The next day.

Unlike the weather, which had become a little clearer than yesterday, Dalia’s face was noticeably gaunt.

It was because she had been up all night worrying about whether she was pregnant or not.

“My lady. Is there anything bothering you? You don’t look well.”

Samantha, too, must have noticed that Dalia’s current state didn’t look good, as she paused while brushing her hair and asked worriedly.

“Huh? I just didn’t sleep well…”

Although she answered as if it was nothing, in reality Dalia was feeling terrible inside.

It was because her worries were clouding her vision due to something like morning sickness she had experienced while eating soup yesterday.

‘I’ll get some answers when I see the doctor today.’

Whether it was indigestion or pregnancy.

‘But I think I need to be alone when I go to see the doctor…’

The best method would be to sneak out of the mansion again with the help of the Duchess, but she was concerned about the servant who had reportedly visited the annex yesterday.

Because of that, even the Duchess had said to refrain from sneaking out of the mansion for the time being.

Dalia, who was briefly recalling yesterday’s events, called for Samantha.

“Samantha. Did anything happen in the main building while I was asleep in the annex yesterday?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I left the mansion briefly yesterday to run an errand. Why? Is there something bothering you? Should I try to find out separately?”

Samantha stopped her brushing motion and asked Dalia with sparkling eyes.

It was like the look of a puppy expecting its owner to throw a ball.

“Umm? Ah, no. There’s no need for that.”

Dalia turned away from Samantha, who was leaning in uncomfortably close.

She didn’t think she had been particularly nice to Samantha. She even felt like she wanted to see what was inside Samantha’s mind, who was suddenly showing such loyalty to her.

But soon, she shook her head to solve the problem at hand.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll have to go out under the pretense of shopping. But will I be able to safely meet the doctor while shaking off Samantha and the guard knight?’

She was worried, but getting separated from one’s group in the bustling city streets was a very common occurrence.

So she was planning to pretend to get lost in a crowded place on purpose, but…

“My lady! Be careful, there are so many people. We might get separated again!”

Due to the ironclad security of Samantha and the guard knight, she couldn’t even begin to execute her plan.

Faced with this unexpected situation, Dalia pressed her temples with her index fingers as if she had a headache.

“You know. I’m feeling overwhelmed because there are too many people right now, so I’d like to be alone for a bit. I was thinking of spending some time alone in that cafe… You two can wait he…”

“Absolutely not!”

But before Dalia could finish her sentence, Samantha clung to her arm and shook her head vigorously.

“If you disappear again while being alone, we’ll really lose our heads this time!”

Having been tricked before, Samantha had no intention of leaving Dalia’s side.

At this, Dalia, postponing the idea of separating from Samantha, looked at the guard knight Daniel.

She was thinking of sending Daniel away somewhere first. However.

“Daniel. Then I’ll stay with Samantha, so could you go get some lemon tart from La Ruhr…”

“I won’t fall for that anymore.”

Daniel, too, having been tricked before, had no intention of leaving Dalia’s side.

“Last time, you said you wanted to look around alone and suddenly disappeared. Do you know how shocked I was?”

“That’s right. Do you know how much I was scolded that day? And I even lost two months’ worth of salary!”

“Ha, ha…”

Dalia could only laugh awkwardly at the two people’s accusations.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

It had been an hour since she left the mansion under the pretext of visiting a dress shop.

She had already finished her business at the dress shop and now just needed to visit the doctor. But because of these two people who had no intention of leaving her alone, Dalia couldn’t even start.

‘Why is everyone like this today?’

Come to think of it, it wasn’t easy from the moment she left the mansion.

Previously, Jason would just see her off when she said she was going out, but today he started asking in detail which shops she was going to, who she planned to meet, and what time she would be back home.

Because of that, she was only able to leave the mansion after listing the shops and cafes she was going to visit to Jason.

‘I can understand Samantha and Daniel behaving like this because of what happened last time, but why is the butler suddenly acting this way?’

Dalia still couldn’t understand why the butler was so fixated on who she was meeting.

‘What should I do…’

She couldn’t shake off these two people, but she absolutely had to see the doctor today.

Dalia, who had been contemplating how to solve this problem right in front of her, seemed to have made a decision and turned to face the two.

