Chapter 29
Gazing at her, Carlos confessed in a voice laced with restrained joy.
“I love you, Mother.”
“I love you too, Carl.”
Savoring the echo of those words, he sank to his knees before her. Then, with quiet reverence, he pressed his lips to the part of her belly her hands could not fully cover.
Brunhilde looked down at him, her expression warm and content.
After deciding to keep the child, she began to regain her vitality.
Her appetite returned. She smiled more often. Even speaking with Emily no longer troubled her. At times, she was even the one to invite her daughter-in-law for tea.
Thus, three peaceful, gentle weeks passed.
One afternoon, while Carlos was away inspecting the estate, Brunhilde and Emily sat facing each other, enjoying warm tea.
That day, Emily’s face was brighter than usual, her cheeks softly flushed with happiness, so radiant it seemed to lighten the mood of anyone who looked at her.
Watching her with a kind smile, Brunhilde asked casually,
“You seem especially cheerful today, dear. Has something good happened?”
“Yes, Lady Brunhilde. I’ve heard some wonderful news, something truly worth celebrating.”
With an innocent smile, Emily rose from her seat and came closer. Taking Brunhilde’s hand, she leaned in and whispered softly,
“Carlos… is going to have a child.”
For a moment, Brunhilde’s mind went completely blank.
Her heart began to pound wildly.
“…Wh-what do you mean?”
“I’m so happy to hear about his first child.”
Emily’s face, as she spoke the words first child, shone with unshadowed joy.
Brunhilde struggled desperately to think. Did Carlos tell Emily… that Brunhilde is carrying his child? And even knowing that, she’s this happy?
Her thoughts tangled into chaos, spinning until she could barely breathe. Forcing herself to steady her breath, she managed a strained smile.
“…Wh-who told you that?”
“The doctor.”
“The doctor…?”
“Yes. My monthly cycle stopped over a month ago, so I called for one, just in case.”
Even in her dazed state, Brunhilde knew something was wrong.
She herself had never been examined or diagnosed. Piecing the fragments together with desperate clarity, she finally understood.
“The doctor said… it’s certain.”
“Ah.”
“It seems I’ve been pregnant for a little over a month.”
Emily smiled brightly, one hand resting gently over her own abdomen.
In that instant, Brunhilde felt as if every hair on her body stood on end. She couldn’t even imagine what kind of expression she was wearing.
“I’ll tell my husband when he returns later.”
“……”
“He’ll be happy, won’t he? To hear that an heir to House Brandt has been conceived so quickly?”
Brunhilde couldn’t bring herself to meet her daughter-in-law’s radiant, joyful face.
Forcing the corners of her lips upward, she lowered her gaze. Her heart hammered so violently it seemed to echo through her skull.
Emily is pregnant. She’s carrying Carlos’s child. Then… the child in Brunhilde’s own womb…
Somewhere deep inside, she had assumed that no child would come of Carlos and Emily. Or that, if one did, it would take time.
On what grounds?
They had shared a bed nearly every night since their marriage. This should have been news to celebrate. And yet, her blood ran cold.
How could an illegitimate child—born two months before the rightful heir—ever be welcomed?
The pounding of her heart scraped against her throat. A dizzy, almost hysterical smile crept across her lips.
“Yes… of course. Carlos will be very happy, Emily.”
After sending her off, Brunhilde crawled to the bathroom, trembling, and emptied everything from her stomach.
Then she curled up on the cold floor like a fetus.
“My child…”
The sin running through her fate rose again, mocking her foolishness. Clutching her abdomen, she pressed her forehead to her knees.
* * *
That evening, after returning to Brandt Castle and hearing of his wife’s pregnancy, Carlos offered his congratulations and then hurried straight to Brunhilde’s room.
She was leaning against the cold wall, her face drained of color.
“Mother… are you all right?”
“…Carl.”
She gave a faint smile at the sight of him, only to fade just as quickly, leaving behind nothing but emptiness and despair.
“Congratulations, my child. I hear Emily is with child.”
“…Mother.”
“It hasn’t even been three months since your marriage, and already she carries an heir. It’s a blessing for the house. I’m sure the child will be healthy and lovely.”
“Mother… please look at me.”
Kneeling before her, he pleaded.
Brunhilde slowly lifted her dim eyes to meet his.
Lowering his gaze, Carlos spoke softly, as if to soothe her—
“The child you’re carrying is mine as well.”
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