Translator: Aura / Editor: SaWarren

  “Have you heard? About the baby…”
“Yes, I heard that the Empress and the Emperor are taking a medicine that aids conception.”
“Huh? That’s a bit different from what I’ve heard. I understood that they were undergoing fertility treatment.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, I heard it from the palace doctor’s cousin. About the medicine, it could also be true.”
“So, is the Empress infertile as rumored?”
“Shh.”
“If that’s the case, isn’t it really a delicate matter? His predecessor had a healthy younger brother during his reign, so there was no problem, but His Majesty Heinley doesn’t even have a younger brother!”
***

  It seems that the seeds Heinley and I planted were slowly sprouting. While my ladies-in-waiting told me the rumors that were circulating, I drank a tea that would not harm the baby.

  It was a tea brought directly by the palace doctor, and the supposed medicine that was talked about in the rumors.

  The reason it was rumored to be a fertility medicine or to aid in conception was because I had asked the palace doctor to bring it wrapped up that way.

  Heinley and I pretended that we had been secretly prescribed an unknown medicine, and we would change the subject whenever anyone tried to talk about the successor.

  Because of this, no one around me had brought up the subject of the baby or the successor recently. Not only those who supported me, but also those who were left on Christa’s side.

  Fortunately, everything was going according to plan. However…
“It’s strange.”
“Yes! I don’t know why they do this, they should mind their own business!”
That came out of my mouth involuntarily. Mastas shook her fist in the air, thinking that my words were directed at the nobles.

  “That’s enough! They must be taught not to mess with the Empress. It would be nice to make them walk on their hands for several hours!”
I shook my head. Although I was grateful that Mastas was angry about it, at this point I wasn’t talking about the fish that took the bait.

  What struck me as strange were those who remained still, both Marquis Ketron and Duke Liberty. People I labeled as Danger Level 3.

  Until now, I was sure it had been Marquis Ketron who started the infertility rumor. It was another nobleman who mentioned it in the middle of a meeting, but he gave the impression of being controlled by Marquis Ketron. At the end of the meeting, we exchanged words that also led me to that conclusion.

  ‘Why then? Why doesn’t Marquis Ketron make a move now? Why is Duke Liberty so quiet again now?’
They’re being cautious… anyone would think so. But if so, they would have been cautious from before. Duke Liberty aside, what was more suspicious is that Marquis Ketron, who brought up the infertility issue first, now stood idly by.

  Is it because of the humiliation he was subjected to by trying to use Heinley’s playboy image?

  After much thought, I went to Heinley’s office and asked for his opinion,

  “What do you think, Heinley?”
In the Eastern Empire, I could have figured it out on my own. I grew up observing the nobles there.

  In contrast, I still didn’t know the nobles of the Western Empire well. Of course, there were many nobles I had befriended over the past few months. Except for some families that harbored bad intentions, many nobles opened their hearts to me.

  Still, six months ago I didn’t even know them. Even if it were a close noble, it would be difficult to fully understand his character and decipher his true intentions. Evidently, I was not close to Marquis Ketron. To decipher his intentions, I knew little about him.

  So I had no choice but to seek Heinley’s help.

  “I heard that Marquis Ketron and Marquise Ketron had a falling out.”
“Is it because of the previous incident?”
“It may be partly because of that.”
Heinley sighed and added,

  “Come to think of it, Marquis Ketron has three smart children. Marquise Ketron probably had a huge fight with Marquis Ketron for not really being on my side.”
Since Heinley was the only one left of the true Imperial Family, did he decide to keep his head down for now? For the future of his children?

  Heinley sighed again,

  “Of course, going on like this would have been exhausting for both sides.”
He was right. I finally leaned back on the couch after being very worried and said sincerely,

  “I guess setting traps is not a field I’m good at.”
“The best part of fishing is waiting, My Queen.”
“It’s boring to wait blindly not knowing if the other person is going to react.”
“So how did My Queen deal with political enemies in the Eastern Empire?”
When I stared at him with my arms crossed, Heinley quickly shook his hands.

  “No, just because you dealt with your political enemies doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. There are times that it is necessary. That’s what I mean.”
“I didn’t have much trouble.”
When I was in the Eastern Empire, I had consolidated my position under the support of the former empress, so there were few who tried to fight openly. Even in those cases, I had many ladies-in-waiting on my side, and my own family was powerful…
Still, it seemed like a subject that interested Heinley, so I told him about my experiences. It was then that my palms began to itch. As I unconsciously scratched them, I had a similar sensation to earlier, when I had frozen Heinley’s hair.

  As soon as I thought about it, my hands itched even more, so I put them on the desk to warm them up.

  At that moment, a thin piece of ice appeared on the desk unexpectedly.

  The piece of ice moved across the desk until it stopped near Heinley on the other side.

  “Ahh…”
As I looked at my hands in surprise, Heinley asked.

  “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I was just a little surprised.”
Seeing this phenomenon a second time made it even more amazing. Since it hadn’t happened again, I wondered if it had been a fluke, or if the mana had disappeared. But it hadn’t.

  I closed my hands repeatedly, waved them in the air a few times and finally placed them on my lap. At this point, I felt an intense gaze from Heinley on me, so I looked up,

  “What’s wrong?”
When I asked because of his strange expression, Heinley raised his own mouth with his index finger and muttered,

  “Now that I remember, we forgot about the matter of the magical academy after the pregnancy became known. Although you need to go to the academy at least once, I don’t know if it would be better for you to go as soon as possible or in the future.”
***