Rosa spoke calmly as if reading a book.

“Empress, His Majesty is currently on an outing. He left word that he would return late into the night.”

“At night… late?”

‘Oh my goodness. By then, the palace would be emptier than a poor house’s storage.’

She would rather have him never come back.

Reese felt drained of strength in her helplessness.

As she wobbled, Rosa rushed to support her.

“Stay there.”

Reese reached out.

“Your touch may not be comforting now.”

‘Even though I thought she had become completely on my side, she’s still Hersis’s person, huh?’

Seeing Reese’s disappointed face, Rosa shook her head as if to express her discomfort.

“I’m truly sorry, Your Majesty. It may sound like an excuse, but I couldn’t help it. His Majesty said he wouldn’t forgive anyone who resisted.”

“…….”

Well, how could she resist His Majesty’s command when he had the power?

Reese felt a twinge of guilt for treating Rosa harshly for a moment.

“Okay, I get it. Since you understand, could you leave me alone for a while? If it’s not allowed to leave me alone in the residence, then at least go out to the living room for a while. I want to cool my head alone for a bit.”

Rosa hesitated for a moment. However, it seemed she considered this something she had to do according to her duty.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will go to the living room for a while.”

Rosa confirmed that Reese was safely seated in the comfortable chair before leaving.

“You jerk.”

As soon as the door clicked shut, a curse escaped Reese’s lips. It was directed at her husband.

“Liar.”

It wasn’t about breaking the promise and dispatching the guards.

It was because of the statement that he would return late during an outing!

Clearly, he knew she would come looking for him, inquired, and had already coordinated with people.

It was strange. Hersis wasn’t the kind of man who would sneak around like this. She was sure there must be a reason.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

Reese wanted to know.

Although the evening spider began to spread outside, the night seemed too far away.

The normally flowing time, which was a blur, now felt distinctly separated second by second.

Reese felt like her stomach was sinking into darkness.

Then, it happened!

Reese, who had been holding her hand still on her abdomen, gradually twisted her brows…

“Aaah!”

The living room door swung open, and Rosa rushed in.

With both hands clasped over her belly, the empress, who was writhing in pain, caught Rosa’s wide-eyed gaze.

“Rosa…”

Reese managed to speak with a panting breath.

“My… my stomach… hurts too much.”

Upon hearing this, Rosa immediately pulled at the emergency rope.

In response, the palace physician and a midwife, who were waiting outside, rushed in. Both knelt on either side of Reese, lowering their bodies, and inquired.

“Your Majesty, are you okay?”

“No… I’m not okay. It feels like I’m going to die.”
Reese spoke with a pained expression, and then the physician asked again.

“Do you feel a squeezing sensation in your abdomen?”

“Yes.”

“How intense is it? About eight out of ten?”

“…Eight?”

“What about the frequency? Within five minutes?”

“It seems like that…”

“This time, it seems to be real labor pain.”

After urgently making the diagnosis, the physician instructed Sanpa.

“Quickly prepare the delivery room. I will go inform His Majesty and return.”

“Yes, sir.”

The physician hurriedly left, and Sanpa and the attendants began moving seamlessly.

As if they had long prepared and trained for such an event, they changed the bed to a delivery room without any signs of confusion.

The canopy was lifted, and two thick ropes with several knots hung down above the bed.

They were meant to hold onto for strength during childbirth.

The faint floral-patterned blanket was unremarkable. A white sheet, smelling of disinfectant, was spread out. The attendants wore mouth covers and donned white bleached aprons, headscarves, and arm coverings.

With Rosa and Sanpa’s help, Reese put on a full-length dress and removed her underwear.

“Und… underwear already? Shouldn’t it be taken off right before?”

“It’s because we need to do internal examinations, Your Majesty.”

“Internal examinations? What’s that?”

Reese tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.

“It’s checking how much the cervix is open by inserting hands.”

“…”

She didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded scary.

“Can’t we do that a little later? I mean… when it progresses a bit more.”

“It has to be done now.”

Sanpa asserted firmly.

“Since childbirth is imminent, it’s right to do it now.”

‘Damn.’

Reese sighed inwardly.

Who would have expected such a variable?

In fact, everything up to now was a lie!

All of it was a play to bring in Hersis.

Instead of labor pain, Cain was playing around comfortably inside the amniotic fluid.

Reese wondered if she had fallen for her own scheme. It seemed like everyone had noticed her lies and was now ready to punish her.

‘Should I say it’s okay now? Like, it was false labor?’

No, that wasn’t possible.