Morning sickness hit Melly relentlessly, as if making up for its late arrival.

Sadly, oranges that she often ate during Jade’s pregnancy were useless against the unfortunate loss of her first pregnancy.

Any savory and fragrant food scent turned repulsive as it passed through her nose.

Neatly plated dishes upset her stomach as if they were rotten.

Melly couldn’t eat anything except water. As a result, she withered day by day.

But while her ribs became clearly visible and her eye sockets and cheeks sunk in, the child in her womb was growing very well. The physician said so at every regular checkup. So Melly felt even less need to eat.

One day, barely coming to her senses, she opened the window thinking to air out the room. Then she heard Edric giving instructions to Mrs. Louisa on the front balcony.

“About those herbs you mentioned before.”

Herbs? What herbs?

Melly leaned out the window, gripping the sill to hear better.

“The other day, when you thought Melly had an unwanted pregnancy and tried to feed her those herbs. Can you get them now?”

Melly’s fingertips trembled for a moment.

It was truly an eye-opening moment.

In terms of stealing nutrients from the host to grow, a fetus was no different from a tumor.

Edric must have thought so. And he must have decided to remove the tumor before it was too late. Otherwise, his wife would die.

There was no choice.

From that day on, Melly did not skip meals.

“I think I’m feeling a bit better now.”

“That’s a relief.”

Though she often rushed to the bathroom to throw up everything after Edric left reassured, at least she protected the child.

After all, the herbal tincture he spoke of to Mrs. Louisa was never passed on to her.

Repeating this routine, two months passed before she knew it.

As the throbbing headaches and animal-like sensitive sense of smell gradually dulled, the frequency of vomiting decreased.

Though she still had no appetite, at least food stayed down when she ate.

Even that much made Melly feel like she could survive.

As morning sickness subsided, she had room to think of people other than herself.

Melly sent letters to several ladies.

They were noblewomen who had visited the ducal residence several times to congratulate her on her pregnancy, but had to be turned away because she lacked the energy to meet them.

Melly could now entertain them, albeit modestly.

Except for having to subtly fan herself when strong perfume scents bothered her.

And Jade.

“Mom!”

Melly could listen attentively as before to Jade’s detailed stories after returning from the academy.

“Mom, I saw a squirrel this big at school today.”

Jade said, showing off her fairly strong arms.

“It was so fast no one could catch it, but I did. All by myself.”

“That’s amazing, Jade. But you didn’t hurt the squirrel, did you?”

“Of course not. As soon as I caught it, I released it into the forest so my friends couldn’t bother it.”

Melly stroked the child’s head with a loving gaze.

Jade’s face lit up as she moved on to the next topic, and the next. Finally, having exhausted all her stories, she kissed her mother’s cheek with a refreshed expression.

“Good night, Mom. And…”

The child also kissed Melly’s belly.

“Good night, Hazel.”

Jade had already named her sibling. A girl’s name at that.

“What if it’s not a little sister?”

“It is a little sister. I’m sure of it.”

Melly started to worry a bit.

Jade was confident without any basis. The other day, Edric also mentioned in passing that a daughter would be nice. So she wondered if she should wish for a daughter too.

“It would be nice if we could know the gender in advance.”

She murmured, stroking her now quite rounded belly.

There seemed to be folk remedies for knowing the gender in advance. For example, checking the reaction after sprinkling something on urine…

“Ah, never mind.”

But Melly soon shook her head.

‘What difference does knowing the gender make? It’s not like I won’t have the baby if I know.’

She decided to put aside such troublesome thoughts and enjoy the present.

There was still nearly five months until the birth anyway.

It seemed there would be time enough to deal with any issues arising from having a son when that time came.

Edric came home early every day to spend the evening with Melly.

He consciously excluded interesting or fulfilling events from the day’s topics of conversation. Because such things could dishearten Melly, who was unable to do what she wanted for the time being.

Tonight’s topic was the crown prince couple.

“His Highness is very worried about Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

“…”

Melly knew what he meant.

Crown Princess Juliana had been trying for years to have a sibling for her daughter Gloria, but without success. Recently she miraculously became pregnant, but sadly miscarried early on.

Knowing that sense of loss all too well, Melly did not join when other ladies rushed to offer consolation.

