If anyone knew, it would be her. If there was anyone who knew herself better than her mother, even more than Hershiss, it was only Mirabel.

“Do you think I can do well?”

“…”

Mirabel, seeing that it wasn’t a question with a serious tone, understood that it wasn’t a question to answer dryly.

She stopped shaking and sat down. Holding the baby in one arm and patting her chest with the other, she said to Riz.

“You don’t need to do well. How about being a bit clumsy? Just be a mother.”

“But my mother was a mother too.”

“Madam is…”

Mirabel seemed to say something, puckered her lips as if about to say something, but in the end, she sighed and concluded.

She knew one thing that Riz didn’t.
A few months ago, when I saw a woman resembling Madam at the market, I somehow felt uneasy and decided to follow her.

Sure enough, it was Claire Madam. And I saw her secretly buying something from the herbalist. Mirabel, with her woman’s intuition, realized that it was a fertility drug. However, she thought Madam was buying it to consume.

It was regrettable.

She was a person who had gathered more than ten years of time. She might have been short-sighted and self-centered, but she was not a bad person with no unpleasant memories. It was heartbreaking to witness someone like her falling so low.

In a moment when she was about to grab her, trying to ask her to return as the dignified lady from before, the Emperor appeared.

“I will go see her; Madam, return to the Marquis’s side.”

He said. Mirabel considered it fortunate and, pleadingly, turned away, hoping he would help that poor woman.

Thinking that everything had been resolved after hearing that Madam had left the Duke’s residence for a journey, she sincerely wished for Madam’s happiness. But after a while…

“I’m pregnant, Mirabel.”

The moment she heard those words, Mirabel felt as if lightning had struck her head.

The thought that Madam’s reason for buying the fertility drug wasn’t for herself but for someone else came to her before the thought of congratulating the poor girl.

To think that this damned Madam was trying to commit such an abominable act!

Blinded by her love, she tried to eliminate something that would make her lover sad!

She was still a person after all.

“If she hadn’t gone on that journey… she would have been ruined by my hands.”

Mirabel was furious, but she couldn’t tell the truth to Riz, not as much as to Riz.

“Madam… Yes, Madam was also a mother.”

Mirabel forced a smile and said.

“When I say mother… I mean a mother who truly acts like one. A mother who never forgets that she is the mother of a child. A mother who always remembers the fact that she has a child born by her trust. Just don’t forget that, Your Majesty. Don’t burden yourself.”

‘A mother who never forgets that she is a mother…’

So far, it applied to Riz as well.

Since the beginning of fetal movements until now, there were rare moments when Riz forgot the existence of the child. The baby moved actively as if afraid that her indifferent mother might forget her, and occasionally, Riz was surprised by the baby’s vigorous kicks.

Suddenly, Mirabel got up and tried to pick up the sleeping Aris.

“Try holding her once, Your Majesty.”

“Me…?”

It was an absurd idea.

Although Aris, with her peach-like plumpness, was adorable and lovely, Riz, who didn’t trust herself, never touched the child in fear that she might accidentally hurt her.

“I… I can’t. You know that, right?”

“It’s okay. You can do it.”

Mirabel held out the baby to her.
Riz folded her elbows, supporting the baby’s head, and enveloped the tiny body with trembling arms.

The baby was as small as a doll, delicately soft and light, almost pitifully so.

Despite not shaking the deeply sleeping baby, she slept soundly, cooing gently.

“Look at that, you’re doing well.”

Mirabel praised with a wide smile.

Riz gazed down at the baby.

Pink lips moved as if sucking milk, and the ears, pressed against Riz’s belly, seemed to communicate with the baby inside.

The baby inside her belly, too, momentarily ceased its lively movements that seemed to focus on another creature pressing against her belly.

In the mysterious and peaceful sensation, a smile naturally spread across Riz’s face. Mirabel’s face also had a contented smile.

It was a warm winter afternoon for everyone.

‘Oh my!’

Riz couldn’t believe her eyes.

Just a few days ago, she had walked to the main banquet hall after being told that the fetal sex determination results were out from the blood sampled four days ago.

‘How many people are here?’

Even if she counted conservatively, it seemed to be over five hundred. It seemed that almost all the nobles in the capital had gathered.

Standing close to Hershis, Riz spoke.

“Why are there so many people? It’s just the day to find out whether it’s a girl or a boy, isn’t it?”

“It’s also the day to find out if the heir is a prince or a princess.”

Riz walked towards the platform with him, looking around. Each face was filled with anticipation.

‘What are they all hoping for? A son? A daughter?’

But Riz became more curious about which side Hershis was leaning toward. He had said both were fine, but it seemed like there was a slightly stronger preference.

“What would Your Majesty prefer?”

“I told you, I’m fine with both.”

“You’re not sincere, right? I know you have a preference.”

“…….”

In the prolonged silence, Riz was convinced that her intuition was correct.

After a while, he spoke.

“To be honest, I would be happy if it were a daughter who resembles you.”

“Ah…”

As Riz sighed with regret, Hershis said.

“You wanted a son.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m afraid of having a daughter like me.”

Riz honestly confessed.

“How about a daughter like yourself?”

Hershis asked, narrowing his eyes as if dissatisfied.

“To be honest, I wasn’t such a gentle daughter.”

“If you had met a gentle mother, you would have become a gentle daughter.”

‘Would that have been the case?’

Hershis’ words seemed right, but on the other hand, her personality felt inherent. Riz couldn’t be sure.

In the meantime, a clergyman entered.

With jet-black hair and a stern, ascetic face, he looked like the typical clergyman Riz always imagined.

Riz could once again confirm how much of an exception Jayden Carlton was from the typical clergyman.
The clergyman solemnly walked through the crowd and stopped at the platform right below the Emperor and Empress.

He then took out a scroll from the wide sleeves and unfolded it with a flourish, reading aloud in a loud voice.

The words were surprisingly short compared to the length of the scroll.

“Anyone who will become the 7th Imperial descendant of the Belcmere Royal Family of the Lucensia Empire…”