Chapter 14
Natasha blinked slowly, as if the final confirmation had hit her too hard to process. No matter how tightly she held her head and tried to remember, she couldn’t recall anything from the night before.
“I can’t remember anything. Did I really… with him…?”
“Just because you don’t remember doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I mean, the evidence is right there on the sheets.”
“But we already spent our wedding night. Can there still be bleeding afterward?”
“It doesn’t only happen the first time. Sometimes, if it’s been a long while or if your body isn’t used to it again, it can happen. And, my lady…”
Kayeina trailed off, shifting her gaze—just in time to catch sight of something else. Something even more embarrassing and conclusive than the bloodstains on the bed.
“With all due respect, I think there’s too much evidence to pretend last night didn’t happen. It’s a little… overwhelming.”
Following Kayeina’s eyes, Natasha looked down and saw her own arms and legs dotted with red marks.
“What is all this…?!”
Panicking, she rushed to the mirror.
Beyond her arms and legs, red spots bloomed across her neck, collarbone, and chest—like heat rash or flower petals. Her nightgown looked like it had been taken off and thrown back on hastily.
At this point, she couldn’t deny it anymore. With Kayeina’s words and all the physical signs, it was clear: she and Sieghart had been together again—intimately—since their wedding night.
After that day, her husband returned to his usual distant self. He stopped coming to the dining hall, no longer joined her on evening walks, and instead of her room being changed, it was his that moved.
“Did he think one night would make me change my mind? How little does he think of me?”
To that proud, beautiful man, she must have looked foolish. Turning a woman’s heart probably felt as easy to him as snapping his fingers.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Natasha saw her chance.
“I have enough money. I’ve already bribed a coachman who can take me to the principality. Once I get there, I’ll try negotiating again. As soon as it starts working, I’ll send a signal to Kayeina and Sir Dante.”
She planned to escape with everything she had the moment his arrogance made him stop watching her.
Ten days.
That’s how much time Natasha had left before she’d leave for the principality.
She told Kayeina first and asked her to pass the message to Sir Dante later. She would have told him directly, but she knew Dante too well. He would’ve come straight to the mansion and tried to stop her.
At first, Kayeina seemed concerned by how reckless the plan was. But considering Natasha’s situation, she didn’t try to stop her.
Everything was set. At dawn ten days from now, she would quietly get into the carriage driven by the coachman she had already secured and leave for the principality.
“…Oh no.”
Natasha let out a gasp as she checked the flowerpot on the windowsill.
She had thought it was impossible to get pregnant after just one night. That’s why she had ignored Kayeina’s concerns when she brought up Natasha’s missed period.
“My lady, I don’t think you’ve had your cycle lately… Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”
It started with that simple question.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t had her period in months.
When she answered no, Kayeina had been startled. She asked if Natasha felt okay and gently suggested she see a physician before the trip, just in case.
Natasha had been ready to brush it off as stress or emotional fatigue. But as Kayeina counted on her fingers, she suddenly brought up the possibility of pregnancy.
Over two weeks had passed—plenty of time to check. She said that even if two months felt too soon, three months was more than enough reason to be concerned. She gently urged Natasha to find out.
Later, Kayeina brought her a special flowerpot—an easy way to confirm pregnancy. All Natasha had to do was prick her finger, drop a bit of blood on the soil, and wait half a day. If a flower bloomed, it meant she was pregnant.
Following the instructions, Natasha drew a drop of blood from her fingertip and let it fall onto the dirt. Then, she waited.
“I… I’m pregnant?”
Half a day later, a bright yellow flower bloomed in the pot—a clear sign she was carrying a child.
Stunned, Natasha wandered the garden in the early dawn, the stars still shining above her. After pacing for some time, she headed toward the servants’ quarters.
She stopped in front of a room and knocked on the door. Before long, her dearest friend, Kayeina, appeared—rubbing her eyes groggily.
“My lady? It’s so late… Why aren’t you sleeping? Did something happen?”
Startled by the sudden visit—and by Natasha’s trembling—Kayeina looked worried.
“K-Kayeina.”
Natasha pulled out the flowerpot she had hidden beneath her robe. The small yellow flower blooming inside said everything.
Kayeina recognized it immediately. Her voice rose in surprise, and any trace of tiredness vanished from her face. Then she smiled brightly, her reaction so calm it almost felt like she’d expected it.
“My lady, congratulations. You’re going to be a mother.”
“…So, it’s real? Am I really pregnant? Could the result be wrong?”
