Chapter 121

“He’s insane. Duke Balkyrino has truly lost his mind.”

As Rahu finished speaking, Hadel left quickly with a cold expression.

Time was of the essence. We couldn’t afford to give the Duke any more leeway.

I also instructed Rahu on what needed to be done.

Half a day until the trial. Before that, I had one more task.

‘I need to meet Dobae.’

She might be a crucial key.

If what Rahu had mentioned at the end was true, and if the worst-case scenario unfolded…

Having organized my thoughts, I rose quickly to go to where Dobae was being held.

And as I took a step forward.

“Ah… my vision…”

My sight began to spin. A feeling like blood rushing downward swept through my entire body.

At the same time, it felt as if all my strength was draining through my toes.

‘What is this, suddenly…’

Could it be poison?

Or perhaps I was ill?

Could it be that what I had drunk to catch Nella was still in my body?

Human thoughts flow incredibly fast.

In that instant as my body fell to the floor, thousands upon thousands of thoughts cascaded through my mind.

‘No!’

But my thoughts couldn’t continue. It felt like I was about to lose consciousness.

My vision turned black, and it was as if my eardrums were blocked, preventing me from hearing anything.

‘I need to call the maids. The bell cord…!’

If I collapsed now, who knows when a maid would find me.

With all my might, I reached for the bell cord attached to the head of the bed.

My fingertips touched the soft material of the cord, and I grasped it with my last bit of strength.

Even as my body went limp and collapsed, I didn’t let go of the cord in my hand.

A buzzing sound reached my ears.

It felt like a cold wind was blowing in from somewhere.

“Kyaaaah! Lady Silver Lily!”

It seemed the maids were rushing toward me, calling out urgently.

With a consciousness as hazy as if I were underwater, I lost consciousness entirely the next moment.

Just before losing consciousness, for a mere instant, I thought I felt a heavy pain in my lower abdomen.

* * *

I had a dream. I’m not sure exactly what it was about. Everything was hazy.

In a fog-filled space, I just kept eating and eating. Yellow, tangy, sweet lemons.

I ate anything made of lemons. I just kept eating. I ate cake, drank it as juice, and even ate them raw.

After eating for a while like that, my stomach suddenly swelled up and…

“Gasp…!”

I opened my eyes. It took several seconds of blinking to regain awareness of reality.

“Lady Silver Lily! You’ve opened your eyes!”

A voice filled with emotion came from right beside me. It was the imperial physician who had been frequenting the Lily Palace recently.

“…What happened?”

My voice came out raspy. I rolled my eyes searching for Hadel, but he was nowhere to be seen.

I was worried he might have come running as soon as he heard about me and was crying again. Had he not received the news yet?

“Are you looking for His Majesty?”

The imperial physician looked at me with a gentle smile on his lips.

Instead of answering, I met his gaze.

The imperial physician continued.

“I haven’t informed him yet. Knowing how terribly he would react upon hearing that Lady Silver Lily collapsed again… I examined you first.”

“I see. You did well.”

“Upon examination, I thought you would regain consciousness soon, so I held off reporting. Should I inform His Majesty now?”

“Hmm… what is my condition, Imperial Physician?”

At my question, he put on a solemn expression and handed me a glass of water that was beside him.

“Please hydrate yourself first, Lady Silver Lily. Your body needs water. Especially now!”

Some determination I didn’t understand gleamed in his eyes. It was as if he had made a significant private resolution.

The situation was puzzling, but I followed the imperial physician’s advice, drank the water to moisten my throat, and then asked him.

“How long was I unconscious?”

I had collapsed before the trial. If too much time had passed, it would be problematic.

I could roughly guess from the imperial physician’s words that not much time had elapsed since I collapsed, but I needed to confirm exactly.

The imperial physician answered, still smiling.

“Not long. You regained consciousness quickly. I just finished examining you. It seems to have been a temporary anemic episode.”

“Then why did such a symptom…”

“Before that, may I ask you a few questions, Lady Silver Lily?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Perhaps… have your tastes suddenly changed recently…”

The imperial physician seemed to be carefully choosing his words. After pondering for a while, he continued his questions.

“Have you been eating foods you normally wouldn’t, or feeling constantly tired even after sleeping…?”

All of these were unremarkable symptoms. Wasn’t it normal to experience such symptoms when busy and tired?

I nodded.

“That’s true, but it’s not particularly significant…”

I stopped mid-sentence as a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Come to think of it, when was the last time I had my monthly cycle?

Certainly before entering the imperial palace…

As I was retracing my memories, the imperial physician spoke again.

“Then one last question. How many days has it been since your last monthly cycle?”

At this point, there was only one meaning this question could have.

“…About a little over a month, I think.”

The imperial physician’s complexion visibly brightened. He asked with a somewhat excited voice.

“Then, how regular is your cycle usually? Was it consistent? Or has this happened often before?”

…Well, his reaction is so intense that I’d feel sorry if I had to say this happens often.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to give the imperial physician a disappointing answer.

Because my monthly cycle had always been regular.

I had been keeping track of it monthly, but this time, with meeting Hadel again and being busy with various incidents, I hadn’t paid attention.

I shook my head.

“No. It was precise, until now.”

At my answer, the imperial physician’s face lit up with a smile so broad he nearly jumped in place. His eyebrows twitched and the corners of his mouth trembled, as if he was trying hard to suppress a burst of laughter.

