“There’s no way I can ignore a child struggling to live... to survive.”
Hazel could not have been unaware of why I had come to see her, pretending to be Elizabeth. She must have known that the little girl she pitied would one day turn a knife on them.
I felt like something was stuck in my throat and I couldn't say anything.
No, I didn't know what to say.
I didn't know whether to thank her for sympathizing with me or to laugh at her for losing everything by sympathizing with me.
At that time, I was overcome with strange emotions.
Hazel's subsequent words made me stop thinking.
“And, I knew... that there would be a future where you would come to me pretending to be Elizabeth.”
What?
Upon hearing those words, my body froze.
Then, as if I had misheard Hazel, I slowly closed and opened my eyes repeatedly.
“Charles said... that you would come.”
“If it’s Charles...”
Charlotte Oroz.
She was the one who threw me into hell.
A woman who killed her longtime friend and countless others to save her own daughter.
My eyebrows twitched as I thought of Charlotte.
'But how did that woman know that I was going to see Duke Cretian?'
I wonder if she saw that in her dream too.
An ominous feeling, along with unsolvable questions, was touching the back of my neck.
And just as I was about to ask Hazel why, Hazel's voice, exhaling, pierced my ear.
“Charles did not tell the Emperor the false prophecy for Deborah’s sake.”
“...”
“It was to kill the Emperor.”
And those words were enough to make my heart sink to the floor.
“What the heck is that...”
I stuttered as the shock struck My heart.
That was a completely different fact from what was known to the world.
Charlotte was one of Emperor Graham's closest loyalists.
That is understandable, as the Oroz family has maintained an inseparable relationship with the Clepius royal family for generations.
But Hazel's next words were completely different from what I had known so far.
“Charles... hated the Emperor more than anyone else.”
Enough to sacrifice her own daughter.
Inside the mansion, the atmosphere was so quiet that it was almost eerie.
The heavy silence was broken by the shrill screams of a woman and the loud cries of a baby that echoed throughout the mansion.
And Hazel, who had been waiting for this whole situation to end safely, greeted the doctor who came out.
“What happened?”
“Both the mother and the baby are fine. However, the baby is very small compared to other babies, so we need to monitor her condition a little longer. The mother needs to rest for the time being, but there is no need to worry too much.”
Hazel sighed in relief after hearing the doctor's words and answered with a brighter face than before.
“Yes. Thanks for your hard work. You should go in now.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
Hazel looked through the slightly open door after sending the doctor away.
A woman with pink hair was lying exhausted on the barely visible bed.
How surprised she was when her old friend Charlotte, now the Duke of Oroz, suddenly showed up at the Cretian estate.
When Charles came to visit her, her child was just about to be born.
"Please, Hazel. Let me have the baby here."
Even though the North was a barren land, she couldn't quite understand why Charles came here to give birth to a child.
As she had recently given birth to Elizabeth, she knew that riding in a carriage for a long time while pregnant was not easy.
‘And on top of that, you came here without any notice...’
What on earth was the reason she had to come all the way here without her husband, John?
The two were not in a political marriage, as was common among ordinary nobles.
John, the second son of a Viscount who was somewhat inferior to the Duke of Oroz, loved Charles, and Charles also truly loved the affectionate John.
Since the marriage took place despite opposition from the family, it was also questionable why John did not join them on this long journey.
But there was something else that disturbed Hazel the most.
“It seems that Lady Charlotte has taken poison.”
"Poison?"
"It is a scary medicine made from a herb called 'Yurka' that can cause a stillbirth."
The words of the doctor who examined Charles were truly shocking.
A drug that causes stillbirth.
Hazel, who had grown up like Charles's sister since childhood, knew very well how much she loved and hoped for children.
She was shocked by the fact that Charles, who was like that, tried to kill the child in her stomach.
“What on earth happened?”
Ariana, Charlotte, and Hazel, all three of them got married and started families, and naturally grew apart.
Because each person had duties they had to fulfill in their respective positions.
Even though they only exchanged letters occasionally to check on each other's well-being, they were proud of knowing everything about each other.
Looking at Charles' changed appearance, she felt depressed again, thinking that maybe it was just her delusion.
Hazel, who was reminiscing about the past, shook her head as if trying to stop her complicated thoughts.
Then she cautiously entered the room to see Charles and the newborn baby.
Then, out of nowhere, she saw Charles leaning against the headboard of the bed and looking outside.
Perhaps it was the poison's influence. The pink hair that had always had a pleasant sweetness had long since faded.
Hazel, who had been quietly staring at her, gave an order to the maids who were tidying up the room.
“Everyone, please get out.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
So the maids left, and only three people remained in the room: the baby in the cradle, Charles, and Hazel.
Hazel walked over to Charles, who was staring blankly into space.
“Was it really hard? I was so out of it when I gave birth to Elizabeth.”
Hazel deliberately raised her voice in a gloomy atmosphere that made it hard to believe that a new life had just been born.
She didn't know about anything else, but one thing was certain: Charles didn't want children.
But Hazel let out a short sigh at the sight of Charles not showing any reaction and looked down at the cradle next to her.
