The Countess coughed lightly as if trying to stop her quivering lips and continued.
“Of course, Your Majesty is right, but if you think about the solid foundation of the royal family in the future, Your Majesty’s position will be even more solid.”
“I’ve just had my maiden rites, and you’re already talking about a successor?”
Erdene grumbled, and Countess Medley laughed out loud.
“Please understand. While Viscountess Wickes is still young, Countess Evan and I are now old enough to be called old, so we welcome any talk of a newborn baby. And if it’s a successor who inherits the blood of His Majesty the King and Your Majesty the Queen, it goes without saying.”
“Oh my goodness.”
More interrupted Countess Medley, looking at Erdene with amusement as she let out a single groan.
“What are you talking about, Countess? I always enjoy talking about babies. Even if my cousin had a baby, I would be curious and happy to hear about it.”
“The previous couple was not very lucky. Of course, it is the same for women, but especially in the royal family, the voices of children should be heard. Only then will the officials and the people feel at ease.”
Erdene retorted, her eyes widening.
“What do you mean, he's just trying to tease me?”
“That’s why I’m telling you that we’re on good terms.”
“Of course, Your Majesty is right, but if you think about the solid foundation of the royal family in the future, Your Majesty’s position will be even more solid.”
“I’ve just had my maiden rites, and you’re already talking about a successor?”
Erdene grumbled, and Countess Medley laughed out loud.
“Please understand. While Viscountess Wickes is still young, Countess Evan and I are now old enough to be called old, so we welcome any talk of a newborn baby. And if it’s a successor who inherits the blood of His Majesty the King and Your Majesty the Queen, it goes without saying.”
“Oh my goodness.”
More interrupted Countess Medley, looking at Erdene with amusement as she let out a single groan.
“What are you talking about, Countess? I always enjoy talking about babies. Even if my cousin had a baby, I would be curious and happy to hear about it.”
“The previous couple was not very lucky. Of course, it is the same for women, but especially in the royal family, the voices of children should be heard. Only then will the officials and the people feel at ease.”
“No matter how much you say that, whether a child is born or not is not something that can be controlled by humans.”
“I did not tell you to be anxious. You two are young and have plenty of time.”
I have never been anxious, Erdene thought.
It was just that the rumor about her first night with Arkan had spread through the neighborhood—how else would these three people have known about it—and that there was already talk of a successor, it was somewhat shocking.
But that was one of the duties of a Queen. Erdene quietly lowered her gaze as she drank her tea.
“Not only the successor issue, but I was also very worried that His Majesty and Your Majesty haven’t had their first night together yet.”
More joined in, getting heated up by Countess Evan’s words.
“Of course! Even if you fight, you have to sleep in the same bed to feel better.”
“I can only feel better if I win, Viscountess.”
“That’s why you should share a bed with His Majesty. After seeing each other’s faces, won’t you settle the matter, win or lose?”
“You shared a bedroom with your husband even after the fight?”
More suddenly coughed, and Erdene chuckled as if to show her that.
“What if you ask someone else to do something you can’t do yourself?”
Countess Medley said.
“But what Viscountess Wickes said isn’t entirely wrong, Your Majesty. Spend as much time as possible with His Majesty. I told you earlier, right? It’s too late to regret it later.”
“I did not tell you to be anxious. You two are young and have plenty of time.”
I have never been anxious, Erdene thought.
It was just that the rumor about her first night with Arkan had spread through the neighborhood—how else would these three people have known about it—and that there was already talk of a successor, it was somewhat shocking.
But that was one of the duties of a Queen. Erdene quietly lowered her gaze as she drank her tea.
“Not only the successor issue, but I was also very worried that His Majesty and Your Majesty haven’t had their first night together yet.”
More joined in, getting heated up by Countess Evan’s words.
“Of course! Even if you fight, you have to sleep in the same bed to feel better.”
“I can only feel better if I win, Viscountess.”
“That’s why you should share a bed with His Majesty. After seeing each other’s faces, won’t you settle the matter, win or lose?”
“You shared a bedroom with your husband even after the fight?”
More suddenly coughed, and Erdene chuckled as if to show her that.
“What if you ask someone else to do something you can’t do yourself?”
Countess Medley said.
“But what Viscountess Wickes said isn’t entirely wrong, Your Majesty. Spend as much time as possible with His Majesty. I told you earlier, right? It’s too late to regret it later.”
“But it’s a good thing that you two are on good terms. About today. His Majesty, didn’t he call the three of us together on purpose, in case Your Majesty was bored?”
Erdene retorted, her eyes widening.
“What do you mean, he's just trying to tease me?”
“That’s why I’m telling you that we’re on good terms.”
As she said this, More added a cube of sugar to her teacup.
As she watched, she suddenly remembered Arkan pouring sugar into her teacup, and a faint smile spread across Erdene’s lips without her knowing it.
“Your Majesty, did you have a funny idea?”
Erdene realized that she was laughing after hearing Countess Evan’s question, and she was startled. She quickly controlled her expression and mumbled her words, so the three ladies were unable to figure out what Erdene was thinking.