It was unfortunate that this made his expression look rather bizarre, but nevertheless.

I couldn’t shake off a dazed feeling even as I guessed my condition, so I asked the imperial physician.

“Imperial Physician, could I possibly be…?”

“Yes! Lady Silver Lily, you have conceived a precious new life! Congratulations!”

The imperial physician bowed deeply. Then he kept shouting congratulations while tears streamed down his face.

Hmm, it seems the imperial physician’s loyalty has suddenly increased significantly, but let’s set that issue aside for now.

When could it have happened?

I caressed my lower abdomen, lost in thought. It’s still hard to believe there’s a life sleeping in here.

“It’s about six weeks along. This is a time when you need to be careful, very careful.”

The imperial physician continued to explain various precautions. I still can’t believe it.

‘Wait. That means I was already pregnant when I collapsed to catch Nella!’

If I had known I was pregnant, I would have sought another method.

At the time, I had proceeded believing there was no issue with my body, but it must have been very stressful for the baby.

“Imperial Physician. Surely, surely there aren’t any problems with the baby because of my collapse last time…?”

To my slightly anxious question, the imperial physician shook his head lightly.

“It’s fine, Lady Silver Lily. The fetus is healthy. I was concerned too, so I examined in detail… it’s very healthy.”

“I… see. That’s a relief, truly.”

If that incident had negatively affected it, if that had happened, I would have…

As negative thoughts arose, I shook my head from side to side to clear them away.

Then, turning up the corners of my mouth, I requested of the imperial physician.

“For now, don’t tell His Majesty. I’d like to tell him myself.”

“Understood, Lady Silver Lily.”

The imperial physician nodded and then continued to list precautions I should take, earnestly imploring me.

“You mustn’t overexert yourself. You collapsed this time because you pushed yourself too hard! Rest, rest, and more rest should be your first priority! Please don’t forget that.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

Only after securing my promise did the imperial physician withdraw.

I stared at the closed door for a moment before shifting my gaze to my lower abdomen.

‘I never expected this.’

An unfamiliar sensation. Unexpected news.

I had imagined at some point that such a day would come.

But since now wasn’t the time, I had buried it as mere imagination.

I hadn’t expected the news to come so suddenly, so it still didn’t feel real.

Perhaps that’s why I wanted to tell Hadel personally.

The fruit of our love, a child has been conceived.

What expression will you make when you hear these words?

Since Hadel is a crybaby, perhaps he’ll show tears first.

But he’ll definitely be happy.

At this moment, I desperately wanted to see Hadel’s happy face.

‘I need to finish everything quickly.’

And I will restore everything. For our child who will be born.

For this reason too, today’s trial must conclude successfully.

“Dobae… ah.”

I habitually started to call for Dobae but paused.

She’s not by my side now.

That’s right, I was going to meet Dobae.

“There’s too much to do.”

After organizing my thoughts briefly, I changed my plan. It’s because I’ve consumed more time than expected due to unforeseen circumstances. According to the original plan, I should have finished all conversations with Dobae by now.

The trial will start soon. There’s no time to leisurely talk with Dobae.

She was confined and couldn’t do anything anyway. If that’s the case, it might not be bad to give her more time to think alone.

“The trial comes first.”

With that, I began to check each piece of evidence I had prepared to completely bring down the Balkyrino ducal family.

* * *

A Noble Trial.

Trials targeting nobles were rarely held. The very act of standing trial was a humiliation for nobles.

Though called a trial, it was essentially the same as being judged for one’s crimes before the Emperor and the nobles residing in the capital.

If one failed to prove innocence at the event, punishment would follow immediately; if innocence was proven, one would be released.

But even if released, one would become the endless subject of gossip.

‘Even winning means you can’t break even.’

High-ranking nobles rarely had to stand trial in the first place.

Even if such a situation arose, as long as there was no definitive evidence to prove the noble’s guilt, they could simply use their power to suppress the matter.

Therefore, noble trials were typically used when powerful families wanted to publicly execute nobles who were thorns in their sides or political opponents.

Ten years ago, my family, the Deache ducal family, also stood in that courtroom.

On charges of ‘treason.’

At that time, although the Deache family held the title of duke, we did not involve ourselves in politics, so there were no nobles to take our side.

Many high-ranking nobles had already been bought off by Duke Balkyrino.

Hadel continually defended the Deache ducal family, but his power was weak at the time. The nobles wouldn’t listen to someone as green as Hadel.

Still, thanks to Hadel’s persistent and forceful advocacy, the punishment ended with a demotion of rank and exile…

Duke Balkyrino and his collaborating families had argued for the execution of the Deache family members.

‘I’ll pay them back in kind. Exactly as they did to my family.’

Just as they did to our family, I would expose their crimes in detail before all the nobles, humiliating them.

Additionally, I would prove the innocence of the Deache family that couldn’t be proven ten years ago.

I needed to clear all false accusations and proudly reclaim the ducal title.

“Lady Silver Lily has arrived—!”

With the chamberlain’s resounding cry, the doors to the courtroom opened.

‘I must keep my wits about me.’

After taking a deep breath, I stepped into the courtroom.

Under the dazzling light of the chandeliers, the faces of numerous nobles turned toward me.