Chapter 145

Chapter 145

Proofreader: somnium

Cedric sprinted to the Grand Duke’s residence.

His mansion is not far from the Prime Minister’s residence, but he’s never been this frustrated. Even seeing people on the street made him angry.

When he jumped into the Grand Duke’s mansion, the employees panicked.

Cedric paused in the lobby. And he took one deep breath. It won’t change anything just because he rushed.

A servant was waiting with water and a towel to wash his hands. Cedric washed his hands and wiped his face.

He hoped that his face would keep its composure.

Ansgar looked at him anxiously.

“What’s the matter? Is there anything wrong with Tia? Is her condition bad?”

“No. Doctors say she has improved remarkably within a day. He said that her complexion was restored to the extent that it was no problem that she hadn’t eaten anything while she was sleeping…….”

“And?”

“It looks like she is crying right now.”

Ansgar said in great perplexity.

He didn’t know what they were talking about through the closed door, but the only thing he could hear was a cry.

 

All the employees have seen until now was only Artizea’s smiling face and the majestic mistress.

Ansgar saw her weeping the first day she came to this house.

But even then, Artizea had not abandoned her noble appearance, despite her bruised and ripped-off face.

The doctor didn’t know what to do.

“It seems she didn’t know she was pregnant.”

“…… is it.”

“She thought she was infertile…… she seems shocked.”

The doctor said so cautiously.

Cedric nodded that he understood and took off his dusty cloak. Ansgar took his clothes.

As they entered Artizea’s sitting room, Marcus, who was standing in front of the door, jumped up to Cedric. Sophie was half crying.

Lysia and Alphonse also looked worried, then looked at Cedric and bowed their heads in relief.

Knock, knock.

Cedric knocked on the door.

And he opened the door without waiting for an answer. He did not want Artizea to greet him fully prepared.

Even if Artizea would treat everyone in this world with her armor on, she shouldn’t be so to him.

 

“Hiccup!”

Artizea hiccupped in surprise at the sound of the door opening.

Alice hugged Artizea as if wrapping around her and looked towards the door.

Cedric took a step through the door. Then he turned his hand back and closed the door.

“Lord, Lord Cedric, ho, how…….”

Artizea looked at him with eyes of disbelief. Blood drained from her tear-stained face.

“I was back on the day you collapsed. It’s not like I set the date on purpose.”

Artizea looked at Alice in confusion. Alice answered in a low voice.

“Yes.”

“Wh, why?”

“What I have to do at the Thold Gate is, of course, the work of a lifetime, but it is no more important than you.”

Cedric answered in a low voice.

Artizea’s body, which had been stiff in surprise, began to tremble.

Alice took her hand. Cedric said.

“Alice, I can’t say that your worries are less than mine, but I want you to step aside for a moment.”

If Cedric had come out even a little stronger, Alice wouldn’t have left Artizea’s side.

But he was polite and very calm.

Artizea tightened her hand as she grabbed Alice’s arm.

Alice gently pushed her hand away and bowed a greeting to Cedric politely and withdrew.

Cedric walked over to the bedside.

Artizea pulled her body back as if frightened and was going to run away. But she quickly reached the edge of the bed.

Cedric pulled her back and held her in his arms before she fell off the bed.

Artizea pushed him away, completely terrified. Cedric grabbed her as she struggled, hugged her and patted her on the back.

Artizea’s hiccups barely stopped.

There were too many things to talk about. He had a lot to tell, a lot to ask, and a lot to rebuke.

Her first promise was that she wouldn’t hurt herself, and Artizea still couldn’t live up to that.

“Did you get up and drink water?”

Artizea did not answer and only nodded her head.

Cedric rested her head against his chest and stroked the back of her head lightly.

“They said that you should eat well and rest.”

“That…… I’m…… trying.”

Artizea stuttered.

She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to talk about the child.

But Cedric should already know. If the doctor knew, everyone in the residence would have known.

She was so afraid of what to say. She was afraid to say she didn’t want it.

But Cedric asked Artizea before she spoke.

“Are you afraid of the child?”

Artizea’s body stiffened.

Cedric, knowing that she could no longer make any attempt to run away anymore, gently laid her down on the bed.

Then, with his thumb, he wiped her tear-soaked eyes once, and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“You don’t have to give birth to it. If you don’t want it.”

“…… !”

Artizea’s body trembled like having a convulsion. Cedric swept her forehead.

