Before Rachel's visit, Psyche suddenly remembered a story she heard a long time ago about the duke's secret marriage.
“If you think about it...”
Valentine, the Duke, and the Marquis of Helston, where Rachel was born and raised, enjoyed a good relationship. Although the Duke's power had grown to an immeasurable extent now, at that time they were both noble members of the imperial family, and the Duke and the Marquis enjoyed wrestling with each other, and would often meet.
Little Clint naturally followed the Duke during his swordsmanship training, and everything else was boring, but watching their swordsmanship duels over their shoulders was a lot of fun.
Rachel started chaperoning their meetings from some point, and Clint and Rachel, who were the same age, naturally became close.
They weren't particularly close, but Rachel noticed that Clint always accompanied their gatherings, even though sword duels between two grown men could be boring.
When the Duke and the Marquis were training, they would normally spend time together.
Clint simply answered Rachel's questions to avoid embarrassment. There was nothing particularly intimate between them. But from an adult perspective, their relationship seemed a bit unusual.
A relationship that has lasted since childhood.
However, at that time, the Duke told Psyche that he had no intention of getting involved with Rachel.
On top of that, Clint hated Rachel more than he loved her, and there was no reason to get engaged into a family that became a noble family, so it was put off.
“I thought they had a good relationship since they were little. It was unexpected...”
But someday.
“I thought they had a good relationship since they were little. It was unexpected...”
But someday.
When the Duke and the Marquis visited the Marquis's house on business, Clint, who was wandering alone, accidentally fell into the lake.
Rachel, who was the first to find Clint in danger, risked her life to save him.
Their secret marriage was then quickly arranged.
“If you save your own life, feelings may develop between you.”
Perhaps it can be considered a fateful love.
However, contrary to what everyone expected, once Clint became the Duke's heir, he demanded a unilateral separation, and the Marquis, who was even more assertive than when he was a young man, had no choice but to accept the Duke's request.
Why did he break up with her?
Rachel didn't know the detailed reason, because she hadn't heard from Clint. It was a surprising turn of events.
If she thought of it that way, Rachel might have harbored enough resentment toward Saiki.
Does he still love her?
She had every reason to doubt. If Rachel loved Clint romantically, it would make more sense, especially since she brought in a lower-ranking noblewoman with no other notable qualities to marry the Duke, thus effectively usurping her position.
However, regardless of the reasons, Saiki believed that Rachel's actions had gone too far.
How will she handle it if she ends up having a miscarriage?
There is no reason that can justify these actions.
After Saiki hit Rachel's stomach, she slowly opened her mouth and said: “Begonia leaves are not good for pregnant women. Did you know that?”
In response, Rachel just rolled her eyes, pretending not to understand.
"Oh? I didn't know…"
The expression on her face did not reflect her ignorance. It seemed like she knew the truth but chose to pretend she didn't. Saiki laughed wryly at the thought of it.
"Well, let's assume you didn't know. If you keep drinking this tea despite knowing, you've probably already had a miscarriage. You're in the early stages of pregnancy, right? You don't even have a noticeable bump."
The most surprising person was the prince; As his eyes widened noticeably.
What did you say? Are you pregnant?
“Oh…”
Rachel had a worried look on her face. Psyche quickly continued, “I guess you didn’t know that I was aware of such things.”
Psyche scoffed. Rachel looked a little confused in her expression, but the color of her face remained unchanged.
Rachel has now fallen into her own trap. She couldn't admit that she knew that begonia leaves were dangerous for pregnant women, but she continued to drink the tea. Moreover, it was self-sacrifice, as risking the life of the man she loved could have been considered suicide.
Rachel listened silently as Saiki continued her attack. She knew that the more she talked, the more harmful it would be for her.
"There are no completely effective ways to get rid of a child that doesn't exist. You almost tricked me into believing that."
Psyche sat quietly back, her eyes trained downward.
“I don’t think my husband is that corrupt. Please don’t drag people of his caliber down with you, Rachel. Stop tarnishing the Duke’s reputation.”
It was a very insulting remark.
Rachel looked like she was about to respond, but Saiki raised her hand to stop her.
“By constantly having begonia leaves around me, did you intentionally intend to cause a miscarriage in my surroundings? Was this your plan?”
When the prince heard this, his mouth opened.
"What?"
Rachel quickly responded, looking a little confused, "What?"
"That's not possible. I don't know much about herbs."
“Is that so? Then why do you carry begonia leaves, even though you are pregnant?”
After this statement, Rachel's face turned pale again.
One of the two facts had to be false. If she admits to carrying begonia leaves intentionally, this means that her pregnancy was fabricated. But if the pregnancy was real, she should be showing signs of toxicosis by now.
It was like an embarrassing situation. فمهما اعترفت به، فلابد وأن تكون إحدى الحقائق كاذبة.
“I almost doubted Clint's purity because of you,” Saiki said sarcastically.
"If this is your plan, it's working. I lost the baby. Is this what you wanted? Did you think my husband would come back if I lost our baby?"
“W-what are you talking about?”
Rachel's steady expression began to crack.
“My marriage to my husband was initially supposed to be a strategic one. Is that correct, Rachel?”
Rachel was just staring at Psyche, and this time the prince intervened.
“You'd better answer directly, Rachel.”
لقد كان تعبيره محيرًا للغاية.
When he entered, Rachel reluctantly nodded and began babbling.
"Yes, that's right. We're in love! I'm pregnant with his child!"
The audacity was incredible.
“Rachel.”
The prince's voice took on a threatening tone.
"What are you saying? Are you claiming that you are carrying the Duke's illegitimate child? Do you realize what that means?"
أغلقت راشيل فمها عندما واجهها الأمير.
However, Saiki didn't believe her words.
"If you are really pregnant, you will have a miscarriage soon, especially in the early stages. Moreover, the toxicity of begonia leaves will be unbearable for you."
She immediately followed up.
“The Duke is sensitive towards his successor.”
That night when Rachel boldly confronted Saiki, this was what she said. And now she was using Rachel's words against her.
“Thanks to you, the Duke’s child has disappeared. What will happen next?”
A slight smile crossed Saiki's face for a moment and then disappeared. She wasn't on the Duke's side, but he was that kind of man. As he had done with her, he would not let Rachel go if he knew she had lost his only potential heir.
It was a warning.
Rachel added one last statement.
“Don't expect my husband to leave you alone, even if you have a child.”
Knock, knock, knock.
With the sound of knocking on the door, the servant's voice came from outside.
“Duke Valentine has arrived at the reception room. Where should I take him?”
Hearing this, Saiki rose from her seat and said slowly,
"Tell my husband yourself, Rachel. Tell him it's because of me that you lost the baby. Do you understand?"
Psyche touched Rachel's cheek gently.
Then she turned away gracefully.
She had to leave the palace before the Duke arrived.
There is no longer any reason to want to marry without a child.
.
There is no longer any reason to want to marry without a child.
Regardless of whether the Duke was still pure and had a clean relationship with Rachel, Psyche believed that he would never return to her because of the responsibility she felt for losing the child. He would never be forgiven or accepted again, because he was that kind of man.
She imagined a future of living with the baby, but living alone wouldn't be so bad.
Psyche intended to leave without saying goodbye to the prince.
At that moment, Rachel's voice, which had just come to her mind behind Saiki, flew towards her.
“Your Highness, what about the contract with me?”
Saiki's steps stopped suddenly