Chapter 8
“Milady, shall I draw the curtains?”
Mila, who had come in to light the candles, whispered when she saw me lying down.
“No, I’ll be getting up soon. I need to fix my hair before dinner.”
“I heard the Duke has been anxious to see you, that he’s been coming by endlessly?”
So that was the real issue. I gave Mila a gentle side-eye as she tried to hide her twitching lips with her hand.
“He stopped by to deliver a book to Count Rigen.”
“Oh, that’s just an excuse. He could have sent a servant with a book.”
“By the way, I haven’t seen Diana today.”
I casually changed the subject. Continuing a conversation that might damage the head of the household’s dignity was dangerous.
“Miss Diana is probably in the music room or the library with her friends. She tends to hide in those places when unfamiliar guests come.”
She was terribly shy, wasn’t she?
Diana, Keigan’s adopted younger sister, had been on a one-year short-term study abroad at the Royal Academy since last autumn. She had returned to Wayriver temporarily for her brother’s wedding.
I’d first met and greeted her three days ago, but we still hadn’t exchanged more than a few words. I couldn’t very well force a twelve-year-old girl who barely mumbled a reply before scurrying away.
“I’ve always wanted a younger sister since I was little. I hope I can become close with Miss Diana.”
Please send me a sister. A cute little sister. There was a time when I prayed childishly like that every day.
“Miss Diana may seem quiet, but she’s quite mischievous. You’ll be living together whether you like it or not starting in the fall, so take your time getting to know her.”
Mila wrinkled her nose and shook her head like an older sister playfully badmouthing her adorable youngest sibling.
“Anyway, will our Duke be coming home early today to have dinner with you? I should go check the kitchen to make sure the special滋补 dish I recommended for you two is being prepared properly. Rest well, my lady.”
What a purpose-driven person.
I shook my head, just as she had done, as Mila left the room humming a sweet little tune about how “the brilliant future of Wayriver” might be coming.
I’d planned to use the brief moment to write a letter to the nun at Tessen Church, but my heavy eyelids kept getting in the way.
I fell asleep instantly.
In a fleeting dream, I saw a baby who resembled Keigan. In the middle of a lush, green field where massive creatures—whether wild beasts or monsters, I couldn’t tell—roamed. The baby sat fearlessly among them, sucking its thumb with composure.
A baby with dark hair like Keigan’s and eyes that sparkled with intelligence.
But the color of its eyes, which gazed at me calmly unlike a typical young child, was violet like mine.
Suddenly, the baby reached its short, chubby arms out toward me. The gesture, as if begging to be held, was incredibly endearing.
‘My baby.’
I bent down and lifted the baby. As I carefully cradled the soul within that tender, fragile body, an unexpectedly powerful energy overflowed and seemed to embrace me.
‘You are the king of this place.’
A smile naturally formed on my lips. The baby, finding my arms comfortable, nestled its plump cheek against me and snuggled in. Its sweet, milky-scented hair swayed in the breeze, tickling my chin.
‘Have you come to become my family?’
As if in answer, the baby yawned, opening its small mouth wide, then burrowed deeper into my arms.
Somehow, a profound affection swelled deep in my chest, pooling in my eyes.
Thanks to the fact that five members of the imperial family had attended my wedding, I was keenly reminded of the reality that I had received an undeserved, dreamlike union. The list of those distinguished guests was as follows: Emperor Philair VIII and his wife, Third Prince Zick and his wife, and Fifth Princess Johanna. The Emperor had smiled warmly, saying he almost couldn’t attend the loyal retainer’s wedding due to the somewhat rushed schedule.
The Emperor and Empress had returned to the capital immediately after the ceremony to greet the King and Queen of the Coshanthi Kingdom. The remaining imperial family members were three: Prince Zick and his wife, and Princess Johanna.
First, Princess Johanna was the same age as Keigan. She followed the Dowager Duchess Schumann, who was over ten years her senior, around like a duckling. The princess was also quite quiet, making her personality hard to discern.
Regardless, since she was a huge fan of the Dowager Duchess Schumann, a staunch ally of Wayriver, I felt favorably toward her. Her gentle demeanor toward me also contributed. It seemed safe to consider the princess our ally as well.
Prince Zick was a bit peculiar. He openly questioned me about my family, then seemed to lose interest and stopped talking to me altogether. Still, it was fortunate that he showed great fondness for Keigan, treating him with respect, always saying “Our Duke, our Duke.” Whether Keigan, who was dragged around by him all day, considered it fortunate was another matter.
Even after sharing dinner with us, the prince kept Keigan, wanting to discuss a new business venture he was pursuing. Ignoring the desperate gaze of Marquis Rigen, who wanted to join them, the prince insisted they needed a private conversation and left with Keigan to find a secluded spot.
