After that, many more things happened.
Carlene stole the wedding gown and jewelry that had taken years to prepare. The portrait that was supposed to be painted of me somehow became a portrait of Carlene instead. Even the tea party I had carefully organized was taken over by her.
At long last, those days came to an end.
Carlene was the first to leave home, marrying the Margrave of Limburg.
She had proudly declared that hers would be a magnificent wedding, yet no invitation ever arrived.
Even the wedding invitation I sent received no reply.
At last, it was my turn to leave home.
By then, Father’s condition had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer rise from bed, making it impossible for him to attend my wedding.
Naturally, my stepmother had no intention of attending a wedding without Father, so I faced the ceremony alone.
I had met my future husband, Lord Oliver, only a handful of times.
It had been three years since we had last seen one another.
He had grown into an exceptionally handsome man, so much so that people called him the most handsome noble in the royal capital.
From this day forward, he would become my husband.
It was a marriage without love, but among the nobility, that was perfectly ordinary.
There had once been a popular romance among noblewomen about a political marriage in which the groom declared on the wedding day, “I have no intention of ever loving you,” only to become hopelessly devoted to his wife in the end.
Reality was nothing like those stories.
Since both parties fully understood that ours was nothing more than a political marriage, there was no need for such declarations in the first place.
After that, Oliver and I exchanged almost no meaningful conversation before the ritual of our wedding night was carried out.
It was a painful and difficult experience, but I somehow endured it.
Lord Oliver performed his duty with detached indifference, and when it was over, he left without saying a single word to me.
The night was quiet.
I looked up at the lonely moon hanging in the sky.
It wasn’t as though I felt lonely.
My life had always been like this.
At least Carlene was no longer there.
No one remained to take what belonged to me.
Thinking of it that way made my heart feel just a little lighter.
◇◇◇
One year passed after our marriage.
Although we fulfilled our marital obligations once a week, there was still no sign of pregnancy.
I even consulted a physician who specialized in magical diagnosis. According to the examination, there was nothing wrong with me. My body was perfectly capable of bearing children.
The physician suggested that my husband should be examined next.
But there was no way I could tell him, “The reason we haven’t conceived may lie with you. Would you please visit the hospital for an examination?”
Instead, it was I who endured endless criticism from his relatives, all demanding to know when I would finally produce an heir.
Lord Oliver and I barely spoke.
Although there were days when we saw each other, our conversations amounted to little more than routine reports about household affairs.
Only once did he ever initiate a conversation.
It was after a formal banquet.
He simply looked at me and said,
“You’re a stiff woman.”
At the time, I didn’t think those words hurt.
Yet as time passed, they festered within my heart like a rose thorn buried beneath the skin, causing an ache that never truly disappeared.
From then on, Lord Oliver’s attitude toward me grew noticeably colder.
He began treating me with unmistakable disdain.
Perhaps because of that, his cousins, Lady Selphy and Lady Elise, also began harassing me.
They deliberately told me the wrong starting time for banquets so I would arrive late. They spread baseless rumors about me during tea parties. At one point, they even tried to frame me for stealing Lady Elise’s missing jewelry.
Perhaps they believed a wife who had not only failed to produce an heir, but had failed to conceive at all, was beneath consideration.
Had I become numb after spending my entire life having everything stolen by Carlene while enduring her endless selfishness?
I never once reported their harassment to my husband.
Instead, I silently endured it all.
That was probably my greatest mistake.
Because eventually, the worst possible tragedy occurred.
In the spring of our second year of marriage, I finally became pregnant with our first child.
Before the pregnancy had even reached a stable stage, one of Lady Selphy’s maids shoved me from behind while I was descending the staircase.
I fell.
The impact struck my abdomen.
I lost my baby.
My husband believed it had been the result of my own carelessness.
He seemed deeply disappointed in me.
I could have told him the truth.
I could have told him that Lady Selphy’s maid had pushed me.
But even if I had…
Our child would never have come back.
Once again, I found myself completely alone.
As I gazed up at the moonlit sky, I cried for the first time in my life because I truly felt lonely.
Even so, Lord Oliver never completely abandoned me.
Perhaps it was because I continued to fulfill every duty expected of the wife of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg.
I managed the household as its mistress.
I welcomed distinguished guests from foreign nations with impeccable courtesy.
There were even occasions when I attended royal soirées as Her Royal Highness the Princess’s representative.
In every situation, I fulfilled my responsibilities without bringing shame upon the family.
That was undoubtedly the result of Father’s strict education.
The knowledge I had acquired…
The refinement I had cultivated…
They had become the foundation of my confidence.
All that remained was to give birth to a child.
I knew that.
But knowing it did not make it easy.
Three years passed after our marriage, yet a second pregnancy never came.
If only I had been more vigilant that day…
No matter how many times I regretted it, my lost child would never return.
I understood that.
Even so, the emptiness within me continued to grow until tears flowed without end.
And yet…
A second miracle finally arrived.
I became pregnant once more.
My heart felt as though it would burst with joy.
This time…
No matter what happened…
I would protect this child.
With that resolve, I made a decision.
Until my baby was safely born, I would recover at my family’s estate.
Surely there would be those within the Grand Ducal residence who wished to make me lose this child as well.
If that was the case, returning home would be far safer.
Without explaining my true reasons, I simply requested permission from my husband to recuperate at my family estate until the birth.
He granted permission without hesitation.
I immediately returned home.
But when I arrived…
I was stunned by how drastically the estate had changed.
