Chapter 4

She wasn’t the type to be optimistic about reality, so she naturally assumed the worst would happen.

She wanted to shed herself of the shackles of Binochet and Heathvilion. However, Reina knew that she had no way to survive on her own at the moment.

If I’m going to survive with Ell, I have to change first.

She thought back to her vow that she wouldn’t run away anymore.

After practicing her speech several times in the mirror, Reina summoned the butler, Donovan. Her clenched fists trembled slightly, but she spoke with confidence and Donovan didn’t notice. She requested food, activities, and prenatal care for her baby to her heart’s content.

Maybe it’s because of my morning sickness, but I really want some sour fruit.

After reluctantly climbing out of her blankets, Reina bit into one of the sour plums Donovan had brought and opened the Sorcier Empire’s book of imperial code.

Divorce, divorce, divorce.

She scanned the table of contents until she found the page she wanted. And then she spent a long time reading through the empire’s family laws specific to divorce procedures.

If she could exercise her rights to her property freely even after divorce, she would end her marriage to Edgar.

Hours passed before Reina neatly closed the book and gave up.

“Divorce won’t work.”

If Edgar remarried after their divorce and had a son, Ell could lose his right to succession as the eldest son. Reina wanted to make sure her son could enjoy the things he deserved, not take them away.

Since divorce was no longer an option, she had to find another way to live. She hadn’t forgotten about the foolish, pathetic woman who had contracted lung disease from a lack of firewood and died.

“But there’s really no way.”

In Sorcier, a woman needed her husband’s consent in order to exercise her property rights. If Reina wanted to liquidate her portion of the Binochet fortunes, she couldn’t do so without Edgar’s consent.

Reina recoiled at her helplessness. Her stomach tightened, as if Ell had sensed his mother’s anxiety.

“Ell...”

Reina put the book of imperial code aside and began to read aloud the storybook she had gotten for prenatal education.

“A long, long time ago, there was a beautiful princess. The princess’s father was one of the dragons who ruled the world, and her mother was a human.”

The content was difficult for a fairy tail, but Reina didn’t stop reading.

“Look at the angels. They are so numb to their emotions that they don’t understand how beautiful this world is. And what of the demons? Their attraction can’t be denied, but they don’t know true love.”

Reading a children’s book out loud for the first time in her life was so surprisingly fun that time flew by.

It’s already so late...

Reina glanced at her bedroom door. It had been a week since she had threatened the doctor into silence. Edgar must have noticed her unusual behavior, but things were surprisingly quiet.

Reina quelled the fear creeping up and finished reading the storybook in a soft, quiet voice.

She had only one realistic option left.

***

“Hey, did you hear the rumors?”

“The madam is...”

Duchess Heathvilion was pregnant.

The rumor began with the dining hall maids who prepared the meals sent to the duchess’s room. Once the duchess’s physician confirmed the rumors, the news spread like wildfire.

The vassals of Heathvilion were displeased with the news of Reina’s pregnancy, and the estate staff worried about how to treat her.

It was common knowledge that their master looked down upon the duchess. And now, a young master had been conceived by such a woman.

The staff had been indecisive about whether to treat the baby as the heir, and Reina decided that now was the time to request all sorts of things that were good for the body. The staff bowed their heads in deference to her.

Reina sought out all of the luxuries a pregnant woman could enjoy.

I’m going to do all the things I couldn’t do for him before.

With that in mind, she found good things to eat, good things to see, and good things to listen to. Once she began making requests, it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be.

Sometimes the nightmares found her, but Reina thought of how she would soon hold Ell in her arms and endured them.

She believed that Ell was the sole reason and purpose for her second chance at life. And yet she couldn’t be certain that she would be able to touch him once he was born.

Even as her love for Ell grew, her thoughts became muddier and she became even more lost on the inside.

***

After hearing the news of Reina’s pregnancy, Edgar returned from the imperial city.

On Donovan’s delivery of the news of Edgar’s visit, Reina replied indifferently.

“I’m unwell, so let His Grace know that I won’t be able to welcome him.”

