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Chapter 49
“Butter flavor, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Crown Princess Christine mimicked the imperial palace chef. Her impression drew laughter throughout the palace tea room.
It was a late evening, and Sereret was having tea with the Crown Princess and her ladies-in-waiting.
Sereret and Yuan had come to the palace together to deliver a letter and gift to the Crown Prince and Princess, thanking them for attending their wedding.
After dining together, Yuan joined the Crown Prince for drinks, while Sereret sat with the Crown Princess for tea.
“There’s nothing that makes our mouths happier than the rich taste of butter.”
Lady Freeman, Christine’s lady-in-waiting, spoke up. Sereret nodded and smiled in agreement.
“But it’ll all turn into fat, won’t it?”
Lady Barker said with a mischievous expression.
“Oh.”
The group sighed in unison at her remark. It was so amusing that Sereret covered her mouth and chuckled.
“I wish it would only go to my fingers. So I wouldn’t have to wear my wedding ring. A ring you’ll wear forever should be simple. I went with a trendy style, and now it just looks so tacky.”
Lady Luvrock spoke while showing off her wedding ring.
The ornate design was certainly far from modern trends, but it still suited her personal style.
“To my eyes, it’s still beautiful. It suits you well.”
Sereret said to Lady Luvrock.
“Really?”
Lady Luvrock smiled with a pleased expression.
“But you don’t seem to be wearing one. And you’ve just been married.”
Lady Barker looked at Sereret with curious eyes.
She clearly wanted to hear a certain story. Not just her—every lady in the room seemed to. Even Christine herself.
“Perhaps she finds it uncomfortable to wear.”
Lady Freeman spoke to Lady Barker while glancing at Sereret.
Sereret immediately understood what they were hoping for. Since Christine and Lydia were not on good terms, it was natural that Christine’s ladies disliked Lydia as well.
They wanted to hear just how awful Lydia was. And they seemed to need confirmation that criticizing her wasn’t the least bit unseemly—especially coming from someone who had personally suffered from her.
“I really do like my wedding ring…”
Sereret let her words trail off as she glanced around at Christine and her ladies, wearing an awkward smile.
She lowered her gaze, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes deliberately sorrowful as if on the verge of tears.
“Oh, my. If something troubles you, share it with us. Her Highness the Crown Princess will surely be a great source of strength.”
Lady Luvrock, seated beside Sereret, spoke in a sympathetic tone.
“I’m not suffering, really. Only… uneasy. It feels like I’ve come between two people.”
Sereret fixed her gaze on her lap.
“You mean His Grace the Duke and Lady Elliot?”
Lady Barker asked quickly.
Sereret only gave a bitter smile, neither confirming nor denying. She let herself enjoy the pitying stares of the ladies, maintaining a sorrowful expression.
“They were childhood friends, that’s all.”
Lady Freeman offered Sereret a gentle word of comfort.
“I know. I know they were childhood friends. I also know they were each other’s first loves. Still, I thought marriage would settle everything…”
Sereret let her voice fade again.
“Did something happen?”
Lady Barker’s eyes sparkled with eagerness.
“In truth, there was a small incident involving Lady Elliot before the wedding.”
Sereret began slowly.
“The wedding ring! You’re talking about the ring, aren’t you?”
The moment the subject they wanted to hear came up, the young Lady Barker blurted out in excitement.
“…Pardon?”
Sereret looked at her with an innocent expression.
“They say Lady Elliot stole the wedding ring. The rumor’s everywhere.”
Lady Barker leaned forward, her face brimming with curiosity.
Being a little younger than Sereret, her curiosity outweighed decorum or manners.
“Jane, don’t be rude to Duchess Prechtuster.”
Christine scolded her cousin sternly.
Lady Barker let out a small gasp and covered her mouth.
“How did you know…? His Grace ordered everyone to keep silent.”
Sereret feigned surprise as she looked at them.
“There’s no such thing as a real secret in this world.”
Lady Freeman gazed at her with a sympathetic expression.
“I think Lady Elliot must have taken the ring by mistake. It must have hurt her deeply. Seeing the wedding ring of one’s first love… it would be heartbreaking.”
Sereret spoke as though she understood Lydia.
“There’s no need to understand such a thing, Duchess.”
Lady Barker looked frustrated.