In the cradle, a newborn baby was sleeping soundly.
At that moment, Hazel patted the baby's cheek as if she thought the baby was cute.
Charles, who had been silent, finally opened his lips.
“That child might not be John’s child.”
"...What?"
Charles's words, recited in a dry voice, pierced Hazel's ears sharply.
It might not be John's child.
Hazel looked for John as she watched the baby sleeping peacefully in the cradle.
But because she was just born, it was impossible to tell whether she resembled John or not.
“If it is not John’s child, then whose...”
“Graham.”
“...”
“Graham Clepius.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Hazel's heart sank.
It could be the Emperor's child.
What this meant was that Charles had committed adultery with the Emperor over her husband, John.
Hazel, in shock, stammered and urged her on.
“Why? Why leave John behind...”
Knowing how much the two of them loved each other, she couldn't understand Charles's infidelity.
That's why she waited for Charles to answer this question.
“I just wanted to live, Hazel.”
“What is that...”
At that moment, as if trying to press Charles with something difficult to understand, one thing crossed her mind.
The power of the Oroz family and the price it costs.
The power of Hyean, the power of the Oroz family, consumed life in return for its use.
Because of that, to sustain life, one must drink the blood of the Clepius family for generations...
"No way..."
You had to have intercourse.
Ah.
Only then did Hazel understand what Charles had said and let out a sigh.
'The Emperor did not give blood.'
Instead, Graham took Charles at the risk of her life.
“Then, in the meantime, to the Emperor...”
Charles answered Hazel's question with tears in his eyes.
Hazel swayed as what she had suspected turned out to be true.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone... You should have at least told me and Ariana...!”
“Then what do you think would have changed?”
“...”
“You know that we cannot go against the Emperor!”
In the first place, Charles, or those with power, had no choice but to go against Clepius' blood.
'Then this baby...'
Hazel, who had been blankly staring at Charles, who was shedding tears endlessly, looked down at the baby.
The child, who was asleep without knowing anything, was squirming because of the noise.
Only then did all the events of the past flash before her eyes.
Charles' appearance changed after she officially became the Duke of Oroz.
She was not the righteous and pure girl Charles of the past.
At first, Hazel thought she had darkened a bit due to the sense of responsibility and pressure of becoming a Duke. But that wasn't the case.
Hazel's clenched fist began to tremble.
“I was afraid of dreaming.”
Charles continued, her voice hoarse with laughter.
“The moment I have a prophetic dream, I have to go to the Emperor, and then again...”
Then, as if remembering something terrible, she wrapped her arms around her trembling body.
Her dark eyes showed how mentally exhausted she had been.
Hazel could not have been unaware of why I had come to see her, pretending to be Elizabeth. She must have known that the little girl she pitied would one day turn a knife on them.
I felt like something was stuck in my throat and I couldn't say anything.
No, I didn't know what to say.
I didn't know whether to thank her for sympathizing with me or to laugh at her for losing everything by sympathizing with me.
At that time, I was overcome with strange emotions.
Hazel's subsequent words made me stop thinking.
“And, I knew... that there would be a future where you would come to me pretending to be Elizabeth.”
What?
Upon hearing those words, my body froze.
Then, as if I had misheard Hazel, I slowly closed and opened my eyes repeatedly.
“Charles said... that you would come.”
“If it’s Charles...”
Charlotte Oroz.
She was the one who threw me into hell.
A woman who killed her longtime friend and countless others to save her own daughter.
My eyebrows twitched as I thought of Charlotte.
'But how did that woman know that I was going to see Duke Cretian?'
I wonder if she saw that in her dream too.
An ominous feeling, along with unsolvable questions, was touching the back of my neck.
And just as I was about to ask Hazel why, Hazel's voice, exhaling, pierced my ear.
“Charles did not tell the Emperor the false prophecy for Deborah’s sake.”
“...”
“It was to kill the Emperor.”
And those words were enough to make my heart sink to the floor.
“What the heck is that...”
I stuttered as the shock struck My heart.
That was a completely different fact from what was known to the world.
Charlotte was one of Emperor Graham's closest loyalists.
That is understandable, as the Oroz family has maintained an inseparable relationship with the Clepius royal family for generations.
But Hazel's next words were completely different from what I had known so far.
“Charles... hated the Emperor more than anyone else.”
Enough to sacrifice her own daughter.
***
Inside the mansion, the atmosphere was so quiet that it was almost eerie.
The heavy silence was broken by the shrill screams of a woman and the loud cries of a baby that echoed throughout the mansion.
And Hazel, who had been waiting for this whole situation to end safely, greeted the doctor who came out.
“What happened?”
“Both the mother and the baby are fine. However, the baby is very small compared to other babies, so we need to monitor her condition a little longer. The mother needs to rest for the time being, but there is no need to worry too much.”
Hazel sighed in relief after hearing the doctor's words and answered with a brighter face than before.
“Yes. Thanks for your hard work. You should go in now.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
Hazel looked through the slightly open door after sending the doctor away.
A woman with pink hair was lying exhausted on the barely visible bed.
How surprised she was when her old friend Charlotte, now the Duke of Oroz, suddenly showed up at the Cretian estate.
