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“You don’t seem to be feeling well yet.”
“……Pardon? Ah.”
As he was sitting absent-mindedly, Renato blinked at the clear voice speaking to him. His blurry eyes quickly became clear, and a woman with a benevolent smile came into his vision. She was Laila Nur Ziyad, the Queen Consort of the Khan Kingdom.
“My apologies, I was discourteous……”
Only then did Renato realize he was distracted during the conversation and quickly apologize. It was totally discourteous that he just blankly sat there in front of the Queen Consort of a country.
“Fufu, not at all. I guess I’ve been holding onto someone who is not feeling well for too long.”
Laila charmingly bent her eyes and lightly waved her hand. They were now drinking tea together on the terrace of the Queen Consort’s Palace. Because Laila had difficulty moving, she invited Khalid and Renato to the Queen Consort’s Palace.
“The journey to the kingdom must have been tiring because of the long and rough road, and as soon as you arrived, you had an engagement ceremony and a banquet the very next day. It is understandable that you got sick.”
Laila said with an understanding gaze. Just like what she said, Renato was completely sick the day after his engagement. He had to spend an entire day in bed. He was able to get out of bed yesterday, but his exhaustion didn’t go away, so the only thing he could do was attend dinner.
“I repeatedly told them to leisurely proceed with the engagement ceremony, but neither Her Majesty the Queen nor his highness the grand prince is flexible in this regard……”
“Ahem.”
Laila trailed off the end of her sentence and glanced at Khalid. Facing the gaze filled with subtle reproach, Khalid let out a fake cough with an awkward expression. He was also to blame for Renato’s sickness the day before yesterday. No, his fault was pretty big.
“We shouldn’t have treated a precious guest like this, huu, but the Prince is suffering a lot. As the royal palace’s master, I apologize on behalf of them.”
Laila sighed and apologized to Renato. Originally, it was right for her as the Queen Consort to be in charge and take care of this. However, Laila had been resting from all her work recently. With her innately weak body, she had trouble moving when the due date approached.
“Not at all. It is all because of my weak stamina……”
“The Prince has a kind heart. You blame yourself for getting sick because of an unreasonable schedule. Now that we talk about this, when I got engaged, seriously…… I thought I was going to faint on the way up there. And I suffered from tremendous muscle aches the next day as well. Even though it’s a tradition, why would they hold engagement ceremonies in that kind of place?”
Recalling old memories, Laila shuddered as if the mere thought of it was terrifying. After having the same experience as Renato, she seemed to feel a sense of comradeship with him.
“Still, his highness carried me on his back from the middle……”
“Oh my, really?”
At Renato’s words, Laila’s eyes sparkled with an expression saying she just heard an amusing story. Her gaze turned back to Khalid.
“It seems that our grand prince is better than Her Majesty. When you sent a letter informing us of your marriage, I was both surprised and worried…… But I’m glad you two seem to get along well.”
Laila looked at Khalid with a delighted face. She was genuinely happy and relieved. Then, she suddenly had a mischievous expression and teased Khalid.
“I remember hearing that you two’s relationship is good, but there was also a rumor that our Prince couldn’t get out of bed for another reason, right? Would you be angry if I say I want to know if that was true, Khalid?”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Oh my, making fun……? There is just a rumor like that. Isn’t it because our grand prince has shown us a new image?”
“Your Majesty.”
“Back when I nagged you to meet someone, you refused, saying you didn’t want to get married for your whole life. I guess meeting the Prince like this is a kind of fateful relationship. And do you also have a strong desire for exclusivity that resembles our Queen?”
“……Please don’t make fun of me.”
Khalid groaned at Laila’s teasing and rubbed his face in trouble. He knew what rumor Laila was talking about and why she was talking about his desire for exclusivity.
Many people misunderstood that Renato got sick the day before yesterday because he and Khalid had a hot night to celebrate their engagement. They had that thought because Renato, who appeared at the dinner table a day after, exuded Khalid’s pheromone.
Although he did the marking with the aim of this, after being pointed out indirectly by Laila, his ears heated up. Feeling thirsty, Khalid lifted his teacup and gulped down the tea.
“What, are you embarrassed? I have never seen that except when we were children.”
“Please just stop making fun of me.”
“Okay, fufu.”
