What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 22
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“Your Majesty, the results are in.”
Thump.
Her heart sank.
Ysaris stared blankly at the man before her, unable to believe what she had just heard. Dr. Lafaro Zajak, the royal physician she trusted, was not one to speak lightly, yet her mouth opened without thought.
“That’s too much of a joke.”
“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”
At the somewhat irritated question, Ysaris clenched her fist. More than the physician’s rudeness, the weight of the truth she had just heard hit her hard.
Pregnant. I’m pregnant?
Being honest, she had been feeling symptoms recently. Her menstrual cycle had stopped, and she often felt nauseous during meals. Despite experiencing severe fatigue and headaches, she couldn’t sleep comfortably.
But her menstrual cycle had always been irregular due to stress, so she hadn’t paid much attention to it. She had dismissed other symptoms as simply being a result of the unsettling behavior between Kazhan and Runellia. She couldn’t be pregnant.
It just couldn’t be…
“How could this happen?”
“I must ask, Your Majesty, did you forget to take your medicine?”
“I took it as it was handed to me in the carriage, so why are you asking?”
One of the maids happened to be a relative of Dr. Lafaro Zajak. Ysaris had been regularly taking contraceptive pills through her, so she couldn’t understand why she was pregnant.
And it had to happen just when Runellia had recently entered.
As Ysaris grimly rubbed her belly, Lafaro Zajak furrowed his brow as if annoyed.
“It seems Peony either messed up or forgot to adjust the dosage. This has become troublesome.”
“This isn’t something that can be dismissed as merely troublesome!”
“Then what shall we do? Her Majesty the Empress is already carrying a child.”
Ysaris bit her lip. The fact that she was carrying her enemy’s child, and now receiving such treatment from a physician working for her, only complicated her emotions further.
What should she do now? What should she say to the Emperor, and what stance should she take going forward?
A pregnancy, which would have been good news for an ordinary empress, brought only anguish to Ysaris. If word spread that she was with child, countless problems would arise.
Her husband’s cold reaction was predictable. The concubine’s jealousy would ignite like wildfire. The nobles would direct their scrutiny and opposition toward her. Beyond all of this, Ysaris herself doubted her ability to love the child as its mother.
If this life would receive no blessing from anyone, was it truly worth being born?
As Ysaris pondered this pure question, cold words pierced her thoughts.
“Terminate it.”
“……!”
Ysaris suddenly startled, her gaze darting to Dr. Lafaro Zajak. His cold countenance seemed to pierce through her wandering thoughts, etching itself into her vision.
“It’s a child Your Majesty the Empress doesn’t want anyway, isn’t it? I can prepare a potion to dispose of it.”
“Wait, isn’t that too hasty?”
“Then, do you intend to give birth to the child?”
Ysaris fell silent. Rationally, she knew terminating the pregnancy was the right choice, but hearing it stated so bluntly stirred hesitation within her.
But still, it’s her child. It’s a life already embraced.
Yet, still…
Ysaris continued to gently stroke her still-flat belly several times. However unintentional, the new life stirring within her pulled at her emotions.
“…I want a few days to think.”
“That’s fine, but remember. No one will welcome Her Majesty the Empress giving birth to a prince. I am no exception.”
Ysaris paused, holding her breath at Dr. Lafaro’s suffocating words, then exhaled. Her throat was dry, and she felt stifled inside. Longing to see the open outside world, she turned her gaze towards the window, only to find it obstructed by curtains.
Every corner of the palace felt like a prison. Since her arrival in the Uzephia Empire, this place had always constricted her breathing. It was natural that even her husband treated her as an outsider.
Even if she were fortunate enough to return to Pyrein, there would be no one to warmly welcome the estranged princess there either.
Ysaris crossed her arms over her belly, covering herself with her opposite arm. Embracing herself to ward off the chilly loneliness, she spoke slowly.
“I know. If I myself am not welcomed, having my child won’t make much difference.”
She said in a subdued voice. The physician nodded knowingly at her precise assessment of her situation.
“Then…”
“But, Dr. Lafaro.”
Ysaris turned her weary eyes towards Dr. Lafaro. Amidst the swamp of melancholy thoughts that had briefly passed through her mind, a faint glimmer of unobscured light shone through.
“We cannot harm an innocent life, can we? Especially a child who has never seen the light of the world.”
She had already lost many people. Loved ones, precious friends, superficial nobles, and faceless commoners…
Unable to protect them, she had let them slip away. So now, what she could protect, she wanted to safeguard with her best efforts.
That had been her endeavor all along.
