Chapter 7

Two days after the chilling proposal, Nine came to find me again. It seemed I was exceptionally displeasing to him, as there was no advance notice, just like the last time. Poor Annie had to rush to prepare for a guest once more.

Inside the reception room, the heavy atmosphere was broken only by the sound of tea being poured. I didn’t know what expression to wear, so I just kept a faint, calm curve on my lips.

No matter my expression, Norman continued to look at me with a cold gaze and handed me a document envelope.

“As you know, we cannot afford to waste much time on the ceremony. We have prepared the necessary documents for a quick progression, so please just confirm them.”

“Just confirm them.”

It was the same as our last meeting—they had no intention of considering my opinion. Nine had left everything to Norman; he just elegantly sipped his tea while Norman handed me the documents and explained them.

Watching him, I steeled myself again.

‘I have to stay sharp.’

My goal was to prevent myself from signing these documents. To do that, I needed to have the conversation I couldn’t have two days ago. I was innocent, and I had gathered enough evidence, so as long as I could just talk, there shouldn’t be a problem.

‘Of course, even then, it would be hard for him to see me in a good light.’

In just two days, things had progressed this far. If I didn’t speak now and sort things out, I would be swept away again.

Unlike my previous flustered state, I met his gaze directly and spoke to Nine.

“I have something to tell you.”

“…”

At my words, Nine set his teacup down and gave a small nod as his answer. Fortunately, this time, he didn’t interrupt me.

I sighed in relief internally and gestured for the standing Annie to step back.

“I would appreciate it if the Duke’s aide would also step out for a moment.”

Nine’s emotionless eyes turned a little sharper. I could immediately feel his displeasure. His gaze seemed to ask what my scheme was, or why that was necessary. I met his stare head-on.

Finally, Nine closed his eyes first and motioned to Norman. Norman looked displeased but stepped back.

Thump.

The sound of the door closing was unusually loud. The room, with just the two of us, became eerily silent.

As soon as the door closed, Nine crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably against the chair. His gaze, once he opened his eyes again, clearly read, ‘Let’s see just how important this is.’

I took a few deep breaths internally and began, calmly.

“You may not believe me, but this is not what I wanted.”

“Hah.”

I had only managed to get one sentence out, but Nine immediately let out a hollow laugh as if what I said was absurd. I held my ground and continued.

“I was just trying to help…”

…you.

I wanted to say that I was only trying to help him, but I couldn’t finish my words. The sharp aura directed at me was suffocating. My body stiffened like a mouse before a cat. The air around me felt as if it had dropped instantly. A chilling sensation ran down my spine.

An alarm went off in my head. The presence of the Empire’s youngest swordmaster alone was enough to silence a normal person and make their body tremble.

‘No.’

I had so many things prepared to say. The evidence was solid. It was just a simple misunderstanding that needed to be cleared up.

But Nine’s face was too cold. I could feel the movement of his mana, as if he was forcibly suppressing a murderous intent.

When I could no longer bring myself to open my mouth under his pressure, Nine spoke in a low voice. The voice that had once been music to my ears now felt like a chilling blue blade.

“I don’t care what you wanted, My Lady. That is none of my business.”

The moment his words ended, his face twisted into a menacing sneer. The mana he had been holding back began to ooze out, slowly reaching for me. The hostile mana tightened its grip around me little by little.

My breathing became shallow. In the face of my fear of death, any thoughts of clearing up the misunderstanding or telling the truth were pushed away.

Nine got up from his seat, leaned over the table, and rested his hands on it. His dark, deep-set eyes stared into mine.

“You took it upon yourself to give me a love potion, kidnapped me, spent the night with me, and even had my child. If you’re going to come out with the shameless excuse that you ‘loved’ me, you’d better stop now.”

He warned me. His low, deep voice was filled with an indescribable rage. Nine seemed to have no intention of holding back any longer; he didn’t hide the murderous mana he was releasing.

The murderous aura felt like it was slicing my skin. The pressure felt like it was crushing my organs. My breathing was so constricted I could barely get any air in.

‘I could really die.’

A wave of fear washed over me. I was certain. I could die by Nine’s hand right now. He was incredibly angry, and he had only been restraining his rage until now. I had unfortunately crossed that line.

I had been too optimistic. I had thought that if I just talked to Nine, I could clear up the misunderstanding and everything would be resolved. But I shouldn’t have focused on my own situation; I should have considered his. The path I had chosen did not take Nine into account at all.

If I had guessed the extent of his rage, I might have considered a different way to clear up the misunderstanding. If I were in the same situation and misunderstood someone like this, I would have wanted to kill them. No, if I had the ability to kill them like Nine and the ability to handle the consequences, I might have killed them.

But Nine was in a state where he had even decided to marry a woman like me to take responsibility. It was only natural that he had no more mercy or patience to give.

How ridiculous would it sound for the person who caused all this to say that it’s not what she wanted? It would just be adding fuel to the fire.

“If you try to use that ridiculous excuse again, I will kill you, whether you’re carrying my child or not. Remember this. There won’t be a second warning.”

Tears streamed down my face from the terrifying fear that made my body tremble. All I could do was nod repeatedly to save my life.

“Tsk.”

When I nodded, Nine clicked his tongue once and sat back down. He retracted the murderous aura and mana that had been pressing down on me.

“Gasp… cough…!”

I could finally breathe. I didn’t even remember when I had stopped breathing. The fear of death was so ingrained in my mind that my body was still shaking. It felt like I had been plunged into a vat of ice water.

Knock, knock.

As my rough breathing finally started to calm down, a knock came from outside, and Norman’s voice followed.

“Duke, Mr. Tully has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Annie wouldn’t have known the situation inside, but Norman could definitely sense the sinister mana. Yet his voice was perfectly calm, as if he knew nothing.

Soon, Norman returned with a man. The man, a new face, had long brown hair tied at the back and wore a pristine white doctor’s coat. The man with the sharp features greeted Nine and then spoke to me.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, My Lady. I am Tully Blake, the Eclipse Duchy’s family physician.”

Tully was the man with long brown hair tied down. Unlike Norman, he had sharp features, and even his lime-green eyes looked fierce. He immediately bowed to me, but I hadn’t fully recovered my breathing yet.

Still, I couldn’t show my disheveled state. I took deep, quiet breaths and clenched my still-trembling hands into fists to hide them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. I’m Chacha Blueberry.”

Thankfully, my voice didn’t tremble.

I said the polite words, not meaning them, and thought to myself. I had hoped this moment wouldn’t come. I had thought I could resolve things before this.

“Begin at once.”

Nine told Tully as soon as our greetings were over. There was only one reason Tully was here. To confirm whether or not I was pregnant.

“Please excuse me, My Lady.”

Tully nodded and immediately took my wrist to check my pulse. From where he touched me, mana flowed in and began to scan my body. I had assumed this worst-case scenario and prepared for it, but I was so anxious that I didn’t know if my plan would work. My heart pounded.

I steeled my expression to hide my nervousness. I felt Tully’s mana retreat the way it came and waited patiently for his examination to end.

Tully, who had recalled all his mana, opened his eyes. His lime-green eyes met mine for a moment before they turned to Nine.

He said, “The Lady is pregnant.”