King Edward watched his mother leave. He then followed and made his way to Anastasia’s bedchamber. Although he had doubts about the situation, he felt it had nothing to do with Anastasia. After all, she had openly stated that she did not want Dorothy’s child, as she would be unable to love it.
"Your Majesty," Anastasia was still cleaning up inside when the king arrived. Grater had not expected him to come.
"Has the queen gone to bed?" King Edward asked, seeing Grater standing outside.
"Her Majesty is still cleaning up," Grater replied. Anastasia was used to caring for herself, so when she bathed, she did not require the help of servants.
King Edward paused. He recalled that when his mother bathed, she always needed attendants. He wondered why Anastasia was different.
"Go check if she is done. I will wait," King Edward said, taking a seat in the outer chamber.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Grater responded and went in to inform Anastasia of the king’s visit.
Anastasia was shocked but understood she could not send the king away. She hurried to finish her bath and dressed quickly. Then she followed Grater into the outer chamber to see the king.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Anastasia asked, genuinely believing he had come for something important.
King Edward frowned, finding the question irritating. He was her husbandwhat did she mean by that? "Queen, am I not allowed to visit your chambers?" he asked, raising a brow.
"That is not what I meant. Your Majesty has never visited my chambers so late at night before. I understand that you are busy with kingdom affairs, and your rest is important," Anastasia replied.
Hearing her words, King Edward felt displeased. He believed most wives would be anxious about never sharing a bed with their husband. He could not help but recall his mother’s words.
"I am here to fulfill my duty as a husband. You already complained before Mother. Why are you acting like you don’t care?" King Edward asked, unwilling to admit he had taken the initiative to see her.
"Your Majesty, I apologize. You do not have to force yourself if you don’t want to. Besides, I am not in good health and cannot serve His Majesty tonight," Anastasia said. She thought the king had come only because his mother had urged him, so she helped him find an excuse to leave.
Growing up, the Duke had never visited her mother’s courtyard. Before the incident that evening, she had been a bit anxious, but after seeing how much the king protected his mistress, her worry deepened.
She could now speak boldly, perhaps because Queen Mary seemed to support her, though Anastasia did not want to rely on Mary for everything. It truly felt uncomfortable that her husband would only come to her chambers because his mother told him to. Anastasia could not help but wonder if she appeared ugly to him.
On the other hand, when King Edward heard her response, he frowned. At first, he thought she was rejecting him, but then he began to think perhaps she was putting on an act.
"Queen, lead the way to the bed. If you cannot serve me tonight, we can simply sleep," King Edward said. He wanted to see how long she would continue to put on an act.
Anastasia dismissed Grater, and the two went over to the bed. To the king’s surprise, the queen climbed in and promptly went to sleep.
King Edward turned to look at her. Seeing that she was genuinely sleeping shocked him. He had truly expected her to try and gain his attention once he entered the bedchamber, but instead, she closed her eyes and slept. The situation caught him completely off guard.
The next morning, when Anastasia woke up, the king had already left. Grater came in and saw Anastasia still lying on the bed, looking tired, and couldn’t help but smile.
"Your Majesty, would you like to rest more?" Grater asked.
"No, it’s already past breakfast time. I want to freshen up," Anastasia replied. She had not slept well the night before due to the king’s presence. Worried about disturbing his rest, she had only pretended to sleep. It was only after he left that she managed to get some real rest.
"The servants have already run the water. Your Majesty may bathe now," Grater said. Anastasia noticed Grater seemed to be in a particularly good mood, but she didn’t inquire further.
She got up and left the bed.
Grater immediately moved to change the sheets. She frowned when she noticed how clean the sheets were—too clean for a bed that had supposedly been shared by a man and woman in a night of passion. She shook her head. The queen was not in good health; perhaps it hadn’t been too intense. She consoled herself with that thought as she carried the sheets out.
Yesterday, the news of the king expecting a child from his mistress had spread. Today, when the servants in the main palace heard that the king had stayed the night in the queen’s bedchamber, they were surprised. After all, it seemed he had never visited since moving into the main palace.
No one knew who started the gossip, but everyone was talking about Dorothy. It was said the king had only brought her back to the palace because she had saved his life and lost her entire family in the eastern war. In his kindness, the king had decided that if she improved her medical skills, she would be able to care for herself in the future, and so he brought her to be trained by the royal physicians.
Later, rumors began circulating that she was the king’s secret mistress. The queen, being kind-hearted, had given her an official identity and allowed her to stay in the palace. Who would have thought that, when she accompanied the queen to the north, she would take advantage of the king being drunk during the kingdom’s victory celebration to climb into his bed and become pregnant? Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novｅlfire.net
"That woman really has a poisonous heart. She even tried to poison the queen to stop her from bearing children. Fortunately, it was discovered in time," said a maid who served close to the queen. Though she wasn’t sure of all the details, she had heard bits and pieces.
"How wicked! The queen is too kind. She should have sent her away when those unpleasant rumors started," another maid said.
Others agreed and continued discussing how the king had gone to the queen’s bedchamber that night. Some speculated that he went to comfort her, while others believed he didn’t need to—but that his actions showed harmony between the king and queen. After all, they had shared life and death together during the northern border war.