“What are you—”

The ministers’ faces turned white. Trinita, who had thrown out quite a dangerous statement without batting an eye, added this:

“For the record, I have no intention of antagonizing my brother. The nobles creating opposition structures among themselves just gives me a headache. How regrettable.”

Then he leisurely left his seat.

Similar days repeated like before, and around the time Antor’s curse faded from people’s memories, when Hitais’s young king still hadn’t taken a bride, not only the high nobles of their own country but also royalty from other nations seized the opportunity to send marriage proposals.

The competition was fierce. However, even after a year passed, there was no news of the king’s wedding.

* * *

“How are you feeling?”

“Thanks to the priest’s prayers, I’ve recovered completely. Thank you for your concern.”

“Really now… What were you thinking, insisting on working with a full-term pregnancy? You wouldn’t listen when I told you to rest, so of course your body gave out.”

He handed Hari a small box containing tea leaves with a warning.

“Stop coming to the temple. This is medicinal tea that’s good for your body, so make sure to drink it morning and evening.”

“I’ve been such a burden to you. I’m not struggling yet. My body isn’t that heavy either. I can certainly help with things like cleaning the temple, priest.”

“Ah, enough! Stop coming! Just take care of yourself properly. It’s a precious child.”

The priest grumbled but gave a warm farewell before leaving. It had already been a year since settling in Kahilans. Though settling alone in an unfamiliar foreign land wasn’t easy, the simple people of Kahilans had accepted the fugitive Hari.

The temple priests also helped without asking about her circumstances. They even arranged work at the temple for Hari, who needed living expenses. Since married people couldn’t become priests, all she did was clean the chapel and temple.

The temple was always clean, so the work was generally easy. She felt sorry for receiving payment.

‘Sigh.’

Hari set the tea box down on the kitchen table and sighed. Though her full-term body was heavy and uncomfortable, her heart was more peaceful than at any other time in her life.

On the table, newsletters that the priest brought daily were neatly stacked. Among them, the content taking up half of the topmost newsletter caught Hari’s eye.

[Hitais’s young monarch finally declares he will take a queen… Public marriage proposals from various countries…]

She really wasn’t curious, but sometimes she thought about it. How was Achilleon living, the one who had given her both pain and freedom? The first few months after settling in Kahilans had been one difficulty after another.

When life was hard, she couldn’t keep asking the temple for help. Each time, someone would always come to help, neighbors with whom she had no acquaintance or interaction.

At first she thought it was kindness, but when such incidents repeated, she realized. Someone was secretly trying to help Hari through the residents. It wasn’t difficult to guess that Achilleon was behind it. Hari stared blankly at Achilleon’s portrait drawn in the newsletter.

‘He kept saying he wouldn’t marry, but he’s finally doing it… Of course he would. He’s the king.’

Who could it be? Which noble family’s distinguished lady would become the queen? Would that woman love Achilleon?

She probably would. That man possessed beauty that even goddesses would envy.

Then would Achilleon love the queen? Considering his cold-blooded personality, she couldn’t be certain, but he would come to love her later. He was someone who had ended up loving even Hari, whom he had so disliked and ignored.

How much more so with a companion he would spend his entire life with?

A bitter smile formed on her lips. She couldn’t understand what had made her melancholy. It was ridiculous to have such feelings now…

She finally slammed the newsletter shut with a thud. Since he was even taking a queen, there would never be any connection between her and Achilleon again. He too would soon forget a woman like her.

“Let’s live happily, just the two of us.”

Though this child would never know who her real father was until the day she died. Still, Hari was happy. She soothed the strange bitterness that came with her joy by patting her swollen belly. Then she finished brewing the tea and went to the living room.

“Ipea, Aunt Geta. Please try this tea. Priest Noel kindly brought medicinal tea leaves that are good for the body.”

“I told you to rest comfortably, so why are you preparing things again?”

“Ipea and Aunt are my precious guests. And it’s not good for the body to stay too still either.”

