38. Refreshing Morning

It was an exceptionally good day.

Adeline stretched her light body fully as she left the bed and headed toward the window.

She pulled back the curtains that had been closed all night and opened the window wide.

Adeline inhaled the air with all her might. The cool air stimulated her nostrils.

It was the first refreshing morning she had experienced since entering the ducal mansion.

The sky today was especially blue without a single cloud. It felt like only good things would happen.

After enjoying the refreshing morning air for a while, Becky entered the bedroom. She had come to wake the sleeping Adeline, but upon discovering her already awake, Becky’s eyes widened in surprise.

Soon after seeing her enjoying the morning breeze, Becky greeted her as if she understood.

“Oh my. You’re already up! The weather is truly clear today.”

“Ah. Becky. It’s a good morning, isn’t it?”

Adeline greeted Becky with a smile.

Becky brought a large shawl and wrapped it around Adeline’s body.

“Still, the morning breeze is quite cold. You must think of the baby.”

Adeline smiled as she tightened the shawl Becky had covered her with and embraced her lower abdomen.

The feeling was strange but warm.

“Today is your examination day. Shall I bring him here?”

“When it’s over, could you prepare tea time in the garden?”

Since being told her pregnancy pulse was detected, Adeline had been receiving regular check-ups from the physician. Today was her third regular examination.

She planned to enjoy the refreshing air she had felt after so long when the morning chill subsided.

After Adeline finished her light grooming, there was another knock.

The physician, who greeted her quietly, immediately began examining Adeline.

“Fortunately, there’s no sign of a cold. Still, since you entered water in autumn, you should be careful for the time being.”

The physician exercised caution in everything, as she was carrying the ducal heir.

“I’ll check your pulse.”

After checking her pulse, the physician tilted his head.

The hand extended to examine her pulse wouldn’t leave Adeline’s wrist.

“Hmm?”

The physician, who had momentarily removed his hand, tilted his head again and checked her pulse once more.

“This is strange.”

After continuously making a suspicious expression, the physician eventually continued speaking. Adeline’s wrist began to tremble slightly with an inexplicable anxiety.

“The pulse is too faint.”

The physician, who had extended his hand to check her pulse once more, soon withdrew it.

“Although it wasn’t clear, the pulse was definitely detectable before, but now……”

The physician, who kept expressing confusion, stopped speaking when he saw Adeline’s expression.

Adeline couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the physician’s words. Her voice began to tremble.

“Is something wrong with the baby?”

She asked the physician. Her face turned pale white at the thought that the baby in her womb might have miscarried.

The refreshing feeling she had felt upon waking was completely gone, and she felt as if all the blood in her body was draining away.

She had just begun to accept this child. Adeline’s eyes trembled endlessly.

The physician hurriedly began to calm Adeline, who had turned pale.

“Ah. No! This happens occasionally. It’s probably nothing.”

Despite the physician’s words, Adeline’s complexion showed no signs of improving.

“Have you experienced any vaginal bleeding?”

Adeline shook her head vigorously at the physician’s question.

“Then it’s fine. Let’s observe for a while as you take care of your body. Nothing is worse for the baby than the mother’s worry.”

Adeline’s trembling gradually subsided at the physician’s words. For Adeline, who still looked confused, the physician continued to offer reassuring words.

“There’s no need to worry. If anything happens, please call me.”

The physician rose from his seat and added:

“It’s probably nothing, so don’t worry and rest well.”

The physician left the bedroom with a hearty laugh, as if trying to reassure Adeline once more.

Despite the physician’s words, Adeline couldn’t shake off her uneasiness. Her trembling hands had completely subsided, but her pale complexion showed no signs of returning.

The anxiety that had once bloomed wouldn’t easily fade away.

‘The baby isn’t really in trouble, right?’

Adeline’s mood felt buried underground, as if she had never been in good spirits. Somehow, her stomach also seemed to be starting to ache.

⁕⁕⁕

As time passed, Adeline began to find stability.

Truly, there had never been a day when her body felt as light as today. Adeline continuously reassured herself that nothing worrisome would happen.

“Nothing is worse for the baby than the mother’s worry.”

Remembering the physician’s words that worry was not good for the baby, Adeline tried once more to lift her spirits.

