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“You’re still here?”

“I have been waiting for you, Marquess.”

Normally, a woman would have wondered why a man was waiting for her, but unfortunately for Frau, Poliana was too tired to think clearly. When Poliana looked happy to see him, Frau smiled as well expectantly but to his disappointment, Poliana said to him, “Perfect, Lady Rebecca’s fever is getting worse, you need to go check on her again.”

“…alright. Take care, Marquess Winter.”

Frau looked obviously disheartened as he said goodbye, but Poliana didn’t even notice. She left without a word.

The conversation with Lady Rebecca must’ve lasted much longer than Poliana realized. It was time to go home already and she began to head towards her office before stopping herself. She was so tired that she wanted to get to bed right away, but if she stopped by her office, there was a good chance she might get bothered by one or more of her guards.

So, she left the castle and went straight home.

No one was home to greet her, but her servants had the fireplace already going. A warm bath and food were already prepared for her, although she had no family waiting for her. Her butler delivered the letters that he received today and left. Poliana took a nice long bath and began to eat a late dinner. She glanced at the pile of letters and grinned, noticing that they were from Sir Rabi and Sir Baufallo’s family.

Sir Rabi, Sir Baufallo, Sir Howe, Sir Donau, Vanessa, and Vaxi… It seemed that their entire family sent her separate letters, making her smile. After her meal, Poliana got into her bed and began to read the letters. The first one she opened was from her adopted brother, Donau. He greeted her and asked how the emperor and the other knights were doing. He also wrote about the things that were happening in the south.

Then, there was a nice surprise. Apparently, the twins Vaxi and Vanessa both became pregnant.

“Must be a twin thing? They probably have their monthly bleeding at the same time.”

The Baufallo and Rabi family members often sent letters but never all at once like this. It made sense, however, because they had good news and all of them wanted to share it with Poliana.

Poliana opened the twins’ letters cheerfully as well. It seemed that they were all living happy lives. It was hard to know the exact situation in the southern region, but what the twins were saying matched the official messages. It seemed that the south was maintaining its peace and stability.

Sirs Rabi and Baufallo’s letters were filled with happiness at becoming grandfathers. Sir Howe’s letter sounded like he was distracted when he was writing it, but he still appeared pleased. It was the same for Donau’s letter as well. There were many exclamation points in his letter.

Vanessa and Vaxi’s letters were the calmest sounding messages. They talked about the fear and excitement of their pregnancies and becoming new mothers. They also wrote that it helped that they were pregnant together.

After reading all the letters, she put them back into the envelopes carefully. She was too tired, so she planned on writing them back tomorrow.

‘What kind of gifts should I send them?’

She was a marquess, so she felt like she should send something special. Anything less than that would not do. Poliana also couldn’t let her butler pick out the gifts. She needed to get something personal. Poliana would have to ask around to find out what would be appropriate in this situation.

Lying down on her bed, Poliana looked up at the ceiling blankly. It was an amazing piece of news, so she should’ve felt like dancing in ecstasy.

But… she didn’t. Hot tears began to appear in her eyes and before they became uncontrollable, Poliana covered her eyes with her arm.

Poliana cried, she cried for the children that never existed.

***

Lucius the First remained by Stra’s side, which impressed every woman in the castle. The married women grumbled at how their husbands didn’t act like the emperor.

“His highness is so caring and kind.”

“Other husbands would’ve just ignored his wife, saying that it wasn’t like she lost a real baby.”

Sir Ainno was one of these men. He complained, “It’s not like she was pregnant for real, so what is the big deal? Why is she still keeping his highness like that?”

When the emperor heard this, he said to his friend gently, “Don’t say such a thing, Inno. A phantom pregnancy is when a woman truly believes that she was pregnant. She had the same symptoms as a pregnant woman, which means that even though she had to go through the physical hardship, she didn’t end up with a baby. How disappointing and sad it must feel…”

“Your highness, I think she is just faking it.”

Lucius the First sighed deeply, making the servants around them nervous. The emperor looked up at the sky with a serious face and muttered, “We better do a cleansing ritual.”

Sir Ainno shook his head anxiously. Everyone knew how much Lucius the First loved superstition, but a cleansing ritual inside the castle?

“Your highness, I wouldn’t mind you getting a charm, but I really don’t think a ritual is a good idea. You shouldn’t…”

“Inno, you fell off the horse. I fell off the horse too. Then my wife had to go through a phantom pregnancy. And now that you insulted my wife, a pregnant woman, you are going to have bad luck for the next three years, Inno. So we must do the ritual. Oh, I think Sir Pol also looked very tired recently, so it makes sense.”

The emperor listed all the reasons why they should do the cleansing ritual. It was true that when Lucius the First saw Poliana that morning, she was very quiet, which bothered him a lot. Sir Ainno replied, “I never insulted a pregnant wife, your highness.”

“Stra still hasn’t recovered fully, which means she is pretty much a pregnant woman. Inno, you need to be nice. You fell off your horse probably because you are such a mean person.”

Sir Ainno almost yelled out the truth, but he stopped himself just in time. He never fell off the horse. It never happened but he could not tell people what really happened.

When he didn’t say anything, Lucius the First grinned, thinking he won this argument.

The emperor heard the news about Sir Rabi’s twins’ pregnancy. He would’ve been very happy to hear the news at any other time, but right now, he felt a little awkward. Lucius the First called the maids and the servants and ordered them to make sure this news did not reach Lady Stra.

After taking care of the most pressing paperwork, the emperor set out to go visit Stra again. Sir Ainno frowned, but he followed him without a word. On their way, they met Cekel. Lucius the First greeted her kindly, “Lady Ingreter, do you have a business in the main castle?”

Only

“Good morning, your highness. I am on my way to see my little brother.”

“Oh, I see. So how is Stra today?”

“She is feeling calmer than yesterday.”

“Good. Alright, you may go.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Cekel bowed and walked away quickly. Lucius the First was about to walk on as well when suddenly, he realized that something felt odd. He saw that Sir Ainno, who was standing behind him, had an odd expression. His behavior was also strange when the emperor was talking to Cekel.

Why?