However, a loud bell was ringing in Erdene’s head like an alarm.
‘Oh my, I thought you were cute. This is driving me crazy.’
After that, Erdene, unable to withstand the ladies’ nagging, started embroidering again, but she couldn’t move the needle properly.
“How long do you plan to stay in Vetor?”
Princess Limepale, who had been leisurely fiddling with her fingernails, hummed and blew on her fingertips. Her plump lips, pursed together as she exhaled, were adorably red and shiny.
The Princess tilted her head back and looked up at Eorshin and said,
“Why, since you can’t hear the answer you want, are you bored staying here now?”
Eorshin frowned and carefully supported the Princess’s head with both hands before turning it back.
Limepale suppressed the slight blushing around her ears from his firm touch, and this time, she lowered her head and laughed silently.
But when she looked at Eorshin again, that complicated smile had disappeared and only the mischievous expression of a thirteen-year-old remained.
“Yes, I told you. Just because you meet Her Majesty the Queen of Vetor, you should give up the expectation that you will be reunited with your old love right away.”
“Not an old love.”
Limepale felt a corner of her heart cut as if by a knife at Eorshin’s immediate response.
It’s not that she didn’t expect them to be reunited, but it was pathetic and a little sad that he immediately denied the old love part.
Limepale wiggled her neatly manicured fingertips and said,
“Yes, let’s say it’s not an old love, but an ongoing love. However, she's been the Empress of the Empire for a long time. When you heard the news in the duchy, you despaired, Eorshin. I told you several times that it was foolish to cling to the past.”
“Just as there are things you cannot give up, there are things I cannot give up.”
“That’s Empress Roelica?”
Eorshin confirmed her words with silence.
This conversation wasn't something that happened just a day or two ago.
It had already been two and a half years since Limepale found Eorshin, who was lying on the verge of death.
After Roelica became the Crown Princess, Eorshin, who had left the empire, wandered around like he was ready to die.
Then, when he was really on the verge of death, Limepale saved his life once again.
After listening to Eorshin's story, she said,
"Why bother wasting time and wandering around waiting for the day to die? Stay by my side. If you do that, you might die protecting me, or I might kill you."
If his leg hadn't been broken at that time, Eorshin would have left the duchy right away, no matter what Limepale said.
However, he couldn't move because of his injury, and when he recovered, Limepale immediately appointed him as his close bodyguard.
Grand Duke Joelvy was reluctant to have a daughter he cared about, who he didn’t even know, by his side, but Limepale persistently persuaded his father.
And for two and a half years. Limepale repeated to herself.
For two and a half years, she had repeatedly told him that it would be wise to give up Roelica, but Eorshin’s attitude remained the same.
It seemed to have gotten worse after meeting Erdene.
It seemed like he only thought of Roelica during his waking hours.
Watching this, Limepale’s heart gradually burned and darkened. She was starting to hate the innocent Empress Roelica.
Limepale calmed down her turbulent emotions and said,
“The thing I cannot give up is the position of Grand Duke. It is something that not only my life but also the future of the duchy is at stake. It is difficult to compare it to your foolish stubbornness, which cannot shake off your attachment to a woman who is already another man’s wife.”
Eorshin tried to answer, but then tightly closed his eyes. Seeing that, Limepale’s emotions grew even more intense. It was something that rarely happened.
If it were the duchy, the emotions that would never have exploded were threatening to surge like thorns that were hard to swallow.
Maybe it was because Limepale felt that there was no need to hide anything about her feelings here.
“There are many women you can fall in love with, even if it’s not Roelica.”
“I don’t need anyone else but her, my lady.”
“That’s foolish and stupid. So you’re saying that you’re going to live alone for the rest of your life? Even Her Majesty said that. Nothing would change if you checked on Empress Roelica now. She thought that too, so she couldn’t say anything, right? If you knew that, why are you so obsessed with Roelica? Stop it now..."
“You can say that because you don’t know anything, my lady. I still love Roelica. I didn’t just want to know how she was doing!”
“Then? “Are you going to break into the Golden Castle of the Empire and take Roelica out?”
“If necessary, I will.”
“If you dare to do so, then you must have the courage to give up Roelica!”
Limepale suddenly stood up and shouted.
Eorshin, who had been frowning, licked his lips in embarrassment at the sight of her large eyes soaking with tears.
“Princess.”
“Stupid Eorshin! Even if you go to the Golden Castle right now, do you think Empress Roelica will follow you? Do you think she will live in hiding, enduring a rough bed and a rough meal that is hard to chew? What do you plan to do to take responsibility for her? Are you going to become a farmer? Or a merchant?”
Limepale’s eyes were moist as she swore, but she never shed tears. She simply criticized Eorshin with the aforementioned expression.
It seemed as if she could not bear it without being so angry.
“Princess, calm down.”
As she watched, she suddenly remembered Arkan pouring sugar into her teacup, and a faint smile spread across Erdene’s lips without her knowing it.