Round arched ceiling. Warm wooden furniture and the subtle scent of jasmine. A small bookshelf and fireplace. And a birdcage containing a blue bird hanging under the lamp. The room didn’t have much furniture.

The small two-shelf bookcase that Priest Noel had made contained only a Bible and two children’s storybooks.

Though there weren’t many belongings, when the three people gathered cozily around the fireplace, it felt full. In the house Hari had carefully decorated, her two favorite people smiled. Hari was happier than anyone right now.

“It’s medicinal herbs from the southern continent. To give such precious things. You must be quite favored at the temple?”

Geta enjoyed it, savoring the tea’s aroma. Ipea, who had been checking a list of revolutionary products to sell at the Kahilans market, also took a sip and nodded.

“What does that mean, Ipea?”

[It means I acknowledge both the taste and efficacy. Should I try supplying this to small cities once?]

She scribbled carelessly, then eagerly examined the list again. Then Ipea put away the supply list like she was tired of it and spread out parchment densely filled with black writing.

-Baby supplies list. Decorating the nursery-

“Is all this really necessary?”

[Of course our trading company will support it. It’s not free though. Half is my gift. I’ll put the other half on the books so you can pay it back slowly.]

She wondered why the list was so dense… When she glared, Ipea cleared her throat like she was guilty.

[It’s not like that? These are all necessary items. I only selected cost-effective goods.]

“Who said anything? More importantly, Aunt, don’t you need to return to Lagonia? You too, Ipea, you have work to do. Don’t you need to go to the trading company?”

The two had come to Kahilans to find Hari six months ago. Since then they had visited Hari occasionally, but as her due date approached, they had been staying at Hari’s house for a week. She was grateful for their concern, but she didn’t want them to help her while overexerting themselves.

But then.

“Ugh…!”

Right after she asked peacefully, strong pain struck her belly. Cold sweat poured out from the intense pain she had never felt before. Hari’s body slid along the table she had been leaning against.

“This is why we’re here for cases like this.”

Geta gently comforted her and grasped Hari’s hands. Ipea ran to get a basin of warm water and towels from the bathroom, just like they had practiced dozens of times.

“I’m sorry. I said things I didn’t mean…”

Hari also gripped Geta’s hands tightly. Though her lips turned pale and her fingertips trembled, she wasn’t afraid. The presence of these two people who absolutely stood by her side at this moment made her feel secure.

Then something fell with a thud from the table her body had bumped into. The newsletter spread open. Seeing Achilleon’s portrait that she had stared at blankly earlier made her even more painful.

The pain that started in her body spread to her heart. At that moment, tears welled up. She wanted to grab onto something and curse at the overwhelming agony. She wanted to demand answers from Achilleon about why he was giving her such extreme pain.

Otherwise she felt she couldn’t endure it.

Why did she have to see that man’s face at this moment? Her upset, sad, and painful feelings tangled together, making her eyes burn.

You terrible person.

Even though you’re so far away, you’re still causing me pain to the very end – you really are a bad person.

Something wet that might have been cold sweat or tears flowed down her eyelids, blurring her entire vision.

“Hari!”

Hari lost consciousness in the pain.

* * *

“Oh my, she looks like an angel! She resembles you so much, Hari – how can she be so pretty!”

[With both parents being beauties, isn’t this a natural result?]

It was a daughter with blonde hair and pretty green eyes. Unlike Geta, who was making a fuss while coddling the child wrapped in a blanket, Ipea was relatively calm.

She said she didn’t know whether to be happy or not, thinking the child’s real father was the king who had made Hari suffer. Regardless of that, wondering if the child was cute, she couldn’t take her bright eyes off her.

[Amazing. To think it’s your child, Hari.]

Instead of adding more words after pondering, Ipea wiped away her sweat, saying she had worked hard. Hari, who had been exhausted, finally held the child. It had been several hours of all kinds of emotions swirling.

However, the moment she saw the small face wrapped in swaddling clothes, the dark emotions washed away like dissolving in rainwater.