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“Not this time either.”
I murmured softly.
My sigh spread through the darkened bedroom. Kwanach, who was lying next to me, reached out and caressed my cheek.
A rough but friendly touch. As expected, the disappointment that came thick seemed to fade.
“Let’s not be too impatient.”
Kwanach’s low voice enveloped me.
It had already been a year since I went to the silver forest.
Since the silver forest granted my wish, I expected to have a child right away. But there had been no news so far.
Then, this month, my period was unusually delayed, and I expected it inwardly because it seemed that the child came this time. However, this morning, when I woke up, my expectations were all gone.
The bed was streaked with red blood. My period had begun without fail.
I tried not to be in a hurry, and it had only been a year. Nevertheless, as things went by contrary to expectations, I was unknowingly nervous.
“Is there something wrong with my health?”
‘The Silver Forest couldn’t have given me a false wish…….’
Kwanach, who read my anxiety, stared at me and said,
“It could be my problem.”
“It could still be my problem.”
“Are you that nervous?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m more sensitive today…….”
This was because I had high expectations for no reason because my period was unusually late. With a slight bow and a sigh, Kwanach’s hand approached.
His thick fingers brushed my hair gently. I liked the gesture of his passing through my hair.
“Would you like a cup of warm tea?”
I nodded my head. It was a deep night, but I didn’t think I could fall asleep easily. The pain from my period was not severe, but my stomach was aching today.
After a while, Kwanach came directly from the door to get the tray of tea from a servant.
I clasped the cup that Kwanach handed me with both hands. Warmth permeated my palms.
Kwanach sat on the edge of the bed and watched me sip my tea. Then, he brushed my hair, which had fallen to my side from time to time, with his fingers again.
The silence was comfortable.
Until I finished my tea and warmed up, Kwanach didn’t bring up any words first. There was no way he wouldn’t be as anxious as I was, but he didn’t press my impatience.
These days, my new thought was that my husband was truly consistent.
He always waited for me silently, as he had done in his two lives. Always stayed with me through lows and highs.
It was a sense of trust and stability that came naturally even if we didn’t express it in words.
The unthinkable serenity of the wedding day when I and Kwanach were frozen.
But now that I’m married to Kwanach, I’m glad he’s the man I’ll share my daily life with.
Putting aside all the situations that were intertwined between the two of us, I just liked the person named Kwanach.
‘That’s why I wanted a child all the more…….’
I’m sure Kwanach will do a good job as a father. I used to naturally imagine the child and Kwanach together.
As I searched through such imagination alone, laughter spread on my lips and my heart swelled with anticipation.
‘It must be fun and happy.’
Kwanach often wondered if he could be a good father. I wasn’t worried about that at all.
Before I knew it, Kwanach took the empty cup out of my hand. He also came up to the bed completely and extended his arm to me.
“Come here.”
I approached him familiarly. Kwanach put his hand under my side and pulled my body toward him.
I sat on Kwanach’s lap. My body turned sideways and leaned in his chest. It was a very familiar posture now.
When Kwanach’s big body wrapped me around like this completely, I felt like I was in a safe space where nothing could hurt me.
During the day, I had to be dignified as an empress and a leader of the Relief and Assistance team, but at night, I was able to put down all my responsibilities for a while. In Kwanach’s arms, I curled up like a child.
Kwanach rubbed my belly and back with his big palm. As the warm body temperature spread throughout my body, my eyelids became heavy.
“It’s warm…”
There were many times when I fell asleep in his arms after hugging him like this.
From the past to the present, I relied on no one until I met Kwanach. He was the only person I could show weakness and complaints to.
I could feel Kwanach’s lips touching the top of my head. My mind, which had been dizzy since the morning, completely calmed down. As it was, I fell asleep in his tight arms.
* * *
It was the day Simon came to check on my physical condition as usual. Simon’s face seemed to particularly brighten up this time.
While examining my body, he talked in a joyous voice.
