Milady, who had just picked a rose and was smelling its fragrance, gestured to sit down at the table first. Julia nodded and walked over elegantly to sit in the chair opposite her.
"As you can see, I am doing well. I am doing so well that I was bored and wanted to talk, so I called you. I invited His Majesty the King, but he declined, saying he was too busy to come. He is like a son who has no charm at all."
“Ahaha.”
Milady taunted lightly with a smile. Julia, who knew the good relationship between the mother and son, burst out laughing.
Even though she was approaching middle age, Julia's mother-in-law was always cheerful. While the two chatted about the past and idle gossip, the servants, dressed in stylish black uniforms, brought in a dazzling array of dishes and filled the table.
"Have a good time, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness."
"Come on in, we hired a new chef and he's pretty good."
"Yes, mother."
Julia smiled thoughtlessly and took the glass of water first. Then, she almost spit out her water when she saw Milady tapping the buttocks of the young butler who had greeted her.
"Cough!"
"Oh, are you okay, baby?"
The butler, who had been smiling deeply while facing Milady, was surprised and quickly grabbed the handkerchief. Milady took it for him and handed it to Julia before sending him away. Then, looking at Julia wiping her lips, he asked her with amusement.
"Why, are you surprised?"
"Oh, no. Just a little."
"No, your eyes are round like a rabbit's!"
Milady began to eat, giggling. Julia followed suit, her pupils shaking as she picked up her utensils.
"Hey, you don't know, but when you get to my age, you'll understand. You don't have a husband, and you have nothing to do. If you were a regular lady, you would have remarried, but since I'm the Queen, I can't remarry, and I can't travel. That's why I live like this, having fun. I pick out men who look like my type and raise them like a flower garden, and it's quite fun."
"Oh, it's my mother's taste."
Julia smiled awkwardly, hiding her wavering eyes.
Somehow, all the young servants who served them were muscular. Their faces were rather plain, but their lines were thick and they had thick beards, so they all looked like they had been covered in butter.
By the way, Julia heard that there is always fierce competition when selecting a servant for the Grand Duchess's Palace. If you are selected, you will receive a lot of the Grand Duchess's favor, so there are quite a few who covet the position.
There were so many volunteers that they added appearance to the selection criteria starting last year.
'Respect your tastes, respect your preferences!'
Julia chopped the poor steak into tattered, trying to forget the image of her mother-in-law patting the muscular man's butt like a cute puppy!
Fortunately, Milady no longer showed any burdensome affection to her servants and continued the conversation without a hitch.
A delicious lunch was served over an hour, followed by after-dinner tea and dessert.
"Hey, so you're not pregnant?"
Julia was startled by the sudden question. The silver fork clattered down onto the plate, and Milady burst out laughing, finding it cute.
"What, what do you mean?"
Julia's face turned bright red. She didn't know what to do with such a blatant question that she had never thought about before.
"What is it? It's been 12 years since you've shared a bed, and I thought it was about time I heard from you, so I asked."
Milady's mischievous eyes turned to Julia's stomach. Julia quickly covered her flat stomach with her left hand and waved it away with her other hand.
"Oh, Mother. That's not yet, so we..."
"Tch, is he a slut?"
"Yes?!"
Julia's mouth opened wide at the blunt words.
Milady shrugged her shoulders and sipped her tea.
"You are adults now. Your coming-of-age ceremony will be in a few months. The succession of the royal couple is always a matter of great interest."
Her mother-in-law, who she had thought was easygoing, started talking seriously. Julia became dumbfounded and just blinked her innocent eyes...
"I'm not persecuting you. I'm also a Baron and a concubine, so why would you care about that? It's just that you should have children, whether it's a son or a daughter."
“Ah.”
"Look at me. Even though I am of lowly status. I have one son and my old age is secured like this. I can take care of all those hot guys."
Milady winked and pointed to the attendants who were pulling the trolley containing the last of the desserts from afar.
Julia turned her head absentmindedly to follow him, then straightened up in surprise when she saw the attendant winking back at her with a charming smile.
"You have the great honor of being the favored daughter of the gods, but that doesn't guarantee you a long life. Your father-in-law has already announced that he will pass the throne to his adopted son. If Endymion dies first, you can't go back to being Ametrine. Do you know what I mean?"
"Yes."
After listening to her, Julia began to wonder if she had been living too comfortably.
It was a problem that should have been planned from the time Endymion ascended to the throne at the age of 16, if not when he was young. At least, she, if not Endymion.
Milady, who had crossed her arms as if she had expected her innocent daughter-in-law to do something like that, put down her empty tea cup. Then she sat down with her legs crossed and continued giving advice in a gentle voice.
"I don't know for sure. It's been three years since you and Endymion became involved, and it's a serious problem for a young couple to not have children."
"That..."
Julia opened her mouth with a bewildered expression.
Why on earth does the mother-in-law assume that she and Mion slept together? And for three years? How can a couple who have been together since they were seven-year-olds have such a sticky relationship right after ascending to the throne?!
'But I can't say I haven't slept yet.'
They never even kissed. But she was too embarrassed to tell her mother-in-law about the progress of her skinship with her son. Even though they were like real mother and daughter.
In the end, Julia could only sit there blankly listening to Milady's pouring advice and counsel.
"Even if you're not a legal adult, you're actually considered an adult at 16. Many nobles like Iris get married and have children around that age. Semele is peaceful, but everyone is desperate to keep their place, so they're preparing a successor so quickly."
