‘Her Majesty the Queen has collapsed!’

It was like a bolt from the blue while he was conversing with Herman. The person who greeted Carlos as he rushed to the Lily Palace was the doctor. Having just finished examining the queen, she gave Carlos a proper bow.

Carlos hastily asked the doctor, as if telling her to forget about formalities.

“How is Ines? Is the queen alright?”

“Yes. Contrary to our concerns, fortunately both Her Majesty and the baby in her womb are safe.”

However, despite the doctor’s reassuring words, Carlos’s expression remained troubled.

“Are you sure? I heard she lost a lot of blood…”

Before coming here, he had been told that Ines had collapsed while bleeding. Some palace servants passing by had found her in that state.

To his question, the doctor answered as if telling him not to worry.

“V*ginal bleeding during pregnancy is a common occurrence among expectant mothers. However, if the bleeding continues repeatedly, we cannot rule out the possibility of harm to the baby. Has Her Majesty experienced anything shocking recently?”

Carlos furrowed his brow at the doctor’s question.

“Something shocking?”

“Yes. While we usually cannot prove the exact cause of bleeding, it’s often due to psychological shock or pressure. Especially during pregnancy, women tend to be emotionally unstable.”

“Well, I don’t really know…”

He was about to answer that he knew nothing about that. But suddenly something crossed his mind. The presence he had felt outside the door while talking with Herman earlier.

‘Could it be. Did she hear that conversation? If Ines heard that conversation…’

Just as his expression darkened with an ominous feeling, the doctor’s next words made Carlos pause his thoughts.

“Her Majesty is currently at risk of premature birth. In fact, quite a few mothers give birth prematurely during this period. Therefore, Her Majesty needs to maintain both physical and mental stability for the time being.”

“Premature birth…?”

Almost no babies survived premature birth. No baby born before its full term had lived longer than two days. In other words, if the baby was born prematurely, it would only be waiting for death.

Reading Carlos’s serious expression, the doctor continued.

“Please don’t worry too much. Her Majesty and the baby are safe now. You just need to be careful from now on.”

“…Yes. Thank you for your work.”

Somewhat calmed by her words, Carlos let out a sigh. Then he walked to the bedroom. As Carlos entered the room, the first thing he saw was Ines leaning against the headboard.

Ines too seemed drained of all energy, probably having heard the news from the doctor. Carlos approached her while letting out a low sigh.

Having reached right beside Ines, Carlos spoke.

“I heard you were found collapsed in the corridor today. That you could have lost the child.”

“…”

“Why were you lying there in the middle of winter, without any attendants?”

If it hadn’t been for the maids who had come to clean the empty palace, both the child and Ines could have been in danger. Why had she been alone in such a place, not even in the Lily Palace?

He pressed her for an answer to resolve his doubts.

Moreover.

‘I need to check if she heard the conversation between Herman and me.’

Just as Carlos was waiting for Ines’s answer, an indifferent voice pierced his ears.

“…I was just taking a walk because I felt stuffy.”

“Then why didn’t you take a maid or lady-in-waiting with you?”

“Because I wanted to be alone. It’s uncomfortable having someone following me around.”

“…”

Carlos narrowed his eyes, trying to read Ines’s true feelings. Given her voice devoid of any emotion, it seemed she hadn’t heard his conversation with Herman today.

‘Then it really was my imagination after all.’

Hadn’t Herman also said it was just his imagination? Perhaps he had become particularly sensitive lately. Thinking this way, Carlos let out a sigh of relief, his mind somewhat at ease.

“Until you safely deliver the child, make sure to take a maid or lady-in-waiting with you wherever you go. There’s no guarantee that something like today won’t happen again.”

Having said this, Carlos turned to leave. What more could he say in front of someone who was unwell? He could ask what had happened later when she was feeling better.

“If you need anything, tell Jeff.”

Just as he was about to leave the room with those final words.

Ines, who had been silently listening to his words until now, opened her lips.

“Please bring Llewellyn to the palace.”

Carlos stopped and turned around.

“Llewellyn?”

As he searched his memory at the familiar name, he remembered who Llewellyn was. She was the woman who had been Ines’s wet nurse. Working at a farm now, wasn’t she? Since she had a stutter, it must have been difficult for her to do much besides farm work. The two must have been quite close, as Ines had gone out once before saying she wanted to meet her.

Bringing in one maid to the palace wasn’t even an issue. So just as Carlos was about to agree.

‘It seems the Duke did have a commoner mistress after all.’

‘A commoner mistress…’

As Herman’s words suddenly came to mind, questions he had overlooked began to surface in his mind.

‘Does it make sense for someone with a stutter to be made wet nurse to a duke’s daughter?’

And not just any duke, but Duke Claudia?

Someone with the duke’s perfectionist personality would have at least employed a fallen noble’s wife as a wet nurse. But to assign a commoner with a stutter as wet nurse? No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

Only now noticing something strange, Carlos’s brow furrowed.

Why hadn’t he thought it suspicious until now?

The maid whom Ines had sought out while lying about her being a wet nurse, and Ines who had revealed herself to be an illegitimate child.

And the duke’s hidden commoner mistress.

Like pieces of a puzzle, the scattered clues began fitting together one by one.

Moving his lips, Carlos carefully asked.

“You told me yourself that you were the duke’s illegitimate child. If that’s really true, is this maid Llewellyn… your birth mother?”

Carlos’s eyes trembled slightly as he spoke these words. His gaze seemed to beg her to deny his words.

At his question, Ines’s body flinched slightly. But soon after, composing her expression, Ines answered.

“Yes. Llewellyn is actually my birth mother. That’s why I want to live with her in the palace.”

Her voice was unwavering as she answered, as if there was nothing left to hide.

Watching Ines speak honestly without excuses or lies, Carlos clenched his fist.

He had no choice but to accept it now.

The fact that Ines was truly the duke’s illegitimate child.

Perhaps he had known since the moment he saw the scars on her back. That he had simply denied it because the guilt he would have to bear was too heavy.

Now that it was revealed that even the duke, who was thought to be fastidious in his private life, had a hidden commoner mistress, and the person herself had already revealed she was an illegitimate child.

As his thoughts reached this point, his clenched fist tightened.

Now that he had accepted that Ines was an illegitimate child, there was only one thing he needed to confirm.

“Then the scars on your back… why did they happen?”

“…”

“Did the duke do that?”

He desperately hoped she would deny this one thing. But.

“Why are you trying to learn about past events now?”

Unfortunately, Ines didn’t deny it. At this, Carlos asked once more.

“Then was betraying me your own will?”

Letting out a bitter laugh, Ines answered.

“Does that matter now? I betrayed you, and you’ve already taken your revenge on me.”

She didn’t deny this question either. She merely avoided answering, saying it wasn’t important.

Carlos looked at Ines’s face.

Her lifeless complexion and tired eyes whispered that nothing could be undone anymore.

Yes, there wasn’t a single thing wrong in her words. Nothing could be reversed.

As Ines said, he had already taken all the revenge he could on her, and nothing could be taken back.

Her reputation had already fallen to rock bottom, and her family had been exterminated.

So continuing this conversation was meaningless.

“…You’re right.”

It was right to just bury the past as the past and think only of the child to be born and the remaining future.

“There’s no meaning in bringing up the past now.”

So Carlos intended to bury the sins he had committed. Water already spilled. It would be fine as long as Ines didn’t know. And he could make choices for the future of Ines and the child to be born.

Having organized his thoughts this way, Carlos answered.

“In that sense, I’m afraid we won’t be able to bring Llewellyn to the palace.”