Episode 143
Side Story 5. Autumn News
The blue sky from the office window was clear and high.
The warm sun shining through the cracks of the curtains gently covered the whole body.
âAchoo!â
But why is my body so chilling?
âWhatâs wrong, really.â
Even though I wore several layers of clothes, I seemed to be catching a cold.
âYerine, are you cold?â
Cassius, sitting on the couch in my office, asked with his eyes wide open.
I smiled nonchalantly, waving at him.
âNo, itâs okay.â
But Cassius was already lifting himself off the couch before I could finish.
Just by looking at his face, he didnât see me sneezing, but he seemed to have heard that I had collapsed somewhere.
âHold on a second. Iâll get a blanket.â
âOh, you donât have to do thatâ¦â
But Cassius couldnât hear me and left the office.
âItâs gonna start againâ¦.â
Weâve been married for four months.
It was a sweet time for any newlywed couple.
And Cassius, who had devoted a great deal of love to me even before marriage, poured out a great deal of love like a waterfall after marriage.
Not only did he look at me passionately with his sweet as honey eyes that never changed every day, but he tried not to fall apart from me.
Thatâs why he left his office and came to my office, sitting on the couch to handle his work.
In addition, he made a lot of fuss when I was hurt or sick.
A month ago, I only sprained my ankle slightly, but all the doctors in the Empire were called in and went crazy.
He could also call for a blanket.
But Cassius always tried to bring me what I needed without calling the servant.
I asked him why the emperor didnât call his servant, and he said he wanted to be praised by me.
I guess itâs the same this time.
When I thought it was childish but cute, the door of the office opened again.
âYerine, I brought you a blanket and tea.â
Cassius, who came running after closing the door, put a blanket around my shoulder and put another blanket over my lap.
âOh, my God, youâre also bringing me tea?â
âYes. Itâs good to drink when you have a cold.â
Cassius said, blowing the teacup with a teaspoon first
âItâs cooled, so it wonât be hot.â
âThank you, Cassius.â
In the words of gratitude, Cassiusâs cheeks turned red.
I smiled and reached for his hair.
âSuch a good boy.â
I have to pat him like this to compliment him so that he wonât feel sullen later on.
Cassius, who was receiving my touch with a smile, sat on his knees and hugged me at my waist.
And he leaned his head on me like a cat acting cute to its master.
Naturally, I hold the document in my left hand and wrap his shoulder with my right hand.
âHuh?â
At that time, Cassius sounded strange.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âWhy is your arm so hot?â
Cassius sat right down and said, clasping my hand.
âYour hands are hot.â
âIs it that hot?â
âYeah, didnât you catch a cold already?â
Cassius looked at me with anxious eyes and said.
âYerine shouldnât catch a coldâ¦â¦.â
He was right.
I have a lot of work to do now, and if I catch a cold, Iâll be behind on my work.
Wanting to finish things as soon as possible and spend time with Cassius, I didnât want that to happen.
And if I caught a cold, it was clear that Cassius would abandon all his work and nurse me instead.
If I didnât want the people working for Cassius to come to me crying, I had to deal with this cold somehow.
âLetâs drink this and go to the palace doctor.â
I took a sip of tea, nodding at Cassiusâs words filled with anxiety.
***
âItâs the fifth week of pregnancy.â
That was the first word that came out of the mouth of the royal palace doctor who had completed the examination.
âYesâ¦?â
I looked blankly at the face of the doctor, who had spread his laughter, and said.
âCongratulations. Your Majesty, the Emperor and the Empress.â
âAm I really, really pregnant?â
My doctor nodded enthusiastically at my question.
âRight, Your Majesty the Empress. Iâm sure.â
His words made me cover my mouth with my hands.
âOh, my God. What should I do?â
I was surprised by the sudden news, but I was happy.
âCassius, weâre going to beâ¦â¦.â
I called him with my head down in an excited voice, but there was no return answer.
âCassius?â
Instead, only sniffles were heard.
âCassiusâ¦â¦â?â
Carefully calling his name again, Cassius slowly looked up at me.
âOh, my God, are you really crying?â
Cassius couldnât answer and bit his lips, shaking his eyelashes and shedding tears.
âNo, donât cry. Itâs such happy news, but why are you crying so sadly?â
I hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it around Cassiusâs eyes.
Only then did Cassius stutter, swallowing his tears.
âBut⦠Iâm so sorry because I think that youâre going to have a hard time because of meâ¦â¦â
âNo, itâs not because of Cassius. It was done by mutual agreement.â
âBut again Iâm so happy to have a childâ¦.â¦.â
I sighed as I watched Cassius shedding tears again.
I hugged him and patted him on the back as if I couldnât help it.
The doctor looked at us with a big smile.
***
âYerine, hereâs the pudding and the cookies.â
Cassius said, putting down a pudding bowl and a plate of various cookies in front of me.
âThank you.â
âHasnât the tea cooled down? Do you want me to reheat it?â
At Cassiusâs question, I tried the tea with a slight lip on the teacup.
It occurred to me that it was moderately warm.
âWell, I think itâs okay.â
âIsnât it cold by any chance? Do you need more blankets?â
âNo, itâs perfect.â
âYou want me to feed you cookies?â
âNo, itâs okay.â
Having heard of the pregnancy news, I knew Cassius would pay more attention to me than usual.
Thatâs why I wasnât too pressured on this kind of attention and care.
