“Okay, you can stop talking, Charles.”
Hazel held the shivering Charles in her arms and comforted her.
It was also understandable why Charles wanted to have her baby here rather than in the north.
She must not have known either.
Who is the child's father?
'That's why she drank poison...'
For fear that the baby would be born with the Emperor's mark.
“What if the child resembles that man?”
Charles clung to Hazel's clothes, her face streaked with tears.
“What if John finds out about this and leaves me...?”
Charles was afraid.
She was afraid that her child would resemble him.
She wonders if it's John or his child.
So Charles could not bear to give birth to the child in front of John.
Because she was so afraid of being abandoned by John along with her unborn child.
“I wish that kid had just died.”
The child burst into tears with a loud voice, as if she had understood the curse-like words.
And then Charles covered her ears and screamed as if the sound of that little cry was so terrible.
Hazel, who couldn't stand to see that sight, approached Charles, holding the baby in the cradle.
“Charles. Look straight at the baby’s face.”
"No!"
“Charles!”
However, due to Hazel's stubborn attitude, Charles eventually had no choice but to face the baby she had given birth to.
“Look. She has pink hair that looks just like you. Anyone can tell that she is the successor to the Oroz family.”
Hazel was right.
Her pink hair, reminiscent of cotton candy, looked just like Charlotte's.
Just as no trace of John could be found, no trace of the Emperor could be found either.
“This child is no one else’s child, it’s yours, Charles.”
Then Hazel handed the child she was holding in her arms to Charles.
Did you recognize your mother?
As soon as the baby was placed in Charles' arms, the baby's crying stopped as if it were a lie.
The baby did not resemble the Emperor or even her beloved husband, John.
Charlotte Oroz.
Only, it resembled her.
How much time has passed since then?
Charles was regaining stability while staying at the Cretian mansion.
She tried to be as attached to the baby as possible, and sometimes she would look at the baby in her arms and give her a faint smile.
“I sent a letter to John. The baby was born safely and you will stay here until you get better.”
"...Thank you."
“For now, don’t think about anything and just focus on recovering your body.”
Charles nodded quietly to Hazel's question and looked at Elizabeth in her arms.
The child, with his golden hair shining like that of Hazel's husband, the Duke of Cretian, was lovely to anyone who saw her.
Charles looked back and forth between Elizabeth and her baby beside her, then muttered.
“Small.”
It was a whisper so quiet that only Hazel could hear it. And she could tell what it meant.
Since Elizabeth was born two months earlier, it was natural that she would be larger than Charles's baby. However, Charles' baby was much smaller than other babies of that age.
‘Is it because of the poison...’
Hazel recalled what the doctor who examined the baby had said.
"The baby is not very healthy. I can’t say exactly what illness she has, but she is weak and small overall. It doesn’t seem like she will live very long."
But Hazel couldn't bring herself to tell Charles that fact.
Even if she doesn't have any affection for her daughter right now, how can she bring up the fact that the baby may die early because of the medicine she took?
Hazel shook her head, her mind once again complicated, and moved on to another story.
“Shouldn’t we come up with a name instead? I can’t let you go on without a name forever.”
It's been almost a month since the baby was born, but Charles hasn't even given it a proper name.
Charles, who was silent for a moment at her question, answered.
“Deborah.”
Deborah was the name of the first Duke of Oroz.
It was also a name that symbolized the Oroz family more than any other name.
“Deborah...”
Hazel seemed to know why Charles had chosen that name.
She wanted to erase the presence of others by giving her daughter a name that was most like the Oroz family name.
“What a pretty name.”
Hazel prayed and quietly supported Charles.
Now, that matter has become a secret between the two of them, buried deep in their hearts.
She thought that if she lived her life burying herself in that horrible reality and turning a blind eye to it, one day she would be able to smile again.
But Hazel didn't know.
That she was the only one who had ignored it, and that she had been under the illusion that Charles was also ignoring it.
Not knowing that the peace they have now is as fragile as a bridge made of glass, and could shatter at any moment.
And this brief peace was shattered when Charles had a prophetic dream.
Boom, bang, bang!
One summer night during the continuing rainy season.
Someone knocked on the door of the Cretian mansion in the capital.
“Charles? How are you here...”
Hazel woke up to the news that Charles had come to the mansion and hurried down to the living room. When she did, she saw Charlotte drenched in rain.
“Hazel.”
It was Charles she saw for the first time in about a year.
After giving birth to Deborah, she left for the fiefdom and they lost contact for a while.
Charles was now standing before her, somehow knowing that she had come to the capital on behalf of the Duke of Cretian.
“Let’s wash up first. You might catch a cold.”
Hazel was about to call the maid when she was worried about Charles, whose clothes were soaking wet.
Charles, who had been standing still, grabbed Hazel's wrist.
“I had a prophecy.”
"What?"
The talk she's having at such a late hour is about prophecy.
Although Charles had told Hazel many prophecies, she had never come to her so suddenly to tell her one.
No, it just happened once.
