The Author's Will

65 | White Aster

　　 Mother collapsed? Irene froze up at those words, remembering Sarah's state of pain from earlier.

"Prepare a room for her at once and call my doctor." Daniel spoke with strong clarity and remained calm, and as Tieve turned to head inside hurriedly, the prince turned to Irene beside him. A cold sweat running down her spine, her shock seemed to be plastered to her face.

"You should go too. I'll stay in the ballroom to ensure there's nothing to worry about." He told her gently. Irene turned to him and nodded her head, before bolting after Tieve.

For some reason, many worst-case scenarios were playing in her mind. What if something bad were to happen to Sarah? In the original novel, she was supposed to die very early, after all. Maybe all Irene had done was manage to delay that a little bit, but now something was truly wrong?

I can't lose her. And it's not only for my sake anymore. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she ran a few metres behind the red-haired aide of Daniel's. It blurred and obstructed her vision, and she knew she needed to stay calm. But how could she?

All she could think about was Sarah's smile. Her gentle voice. Her playful attitude. Her kind nature. Her flowery smell. Losing her wasn't just losing a character in a novel any more.

Losing her meant she lost her mother.

Soon enough, Tieve ventured through the crowd with Irene in tow, and they finally reached a small antechamber decorated as a waiting room somewhere near the ballroom. There, she saw her father with a grim expression as he held his wife closely on one of the plush sofas. Rayvis stood beside them, thinking deeply.

"Really... I feel fine, Rudien," Sarah tried to console him, but he was still very much worried. Those perfect ruby eyes gazed at her in deep concern, but she only tried to soothe him with her smile. "Really, it's nothing to worry about."

"Mother!" Irene darted towards Sarah, taking her hand. It felt cold in her own. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," gently placing a palm on her daughter's cheek, Sarah's serene blue eyes displayed no sense of pain. But at the same time, Irene could see from her complexion that she had weakened quite a lot. "Please don't worry about me, sweetheart."

"I told you to take it easy," Rudien sighed softly, frowning at his wife. "Is there any pain in your body? You didn't drink, right?"

As he said those words, Rudien tenderly placed a gloved hand on Sarah's stomach.

Irene's gaze followed this action.

Wait a minute...

Earlier, Sarah had been feeling nauseous in the carriage.

She was avoiding drinking anything containing alcohol.

Rudien just placed his hand on her abdomen.

C-Could it be?!

"I'm going to be a sister?!"

Her words echoed between the walls of the room. Everyone stared at her— eyes gaping in silent awe for a moment. As soon as the realisation hit her, Irene's face flushed a bright red.

"Pffft-" Rayvis couldn't contain his laughter no matter how hard he pressed his palm over his mouth and turned to face the wall. But Irene was too in awe of this revelation to even care that she had embarrassed herself.

Rudien and Sarah awkwardly glanced at each other, their faces somewhat tinted a gentle hue of pink. But what baffled them more was that Irene, who had never been officially educated on human reproduction yet, already knew what pregnancy was.