Carlos was pacing anxiously outside the bedroom. After circling the same spot for a while, he recalled what had happened earlier.

‘Her water has broken. It seems Her Majesty the Queen will be giving birth soon.’

The doctor who began examining Ines as soon as she was moved to the room had shouted with a pale face. Carlos was the one who was taken aback by this answer.

‘Giving birth? But the due date should still be far off…’

They said her water broke as soon as they laid Ines on the bed. She would end up giving birth prematurely, without completing her full term.

Most babies born prematurely didn’t survive more than a few days. No, even lasting a few days would be considered doing well.

Carlos let out a heavy sigh at the child’s predicted future.

“Haa…”

As he was rubbing his face with his hands out of frustration, Herman, who had returned after handling the situation outside, approached and whispered.

“We’ve taken care of the body for now. But how should we handle the funeral?”

While she was Ines’s birth mother, she was also Duke Claudia’s mistress. It didn’t make sense for the royal family to hold a funeral for a mistress when even the duke’s family couldn’t properly handle the body recovery. Moreover, they couldn’t predict what kind of repercussions there would be if the citizens, who didn’t know Llewellyn was the queen’s birth mother, found out that the royal family had held her funeral.

After pondering for a moment, Carlos answered.

“…We’ll do whatever Ines wants later.”

This time, he intended to choose what would comfort Ines’s heart rather than what would benefit the country or gain the citizens’ support. This was because he felt somewhat responsible for Llewellyn’s death.

“Yes, understood. However…”

Herman hesitated, seeming to have more to say.

“Many people saw Her Majesty clutching the body and crying earlier. Because of that, rumors are now spreading that the deceased mistress might be Her Majesty’s birth mother… What should we do about this?”

Carlos let out a brief sigh at Herman’s words. Yes, how could anyone not question it? Who would wail so desperately over the death of their father’s mistress?

“For now, make sure everyone keeps quiet about this as much as possible. We’ll watch how the situation develops after that.”

Carlos’s expression was devastated as he gave the brief order.

He had failed to protect anything. Llewellyn’s life, the unborn child, and even Ines and all the secrets related to her – in the end, he couldn’t protect any of it. Carlos had never felt so powerless as he did today.

When he heard the news that Llewellyn had been caught by citizens and beaten to death with stones, he thought for a moment that he had misheard. Not only had she been hidden well enough that even the marquis couldn’t find her, but he had also assigned a knight to protect her.

But Jeremy reported that during the very brief time he was away, citizens somehow knew and rushed to the house. It seemed they remembered her appearance from the few times Llewellyn had gone out before the rumors grew bigger.

‘After all, there aren’t many people with red hair who stutter.’

Moreover, because specific details about her age and appearance had spread through rumors, it seemed some sharp-eyed individuals had incited the people. Though she had been with Clarkson at the time, his whereabouts were now also unknown.

‘How could things have gotten so twisted?’

If they had just moved the hideout one day earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. Was it because he gave the orders too late? Or should he have sent more guard knights? Or perhaps he should have brought Llewellyn into the palace from the start, as Ines had said.

Meaningless regrets jumbled through his mind. The guilt of failing to protect Ines’s precious person choked him.

The image of Ines wailing was vivid in Carlos’s mind. Her eyes had been full of resentment and anger toward him.

And he understood those emotions better than anyone. After all, he had felt the same way when he lost his mother in the war.

Because he had cursed those who had driven his innocent mother to her death.

It was bad enough that they died miserably, but both of their mothers had ended their lives branded with the stigma of being wh*res. How tragic was that? Even after he became king, the tragedy had repeated itself.

Just as Carlos was feeling this devastation and powerlessness, a faint cry of a baby burst through from beyond the door.

At the same time, the door that seemed like it would never open finally opened, and the doctor appeared. Carlos rushed to the doctor and asked urgently.

“What about Ines? Is Ines alright?”

“Yes. Her Majesty is safe for now. Though she’s very weak from giving birth before her due date, her life is in no danger.”

Carlos let out a sigh of relief at this. However, it was short-lived, as his face instantly hardened at the doctor’s next words.

“But the baby…”

“What about the baby?”

An ominous feeling swept over him at the doctor’s hesitation. Come to think of it, the baby’s faint cry that he had heard earlier was now silent.

Finally realizing something was wrong, Carlos hurriedly entered the room. The thick smell of blood that filled the sealed space hit his nostrils.

On the bed lay unconscious Ines, and beside her was placed a small cradle. And inside it…

“…”

A tiny baby that looked like a lump of blood lay there, taking ragged breaths.

Though he had worried if everything would be complete due to the early birth, it was a boy with all his eyes, nose, mouth, and limbs intact.

Carlos stared intently at the baby who hadn’t even been cleaned of blood yet. The black hair was the same color as Carlos’s. Above all, the baby’s face…

“He’s a prince who resembles Your Majesty.”

Anyone could see he was Carlos’s son. The baby looked so much like Carlos that even a stranger could immediately identify the baby’s father.

When Carlos stood still, frozen in place, the midwife carefully picked up the baby and handed him to Carlos.

His touch was careful as he reflexively took the baby. The baby was so small he could be held with just one hand. When the tiny baby’s warmth touched his chest, his heart began to pound strongly. It was an overwhelming feeling.

He looked at the baby’s face and quietly murmured.

“…He looks like me.”

“Yes, he resembles Your Majesty very much.”

It felt so strange seeing a child who looked like himself. It was like a tickling sensation somewhere in his heart. But that peculiar feeling was brief, as his brow furrowed when he realized the baby’s condition wasn’t good.

“The baby’s breathing is too weak, is that alright? His body also seems smaller than other babies.”

“Well, since he didn’t complete his full term… Regrettably… he probably won’t live very long.”

Carlos’s body stiffened at the midwife’s words.

“What?”

“You need to prepare yourself mentally.”

His whole body tingled with the sensation of his heart dropping to the pit of his stomach. His legs almost gave way for a moment.

At the same time, the harsh words he had thrown at Ines in the past flooded his mind.

‘That child in your womb now. Is it really my child?’

‘Perhaps that child in your womb. It might be neither mine nor my brother’s. Then is it the marquis’s child? Ah, is that why the marquis and his wife just watched your affair? Were you planning to kill me and put that bastard on the throne when it’s born?’

Words that were too late to take back.

‘What have I done?’

After recalling the words he had thrown at Ines, he turned his head. Unaware of the situation, Ines was sleeping with an obviously exhausted expression.

‘It’s because of me…’

It was because of him that the child was born before completing its full term.

Because he had said such harsh things to Ines. Because he hadn’t believed what she said. Because he had constantly pushed and pressured her. And…

Because he couldn’t protect the one person she loved.

Carlos bit his lip. The sins of his past weighed on his shoulders like lead. He could barely breathe. His transgressions began to choke his throat and heart.

Gritting his teeth, he approached the doctor.

“Save the child.”

Begging the doctor to save the child was the best he could do right now.

“If you save the child, I’ll give you anything you want. So please…”

Carlos lowered his head. He seemed to be swallowing tears for a moment.

He wanted to save the child. He wanted to turn back time to before everything had happened.

But now, all he could do was beg.