No one knew why Ophelia suddenly collapsed or why the changes that occurred afterward.
Ophelia herself, as well as the doctors and even the famous magician, were called in to hear their opinions, but the reason was never discovered.
That was why Roderick was worried, but Ophelia shook her head slightly.
“We just thought it was heaven’s will. Thanks to that, we were able to have a precious child.”
Ophelia took Roderick's hand and brought it to her lower abdomen.
She wasn't able to accept it that way from the beginning, either.
Because Ophelia lost something precious that she had cherished her entire life.
She spent several days crying and drowning in tears.
Then she found out that she had a child. It was the price she paid for losing everything she had.
So she decided to accept that this was God's will.
“...Understood, Ophelia.”
Roderick answered. If that was the will of the one he loved, he had no choice but to accept it, even though it was difficult.
It wasn't yet time for the baby to move or for the stomach to protrude, but Roderick's palm felt tingly for some reason.
The employees of the Duke of Weishaffen's residence in the capital were busy all day long.
They cleared the snow that had piled up on the carriage path and swept and cleaned the already clean interior again, because two distinguished guests were expected to visit.
One was the visit of Crown Prince Winfred of the Empire to the mansion for the first time in a long while, and the other was the visit of Candice Epocha, the Duchess's old friend and head of the Tamora National Academy of Magic.
Even in Tamora, known as the 'Land of Magicians', it was extremely rare for the director of the most famous national magic academy to visit another country in person, so not only the Duke's family but the entire Peles Empire was in an uproar over the matter.
“His Highness the Crown Prince’s carriage will arrive soon!”
“What? I’m not ready yet?”
Although Candice's arrival was a few days away, the Crown Prince's visit was imminent, so the employees moved quickly.
Although Winfred often came to the mansion to visit, this was his first visit since becoming Crown Prince, so everyone was nervous.
And after a while.
Winfred passed through the mansion entrance in a carriage loaded with gifts.
“Welcome, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
"Duke!"
As Winfred got out of the carriage, Roderick greeted his former disciple with kind eyes.
Unfortunately, Winfred had no talent or interest in swordsmanship and had now given up, but to Roderick, Winfred still felt like a young disciple.
“There was no need for you to come out like this to greet me.”
“Your Highness has come to visit me in person, so I should come out and greet you. My wife has yet to come out because she needs to be careful. Please be generous and forgive her.”
“Forgiveness? What nonsense are you talking about? Of course it should be so.”
They met again after a long time and greeted each other in a very lively manner. It was a sight that made even those who watched it feel affectionate.
“This is an herb that only grows on the summit of Mount Primus, and it is said to be very good for pregnant women. This is a herbal tea from the Inselkov Kingdom, and it is said to be quite effective for morning sickness. And this is...”
Winfred explained each gift he had brought in an excited voice. There were so many that the explanation was long, but the Duke and Duchess kept expressing their gratitude with pleasant faces.
“...And this. This could be called the highlight.”
Winfred spoke in an excited voice as he lifted up a box with ornate jewels attached, clearly indicating that it was a precious gift.
Since both the giver and the receiver were so happy, there was no reason for Ophelia, who was receiving the gift, to not be in a good mood.
“I look forward to it, Your Highness. What do you think it will contain?”
Ophelia opened the box with an incomparably warm smile, as Winfred had been a great comfort to Ophelia when she was in despair after losing Aila.
“...This is.”
It was a baby's toy, a rattle. It was a small leather ball with bells inside to make a rattle sound. The handle of the rattle also had a luxurious tassel made of colorful thread.
“It was made by a famous family that has been around for generations.”
In the Peles Empire, there was a custom that if you gave a rattle to a child, the child would be born healthy.
A luxury rattle would cost as much as a carriage, but since it was a rattle given by the Emperor, it was a precious gift whose value could not be calculated.
“Father said that it was a precious item that he had personally ordered, so he insisted on giving it a special color.”
“Haha. That’s a very kind thing to say. Thank you.”
Ophelia laughed heartily as she recalled the playful Emperor. Winfred, who was laughing along with her, kept glancing at Roderick for some unknown reason.