“Your Majesty, did you have a funny idea?”
Erdene realized that she was laughing after hearing Countess Evan’s question, and she was startled. She quickly controlled her expression and mumbled her words, so the three ladies were unable to figure out what Erdene was thinking.
However, a loud bell was ringing in Erdene’s head like an alarm.
‘Oh my, I thought you were cute. This is driving me crazy.’
After that, Erdene, unable to withstand the ladies’ nagging, started embroidering again, but she couldn’t move the needle properly.
***
“How long do you plan to stay in Vetor?”
Princess Limepale, who had been leisurely fiddling with her fingernails, hummed and blew on her fingertips. Her plump lips, pursed together as she exhaled, were adorably red and shiny.
The Princess tilted her head back and looked up at Eorshin and said,
“Why, since you can’t hear the answer you want, are you bored staying here now?”
Eorshin frowned and carefully supported the Princess’s head with both hands before turning it back.
Limepale suppressed the slight blushing around her ears from his firm touch, and this time, she lowered her head and laughed silently.
But when she looked at Eorshin again, that complicated smile had disappeared and only the mischievous expression of a thirteen-year-old remained.
“Yes, I told you. Just because you meet Her Majesty the Queen of Vetor, you should give up the expectation that you will be reunited with your old love right away.”
“Not an old love.”
Limepale felt a corner of her heart cut as if by a knife at Eorshin’s immediate response.
It’s not that she didn’t expect them to be reunited, but it was pathetic and a little sad that he immediately denied the old love part.
Limepale wiggled her neatly manicured fingertips and said,
“Yes, let’s say it’s not an old love, but an ongoing love. However, she's been the Empress of the Empire for a long time. When you heard the news in the duchy, you despaired, Eorshin. I told you several times that it was foolish to cling to the past.”
“Just as there are things you cannot give up, there are things I cannot give up.”
“That’s Empress Roelica?”
Eorshin confirmed her words with silence.
This conversation wasn't something that happened just a day or two ago.
It had already been two and a half years since Limepale found Eorshin, who was lying on the verge of death.
After Roelica became the Crown Princess, Eorshin, who had left the empire, wandered around like he was ready to die.
Then, when he was really on the verge of death, Limepale saved his life once again.
After listening to Eorshin's story, she said,
"Why bother wasting time and wandering around waiting for the day to die? Stay by my side. If you do that, you might die protecting me, or I might kill you."
If his leg hadn't been broken at that time, Eorshin would have left the duchy right away, no matter what Limepale said.
However, he couldn't move because of his injury, and when he recovered, Limepale immediately appointed him as his close bodyguard.
Grand Duke Joelvy was reluctant to have a daughter he cared about, who he didn’t even know, by his side, but Limepale persistently persuaded his father.
And for two and a half years. Limepale repeated to herself.
For two and a half years, she had repeatedly told him that it would be wise to give up Roelica, but Eorshin’s attitude remained the same.
It seemed to have gotten worse after meeting Erdene.
It seemed like he only thought of Roelica during his waking hours.
Watching this, Limepale’s heart gradually burned and darkened. She was starting to hate the innocent Empress Roelica.
Limepale calmed down her turbulent emotions and said,
“The thing I cannot give up is the position of Grand Duke. It is something that not only my life but also the future of the duchy is at stake. It is difficult to compare it to your foolish stubbornness, which cannot shake off your attachment to a woman who is already another man’s wife.”
Eorshin tried to answer, but then tightly closed his eyes. Seeing that, Limepale’s emotions grew even more intense. It was something that rarely happened.
If it were the duchy, the emotions that would never have exploded were threatening to surge like thorns that were hard to swallow.
Maybe it was because Limepale felt that there was no need to hide anything about her feelings here.
“There are many women you can fall in love with, even if it’s not Roelica.”
“I don’t need anyone else but her, my lady.”
“That’s foolish and stupid. So you’re saying that you’re going to live alone for the rest of your life? Even Her Majesty said that. Nothing would change if you checked on Empress Roelica now. She thought that too, so she couldn’t say anything, right? If you knew that, why are you so obsessed with Roelica? Stop it now..."
“You can say that because you don’t know anything, my lady. I still love Roelica. I didn’t just want to know how she was doing!”
“Then? “Are you going to break into the Golden Castle of the Empire and take Roelica out?”
“If necessary, I will.”
“If you dare to do so, then you must have the courage to give up Roelica!”
Limepale suddenly stood up and shouted.
Eorshin, who had been frowning, licked his lips in embarrassment at the sight of her large eyes soaking with tears.
“Princess.”
“Stupid Eorshin! Even if you go to the Golden Castle right now, do you think Empress Roelica will follow you? Do you think she will live in hiding, enduring a rough bed and a rough meal that is hard to chew? What do you plan to do to take responsibility for her? Are you going to become a farmer? Or a merchant?”
Limepale’s eyes were moist as she swore, but she never shed tears. She simply criticized Eorshin with the aforementioned expression.
It seemed as if she could not bear it without being so angry.
“Princess, calm down.”
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