Talia frantically shook her head.
"No! Stop it! Do something—stop it somehow!"
"Once the waters have broken, there's no turning back. We have to deliver the baby immediately."
The priestess spoke in a firm voice before gesturing toward the maids waiting by the door.
"Put up privacy screens around the bed. And you—go fetch my medical bag from my quarters. It's on the shelf."
The maids immediately sprang into action.
Talia stared blankly at the chaos unfolding around her as though trapped in a nightmare.
Then another violent contraction seized her, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
The pressure inside her abdomen kept growing stronger.
Now even Talia could clearly tell.
The baby was trying to come out.
The terror that realization brought was so overwhelming that she could barely register the agony threatening to split her back apart.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
If the baby is born now... can it survive?
Even Talia, who knew almost nothing about pregnancy or childbirth, understood that premature babies rarely survived.
How much has my baby grown inside me?
Her trembling hands carefully caressed her stomach, now hard as stone.
Only half a day earlier she'd worried that the baby might be growing too large.
She had even slightly regretted eating so recklessly without thinking ahead.
But now...
Now she desperately regretted not feeding it even more.
She should have eaten everything she possibly could.
She should have made the baby stronger—strong enough to survive anything.
"You mustn't lose consciousness! Your Highness, you have to hold on!"
Someone pressed a cold towel against her face.
Startled by the cool touch, Talia abruptly opened her eyes.
Only then did she realize she'd closed them.
Blinking her bloodshot eyes, she stared at the dim ceiling where candlelight flickered before slowly lowering her gaze toward the people surrounding her.
The priestess.
Tiuran.
Marisen.
Her nanny.
The chief maid.
Several maids who had gathered before she'd even noticed.
Her eyes searched desperately from face to face.
Yet she couldn't even tell what she was searching for.
The moment she opened her mouth to ask something—
Another wave of unbearable agony crashed over her.
This one was so intense it froze every coherent thought inside her mind.
In an instant, Talia lost every shred of self-control.
She thrashed wildly, arms and legs flailing.
A piercing scream burst from her open mouth.
Then—
From beyond the walls came a voice that sounded like the growl of a beast.
"Move."
"Your Grace, Her Highness the Grand Duchess is in labor. It is against propriety for you to enter the room right now—"
Someone trying desperately to stop him cried out in pain.
At the same time, the door burst open.
Between the privacy screens appeared a man dressed in a black military uniform.
Like a drowning person reaching toward salvation, Talia stretched both arms toward him.