The doctor comes quickly after Astrid informs this mysterious Devon. But from the memories I have, Devon is Callum's regent who has been with him since birth. Supposedly the two were taken care of by Devon's mother who was also Callum's milkmaid, and Devon's father was the previous regent.

"The date of birth will be approaching soon," the doctor says, pushing his monocle further up his nose. He rubs his hands together nervously as he glances over at Callum. "It's a good idea to prepare the midwife or a trusted relative to be by Her Majesty's side."

We're currently in my palace, in my room. And by 'we', I mean everyone who matters in the story. Callum stands at my bedside next to the doctor with his hands on his hips. He stares down at me, or rather at my stomach. Whereas I was forced to lay on my bed while the doctor examined my abdomen. Funny enough, even male doctors are not authorized to glance up a ladies dress unless he is her husband. That would explain why I've learned that a midwife or a relative - namely an aunt or mother - typically aids in birth.

Behind Callum is fucking Astrid. I find it odd that she was allowed to accompany him and I think that they're theorizing it with the fact that she's a saint. Either way, the way her eyes have been trailing over my room with a smile is giving me an eerie feeling.

"It's good for all stressful situations to also be put on hold," the doctor informs. He straightens his beige-colored jacket and glances at every participant in this room. "Anything that may cause anxiety should really be evaluated and removed."

It's nice to know that even the doctor knows about this emperor's shenanigans. Though I'm sure the whole kingdom knows as well.

"Right and when should we expect the baby to come?" Callum asks. He still doesn't remove his eyes from my belly, but I really can't make out the look in his eyes. "How close is soon?"

The doctor clears his throat. "I would say in the next two weeks at least."

My chest tightens at his words; it's a mixture of excitement and fear. With this belly, I knew I had to be quite far along, but this is a lot closer than I thought. By far, it's not a good time to be bringing a baby into this world, not when I still have so much to fix at this place. And not when the mistress still seems to be a catalyst for everything ruining my life here. If there's one thing I know, it's that I'm sure everything would be over for me if she were to get pregnant. At least I can't be sure if her life as the saintess will also end if a pregnancy were to result.

The doctor begins to pack up his black gladstone bag. Bidding us a bow and a farewell, he leaves my room. Then the three of us are left in silence, but my thoughts are as loud as ever.

Callum sighs and rubs a hand down his face. "I'll make sure I call for Sophia to come down. As he said, having a midwife with you even now will be best. Preparations will need to start for the heir to the throne."

Sophia is Devon's mother and Callum's milkmaid. From what he's saying, not only will she help to deliver this child, but I believe she'll also serve as his nanny. My memories of her do prove that she's a well established woman who is revered through all of high society as one of the noblest women in Torbum - outside of the empress, of course.

Things get awkward as we three just stare at each other. I'm waiting for them to make their exit, but it seems they're possibly determined to make my room theirs. Clearing my throat, I raise a questioning eyebrow.

Luckily, Callum catches the hint. Turning to Astrid, he says, "Let's leave the empress to rest. We have theater tickets today as well."

God, he's lucky I'm not some overbearing, jealous wife. If it were up to me, I think I would have tried to commit homicide at this point. Though it also helps that I have zero feelings for this man, and I don't think I'll ever have an ounce of affection for him.

When I'm finally left alone, I can't help the way my body sags into my pillows. An ache in my lower back causes me slight discomfort, but my relief overshadows that. Having those two in what should be considered my safe haven is absolutely stress inducing and nerve wracking.

Now that they've left, I feel I can close my eyes and get some proper rest. There's much to do starting tomorrow now that the baby is almost here.

***

Waking up the next day is like waking from a restless night. It's hard to pry my eyes open as my whole body hurts and I feel I got no sleep the night before. There was a dream I had, yet I can remember none of it. Fear and repulse is the only thing that remains from whatever my head conjured up.

My room is dark, too dark, so dark that I wonder if it's the early hours of the morning. Even with my curtains drawn, the light still shines brightly enough.

Standing from the bed, I make my way over to the window. Pulling the satin fabric away, I take in the dark, angry clouds in the sky. Just as I'm about to turn away, cries break free from the sky in a rumbling boom. It's so loud and forceful that I swear the castle shakes. Then it begins to pour.