“Oh no, the flower never blooms by mistake.”
“But still…”
“There’s no need to be scared. This isn’t something frightening—it’s something to celebrate. Besides, you’ve always hoped to have a child, haven’t you?”
Kayeina gently placed her hand over Natasha’s, offering comfort.
“You told me yourself—you wanted to have a baby. That the Charlier bloodline had to be continued. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”
Looking back, it was true. Natasha was only shocked by the outcome—deep down, she had longed for this to happen.
She needed a child. A precious life that shared her blood, one that could carry on the royal line of Charlier. It had been her only real wish—and her family’s final request.
Even if the timing wasn’t what she wanted, and even if the child belonged to someone she hadn’t wished for—still, right now, she had received the life she once dreamed of.
“That’s right… a child. I really am carrying a child. I’ve wanted this for so long…”
“Exactly. It probably felt overwhelming because it happened so suddenly, and it’s your first time. But this is what you’ve been hoping for, my lady. You can allow yourself to feel at peace.”
“Should I see a physician in the morning? Just to confirm it?”
At last, Natasha accepted the miracle that had come to her.
“There’s no way the flower could be wrong—but it can’t hurt to check. Let’s go to town together tomorrow.”
Kayeina suggested they visit the town physician, just in case. Natasha, already tired of the endless rumors inside the Duke’s estate, was more than happy to agree.
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
“Good. I’ll come find you first thing in the morning. Try to get some proper rest tonight. A healthy baby needs a well-rested mother.”
“Thank you, Kayeina. I know it’s late… I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“Oh, don’t say that. This is nothing! I just did what anyone should do. And if you ever need anything—just come find me.”
With a promise to leave for town the next morning, the two parted ways.
The next morning, Natasha and Kayeina traveled together to the village. Kayeina’s careful words—asking the coachman to drive slowly—made Natasha smile softly.
“Yes, you’re pregnant.”
After a brief check, the physician confirmed the result.
Kayeina, listening beside her, let out a joyful squeal and jumped in place. She reached out, as if to hug the expecting mother, but hesitated at the last second and simply patted Natasha’s shoulder instead. She murmured that pregnant woman needed to be handled with care and laughed, embarrassed by her own reaction.
Natasha smiled gently. She didn’t mind at all.
“Please be cautious from now on,” the physician advised. “Check the ingredients of any medicine you take and pay special attention to your meals. Also… it’s best to refrain from physical intimacy for a while.”
He handed over a formal report confirming the pregnancy. According to it, Natasha was two weeks along—right in line with the exact time she and Sieghart had been together.
On the way back home, Natasha gazed quietly out the carriage window, watching the familiar scenery roll past. As the wheels turned beneath her, she gently rubbed her belly, trying to soothe the blessing that had come so unexpectedly.
There was no visible change yet—her stomach was still flat—but just the thought of a life growing inside brought a quiet joy. What had once been a distant, emotionless hope for the future had now become something warm and deeply meaningful.
Was it because the tiny life inside her already felt precious? Or because this child was the only family she had left?
“Kayeina… if I go to the principality, won’t the baby be in danger?”
Kayeina’s lips pressed together, and her upper lip twitched slightly with tension. She thought for a moment, carefully weighing her words, and finally replied before the silence grew too long.
“Most likely, yes. If you stick to the plan, the journey to the principality will be very hard on you…”
Just as she thought.
Traveling to the principality would be harsh. The cramped carriage would make movement difficult, especially for someone pregnant.
And once she arrived, things might get even worse. The principality had already rejected her once—they wouldn’t welcome her just because she showed up again. She could be left waiting at the gates of the ducal house for days, out in the cold, with no guarantee of being let in.
“Right? I’m scared… and the baby would be even more scared. And it could be dangerous.”
Her original reason was cold and practical—continuing the Charlier bloodline. That’s why she had longed for a child in the first place.
“…Who knows when I’ll have this chance again.”
If not now, she might never have this opportunity again. What once seemed like a bold and fearless plan now felt terrifying with a life growing inside her.
It had only been a vague hope for the distant future, held with little emotion. But now, this baby already meant so much more to her than she expected.
A baby that would grow by feeding off her strength. A child that might look like her. In a world so cruel that she couldn’t trust anyone enough to love them—this baby was a miracle. A being to whom she could give endless love, expecting nothing in return.
“I want to protect it.”
And so—she wanted to protect her child.
“To protect it… I know what I have to do.”
And Natasha knew exactly what kind of choice she would need to make to do that.