For the past two nights, he has been thinking countless times about the possibility that Artizea might have drank the medicine even though she knew she had a child.

Maybe she thought she might as well get rid of the child.

He thought if she was going to abort it anyway, she might have found the moment when it would be most effective and made it part of her ruse.

Cedric was guessing Artizea was setting her goals.

The goal is not the reason behind the two-year deadline she set out when they married, nor the day when he will be crowned.

She will leave when she thinks things won’t turn around anymore, or when she thinks she can no longer contribute to Cedric’s power.

So he thought she might see the child as a hindrance to her plans.

Perhaps, she was just being swept away by his and her relationship as a man and woman, and she didn’t want to start a family or forge a bond with a child.

But he thought it was fortunate it wasn’t the case.

Artizea is just afraid.

“You are weak, you are still young, and I am well aware that having children can be dangerous. When the child is born, it would be difficult to move around.”

Something inside Cedric’s chest seemed to be washed away.

It was something he had already decided even when he thought that she might have drunk the medicine while knowing of pregnancy.

Whether to have any child or not, let Artizea choose.

Still, he was in pain.

But now it’s fine. If it was a decision she made while in tears like this, he could accept it himself.

“If you tried to get rid of the child, I think it’s possible. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to give birth.”

When Cedric said that, Artizea hesitated this time.

Because she never thought she would hear such a thing.

But it wasn’t relief that spread through her mind. Anxiety and fear ran through her veins, making her hands and feet tremble.

After all, Cedric may not have even thought of having any child.

He might have thought it was impossible. Isn’t she Miraila’s daughter and Lawrence’s sister?

She couldn’t even imagine that Cedric wasn’t that kind of person.

Artizea thought it was crazy. But nothing allows her to think properly.

Cedric placed his hand on Artizea’s eyes, as if aware of all kinds of thoughts churning in her head. It was like the night they became one for the first time.

“But it’s not that I hate the child myself.”

Even back then, and for her right now, when her eyes were covered, it made Artizea feel strange.

It was just that when her eyes were covered, it felt as if she was cut off from the world.

Cedric’s hands were large and warm, wet from her tears. The touch melted away what was in Artizea’s head.

“Then give birth.”

“But, but what if it’s wrong? I, I, I don’t have the confidence I can raise it properly. Heuk…….”

“I will raise it well.”

“If, if it resembles me, if it resembles my mother or brother, or if it passes on my biological father’s blood.”

Artizea gasped and stuttered her words.

She didn’t even have a clue if what she was saying was being properly sentenced. It was as if the words that rose from her chest were flowing straight through her mouth; not through her head.

“You seem to be forgetting that I have imperial blood in my veins.”

“That’s…….”

“If you were going to say ‘bad blood,’ that would be the best depiction. Do you not know well how the imperial family washed blood with blood?”

“Lord, Cedric.”

“Tia, you are not born with bad blood. No one has ever taught you the right path.”

Cedric said softly. And he leaned his body to Artizea and spoke affectionately.

“I’m scared, too.”

Artizea took in a breath.

“I can’t even remember the faces of my parents. Instead of leaving a good world for it, I might be leaving it with a lot of luggage.”

“…… No… way.”

“If we are unlucky, you and I may both be purged, and the child may be left alone; like I did. His Majesty is someone who knows very well the limits of what a person can endure.”

Artizea couldn’t deny that.

“Still, I want it. Just as you became my wife, the children are on the road we should go on with together.”

Artizea groaned.

“…… Still I can’t. Ho, ho, how?”

Anyway, how could she possibly have Cedric’s child?

It would have been better if it was just a child born between Cedric and herself.

However, when the child is born, the child becomes the eldest child of Evron Grand Duchy, who was born by lawful marriage. It was the unconditional successor.

Cedric wiped her eyes again with the palm of his hand.

“Crying like that makes you dehydrated.”

“I, no.”

Artizea mumbled a few meaningless words.

Cedric pulled her, hugged her and made her bury her face in his shoulder.

“You don’t have to make a decision right now.”

“Bu, but…….”

“Don’t think about it. You will think about it with me later. Do you understand?”

He said while comforting her.

What does that mean? Artizea thought. Having Cedric by her side is what scares her the most right now.

But as he patted her, the rest of the thoughts melted in her mind. Now she couldn’t even remember why she started crying.

Artizea wept as he released her neck from his arms. And she fell into a dark sleep at some point.\n