I still remembered clearly how Queen ran like a penguin, and how the monstrous eagle clung to the throne.
Nian left after telling me that I looked tired, and my ladies-in-waiting left after telling me to go to bed to rest.
As soon as I lay down on the bed, I fell asleep again.
But this time I didnât dream about the monstrous eagle or Queen. In fact, I didnât dream at all.
When I finally woke up, it was already dinner time.
What was amazing was the story Heinley told me that night as we ate dinner together.
âI fell asleep while working during the day, and I had a very strange nightmare.â
âWhat nightmare?â
âWell⊠I have a collection of jewels.â
That much I knew.
It was evident that Heinley was very fond of jewels because he always presumed that his country was the capital of jewels. A variety of rare jewels were displayed in his room and in the meeting room.
âWhen I went into my room to clean the jewels, I found an unfamiliar egg among them.â
âAn egg?â
âYes. It was gold mixed with green, even prettier than the jewels. It was so pretty that I cleaned it and warmed it with my hands. But out of nowhere, out came a baby bird.â
A baby birdâŠ
âIt had few feathers and tiny wings, but it was lovely. So I held it against my chest and stroked it, but the baby bird whined for this and that jewel to eat. What terrified me was that I gave it all my jewels.â
Heinley muttered with a pale face as if he was horrified at the mere thought of it.
âI think I went crazy in the dream. In any case, when I fed it the jewels, the bird grew so big that it became huge in an instant.â
A huge bird⊠The monstrous eagle I saw in my dream came to mind.
âSuddenly, the place changed. This time, the huge bird wrapped itself around my throne and asked me too. It annoyed me, but strangely I couldnât even reprimand it, so I quickly turned to My Queen for help.â
âI managed to get that huge bird away from my throne with My Queenâs help.â
Heinley shook his head and asked with a serious expression.
âCould it have been a premonitory dream that someone harbored hidden intentions against me?â
âI donât know, but⊠I had a similar dream.â
âWhat? Really?â
When I told Heinley about my dream, his eyes widened.
While they didnât quite match, they appeared to be very similar.
Soon Heinleyâs expression became really stiff, so I deliberately reassured him with affectionate words,
âThe dream we had is so similar that it seems we really have become a completely rapport couple.â
I feared that he would regard this dream as a premonition and worry about a rebellion.
Of course, one must have a contingency plan to deal with a rebellion. However, one should worry when some signs of that can be seen, falling into that worry right now would only make oneâs mind fatigued.
âSo you donât have to worry, Heinley. I donât think this is a bad premonitory dream.â
Heinley put a hand to his cheek and spoke slowly,
âNo, My Queen. I wasnât surprised by thatâŠâ
âThen why?â
âOn a distant continent there is a belief that if a couple have the same dream it means a baby is on the way.â
What?
His words made me laugh out loud.
âThatâs absurd.â
âBut a baby eagle appeared. Isnât that significant, My Queen?â
âNot at all.â
I shook my head.
Heinleyâs eyes sparkled, I didnât want to disappoint him.
âI got my period last month. Donât you know?â
âYes, but you shouldnât have gotten it again these days.â
Thatâs true, butâŠ
âEven if I had a baby in my womb, I would be two or three weeks pregnant. You still canât know for sure if Iâm pregnant.â
On many occasions banquets were hastily held in the belief that the wife was pregnant, but in reality was not. I didnât want to go through the same thing.
However, Heinley remained positive.
âThen it could be. It could be that youâre pregnant, My Queen.â
I shook my head again.
The more hope one has, the more painful the disappointment.
Even if it was true that I was pregnant, I preferred to wait for a while to be sure.
âMy Queen, why donât you let the palace doctor check you out?â
But for some reason, Heinley insisted.
Heinley used to obey my will most of the time, unless it was in bed at night.
When I frowned, Heinley apologized with great regret,
âIâm sorry, My Queen. But you work all day, sometimes until dawn the next day. If thereâs any chance youâre pregnant, I think itâs best to know in advance so you can take the necessary precautions.â
âItâs because thereâs a lot of work to do.â
âMy Queen, you have to rest properly even if you are not pregnant.â
When I was in the Eastern Empire, the palace doctor also told me to rest.
Would it be different with the palace doctor of the Western Empire? No. It would be the same this time.
What would be different is that Heinley would take all the work away from me if the palace doctor said something like that.
Although that hadnât happened so far, it was entirely possible given how attentive Heinley was to me.
âMy Queen.â
Heinley held out his hand, calling to me in a gentle voice,
âNavier. Yes?â
As soon as I was about to flatly refuse, he immediately became Queen, and I remembered the baby eagle rubbing its cheek against my palm as if it were weak.
ââŠ. All right.â
I wasnât thrilled about it, but reluctantly agreed.
âBut donât get your hopes up too much, Heinley.â
The next day, as soon as I changed my clothes after breakfast, Heinley called the palace doctor.
Fortunately, Heinley didnât tell the palace doctor to âcheck to see if I was pregnant.â
He was worried that I was uncomfortable, so he told the doctor it was for a general check-up.
As the palace doctor checked me up, Heinley looked at me anxiously.
I was a little nervous, so I tried to think of other things.
On Whitemond, on the delegations that should have arrived on the Hwa continent, and so on.
Eventually, the palace doctorâs hand descended to my belly.
Unconsciously, I stared at the doctorâs lips.
At that point, the palace doctor slowly opened his mouth.