The carriage from the temple entered the mansion. The person who stepped out of the carriage was Miela.

“Where is the patient?”

“This way, please.”

The butler who had been waiting for her led her to the backyard of the mansion.

There, a tea party for noble ladies was in full swing, with cheerful laughter audible even from afar. It hardly seemed like an atmosphere where a patient would be present.

As Miela approached them, one of the noblewomen who noticed her frowned and gestured.

It was the mistress of this mansion, the Countess Ronan.

“Oh my, I thought I’d die waiting.”

Miela strode over to her side and greeted her with a gentle smile.

“Hello, my lady. Where are you feeling unwell?”

“I spilled some hot tea earlier and got burned. I thought my foot would be roasted waiting for you.”

As the maid wrapping the Countess’s foot with a cold, damp cloth moved aside, a red mark was visible on the top of her foot. It had reddened, but the burn didn’t seem too severe.

“Your beautiful skin has turned red. It must have been painful. I’ll treat it right away.”

“Oh my, I was about to feel so neglected. Do you know how much our family has donated to the temple? I’d be so upset if I were treated as an afterthought like this.”

While even nobles couldn’t treat the Pope, called the messenger of God, carelessly, they tended to look down on priests, as many of them were commoners.

Countess Ronan, too, seemed displeased that she had been made to wait, despite Miela not being very late, and was finding fault.

But Miela smiled brightly without showing any signs of being offended.

“I’m well aware of how much you’ve donated to the temple and for us, my lady. Even this robe I’m wearing is made from fabric you donated. I’m always grateful. I’m truly sorry for being late.”

The noblewomen, hearing Miela’s words, each reacted with surprise.

“Oh my, I heard that the fabric for priests’ robes is quite expensive. The Ronan family donated that?”

“I heard the Count’s business has been very successful lately, so they made a generous donation? As expected, their generosity is on another level.”

As the noblewomen praised her, Countess Ronan’s expression softened, as if she had never been fussy with Miela.

“Ahem. It’s only natural to help those who serve God’s will.”

In fact, Miela had made up on the spot that the Ronan family had donated the fabric.

The Countess probably only ordered her subordinates to donate a certain amount of goods, without knowing specifically what was donated.

Miela, who had lived in the temple since childhood and learned the ways of the world, knew well how to deal with nobles.

As the atmosphere settled and Miela began treating Countess Ronan, the noblewomen moved on to another topic.

“By the way, tomorrow is the day of the trial.”

“What trial?”

“The fire at the Empress’s palace ten years ago. Duke Delmark requested a retrial, remember?”

“Ah, right. That’s tomorrow?”

“Then, were those rumors from a few months ago all true? That the Duchess worked with the Duke to uncover the truth about the incident ten years ago, and that’s why the Grand Empress had her kidnapped?”

“Now that you mention it, it makes sense. That’s probably why the Duchess hasn’t been seen in public.”

“But what will happen to the Duchess after the trial?”

“Do you think she’s trying to sever ties with the Imperial family?”

“Never mind the Imperial family. If it’s true that the late Empress was falsely accused, wouldn’t the Duchess become an enemy of the Duke’s family? The Duke might overlook it, but would his vassals stand for it?”

Everyone seemed to agree, nodding and saying, “That’s true.” At that moment, one of the noblewomen spoke up.

“Oh my, then could that be true?”

“What is?”

“I stopped by my husband’s trading company recently and saw some goods being sent to the Delmark duchy. When I took a peek at what it was, would you believe it, it was the same tonic my husband got for me when I was pregnant with our first child.”

“A tonic? Could the Duchess be ill?”

“I think she might be pregnant. That tonic is famous for being good for expectant mothers.”

At the mention of Blair’s pregnancy, Miela’s hand, which had been treating Countess Ronan’s foot, paused.

‘Pregnant?’

If that story were true, Herdin would be inextricably tied to Blair. Miela’s heart began to beat anxiously.

“If that’s true, it makes sense. The Duchess must have had something to rely on. Surely, even if she’s the daughter of an enemy, he couldn’t cast out a woman carrying his child.”

“That’s if the child is really the Duke’s.”

The atmosphere suddenly turned chilly at one noblewoman’s carelessly thrown words.

Although none of them were particularly fond of Blair, she was still an Imperial Princess. They all refrained from openly tarnishing her reputation.

