We're Married, After All - Chapter 55
The next day, I stayed in bed until Danel had left the estate. During that time, a young maid attended to me.
The maid pleaded with me to eat at least a piece of bread. For someone reluctantly tasked with the job, her voice carried a surprising amount of concern. Even she seemed to realize that my refusal to eat wasn’t just because of morning sickness.
Wrapped tightly in the blanket, I reviewed my plan once more.
Order the maid to bring me some fruit just before the afternoon tasks begin. Eat to keep up appearances. Then announce that I intend to take a walk. Argue with the maid. Wait for her to give up, caught between my unpredictability and the household schedule. Once she does, slip out to the backyard.
That should let me reach the stables during the staff’s busiest hours.
From there, the plan was simple. Bribe the stable master and the gate guards, then take the narrow paths inaccessible by carriage to reach my destination.
I reflexively placed a hand on my lower abdomen. To make it to Lamprey Castle and back before Danel returned, I would need to ride hard. That might not affect me, but it would certainly endanger the child. If I were unlucky, it could even result in a miscarriage.
Yes, if I were unlucky.
It seems I really do want to have this child, I thought with a faint, bitter laugh.
I had thought I was still undecided about what to do with the baby, but the mere possibility of losing it filled me with fear. It was the kind of thought only someone who had already decided to keep the child would have.
Slowly, as though soothing the baby, I rubbed my stomach.
But if I’m going to have you, I need to know more about your father. Of course, knowing everything might change my decision.
Whether I learned something or discovered nothing at all, I intended to settle everything today. If I could handle whatever secrets lay at Lamprey Castle, I would keep the child. If not, I wouldn’t. That was all there was to it.
I listened closely to the faint sound of an additional heartbeat, like an echo in my ears. Would I still hear this sound tonight? If so, I planned to wear a thin dress and wait for Danel.
To finally tell him about my pregnancy. And to let go of the engagement that had defined my life.
Or I might take all the pills Janna gave me and part ways with you.
I waited anxiously for Danel’s carriage to leave the castle.
Perhaps desperation had lent me strength. Against all odds, I arrived at Lamprey Castle in record time. Of course, it was a reckless ride, far rougher than I had imagined.
When my tired horse began to protest, I dismounted at the edge of the forest and tied it to a tree. Pulling my hood low over my face, I noted with relief that I felt no ominous signs like bleeding or abdominal pain. It seemed the baby had inherited both mine and Danel’s resilience.
I descended the mountain path alone. Once I reached the hospital, I wandered near the building, pretending to be someone’s errand runner. Fortunately, the Rodio couple was nowhere to be seen.
Taking advantage of the empty surroundings, I slipped in through a backdoor. From that point, it was essentially an exploration.
Even though I was good at memorizing routes, I lost time at every fork in the path. I chanted the landmarks the little adventurer had taught me like a mantra. Though my unease didn’t completely fade, I managed to avoid getting completely lost after a while.
Eventually, I reached Petios’s room. It was a starkly empty space, almost desolate. In the center of the room lay the man I knew so well. It felt as though I had stepped into Petios Veloce’s grave.
After calming my thoughts, I extinguished the fire burning in the herbal jar. The caregiver had said it was a remedy to ease the patient’s pain, but I had always found its scent unsettling. It was too similar to the smell that had clung to my second brother after his debauchery had gotten him sent to a monastery.
After scanning the room, I began my search. What I was looking for were letters—specifically, letters Danel had sent to Petios.
If Danel had a reason to keep Petios’s letters, then surely Petios would have found Danel’s letters equally important. I needed them.
Because this is the only way to know what Danel said to Petios.
Unless Petios regained consciousness, those letters were the only clues to what had transpired between them. I had to find out.
But… there was nothing. I searched everywhere—from the cabinets stuffed with herbs to beneath the bed—and found not even a single belonging of Petios’s, let alone the letters. It was strange.
By now, the letters weren’t even the issue. If Petios had truly come here of his own accord, his belongings should have been in this room. At the very least, there should have been a pair of slippers for him to wear while walking around.