“...Why is that, Your Highness?”
“Oh, no.”
Roderick noticed this and asked why, but Winfred simply changed the subject suspiciously, saying it was nothing.
'I guess you have something to talk about alone with Ophelia.'
Since they had often made up secret stories between themselves since they were young, Roderick could easily figure out why.
If it were anyone else, he would have no intention of giving up his beloved wife, but it was a different story with Winfred.
Ophelia, who had lost her child and her smile, regained her smile by playing with the cheerful Winfred. So Winfred was also a benefactor to Roderick.
“...I have some urgent business to attend to, then.”
At times like this, he had to be quick to get out of the way. When Roderick left the reception room, making excuses about work, Winfred let out a deep sigh.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
The two men alone, Ophelia opened her kind eyes wide and asked.
“...That’s it, there’s something I have to apologize to the Duchess for.”
Winfred struggled to open his mouth and spoke with a look of apology on his face.
“Is there something you have to apologize to me for?”
Ophelia, who had no idea what it was, slowly blinked her purple eyes. Her expression somehow resembled Aila's, and it warmly encouraged Winfred's heart.
“Do you remember the magic box that Madam gave me for my tenth birthday?”
“Of course. I remember that.”
“...I gave that gift to someone else. I’m sorry.”
He thought it was only natural that he should apologize for giving the gift he received from Ophelia to someone else without permission.
But Ophelia just smiled brightly.
“It is something I gave to Your Highness, the Crown Prince. It is up to Your Highness to use it however you want. There is no need to apologize to me at all.”
When she first gave it as a gift, she told them to transfer it if they wanted to give it to someone else. What's the problem?
"...still."
Even though Ophelia said it was okay, Winfred's expression continued to be unpleasant, as if he was worried. Ophelia looked at Winfred with affectionate eyes.
“I’m a little curious as to who you gave it to. You said you gave the item you liked so much to someone else.”
He even kept it a secret between the two of them, and he strongly urged her not to tell anyone.
It was a little surprising that he gave such an item to someone else, since he was so happy with the gift that he was talking from ear to ear.
“...I, I can’t tell you that.”
Winfred's face turned red, and Ophelia realized it when she saw his expression.
Ahh. He has someone he likes.
She's been watching Winfred since he was a little baby, and now he's grown up so much.
Ophelia's eyes started to feel hot for no reason, so she turned her gaze out the window to keep herself from shedding tears. She hoped that the cool scenery of white snow would cool her eyes.
She watched Winfred grow up, but she didn't get to see her daughter Aila grow up.
He made it difficult for her again, just as she was finally pulling herself together.
While Ophelia was pretending not to know anything and suppressing her emotions, Winfred was also lost in his own thoughts.
He was thinking back to the day he received the box from Ophelia.
Things he wanted to hide from his parents—nothing serious, just the excitement of being able to keep things like diaries without anyone finding out.
So, Ophelia and he linked pinkies and shouted, 'Keep it a secret from my parents, and definitely not from anyone else!'
That moment was still vivid in his mind.
Ophelia took his hand with a smile on her pretty face and declared solemnly.
'I, Ophelia Hailing Weishaffen, hereby transfer ownership of this box to Winfred Ulysses Vito Peles.'
Oh, wait a minute. Hailing?
Winfred looked at Ophelia with a dumbfounded expression, as if someone had hit him on the back of the head.
It was only then that he remembered where he had heard the name Hailing, which he had never been able to remember, no matter how hard he tried.
‘...That was the Duchess’ maiden name!’
So, no matter how much you search the imperial noble list, you won't find it. The Duchess said she wasn't originally from the Peles Empire.
It was a little strange that Aila had said that she was from the Peles Empire, but Winfred felt elated as he got closer to finding out Aila's true identity.
'Then is Aila a relative of the Duchess?'
When he thought about it that way, she had quite a similar vibe to Ophelia. Things like the silver hair that was nice and smooth, and the facial features that were densely packed into a small face.
