Chapter 5 (2/2)

Baby…His and my baby.

I had a dream. I dreamed that as the late emperor had only one child after great difficulty, Rub, his only successor, felt lonely like me all the time. Although he despised and hated me so much, I once dreamed that if I had his child, he would treat me warmly. But dreams were just dreams.

In reality, he was so cold to me. I didn’t care even if she betrayed me when she told me she wanted to get along with me as a sister. What really saddened me was his chilly reaction when he heard that I was pregnant with his baby. I felt I was so stupid because I could not give up the ray of hope that I had for him. I became deeply skeptical about myself because I found myself still waiting for him earnestly, although I knew he said out of courtesy that he was happy about my pregnancy.

***

Although he told me that he would see me sooner or later, he didn’t visit me even after a week or two. I was a little puzzled because I knew that he kept his promises, no matter what.

I believed that he would certainly come to see me, no matter how much he hated me and my pregnancy. He needed to talk with me at least once to cope with this situation somehow.

I kept waiting for him, but he didn’t come.

Instead, an unexpected person visited me. Even though he hadn’t seen me for a long time, he just looked at me without saying anything. He was none other than my father, one of the empire’s founding fathers, and the head of Monique family, who was called the spear of the empire and the most loyal subject of the imperial family.

As the head of my family, my father once led the regular imperial knights, staying loyal to the imperial family for generations. Unlike other aristocrats who sometimes criticized and checked the succeeding emperors’ tyranny, my family showed absolute loyalty to the imperial family, no matter what. As the head of the Monique family, my father was also a very old-fashioned and blunt knight. The day after I entered the palace as the emperor’s concubine, he volunteered to be dispatched to the border areas, saying that his family members’ rise was not good for the emperor’s governance.

My father, who came to see me after hearing that I was pregnant, did not say anything when he saw me haggard due to morning sickness that had only grown worse. He just took some of my work. Although I didn’t expect much, I couldn’t hide my bitterness as he didn’t show any concern towards me.

Late in the morning one day, three weeks after the banquet, the emperor finally called me.

Because I had bad morning sickness and dizziness in the morning, I really wanted to take a rest, but I had no choice but to head to the Central Palace to see him.

I looked up at the sky where dark clouds were gathering. When I passed through the dark garden because there was no light, I saw a huge building that looked gray under a shade.

Was it because it was cloudy? I felt unusually heavy today.

“Sit down there.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The moment I sat down, I felt dizzy again. Because of dizziness, I began to feel nauseated.

I barely pulled myself together. After taking a deep breath, I looked at him.

“Let me get to the point.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I won’t say that the baby in your worm is not mine. Given that you are a highly proud woman, I think it’s my baby.

“… ”

“But keep this in mind. I’m going to choose my successor among the babies that the empress will deliver later. Do you understand? ”

His voice was cold. Every word that he spat out was cold to the ear. When I flinched, he continued coldly, “Why are you not replying? It doesn’t matter how many babies you have or how smart they are. Your child will never be my successor. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I’ll keep it in mind, Your Majesty.”

“If you got it, get out. I expect you won’t make any fuss over this matter.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then, let me leave…”

I couldn’t talk back when he was using such harsh language. I barely stood up when I felt dizzy again. At that moment, the world went round and round before my eyes.

Oh, no. The moment I fell, losing my balance, someone quickly grabbed me.

When I barely raised my head, calming down my nausea, I saw him holding me and him stiffening with a hardened expression.

“Rub? Tia? ”