Chapter 20

Grace. What should I say? 

Yulia’s eyes darted nervously.  

“We’ll come in.”  

With those brief words, the door opened. The moment she saw the couple, Yulia immediately knew they were Resti’s parents. His face resembled his mother’s, while his jet-black hair was unmistakably inherited from his father.

“Oh my. I’m sorry.”  

The Duchess, looking slightly startled, calmly closed the door again. A brief silence followed. Perhaps she had seen the white flowers and decorations outside. The middle-aged woman opened the door once more.  

Yulia met her gaze.  

“Ah, hello.”  

These were Resti’s parents. Nervously, she bowed her head.  

“Who are you, sitting in the bride’s room?”

“My name is Yulia!”  

Just as she spoke brightly, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.  

“Mother! Father!”  

Resti burst through the door, pulling the startled couple outside.  

“Leon. Where is Grace? And who is that young lady?”  

“The one who will become my bride is Yulia.”  

“What are you talking about?”  

Their voices trembled. Yulia pressed her ear to the crack of the door to listen.  

“Grace has run away.”  

“…What?”  

“She eloped with Sir Kalua.”  

“W-What do you mean…?”  

“It’s the truth.”  

The voices of his parents quivered.  

‘Ah. So this is what he meant when he said Grace would handle things herself.’  

She recalled Resti’s words when she had asked what he planned to do about his fiancée on the wedding day. He had told her not to worry and that he had a plan.  

“Are you going to announce that the bride has run away?”  

“…”  

“I will marry Yulia.”  

“Wait a moment. Which family is that child from? Yulia, you say? I’ve never heard of her.”  

“Yulia is the future Young Duchess of Jestione.”

Yulia fidgeted with her fingers, her face burning red.  

‘Yulia Jestione, huh.’  

More than the fact that she would now have a family name, she was far, far more delighted by the idea of becoming part of Resti’s family. A brief silence followed.  

“My goodness.”  

It seemed they had only just understood what their son had said. A small gasp escaped, as if they had realized she was a commoner.  

“The guests have already filled their seats.”  

Resti raised his voice.  

“And I love Yulia. If Grace hadn’t run away today, you would never have seen me again for the rest of your lives. Also!”  

Ahem. A voice cleared its throat.  

“We are already expecting a child.”  

His voice was filled with unmistakable joy and pride.  

“If you do not give your blessing…”  

The Duke and Duchess seemed to hold their breath. Yulia, just as tense, waited for Resti’s words.  

“…then you can look forward to seeing what I’ll do.”  

“…”  

A chilling silence, different from earlier, descended.  

‘As if that kind of threat would work…’  

Yulia let out a small sigh. He had told her to trust him and had spoken so confidently, but now this? Was that really something he should say? Her shoulders slumped.  

‘It’s fine. He said he’d give up his title as heir if it came to that, so we could be together.’  

She hadn’t fallen for him because of his status in the first place, so it didn’t matter if he became a commoner. As long as they could be together, that was enough. Of course, she had wanted to get married with everyone’s blessings, but… the difference in their social standing was far too great.  

Feeling a bit melancholy, she fiddled with her white dress. Just then, she heard a long sigh.  

“Fine. How could we stop you?”  

The voice sounded like someone who had given up entirely. Yulia’s head shot up. 

Was this really the end? Were they really allowing it this easily? A noble family, and not just any noble family, but the heir of a ducal house, marrying a commoner? 

She couldn’t believe her ears.  

“Thank you for your quick approval, Father. Mother.”  

Whether it was truly “quick approval” or not, it seemed they had indeed given their consent.  

‘Really?’  

The moment she blinked in disbelief, Resti strode into the room. He scooped up Yulia, who had been sitting, into his arms.  

“From now on, you are Yulia Jestione. Until the day you die.”  

“Mmph!”  

Their lips met firmly. She caught a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess’s eyes, wide as the moon.  

She hurriedly tried to push his shoulders away, but the kiss only deepened. He ruined the carefully applied color on her lips and even licked them with his tongue before attempting to slip it inside.  

She could feel the Duke and Duchess’s gaze fixed on them. Unlike Resti, who seemed utterly shameless, Yulia knew what shame was.  

A kiss this intimate in front of adults? And his hand, which was holding her, subtly brushed against her backside. Her face turned beet red. Whether out of shock or something else, the Duke and Duchess stared at their son with their mouths agape.  

Only Yulia could put an end to this situation. Besides, wasn’t there still a wedding to attend?  

“Mmph, mmph, mmph!”  

She finally managed to push his shoulders away and, gasping for air, shouted,  

“You pervert! Stop it!”  

At that moment, she thought she would never forget the shocked expressions on the Duke and Duchess’s faces for the rest of her life.  

***

Yulia and Resti’s wedding was somewhat chaotic. The guests couldn’t stop whispering about the sudden change of the bride, and the Duchess of Roastein, who only then learned that her daughter had eloped, even fainted. The Duke of Roastein stormed out in a fury. 

As a result, the wedding started a bit later than originally planned. Surprisingly, the Duke and Duchess of Jestione calmly accepted the situation. 

Yulia held her wedding amidst the gazes of many people. It was a wedding filled with numerous blessings, just as she wished. Although those blessings were filled with confusion. Resti didn’t stop there and even announced that they were expecting a child.

After the shocking wedding, for everyone except the bride and groom, Yulia went to live at the Ducal residence. The capital was vast and dazzling enough to make one’s head spin, especially the Jestione Ducal House.

“Yulia. Be careful.”  

The stairs weren’t particularly high, yet Resti fussed over her, holding her hand tightly. Watching her take a few steps down, he frowned as if displeased.  

“This won’t do.”  

“Eek!”  

He lifted Yulia up entirely and carefully descended the stairs with her. Once they reached the bottom, he seemed ready to set her down, but then he tried to kiss her.  

By now, she was getting used to his actions and blocked his lips with her hand.  

“No, Resti.”  

“Why not? We’re married, and the baby will be born soon. Besides, some books say that caressing and… during pregnancy is…”  

“This is a hallway!”  

“Anyway, it’s good for the baby.”  

“We did plenty in the room.”  

“This is indoors too.”  

“But it’s not a room.”  

“The room, the lobby, it’s all inside the mansion, isn’t it?”  

“It’s not the same! There are other people here, and also…”  

Resti frowned slightly at her words.  

“Fine. Let’s go back to the room.”  

“I just came out of there.”  

“Doesn’t that mean we can do it as much as we want in the room?”  

“I’m going for a walk.”  

“It’s not good for pregnant women.”  

“Your mother said walking is good.”  

“How can you listen to my mother’s words more than your husband’s?”  

“Because you keep wanting to go to bed, Resti.”  

Pouting her lips, Yulia rubbed her now noticeably round belly and continued walking. The servants, who had been watching their non-argument argument, moved away with curious expressions.  

It was always like this. People who saw Resti with her looked as if they had witnessed something they shouldn’t have.  

‘Why are they like that?’  

Yulia tilted her head in confusion and walked on, ignoring the man following her, nagging. The tea table under the large tree in the middle of the garden was already occupied by the Duchess.  

“Mother.”  

“Out for a walk?”  

The middle-aged woman smiled faintly. She had expected the Duke and Duchess to be quite displeased with her commoner origins, but unexpectedly, they accepted Yulia without complaint. She smiled brightly and approached slowly. A fragrant scent of tea wafted through the air.