"Your Highness..." Mr. Vitas sounded worried when he arrived by the bed and touched Emmelyn's wrist to check her pulse. He turned to Lily and asked her what had happened to Emmelyn. "How long has she passed out?"
Lily pretended to remember something and replied to his question, "I think she has passed out for half an hour, Sir."
"Hmm.. okay." Mr. Vitas furrowed his brows and sighed. "Her pulse is quite weak. She was okay when I saw her the last time. Sigh. Maybe she is stressed. I will wait here until she is conscious. You may go."
"Thank you, Sir." Lily didn't waste time leaving the chamber. She was worried, if she stayed too long, the old physician might recognize her if they met again and she appeared as herself.
After Lily left, Emmelyn pretended to whimper and then opened her eyes. She greeted the old man and asked him what happened to her.
"You passed out, Your Highness. Did you experience any discomfort?" The old physician asked patiently.
Emmelyn shook her head. "Nothing I can't manage."
She lied, of course. How could she manage this situation? She was heavily pregnant and locked up for a crime she didn't commit. Her belly was already big and heavy and it was hard for her to move around.
All she did in the past week was crying and cursing. Even though she tried not to curse too much, so Harlow wouldn't hear her, but still... she couldn't help it. She really wanted to kill Ellena and the witch. Oh, and the Leoraleis.
If she could have a kill list, those people would be at the top.
So, that was how she dealt with this very unfortunate situation. Crying and cursing. Only after she met Lily could she find a glimmer of hope. At least now she knew she had an ally in the capital.
Once Lily brought her news about Mrs. Adler and sent her letter to Ellena, Emmelyn could make plans. Now, she only needed to wait.
"You look very weak," said the old physician again. "I will prepare a potion to help you recover your strength."
He took out several bottles from his bag and sat down to mix the contents into a small bowl. Emmelyn took the food that Lily brought for her earlier and chew down on them while looking at Mr. Vitas do his job.
"Mr. Vitas, when is the funeral for the queen?" Emmelyn asked in a low voice while eating her food. "Why haven't I seen any preparation for the funeral? Can you tell me what happened outside?"
Mr. Vitas sighed. He looked up and said, "The king still doesn't want to let go. He refused any talks about the funeral... I think this is actually good for you."
"How?" Emmelyn didn't understand.
"The thing is, King Jared is still in denial that Queen Elara has passed away. I am afraid... if he finally accepted her death, he would take it out on you since you are the main suspect."
"Oh..." Emmelyn pressed her lips in surprise. Mr. Vitas had a point.
"Right now, you are locked up in this tower because John and I begged with our lives for the king to spare the crown prince's heir," said Mr. Vitas. "If the king changed his mind... we don't know what will happen."
Emmelyn looked down at her bulging tummy and bit her lip. She realized Mr. Vitas was right. Harlow was her only hope to stay alive. If she wasn't pregnant with the crown prince's child now, who knew what would have happened to her.
So, in a way, Harlow was her savior.
"We can only hope that the crown prince returns as soon as possible. I am sure by now he would have received the news about the queen's passing and will go home immediately," Mr. VItas added.
Emmelyn felt the glimmer of hope again. If her husband had really received the news, he must abandon everything and go home. He would probably take the fastest horse and rode it nonstop until he reached home.
In that case... he would be here in one more month. She still had time before Harlow was born.
"Thank you, Mr. Vitas. I owe you for standing up for me," said Emmelyn. "I will never forget what you did."
Mr. Vitas didn't say anything. He still didn't know if he could trust this princess. He only stood up for her because of the baby she was carrying. As the royal physician, his loyalty was to the Strongmoor family and what's best for them.
He knew this baby was long-awaited and he took it upon himself to make sure nothing bad would happen to it.
"Your Highness, I have prepared a new potion for you since your pregnancy is already at 27 weeks," said the physician. "From your pulse which I checked earlier, you have a weak pregnancy. Maybe the stress has taken its toll on you. We don't want anything bad to happen to your baby... so, please take care of yourself and try to distract your mind from anything stressful."
Emmelyn's heart skipped a beat when she heard the old man's words. Her pregnancy was weak? She immediately felt panicked. How could she avoid stress in a situation like this?
She could only nod absentmindedly. "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Vitas. I will do my best."
Emmelyn was silent for a while, thinking about how she preferred Mrs. Adler to assist her during labor. So, she decided to talk to Mr. Vitas about the old witch.
Emmelyn was adamant that she wanted Mrs. Adler to help her during labor when the time came.
She thought it was better to talk about it with the court physician as soon as possible, so Mr. Vitas wouldn't feel offended if suddenly he was replaced.
"Mr. Vitas, I have one request to make..." She said haltingly. "I hope you will understand this."
The old physician furrowed his brows and looked at Emmelyn attentively. "What is it, Your Highness?"
"I feel more comfortable giving birth assisted by a woman. I hope you don't mind if I request someone to stay by my side during labor."
Emmelyn told the old physician how she was close to Mrs. Adler and how she felt more comfortable giving birth with Mrs. Adler's assistance.
Mr. Vitas was surprised to hear Emmelyn's request, but he understood why she wanted it.
"I wish to introduce her to you so you both can get to know each other," Emmelyn added. "However, with my current situation, I can only rely on you to find her and ask her on my behalf."
Mr. Vitas nodded in understanding. "I will find her and bring her here, Your Highness."
"Thank you."
Emmelyn felt relieved that Mr. Vitas was helpful and understanding. This made things easier for her.
Once she could see Mrs. Adler, Emmelyn would ask if the old witch could help her give birth to Harlow sooner.