After receiving news that the tea Becky had prepared was ready, Adeline took a deep breath.

She intended to erase the fleeting anxiety while drinking tea.

Adeline’s eyes widened at the elaborately decorated table in the garden.

“Oh my.”

As if anticipating Adeline’s expression, Becky displayed a very satisfied look.

What Adeline had requested from Becky was a simple tea time in the garden. But the scene before her eyes was like a tea party for noble ladies.

The white round tea table was filled with colorful desserts. It seemed as if all the desserts Adeline had ever found delicious had been prepared.

That wasn’t all. A silk canopy around the tea table fluttered in the wind. It was Becky’s ambitious creation, considering the time approaching noon.

As Adeline sat down in admiration, tea water gradually filled her cup.

“The tea is as splendid as this beautiful place. How pretty.”

The tea water, shimmering with a ruby glow, was so clear without any cloudiness.

It was such a beautiful color that it seemed it should be appreciated rather than drunk.

“The duke specially prepared it. The desserts too. It’s a tea that’s excellent for improving mood.”

At Becky’s words, Adeline felt her sunken mood lightly bounce back up.

Casis seemed to have quickly heard the news from the physician. That he would be so considerate, knowing Adeline’s dampened mood. Her heart tingled.

Becky, who had been watching the moved Adeline, quietly whispered in her ear.

“A lot of desserts were baked. How about sending some to the duke?”

Adeline nodded, pretending to give in to Becky’s suggestion.

⁕⁕⁕

Adeline was on her way to the office. With a picnic basket filled with desserts.

Wherever Adeline passed, the sweet scent of desserts spread.

Since returning from the villa, Casis had always seemed busy dealing with accumulated work.

Just as she had been comforted by sweet desserts and tea today, she hoped that sweet desserts would also somewhat alleviate his arduous feelings.

Adeline reached the office entrance with pleasant anticipation. Full of expectation, she extended her hand to knock on the office door.

At that moment,

“Do you really intend to welcome her as the duchess?”

Eric’s voice flowed through the crack in the office door.

Adeline stopped her hand that was about to knock. If they were discussing the duchess, it was surely about her. Adeline could imagine the awkward situation if she entered. Just as she was about to turn away.

“It can’t be helped.”

At Casis’s voice from beyond the door, Adeline couldn’t bring herself to walk away.

Although she knew eavesdropping wasn’t right, she couldn’t leave her spot.

Adeline carefully leaned her back against the office door.

“She’s a commoner. You know that clearly, don’t you? The imperial family is mocking Your Grace.”

“Doesn’t she carry the ducal bloodline?”

“If you needed an heir, you shouldn’t have broken off the engagement with the Estillen family. That would have been the natural course.”

After Eric’s words, Casis did not respond. Unable to bear the frustration, Eric asked Casis again.

“Do you love her?”

“……She’s carrying my bloodline.”

Adeline felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness. As if she had been hoping for him to love her.

Even though she thought they had grown somewhat closer, Adeline looked at her flat stomach.

‘If it weren’t for this child, we would still be resenting and despising each other.’

Adeline’s mood began to hit rock bottom after eavesdropping on the conversation in the office. The melancholy was momentary as Adeline listened to the continuing conversation.

“The pulse is faint, isn’t it? What will you do if she miscarries?”

“That must not happen, Eric. I won’t let you off easily.”

The words “won’t let you off easily” seemed directed at her. Adeline’s heart thudded as if something had suddenly dropped.

“Ah.”

Was it because of the sudden shock? A sharp pain suddenly rose from her lower abdomen. Adeline unknowingly let out a groan from the pain.

She quickly tried to leave the office, wondering if her voice had been heard inside.

“Lady?”

Adeline’s steps halted at the voice calling her from behind.

It was the butler Gwen, walking toward Adeline from the end of the corridor.

“Were you looking for the duke?”

At Gwen’s words, Adeline immediately shook her head. She didn’t have the courage to face the duke and his secretary now.

“No. Could you please deliver these desserts?”

As she spoke, Adeline handed the dessert basket to Gwen.

Leaving Gwen, who seemed to be saying something, behind, Adeline quickly moved away from the office.

She hurriedly walked toward the bedroom. Somehow, the intensity of the sharp pain seemed to be increasing.