Throughout the rest of the day, Pristin spent a leisurely time with Christine.
Putting aside the serious and heavy talk of the past, they talked about something warmer and more mundane over a sweet cake, which allowed Pristin to somewhat escape the aftermath of their first conversation.
Pristin couldn’t help but worry, in fact, after Christine regained her memory and heard the full story of every incident from her. Pristin thought that Christine might resent her.
How can you do that, no matter how unintentional, but how can you think of starting over with a man like that when you are the main culprit who eventually broke down our family.
She was afraid she would hear those resentful comments. She was afraid she would say she didn’t want to see her again.
She knew better than anyone else that Christine was a good girl, but she was always anxious. The story she told her was not an ordinary story.
‘Thank you for understanding.’
Looking at Christine, who was talking softly in front of her, Pristin couldn’t help but smile.
Christine, who noticed, asked,
“Why are you smiling all of a sudden?”
“Just because.”
Pristin’s smile grew bigger.
“It’s just fun to talk to you like this, with your memory back, after so long.”
“Same here. We’ve been talking about this for ages.”
Christine laughed low, then changed the subject.
“More than that, I’m sure you’ve been through a lot.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You were forced to push someone you liked away,”
Christine said, holding Pristin’s hand tightly.
“I would have been so distressed that I wouldn’t have slept at night.”
“…Well, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t sleep a wink at night.”
Pristin smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders.
“It was distressing. I wish you’d been there to steer me in the right direction.”
“But in the end, you didn’t betray your heart for His Majesty to the end.”
Christine looked at Pristin with a proud look.
“You did a good job on your own.”
“…Our parents would think the same, right?”
Pristin hesitated a little and murmured,
“Maybe our parents knew all the facts, but on purpose, for fear of hurting me… They may not have told me.”
It was a reasonable thought, so Pristin was sometimes distressed.
“If so… What do they think of me who loves His Majesty, who is their enemy…”
“Sister, you’re worried about useless things again.”
Christine shook her head with a frown.
“Our parents will like it if they saw my sister happy. And again and again, His Majesty…”
“Countess.”
Then they heard a voice from outside.
“I brought fresh baked cookies.”
“Oh, yes. Come on in.”
After a while, the door opened and a maid with cookies approached Pristin’s table. It was a pink strawberry cookie full of strawberries, and it looked delicious at a glance. Christine burst into admiration and stared at the cookie.
“Wow, are they strawberry cookies?”
“Yeah.”
“Sister, don’t you like chocolate?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m having a baby,”
Pristin said cheerfully,
“I’ve been craving strawberries.”
“Already?”
“I don’t know. It’s been maybe since I was pregnant?”
“Goodness, it’s unstoppable.”
Christine giggled and shook her head.
“Fresh fruit is good, right? Full of nutrients. Eat a lot.”
“I’m going to eat fresh fruit later.”
“You should eat a lot of everything.”
Christine picked up a cookie and handed it to Pristin.
“That’s how the baby grows. Oh, I can’t wait to see them.”
“They won’t be here for a while.”
Pristin, who received the cookie, took a small bite. Maybe it was freshly baked, but the flavor was great.
“Drink some milk.”
“I was hoping for tea.”
“It might be bad for the baby, so you should probably refrain.”
“Yeah, sure. Milk is good.”
She gulped down the pure white milk and was about to move on to another topic.
“Countess.”
A voice was heard again from the outside. It was not long before unexpected words were heard.
“His Majesty is here.”
“…What?”
“Shall we invite him inside?”
“Yes.”
Both Pristin and Christine jumped out of their seats. Jerald appeared a moment later, walking in. He wasn’t so surprised after discovering Christine was already inside.
“You were with Lady Lamont.”
“I see the sun of the empire.”
Christine greeted him politely and then spoke to Pristin.
“Sister, I’m going to get going.”
“Huh? Now?”
“Yes. His Majesty is here.”
“No, it’s fine…”
“It’s not okay. I’m not so tactless.”
Christine gave Pristin a pat on the back and then politely greeted him once again.
“Then have a good time, Sister, and Your Majesty.”
She withdrew immediately, and Pristin looked at Jared with a puzzled expression. Jared silently smiled, his expression unreadable.
“Lady Lamont is quite sensible.”
“…She’s a bit like that.”
Pristin replied with a shy face.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m here for dinner with you.”
Jared’s eyes shifted to the dessert on the table.
“It feels like you’ve already eaten a lot.”
“Ah.”
Pristin said with a laugh,
“Don’t worry, I still have an appetite for dinner.”
“Then that’s good for me.”
Jared smiled happily and kissed Pristin on the forehead.
“You’re with child, so you should eat more than usual. For two.”
