“We have found her husband, Viscount Roate, and he hasn't answered during interrogation.”
The King's eyes widened at the servant's report. The servant lowered his head when he saw the eyebrows furrow at the mention of finding her husband.
“Just go out there.”
As he left, the doctor came in and took her pulse. Sibyl looked at the doctor examining the woman lying on the bed. The doctor Oscar had called was the only female doctor in the palace. The middle-aged doctor had been in charge of the Queen’s treatment since the previous King’s reign and had been treating Else since she collapsed at Lugdun Castle. Her mother was a midwife, and she had studied midwifery and apothecary work since she was young and had studied the female body for a long time, so she would be a perfect person to entrust Else with.
“To My eyes, it looked like she was just asleep.”
“Your Majesty, what you said is correct. However, the health of the babies in the womb is deteriorating. Even if she gives birth in this condition...”
The doctor was unable to continue speaking properly.
“Even if she do?”
“You must know that they are twins.”
“Is one of the two in danger? Or is it difficult for both of them to survive?”
He asked directly. It didn't matter if they both lost. Since Else was infertile, it would be a shame to lose both, but he could find a successor somewhere else. What mattered was Else's life. Of course, it would be great if at least one of the children Else conceived survived and became his successor. It would be the greatest guarantee for Else's position and safety. However...
“The life of the mother is more important than the blood clots in the belly.”
“I keep that in mind.”
“She was originally a delicate woman. Like her mother, she had difficulty conceiving and often suffered from fever.”
He knew Else's health better than anyone else. How sickly she was. He had seen it for 13 years. Else was a child who would cry and then have a fever. The times when he had to give her medicine and wipe her body with a cold towel to bring down her fever were vivid in his mind.
“There should be no such thing as losing one’s life while giving birth to a child.”
"Yes."
“The blood clots in her stomach...”
Sybil's eyes narrowed. The doctor lowered her head and swallowed dryly. She said she would give the pregnant woman some good medicine and left the bedroom. As she left, Oscar, who had been standing behind Sybil, approached him.
“Your Majesty, I heard you say that it doesn’t matter what happens to the babies in her womb.”
Oscar opened his lips with a heavy voice. Sybil didn’t answer. He just looked down at the white woman. Oscar looked at him and his face distorted slightly, then opened his lips again.
“If it really is the case that neither of the two babies are born alive...”
Sibyl, who had been looking down at the woman, raised his head.
“Aren’t there many ways?”
“Would you like to welcome Her Majesty the Queen separately?”
"Well."
He knew Else's health better than anyone else. How sickly she was. He had seen it for 13 years. Else was a child who would cry and then have a fever. The times when he had to give her medicine and wipe her body with a cold towel to bring down her fever were vivid in his mind.
“There should be no such thing as losing one’s life while giving birth to a child.”
"Yes."
“The blood clots in her stomach...”
Sybil's eyes narrowed. The doctor lowered her head and swallowed dryly. She said she would give the pregnant woman some good medicine and left the bedroom. As she left, Oscar, who had been standing behind Sybil, approached him.
“Your Majesty, I heard you say that it doesn’t matter what happens to the babies in her womb.”
Oscar opened his lips with a heavy voice. Sybil didn’t answer. He just looked down at the white woman. Oscar looked at him and his face distorted slightly, then opened his lips again.
“If it really is the case that neither of the two babies are born alive...”
Sibyl, who had been looking down at the woman, raised his head.
“Aren’t there many ways?”
“Would you like to welcome Her Majesty the Queen separately?”
"Well."
“...It must be an unbearable humiliation.”
“Why?”
Oscar was speechless. Sibyl looked down at his knight with his characteristically calm face. Oscar stared at the woman over his shoulder, not the King, and then thought of his wife. Until the King kept his promise from the past, Oscar’s wife was not a ‘wife.’ Therefore, she could not be called the mistress of Ikalant, and would always be a nobleman’s concubine.
He could not bear such a disgrace to his wife, so he placed her in a villa instead of a castle in the Ikalant domain. His son grew up there, and his second daughter was also born and raised there. Any nobleman who had a concubine in his heart would have the same problem. But the King...
“Why is it a disgrace?”
“Isn’t it the same reason Your Majesty wants to tear Viscount Roate apart?”
The King was expressionless. Oscar didn't show even the slightest emotion. For the first time, he looked at the King with an expression that was not of his lord, but of a 'dishonorable man'. When he heard the word 'concubine'. When the King said he would take Elliot von Roate's daughter as his 'concubine', he thought of his wife.