“You two. Can you keep a secret about what I’m about to say?”

“A secret?”

The eyes of the two, which had been full of dissatisfaction, changed in an instant at the word ‘secret’.

“Yes. There’s somewhere I absolutely must go today, but you must not reveal where I’m going to anyone. Including Jason and even the Duke.”

At Dalia’s rather solemn voice, the two swallowed hard.

“Where on earth are you trying to go…”

“The place I’m trying to go is…”

Dalia deliberately showed signs of difficulty and hesitated to speak. The two pressed their lips together, waiting for her words.

“I’m going to see a doctor.”

“Pardon? A doctor?”

The two tilted their heads, surprised as if it was a completely unexpected answer.

“Why a doctor? There’s a family doctor at the mansion. He’s a very skilled doctor who has served the Sayer family for generations. I heard he even examined His Majesty the Emperor at the request of the imperial family in the past. So why are you saying you want to meet a street doctor whose skills haven’t been proven, instead of such a person…”

“That’s because it’s something I can’t tell the family doctor.”

At Dalia’s somewhat heavier voice, tension returned to the faces of the two that had relaxed.

Samantha’s complexion changed diversely, as if she was imagining all sorts of things at her words.

“Could, could it be that you’ve contracted a serious illness? Something like an incurable disease that you can’t even tell the family about…”

Dalia burst into laughter at Samantha’s face, which looked like she might burst into tears if touched.

“It’s not like that. It’s just that it’s a bit embarrassing to get examined by the family doctor… It’s about the marital relationship with the Duke…”

Marital relationship.

Samantha, who had been blinking her eyes at the unfamiliar term, clapped her hands as if she had realized something.

“Ah…!”

With a slight exclamation.

But unlike Samantha, Daniel, who had just turned 20, tilted his head as if he didn’t understand Dalia’s words.

Seeing his dumbfounded look, Samantha whispered something quietly into his ear as if frustrated, and Daniel’s ears turned red.

“You all understand what I mean, right?”

“Yes, my lady! I understand completely. This is a matter of pride for the Sayer ducal family! I’ll take it to my grave! You too, right Daniel?”

“Of, of course…!”

Seeing the two looking as serious as if they were making a knight’s oath, Dalia felt sorry towards Clayton.

But this was unavoidable.

In this situation, this was the only way she could think of to persuade the two.

“Thank you, Samantha. And Daniel.”

It was rather fortunate. When she visited the old town last time, it seemed quite dangerous to go alone. If she went with these two, there would be no worries about safety.

In many ways, she thought it was really good that she used this method.

“Shall we go then? I’ve already looked up a doctor.”

“Yes!”

And so, as the three of them started walking towards the old town side by side. When they finally arrived at the clinic, Dalia said to the two before entering.

“I’ll go in for the examination alone. Wait here.”

Originally, they would have said no, but knowing the inside story, the two nodded, unable to listen in on the private matters of their master and mistress.

Leaving behind eyes full of curiosity and worry, she opened the old door and entered, and the smell of disinfectant tickled her nose.

“Is anyone here?”

“Who is it?”

She thought it would be luxurious since it was said to be a famous doctor among noble ladies. But only old furniture showing clear traces of time and an elderly doctor were there to greet her.

“I came to get an examination. Is it possible right now?”

At the word ‘examination’, the old doctor looked Dalia up and down carefully.

“Just by looking, you don’t seem to be a commoner. You look like some noble lady. Why, is your husband having trouble getting it up?”

Dalia was slightly taken aback by the doctor’s blunt words, but soon cleared her throat.

“No. That’s not it. I literally came for an examination. I’ve been feeling a bit stuffy and nauseous lately. I can’t eat well either…”

Even as she spoke of her symptoms, Dalia’s mouth went dry.

The old doctor, who had been staring silently at the rather anxious-looking Dalia, sat down.

“I don’t know why you came to an old man on the outskirts instead of those fancy doctors, but come here for now.”

Then he took Dalia’s wrist, who was sitting across from him, and checked her pulse.

And so, a few minutes that felt like hours passed.

“Congratulations.”

The doctor said with an indifferent expression after finishing the examination.

“You’re pregnant.”

It was a bolt from the blue.