"I won’t disappoint you."
"It's okay if you disappoint me. People always make mistakes, and that's how they grow."
“...”
"My lady, don’t be afraid that I might be disappointed. What’s important isn’t my judgment, but how you think of yourself."
"...Myself?"
"No matter who judges or interferes as they please, it's your life in the end. It's only right that you have the control."
Alicia hesitated, fidgeting only with her fingertips.
Madame Morco silently watched the scene and gave a bitter smile.
She wanted to hold her closer and help her firmly take root and grow, but unfortunately, the circumstances weren’t favourable.
Madame Morco took a quick deep breath and immediately grasped Alicia’s hand tightly.
"My lady."
"Yes."
"We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. Is that okay?"
"Of course, that’s fine."
Alicia’s nod carried determination despite her hesitation.
Madame Morco took another deep breath and carefully began to speak.
"My lady, you are currently pregnant."
"Ah, that's…"
"Could it be, you already knew?"
"Yeah, it just happened somehow."
Alicia gave an awkward smile.
"Are you alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"You didn’t want to have a child."
Madame Morco cautiously watched Alicia’s reaction.
Alicia hadn’t been pleased about having a child either.
"That was true before, but not anymore."
Alicia habitually caressed her belly.
Thinking the baby might be listening, she was careful with every word.
"I'm still not confident I’ll be a good parent, but the child really likes me."
"The child likes you?"
"I had a dream."
A dream about a very beautiful child.
Madame Morco’s expression grew strange as Alicia spoke quietly, as if sharing a secret.
Though Madame Morco was unsure what dream it was, Alicia smiled naturally while talking about the child.
The frail woman was already preparing to become a mother.
That was a sad truth.
The more Alicia loved the child, the deeper the wounds she would inevitably face.
"…You want to protect the child, don’t you, my lady?"
“Saying ‘protect’ feels awkward, but if I can, I want to.”
Alicia nodded without hesitation.
The child in her dream was very beautiful, but on the other hand, she was worried because it was so small.
If she could, she wanted to make room beside her and hold it close.
"In that case, you must listen carefully to what I’m about to say."
"...By any chance, is there something wrong with the child?"
"It's not about the child, but His Highness.”
"His Highness?"
"His Highness does not want the child."
"That can’t be. I’m sure that at the time…”
As Alicia sifted through her memories, her expression faded.
Cabelenus had already lied to her.
She couldn’t be certain that what he said then wasn’t a lie.
"I wanted to talk to you after you recovered, but the current situation isn’t very good."
"Tell me clearly."
"For reasons unknown, His Highness loathes the child."
"It’s not just ‘hate’, but he loathes them?”
"Yes. He loathes them."
Madame Morco nodded firmly.
"After you collapsed like that, His Highness cared only for you."
"He cared only for me?"
"He said that as long as he could treat you, it didn’t matter if the medicine harmed the fetus."
"Then, could it be…?"
Alicia's face turned pale.
The thought that something might be wrong with the child made her feel as if all the blood was draining from her body.
"You don’t need to worry. I prevented the use of any medicine that would harm the fetus."
"Thank goodness…"
But was that really something to be relieved about?
Alicia stared blankly at Madame Morco’s stern expression.
She wanted to believe otherwise, but couldn’t erase the fleeting thought that crossed her mind.
"His Highness is someone who can harm the child whenever he deems necessary."
“...”
"To His Highness, you are a special person. Perhaps you might be able to change his heart."
"What if… I can’t change his mind?"
Alicia’s gaze wavered uneasily.
Though she asked, she already knew the answer.
"We cannot guarantee the child’s life."
Despite expecting it, Alicia closed her eyes tightly at Madame Morco’s verdict.
If she could, she wanted to cover the child’s ears so it wouldn’t hear any of this.
"It's my child, but half is His Highness’s as well. So how could he even think of harming the child?"
"His Highness seems to already know about the child."
"He knows?"
"And it seems he regards the child as a monster. That the child is ruining you."
"That can’t be. The child is just a child."
Alicia quickly shook her head.
It was absurd to think that the child, who was constantly seeking her affection, was ruining her.
"I think so too, but that’s just our hope."
Madame Morco removed the ring she was wearing, her expression bitter.
It was the ring she had received from Gazeff.
"This is a magical artifact that recorded His Highness’s voice. I purposely chose one with a limited number of uses, so it can only be used one more time."
“...”
"It may be hard to accept, but if you want to protect your child, you must become strong."
Madame Morco firmly placed the ring into Alicia’s hand.
She could have conveniently sugarcoated the story for Cabelenus, but Madame Morco deliberately chose not to.
Because in the end, Alicia was the only one who could protect the child from Cabelenus.
If Alicia wanted to protect the child, she had to fully understand the situation.
・・・・・
"I'm glad you're safe."
“...”
"You still don’t want to see my face.”
"...I wanted to see you."
Alicia forced a smile and looked at Cabelenus.
Everything was confusing, but still, she wanted to confirm it.
She wanted to see it with her own eyes, hear it with her own ears, and make a proper judgment.
"...I thought you wouldn't look for me even after waking up."
"I heard you kept coming."
"Because all I could do was watch."
It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel her heart soften when she saw the man who had grown noticeably gaunt.
And the fear she felt looking at him — denying that would be a lie, too.
Alicia clenched her fingers tightly.
When she faced the man, she didn’t just feel relief.
She unconsciously wrapped her arms around her belly as if to protect it.
"I’m sure you heard the news."
"What news?"
"That I’m pregnant."
Cabelenus, who had been stepping forward, stopped in his tracks.
