CH 196

Chapter 196 – A name for the baby in her womb

As time passed by, Rihannan’s body began to change little by little. When she looked at the baby growing in her belly, Rihannan felt happiness and sadness at the same time. Would she really be capable of leaving this baby here and parting for Chrichton on her own?

She became sad whenever she thought of this. But she also felt happy whenever she thought of the fact that she was carrying a baby once again, considering she’d previously believed she’d never be able to conceive again. She knew that, even if she wasn’t by this baby’s side, Igor, Mrs. Cessly and Basil would be there, giving him all the love in the world.

On the other hand, Mrs. Cessly was looking at Rihannan’s belly growing by the day, getting increasingly nervous. Rihannan had yet to officially announce her pregnancy, which was why the public wasn’t aware of this fact. Mrs. Cessly was worried that, at some point, strange rumors would start circulating about the Queen’s body.

Nonetheless, neither the King nor Queen were willing to publicly announce this piece of information. Therefore, there was nothing Mrs. Cessly could do to prevent this rumors from spreading. She could only wish for their relationship to get better as quickly as possible, so they could find happiness with their baby.

“What are you doing? Is that the same thing you were doing last time?”

Mrs. Cessly spoke as Rihannan was knitting. After getting pregnant, Rihannan distanced herself a little from her duties as Queen. Now, she usually used up her free time for knitting.

“I didn’t particularly want to knit that again. I want to try something new this time”.

After knitting something for the Queen Mother, she’d started knitting what was definitely men’s clothes, but she put that aside and started working on a new project.

Before, Mrs. Cessly would have softly suggested her to continue working on the item for the King, but she couldn’t do that anymore. Mrs. Cessly pretended not to notice what Rihannan was up to a while ago, and quickly changed the topic.

“Have you thought of the name for your baby?”

Rihannan said no with her head.

“It’s alright, the father will give the baby a name. I don’t care which name”.

Hearing this sudden answer, Mrs. Cessly quickly sobered up.

“But, my Queen, they say the name of a person determines their destiny. If you take your time to look for an appropriate name for the baby, then I’m sure that will be best for him”.

Rihannan bit her lips to hide the sudden storm of emotions that erupted in her mind. If the name of a person determined their destiny, then Rihannan should be experimenting a life being loved more than anyone else, since her own name meant “my love”.

“…I’m sure he’ll find and appropriate name”.

Then, Rihannan kept knitting without uttering a single word. Seeing her reaction, Mrs. Cessly realized her predictions could have been wrong. She thought if Rihannan started showing love and affection for her baby, then surely she’d bear the same feelings for the baby’s father as well.

But in reality, the Queen behaved coldly, not just with the King, but with the Queen Mother as well. Since it’s been a long time since the Queen last replied to the Queen Mother’s letters, the Queen Mother kept insistently sending letters in a clear sign of anger.

However, Rihannan didn’t even bother reading her letters anymore. When Mrs. Cessly couldn’t take it anymore and told Rihannan to have a look, the Queen calmly said she’d take care of it herself, so Mrs. Cessly  shouldn’t bother her about it. Fearing that the Queen might kick her out if she overstepped her boundaries, Mrs. Cessly didn’t say anything else.

“Soon it will be your birthday, my Queen”.

Mrs. Cessly spoke, trying to change the topic. Rihannan fixed her gaze on her before blushing, ashamed.

“So, you’ve remembered?”

“Of course. It’s the first time we are celebrating your birthday since you’ve become Queen”. Mrs. Cessly smiled warmly. “There’s still a month left till that day. How about we start diligently preparing for it now? Do you want any theme in particular?”

“I don’t care, whatever is fine”.

“Hmmph. I knew you’d said something like that, My Queen. But I’m planning on holding a big party. After all, we cannot allow the Queen’s birthday party to fall short of Countess Saphia’s, so you can’t stop me”.

