***

Sponsored by Bri 💖 (4/4)

***

Aaah!

A woman’s tearing scream echoed through the shabby deserted alley.

The brown cat, who was searching through the garbage, stood up its tail in surprise.

The place where its pupils had long since split was inside the oldest house in the alley.

A light rain had begun to fall at that moment.

The sound of rain concealed the moaning of the woman gritting her teeth.

“The head is almost out! Give a little more strength! It will be over as soon as the head is out!”

“Ahhhh!”

Natasha’s gritted teeth and screams filled the house of this unsurpassed old woman.

Anne stood in the corner with a blank face and trembling hands, watching this horrific scene.

‘Hah, what is the meaning of all this? Why does Natasha have her baby here? What’s wrong!’

She didn’t even want to look straight at it.

As for Anne, she was brave enough not to run away immediately.

“It’s almost out!”

At the old woman’s shout, whose voice had gone hoarse, Anne involuntarily glanced there.

“Ha!”

It was full of bright red blood.

As Anne had never even seen her own body properly, the shock of seeing another person’s body covered in blood was even greater.

“What are you doing? Pull yourself together! Bring me a towel!”

“Yes, yes! I’m sorry.”

Anne brought the towel with a shudder.

That was the moment.

“Ah, ah, ah, ahhhhhh!”

Even without saying it, Anne could tell that the scream was the final push.

Boom!

Was heaven helping them?

A bolt of lightning struck in time with Natasha’s scream.

The rain, which concealed her tears and sobs, was beating hard against the roof.

Anne, who had her eyes closed tightly, felt something different in the air.

“Oh, dear, dear……. This pretty thing has grown up and came out.”

The old woman giggled in a hoarse voice as if she had lost her strength.

She could hear the sound of her patting the wet skin.

Then she heard a gurgling, very small sound, and a yelp began to spread.

“Waaaaaa!”

It was the cry of a baby as it breathed in the first breath of air.

Anne stared blankly at the little creature, covered in amniotic fluid and blood.

There was no shadow of the horror of what had just happened, just a loss of soul.

“The baby is …….”

Natasha held out her hand, mumbling in an exhausted voice.

“A very strong prince. Come now, you will be held in your mother’s arms.”

The little baby was placed on Natasha’s breast.

Natasha looked more compassionate than ever and kissed the baby’s forehead, which still had blood on it.

“…… you will be the emperor of this land.”

It was a voice that lost all its power, but was full of heart.

Natasha fed the whimpering baby.

It was not until the whole process was finished that Natasha fell asleep like a faint.

* * * *Natasha woke up after exactly ten hours of sleep.

She had ordered Anne to go to the Imperial Palace and gave them a message that she (Natasha) went to her parents’ house.

She (Natasha) could not stay away for long, for the emperor who had a lot of doubts.

“You can take care of the baby right?”

“Yes.”

“I will send Anne to you tonight. Until then, take good care of the baby.”

“Don’t worry and go.”

No matter how few people were passing by, when the sun rose, there were more people on the road.

Natasha, who couldn’t afford to let people see her, quickly left the alley, supported by Ennis.

“Anne.”

“Yes?”

“If you let it slip what you saw yesterday, I’ll pull your tongue out.”

“……!”

“You took me to my parents’ house yesterday, when I was depressed. Do you understand?”

Natasha, pale of complexion, speaking in a whisper with a graceful voice, was like a devil in an angel’s mask.

Startled, Anne nodded shakily.

“You said you are a girl who keeps secrets well, so I can trust you.”

“Yes, yes, Lady.”

Natasha looked at Anne, who was nodding.

Her bloodshot eyes were quiet, but sharper than ever. She called

Anne again.

“Anne.”

“Yes, yes?”

“But you look like a weak girl, I’ll give you an errand to run then I’ll believe you.”

“What…..”

Facing Natasha, Anne felt eerie.

With no one to listen, Natasha deliberately whispered in Anne’s ear.

“Tonight, bring Logan and kill that old woman.”

“What?!”

Anne looked at Natasha frighteningly and covered her mouth.

Her clear orange eyes flashed silently.

“Keep in mind, Anne. If you don’t kill her, you will be the one who dies.”

