The Orca

It was dark and deep.

The very heart of the abyss, where not a single ray of light could reach.

Edelweiss realized her body was slowly sinking.

Strangely, it felt comforting.

A warm embrace wrapped around her whole body, so soothing that she wanted to stay submerged and rest.

Just then, a small figure appeared—cutting through the water with long fins.

“…An orca?”

To meet the same orca from her last dream again—

“Could this be another dream?”

Edelweiss traced back her memories.

At the victory banquet, she had fallen into the sea after grabbing hold of Rosemary’s hand when she stumbled backward.

She remembered the freezing seawater crushing her lungs and the moment Damian dove in to save her.

The orca circled around Edelweiss repeatedly.

It nudged her waist gently with its round forehead, as if trying to wake her from a dream.

Her heart slowly began to beat.

Consciousness returned.

“Why aren’t you waking up, Sister? It’s already been a week…”

Princess Charlotte’s worried voice rang out.

“…Shasha.”

Edelweiss slowly opened her eyelids.

There was Princess Charlotte, lips pouty, and beside her stood Damian.

“…You’re awake?”

Their eyes met.

Damian raised his brows slightly as he spoke.

Too weak to answer, Edelweiss simply gave a faint nod.

“Hiiing, Sis—you’re awake, thank goodness. You don’t know how worried my brother and I were!!”

Princess Charlotte seemed on the verge of tears as she tried to hug Edelweiss, but then suddenly stopped.

“Oh right! You’re pregnant!!”

“…What?”

Edelweiss blinked slowly, not quite grasping what Princess Charlotte had just said.

“A baby. You’re having a baby,”

Charlotte carefully pointed to her belly with a small finger.

Edelweiss closed and opened her eyes again, trying to process the words.

“Pregnant…?”

Her gaze moved to Damian.

He didn’t deny it.

“But I had my cycle… I thought I wasn’t pregnant…”

Suddenly, anxiety clouded her thoughts.

She remembered the bleeding when she fell into the sea—

“What if something’s wrong with the baby?”

Soon after, the physician came in to examine her.

“His Highness the royal heir is healthy. To be honest, I was very concerned when I heard the news, but it’s a relief.”

“…Ah.”

“Still, please be very careful from now on. Avoid any emotional shock or physical strain. In the early stages, it’s crucial to avoid overexertion, Your Highness.”

Edelweiss quietly laid her hand over her stomach.

It didn’t look like she was pregnant yet, not even a hint.

Still, knowing there was life growing inside her made her heart tingle with a strange warmth.

She had once wanted a child.

But in her past life, after being told she was infertile, it became an impossible dream—

A despair she could never shake.

Yet here it was. A child she thought she could never have.

“Sis, when the baby’s born, I’ll take such good care of them! I’ll even sing lullabies!”

Princess Charlotte beamed as she listed all the things she wanted to do for the baby.

Edelweiss gently stroked her hair.

Charlotte had been so down after the baby parrot died. It was a relief to see some brightness return to her.

‘…But Damian once said he didn’t want a child.’

The memory struck her with a chill.

He didn’t seem happy. In fact, he turned his face away, looking out the window, his expression unreadable.

‘What if the child ends up like me…’

Loveless, growing up in loneliness like she had.

Edelweiss let out a small sigh and murmured,

“I’m tired… I’d like to rest.”

“…Alright. Charlotte, let’s go.”

Damian said no more, quietly leading Charlotte out of the room. The physician bowed and followed suit.

Left alone, Edelweiss gently rubbed her belly.

Charlotte once said that Empress Anastasia had dreamt of an orca when she was pregnant too.

Maybe the orca Edelweiss saw was a symbol of her baby too.

“Little one.”

There was no kick, no movement—certainly nothing that could hear her yet.

Still, she couldn’t help but whisper.

Knock knock.

“Your Highness, it’s Anna. May I come in?”

“…Yes, come in, Anna.”

Anna carefully entered, holding a letter in her hand.

“What’s that?”

“While Your Highness was unconscious, Lady Rosemary summoned me to the Stern Duchy… and she gave me this. She told me to send it to the Boniel newspaper. I didn’t open it, so I don’t know what it says…”

Edelweiss took the envelope and sliced it open with a paper knife.

Her eyes froze.

The letter was written in her own handwriting.

“…I was forced into a marriage I didn’t want. I miss you. It pains me that I have to raise your child as if it were another man’s.

I await your reply,

Edelweiss.”

Startled, she dropped the letter from her hand.

Anna glanced at the contents—then gasped.

“She forged a letter in Your Highness’s handwriting…!”

“……As if I not only had an affair but also have another man as the baby’s father….”

Thinking that this might have been sent to the Boniel Times was horrifying. Rumors would hound her until the child’s birth— and even after, everyone would gossip.

A headache pulsed; Edelweiss slipped the letter into the bedside drawer. She needed proof that it was forged and that it was Rosemary’s doing; destroying it would be wasteful.

“Tell Rosemary the letter was lost.”

“Yes, and… the Duke of Stern is waiting in the drawing room.”

“They said I was unconscious for a week— how did he know I’d awakened?”

“Since the day Your Grace collapsed, the duke has visited constantly.”

Edelweiss felt stifled by the duke’s persistence.

‘He’ll keep coming until I see him.’

With Anna’s help, she rose, changed clothes, and wrapped a shawl around her stomach. Then she headed to the drawing room.

“Edelweiss!”

The Duke of Stern sat rubbing a teacup as he waited. Edelweiss signaled to Anna behind her.

“I’ll go to the Blossomweaver estate, then. The marquess ordered me to come as soon as Your Grace woke.”

Anna understood quickly and left the room. The duke sprang up to approach Edelweiss.

“Sit and speak.”

She stepped back, putting distance between them.

“Am I that unpleasant to you?” He bit his lip in displeasure.

“Why are you here?”

“Why? I heard about the accident at the victory banquet— that you were unconscious for a week and just woke. Of course I’m worried.”

Edelweiss let out a faint, bitter laugh.

When I nearly died,

he had never come.

Now, long after she’d stopped waiting, he appeared. Even hearing his voice disgusted her.

“Since you’ve seen I’m fine, please leave.”

“Edelweiss, you should know when to yield. If I’ve made concessions, you could at least preten—”

“Oh? Do you want to parade as the grand duchess’s loving father now?”

“I came because I was concerned! Must you speak so harshly?” he snapped, bristling with anger.

He pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.

“Besides, I heard you fell while saving Rosemary. In that situation you should have sent someone else— why risk yourself?”

Edelweiss recalled the scene the duke would never know.

“My sister pretended to lose her balance, grabbed my hand, and pulled me over.”

“…What?”