‘When my father passed away, she came to me suddenly like today...’
Hazel asked cautiously, feeling an unknown ominousness.
“What was it...?”
Will someone related to Hazel die again this time?
At a time when fear was rising in Hazel's heart.
Charles answered with a smile she hadn't shown since childhood.
“It was by far the sweetest and most desired future of all the dreams I’ve had.”
Charles, who was chanting with both hands together, seemed to be in a state of ecstasy.
Contrary to concerns, the content of the prophecy seemed to be bright.
“Thanks to that, I was able to truly love my daughter Deborah.”
"Really?"
That was a real relief.
Hazel was already worried about Deborah and Charles' relationship.
Even if she doesn't know what the prophecy is, it must have contained a hopeful story that would have a positive effect on the relationship between the two people.
Hazel let out a sigh of relief as the tension eased.
“That’s really fortunate. What kind of future did you see that made you do that?”
“The young thorns of the red rose will prick the Emperor’s neck.”
Hazel's hand, which was wiping Charles's wet hair with the towel the maid had brought, stopped.
"...What?"
Hazel's lips, which had been hanging loosely, became stiff.
That is to be expected, for the young thorns of the red rose that Charles speaks of are...
“My daughter Deborah will kill the Emperor.”
Bam.
The towel in Hazel's hand fell to the floor along with her heart.
Hazel clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly as she watched Charles say something she couldn't even dare say as a joke.
Then she stuttered in a trembling voice.
“You, are you going to tell the Emperor about that prophecy? If you do, Deborah will...”
There was no way the Emperor would let Deborah live.
Even though she was a child who had not yet learned to walk, he was not a great person who would allow the seeds of rebellion to grow.
Charles continued as if she knew what Hazel wanted to say.
“I can’t let the Emperor kill Deborah. That’s why I already told him the false prophecy.”
“A false prophecy...! Then you!”
Die.
The moment she tells the false prophecy, Charlotte will die.
She remembered what Charles had said to her when she was a child.
"Do you know how you die if you make a false prophecy? You die in extreme pain, with blood overflowing from every orifice in your body. That’s why I heard that no one believes the prophecies of someone who died like that."
There was no way the Emperor was unaware of that fact.
But Charles shrugged her shoulders as if it was already too late.
“I’m on my way back now to tell the Emperor everything.”
“Charles!”
“The child of prophecy is the successor of Jupiter, not Deborah.”
"...What?"
Hazel held her breath at the name that suddenly popped out.
Then she slowly closed her eyes to check if the name she had just heard was wrong.
“What did you just say...”
Hazel held the shivering Charles in her arms and comforted her.
It was also understandable why Charles wanted to have her baby here rather than in the north.
She must not have known either.
Who is the child's father?
'That's why she drank poison...'
For fear that the baby would be born with the Emperor's mark.
“What if the child resembles that man?”
Charles clung to Hazel's clothes, her face streaked with tears.
“What if John finds out about this and leaves me...?”
Charles was afraid.
She was afraid that her child would resemble him.
She wonders if it's John or his child.
So Charles could not bear to give birth to the child in front of John.
Because she was so afraid of being abandoned by John along with her unborn child.
“I wish that kid had just died.”
The child burst into tears with a loud voice, as if she had understood the curse-like words.
And then Charles covered her ears and screamed as if the sound of that little cry was so terrible.
Hazel, who couldn't stand to see that sight, approached Charles, holding the baby in the cradle.
“Charles. Look straight at the baby’s face.”
"No!"
“Charles!”
However, due to Hazel's stubborn attitude, Charles eventually had no choice but to face the baby she had given birth to.
“Look. She has pink hair that looks just like you. Anyone can tell that she is the successor to the Oroz family.”
Hazel was right.
Her pink hair, reminiscent of cotton candy, looked just like Charlotte's.
Just as no trace of John could be found, no trace of the Emperor could be found either.
“This child is no one else’s child, it’s yours, Charles.”
Then Hazel handed the child she was holding in her arms to Charles.
Did you recognize your mother?
As soon as the baby was placed in Charles' arms, the baby's crying stopped as if it were a lie.
The baby did not resemble the Emperor or even her beloved husband, John.
Charlotte Oroz.
Only, it resembled her.
How much time has passed since then?
Charles was regaining stability while staying at the Cretian mansion.
She tried to be as attached to the baby as possible, and sometimes she would look at the baby in her arms and give her a faint smile.
“I sent a letter to John. The baby was born safely and you will stay here until you get better.”
"...Thank you."
“For now, don’t think about anything and just focus on recovering your body.”
Charles nodded quietly to Hazel's question and looked at Elizabeth in her arms.
The child, with his golden hair shining like that of Hazel's husband, the Duke of Cretian, was lovely to anyone who saw her.
Charles looked back and forth between Elizabeth and her baby beside her, then muttered.
“Small.”
It was a whisper so quiet that only Hazel could hear it. And she could tell what it meant.
Since Elizabeth was born two months earlier, it was natural that she would be larger than Charles's baby. However, Charles' baby was much smaller than other babies of that age.
