Chapter 39
After about a month of the campaign, Raymond returned with various monster byproducts.
After a tearful reunion with Yulia, and making a brief appearance at the banquet—which Yulia had worked so hard to prepare, and during which the knights were rewarded for their merits—he practically kidnapped Yulia and disappeared.
“Oh my, what a loving couple.”
“At this point, he’s shown a lot of restraint.”
No one blamed the Grand Duke for being the first to leave the victory banquet.
It had been an unprecedented battle with not a single casualty except for a few minor injuries. All the monsters had been unable to fight properly due to the Sword Master’s aura.
Throughout the entire event, the Grand Duke’s gaze was fixed solely on the Grand Duchess, to the point of embarrassment, so everyone was honestly glad to see them go.
Everyone smiled contentedly, imagining the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess’s passionate night. However, unfortunately, something not so laughable was happening in the Grand Duke’s bedchamber.
Yulia had refused to sleep with Raymond.
“W-Why?”
The color drained from Raymond’s face in shock. His hands shook. Yulia hugged the pitifully trembling Raymond and tried to comfort him.
“Calm down, Ray. I’m not sick, and it’s not that my feelings have cooled. I just don’t want to tonight. Can’t we just fall asleep holding each other like this? Please?”
With difficulty, Raymond nodded and lay down on the bed, but he couldn’t fall asleep. Yulia hugged Raymond and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Raymond was always sincere about his self-care, but he couldn’t keep up with it even on the battlefield. Instead, he did his best to finish the subjugation quickly and return as soon as possible.
Still, he had gotten some care as soon as he returned, but…
A hot tear rolled down Raymond’s cheek.
A little later, once Yulia was sound asleep, Raymond quietly got up. There was a sense of resolve in his back as he headed toward the dressing room.
***
While Raymond was away, a large temple was built near the grand ducal manor. Hiring mages with a great sum sped up the construction significantly.
Though it still needed finishing touches, the order sent elders and priests in advance. It was an opportunity to greet the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, as well as make connections with other influential noble families.
They arrived at the estate a few days after the Grand Duke returned from battle. Led to the audience chamber, they waited for the grand ducal couple, but the mood was strangely somber.
‘How odd. I heard the campaign ended well with no casualties. Why does my heart beat so fast?’
It wasn’t just him. Other priests also put their hands on their chests and tilted their heads.
“The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess are arriving.”
At the attendant’s words, the elders and priests stood up. Soon the doors opened, and the exceptionally radiant Grand Duke and Grand Duchess entered. Behind them followed the commander of the knights, the butler, and Sophie the nanny.
“Gasp!”
The elders and priests all staggered at once. How, how……!
“Oh, Goddess!”
The elders and priests, their eyes glazed over, fell to their knees and cried out together.
Yulia was startled by the sight. Raymond reflexively stepped in front of her. At the same time, the knight commander behind them casually put his hand to his sword.
Caution quickly turned to surprise. It was because the elder, weeping, cried out:
“Such a deep touch of the Goddess! Both of you! What a blessing this is for the North, for the world! Especially, in the Grand Duchess’s belly, a life is sprouting as the blessing of the Goddess!”
Everyone was shocked. The butler and Sophie the nanny covered their mouths, their eyes filling with tears.
Yulia, touching her still-flat belly, looked amazed and moved. Raymond, seeing Yulia’s expression, gazed at her with eyes full of emotion and then slowly closed his eyes.
‘So, it’s a new life.’
He felt at one with the world. The air trembled violently, and the building shook. Screams echoed all over the grand ducal residence.
Amid the chaos, the area around Yulia was untouched. Raymond had instinctively protected her.
Knights began to gather one after another in the audience chamber where the anomaly had started. Swords drawn, they saw the Grand Duke, surrounded by radiant light, floating in midair.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.