Noticing the atmosphere, the noblewoman who spoke awkwardly laughed and tried to smooth things over belatedly.

“Ah, no. It’s just that in romance novels, sometimes women try to keep their position by getting pregnant with another man’s child and deceiving… I was just thinking out loud.”

“That could really be the case…”

As the tea table fell silent after those words, Miela’s muttering sounded unusually loud.

The noblewomen’s eyes all turned to her at once, like predators spotting prey.

“Priestess, do you know something?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. The treatment is finished, my lady. Please enjoy your time.”

Miela stood up, waving her hands with a flustered expression. At the same time, Countess Ronan urgently grabbed Miela’s hand.

“A person who only works will fall ill. Sit down and continue our conversation from earlier, won’t you?”

One corner of Miela’s mouth lifted slightly. This was the reaction she had been waiting for.

She looked around at the noblewomen with a troubled expression and carefully began to speak.

“Actually, a few months ago…”

* * *

“My lady, are you really alright? If you feel even a little burdened, please don’t go.”

On the day of the trial, Lina worried like a mother abandoning her child by the water’s edge, right up until Blair was about to board the carriage.

“Don’t worry so much, Lina. I’m not as weak as you think.”

“But still…”

“I’ll finish well and come back.”

Blair held Lina’s hand, which couldn’t let go of her, comforting her before getting into the carriage with Herdin.

Soon, the carriage departed.

Herdin rested his chin on the carriage window, looking at Blair sitting across from him.

As always, she was looking out the window, but her hands were covering her belly as if protecting it. It was a habit she had developed recently.

He couldn’t understand what she was trying to protect her still flat belly from.

Herdin, looking alternately at Blair and her belly, opened his mouth.

“Blair.”

Instead of answering, Blair’s gaze, which had been fixed on the window, turned to him.

“If you feel even a little unwell, you can return to the mansion first.”

“Didn’t you want me to testify in court?”

Herdin hesitated at Blair’s innocent retort. He belatedly remembered the words he had said to hold her back.

As she pointed out, it was ultimately he who had led her to the courtroom, and now it seemed somewhat ridiculous that he was worrying.

“…There was no child then.”

“Don’t worry. I decided to attend not for you, but for the Empress.”

Blair clarified that her attendance at the trial was not due to external pressure but her own will.

However, it also conveyed the meaning that there was no trace left of any purpose to do it for him.

Those words, though lacking in aggression, stung Herdin quite a bit. But soon he found himself laughing at that fact.

After all, because he had her, even that hatred and resentment could be entirely his. For now, that fact alone was enough.

A moment later, even the faint sound of wheels that had been echoing in the quiet carriage stopped.

The two got out of the carriage and entered the central building of the Imperial Palace where the trial would be held today.

Inside the building, many nobles who were attending as jurors had already arrived and were entering.

Some nodded in greeting upon noticing the two, while others hurried into the courtroom as if fleeing.

It was an attitude that clearly showed which side they would take even before the trial began.

“His Majesty the Emperor arrives!”

Just as the two entered the courtroom and took their seats, the door at the top opened and Ivan appeared. Katrina accompanied him at his side.

Although she was the protagonist of today’s retrial, until the truth was revealed, she was still the Emperor’s mother.

Katrina sat with her usual dignified appearance, as if she were unrelated to this case. It was a seat directly overlooking Blair.

Herdin could clearly read the intention behind her choosing to sit on the opposite side.

‘Is she trying to provoke some guilt in her daughter?’

To a child, a mother is the law of the world, an absolute being. The kinder the child, the harder it is for them to break free from that absoluteness even as adults.

His wife, who must have grown up as a good daughter, would likely feel guilt and reluctance in confronting her mother.

However, contrary to Herdin’s concerns, Blair maintained her composure, not avoiding Katrina’s gaze.

As always, her hands gently covered her belly.

Finally, as all the jurors took their seats and the courtroom doors closed, Ivan stood up.

“Today, we have gathered here at the request of the Duke of Delmark for a retrial of the Empress’s Palace fire incident from ten years ago. I express my gratitude to all of you who have taken time out of your busy schedules, and I ask for your wisdom to ensure that no false accusations remain and no truths stay buried.”

As the audience fell silent, Ivan’s solemn voice resonated.

“Now, let us begin the retrial of the Empress’s Palace fire incident.”