Chapter 76: Lara’s Deep Anxiety

“I will be the gun that shatters the chains binding my wife.”

“…….”

“The world that refuses to accept my wife will be destroyed by my hands. I will kill and burn everything.”

He pressed his cigarette into the ashtray, extinguishing it. Lawrence stared at the prince who spoke of slaughter and flames. The death-filled gaze of the prince was chilling.

“Until their corpses pile up like mountains at the river’s mouth and there is no more ground left to bury them.”

His voice was a cold, eerie baritone. Lawrence swallowed dryly and stared at him.

“So be useful to me.”

It was an offer that was no different from a warning. Lawrence had no choice but to accept.

---

The garden of the mansion had a clear view of the fountain. Lara sat at a small table, basking in the midday sunlight. With each passing day, she grew more accustomed to the sensation of her stomach rounding. Soon, the child inside would start kicking, announcing its presence to her.

It was not exactly a pleasant feeling. After all, she was human—how could it not hurt when the baby’s tiny feet pressed against her organs? Yet, Lara tried to embrace the sensation.

In her past life, it had only been a source of fear and unfamiliarity. But after giving birth to a stillborn child, she was now simply grateful. No matter how much the baby inside her stretched, pushed, or even hurt her, she was just happy it was alive.

‘As long as you are safe… My baby. As long as you are healthy, I don’t care about anything else.’

She gently stroked her round belly. Not long ago, it had been flat—so much so that she had questioned whether she was truly pregnant, whether the baby was really growing inside her. But now, a gentle curve had formed. Lara closed her eyes and continued stroking.

The timing matched perfectly—it had to be Klaus. Thinking back on the countless nights they had spent together, she could pinpoint the exact night when this child was conceived. It was just like in her past life.

“Klaus.”

Her closed eyelids trembled.

The son she never thought she would see again. The child she never imagined she would reunite with had returned to her in this way. Her pulse pounded erratically. Her heart raced so violently that it made her dizzy.

What if she lost this child again? What if she lost Klaus again? The mere thought of it was so terrifying and agonizing that it felt like dying.

She tried to reassure herself—this time would be different. Having experienced it once before, she could be prepared. But the fear refused to let her go.

The terror outweighed the joy of reuniting with Klaus.

She could still feel the moment she had given birth to a stillborn. The words that had informed her that the child she had carried for nearly ten months had died inside her. The despair… It was all so horrifying.

It didn’t make sense. Just the day before, she had felt him kicking, playing, full of life—

“Your Grace, a small amount of poison was found in the tea you’ve been drinking. It contains abortifacient properties….”

“What…?”

She couldn’t believe it. Lara simply blinked with dry, vacant eyes. Poison? In her tea? She had never poisoned herself. She had never done anything to harm her baby. How much had she cherished this child, how much—

“I have never consumed poison.”

Lara glared at the royal physician while clutching her now-empty stomach.

“That’s not what I meant….”

“It seems someone has been adding an abortifacient to Your Grace’s tea.”

She hadn’t known. She had never imagined that there were people in the world who would slip poison into another’s drink just to bring them down. She never expected such people to lurk in the imperial palace.

“You drank tea with every meal, so you must have been consuming the poison for a full month.”

The physician’s voice was detached. He simply pushed up his glasses with an indifferent expression. Lara, unable to believe his words, could only part her dry lips soundlessly.

So… Without knowing, she had been drinking an abortifacient with every meal. She had unknowingly poisoned her child every single day.

To kill her baby. Someone had deliberately tried to kill her baby.

Her lower eyelids trembled violently. She had never missed a meal. She had unwittingly poisoned her baby three times a day, every single day. There was no way her baby could have been born healthy.

Even if the child had survived, something must have gone wrong.

Lara shuddered in a fear unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She looked down at her limp hands, trembling uncontrollably.

No one had forced the poison into her mouth. She had taken it with her own hands.

“I killed my own child… Ignorantly drinking the poison like a fool….”

Lara clutched at her empty stomach. Her heart felt like it was rotting away.

“Lara.”

A familiar scent enveloped her. Lara opened her eyes to the shadow cast over her. Alec was looking down at her. As always, his black cravat was elegantly tied.

In that moment, the memory of the day she lost Klaus flashed through her mind.

While she had been feverish, unaware that her baby had died, Alec had handled the aftermath. That meant that while she never had the chance to hold her child, Alec had.

What did it feel like? To hold a lifeless baby in your arms?

Lara recalled the man who had not shed a single tear that day. He had simply held her in his arms for half a day without saying a word.

“You’re sweating.”

His low voice rang in her ears. His hand touched her forehead. Lara harshly swatted it away. Alec’s expression remained unchanged.

“Should I call the physician? Are you unwell?”

“No.”

“You don’t look well.”

Lara bit her lips. Remembering the day she lost Klaus filled her with uncontrollable hatred. She knew it wasn’t Aylec’s fault, but she couldn’t help it. She had lost her child because of her own foolishness and naivety.

If Klaus had been born to Valerina Gladys instead, he wouldn’t have had to suffer like this. Her children were doomed to die or be broken because they had her as their mother.

“I’ll call the physician.”

“What if he’s been bribed again?”

Lara lifted her head. Alec’s face darkened.

“What if someone pays him to declare me infertile? What if he lies about our child’s health?”

“That won’t happen anymore.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Lara’s voice cracked. She wanted to know—how could he be so confident? She hated how he always tried to reassure her, only for their child to die or suffer in the end.

It would have been better if he had warned her to stay vigilant, to protect herself because no one else could.

“Lara.”

“How can you be so sure?! You can’t even protect our child!”

“That’s not true.”

“You always spout useless reassurances! Do you think I haven’t seen through it by now?”

Lara rose and screamed, her emotions spilling out. She had told herself countless times not to act like this, but it was no use. She felt like a madwoman. The terror from losing Klaus crawled back up her spine.

She sobbed uncontrollably. The day she lost Klaus, she hadn’t cried. She had forced herself to stay strong, to focus on uncovering the culprit instead.

But the truth was, she had wanted to cry.

“Forgive me.”

Alec knelt before her. It had been four days since they last spoke, and now, he knelt before her again. He felt as though he would always have to kneel before her.

“I failed to protect our family.”

Lara glared at him with tear-filled eyes.

“You’re right, Lara. The way I tried to protect you only made you suffer more.”

He admitted it. He lifted her into his arms and carried her back to their bedroom.

“I swear, I will destroy them with my own hands.”