Anne wanted to cry out, but she clenched her teeth and held back.

How could this have happened to her?

All of this was because of her brother’s gambling debts.

If only her parents had not been caught in that debt, Anne would not have had to sell her labor to the Marquis Roxon for a low price.

No, he didn’t say it was dangerous in the first place. He just told her to keep her mouth shut and be a maid!

There was no God to save her even if she confessed the truth.

No matter how foolish she was, she knew that much.

She squeezed her mouth shut and opened the carriage door with a trembling hand.

Natasha staggered and climbed into the carriage.

A few hours later, an old, shabby carriage pulled in exactly where Natasha had left it.

* * *

Knock. Knock.

The horseman driving the unglamorous but sturdy carriage tapped on the small window connected to the interior.

Anna opened the window.

“The terrain is a little rough from here. You might get motion sickness, so it’s better to go with the window slightly open. There will be a lot of shaking.”

“I see…..”

Anna sighed low and opened the carriage windows on both sides.

As soon as both windows were open, the stuffy air escaped, and the nausea she had been feeling felt much better.

Rwanda put a blanket on Anna’s lap and smiled.

“Isn’t it better to open the window?”

“…… yes.”“The weather is getting warmer these days, and it’s not so cold with the windows open.”

It wasn’t that Anna didn’t know it.

She just didn’t want to see the man’s face when she opened the window, so she stubbornly kept it closed.

‘Why on earth is he following me?’

Anna thought as she forced herself to catch her gaze through the window.

‘Perso Gertium!’

She didn’t expect that knight was the Duke.

When she thought about that day, she felt cold like ice on her chest.

No matter how hard she tried to calm down, shw didn’t feel good, as if he had deceived her.

Besides, the disheveled appearance she had shown him, and the embarrassment that came with it, was not completely herself.

Anna closed her eyes tightly. The conversation of that day, which she had thought of over and over again, came back to her.

* * *

“…… who are you?”

“Perso Gertium.”

Anna jumped up in surprise.

As if he understood her surprised face, Perso continued speaking in a calm voice.

“Outwardly, I had no choice but to deceive people because it was known that I was going around the Northwestern Hunting Mountains. I’m sorry.”

“……I understand.”

Yes, the situation was fully understandable in Anna’s head.

Still, shw couldn’t help that her face became stiff.

Only a few hours earlier, she was distraught, telling him her personal story, unaware who the knight really was.

It was not all this man’s fault, but couldn’t he have warned her somewhat?

Then again, it was this man who hung around at random times without receiving a request from her.

‘No, let’s not stir up personal feelings. I need this man anyway.’

Anna steeled herself through clenched teeth.

She took a deep breath and stared at Perso.

Unlike before, Perso’s expression hardened at the cold look in Anna’s eyes.

”If you don’t mind me asking, if you were supposed to be in the mountains, but why are you here?”

Perso faced her in silence instead of answering.

Anna continued calmly, as if she had expected it.

“If it’s difficult for you to answer, I’ll just tell you what I guessed.”

“What’s that?”

“I think you have deliberately said that you are in the farthest part of the capital to avoid being summoned by the emperor.”

Anna’s words caused Perso’s expression to change slightly.

The atmosphere changed, even though he only wrinkled his brow.

As if it was his first day in the castle, the spirit that emanated from his entire body held her cold and chillingly in place.

It was obvious that he was nervous about her words.

Anna raised her head resolutely.

This was enough.

‘The present Duke of Gertium does not conform to the imperial family.’

This alone should have been enough of an answer for Roselyn.

Moreover, Roselyn was now near Tanatos.

If this man was not actively trying to protect the imperial family, then perhaps… he could fulfill Rosie’s aspirations without great sacrifice.

It was a relief to think so.

Yes, as long as Perso Gertium did not block her and Rosie’s path, she would understand that he had not deceived her.

Anna eased her stiff shoulders and nodded as gently as ever.

“I understand what you meant, Duke. That is enough for me. Thank you for speaking with me.”

“….Why?”

“Yes?”

“Why were you curious about that?”

Perso asked back.

Anna answered without hesitation.

“Because I don’t like the emperor.”