“The Ministry of Health and Welfare has provided us with a generous budget, which I’m very pleased. I think we can start a new study. We’ve decided to increase the number of nursing staff…….”
Listening to his words pleasantly, my gaze suddenly touched his neck. Something that didn’t exist before stood out.
It was a silver necklace with a small pendant. The necklace
poked out of his clothes and wobbled in the air.
“Ah.”
Perhaps conscious of my gaze, Simon hurriedly tucked his necklace into his collar.
An uneasy light began to spread quickly on Simon’s face. There was a tinge of red on his cheeks.
“Did I see something I shouldn’t see?”
“Oh, no. Your Majesty.”
“It was something I hadn’t seen before, so I’m curious.”
“Yes, yes. Uh, I bought a new one a while ago, Your Majesty.”
At first glance, the pendant was shaped like a heart. Those necklaces were usually exchanged to swear love with a lover.
‘Did Simon have a lover?’
He was still young. Although he was an excellent scholar and a doctor who no one could keep up with.
Maybe it’s because I felt like he was similar to my younger brother from the beginning. When Simon said that he had a lover, it was more amazing and surprising.
‘Simon looks young, but unlike Jenner, he’s already an adult…….’
It wasn’t strange that he had a lover. But somehow Simon kept wiggling and looked at me.
No, to be exact, he seemed uncomfortable with Marianne who was standing next to me.
There were a few glances between Marianne and Simon, and Marianne sighed quietly.
‘What is it?’
As I turned my eyes away and stared at Marianne, Marianne slightly lowered her head and said,
“I didn’t tell Your Majesty because I thought it was a kid’s play, but Edith and Simon are going to get engaged.”
Marianne’s words had some splintering at the end.
“With Edith?”
Edith was Marianne’s sister, who had contracted sclerosis and was called to stay in the palace for treatment. She was treated directly by Simon, and she was constantly taking treatments provided by the royal family, so she survived.
Currently, all the symptoms have improved, and with the help of Marianne, she was living in a rented room in a capital inn.
And I heard that she was studying to take the examination of the Radon Empire bureaucracy.
Bureaucracy, which thoroughly selected talent according to ability, was the goal of the empire. Therefore, in principle, not only status but also gender were irrelevant to the qualification for the test.
However, mainly the children of the nobility took the test rather than those who could not afford to study due to their hard life. As a result, the ratio was high among the successful candidates.
However, the story was different among female candidates. Conservative aristocrats were still in the mood for socializing.
For commoners, women from wealthy merchant families occasionally came to take the test, and there were women who had already entered the bureaucracy. Even though it was a minority.
The change was starting from the bottom, if it may seem insignificant. There was evidence that the empire would definitely be a different country from the previous kingdom that the Pernen family had led.
“It seems that he has been helping Edith to prepare for the exam.”
Marianne looked at Simon with stiff eyes. Simon was at a loss.
“They look good together. Why?”
“Edith is still too young to be engaged, Your Majesty.”
“Isn’t she an adult now? I heard that her 18th birthday has passed recently.”
“That’s true, though. She is still a child of the world.”
Edith was old enough for an engagement to be considered too early, but for Marianne Edith was still a child. She was her only flesh and blood and she had been sick for a long time, so it was understandable that she was worried.
Simon opened his eyes wider and said in an unusually strong voice.
“We’re not getting engaged right away, but once Edith passes the exam…… That’s when we decided to do it. You’ve already given us permission.”
Simon looked at Marianne with a slight resentment.
“That’s because Edith was crying, so I had no choice but to……!” (Marianne)
Just as her voice was about to rise, Marianne looked at me and shut her mouth.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t raise my voice so high in the presence of Your Majesty.….”
“It’s okay. I’ve never seen you so angry before.”
Marianne curled her lips. She often lost her composure in matters related to her sister.
“How did the two of you fall in love?”
I asked Simon with an excited heart. I still couldn’t believe Simon had a lover. Indeed, peace seemed to have come to this land.
Simon got more and more red, but he didn’t shy away from answering.