Chapter 3 – Part 4
In the spacious bedroom, only Tenere and Evelyn remained. Tenere looked at her with a slightly tense heart.
“Please answer my questions honestly from now on, My Lady.”
“I will.”
Although she answered obediently, Tenere’s mind was in disarray. The court physician had mentioned no significant health issues, so had she been telling lies to cover up any problems?
Even absurd thoughts crossed her mind due to the tension. After contemplating for a while, Evelyn cautiously spoke up.
“Are you sure the last time you had been intimate with someone was ten days before your monthly visit?”
Evelyn’s question was extremely cautious, and Tenere, feeling a bit awkward, absentmindedly placed her hand on her abdomen.
“Is there a chance of pregnancy?”
To that question, Evelyn nodded slowly. Tenere felt as if her heart had dropped to the floor.
Pregnancy, a potential heir. Why now?
Evelyn sighed and Tenere, after a moment of silence, spoke.
“It was a month and a half ago. I haven’t had my monthly event for quite a while because of the delayed menstruation.”
“The timing of conception varies from person to person.”
Evelyn responded simply. Tenere thought she might give examples of other patients, but she didn’t say more. Perhaps she meant her lips were sealed.
Tenere looked at her intently.
“May I ask for your discretion?”
“I’m not someone who would recklessly disclose a patient’s information. But if that child is truly the Emperor’s…”
“I will inform the Emperor. But I need time to settle my emotions.”
Tenere replied calmly. Evelyn hesitated a moment but then nodded slowly.
After the doctor left, Tenere called for Eric and Camilla to her room. The atmosphere was cautious, as both were aware that something unusual had happened after the doctor’s visit.
“What’s going on, sister? Is something wrong?” Eric asked anxiously.
“What did the doctor say?”
Eric inquired hurriedly. Tenere looked at them both and began to speak.
“Eric, this conversation must remain a secret. Camilla, the same goes for you.”
Both of them nodded slowly, sensing the gravity of the situation. Tenere’s gaze then turned to Eric.
“…There’s a possibility that I am pregnant”
“What?”
“My Lady!”
Eric’s eyes widened, and Camilla let out a shocked scream. Tenere smiled, gently caressing her still-flat abdomen.
“But, I thought you couldn’t conceive…”
“I haven’t conceived for four years, so I thought it wouldn’t be this time either. I don’t want any words about my potential pregnancy to come out yet because I don’t want to make a fuss over something that probably wasn’t true.”
Eric and Camilla were both speechless. Eric managed to find words.
“No, we need to send a message to the palace immediately. I’ll inform the knights…”
“No, Eric.”
Tenere quickly stopped Eric, grabbing onto his clothes.
“I’ve already told you. Keep this a secret.”
“But… you’ve conceived a royal child…”
“I thought I’d give myself a few days to compose myself before telling him. It’s still early, and there’s a risk of miscarriage.”
“Then all the more reason to tell the king. You must have imperial protection…….”
“I am no longer the empress, brother,” Tenere said with a smile.
“The doctor told me not to stress, and if I announce this news now, there will be an uproar, and I can’t afford that.”
Eric still looked puzzled, but Tenere’s stubbornness finally forced him to nod.
Once he seemed to understand, Tenere turned her head towards Camilla.
“Camilla, you must keep this matter confidential as well. Don’t inform the other maids.”
“O-of course, My Lady. Is there anything you need?”
“Well… I was told I should eat a lot of fresh fruit…”
“I’ll go buy some right away!”
With that shout, Camilla left the room without wasting any time, displaying the dutiful demeanor of a faithful maid.
Tenere stared at the closed door for a moment before turning her gaze back to Eric.
“I have a favor to ask, Brother.”
Eric noticed that Tenere’s voice had become heavier than before.
“What is it?”
“I need you to keep an eye on Camilla.”
“What?”
“There’s something I want to find out.”
Although Eric was puzzled, he silently nodded in response to Tenere’s serious expression.
Tenere gently stroked her still-flat abdomen.
* * *
Camilla, leaving the marquisate mansion, entered a narrow alley. There was impatience on her previously lively face.
Inside the deserted alley stood an old building with spiderwebs clinging to its window frames.
Camilla stepped inside. A man with a turned-up robe greeted her as if expecting her.
“I told you not to come here so recklessly.”
Camilla involuntarily shivered at his low, cave-like voice. However, she hadn’t forgotten the purpose of her visit.
“I have something urgent to report.”
The man silently looked at her. Camilla, visibly anxious throughout, didn’t forget her purpose.
“My Lady has been confirmed pregnant. She will be informing the palace shortly.”