“I’m doing enough of that right now,”
Pristin said, sounding a little embarrassed.
“I’m worried that I’ll gain too much weight.”
“You’re having a child, then, you should gain weight.”
“I’m worried it’s too excessive.”
“Still, it’s okay. In my eyes, you’re beautiful no matter what.”
“…Is it just Your Majesty saying that?”
“I doubt it.”
“I’ll have to wear a dress for the wedding.”
“If it doesn’t fit, you can always ask the designer for a special request.”
“True.”
Pristin shook her head lightly as if she couldn’t stop him.
“You’re too kind to me. Thank you.”
“Because you’re the one I love.”
He smiled sweetly and leaned in close to her. At the suddenly narrowed distance, Pristin flinched, pulling her chest back, though she should be used to it by now.
But despite the reaction, Jared stared at her without the slightest hint of awkwardness.
“Did you drink milk?”
“…How did you know?”
“Here.”
Jared’s finger brushed Pristin’s upper lip without warning. Pristin flinched at the sudden touch and stiffened.
But Jared didn’t seem to care, bringing his milk-covered finger to his lips and sucking lightly.
“It’s dirty.”
“It is. It got on your lips.”
With that, Jared leaned closer and lightly kissed Pristin’s lips.
This time, Pristin didn’t startle, but closed her eyes naturally and accepted him. They shared a sweet kiss for a while.
“…Haa.”
Only after Pristin showed signs of struggle did Jared pull away from her, looking disappointed.
But a moment later, when Pristin’s breathing had calmed somewhat, their lips met again.
Pristin chuckled lowly and grabbed Jared by the collar.
“…At this rate, we’re going to be kissing all evening.”
“I don’t mind that. In lieu of a meal.”
But Jared quickly changed his mind.
“Oh, it’s not going to be good for a pregnant woman.”
“I ate a lot of cake earlier, so I can skip at least one meal.”
“Shall we just kiss all night?”
At Jared’s question, which somehow seemed sincere, Pristin giggled and slapped him painlessly.
“No, Your Majesty, be careful.”
“Why?”
“The baby is watching.”
“Isn’t it too early for the baby to see or understand anything?”
“…I don’t know.”
Pristin didn’t exactly have that knowledge either. Unfortunately, what she learned was herbal medicine, not neonatal medicine.
“Anyway… It’s too early now.”
“I see.”
With a smile still lingering on his lips, Jared tightly grasped Pristin’s hand.
“Let’s go have dinner then. I’ve instructed them to prepare plenty of your favorite dishes.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
At the same time, Gennant’s manor.
“What should we do, Dad?”
Tanya murmured in an anxious voice.
“She woke up unharmed. Please! I wish she was dead…!”
“…”
“I’m sure she told His Majesty that I did it. Will I be brought to trial?”
“Let’s take a cool look at this situation, Tanya.”
Duke Gennant opened his mouth in a low voice.
“It just had to happen at the time when that woman was announced as the next empress.”
“…”
“If it had happened before, it might have been easier to avoid the repercussions.”
“…Are they going to send me to prison?”
“Perhaps the emperor is considering more than that.”
“All I did was push her down the stairs…!”
Tanya raised her voice as if she was wronged, and soon begged,
“Please save me, Father.”
“…”
“You wouldn’t possibly just stand by and watch your beloved daughter face punishment, would you?”
“Even if it leads to unfavorable outcomes,”
The Duke of Gennant spoke calmly to his daughter,
“You’d better take it as it is, Tanya.”
“Father!”
“You don’t have to raise your voice. This father has a plan, too.”
“If there are plans…?”
“You still don’t know everything.”
“What exactly are you talking about?”
“The point is, as long as you avoid the death penalty at tomorrow’s meeting, that’s fine.”
“The death penalty. That’s ridiculous. That’s not going to happen.”
“Yeah. I think so too.”
The Duke of Gennant nodded with a gracious face.
“So you shouldn’t worry too much and just wait for the results.”
“…I can rest assured?”
“Absolutely, Tanya, how can this father stand by and see what this man will do to you?”
“I’ll trust my father.”
“Yes. Trust me.”
The Duke of Gennant held his daughter firmly by the shoulder in reassurance. But Tanya still didn’t look happy.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
A moment later, the door opened to reveal Brelin. As Tanya looked at her with a puzzled expression, Brelin quickly walked to her side and whispered something in her ear.
“…”
Then, Tanya’s eyes sparkled. Seeing this, Duke Gennant asked.
“What is it, Tanya?”
“…Father.”
Tanya opened her mouth in a meaningful voice.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Unexpectedly, Tanya heard something interesting.
“When she dies, I don’t think it will be a pretty death.”
