Klein...
The name was like a solid anchor, yanking that abstract, unbelievable news abruptly into reality.
Karl's mind finally began to work again, but it raced like an out-of-control carriage, every thought crashing wildly into the next.
A son... my son... Charlotte's child... Klein...
Almost by instinct, his thoughts hurtled backward, calculating.
The last time he and Charlotte had seen each other... also the one night they had crossed the line and had relations... had been last July.
Which day exactly? That chaotic, passionate night filled with the sorrow of parting had left the date blurred instead.
But the Count said he had been born in mid-May... from last July to this May... ten months of pregnancy...
"Everything matches..." Karl murmured, his voice hoarse.
It was not a question, but a confirmation.
The timeline fit perfectly, without the slightest error.
That night in his memory, precious as a treasure and yet like a nightmare, had actually borne such a real and astonishing fruit!
A tiny life flowing with his and Charlotte's blood had already existed in this world for nearly five months! And he, as the father, had known nothing about it!
An indescribable, tremendous impact mixed with wild joy, shock, bewilderment, and... a belated, sharp sense of guilt instantly drowned him.
Wild joy at the continuation of life, at the crystallization of his and Charlotte's love; shock at this sudden truth; bewilderment that he had missed the child's birth and the first months of his growth; and guilt... like the coldest venom, instantly soaked through his heart.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Karl snapped his head up, his voice somewhat out of control from the violent clash of emotions, even carrying a hint of accusation.
He could not understand it. For something this huge, Charlotte, and the Count