Afterward, she spent a long time taking deep breaths and composing herself. Then she stood before Edgar’s study, attempting to seem calm. She reached out to take the handle and open the door, but her hand trembled violently.

“Ah...”

Reina hated this place.

No, she feared it.

She recalled how she’d knelt and begged daily for Ell after he was taken from her and Edgar’s face when he brought the black-haired woman into their home.

But I can’t run away.

If she didn’t want to suffer miserably like she had in the past, she needed to negotiate with Edgar.

Reina opened the door with pale hands. She walked into the study and stood before Edgar’s desk. He watched her with an indifferent expression.

His light blond hair and crimson eyes resembled Ell’s. After finding these traces of her son in Edgar, she felt her trembling heart calm slightly.

Edgar continued to stare at Reina wordlessly for a time, until eventually, he was the first to speak.

“What is it?”

Reina’s lips trembled. The tension was suffocating.

“I will give you what you want,” she said.

“What I want? Even I don’t know what I want, but you’re saying that you know?”

Reina played the card she had prepared. “I know that you need the Binochet businesses under my name. I’ll give them to you.”

The odds were even.

Reina had spent the past few days thinking and trying to discover the reasons why Edgar hadn’t divorced her and had let her live.

She had found only one answer that made sense.

If she died or divorced Edgar, the inheritance under Reina’s name would return to the Binochets. Reina guessed that Edgar had kept her alive to use her as a pawn to keep House Binochet in check.

Edgar’s eyes narrowed, and his crimson eyes grew cold. It didn’t seem as though he was angry. Rather, he appeared curious about what she was trying to say.

“Before the accident, that is to say, when I was born, I received quite a few things. My mother... left me the northern mines of Altenberg. I’m sure you already know.”

“Interesting.”

Reina’s lips were dry. This was the first time she had ever been concerned about Edgar’s unreadable attitude.

Please fall for it. Fall for it. Tell me to hand over what I have.

Reina stared nervously at Edgar, whose lips hadn’t even moved.

Finally, he asked, “And what do you want in return for handing that over?”

“Don’t intervene in anything concerning me or my unborn child.”

Edgar tapped the table with a long finger. After a moment of thought, he asked her, “And what do you mean when you tell me not to intervene?”

Reina tried desperately not to be too conscious of Edgar, and spoke as confidently as she could.

“Pretend that I don’t exist to you. Of course, I’ll raise my child, and my child still must have everything they deserve as the Heathvilion heir. You live in the imperial city anyway, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to oblige me.”

“So you don’t want us to cross paths, even though you’ll give birth to the child and raise them here?”

“Yes. If possible, until the day I die.”

Reina tried her best to repress her fear as she met Edgar’s red eyes. Edgar smirked. His quirked lips gave away his bad mood.

“You are the duchess. There are duties that a duchess must perform.” Reina failed to notice that his expression had darkened for a moment. “So I can’t grant your request to avoid crossing your path again.”

“I’ll perform my duties as the duchess. All I want is for you to pretend that I don’t exist.”

Reina decided to try taking things another step forward. She tempted Edgar by offering him a lure.

“Don’t you need the Altenberg mines?”

She was already sick of this, the first tug-of-war in her life, but she was here. There was no backing down. Reina narrowed her eyes. If she won this fight, she and Ell could lead peaceful lives here in Heathvilion.

A long pause followed before his answer finally came.

“All right. I accept.”

Reina’s expression brightened slightly. As her relief spread, her body relaxed and she felt dizzy for a moment.

“Contract...” Reina started to say, putting her hand to her head as she swayed before she could finish.

Edgar jumped up and reached out to support her. “Are you all right?”

Reina stepped back before Edgar’s outstretched hand could touch her. “I-I’m fine. I’m fine, so the contract.”

She didn’t know why she had dodged his touch.

Only that she didn’t want to touch him.

Edgar watched her for a moment, a strange expression on his face. Finally, he quickly scrawled down Reina’s request on a piece of parchment taken from his desk.