The only problem is that Cassius is doing the same now in front of our Academia classmates.
âWow, I donât usually talk about this.â
Rachel put down the teacup and opened her mouth.
âYou are really excessive, Your Majesty.â
âHuh?â
Cassius, however, did not even think that he was excessive.
âWhat?â
âNo, itâs not.â
Rachel shook her head when she saw Cassiusâs reaction, who was seemingly unaware of what was wrong.
Astra burst into laughter when she saw her like that.
âBut thatâs understandable! Donât you want to do something more for your beautiful wife who will have a baby?â
âYes, I understand that feeling.â
Erica said, chewing on the cookies.
Chewing through the cookies, she continued in a low voice, glaring at Cassius.
âKeep that attitude until she has a baby. Comfortably so that she doesnât have to lift a single finger.â
Cassius tilted his head at the words.
âBlothea, isnât that obvious?â
âItâs good to know. If you donât keep that word, Iâll turn the palace upside down.â
âOops, thatâs scary.â
Even after graduating from Academia, the relationship between the two doesnât seem to make any difference.
âMaybe even after the baby is bornâ¦?â
I put my hand on my stomach that didnât come out much yet and thought.
âBy the way, congratulations, both of you.â
Astra said, clapping her hands.
âYou said you wanted to have a baby two months ago.â
I nodded and laughed at Astraâs words.
âRight, I didnât expect it to happen so soon.â
âYeah, so we were surprised to hear that. Youâve only just been married.â
Then Cassius, who was looking at me quietly, intervened in a low voice.
âWell, thanks to Astra.â
At first, no one seemed to understand what he was saying.
Astra opened her eyes wide and pointed at herself and asked.
âWell, me? Why would Iâ¦â¦â¦.â
Just then, I noticed what Cassius meant.
âOh, thatâs what you meant. Yes, Astra played a part.â
âHuh, what do you mean?â
Laughing at Cassius, I turned to Astra and put my hands around my mouth and said quietly.
âThe bed you and Ray gave me as gifts, Iâve used it a lot.â
Astra jumped out of her seat and shouted at the words.
âOh, my God!â
A cool wind blew around the table where a burst of laughter broke out.
A red maple leaf blown by the wind fell on a white tablecloth.
Itâs really autumn.
The day around the palace was dyed with pretty red.
The day I got to know you, the sky was very blue.
***
My colleagues who came to congratulate me on my pregnancy left the palace, and a deep night came.
âWater.â
As I lifted my left hand, leaning against the head of the bed, Cassius held a cup of lukewarm water in his hand.
âBook.â
At that word, Cassius ghostly found the book I had read last night in a pile of books on the cabinet and brought it to me.
I took the book and opened the bookmarked part and stuck out my left hand.
âFace.â
Then Cassius straightened his chin on my left hand and gazed at me.
Holding Cassiusâ chin and looking around at his face, I let him go a minute later.
âWell, good.â
I had a habit of appreciating Cassiusâs face every night before bed.
Itâs nothing special, but this way, Cassiusâs face is more likely to get in my dream.
When Cassius said good, he smiled brightly and pulled back.
Now heâs going to lie down next to me as usual.
It was just then.
A note fell from the pocket of his pyjama pants.
âHuh? Whatâs this?â
Unconsciously picked up a note that fell on my lap.
âOh, no, no! Itâsâ¦â¦.â
Cassius uncharacteristically reached out, shouting in a bewildered voice.
âOh, can I not read it?â
Cassius then paused and took his outstretched hand.
âWell, thatâs not itâ¦â¦â¦.â
His face was very red when he said so.
âThen?â
âIâm just a little embarrassedâ¦â¦â¦.â
Cassius replied, twisting his body.
âNo, what the hell is this?â
As I looked at the note with a strange face, Cassius opened his mouth in a crawling voice.
âBut I think Yerine should know tooâ¦â¦. You can see it if you want.â
I opened a wrinkled note, thinking it was suspicious.
As soon as I saw the handwriting with a flag pin and the traces of anguish seen on numerous sticks, I screamed unbearably.
âOh, my God, what is this?â
Lots of scattered letters.
It was definitely a sign of naming a baby.
Cassiusâs face had turned red as if it were bursting.
Itâs nothing to be ashamed of, but why is he blushing so much.
I canât let this.
I have to compliment him a lot.
âHow did you come up with such a cute idea? Huh?â
âOh, no, justâ¦â¦.â
Eventually, I kissed Cassius on the cheek.
Cassiusâs face turned red in an instant, but unlike just before, the corners of his lip were raised.
âI thought Iâd name the baby myself. Thatâs why I thought about it in many ways.â
Cassius looked down at the paper in my hand immediately and said.
âI thought it would be nice to have a name mixed with the two of us, but fortunately, both female and male names came out.â
Cassius said, pointing to our name on a piece of paper, followed by the two baby names circled next to it.
âOh, itâs true.â
âDo you like it?â
I nodded violently at his slightly nervous asking.
âI never thought of it, but both the male and female names are so pretty.â
âReally?â
Cassius then continued, slightly dampening his lips with his tongue.
âSoâ¦â¦ would our baby like it too?â
Looking at his slowly wobbling golden eyes, I burst into laughter.
Embracing Cassiusâs neck staring at me with his eyes blinking, I said in a delightful voice.
âOf course!â
I hoped that day would come soon.
The day when I see the babyâs face and call him/her by this name.