Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

CHAPTER 3: YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO BE THERE (VXVI)

Part 055

Remina silently organized the paperwork. She looked at Homer who was there and spoke to him.

“You have a disgruntled face.”

Homer, who looked up and saw Remina, let out a small sigh and opened his mouth.

“She’s a woman who even has Dozern’s child. It won’t be good if this story goes to the second queen.”

“It’s not fair to only accept Damian’s help and not consider her position.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t know. It’s a problem that a woman with a child can be killed for no reason. Isn’t that better than having a war in the country? Think about what you are trying to prevent a war for. There is no such thing as this in the world where you have to sacrifice yourself.”

Homer, who had been frowning at Remina’s resolute words, quietly lowered his head. Remina quietly raised her teacup, and her class stood still as always.

* * *

Eilene was walking in the garden with her hand on her slightly bloated stomach. After she ate, she went for a walk. It was the doctor’s recommendation, and Eilene’s duty. Dozern’s mood fluctuated. He hadn’t even looked at her face for a while, but lately he had been very eager to do something, and he often had dinner with Eilene. After dinner, he often discussed things with the second queen. Eilene sat like a sack of barley in the parlor and was left unattended among the flowing stories. At first, she just wasn’t interested, but now she couldn’t even comprehend what he’s talking about.

The second queen raised her voice and talked about the first queen, and Dozern slandered the crown prince. Among the whispered words with low voices, there was the King, Taln, and Duke Bigor. After staring disapprovingly at Eilene, who was sitting absent-mindedly, when the second queen gestured with her hand to tell her to leave, she smiled and said bye and returned to the room. The word ‘useless’ was attached to the back of her head. She had no appetite, so she stopped eating lunch. Whether it was morning sickness or indigestion, she couldn’t eat at all. She forced herself to swallow whenever she ate with Dozern, and did it afterwards.

Giving birth to a healthy child was the last task left for Eilene. She was too weak to even walk, but the lady-in-waiting behind her would tell Dozern in the evening how long she had walked. Eilene walked slowly and encountered an unexpected person.

“Greeting the princess.”

When she bowed down to greet her, Princess Remina came up to her and stood in front of her.

“Did you go out for a walk too? But why are you looking so bad at work?”

The princess herself reached out her hand and supported one arm of Eilene. In the absence of panic, it was easy to stand up once her weight was distributed.

“You’d better sit down and rest.”

Looking forward to it, she walked along and arrived at a small pavilion full of cushions. She felt like she would live if she lowered my body. The princess sat next to her.

“I have something to say to her, so you should back off.”

The maid looked at the princess and lingered behind her, then was kicked out by her princess’s escort knight who was frowning on her. Once the maid disappeared, the shadow hidden by the tree behind the pavilion approached. It’s Damian.

Damian, who shared a gaze with the princess, stood up and took the place of the princess, who moved away from her, and took a seat next to Eilene. It was Damian who was more embarrassed than Eilene, who was taken aback by seeing an unexpected face in an unexpected place.

“Oh my God, why is your face so bad?”

It’s Damian. Damian. It was Damian who came to ask about wealth with worry. She had to show that she was getting along better than anyone else, but Eilene gritted her teeth and stood up.

“It’s because I have severe morning sickness. How did you get here?”

“I have something to tell you, so I asked the princess. Are you really okay, are you? No matter how bad morning sickness is, what if a person is this thin?”

She held out her hand as she reached out. She didn’t want to be pitied by Damian.

“It’s okay. Pregnancy is like this. Hurry up and leave.”

Damian put her hand away from Eilene’s face, which had turned so bad, and sighed. Damian, who hesitated for a moment, opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

“Do you know that the 2nd prince may join hands with the Principality of Taln to cause a war to become the king?”

“What?”

That’s absurd. Eilene thought for a moment that Damian had gone mad. Why did Dozern join hands with the Principality of Taln?

“Lord Dozern is preparing to plot a rebellion by attracting the Duchy of Taln.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!

“Because His Majesty the King will not hand over the throne to him.”

Eilene retorted with a smile twisting her lips. She didn’t know anything. She had the star of the queen, so why couldn’t Dozern become the king?

“I see you don’t know what to say, so I’m sorry, but no matter what anyone says, I’m destined to become a queen. Where do you pick up such talk and talk carelessly?”

Damian sighed again as her fly-faced friend raised her eyes and sharpened her blade.

“I know you have the ‘Queen’s Star’. But, regardless of your fate, it’s hard for Dozern to just be king, Eilene. He can start a war, kill everyone who opposes him, and then become king. Did you want to be the queen of such a king?”

Damian looked at Eilene with a sad face. This was not it. What Eilene had hoped for was not that kind of gaze. She wanted envy, not sympathy. It meant don’t look down like someone who has it all. On the subject of a liar who told nonsense lies.

“You’re crazy, Damien. You’re jealous of me being queen, are you? Do you say such scary things? War? Why is Docern going to war when I’m here? I still thought of you as a friend, but you came all this way and said such evil things?”

“If I didn’t think of you as a friend, I wouldn’t have come this far. Whatever you say, I thought you wouldn’t believe it. But, if you do something wrong like this, it’s going to be a big deal. Dozern’s collaboration with Taln is already under investigation, and once the evidence becomes clear, Dozern’s crime will be conspiracy to rebel. You will also be involved.”