Although the King and himself were different, they had something in common in that they loved a woman of lower status than themselves. Whether the King's love was love or not, she was a woman with a child. Even if he knew who the father of the child was, how could he call her a 'concubine'? She was a daughter of a family that had become noble through military exploits, having been born a slave. Even though her origins were so low that she could not become a Queen, the King would not even mention the word 'marriage'.
A man who steals a woman who has a husband and makes her his own... He doesn’t know honor until the very end.
“Your Majesty has always felt more than anger toward Viscount Roate. You know that his punishment is too harsh, even though he tried to commit treason with the Marquis of Dolan. All that fool did was neither hide Philip’s daughter nor arm a private army with the Marquis of Dolan. All he did was deliver one of the Marquis’ secret letters to his subordinates outside the eastern border. Isn’t the reason you are tearing apart the person who received gold in return because of his ‘wife’?”
The King raised his eyebrows. The corners of his handsome lips were roughly pulled. Oscar moved his lips without caring. Even if he had earned the King’s hatred for today’s events and been kicked out, he had no regrets. He was a knight, and the King was also the King of Travasta, a descendant of the knight Kings.
“Please consider my glory and honor as a knight King.”
Oscar recited again to the young man with a firm face, who could not open his closed mouth. The King just stared at him blankly. Suddenly, the woman sleeping soundly over his shoulder stirred and narrowed her eyebrows. Was it wrong to look at her and think of the wife he left at home? Oscar suppressed his discomfort and lowered his head.
“Else should be like you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The nobles are not the problem.”
“If...”
“The problem is that this woman doesn’t obey me.”
“If she loved Your Majesty, wouldn’t she want to ascend to the position of Queen?”
The King's lips slid thinly at the indifferent answer. It was a dry smile. The woman who suddenly opened her eyes squinted and rolled her warm, beautiful light green eyes. Her gaze fell on the King's handsome face. The King's mumbling came to mind on her face which was crumpled with fear for a moment.
“I’ll go out now.”
Oscar turned around. Sybil turned around without nodding. Else and Sybil. The space left alone became suffocatingly cold again. Else, who got up creaking, grabbed her stomach. Then she tried to catch her breath to erase the expression of fear.
Sibyl reached out and tried to touch her babies. While Else was asleep, he had patted the two boys to quiet them down, but he wanted to touch them while Else was awake. But when Else woke up, she covered her belly and squirmed, stepping back. Sibyl opened his mouth with a twisted face and a low laugh.
“They say that babies in the womb need to be touched a lot by their fathers to grow up healthy.”
Else bit her lips. Her large rabbit-like eyes turned red and wet. Else, who was struggling to keep her tears from falling, turned her gaze away. This sight provoked Sibyl even more.
“Is it wrong for the baby’s father to touch the baby?”
“...”
“Else.”
Else didn't react. A hot sensation surged through her head. Sybil grabbed the woman's chin and lifted it forcibly.
“Ugh...”
A wet moan escaped her pursed lips. Sibyl looked down at her with a twisted face. Else shook her head, trying to escape his touch. Sibyl let go of her chin, lowered his posture, and grabbed her shoulder.
“Why don’t you obey me?”
Else shivered. His blood ran cold at the sight of her truly trembling as if she found the touch horrible. Just a year ago, Else would blush and look ecstatic whenever Sybil touched her. In his memory for the past year, Else was a woman with a flushed face and longing eyes. She wanted him every night and loved him.
But when they met again, Else...
‘I have found her husband.’
Husband... Else’s husband. Else, who had been another man’s woman for a year while he was away. Else, who had obeyed another man as if she had never refused for a single moment. Else, who had been panting while holding his seed and going under another man’s leg. He felt like he had been toyed with. His blood had run cold, it had even congealed.
“I hear you've found your husband.”
“I want to see him.”
"Why?"
“Mill, milli...”
“Isn’t that the one who abused and raped you? No, it wasn’t rape? Was it intentional that you hugged him?”
Else twitched her bloodless lips. Then, like someone who had been insulted, her face turned red. Sybil laughed as if he was seeing something funny. In the past, she would have stood up, raised the corners of her eyes, and slapped his cheek. But Else couldn't do anything. When her shoulders were grabbed, she would do whatever she wanted. No matter what he said, she would just shrink back with frightened eyes.
“Did you enjoy it?”
Else twitched her bloodless lips. Then, like someone who had been insulted, her face turned red. Sybil laughed as if he was seeing something funny. In the past, she would have stood up, raised the corners of her eyes, and slapped his cheek. But Else couldn't do anything. When her shoulders were grabbed, she would do whatever she wanted. No matter what he said, she would just shrink back with frightened eyes.
“Did you enjoy it?”
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