When Charles came to visit her, her child was just about to be born.
"Please, Hazel. Let me have the baby here."
Even though the North was a barren land, she couldn't quite understand why Charles came here to give birth to a child.
As she had recently given birth to Elizabeth, she knew that riding in a carriage for a long time while pregnant was not easy.
‘And on top of that, you came here without any notice...’
What on earth was the reason she had to come all the way here without her husband, John?
The two were not in a political marriage, as was common among ordinary nobles.
John, the second son of a Viscount who was somewhat inferior to the Duke of Oroz, loved Charles, and Charles also truly loved the affectionate John.
Since the marriage took place despite opposition from the family, it was also questionable why John did not join them on this long journey.
But there was something else that disturbed Hazel the most.
“It seems that Lady Charlotte has taken poison.”
"Poison?"
"It is a scary medicine made from a herb called 'Yurka' that can cause a stillbirth."
The words of the doctor who examined Charles were truly shocking.
A drug that causes stillbirth.
Hazel, who had grown up like Charles's sister since childhood, knew very well how much she loved and hoped for children.
She was shocked by the fact that Charles, who was like that, tried to kill the child in her stomach.
“What on earth happened?”
Ariana, Charlotte, and Hazel, all three of them got married and started families, and naturally grew apart.
Because each person had duties they had to fulfill in their respective positions.
Even though they only exchanged letters occasionally to check on each other's well-being, they were proud of knowing everything about each other.
Looking at Charles' changed appearance, she felt depressed again, thinking that maybe it was just her delusion.
Hazel, who was reminiscing about the past, shook her head as if trying to stop her complicated thoughts.
Then she cautiously entered the room to see Charles and the newborn baby.
Then, out of nowhere, she saw Charles leaning against the headboard of the bed and looking outside.
Perhaps it was the poison's influence. The pink hair that had always had a pleasant sweetness had long since faded.
Hazel, who had been quietly staring at her, gave an order to the maids who were tidying up the room.
“Everyone, please get out.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
So the maids left, and only three people remained in the room: the baby in the cradle, Charles, and Hazel.
Hazel walked over to Charles, who was staring blankly into space.
“Was it really hard? I was so out of it when I gave birth to Elizabeth.”
Hazel deliberately raised her voice in a gloomy atmosphere that made it hard to believe that a new life had just been born.
She didn't know about anything else, but one thing was certain: Charles didn't want children.
But Hazel let out a short sigh at the sight of Charles not showing any reaction and looked down at the cradle next to her.
In the cradle, a newborn baby was sleeping soundly.
At that moment, Hazel patted the baby's cheek as if she thought the baby was cute.
Charles, who had been silent, finally opened his lips.
“That child might not be John’s child.”
"...What?"
Charles's words, recited in a dry voice, pierced Hazel's ears sharply.
It might not be John's child.
Hazel looked for John as she watched the baby sleeping peacefully in the cradle.
But because she was just born, it was impossible to tell whether she resembled John or not.
“If it is not John’s child, then whose...”
“Graham.”
“...”
“Graham Clepius.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Hazel's heart sank.
It could be the Emperor's child.
What this meant was that Charles had committed adultery with the Emperor over her husband, John.
Hazel, in shock, stammered and urged her on.
“Why? Why leave John behind...”
Knowing how much the two of them loved each other, she couldn't understand Charles's infidelity.
That's why she waited for Charles to answer this question.
“I just wanted to live, Hazel.”
“What is that...”
At that moment, as if trying to press Charles with something difficult to understand, one thing crossed her mind.
The power of the Oroz family and the price it costs.
The power of Hyean, the power of the Oroz family, consumed life in return for its use.
Because of that, to sustain life, one must drink the blood of the Clepius family for generations...
"No way..."
You had to have intercourse.
Ah.
Only then did Hazel understand what Charles had said and let out a sigh.
'The Emperor did not give blood.'
Instead, Graham took Charles at the risk of her life.
“Then, in the meantime, to the Emperor...”
Charles answered Hazel's question with tears in his eyes.
Hazel swayed as what she had suspected turned out to be true.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone... You should have at least told me and Ariana...!”
“Then what do you think would have changed?”
“...”
“You know that we cannot go against the Emperor!”
In the first place, Charles, or those with power, had no choice but to go against Clepius' blood.
'Then this baby...'
Hazel, who had been blankly staring at Charles, who was shedding tears endlessly, looked down at the baby.
The child, who was asleep without knowing anything, was squirming because of the noise.
Only then did all the events of the past flash before her eyes.
Charles' appearance changed after she officially became the Duke of Oroz.
She was not the righteous and pure girl Charles of the past.
At first, Hazel thought she had darkened a bit due to the sense of responsibility and pressure of becoming a Duke. But that wasn't the case.
Hazel's clenched fist began to tremble.
“I was afraid of dreaming.”
Charles continued, her voice hoarse with laughter.
“The moment I have a prophetic dream, I have to go to the Emperor, and then again...”
Then, as if remembering something terrible, she wrapped her arms around her trembling body.
Her dark eyes showed how mentally exhausted she had been.
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