“Taking the new groom away like that. As the wife of such an inconsiderate husband, I’m ashamed to face the new bride.”
His wife, Princess Shulia, also had a somewhat unique personality.
“Not at all, Your Highness. We’re grateful that the Duke is favored by the Prince.”
“Hmph. What’s the use of being favored by a troublesome prince who can barely take care of himself? It only tires out the Duke. Tomorrow, I’ll feign illness and take Zick away if I have to.”
Princess Shulia’s expression and tone were heavily cynical. However, her straightforward and unpretentious manner seemed to make her well-liked by everyone.
From morning, she had been holed up in a room with the other ladies, engrossed in card games. She took a break for dinner, then picked up the cards again right after eating. It was only when it grew completely dark outside and her eyesight became strained that she finally got up.
Having joined the ladies for their final match of the day, I finished my daily routine by escorting the princess, who announced she was going to bed, and finally returned to my bedroom.
“Are you coming in now, Milady?”
Mila, who had come in to change the flowers and scented candles on the small table by the bedroom window, welcomed me. She worked diligently every day, changing the decorations between day and night, insisting that the room’s atmosphere was crucial to a new bride’s emotional state.
“You know the lily of the valley blooming in the rear garden? Polly brought some pale pink peonies. I cut some, thinking they’d look pretty arranged together.”
“Thank you, Mila. The flowers are truly lovely.”
“If they had bloomed just a few days earlier, they could have been used in the bouquet. Lily of the valley is as fair and lovely as our lady.”
“I turn dark in the summer. I tan easily.”
“Oh my, even if her ladyship’s skin tans, she’d still be a swan compared to me or the Duke!”
“Ahaha.”
I didn’t bother saying that I preferred to appreciate flowers in nature rather than cut them. Just as Mila wanted to please me, I wanted to please her. Besides, I’d soon have a chance to go for a walk with her and naturally tell her my preferences for floral arrangements.
“Then get some good rest. Summon me anytime you need.”
“Good night, Mila.”
The smell of burning firewood from the fireplace was warm and comforting.
I threw myself onto the bed, covered with a comfortably fluffy down comforter. The day’s fatigue melted away lazily. When I first came here, the room was so large and grand that I couldn’t feel any coziness.
Each day I spent in Wayriver had been kind to me. The environment, as splendid as a dream palace, had been tailored and made even more convenient for me. Exquisite dishes I’d never tasted in my life and rare jewels I’d only seen in books were brought to me.
My governess, Mrs. Herbert, was brisk as a chilly winter wind, but she didn’t treat me unfairly. Having one strict teacher was probably fine. Her loyal heart towards Wayriver and the Steinway family resonated with me, so I trusted her and was learning.
Spring seemed like it would pass in the blink of an eye. But the coming summer, and the subsequent seasons, would each be beautiful in their own way.
When would Keigan be able to rest? That obsessive prince needed to let him go soon. Would Keigan sleep in his own bedroom tonight? Or would he stop by mine? But it was already late…
I lay on my side, pressing one cheek to the sheet. I pulled the pillow he might have slept on the night before and hugged it to my chest.
I recalled the dream I’d had during my nap earlier. In the memory, which had already become hazy like a pale mist, only the sensation of holding a very adorable baby in my arms remained vividly.
A baby dream. But it probably wasn’t a conception dream. From what I’d heard from my parents, dreams foretelling pregnancy often appeared through symbols like animals or fruit rather than human forms.
Above all, we had only just spent our first night together. Having such thoughts was entirely Mila’s fault, with her persistent fussing over tonic foods and implanting the idea of “Wayriver’s future.”
Anyway, I would have a baby someday, wouldn’t I? Barring any special issues with me or Keigan.
My curiosity grew. Would our first child resemble one of us more? Would it be a girl or a boy? When might it happen? I wanted to be a loving mother like my own parents. What kind of father would Keigan be? Raising an heir who would become the future lord was different from raising an ordinary child, and so on…
“…Keigan?”
I woke to the sensation of the bed shifting and opened my eyes.
I saw a man’s stiff face, hesitating as he lifted a corner of the blanket.
“Oh, when did you arrive?”
As I rubbed my eyes and wriggled aside to make room, he carefully slipped under the covers. The mattress, bearing his weight, sank and then leveled out.
I knew that weight too.
The memory of supporting his large, heavy body with my own came flooding back, and I instinctively lowered my gaze.
“Sorry for waking you. You were sleeping so soundly, I thought it would be alright.”
Keigan, lying at attention with a shoulder’s width distance between us, apologized.
