Manny in the corner grumbled at the royal physician's diagnosis. "Chut! I'm right. Mrs. Vera, I'm hungry because I've been careful." Manny sent them a look to appreciate its effort and accomplishment, and asked for something to eat.

"Get ready for Manny's favorite. It has been doing so many commendable things lately that I'm going to have to give it a t.i.tle," Killian said softly, looking back at Manny with a friendly glance for the first time.

"t.i.tle?" Manny's ears p.r.i.c.ked up. It didn't know what was going to change if it got a t.i.tle, but good things were good.

Manny, excited, followed Ian as he guided the royal physician out of the bedroom, and then Vera, who was going to prepare his food. Soon, in the lounge outside the bedroom, there was a mixture of questions and answers about Julietta's condition, and Manny's proud voice, boasting that he would be given a t.i.tle.

"I can't believe it." Julietta finally opened her mouth, looking silently at Killian in the quiet bedroom, in contrast to the noisy parlor.

It was only then that Killian, who was standing lost in thought, moved as if he had been released from hypnosis. He gently laid his hand on Julietta's stomach. "I think you have a big belly."

"Don't be ridiculous, Your Highness. I can't be swelling just an hour after I heard of my pregnancy."

When Julietta burst into laughter as she watched him carefully stroking her, Killian protested, "No, it's real. Look. It's a little b.u.mpy. Why didn't I know about this?"

After his series of nonsense claims, Julietta decided to let him think so. She asked as she watched him stroke her belly. "How do you feel? I'm weird."

"I like it, but I am getting cross and afraid of losing you to this baby."

Watching Killian, whose response was rarely confirmed by smiling and frowning, Julietta agreed enthusiastically, "I'm worried, too. What if you love the baby more than me?"

The eyes of Julietta and Killian met. They soon burst into laughter after looking at each other's pouting lips and slightly furrowed foreheads. "Then we'll promise each other. The top priority is for you and me."

Killian's lips, whispering little as he caressed her belly, sat quietly down on Julietta's.

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Extra Stories:

The Old Tie And The New Tie

Julietta laughed at Maribel was humoring her son Philip, who was now two years old. "I think Maribel is getting older, too. I didn't know you'd look like that."

The chubby Prince Philip had Julietta's colorful blond hair and green eyes, and was called a treasure and angel of the Imperial Castle. He was so innocent and not fretful that anyone could not help but fall in love with his smiling face.

Maribel answered, eye-catching Philip as he chewed the baby food that the chef of the Imperial Castle had prepared with all his heart and soul and smiled. "Oh, my G.o.d, I had no idea that a child could be this beautiful. When the Empress came to me, you were already five years old, realizing what the world was like."

When Maribel gave him another bite and humored him, Philip burst out laughing, liking what was in his mouth so much it popped out.

Next to her, Julietta was reading a letter from the Duke of Oswald, stroking her slightly bulging belly as she was pregnant with her second child. Oswald was now in Vicern.

When Killian became Emperor, his aides were also rewarded for their efforts. The Duke of Dudley and the Marquis of Anais were stripped of their t.i.tles, leaving a vacancy in the positions of the five Dukes and eight Marquises. Oswald succeeded from Marquis to Duke, and Valerian from Count to Marquis. The seat vacated by Oswald's succession was occupied by one of the families of the Counts with a long-standing tradition.

Since Count Adam was a n.o.bleman of the Princ.i.p.ality of Bertino, his t.i.tle did not change, and the Marquis of Rhodius was of the royal family, so neither did his. However, they were granted the most fertile lands of the Duke of Dudley, which had been confiscated.

"Oh, my G.o.d… I'm sorry to hear..."

When Julietta uttered a sigh of disapproval, even clicking her tongue, Maribel asked, "What's going on?"

When Maribel finished feeding the baby food and showed that the bowl was empty, Philip clenched and unfolded his fist as if to ask for more.

"No way, the Prince. You've had just the right amount, so let's eat again later."

Julietta hugged Philip who held out his hand and chewed his mouth as if to keep asking.

"My baby, do you want to eat more? No, you can't. If you eat too much at a time, you'll get sick."

While Julietta hugged Philip and humored him, Maribel read the letter Julietta handed her. "The construction of Raefany's in Vicern has been delayed again... the owner of the grocery store seems to be stubborn."

"I think I'll go there myself. And while I'm out, I need to look around the southern lands, too. We don't need to plant any more metum, so I can look at what's right and check our finances. It's too much for my aunt to care about that."

The poison-making method that Francis had used was now completely gone from the world. In a world where Killian ruled, no more such useless poison would be needed.