Chapter 107

A sudden retching brought a chilling silence to the banquet hall. Everyone—the maids carrying food, the chamberlain, and even the Emperor—froze, staring at me as if they were statues. The maid who had brought the steak was particularly trembling at her fingertips, nervously glancing at the Emperor. She seemed to think there was something wrong with the steak she had served.

“It’s all right…” I quickly opened my mouth to reassure the maid, knowing the food wasn’t the problem.

But whether it was due to poor conditioning or if the food truly did have an issue that I hadn’t noticed, I felt nauseous.

“Ugh!”

“S-summon the Chef!”

“Y-yes, yes!”

Now the chamberlain’s face was ashen. The chamberlain ordered the Chef to be summoned immediately, as if ready to severely punish him. Wanting to prevent that, I managed to quell the churning in my stomach and stopped him.

“It’s fine. I think it’s just fatigue, so please don’t cause the Chef unnecessary trouble.”

“But, Duchess…”

“Hmm.”

I tried my best to maintain elegance, given the setting, but the Emperor was watching me with a strange look. Unlike the staff, whose complexions had turned pale, he remained quiet. Was he angry?

As I nervously watched him, the Emperor suddenly broke into a laugh, wearing a relieved expression, like a bothersome tooth had been pulled.

“Puhahahaha!”

I was startled by the completely unexpected reaction. The Emperor spoke in a very cheerful voice.

“I see. He will be disappointed that I found out first! Hahahaha!”

“Pardon?”

“It’s fine. Don’t force yourself to eat. Should I have some soup brought out instead?”

“Ah, no, I’m fine. Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty.”

Just as my mind was put at ease by his hearty laughter, the Emperor nodded and abruptly called the chamberlain.

“Chamberlain.”

“Yes.”

The chamberlain quickly composed his expression and waited for the Emperor’s command.

“Summon the imperial physician.”

“Is something troubling you, Your Majesty?”

“No more questions, just summon him immediately.”

“Yes, yes.”

The chamberlain’s expression was a sight to behold again, as the Emperor ordered a physician without giving a proper reason. The Emperor teased the chamberlain, who was hastily leaving the banquet hall.

“Hmph! He nags me for so long at this age that he doesn’t realize a simple thing like this, tsk.”

Although he spoke like he was nagging, his booming laughter showed he was quite pleased.

I didn’t want to ruin his mood, but I wasn’t feeling unwell enough to warrant a physician, so I cautiously spoke to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, I truly am fine. You don’t need to summon a physician…”

“Since he’s already been summoned, you might as well get a checkup.”

Since he put it that way, there was nothing more I could say. I felt sorry for the physician being called and waited patiently.

Soon after, the chamberlain returned with the physician. The physician had clearly just examined the unconscious Emperor a few hours ago, so he must have been thinking all sorts of things about being summoned again.

“Huff, huff.”

The physician seemed to have rushed, his face covered in sweat, breathing heavily. He hastily put down his bag and approached the Emperor, asking, “Where are you feeling unwell?”

“It is not me.”

“Pardon?”

“The Duchess is feeling nauseous, so examine her. And look for anything else.”

‘Anything else?’

I blinked, looking at him quizzically, and the Emperor looked back at me with a benevolent smile. I sensed a certain expectation in his eyes.

‘…Expectation?’

It was then that I realized what misunderstanding the Emperor had made. I was so flustered that I wanted to shout ‘No!’ immediately, but I held my tongue, unable to spoil the Emperor’s consideration. While it wasn’t impossible, the likelihood of it being true was far smaller.

I inwardly lamented the strangely familiar situation. 

‘Why does this misunderstanding always follow whenever I retch…?’

Seeing the Emperor’s expectant look, thinking he might soon see a greatniece or great nephew, I felt needlessly apologetic, even though it wasn’t my fault.

I obediently allowed the approaching physician to conduct the diagnosis. He tilted his head, then fell into thought.

‘I thought he would say right away that it was nothing.’