Because she knew what Juliana needed at this time was not consolation, but to be left alone.

“I should visit Her Highness the Crown Princess soon.”

“Yes, His Highness mentioned wanting to see you.”

Edric carefully speculated.

“I think he may want to match Jade with the Princess in advance.”

‘Jade as the next but one emperor?’

Her body tensed involuntarily from the pressure. Noticing her thoughts, Edric gently reassured her.

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry and just focus on taking care of yourself.”

“Alright. I will.”

Melly also did not want to think too far into the future. She decided to follow Edric’s words.

Just as they were about to go to bed, Edric asked.

“Is there anything you want to eat? If there is, tell me. I’ll get it for you.”

“No, there isn’t.”

Melly replied reflexively. And she believed it to be true.

“Really nothing?”

But when Edric asked a second time, suddenly something came to her mind.

Melly said carefully.

“Grapes. I want to eat grapes.”

It was then that the smile faded from Edric’s face.

Edric tried even harder to be good to Melly than before.

He declined not only obligatory banquets but even the Emperor’s dinner invitations, dedicating his evenings entirely to family.

He also held music recitals and readings at home so Melly wouldn’t feel bored. Sometimes he himself became the star of the show.

It seemed Edric could do anything if his wife wanted. But.

“I want to eat grapes.”

The moment he heard those words, he realized there were things he couldn’t do.

“…Grapes?”

Even to his own ears, his voice trembled subtly as he asked.

Pfft-.

Melly suddenly burst out laughing.

“I’m joking. How could that be possible, in the dead of winter?”

Was it really a joke?

Edric observed Melly carefully. His reaction seemed to amuse her even more.

“You can be cute sometimes too.”

Melly lightly pinched his cheek and wrinkled her nose.

Only then could Edric feel at ease.

It did seem to be a joke after all. Well, if it weren’t a joke, she wouldn’t say she wanted grapes in the middle of winter, out of season.

“Let’s go to sleep now. I’m tired.”

Melly kissed him on the lips with a smooch- and lay down. Today she faced away from him. Did she want him to hold her from behind?

“Alright, good night.”

Edric embraced her from behind as he thought she wanted.

The small, warm body in his arms slowly drifted off to sleep, repeating inhales and exhales.

“Good night, I love you.”

He too whispered and closed his eyes. It was a peaceful night like any other.

Until a pitiful sob in the middle of the night woke him up.

The feeling of something trembling roused Edric to consciousness.

Even in his drowsy state, Edric could tell the sobbing and trembling were coming from within his arms.

“…What’s wrong?”

Edric struggled to lift his eyelids and turned Melly over.

In the darkness, Melly’s eyes glistened with tears.

Suddenly, he recalled what the physician had told him a few days ago.

‘Though she’s entered a stable period, you still need to be careful. If there’s periodic abdominal pain or bleeding, call me right away. It’s good to keep in mind that such premature labor signs often appear in the middle of the night.’

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

At Melly’s answer, Edric felt his heart constrict.

“What’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting?”

To Edric asking with a very tense face, Melly spoke again.

“I feel like I’m going to die… because I want to eat grapes.”

“…”

The edges of his eyes, wide open like a full moon, were slowly being chipped away.

Edric didn’t know how to react to this situation. Should he laugh, or be dumbfounded?

Suddenly, the luminous hands of the table clock caught his eye.

One o’clock in the morning.

Three hours had passed since they went to bed.

All at once, a vivid image of the intense inner conflict Melly must have gone through during the three hours he slept soundly flashed through his mind.

‘There’s no way to get grapes in the middle of winter.’

She must have tried to think rationally, only to be confused by the sudden surge of emotion.

‘Even so. I finally have a craving, shouldn’t I at least try to look for it?’

Anger, understanding, rationalization. Then anger, understanding again…

Repeating this process, she must have finally shed tears from frustration.

‘I should have noticed when she turned her back to sleep.’

Blaming himself for thinking too lightly of the situation, Edric got up.

“I’ll be back soon. Wait here.”

“At this hour? You can get them for me tomorrow.”

‘I won’t be fooled again.’

He didn’t want to be forcibly woken up again in his sleep.

He immediately changed clothes and left the mansion.

The frosty wind was particularly biting tonight.