Not long after that, the luncheon with the foreign envoys was concluded successfully.
It was now a brief respite of a few hours. to be followed by a reception of the nobility of the country, a dinner reception, and an evening ball.
"I hope you have a relaxing time."
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen!"
The envoys bowed one by one and left the banquet hall. Killian also bowed to each end of the long table.
Julia, who was worried about Milady with her head full of thoughts about her, naturally met Killian's silver eyes.
"Thank you very much for the wonderful lunch. I look forward to seeing you again at the ball, Your Majesty."
"Yes. Get some rest and I'll see you later."
Julia smiled back.
So all the messengers left, and Julia finally got up from her seat. On the other side, Endymion approached, leading his attendants.
"Your Majesty, I must first go to the Grand Duchess Palace. Your Majesty has a meeting before the reception, so please rest..."
"Let's go together."
"Yes?"
"Now, together."
"Ah... Yes, Your Majesty."
What's going on? Julia wondered.
Julia quickly followed Endymion's steps as he headed toward the Grand Duchess Palace.
Endymion was not an unfilial son, but he had a clear distinction between public and private affairs, so he always prioritized state affairs in such cases. This was also why Milady scolded him, calling him an unfeeling son.
'Now that you're an adult, have you decided to change?'
It was awkward and unfamiliar to see such a different side of him, but this kind of change was welcome.
Julia looked up from the side with a proud face. Endymion was entering the Grand Duchess's palace with the same expression as usual.
The attending doctor had already entered the Grand Duchess' palace and finished examining her.
After the attending doctor bowed and left, Julia sat down next to Endymion on the bedside with a worried look on her face.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"Hey, it's nothing."
Milady, who had changed into comfortable clothes, lightly scolded Julia for worrying for nothing.
Julia finally let out a sigh of relief at his usual appearance, and Milady smiled back at him before turning her head away.
"Still, I feel good that His Majesty came running here. It is hard for me to see my son even once a month."
Milady, resting her chin on one hand, playfully looked at Endymion. Although he was a more indifferent son than his daughter-in-law Julia, she seemed to be glad that her child was worried about her.
Endymion met Milady's gaze without wavering and opened his mouth.
"It's nothing serious, but would you like to get examined before we come?"
Julia's eyes widened as she sent the maid away and handed her warm tea. Milady blinked in surprise at the sharp observation.
"Really, it seems like the blood isn't going anywhere."
Even His Majesty the late King was quick-witted. Milady, who was staring intently at her son, smiled and muttered softly.
Julia, who noticed it too late, put away her teacup and took Milady's hand.
"Mom, what were the results of your examination? Is there anything wrong with your body...?"
"I just got weaker as I got older."
Milady shrugged, patting Julia's delicate hand.
Julia's heart sank as she answered, acknowledging that she had a sore spot, and she held Milady's beautiful hand tightly.
Although she was old, Milady was in her early forties. She was still too young to be bedridden due to her illness.
"Now that you have grown children, isn't it time for me to grow old? Maybe that's why my physical strength has declined a bit these days, so don't worry."
"But, Mother!"
"Even so, today is your coming-of-age ceremony, and I thought I should at least look good as a mother, so I pushed myself a bit for a few days, and it just became burdensome."
Despite Milady's repeated explanations, Julia couldn't shake off her worries.
As a Queen, Julia had to be very careful about taking care of her people, as she could only have a limited number of people she could be in a relationship with. She couldn't help but be especially sensitive to Milady, who loved and cared for her like her own mother.
"I'll take some medicine and take a nap. I'll feel better soon. Don't worry, and I'll see you at the ball tonight."
"Then I will stay with you, Mom... Is there anything you need?"
Julia tried to cling to Milady with a worried look on her face. Then Milady smiled and shook her head, raising the corners of her lips.
"Hmm. I think I'll feel better right away if I hear news about my grandchild."
"Yes, then grandchild... Yes?"
"You're an adult now, aren't you? It's break time. Don't be here and go quickly."
Milady secretly pushed Julia towards Endymion. Their bodies, which had been pushed in a hurry, touched each other slightly.
Even though it was just touching each other while wearing fancy clothes, Julia threw away Milady's hand with a look of bewilderment and got up from her seat.
"I... I'm going to go prepare for the wedding. Take care of yourself, Mother!"
"Oh my... Yes."
Julia ignored the teasing tone and walked away, leaving Endymion behind.
Milady laughed out loud as she watched Julia disappear as if on fire. She looked as healthy as ever.
But Endymion noticed that Milady seemed strangely listless.
"I heard that the frequency of visiting a primary care doctor has increased recently."
Milady smiled brightly at her son's voice as he prepared to leave.
"Oh my, you seem to be more interested in this mother than I thought."
"Since you didn't tell me, I had no choice but to find out."
It was clear that she had been suffering from a chronic illness for a long time, but Milady never told anyone about it. Even when Julia asked the Grand Duchess's personal doctor, the only treatment Milady received was a prescription to simply restore her energy.