As the physician’s contemplation lasted longer than expected, all sorts of thoughts crossed my mind. 

‘What is it? Do I have some illness I didn’t know about? Or is it really…?’

Just as my imagination was running wild and turning serious, the physician finally reached a conclusion and stood up. His expression wasn’t dark.

“The Duchess is merely experiencing discomfort due to being startled and fatigued; there are no major issues.”

The physician politely delivered the diagnosis to the Emperor and me. It was a very simple result for how long he had pondered it.

The Emperor, who had heard a diagnosis that dashed his hopes, could not hide his disappointment behind his stern face. I thanked the physician, pretending not to notice.

The Emperor muttered softly, “I had already thought of a name for the child…”

‘Already?’

I almost replied to the Emperor’s soliloquy.

Come to think of it, ever since Nine and I had aligned our hearts and spent nights together, we had never once talked about a child.

I took a small sip of the soup that had been brought instead of the steak and pondered for a moment. 

‘A child with Nine…’

I thought it would be nice if the child resembled Nine. For the sake of this world, it would be best if Nine’s beauty was passed down to the next generation. If the child resembled him, they would undoubtedly be lovely. Would it be a daughter or a son? I didn’t mind either, but which would Nine want?

What would be a good name for a girl? For a boy?

‘I hope Nine would choose the name.’

My imagination went on a tangent. Before I knew it, my mind was mapping out my future plans alone. 

‘If they resemble Nine, they’ll be very pretty, right? If their personality resembles his, they’ll be kind and gentle. Or perhaps like Adel?’

Maybe they would be like Nine before he became the Duke, the person I didn’t know. The way the Emperor described him. Things that hadn’t occurred to me when I was struggling with the fake pregnancy now came to mind one by one. I smiled broadly, realizing how much joy remained in my future married life.

“Ahem.”

‘Oops.’

Although I snapped out of my private reverie and resumed dining and conversing with the Emperor, the thought of talking to Nine made me eager to return to the North quickly.

***

It was late at night when the meal was finished. The Emperor seemed to want me to stay longer at the Imperial Palace, but I politely declined and prepared to return to Iclea. Count Laurel had not yet withdrawn the declaration of territorial war, and knowing how much Nine must be worried after all that had happened, I felt I needed to go back.

The Emperor said with a look of disappointment, “I wish you could stay longer. It is a pity, my nephew’s wife.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. Next time, I will stay for a relaxed visit with the Duke.”

“Yes, yes. My nephew never comes to see me alone, so I would be delighted if his wife brings him. Hahaha.”

He saw me off all the way to the Imperial exclusive portal, which he had granted me access to for long-distance travel. I exchanged proper farewells and got into the carriage. Thanks to the Emperor’s allowance to use the Imperial portal, it seemed I could arrive in Iclea before the day was out.

*’Ah! Come to think of it, I was so distracted I forgot to send word that I was leaving.’*

I realized he might think I was leaving the next day because it was so late. But the thought of surprising Nine made my heart flutter. Perhaps because he was a man of so few expressions, the rare, unique looks he reserved just for me were a great source of joy. I chuckled at the thought of Nine’s surprised face.

“Hoo-aah…”

Perhaps it was due to being busy all day. Sitting in the soft carriage, I felt myself drifting off to sleep. I must have dozed off for a bit.

“Mmm.”

When I opened my hazy eyes, the carriage had already arrived in Iclea. I stretched my stiff body and checked the time. There was not much left of the day. It was the time I would usually be in bed with Nine.

‘Is he sleeping?’

The carriage finally stopped in front of the castle. The moment I was about to step out, the door was flung open.

“Ah!”

My body, poised to descend, was suddenly lifted. Nine had scooped me up and pulled me into his embrace. I could feel the slight trembling of the hand wrapped around my back.

‘He was worried.’

We both knew it was dangerous, but neither of us had anticipated encountering a monster.

“Chacha… Chacha.”

Listening to his voice repeating my name, I remained quietly in his arms and patted his back.

“Yes. I’m home, Nine.”