Without hearing more, Eilene spurned her seat and stood up. Suddenly she moved loudly and her head spun. Damian hurriedly followed and grabbed Eilene’s arm, but she shook it off.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Liar, bad girl. You, you’re doing this because you’re jealous of me. I know everything. I’m the only one chosen, so you’re lying because you’re jealous. Let go of this. I won’t see you again, so don’t come to me now.”

Damian hurriedly added to Eilene who turned away.

“I enter the palace every Monday and Thursday. Princess Remina’s maid will be here every day at this time. If anything happens, tell the princess.”

Damian got off the pavilion, followed Eilene to the end of the pavilion, and continued talking.

“Even if you have severe morning sickness, take care of it because you look really bad.”

Eilene didn’t look back, she was caught by the maid of the 2nd prince’s palace, so Damian, who couldn’t do anything more, stopped there.

* * *

That evening, after receiving the report from the lady-in-waiting, Dozern asked lightly. He asked if she had met Remina. Eilene hid the cold sweat that welled up and said yes, and they talked for a while. The two of them talked around the table with three tea cups on it, barely swallowing the dinner that made her feel like vomiting.

Eilene, who had been neglected as usual with a blank face, caught the word ‘Taln’ in her ears. She hid her expression and opened her ears. Taln, Ready, Winter, Midok, Praetorian Guard, Assassination, War, Bigor, National Guard. For some, it was the hope of victory, but for others, while talking about the collapse of the world, like that the second queen returned to her palace.

Eilene, who was watching Docern’s eyes, carefully asked him, who was filled with a pleasant sense of elation.

“What happened with the Principality of Taln?”

“Huh? Ah. Did you hear the story earlier?”

He talked like that in front of people and asked if she heard it, but she couldn’t even say she heard it.

“At first, I heard of the Principality of Taln. Is that the country where we had our wedding?

Dozern smiled at Eilene’s words. It was an obvious mockery, but she ignored it and laughed along.

“When the situation is sorted out, you can go again. No, no. It will be difficult to empty Midok. If you leave it empty, it will occupy an awkward position.”

“That… I think I heard the word war, sir. I must have heard it wrong, right?”

“Ha ha. Are you afraid of war? Winning a war is not scary. It is exciting.”

“But the war…”

“Ah, that’s all right. You don’t have to ask to know. If the baby is born safely and father comes to his senses, the matter will be resolved without a war. Did you say the due date was the end of winter? Did you say the beginning of the new year? Ideally, it would be nice if the baby was born within this year.”

Dozern, who was in a good mood, took Eilene to her room. Eilene kept her mouth shut as Damian’s words lingered in her ears, but he quickly left as if he had done his job. Did she say that he was already under investigation, and that the charge would be conspiracy to revolt if only evidence was obtained? Would it stop if she told him?

If this child was born, if this year passes safely, if the wedding ceremony recognized by the King was held again, so if they become a formal couple, then Dozern could become the King. She looked at the closed door and pondered for a long time, but she couldn’t muster up the courage. What if someone got angry at her for saying such nonsense? What if he said he really wanted to kill people and become king? The courage to go against the planting of Dozern, who showed a friendly appearance again, did not pass.

As she opened her closed ears, she vividly heard scary words she had never heard before. Veronica and Dozern really laid out scary plans every day, without hesitation, as if Eilene had become a barley sack. If he found out, he would have known that he couldn’t let anyone know anyway. She’s turned away from her family, said goodbye to his friends, and has Dozern’s child growing inside her. If this continues, a war would really break out. He would kill the King and crown prince, enlists Taln to slay Duke Bigor’s capital forces, and sit on the vacant throne. To kill the King, the Taln army, the betrayal, and the purge of the pro-royal faction. After listening for days, Eilene put her fragmented facts together, trying to keep herself from passing out, playing the den of ignorance with all her might.

Veronica spread out scary plans with her red lips, and Dozern added his opinion with an excited face. When the truths that she had shouted were lies and that she had ignored all along came to her, it was only then that she saw what she had thrown away without thinking. She couldn’t bear to show her heart because she was the daughter of the head of the royal faction. She believed fervently in telling him that she had the queen’s star.

She understood at once why she had to be dragged into this unfamiliar place and live a life she hated. She believed Dozern’s words that he could become a King as long as they got married. She became pregnant because she judged that she needed an irrevocable conviction to gain the King’s approval to side with the crown prince. And she got married in a strange place with no one. Back at the palace, everyone supported her, so she thought it was over. She thought there were only days left to be happy. Even if the King didn’t approve the contract as a married couple and Dozern was irritated because he wasn’t appointed crown prince, she thought it would be over with time. Because she had the star of the queen. Because she was chosen to come here.

She forgot for a moment that there was a crown prince whom the King firmly supports, and that the head of the pro-royal faction that supported the crown prince was now her father. It was not thought that in order for Dozern to become crown prince, he would have to kill the crown prince and his base of support. He completely forgot that the Duke of Nodovan was included in that base of support that should have disappeared.

She really had become a worthless fool.

It’s unfair that she suddenly died, the unsatisfactory relationship with her new family, the engagement with the man everyone points at, and the confidence of a friend who didn’t feel any regret about that unfortunate fate. The luck she thought she had in her hand was sweet, so this was the result of pretending not to know.

Biting her fingernails, Eilene sat with her knees up on the bed, unable to fall asleep even in the deep night. What should she do? No, what could she do? She herself had the star of the queen, but why didn’t anything just flow away?

Blood flowed from the tips of her fingertips.