The patient’s condition began to improve slowly but steadily. As the court physician predicted, the time she stayed awake each day also began to gradually increase.

For the first day or two, as if unable to distinguish between unconsciousness and reality, she sometimes made sounds difficult to understand.

Still, most of what she said was about the child.

“What should I do. I think there was poison in the soup.”

“I’m fine, but I’m worried about the child in my belly. Is the child really alright?”

Each time, Raul answered that the child was healthy and fine, and Kareina would fall asleep again in relief.

After several such confused periods passed, Kareina seemed to have gained confidence about the child’s life or death. Instead, she began to worry about other things.

“This child is Your Majesty’s child. Not another man’s child. So you must, you must let it live.”

“……I know, Kareina.”

“And I really had nothing to do with the late Empress’s death. So even if you can’t love the child, please don’t mistreat or hate it. Either way, it’s your child.”

Hearing desperate excuses for a child that no longer existed in this world was agonizing. Knowing the reason for the excuses was because of the cruel acts Raul had committed against Kareina was also agonizing.

Raul didn’t know which of the two he should feel more guilty about. Instead, he fulfilled his responsibility by nodding to everything Kareina said and making promises he couldn’t keep.

“I believe everything you say. Philip Adrian confessed. From the fact that there was a secret passage in the imperial palace over two hundred years old, to the fact that the passage was passed down only to Niyev emperors through generations and you didn’t even know of its existence. So, tormenting you over my mother’s death was my mistake.”

Raul held Kareina’s hand, which seemed to be closing into unconsciousness again, and whispered.

“Don’t worry about the child either. It’s your child, how could I hate it. So just live somehow. Then I’ll take care of everything after that.”

Kareina looked at Raul with a slight smile at the corners of her mouth. Then suddenly, looking at the frames and paintings hung on the wall, her eyes took on a dreamy look.

It was a precarious peace. However, Raul prayed this peace, like the calm before a storm, would last as long as possible.

After she became able to stay awake for more than an hour, Kareina’s condition began to stabilize rapidly.

The court physician kept marveling that a person could survive this long despite organs being severely damaged by poison. Meanwhile, he praised Kareina, saying the patient’s strong will to live greatly helped with treatment.

“It can’t be explained medically, but research on humans passed down from ancient times shows this. Whether a patient at the crossroads of life and death has the will to live or not makes a very significant difference.”

“Then what saved me must be the child in my belly. Without this child, I probably wouldn’t have found a reason to wake up.”

“Ah. That’s right, Your Majesty.”

The court physician would chatter excitedly but often stop the conversation and flee, saying he had urgent business. Watching the court physician’s back as he quickly left the room this time too, Kareina judged he had worked hard enough.

He had kept someone who hadn’t woken for several days and brought her back to life to this extent, and even saved the fetus, so he had done his job.

Of course, no matter how renowned, the imperial palace’s court physician wasn’t a god.

The poison Kareina drank had already damaged a considerable portion of her internal organs. Perhaps because of that, after walking a few steps, pain would arise in her lungs and she had to stand still. Her weakened heart, which she could often feel pounding, also worried her that it might burst while beating like this.

Nevertheless, Kareina could endure. Even when she became depressed about her changed body, her will would spring forth when she thought of the child in her belly.

Thus Kareina cleanly emptied the meal the maid brought. Donnis, who had just arrived, smiled brightly seeing the empty bowl.

“There must be many renowned physicians in the imperial palace. When I first saw you lying here, I thought you were unmistakably a corpse.”

“Thanks to them, I’ve improved a lot. Who would have thought Tirantus would do something good for me.”

Still, at the words that one should live long and see, Donnis made an expression not knowing whether to laugh or not. Since regaining consciousness, she visited the palace every day with a similar expression.

At first, she blamed herself for not suspecting Wynter. When scolded not to come if she was going to blame herself, she began to seriously worry about Kareina’s health condition from then on.

Donnis treated Kareina as if she would go out if blown on, burst if squeezed. Though knowing her good nature, being constantly treated like a critical patient was utterly disagreeable.

Moreover, she had been away from home for too long. The fact that she was starting to worry about Mr. Crown, who must be guarding the house alone, was also because her body had considerably improved.

Kareina slightly frowned.

“Anyway, you’re newlyweds, so you can’t just stay by my side. At this rate, Mr. Crown will forget his wife’s face. I’ve improved a lot, so go home now.”

“Absolutely not. I won’t leave here until Your Highness is completely recovered.”

“Are you worried about me? My body is recovering fast enough. Even the court physician is amazed at the recovery speed.”

“But you’re not completely recovered. Besides, no matter how much your body improves, this place is the imperial palace, so……”

Donnis trailed off. Of course, Kareina knew well what she was trying to say. Donnis was the very person who had fled long ago, unable to endure the stifling atmosphere of the imperial palace. Kareina had also failed while struggling to escape.

But wasn’t the situation different now?

In the current situation where the child in her womb had been discovered and her body was damaged, the optimal place for Kareina to be was right here, in the Empress’s palace quarters.

Here she could receive treatment from the Empire’s finest doctors. Also, perhaps a decision considering the mother’s psychology, the walls that had definitely been cleanly emptied when she left were decorated similarly to before.

Though it was sometimes questionable whether an environment similar to before would really help mental and physical stability. At least Kareina came to believe that Tirantus’s imperial family would fully accept her child.

“Fortunately, His Majesty also treats me well, perhaps because of the child. The child is fortunately healthy. The poison must not have spread to the womb.”

“……That’s fortunate. So please recover quickly, Your Highness.”

Donnis bit her lips tightly, then left after a moment.

Kareina touched her belly out of habit and tried to think of pretty and good things. By the way, her belly still hadn’t swollen much.

Though she thought it natural that it didn’t show yet since she was slender, there were moments when she suddenly became anxious. The same went for moments when she occasionally felt extreme pain in her chest or sat down gasping for breath while walking.

When her body hurt this much, how on earth did the child endure? It was a fundamental question.

But it must surely be baseless anxiety. The court physician checked the child’s condition daily and she was taking medicine said to be good for the fetus. Kareina left the bed and leaned against the window frame.

After wiping the sweat beading on her forehead from walking just a few steps, the blue lake filled her vision.

Kareina stared at the ripples on the lake surface like an old habit. Perhaps because the wind outside was particularly strong today, the regularly spaced patterns even felt somewhat noisy.

And soon a group of people walking toward the Emperor’s palace entered her field of vision.

Judging by the fur clothes and thick vests unsuited to the season, they seemed to be people from the north. Idly confirming their exotic attire, the shape of their thick-soled shoes, and the decorations on their chests, Kareina realized these people had come from farther north than expected.

They were people who had come from the Kingdom of Simon.