‘Is it because of the poison...’
Hazel recalled what the doctor who examined the baby had said.
"The baby is not very healthy. I can’t say exactly what illness she has, but she is weak and small overall. It doesn’t seem like she will live very long."
But Hazel couldn't bring herself to tell Charles that fact.
Even if she doesn't have any affection for her daughter right now, how can she bring up the fact that the baby may die early because of the medicine she took?
Hazel shook her head, her mind once again complicated, and moved on to another story.
“Shouldn’t we come up with a name instead? I can’t let you go on without a name forever.”
It's been almost a month since the baby was born, but Charles hasn't even given it a proper name.
Charles, who was silent for a moment at her question, answered.
“Deborah.”
Deborah was the name of the first Duke of Oroz.
It was also a name that symbolized the Oroz family more than any other name.
“Deborah...”
Hazel seemed to know why Charles had chosen that name.
She wanted to erase the presence of others by giving her daughter a name that was most like the Oroz family name.
“What a pretty name.”
Hazel prayed and quietly supported Charles.
Now, that matter has become a secret between the two of them, buried deep in their hearts.
She thought that if she lived her life burying herself in that horrible reality and turning a blind eye to it, one day she would be able to smile again.
But Hazel didn't know.
That she was the only one who had ignored it, and that she had been under the illusion that Charles was also ignoring it.
Not knowing that the peace they have now is as fragile as a bridge made of glass, and could shatter at any moment.
And this brief peace was shattered when Charles had a prophetic dream.
***
Boom, bang, bang!
One summer night during the continuing rainy season.
Someone knocked on the door of the Cretian mansion in the capital.
“Charles? How are you here...”
Hazel woke up to the news that Charles had come to the mansion and hurried down to the living room. When she did, she saw Charlotte drenched in rain.
“Hazel.”
It was Charles she saw for the first time in about a year.
After giving birth to Deborah, she left for the fiefdom and they lost contact for a while.
Charles was now standing before her, somehow knowing that she had come to the capital on behalf of the Duke of Cretian.
“Let’s wash up first. You might catch a cold.”
Hazel was about to call the maid when she was worried about Charles, whose clothes were soaking wet.
Charles, who had been standing still, grabbed Hazel's wrist.
“I had a prophecy.”
"What?"
The talk she's having at such a late hour is about prophecy.
Although Charles had told Hazel many prophecies, she had never come to her so suddenly to tell her one.
No, it just happened once.
‘When my father passed away, she came to me suddenly like today...’
Hazel asked cautiously, feeling an unknown ominousness.
“What was it...?”
Will someone related to Hazel die again this time?
At a time when fear was rising in Hazel's heart.
Charles answered with a smile she hadn't shown since childhood.
“It was by far the sweetest and most desired future of all the dreams I’ve had.”
Charles, who was chanting with both hands together, seemed to be in a state of ecstasy.
Contrary to concerns, the content of the prophecy seemed to be bright.
“Thanks to that, I was able to truly love my daughter Deborah.”
"Really?"
That was a real relief.
Hazel was already worried about Deborah and Charles' relationship.
Even if she doesn't know what the prophecy is, it must have contained a hopeful story that would have a positive effect on the relationship between the two people.
Hazel let out a sigh of relief as the tension eased.
“That’s really fortunate. What kind of future did you see that made you do that?”
“The young thorns of the red rose will prick the Emperor’s neck.”
Hazel's hand, which was wiping Charles's wet hair with the towel the maid had brought, stopped.
"...What?"
Hazel's lips, which had been hanging loosely, became stiff.
That is to be expected, for the young thorns of the red rose that Charles speaks of are...
“My daughter Deborah will kill the Emperor.”
Bam.
The towel in Hazel's hand fell to the floor along with her heart.
Hazel clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly as she watched Charles say something she couldn't even dare say as a joke.
Then she stuttered in a trembling voice.
“You, are you going to tell the Emperor about that prophecy? If you do, Deborah will...”
There was no way the Emperor would let Deborah live.
Even though she was a child who had not yet learned to walk, he was not a great person who would allow the seeds of rebellion to grow.
Charles continued as if she knew what Hazel wanted to say.
“I can’t let the Emperor kill Deborah. That’s why I already told him the false prophecy.”
“A false prophecy...! Then you!”
Die.
The moment she tells the false prophecy, Charlotte will die.
She remembered what Charles had said to her when she was a child.
"Do you know how you die if you make a false prophecy? You die in extreme pain, with blood overflowing from every orifice in your body. That’s why I heard that no one believes the prophecies of someone who died like that."
There was no way the Emperor was unaware of that fact.
But Charles shrugged her shoulders as if it was already too late.
“I’m on my way back now to tell the Emperor everything.”
“Charles!”
“The child of prophecy is the successor of Jupiter, not Deborah.”
"...What?"
Hazel held her breath at the name that suddenly popped out.
Then she slowly closed her eyes to check if the name she had just heard was wrong.
“What did you just say...”
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