Khalid put down the teacup and pleaded in an embarrassed voice. The tips of his ears, exposed behind his black hair, were slightly red. Laila looked at Khalid as if he was cute and chuckled. Soon after, she stopped laughing and became quiet.
“……I’m genuinely glad.”
Laila briefly looked at Khalid with remorse and hesitantly opened her mouth.
“Khalid, I have been feeling bad ever since you left for the Empire. But you have come back with good news……”
Laila muffled her words and placed her hand on the back of Khalid’s. Making eye contact with him, Laila said out loud what she had wanted to say since a few days ago.
“You were hurt a lot because of our Queen, right? I’m sorry. I should have somehow stopped her, but I couldn’t.”
“It’s not something that you should apologize for, Your Majesty. It was inevitable.”
“No, it’s not inevitable, it’s because Her Majesty was shaken. She…… has changed a lot since ascending to the throne.”
Laila’s expression darkened as she talked about Maryam. She seemed guilty that Maryam had sent Khalid as a diplomatic ambassador.
“After all, over the past few years, there have been too many times when things didn’t go according to Her Majesty’s will. The noble faction’s opposition was also stronger than expected. Since that side kept finding faults with me, Her Majesty must have had a lot of trouble, too.”
“Even so, she shouldn’t have treated you like that.”
Laila sternly said. She knew better than anyone how much Khalid had sacrificed to put Maryam on the throne. However, Maryam did not appropriately compensate Khalid. On the contrary, she kicked him out of the kingdom. It was just like repaying good with evil.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt, but…… I understand why Her Majesty did so. She is no longer my noonim but the Queen of a country, and she also has a family to be responsible for.”
“I know that, so I feel more apologetic. Because I didn’t know that my happiness would be a threat to you.”
Laila stroked her bloated belly with a bitter expression. She and the child were the main reasons why Maryam sent Khalid as the diplomatic ambassador. It was also due to the instigation of her father, Marquis Ziyad. Despite acknowledging Khalid’s abilities, the Marquis thought of him as a threat to his daughter and his soon-to-be-born grandchild.
“Because of me……”
“Please don’t say that. You shouldn’t feel guilty because of me, Your Majesty.”
Khalid gently consoled Laila who was blaming herself. He knew she was trying hard for him.
“……”
Quietly listening to their conversation, Renato clenched his hand under the table, then unclenched it again. Laila and Khalid seemed to have a better relationship than he expected.
Renato bit his lower lip and looked at Laila’s bloated belly. The baby in her womb was the nephew that Khalid protected in his previous life. Renato knew everything about Laila and her baby’s future. That was why he felt uneasy.
“Huuu, I would love to talk more with you two, but…… I’m getting tired.”
Laila exhaled a long breath and leaned back in the chair. In just a few minutes, her face visibly paled, and she alternately glanced at Renato and Khalid apologetically.
“There is still so much I want to talk about…… Can we have tea together again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“Yes, let’s meet often before we go back to the Empire. All of us.”
At Renato’s reply, Laila faintly smiled. The two bid farewell to Laila and hurried out of the Queen Consort’s Palace so that she could rest comfortably. When they came out, Khalid stopped his steps and looked at Renato’s face.
“Are you tired?”
“Pardon?”
“Your complexion is very bad.”
Khalid said in a worried voice. While having tea, Renato’s complexion became worse little by little. He might have said to go back first if Laila hadn’t ended the teatime in a timely manner.
“Please don’t force yourself since you haven’t fully recovered yet.”
“No, it’s not because I’m sick…… I’m just a little worried.”
After hesitating a bit, Renato honestly answered. He knew about Laila’s end. He didn’t know the exact date, but around this time, she gave birth to a baby after a difficult delivery and passed away because of a postpartum infection. Upon hearing the sad news, Khalid headed to the kingdom to attend her funeral. Renato remembered Maximo saying it was good that he didn’t have to see Khalid’s face for a while.
“Worried? What are you worried about?”
“Uhm, well…… You seem to have a better relationship with Her Majesty the Queen Consort than I thought, your highness.”
“Our relationship isn’t bad. We have known each other since childhood. She is also one of the few people who treat me normally without taking issue with me being an illegitimate child.”
“I see. Do you value her, then?”
“……? I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“I think that she is an important person to you, your highness. If Her Majesty……”
…passes away, do you think you will be very sad? That unspoken question lingered in his mouth. Renato couldn’t directly look at Khalid and lowered his head.