Chapter 120

After returning to Borsa, Edmund became even busier than before. He left the house at dawn every day, and now even Blair, who slept beside him in the same bed, rarely saw his face. He always made an effort to return home for dinner, but his workload was so overwhelming that it wasn’t unusual for him to come back late at night.

Blair, who had grown used to watching Edmund’s sleeping face while he rested deeply during their stay at the villa, felt a little disappointed, but there was nothing she could do. Whenever she tried to see him off, Edmund wouldn’t let her move at all, as if she might be blown away by the cold air slipping through the doorway. Since her morning sickness had reached its peak, his overprotectiveness had only intensified.

This morning, too, Blair stirred awake at the faint sound of movement. Edmund, who had been about to leave the bedroom, carefully reached out and touched her forehead.

“Go back to sleep.”

His unusually large hand cast a shadow over her eyes, as if urging her to fall asleep again.

“Don’t get up.”

“But still….”

“If you’re disappointed, at least give me a kiss.”

His voice was unmistakably teasing, and Blair let out a soft laugh in her half-asleep state. As she pushed herself up slightly and reached out, Edmund smiled and leaned down.

As his handsome face drew close and their lips met, the collar of his coat brushed against her collarbone. It wasn’t even fully dawn yet, and seeing him dressed in heavy formal clothes for work suddenly made her feel sorry for him.

She wished she could help him somehow. But all Blair could do was straighten his collar.

“Will you come home for dinner today?”

“I’ll probably be a little late, but I’ll make sure to come back.”

“Don’t push yourself if you’re busy.”

“Oh. You’re saying it’s fine if your husband stays out overnight while his wife is pregnant?”

Ever since their relationship had ‘changed’, Edmund seemed to take particular pleasure in making teasing remarks like that. Playing along with him had become one of Blair’s small joys.

“If you stay out overnight for a trivial reason, then… hm. Be prepared to hear some frightening scolding.”

“If it’s your scolding, I think it would be adorable.”

Edmund smiled and kissed her, then paused and looked at her face.

“Don’t you feel stifled staying all the time indoors?”

“I’m fine. The weather outside is cold, and I already did plenty of outdoor activities at the villa. More importantly….”

Blair trailed off, hesitating before continuing, “How is Eldenvale these days?”

“Why?”

“Well… even though I’m staying here until my condition stabilizes, I wonder if being away for so long is all right.”

It wasn’t because she missed Isabelle or Rufus at the ducal estate. Even if the sky fell, she wouldn’t long for them. But they weren’t people she could completely ignore.

She was Edmund’s wife, the one who led the Libert family, and weren’t they part of that family as well? Rufus aside, Isabelle might at least offer formal congratulations to the pregnant duchess. Wouldn’t it be proper to show her face briefly out of courtesy? Blair had been raised with those values and had lived her life engraved with that sense of propriety.

Yet since receiving confirmation of her pregnancy at the Royal Hospital of Borsa, she hadn’t met anyone from Eldenvale. It felt as if she had been completely cut off from that world.

By Edmund himself.

It was absolutely true that those two would have no good influence on Blair. But being isolated like this indefinitely, without even knowing how long it would last… the thought that it might be too much began to surface.

“It’s fine.”

The reply was so brief that Blair was left momentarily speechless. Even though she knew she shouldn’t detain the busy man any longer, she grasped his sleeve and spoke more earnestly.

“Even if I’m recovering, won’t people start to misunderstand if I never show myself at all? I haven’t met anyone from Eldenvale until now.”

“Anyone?”

Edmund’s brow furrowed slightly. He looked genuinely puzzled, as if asking who she meant.

His reaction caught Blair off guard. By anyone, she naturally meant those who shared Edmund’s surname and still resided at the ducal estate.

“I mean the Duchess and Sir Rufus.”

“Ah.”

Edmund let out a dry sound a beat late and shook his head.

“It’s fine.”

“But….”

“Blair.”

“…Yes?”

“I need to go now.”

At that moment, she felt like a wife clinging to her busy husband, and her face flushed. She quietly released his sleeve, and Edmund smiled gently again and kissed her forehead. There was something faintly off about his expression.

“I’m sorry. Let’s continue this conversation tonight.”

A bad sense of foreboding crept over her. She remembered what had happened the last time a conversation was postponed like this.

With that kiss, Edmund turned and left. The bedroom fell unusually silent after the door closed softly behind him. Blair remained alone in the pale morning light, staring at the empty space he’d left behind.

***

It was a miserable day, plagued by nausea from morning to evening. Seeing Blair’s pale face, Milia didn’t know what to do. She even tapped her forehead in frustration, blaming herself for being a useless maid with no experience caring for a pregnant woman. Then, as if remembering something, she ran to the kitchen and returned with her arms full.

“Madam…! They say these help!”

In Milia’s hands were a bottle filled with water packed with ice and lemon slices, ginger candy, peppermint candy, and other remedies said to help with morning sickness. Blair, leaning against the headboard, took a few sips of the lemon water Milia offered.

She hadn’t expected much, but as the icy, refreshing water slid down her throat, the nausea that refused to subside eased slightly.

“That’s strange… I feel much better.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“I’m so glad I read all those ‘random bits of knowledge’…. It’s all thanks to His Grace for giving me that book when I was young. No, if it weren’t for His Grace, you wouldn’t even be suffering from morning sickness… no, that’s not right! They also say fresh air helps. If you stay lying down like this, it’ll only make you feel worse.”

Encouraged, Milia hurried about again. She found a wool blanket from somewhere, draped it over Blair’s shoulders, and pulled gently at her arm.

“You can’t go outside in this cold, so let’s go to the greenhouse.”

Blair reluctantly pushed herself up. Still, if it was the greenhouse where sunlight poured in clearly, it felt like it might ease her mind, at least a little.

The greenhouse ceiling also served as a ventilation window, and since the weather was good, it could be left wide open. Blair sipped the lemon water and looked up at the vivid blue sky. As she drew the cold air deep into her lungs, the nausea eased noticeably.

“It’s much easier to breathe now. Thank you, Milia.”

“Right? It’s fortunate there’s such a perfect place. It’s neither fully indoors nor outdoors, so it has the advantages of both….”

As Blair drank the lemon water while listening to the maid’s long chatter, she suddenly sensed movement and turned her head. Through the glass wall, she saw someone stepping out and closing the door to the study.

It was Colin, Edmund’s butler.

He always followed Edmund like a shadow, and since he was young, he gave more of an attendant’s impression than that of a butler.

His face remained as impassive as ever as he stepped away from the study, but Blair couldn’t take her eyes off him. More precisely, she couldn’t look away from the door he had come out of.

That was Edmund’s most private space, where he handled his work. Unless there was a special reason, no one entered the study, and knowing how busy Edmund was, even Blair found it difficult to approach casually.

Then perhaps….

‘Did something important arrive?’

There was nothing suspicious about it. If anything arrived, it would be placed on his desk for Edmund to review when he returned, and Colin was simply carrying out his duty.