The Debt Of Fate-Chapter 303: Sick

When Ernest returned home, Anastasia was waiting. Ever since she knew of Ernest’s plans to rebel, she had been on edge. She was worried that the king would get a hint of his plans. Without an army, Ernest would be easily crushed.

She wanted to speed up her plans, but she could not trust that Miss Magdalene would be loyal to her when the topic was about rebellion, so she had to be careful when she made decisions.

"What is the matter?" she asked as soon as they were alone.

Ernest looked at her anxious face and regretted telling her his plans too early. He wanted her to live a peaceful and carefree life. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He then patiently explained his conversation with the king to her, but Anastasia paused when she heard him mention the Lord of the Dark Waters.

"How are you related to the Lord of the Dark Waters?" She finally asked the question that had been in her heart for months. Even though the two had been married for a while, she had not seen him act as though they were related.

Ernest paused when he heard the question. He wondered if he had given anything away or if Anastasia was simply too keen.

"The wedding dress you sent—Miss Magdalene said it was ordered by a trusted steward of the Lord of the Dark Sea," Anastasia explained. If she wanted him to be honest with her, she also had to show the same honesty.

"Miss Magdalene," he repeated the name. "How is she related to the Golden Peak?" Ernest answered her question with his own.

Anastasia took a deep breath. "Before I married King Edward, I had a dream. At first, I thought it was just a nightmare, but my marriage with him began to mirror reality. I thought my dream was definitely a warning from God, so I started planning my exit earlier," Anastasia said. At first, what she really wanted was to have leverage so that the king and his mistress would not easily poison her to death. She wanted to sit firmly in the queen’s seat, but she realized that the king was shameless. He did not play by the rules, and once he was seated firmly on the throne, her life would be miserable. Fortunately, he had never shared a bed with her, so she had taken the chance to demand a royal divorce, but she continued to silently develop Golden Peak. She hoped that with sufficient resources, she would be able to keep her life safe. She explained most of the details to Ernest.

Ernest was once again shocked. He could not help but remember that the late king wanted Anastasia to marry his son because the seer said she was blessed by heaven.

"Now, tell me, how are you related to the Lord of the Dark Sea?" Anastasia asked.

"We are not related," Ernest shook his head.

Anastasia looked at him. His gaze was clear; there was no hint that he was lying. But if he was not related, then how did the gown come from him?

Could it be that the Lord of the Dark Sea had already found her identity and sent the gown in Ernest’s name, taking the chance to monitor her?

Many thoughts passed through Anastasia’s mind in minutes. She began to wonder where she had made a mistake. Also, with a kidnapping that was related to the Lord of the Dark Waters, what if he had set someone up? She had used her royal influence to set everything up. Anastasia started getting dizzy.

"Are you okay?" Ernest raised his brows when he saw her face turn pale in a short moment.

Anastasia opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment she felt a nauseous wave hit her. She used her hand to cover her mouth.

"Someone," Ernest called out as he walked around the table to her side.

At the same time, Rosa hurried inside. She could tell that something was wrong.

She brought a bucket for her to throw up, seeing her point at it.

"Go and call the physician in the residence," Ernest ordered as he helped Anastasia hold her head back.

Rosa left the room in tears. There were not many servants close by, as Ernest and Anastasia did not like to be waited on.

As she hurried out, she met Grater, who was bringing fruit for Anastasia. She had asked for them earlier, saying she was craving them.

"Why are you so panicked?" Grater noticed something was wrong immediately.

"My lady is not feeling well. I want to get the physician," Rosa answered and continued walking without waiting for Grater to respond.

Hearing that Anastasia was sick, Grater hurried over. She remembered that Anastasia had been complaining for some days. Many things she used to like had suddenly lost their appeal to her. Moreover, Anastasia got tired easily, but she had thought it was from taking care of Ernest. After all, since the poisoning incident, she did not trust anyone else to take care of him.

When Grater reached the bedchamber, Ernest was already helping Anastasia lie down on the bed. He supported her carefully, worry written clearly on his face.

Grater moved closer at once and placed a gentle hand on Anastasia’s wrist, then her forehead. Anastasia looked pale, and her breathing was uneven. Grater’s eyes darkened with concern.

From years of caring for young women, Grater quickly sensed what might be wrong. The signs were familiar to her— the sudden sickness, the dizziness, the strange cravings, the deep tiredness. In her heart, she guessed that Anastasia might be pregnant.

But she did not dare say it out loud.

Anastasia had been poisoned before, and her body had only just begun to recover. Pregnancy would not come easily after such harm. Speaking too soon could raise false hope. So Grater kept her thoughts to herself.

"Lie still, my lady," Grater said softly. "Try to breathe slowly."

Ernest looked at her anxiously. "What do you think it is?" he asked.

Grater shook her head gently. "Let the physician come first," she replied. "It is better to be sure."

She tucked the blanket around Anastasia and wiped the sweat from her face. Then she stood by the bed and waited quietly, praying that the physician would arrive soon and bring clear answers.

Ernest looked at Grater, he knew she did not have answers but he just wanted comfort of any kind. Every moment they waited for the physician felt like forever.

Finally the physician arrived quarter of an hour lqter, carrying his medicine box. He was covered in swelt to show that he had been I a hurry. He bowed quickly to Ernest and went straight to the bed.

He checked Anastasia’s pulse, examined her eyes, and asked a few gentle questions. Anastasia answered weakly while Ernest stood beside her, holding her hand and watching every move.

After a long moment, the physician stepped back.

"My lord," he said carefully, "my lady is with child."

Grater lowered her head at once. Her guess had been right.

Ernest froze. For a moment, he could not speak. His grip on Anastasia’s hand tightened slightly, as if afraid she might disappear. He heard that Anastasia had been poisoned and getting pregnant would not be easy so after months of been married he had never brought up the issue of children. He did not want to worry her unexpectedly she got pregnant.

"But," the physician continued, his voice turning serious, "the pregnancy is not stable."

Ernest’s face changed, he wanted the child but he did not want anything that would put her in danger. "What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

"My lady’s body is still weak from the poison she suffered before. Although cured some harm cannot be undone" The physician explained. "Her condition makes this pregnancy fragile. Any strong emotion—fear, anger, shock, or deep worry—could harm both her and the child."

Anastasia’s eyes widened, she used her free hand to touch her still flate stomach. She had never dreamt of having kids even when Physical Nathan assured her that she was okay but now hearing she was pregnant she did not want to lose it. "Then... what must I do?" she asked softly.

"You must rest," the physician said. "No stress, no heavy thoughts, no arguments. You must remain calm at all times. If not, there is a great risk of losing the child."

The room fell silent.

Ernest looked down at Anastasia, his expression full of guilt and fear. If only he had known about this pregnancy he would never had shared his secret with her. Now it’s seems impossible for her not to worry.

Grater stepped closer to the bed. "Do not worry, my lady," she said gently. "I will watch over you closely."

The physician nodded. "I will prescribe a medication to help, With care and peace, everything should be fine"

"I will go with you to prepare the medicine," Grater left the room with the physician. Seeing them come out, Rosa who had been pacing by the door immediately held Grater and asked what was going on.

"My lady is pregnant..." Grater thought to start from the good news before explaining the situation to Rosa who knew that once Rosa heard the first part she would not continue to listen but hurried into the room.

"I have always known that God will bless my lady. Very soon we would have a young lady or master. Great," she clapped and laughed so happily. Her joy made everyone to smile.

Ernest and Anastasia who had been tense after listening to the Physician also relaxed.

Indeed it was already a good news that Anastasia was pregnant.