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nChapter 158

nProofreader: somnium

nArtizea did nothing for a while after that.

nShe had a doctor’s order to take a break from work. Even if it wasn’t, the Grand Duke’s residence was not going to let her do her job.

nThere was no other urgent matter.

nIt was not easy for her to rest either.

nShe never rested like this, even when she shouldn’t have done anything tactical. At least she was supposed to deal with information.

nAs she sat by the window dazedly, staring at the sky, only then did Artizea realize that this had happened before.

nIt was when Lysia died, she resigned from all her posts, disbanded the intelligence organization and resigned, and she lived alone.

nAs she looked back, the memory of that time was vague and hazy.

nShe seems to have been mesmerized by doing nothing all day.

nShe had breakfast and then she had dinner. The person she thought she had met a day or two before, turns out, met her two weeks ago.

nWhen she had no work to do and free time came, she was eager to read the books she wanted to read. She thought she wanted to go to a leisurely retreat and walk in the morning air.

nShe didn’t do any of that. Her body continued to be sore and uncomfortable without any special illness.

nShe couldn’t get up in the morning, and the days would pass because there was no reason to get up until the afternoon, and no one was looking for her, so she lay buried in the bed with her eyes open with her throbbing body.

nIt is different now than she was then.

nShe still had a lot of work left to do.

nBut her thoughts stopped often.

n“Are you okay like this?”

nArtizea questioned herself from time to time.

nThe answer was “yes”.

nShe had to wait like this. It made no difference here whether she added little modifications or not.

nWithout a second thought, she was stretching her limbs on the armchair, and something touched her back.

n“Ack!”

nArtizea suddenly came to her senses.

nAnd she was startled, and she leaned her body back. Her body, floating in the air, struggled.

nCedric, who was holding her in his arms, panicked and grabbed her tightly.

nArtizea unknowingly grabbed his neck and hung on it. Cedric’s strong arms supported Artizea’s stiff body without difficulty.

nCedric didn’t know what to do.

n“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to be so surprised…….”

n“See, what did I say? I told you to wake her up first. It looks like she hasn’t slept well.”

nLysia rebuked.

nShe was sitting at another table a little farther away, looking through the miscellaneous papers, just as Artizea was before she was lost in thoughts.

nArtizea stroked her chest. Cedric put her back down on the armchair.

nLysia came up to her and asked.

n“Are you okay, Your Grace? Are you surprised or uncomfortable?”

n“No, it’s okay.”

nShe answered Lysia, inadvertently paying attention to her lower abdomen. Artizea’s abdomen was starting to come out quite a bit.

nCedric hesitated and said.

n“I’m sorry. I thought you were sleeping, so I tried to move you to the bedroom.”

n“Oh, no. I guess I fell asleep.”

nArtizea answered with a red-stained face.

n“But what brings you here? Isn’t the sun still up in the sky?”

n“I came to see your face in advance because there seems to be a military meeting in the evening.”

nCedric added that Artizea would say it was not necessary.

n“So take a rest.”

nArtizea made a subtle face. She felt like laughing, but she didn’t think she should.

n“Did I disturb you?”

n“I wasn’t doing anything.”

nCedric stretched out his arm again. Artizea was also bewildered this time. His arms did not hold Artizea this time.

nInstead, he pulled the pins out of her hair and swept them lightly. It was tangled by rubbing against the armchair.

nArtizea’s face turned red.

n“I need to trim my hair.”

n“It’s your house anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

n“Nevertheless.”

nIt bothered her.

nCedric held out his arm to Artizea, who was pressing her head.

n“I told Sophie to come to the sunroom.”

n“The sunroom?”

n“I was thinking of having lunch and snacks there. If you’re not going to take a nap, let’s go together.”

nUsually, when Cedric dines alone, he wouldn’t set it up in such a place.

nWhen he was busy with work, he was the type of person who simply resolved the situation by eating in the study, and when he had to go out, it was in the dining room of the knights close to the kitchen.

nSo, if he had it set up in the sunroom, it was probably for Artizea herself.

nArtizea hesitated a little, even though she had no reason to hesitate.

nShe glanced at Lysia and said, pointing to the documents.

n“I have a lot of work to do.”

n“It seems so.”

nAt Cedric’s words, Artizea felt a sense of shame.

n“After all, after Lysia sees through it, you have to check it all again, don’t you? That’s the mansion budget, right?”

n“Yes.”

n“Leave it to her. If you want to lighten things up, I don’t think Lysia is in a hurry.”

nAt Cedric’s words, Artizea let out a sigh.

n“Did Sir Freil complain?”

n“Don’t scold him. It was more of a lament than a complaint.”

n“What should I do with the lamenting of a loyal vassal of Evron Grand Duchy, whom we have no manpower to replace?”

nCedric bit his mouth. The reason they didn’t have the talent to deal with the information was his fault.

n“It will be fine soon.”

nArtizea said so.