Alicia stared quietly at the man who stood still.
Until facing him, she had been agonising over this.
But she couldn’t find a clear answer to any of it.
If Cabelenus’s attitude toward the child didn’t change, it would be nothing but a vicious cycle repeating itself.
"We can talk about that later."
"Later?"
"You haven’t been awake for long. Right now, taking care of yourself is the priority."
Cabelenus took a step forward again.
Alicia slowly examined the approaching man from head to toe.
Even though she already knew, seeing it in person made her feel even more suffocated.
"...Aren’t you happy?"
“I am. That’s why I came running straight here.”
“No. Not about me — the baby.”
“...”
"It's Your Highness’s child."
Though she tried not to show it, her emotions slipped out naturally.
Cabelenus’s gaze at her was full of affection, but it was hard to accept that the light in his eyes dimmed every time the child’s existence was mentioned.
"I told you. Right now, taking care of your body comes first."
"And, it's also my child."
“…I’m not very fond of children.”
"It's our child."
Alicia’s voice grew firmer.
She knew from experience that parental feelings didn’t come instinctively.
She, too, only came to feel that way after constantly acknowledging and accepting the child’s existence.
There was a chance Cabelenus might feel the same way.
Alicia didn’t want to let go of that possibility.
She didn’t want a child who resembled her to live the kind of life she had endured.
More than anything, she wanted to give her child a real family.
“I wish Your Highness would be a little happier.”
"I can't do that."
"Your Highness."
“You said you no longer trust me. That the lie I told destroyed what we had between us."
Cabelenus knelt in front of Alicia and took her hand.
Alicia grimaced as she looked at the man gazing up at her.
“I almost lost you because of that lie. So now, I can’t even bring myself to lie again.”
“...”
“I’ll be honest. I don’t want the child.”
She hadn’t expected him to admit it so readily, but Cabelenus confessed the truth more easily than she imagined.
Alicia reflexively swallowed.
Up close, the man's eyes looked extremely sunken.
Only then did Alicia realise that Cabelenus was uncharacteristically worn down.
“It’s possible you feel that way because the child’s presence is unfamiliar. If you devote time and love, your mindset will evolve.”
“This isn’t about unfamiliarity.”
Cabelenus shook his head.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a personal matter. Nothing you'd benefit from knowing.”
“I still want to know. This is about ‘our’ child, after all.”
"Our..."
The man stared at Alicia with eyes that seemed to know everything.
Alicia clenched her fists tightly and did not avoid Cabelenus’s gaze.
Faced with her unwavering eyes, Cabelenus finally let out a deep sigh.
“It may sound unpleasant, but the thing growing inside your womb is a monster.”
Monster.
She had heard that word through the magical device’s recording, but every time, it unsettled her.
Alicia followed Cabelenus’s gaze, silently begging that the child wouldn’t understand the meaning of that word.
"What makes you say that?”
“For some reason, a special power flows within me. And the one who gave me that power said it could be passed down through bloodlines.”
“What do you mean by that? A special power?”
Alicia parted her lips slightly.
The idea of a special power passed down by bloodline was not unfamiliar to her.
“I know it may sound absurd. But it’s the truth.”
“...”
Alicia glanced down at her belly.
In her eyes, the child’s power was still clearly visible, but Cabelenus’s power was nowhere to be seen.
"As expected, you don’t believe me?”
“No, I do believe you. Because I’ve heard similar stories myself.”
“No. My power is quite different from what you think.”
Cabelenus slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
It was a past he didn’t want to reveal, but he had no choice.
Right now, removing the monster inside Alicia’s womb was the more urgent matter.
It was a monster that had already once tried to harm its own mother.
There was no guarantee it wouldn’t do it again.
“The symbol of the Blanche Empire is the black wolf. And it’s said that the blood of wolves flows through the veins of the imperial line. It's the kind of legend you'd find in any other country."
Except for the fact that this absurd power actually existed.
Cabelenus’s eyes gleamed sharply.
The golden eyes with prominent pupils definitely reminded one more of a beast than a human.
“I have the blood of a beast flowing in me. The wolf from the legend that founded the empire.”
“I don’t think that’s a problem. To me, Your Highness reflected in my eyes is not a beast, but a human.”
“Is that really so?”
“...”
"The power I possess was never meant to exist. It should have remained only in legends. If only there hadn’t been those who coveted a power they should never have desired."
The veins on the back of Cabelenus’s hand bulged.
Even though a long time had passed, the memory of that day remained vivid.
To save his mother, the boy had to make a decisive choice, and the price was devastating.
“His Majesty calls my power the ruler’s power, and the temple refers to it as a sacred power. But neither is the true answer. Everyone is just giving it a fancy name and praising it earnestly.”
“...”
"Ironically, the source of that very power began with the thing they despise the most."
"The source of the power? Surely, it’s the legendary wolf’s..."
“If it were pure power, there wouldn’t have been any problems.”
Cabelenus’s gaze was fully fixed on Alicia’s belly — no, on the monster hidden inside it.
The imperial family, which had long been intertwined with the temple over many years, always sought greater and greater power.
They wanted the sacredness that the temple claimed as its special symbol to be utterly defiled.
"There was no such thing as the legendary wolf. Legends are ultimately just ornaments to flaunt the imperial family's uniqueness. Like a dull ceremonial sword that can’t cut anything, it wasn’t something real."
"Then…"
"A monster."
"..."
“Those grotesque, loathsome monsters. Their blood flows through me.”
Cabelenus’s eyes flashed fiercely with a deadly gleam.
To find another monster who inherited the blood of the beast that destroyed everything he had.
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