The taste of the herb wasn’t as bad as Rose had braced herself for. It almost tasted like nothing, except for the tallic tang that ca from boiled water. There was a minty fragrance, but she couldn’t really taste it. Edna pulled the cup away from her face when she finished drinking.
"Thank you," she whispered and laid back on the bed. Sitting up had been too much for her.
Edna nodded and pulled away, placing the cup back on the tray, which sat on the table a few feet away from the bed.
"It will take a while for the herbs to kick in, but you should feel better once they do," Paul said. As he spoke, he rummaged through his bag before carefully putting the items back and sealing it shut.
He turned to Edna. "Get her sothing to eat, and at noon give her so of the herbs again. It will ease the pain. Send for if sothing cos up, but for now, I don’t think I have to see you until evening," he finished, directing the last part to Rose.
She nodded. She didn’t fully understand what was going on, but it was clear sothing had happened, and she had lost consciousness.
He stared at her for a few more monts before slowly standing to his feet, picking up his briefcase, and walking out of the room. Edna followed closely behind him until he stepped out. She curtsied, then shut the door.
Edna quickly rushed back to the bed. "Oh, I am so glad that you’re fine. I was very worried, especially after you lost all that blood."
Rose blinked. "Blood?"
"You don’t know?"
"No," Rose shook her head. "I was just about to ask you what happened to ," she said.
"Oh, well, I don’t really know the details, but as soon as you arrived at the castle, you fainted because you were losing so much blood. Soone had to bring you here."
At her words, Rose properly looked around. It was clear she wasn’t in any room in the servants’ quarters. The room was just as big as the crown prince’s, a little different.
"And the crown prince?" Rose asked softly, turning her attention back to Edna.
"He gave the order that you should be taken care of and sent for his best physician—the lord that was just here. He stayed with you the whole night."
"I was asleep the whole night?" Rose asked.
"Yes," Edna replied.
"Did he say what was wrong?" she asked.
"No," Edna said.
Rose didn’t understand it either. However, she could take a guess—and it was sothing she didn’t want to think about.
"I know you’re tired and hungry. I’ll go make you sothing to eat. Just get so rest until then. I have so many questions to ask, but I know now isn’t the ti. As soon as you feel better, you can tell everything."
Rose nodded and touched her stomach. The physician had been right—the pain was subsiding a little. Edna had said she was bleeding, and the uncomfortable feeling between her legs was enough to tell her where the bleeding was. It wasn’t her ti of the month yet, which ant...
"I w-will be here," Rose replied. Her voice cracked a little. It was from trying to hold back her tears.
"Okay, I’ll be right back," Edna said and hurried out.
The door hadn’t even closed before Rose burst into tears. Why did it hurt so much? She had already decided she was fine with the outco. She wasn’t going to have the crown prince’s bastard. But what if it wasn’t the crown prince’s—what if it was Ander’s? Still, Rose knew that wasn’t why it hurt.
She was losing her child. It didn’t matter who the father was—the baby was still hers. It probably hadn’t even gotten the chance to grow. She had never considered the possibility that she might have conceived; it had all happened so fast.
Rose took a deep breath and wiped her tears. It was for a good cause. It was so she would never be tied to the crown prince. It was unfortunate, but so things had to be done.
When Edna finally returned, Rose had recovered, and all traces of her crying were gone. The maid brought her warm soup and so bread, which Rose ate eagerly. She wondered if the loss of blood had made her famished because it felt like she hadn’t eaten in years.
Edna didn’t say anything as she helped, just offered water and watched her silently. After she was done eating, she helped her clean up. Rose was embarrassed, but Edna assured her there was nothing to be ashad of—she had already taken care of the worst the night before.
After she had eaten and cleaned up, Edna looked like she might burst if she didn’t hear what had happened. She took the seat Paul had used while Rose remained on the bed.
Rose told Edna most of what had happened, and Edna listened without interruption. The only part that wasn’t truthful was that she had fallen ill afterward and had to stay with Lady Delphine for a few days to recover.
It wasn’t that Rose didn’t trust Edna with the truth; it was more that she didn’t want Edna to be caught up in it. If the crown prince sohow found out the truth, she didn’t want Edna to be dragged down with her.
"That conniving bitch!!" Edna yelled. It was clear she had been holding back during the entire ti Rose was speaking. "She told everyone you ran away. How dare she?! Do you think she had sothing to do with it? No, I’m sure she does. No wonder she looked so scared. I thought she was just worried about lying, but it’s clearly more than that."
"I don’t know," Rose replied.
"What—you don’t have to protect her! You should tell the crown prince. I’m sure he would punish her. How could she do sothing like that? There’s no way she couldn’t have known you were taken from the room. How was the room even open in the first place? You ntioned that you rembered closing it. Wait," Edna paused, her eyes widening.
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