nWhen they start to gain strength, the manpower will increase in an instant. At that time, it will be more difficult to choose people.

nCedric held out his arm. Artizea grabbed his arm and stood up.

nThe two went outside after receiving Lysia’s support. And they walked slowly like going for a walk.

n“By the way, is the military conference about the Southern Conquest Army?”

n“It’s a comprehensive issue. Not long ago, a large number of military supplies were sent to the North. Most of the supplies used by the Southern Conquest Army at their destination will be provided by the Duchy of Riagan, but they still need a huge amount of supplies while they are moving.”

n“It’s going to be tight in many ways to gather the supplies again. Will it be all right?”

n“You mean the Evron problem? Or…….”

n“Both.”

n“If you are concerned about His Majesty, then there is no need. I have already reported the situation to His Majesty, and informed the military.”

nArtizea nodded her head. Cedric continued.

n“If you’re worried about the war, I’ve said it before, but I’m here because it’s worth coming. It was already in a state of silence.”

nIt became clear that Karam’s siege weapons could not penetrate the walls of the Thold Gate.

nThere was no second attack by bypassing the Thold Gate and crossing the mountain range.

nKaram was still outside the Thold Gate. The confrontation was continuing.

nBut it didn’t get to the big deals he was worried about at first.

nAfter using the siege weapon several times, Karam found it ineffective and gave up.

nBesides, the weather has warmed up. Now, Karam had no incentive to try to go south as if being chased by the cold.

nBecause it was better to take the land from another tribe in land beyond the Thold Gate than to hit the walls of the Thold Gate, which was as hard as an anvil.

nThe Emperor and the military relaxed.

nIn winter, Karam goes south, and in spring they return. It was the Northern War that the Empire knew well.

nIn the first place, it was for political reasons that fueled the fear of the war.

nConversely, however, it could have been a political issue.

n‘Even if His Majesty tries to find fault with you, there is nothing you can do about it. Even if the war is over for now this year, we have to prepare for the siege weapons for next winter anyway.’

nAccording to Freil, they’re already preparing for next year. In principle, it is in accordance with the exchange.

nHowever, repairing the walls of the Thold Gate in preparation for siege weapons, and training units in each village, mainly retired military personnel, to respond to unexpected raids are also being made at the same time.

nCedric broke the cycle of his thoughts.

n“Now stop thinking about it, or there is no rest.”

nArtizea raised her head and looked at him.

n“Is there anything you want to eat?”

nArtizea sometimes felt that Cedric had something to hide.

nIt still was. He seemed to have changed the subject on purpose.

nShe had no intention of questioning. It was the work of Evron Grand Duchy. It was, after all, a military issue.

nNot only was it not for Artizea herself to get involved in, she also had nothing to say, even if he asked for advice.

nThe same was true with the new leader of Karam.

nIn a situation in which she had never met and did not know the actual situation well, it was not meaningful to know more than that.

nShe knew that Cedric was doing this not because he distrusted her, but because he didn’t want to add to her burden.

nBut one side of her chest became heavy.

nWhat did the prince of Karam say to Cedric? Is he a ‘returner’?

nArtizea replied, trying to forget her thoughts.

n“…… Sugar.”

n“That’s not going to happen.”

nCedric immediately refused.

nArtizea let out a sad sigh. The butler and the doctor were blocking it together. She wondered if Cedric would give her some.

nUsually, people crave the things they ate when they were young, but she craved things she couldn’t eat.

nLately, she keeps thinking of white sugar. Marcus brought her some fruit candy instead, but that wasn’t it.

nCedric asked.

n“What about fruit?”

n“That’s fine, but I prefer meat.”

n“It’s perfect.”

nShe wondered what was perfect, and there was a large bowl full of meat pancakes and crispy baked bacon potato rolls on the table in the sunroom.

nThere was also bread, butter and jam.

n“It’s yours.”

nFeeling Artizea’s gaze, Cedric said.

nArtizea shook her head and sat down in the chair Cedric pulled out.

n“I think Lord Cedric was still misunderstanding why I didn’t like dinner.”

nCedric laughed softly.

nMilk mixed with grounded summer fruits is poured into a chilled glass.

nShe wasn’t really hungry, but it was good. Maybe it was a habit to eat, but at one time, she felt bloated and uncomfortable when she didn’t eat, so she has been thinking about eating all the time.

nArtizea was eating a meat pancake and drank a sip of sweet milk.

nThen she felt something creeping in her stomach. Before, she would think that it was just a feeling of bloatedness.

nShe’d heard stories about the baby’s movement.

nShe was so conscious of the baby in her womb that she seemed to be mistaken. She couldn’t be sure.

n“What’s wrong?”

n“It’s nothing.”

nArtizea took a deep breath and cleared her mind. It took considerable effort to keep her face composed.

nThere was that feeling again. This one was certain.

nShe felt strange. So far, it’s been an abstract feeling to have a baby, but now she thought it was really there.

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