So much so that he wonders why he didn't notice it from the beginning.
Ophelia herself, as well as the doctors and even the famous magician, were called in to hear their opinions, but the reason was never discovered.
That was why Roderick was worried, but Ophelia shook her head slightly.
“We just thought it was heaven’s will. Thanks to that, we were able to have a precious child.”
Ophelia took Roderick's hand and brought it to her lower abdomen.
She wasn't able to accept it that way from the beginning, either.
Because Ophelia lost something precious that she had cherished her entire life.
She spent several days crying and drowning in tears.
Then she found out that she had a child. It was the price she paid for losing everything she had.
So she decided to accept that this was God's will.
“...Understood, Ophelia.”
Roderick answered. If that was the will of the one he loved, he had no choice but to accept it, even though it was difficult.
It wasn't yet time for the baby to move or for the stomach to protrude, but Roderick's palm felt tingly for some reason.
***
The employees of the Duke of Weishaffen's residence in the capital were busy all day long.
They cleared the snow that had piled up on the carriage path and swept and cleaned the already clean interior again, because two distinguished guests were expected to visit.
One was the visit of Crown Prince Winfred of the Empire to the mansion for the first time in a long while, and the other was the visit of Candice Epocha, the Duchess's old friend and head of the Tamora National Academy of Magic.
Even in Tamora, known as the 'Land of Magicians', it was extremely rare for the director of the most famous national magic academy to visit another country in person, so not only the Duke's family but the entire Peles Empire was in an uproar over the matter.
“His Highness the Crown Prince’s carriage will arrive soon!”
“What? I’m not ready yet?”
Although Candice's arrival was a few days away, the Crown Prince's visit was imminent, so the employees moved quickly.
Although Winfred often came to the mansion to visit, this was his first visit since becoming Crown Prince, so everyone was nervous.
And after a while.
Winfred passed through the mansion entrance in a carriage loaded with gifts.
“Welcome, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
"Duke!"
As Winfred got out of the carriage, Roderick greeted his former disciple with kind eyes.
Unfortunately, Winfred had no talent or interest in swordsmanship and had now given up, but to Roderick, Winfred still felt like a young disciple.
“There was no need for you to come out like this to greet me.”
“Your Highness has come to visit me in person, so I should come out and greet you. My wife has yet to come out because she needs to be careful. Please be generous and forgive her.”
“Forgiveness? What nonsense are you talking about? Of course it should be so.”
They met again after a long time and greeted each other in a very lively manner. It was a sight that made even those who watched it feel affectionate.
***
“This is an herb that only grows on the summit of Mount Primus, and it is said to be very good for pregnant women. This is a herbal tea from the Inselkov Kingdom, and it is said to be quite effective for morning sickness. And this is...”
Winfred explained each gift he had brought in an excited voice. There were so many that the explanation was long, but the Duke and Duchess kept expressing their gratitude with pleasant faces.
“...And this. This could be called the highlight.”
Winfred spoke in an excited voice as he lifted up a box with ornate jewels attached, clearly indicating that it was a precious gift.
Since both the giver and the receiver were so happy, there was no reason for Ophelia, who was receiving the gift, to not be in a good mood.
“I look forward to it, Your Highness. What do you think it will contain?”
Ophelia opened the box with an incomparably warm smile, as Winfred had been a great comfort to Ophelia when she was in despair after losing Aila.
“...This is.”
It was a baby's toy, a rattle. It was a small leather ball with bells inside to make a rattle sound. The handle of the rattle also had a luxurious tassel made of colorful thread.
“It was made by a famous family that has been around for generations.”
In the Peles Empire, there was a custom that if you gave a rattle to a child, the child would be born healthy.
A luxury rattle would cost as much as a carriage, but since it was a rattle given by the Emperor, it was a precious gift whose value could not be calculated.
“Father said that it was a precious item that he had personally ordered, so he insisted on giving it a special color.”
“Haha. That’s a very kind thing to say. Thank you.”
Ophelia laughed heartily as she recalled the playful Emperor. Winfred, who was laughing along with her, kept glancing at Roderick for some unknown reason.