It is in fact the morning, but I would guess around eight or nine. I need to get down to hiring more maids I can trust with not just me, but my child as well. Part of me regrets firing everybody as I now need to head out into the rain to get an advisor from the main palace.

It's now in my plans to demand my own advisor so I don't have to make unnecessary trips to that horrid place.

It takes me a while to get dressed and get my hair into a tamable braid. As soon as I hire more help, I'll be cutting this man short.

They say intuition is something you should always follow. In my past life's career, I've always been good at telling what will be an instant hit. It's what led me to superstardom. So, when my gut tells me not to leave my room and I ignore it, I have no idea why. Perhaps it's still he old Chrysanthy's consciousness.

I curse myself a thousand times as I step off the landing of the stairs. Right at the very bottom are two individuals I don't want to see.

Aster stares at me with a smug smile, though I'm the only one able to tell it's not completely innocent. Callum is next to her in casual clothing and with his hair splayed across his forehead rather than pushed back. He looks as if this was supposed to be a rest day for him.

"Can I help you two?" I ask.

Callum steps forward. Looking at him, he feels like a completely different person from yesterday. His eyes have hardened as they gaze upon me once again. Gone is the softness from the previous day. Now, he's just like he was upon our first meeting at the gazebo and the meeting after.

"I've come to the conclusion that it would be better for you to have your rest in Sauthum," Callum says, crossing his arms as if to cause intimidation.

"And why has this been decided?" I glance behind him at Astrid who has begun to walk around the foyer. "I believe the doctor said I needed to be on bed rest."

I have an inkling that a certain someone did some persuading. That someone is currently sniffing around the place as if it's hers. Red alarms are going off in my head. Sooner or later, I knew I would be pushed out of here, though I thought it would be after the birth of the child. Not now.

"It was Astrid's idea and I agree with her. We think the capitol is too stressful for you."

Perhaps I would respect this decision if I were an idiot. And maybe I would agree if Sauthum wasn't a fucking port town nowhere close to Torbum nor is it part of the Torbum Kingdom.

Sauthum is an independent nation that is considered neutral. It's a connecting way between Torbum and any other kingdom as it's an island directly in the middle of everything. While small, it's one of the most prosperous places in this world. Many merchants tend to stop there as they have to pass it to reach other territories anyway.

With that being said, it's a very far distance. It's so far that the boat ride is at least several months long.

"This child will be born in two weeks time... and you want to send me to a place where it takes months to travel to?" I ask just to make sure I haven't lost my marbles. But I don't let him speak. "Have you lost your fucking mind? Are you a complete idiot, Callum? In what universe does that make any type of sense?"

He's bewildered and she's gobsmacked. They both stare at me as if I've grown two more heads out of my ass. I'm not sure what they expected to happen, but it can't be they assumed I would be fine with this.

"A quiet environment is just what you need to give birth," Callum drones. That line sounds so rehearsed, as if he's reading directly off of a script. "The baby's health is the most important thing."

"And the baby is going to be born on a goddamn boat if you send me away to Sauthum, Callum!" Oh no, I'm shouting. This is the first time I've lost my cool since I've been here. I just can't handle this stupidity.

Callum stutters a bit, a string of inconsistent mumbles leaving his mouth. He looks confused before he grips his head and groans loudly. Stepping back, I stare at him, unsure of what's happening or what to do. This man seems unhinged as he bends down and breathes heavily.

Before I can even try to do anything, Astrid strides over to him. Just by pressing a hand to his back, he calms down. Only a second later, he controls his breathing and straightens up. Then his face is back to normal, though more absentminded than before.

"I won't take no for an answer. You'll be heading out today."

My refusals are thrown to deaf ears as he takes his mistress and leaves. I don't even get the chance to bring up the fact that it's raining... pouring. And it doesn't seem like it'll let up any time soon.

Now thinking back, neither of them were soaked. How long were they here and waiting for them to be completely dry? Unless there's some type of magic that can dry your body completely or they had clothes hidden around here, I can't imagine that they'd have dried off that quick.

I feel a pang in my stomach, reminding me that I need to remain calm. Too much stress is bad for the baby.

As I return to my room, I wonder just why this decision has been made. I also wonder just what the hell that freakout was with that man. There was never anything in the original story about him having massive freakouts like that.