"Not marry him? Marry you instead?"
"Do you really have to force me to say something cruel?"
"He's the heir to the Northguard Marquessate. And you? A peasant who knows nothing but watering crops and tilling soil. How could you possibly be worthy of a Grand Chancellor's legitimate daughter?"
My face went white. I pressed on, unwilling to let go. "Do three years of what we had really have to be measured by status?"
A sharp, twisting pain tore through my lower abdomen. I clutched my stomach, but I still waited for her answer.
"In noble families, status and rank are everything. The line between legitimate and common is absolute."
She paused, and guilt crept across her face as she looked at me.
"The child I'm carrying might be his."
My mind went blank. I stared at her, unable to comprehend.
"Alaric, my child has to be recognized as the Marquessate's firstborn legitimate son. That's the only way you'll be safe."
The pain in my gut twisted like a knife. Cold sweat beaded across my forehead. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the box of pastries.
"Lola, you poisoned me for him? How could you bring yourself to do that?"
Lola's eyes reddened, and she apologized over and over.
"I'm sorry, Alaric. He found out you exist. Based on the timing, the child could be yours. He won't allow anyone to threaten his position."
So she laced the pastries I loved most with the Barren Elixir, and I never suspected a thing.
"Lola, my stomach hurts so badly. I just swallowed it, there's still time. Please, go find a physician."
She didn't move. My voice cracked raw with panic. "I won't marry you, alright? I won't. I don't want to live like this, worse than death. Once I'm better, I'll leave. I'll go far away. I won't stand in your way, I swear."
No matter how I begged until my throat gave out, Lola didn't flinch.
She held out her arm. "Bite down on me. It won't hurt as much."
I shoved her arm away. "Go find a physician. I'm begging you, Lola."
"Alaric, stop talking nonsense. No royal physician is going to treat someone of your station."
"The drug's already taken hold. It's too late. Just be good. Even if you can never have children again, my child will still call you father."
I gripped her hand so hard my knuckles went white. "Lola, listen to me. I am the Crown Prince. The King's own son. Go find a physician to save me. Now."