Mrs. Cessly put on such a fiercely determined look, as though she’d never give up, that it made Rihannan laugh.

“Alright”.

“We need to buy some articles for the banquet. How about we ask the merchants to bring in various samples? That way you can choose whatever you like, my Queen. Just like last time”.

“That sounds good. Also, I’ll need some things to prepare for winter”.

Rihannan had previously summoned merchants into the Palace many times during her wedding ceremony preparations. That was the most effective method, so she wouldn’t have to get out of the Palace and visit every store herself.

“Then I’ll make sure it’s done”.

“Thank you”.

Mrs. Cessly left the Queen’s Palace to carry out her job. She then bumped into Basil, who was spying nearby.

“Grand Chamberlain, what are you doing…?”

“Oh, you’ve scared me!”

Looking quite surprised, Basil held onto his chest and exhaled a deep relieved sigh.

“Actually… we are looking for the Queen’s step-sister”.

Basil told Mrs. Cessly the recent events that had happened till now. He told her it was her who tried killing the Queen in the hunting grounds, and that she’d already murdered two people in the past. After hearing Count Clovis’ testimony, they tried capturing her, but she managed to escape. Hearing that she was on the loose, Mrs. Cessly was left speechless.

“Oh, my god… why haven’t you said anything till now?”

“Our Queen has plenty on her mind right now, I didn’t want to worry her because of this as well. She’s been depressed enough these days, has she not?”

“That’s right…”

Now that there were plenty of happy reasons to be merry, the Queen’s mood was extremely gloomy. The court’s doctor even said that if her mood remained as it was, there was a change that that might negatively affect the baby, which made everyone worry. Her mood finally improved when she started focusing on her knitting.

“So please, don’t say any of this to the Queen. I’m sure once that woman is captured, the King himself will tell her”.

“Alright, then. I promise I won’t say anything, so don’t worry”.

Basil scratched his head while he spoke.

“I’m actually beginning to think that it would be better for the Queen to remain in the Queen Mother’s Palace till all this mess is sorted out, rather than staying in the villa. Maybe I’ve made an unnecessary mistake back then…”

Even if they all kept their mouths shut, it would be difficult to stop rumors from circulating within the Queen Mother’s Palace. Therefore, if the Queen Mother were to find out that the Queen was pregnant, she would definitely pour all her love and care on Rihannan, without a doubt.

“Actually, I’ve also been feeling a bit worried because the Queen’s mood has been very down lately.  Just as you said, Grand Chamberlain, perhaps a new scenery would be good for her. How about you suggest this to His Majesty?”.

Basil turned pale. He seemed as though he was deeply surprised and scared by her words.

“What are you saying?! If I do that, His Majesty’s fury will fall on my head. I don’t want to die yet, I still have a young daughter!”

Mrs. Cessly laughed.

“Speaking of that, I’m sure your second youngest daughter has grown a lot. You said she was a child, right?”

Basil’s eyes twinkled like stars.

“Yes, they are truly wonderful and cute. Completely different to boys. That’s why I believe His Majesty also wants a daughter…”

“His Majesty wants a princess… not a prince?”

“Well, he didn’t exactly say that. He said he didn’t care if the baby was a boy or girl, but I have the impression he prefers a daughter. Considering he’s already chosen a name for the baby”.

“What? He’s already chosen a name for the child? Then… why didn’t he say anything?”

“He can’t say anything because he is worried about the Queen. But the name is quite unusual, to tell you the truth”.

“What’s the n-…?”

Basil whispered the name into Mrs. Cessly’s ears so nobody else could hear it. After hearing that name, Mrs. Cessly showed a very perplexed expression.

***

Many merchants were lining up in front of the gates of the Queen’s Palace. This was the first time the Queen had summoned them into the Palace after her wedding ceremony. Everyone was waiting patiently with the hopes of selling their craft and gaining some recognition.

For that to happen, they would be personally received by the Queen’s perceptive blue eyes.