“...Why is that, Your Highness?”
“Oh, no.”
Roderick noticed this and asked why, but Winfred simply changed the subject suspiciously, saying it was nothing.
'I guess you have something to talk about alone with Ophelia.'
Since they had often made up secret stories between themselves since they were young, Roderick could easily figure out why.
If it were anyone else, he would have no intention of giving up his beloved wife, but it was a different story with Winfred.
Ophelia, who had lost her child and her smile, regained her smile by playing with the cheerful Winfred. So Winfred was also a benefactor to Roderick.
“...I have some urgent business to attend to, then.”
At times like this, he had to be quick to get out of the way. When Roderick left the reception room, making excuses about work, Winfred let out a deep sigh.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
The two men alone, Ophelia opened her kind eyes wide and asked.
“...That’s it, there’s something I have to apologize to the Duchess for.”
Winfred struggled to open his mouth and spoke with a look of apology on his face.
“Is there something you have to apologize to me for?”
Ophelia, who had no idea what it was, slowly blinked her purple eyes. Her expression somehow resembled Aila's, and it warmly encouraged Winfred's heart.
“Do you remember the magic box that Madam gave me for my tenth birthday?”
“Of course. I remember that.”
“...I gave that gift to someone else. I’m sorry.”
He thought it was only natural that he should apologize for giving the gift he received from Ophelia to someone else without permission.
But Ophelia just smiled brightly.
“It is something I gave to Your Highness, the Crown Prince. It is up to Your Highness to use it however you want. There is no need to apologize to me at all.”
When she first gave it as a gift, she told them to transfer it if they wanted to give it to someone else. What's the problem?
"...still."
Even though Ophelia said it was okay, Winfred's expression continued to be unpleasant, as if he was worried. Ophelia looked at Winfred with affectionate eyes.
“I’m a little curious as to who you gave it to. You said you gave the item you liked so much to someone else.”
He even kept it a secret between the two of them, and he strongly urged her not to tell anyone.
It was a little surprising that he gave such an item to someone else, since he was so happy with the gift that he was talking from ear to ear.
“...I, I can’t tell you that.”
Winfred's face turned red, and Ophelia realized it when she saw his expression.
Ahh. He has someone he likes.
She's been watching Winfred since he was a little baby, and now he's grown up so much.
Ophelia's eyes started to feel hot for no reason, so she turned her gaze out the window to keep herself from shedding tears. She hoped that the cool scenery of white snow would cool her eyes.
She watched Winfred grow up, but she didn't get to see her daughter Aila grow up.
He made it difficult for her again, just as she was finally pulling herself together.
While Ophelia was pretending not to know anything and suppressing her emotions, Winfred was also lost in his own thoughts.
He was thinking back to the day he received the box from Ophelia.
Things he wanted to hide from his parents—nothing serious, just the excitement of being able to keep things like diaries without anyone finding out.
So, Ophelia and he linked pinkies and shouted, 'Keep it a secret from my parents, and definitely not from anyone else!'
That moment was still vivid in his mind.
Ophelia took his hand with a smile on her pretty face and declared solemnly.
'I, Ophelia Hailing Weishaffen, hereby transfer ownership of this box to Winfred Ulysses Vito Peles.'
Oh, wait a minute. Hailing?
Winfred looked at Ophelia with a dumbfounded expression, as if someone had hit him on the back of the head.
It was only then that he remembered where he had heard the name Hailing, which he had never been able to remember, no matter how hard he tried.
‘...That was the Duchess’ maiden name!’
So, no matter how much you search the imperial noble list, you won't find it. The Duchess said she wasn't originally from the Peles Empire.
It was a little strange that Aila had said that she was from the Peles Empire, but Winfred felt elated as he got closer to finding out Aila's true identity.
'Then is Aila a relative of the Duchess?'
When he thought about it that way, she had quite a similar vibe to Ophelia. Things like the silver hair that was nice and smooth, and the facial features that were densely packed into a small face.
So much so that he wonders why he didn't notice it from the beginning.
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