Upon Camilla’s words, a realization slowly dawned on the man’s face.
“You said there was no chance of pregnancy.”
“…”
“You were so confident, yet it seems you didn’t gain the trust you were hoping for.”
At his mocking remark, Camilla asked with pursed lips, “Is there anything you need, sir?”
“She is a person with a lot of shame. Since she hasn’t been able to conceive until now, she’s reluctant to make a fuss about it.”
“Or maybe it’s not the Emperor’s child, but that of another man.”
The man made a cynical joke and then took out a small bottle, handing it to her.
Even without saying what it was, it was clear it was some kind of medicine.
“It’s not a lethal poison, so don’t worry. Since the Emperor continues to show interest in her, we can’t kill her. It’ll be hard to get her back in the palace, but who cares when she’s been deposed.”
“But personally administering it is too much of a risk.”
“So, you can’t do it?”
The man lifted an eyebrow as if teasing her. Camilla, with a smile, reached out her hand.
“You should provide an additional bonus. Trying to be subtle, huh?”
“Well, at least you’re consistent.”
With a hearty laugh, the man took out a substantial pouch. Camilla’s eyes gleamed as she checked the contents.
* * *
Some people would do anything for money. Camilla was one of them.
Her dream was to cast off the tedious life of a maid and live a life without financial worries.
She hated being forced to smile for people she didn’t like, and she hated being forced to grovel at the service of a woman who wasn’t even the Empress.
‘She’s so foolish.’
Camilla hadn’t liked Tenere since her time at the mansion. Tenere was quiet, boring, and stupid.
There were times when the atmosphere in the mansion sank due to Tenere’s disagreements with the Marquis.
From what she had overheard, it seemed that she didn’t get along with Lady Salvatore, the Marquis’s daughter.
It’s just a matter of swallowing your pride.
For Camilla, who had lived bending and groveling, Tenere, who couldn’t even do that, was just pitiful.
She had seen her father scolded and had been slapped a few times, but she never received any sympathy.
“What’s the big deal about getting slapped a few times by a nobleman?”
She thought that considering the benefits, even if she had to endure a few slaps, it would be worth it.
Why should a maid pity a noblewoman who has never experienced being starved or worried about her bed?
Then, when the emperor asked to marry Tenere, she thought she might be taken to the palace if she looked favorably in her eyes.
However, she had no interest in the mansion’s maids. She only cared about entering the palace to indulge herself.
Not long after Tenere entered the palace, Camilla considered quitting her maid duties. The salary from Marquis Evan was not significant compared to the scale of the mansion, and having accumulated some experience, she was determined to apply to another mansion that paid more.
That’s when she met a man.
“Do you need money?”
The man offered Camilla a sum of money she had never seen before, asking her to gather information about Marquis Evan.
Camilla hesitated for a moment, but it was merely a consideration of whether the benefits of listening to the man’s words would outweigh the benefits of revealing his existence to Marquis Evan.
Before long, Camilla took the man’s hand. The allure of the money he offered was too tempting.
The man had Camilla obtain information about Ludwig Evan, and after Tenere’s dethronement due to Ludwig’s betrayal, she was to become her maid to keep an eye on her.
Though she didn’t go out much and had no significant information to convey, She was genuinely unhelpful. What worth could those jewels possibly hold on such a trivial subject?
She had hoped that admiring the jewelry box might prompt Tenere to give her one or two pieces, but instead of giving them away, Tenere simply stashed them in a corner without a second glance.
‘It wouldn’t hurt to lose one or two.’
Of course, it was just an unrealized thought. However, before leaving the mansion, Camilla was determined to lay her hands on that jewelry box.
That is after she had drugged Tenere and paid the man extra for her services and her silence.
But as the old saying goes, ‘If the tail is long, it’s bound to get caught.’
Returning to the mansion, Camilla immediately sought out Tenere, holding a basket full of fresh seasonal fruits.
Tenere greeted her with a gentle smile.
“I’ll cut the fruits and prepare some tea for you, My Lady. Please wait a moment.”
“Thank you.”
She looked as if she had never known suspicion or so it seemed.
Ludwig Evan had not been wrong. She was stupid, foolish, a woman who could only lock herself in a room and embroider.
Camilla hummed as she sliced the fruit, poured hot water into the teapot, and took out the vial.
She had just opened the vial.
“What are you going to put in it, Camilla?”
A soft voice echoed. Camilla, frozen in place, recognized the familiar voice and felt a shiver down her spine.
“My Lady?”
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Zaitra
Now I understand, if Teneri wasn’t unable to conceive, I think Salvatore was putting something in her food, the traitorous dog bites his master’s hand