“I heard you were looking for the family doctor, my lady.”

Eugene, the family doctor of the Portrion Mansion, bowed slightly as he entered Sophia’s room.

At first, he thought that the nervous Sophia had summoned him due to embezzlement. However, looking at the slightly tense fourth lady of the house, comfortably seated on the sofa, he seemed to understand the real reason for the summons.

Sophia signaled to Eugene with her eyes and said,

“Please check Edith’s pulse.”

“I will do so. Edith, my lady, please lend me your hand for a moment.”

From the fifth month onwards, pregnancy could be determined using blood, but the only way to confirm early pregnancy was still to check the pulse.

Edith extended her arm, recalling the expressions of patients at the clinic who had desperately wanted a child.

If she didn’t deliberately make a face, she would obviously face Eugene with a rigid expression.

‘This person was the doctor who checked my condition when Sophia first caught me.’

In other words, Eugene was as close to Sophia as Whitman, the head butler.

Maybe he knew everything about what Sophia was doing to swallow Portrion?

Soon, Eugene’s face brightened as he checked Edith’s pulse.

“My lady, what a fortunate event… Congratulations, Lady Edith.”

The moment Eugene confirmed it, Edith smiled as she had seen others do at the clinic many times before.

But she almost felt embarrassed because Sophia seemed more radiant than she did upon receiving the news of her pregnancy.

“My goodness, Edith.”

You are finally worth the money spent.

Even without hearing it, Edith felt she knew Sophia’s inner thoughts.

Sophia unusually bustled about, calling it a happy event, even telling the maids to prepare a cake for dinner to celebrate.

“I think I heard somewhere that a cake to celebrate a pregnancy has a slightly special design.”

When Sophia casually mentioned it, the maids asked with somewhat surprised expressions.

“A pregnancy?”

“Yes. A celebration for Edith. It’s fortunate that the Lord sincerely loves one of his wives…”

Sophia’s voice was even wistful as she said this.

Edith thought that if there were an award for excellent acting, Sophia deserved it.

By the time the cake was ready, everyone in Portrion Castle would be whispering about the news that the fourth lady was with child.

‘Fooling without even knowing.’

Edith, feigning amazement, put her hand on her stomach and thought about Elick Berry.

She had learned about that noxious fruit while working at the clinic for about a year.

“Who’s the father?! I was away for a month on top business, you dog!”

“You bastard! How many times have I told you I didn’t cheat?! Is that what you say to your faithful wife who stayed home?!”

“Please, both of you calm down…!”

Incidents related to Elick Berry always began with chaos.

Usually, women, especially those in their fertile years, confused this nonedible fruit with other berries and ate it, causing problems.

Doctors warned that the juice of Elick Berry affected the female body, especially organs related to pregnancy.

‘The pulse seems pregnant, or the menstrual cycle becomes irregular.’

Elick Berry was so tasteless that it was not eaten as food, so its side effects were not widely known. It didn’t have a poison strong enough to kill or paralyze people either.

Especially the nobles, who were unlikely to mistakenly eat the fruit, didn’t even know about such side effects.

But once a year or so, a patient who had eaten Elick Berry wrong would cause a commotion at the clinic.

Edith was so impressed by these commotions that she even looked up herbalism books. Just what kind of plant was it to cause such chaos?

‘I never thought I would use what I learned back then like this.’

The words of Lady Homan that everything learned had a use were indeed true.
“Eugene, are there any precautions Edith needs to take?”

“Yes, ma’am. For the time being, she should only engage in light walks for exercise. Intense exercise is not allowed. And then…….”

Edith, who had been waiting for this pregnancy more than anyone, fit perfectly with Sophia and Eugene’s expectations. Edith pretended to listen intently, smiling at their words.

After the doctors and maids who had conveyed their congratulations had left the room, Sophia’s expression completely changed, as if she had never been happy about the pregnancy.

“Edith. While pregnancy is a joyful event, it’s best not to expect anything greater just because you have a child.”

This likely meant not to commit the foolishness of coveting her power using the child as her successor. Edith quietly nodded her head.

“If the child inherits half of your blood and Hans’s blood, it will be obvious from the appearance that it’s not of Portrion lineage.”

“I know.”

“The lineage of Portrion can still be discerned even after Lord has passed away.”

“…….”

‘Blood within a month can be used for a paternity test, but it’s impossible after nine months.’