“Perhaps His Grace felt the same, which is why he let it go. But… I can’t forget how he held Lydia in his arms, comforting her.”
Sereret sighed softly, her expression weary.
“Oh dear.”
“My goodness.”
The ladies gazed at her with pity.
Feeling their eyes on her, Sereret decided it was best to step away for a moment. That way, the gossip could ferment on its own.
“Excuse me, I’ll just step out for a bit.”
Feigning an inability to contain her emotions, Sereret covered her mouth and rose to her feet.
She quickly left the tea room, exhaling once outside. Even to herself, her acting seemed to be improving day by day.
Sereret gave a small laugh as she walked down the corridor.
Then she noticed, up ahead, a child clinging to a table with a vase on it. A toddler, maybe about three years old, was straining to reach the flowers.
A child? If a child was in the palace, it could only be the Crown Prince couple’s. Sereret hurried toward the little one.
The table was starting to tip under the child’s weight. It was dangerous.
Sereret rushed forward instinctively. Just as the table was about to fall over the child, she snatched him up.
Clutching the child, she tumbled across the floor. But thanks to her, the child was unhurt.
The table crashed down, the vase shattering noisily. The startled child in her arms burst into tears.
“Waaah!”
The cry echoed through the corridor.
“Lord Matthew!”
The nanny came running, her face stricken, toward Sereret and the child.
“Matthew!”
Christine too arrived in haste, likely alerted by the noise of breaking porcelain and crying.
Sereret handed the boy to his nanny and stood. Her knee throbbed faintly from the fall.
“Matthew, my baby.”
Christine stroked her son’s head and kissed him over and over.
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
The nanny bowed her head, trembling pitifully.
“It’s fine. As long as Matthew is safe. Take him to his room—I’ll come shortly.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The nanny scurried off with the child.
Christine approached Sereret, still surrounded by her ladies, and embraced her tightly.
“Thanks to Duchess Prechtuster, Matthew wasn’t harmed. I don’t know how to express my gratitude.”
Pulling back, Christine looked at her with kind eyes.
“I’m just relieved he wasn’t hurt.”
“Sereret, you are a savior to me and my child. If ever you need help with anything, just ask me. I will help.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Sereret truly was glad the boy was safe.
Though she hadn’t been able to protect her own child, she had at least saved Christine’s. The sense of relief spread through her body.
She wished all children could grow up healthy and unharmed. That way, perhaps her own child too would grow safe and sound in a world without her. She smiled softly at the thought.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
On the way home, inside the carriage, Sereret thought of the Crown Prince couple’s child. The boy must have been frightened.
She recalled the way Christine kissed and comforted him, and smiled faintly.
She envied Christine—envied that she could hold and soothe her own child.
My baby.
Sereret often longed desperately for the child she had never even seen. She hadn’t seen the face, but for ten months they had breathed together.
It must have been a gentle child, for the movements in her womb had been rare and faint. Yet each time she felt them, her chest overflowed with joy. She had longed for the day they would finally meet…
Sereret lifted her eyes to look at Yuan, sitting opposite her.
He had been watching her, and their eyes met at once.
“Are you truly all right?”
When they were being seen off, Yuan had heard from the Crown Princess about Sereret saving Matthew. He had immediately asked if she was hurt, and she had said no—but he hadn’t seemed convinced.
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
Sereret nodded lightly.
Yuan let out a quiet sigh before speaking again.
“Your face doesn’t look fine.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“Like you’re about to cry.”
“Me?”
Sereret blinked at his words.
Do I really look like that? Perhaps so. She had been thinking of the one being she loved most in the world, yet could never see.
“Yes.”
“It’s just… I’m tired. That’s all.”
Sereret turned her gaze toward the window. Staring at the dark streets outside, she kept thinking about her child.
Was it a daughter? A son? Somehow, she felt it had been a son. Just a feeling.
Would he have resembled her? Or Yuan? She hoped he had taken after her. Since she had heard he was born with blue eyes, she chose to believe he resembled her.
What was his name? Surely he was given one that matched the name of House Prechtuster. What had Yuan named him?
Sereret turned from the window back to Yuan.
“Your Grace.”
She called him.
“Yes?”
He tilted his head slightly, inviting her to go on. Sereret looked him straight in the eyes and asked:
“If we had a child, what would you have named them? Did you already have a name in mind?”