It was a stark contrast to the culture of Ametrine, where marriage began at the age of 18. Most of Semele's high-ranking nobles married at the age of 16 and had children before the age of 20. Of course, Semele's people developed faster than Ametrine's, so it was understandable. The legal age of adulthood at 20 was just a pretext.
In that respect. Julia and Endymion were a special case, having married at the age of seven and now having no children even though they were now 19.
"Well, it's still too early to worry since you're still young. I told you to be more cautious since you're about to have your coming-of-age ceremony."
"Yes. Thank you, Mother."
It was not a request to pressure her to have a successor, but rather a piece of advice given with no place to return to and no support for her daughter-in-law. Julia bowed her head in genuine gratitude.
Milady pulled up a chair and whispered, her eyes showing that she understood everything.
"If by any chance you continue and still can't get pregnant, suspect that Endymion is really a eunuch."
"Oh, Mom!"
No, where did you learn such explicit words!
The one who spoke was Milady, but Julia screamed and covered her mouth with her hand. Milady, who was intentionally teasing Julia because her cute reaction was funny, burst out laughing and hit Julia hard.
"Oh, just kidding. His eyes are so fiery! I get goosebumps just looking at him like that."
"Huh? Eagle, eagle... right?"
Julia tilted her head, caressing her hot cheek.
Endymion's eyes were famously cold as ice. He was somewhat better with Julia, who he had been with for a long time, but he was also extremely cold to his family, Milady and Iris. How could such lukewarm eyes burn? Is that sarcasm?
"Hmm, anyway, if you still can't have children, you should consider taking in a concubine."
"Concubine... you say?"
It seems like she's just going to keep asking questions blankly today. But Julia couldn't help it because the words were so absurd. A concubine? That was the most shocking thing she's heard today.
Then Milady quickly added, waving both hands as if to tell people not to misunderstand.
"I'm also a concubine. Don't be upset. I'm doing this to produce an heir. Of course, having four would be best, but if we can't have one no matter how hard we try, there's nothing we can do. Not all concubines are jealous of the Queen, so just choose wisely. I'm a young lady with no greed. I told you, I've never been jealous of the previous Queen."
Well, what if it were the other way around? Julia smiled vaguely, the corners of her lips lifting.
The relationship between Milady and the former Queen was harmonious while she was alive. This was entirely due to Milady's lack of desire for power. Nevertheless, Julia heard that the former Queen was inevitably a bit upset. Although Milady, who was very cool and free-spirited, seemed to still not know about it.
"Do you understand what I said?"
Still, Julia nodded. A baby and a concubine, it was a bit embarrassing, but it was advice that made sense.
She had a final chat with Milady, thinking that she would have to think seriously about the question of succession before her coming-of-age ceremony.
"But, you two are still newlyweds, huh? No matter how late the government work ends, Endymion sleeps with you every day. You're both in good shape."
"Mother!"
"Hohoho! Just kidding, just kidding".
***
"...Ha, you too, mother."
Julia nodded as she took a lot of the delicious snacks Milady had prepared for her. The maid who followed her, carrying the basket, asked if she wanted to go out for some fresh air, so her face must have turned red.
"Yeah, I guess we should go back towards the cool garden."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Grand Duchess's palace had many open gardens, Just as Milady liked. Julia headed toward the shaded area with the large fountain.
'Baby.'
Julia chewed on the unfamiliar word.
She was not ignorant of sex, having received sex education, read romance novels, and interacted with noblewomen she met at social parties. However, Julia had never actually applied it to her own situation. Furthermore, Endymion was a 'husband', but he had never felt like a 'man'!
But after hearing the news of pregnancy straight from her mother-in-law, she started to get a little worried.
'What should I do? Can I sleep with someone I don't like?'
Julia feels like she should have a child, but she just doesn't feel like having a relationship with Endymion. He's her friend, her family, her younger brother, and sometimes her older brother, so what should she do?
According to her knowledge of sex, it is said that it is quite painful for a woman to sleep with a man she does not want.
'Besides, Endymion doesn't see me as a woman either.'
"I said I never thought of the Queen like that."
It was three years ago, but Endymion had clearly said that. Julia wiggled her fingers with a bashful face.
'At that time, I felt sad for some reason, no! I was curious so I looked into it.'
It was more of a light investigation than a full-scale investigation. However, since Endymion didn't meet anyone else, it seemed like he ended up with unrequited love on his own.
But it was clear that he didn't feel anything for her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have laid a finger on her every night when they were sleeping together at such a young age.
Julia naturally liked Endymion. He was the person she trusted and relied on the most, and he was the closest and most comfortable to her. However, she was not sure if it was love between a man and a woman.
'Isn't the love between a man and a woman usually something that feels tingly, ticklish, and makes your heart flutter?'
To Julia now, Endymion was her only family member, closer and more precious than her biological father.
"Oh, my head hurts."
She didn't want to sleep with Endymion, but she also didn't want to have an uneasy old age like Milady said.
'Can't we just feed Mion lots of good things?"
If Mion lives a long life, he can die later than her.
Julia believed that Endymion wouId not be a man without loyalty who would abandon his wife for many years just because she had no children.
Julia, who was chuckling while thinking about something pointless, was startled and woke up from her thoughts when something suddenly ran towards her and hugged her leg.
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