May Every Wound Be Fatal - Chapter 10.1
Reyna spoke with a conscious smile.
“Priscilla said it. The next ruler will be your nephew, Lucian.”
“……”
“Even if I bear the prince, it will still happen. Could it really be true?”
This time, Elizer remained silent.
In his silence, Reyna felt certain of something, but a corner of her heart foolishly wished he would deny it, even with a lie.
Unconsciously, she moved her lips to ask.
“…I did not drink the tea the scholar prepared yesterday. Will that be a problem?”
It was a lie.
Yet at the same time, his face twisted helplessly, and Reyna finally felt everything collapsing.
She was not infertile. The king had secretly given her contraceptive tea each time.
In other words, the terrible rumors people whispered, and the words Priscilla had whispered, were all true.
“You plan to pass the throne to your nephew.”
The king had no intention of having an heir from the queen.
Honestly, it was not particularly surprising. When had he ever truly cared for her? For five years, he had constantly ignored her.
He had lost too much upon ascending the throne, and now Reyna knew just how much he hated her. She knew well what she had ruined, but…
“…What have you done to me, to me?”
Was it really necessary to be this cruel?
“Reyna.”
Elizer reached out with a twisted expression.
Reyna almost reflexively pushed his hand away and stepped back.
Her breath came in gasps, her vision spun. Her chest ached as if torn apart. Fear and sorrow overwhelmed her as if cornered. Resentment, fear, and unspoken grief exploded within her, and she muttered in desperation.
“But you cannot do that.”
“…Reyna.”
“I did not drink the contraceptive tea, so this time I might have conceived a prince, you know?”
She looked directly at his contorted face, clenched her trembling fists, and spoke with deliberate sharpness.
“The next ruler will be the child I bear.”
It was her final act of defiance.
***
Reyna sat at the edge of her bed, letting time pass.
Suddenly, the malicious voice of the old fortune teller echoed in her mind.
“Still, there is one thing certain. You and he will be unhappy because you love each other.”
“…He will be unhappy because he loves me?”
A bitter laugh escaped her without thought. The old woman’s prediction had mostly been accurate, but that part was wrong.
Of all things, that was wrong.
He hated his wife.
“……”
Her insides ached again. Breathing was difficult. Reyna curled up on the bed, holding her breath like someone dead, wishing silently.
She wished he would love her.
She wished he would hurt like she did.
‘But I know. That will never happen.’
Reyna slowly opened her eyes.
She could not continue living like this. She had tried to endure, knowing all this was her own doing, but she could not bear it any longer. She just wanted to run from his resentment and hatred.
Eventually, she left the bed like a ghost and, for the first time in a while, picked up her quill that night. She knew it would earn her the king’s hatred again, but it was the only choice she could make.
“Have you received any news from the Crimson Citadel yet?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Diegor, my brother as well?”
“…I will send someone again.”
Karla rose from her seat. Her movements were sluggish. Her belly had grown noticeably swollen. Now anyone could tell she was pregnant.
Half-dazed, Reyna finally regained her wits and shook her head quickly.
“No, you rest. He will come soon enough.”
She forced a smile, but her anxiety could not be hidden.
Wearing the semblance of a crown, Reyna felt she could not endure watching him pass the throne to his nephew as she aged. Her proud father, the Duke of the Dazbel family, would feel the same.
Unable to bear it alone, Reyna sought help from her family. She feared her father’s disappointment and anger, but the thought of dying slowly in Elmaril was far more terrifying. She had no regrets.
Yet for some reason, there had been no word from her family.
As time passed, Reyna grew increasingly anxious. Just when she felt she might go mad, an unexpected visitor arrived in the darkness, without warning.
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