"Is this an illness with an expiration date?"
"How can we know the laws of nature?"
In the splendid room where only the two were left, Milady whispered softly. Her cold blue eyes frowned slightly.
Milady waved her hand and told them to get away.
"I won't budge until I hold my grandchild, so hurry up and make an effort. How long do you plan on making this mother suffer?"
For the first time since becoming King, her friendly tone was cheerful and without any worries.
"If you delay any longer, I'll know that there's something wrong with you, and I'll have to tell Julia that she was scammed into marrying you and that I'll let her get married a gain."
"I will go."
As he made a show of threatening, Endymion lowered his head with a blank expression and quickly left the room.
Milady then lay down comfortably on the bed. A little later, the maid returned with the doctor.
"Your Highness the Grand Duchess. Shouldn't we now inform His Majesty the King?"
The doctor who had been with Milady for many years carefully lowered his voice and asked about her condition.
"Well, what good would it do to know in advance? It'll just make things harder for him."
"Huh? So you're saying you're going to keep hiding it?!"
The attending doctor cried out in astonishment at her calm and composed voice. But Milady closed her eyes and spoke lightly.
"Stop. It's already been decided, so don't even think about persuading me. Keep quiet like you have been."
Milady waved her hand to the attending doctor, who was helplessly holding onto his medical bag as if telling him to go back and rest.
Finally realizing that he could not stop Milady, the attending doctor nodded, packed his things, and left. The maid pulled down the curtains so that Milady could rest, and they left the room together.
Finally, the Grand Duchess's bedroom became dark and cozy.
Left alone, Milady Imagined Endymion and Julia as children and the grandchildren they would have as a mixture of the two. Her heart swelled with pride as she saw cute and lovely faces, regardless of gender.
Milady chuckled and muttered with a calm expression on her face.
"Well, I told you, you're a boring son."
***
After visiting the Grand Duchess' Palace, Julia didn't have much time to rest.
Julia sat on the recamier, her legs stretched out and she relaxed, wearing a light gown over her undergarment. Then, less than an hour late, she began to dress up for the reception and the ball.
The head maid informed her that Endymion would be stopping by the meeting and then changing his robes to attend the banquet and evening ball.
"Yes "
Julia felt sorry for Endymion, who was always busier than her but then thought it was fortunate. It was already awkward, and she had almost died of embarrassment when Milady mentioned grandchildren earlier.
'Hmm.'
Although she had run away in a hurry, she now had to think seriously about the baby. Starting today, she was an adult, and she and Endymion were no longer like siblings but were a married couple with a physical relationship.
"Your Majesty, your face is very flushed. Would you like me to give you a pack to reduce the fever?"
"Yes, please."
Julia nodded, splashing water from the bathtub on her sunken face.
It was too fast, even though it was fast. They only slept together once and now they have to make plans to have a baby!
'We only kissed once...'
Even just discussing this topic made her face turn red, but she had no intention of running away from her duties.
Besides, Milady also wanted to see her grandchildren very much, so it seemed better to have a successor as soon as possible. Julia made up her mind.
'I have to get used to it. I have to get used to it!'
Julia made a determined resolution as if she were going into battle.
Meanwhile, the maids moved around like limbs. They quickly lowered Julia's face temperature with a pack, gave her a thorough bath, and then began to dress her up.
***
The reception and dinner with the nobles of the country passed by quickly compared to the morning. No, maybe it felt that way because her head was full of thoughts?
Anyway, time passed quickly regardless of Julia's tension.
"Duchess Hyde, if you are tired, you can go back early and rest."
Julia spoke kindly to Iris, who was sitting close to her.
"No, it's okay. I'm just feeling frustrated because I can't go out much. After all, I'm pregnant."
Despite all that, she hasn't left Julia's side since a while ago. Julia held back a laugh as she looked at Iris, who was raising her chin with an arrogant expression.
Whenever the young ladies who had previously hung out with Julia at the hunting grounds came to say hello, Iris would sit a level lower than Julia and look at them with a pout.
The young ladies, who had become timid because of the piercing gazes they received when trying to make a personal remark to build a friendship, would slowly back away while keeping an eye on the situation.
It was funny because it looked like a cat trying to monopolize its owner's affection.
Pappabam-
As soon as Young ladies and Young masters finished greeting each other, the sound of a trumpet rang out cheerfully.
"Oh, I guess it's about to start."
Iris, who had just chased away Young ladies, who had approached her with her eyes, looked up at Julia with satisfaction.
Julia suppressed her laughter and rose gracefully from her seat. Finally, the night's ball was about to begin with the first dance of the royal couple, the stars of the day.
All the nobles who were sitting stood up.
Endymion, who had been talking to Duke Hyde and other nobles on the other side, went down one step first. Then, below Julia's eye level, he extended one hand and asked.
"The glory of the first dance."
"Gladly."
Julia smiled and took Endymion's hand as they came down the stairs to the bottom.
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