“Baby, talk to me. Are the babies doing well these days? When do they move? When can I meet them? Hm?”
“Oh, just a moment.”
Kailas quickly put away the stinger she was holding. She couldn’t hurt an innocent person.
‘This grandma isn’t an intruder.’
An intruder wouldn’t be wearing a yellow fur hat and fur slippers.
A long nightgown and a fluffy cardigan down to the calves weren’t fitting for an intruder either.
‘But who is she? Why is someone like this in the palace?’
Kailas completely dismissed the suspicion that the person was an intruder. Nevertheless, she couldn’t immediately realize who she was.
The clothes Mano was wearing were too plain to immediately guess that she was the Queen Dowager.
‘Could she be a family member of a court lady living in the palace?’
At first glance, the person did not appear normal. A look of pity appeared in Kailas’s eyes as she mistook Mano for a court lady’s family member.
‘Lady Leticia is indeed kind-hearted. To take such good care of the families of the court ladies.’
While once again admiring her master’s kindness,
‘But the baby’s baby?’
It felt strange to ruminate on the words of the mysterious grandma.
‘Julia also often teased Victor by calling him a baby.’
There was a reason for that.
‘Queen Dowager Mano used to call Victor baby. She must have mistaken Leticia and Victor…’
Kailas took a deep breath.
“Gasp! Could it be, Madam Mano?”
Surprised, Kailas immediately knelt down. She carefully examined the person’s attire again.
‘It still doesn’t look like the Queen Dowager’s clothes…’
A nightgown covered in dirt and a pilling cardigan didn’t seem like something the Queen Dowager would wear. Nonetheless, Kailas couldn’t shake off the thought.
Mano was said to have a heart condition and was deeply attached to certain items. The cardigan Mano was wearing might be one of them.
“I knew you knew!”
Mano smiled brightly and hugged Kailas tightly.
“Yes. My name is Mano. Nice to meet you, baby.”
“…!”
Mano’s body temperature was higher than anyone she knew. Mano’s thin hand stroked the back of her neck.
With the warm and soft touch, Kailas felt her heart drop for some reason.
“Your Excellency the Queen Dowager. It is an honor to meet you. But, I apologize for not recognizing you, and, um, I’m very sorry…”
Kailas stuttered with unfamiliar etiquette. Cold sweat ran down her back.
‘I made a mistake on my first day in the principality.’
Mistaking the Queen Dowager for an intruder and brandishing a stinger.
Mano tilted her head.
“Why are you sorry? You’re going to help me, right? I’m happy to meet you.”
“Me, helping Madam Mano?”
“By the way, your eyes are really beautiful. They look just like the night sky, as if stars are twinkling.”
“Ah, th-thank you.”
“Since I have many babies, can I call you Night Sky Baby?”
“Yes, that’s perfectly fine. Please, call me whatever you wish.”
Kailas nodded earnestly. Mano, who had been patting her head as if she were adorable, tilted her head.
“But why are you trying to give up so easily? You never know what’s in someone’s heart. That child might come to like you too.”
“Huh? Someone liking me… which baby are you talking about…”
“Of course, the future can change. It’s not always good to follow a set path. But I hope my dream comes true. Do you think so too?”
Mano’s cryptic words continued.
Kailas tried not to show her confusion.
Although Mano’s mind wasn’t entirely sound, she was Gilead.
It might be that she was predicting the future. Kailas didn’t understand what her eyes and some unknown person’s unrequited love had to do with her future.
‘I should remember this well and report it to Lady Leticia later. But, should I also tell her that I almost pricked Madam Mano with a stinger? As her wing, I shouldn’t hide anything from Lady Leticia, but what should I do?’
As she agonized over how much to report, Mano’s conversation, jumping from topic to topic, continued.
Kailas struggled to respond enthusiastically and remember what she deemed important. Everything seemed important since she didn’t understand any of it, making it all the more confusing.
Just then, Mano smiled warmly and spoke kindly.
“Baby. You see, I brought gifts today for you and your babies. Aren’t they pretty?”
Kailas, who was on the verge of losing her wits, snapped back to attention.
Small acorns, pretty pinecones, colorful flowers, and other treasures Mano had gathered.
All in pairs.
With a sense of disbelief, Kailas asked.
“For me and my babies?”
“Yes!”
Despite the many “babies” Mano had mentioned today, Kailas had a strong feeling that this time, she was referring to Leticia.
‘If Lady Leticia likes them… does this mean Lady Leticia is having twins?’
* * *
After showing off her gifts for a while, Mano started to doze off. Kailas carefully supported her and headed to the inner palace.
Despite the late hour, the area in front of the inner palace was quite bright.
Knights with torches were running about busily. Julia, who was pulling her hair out in frustration, spotted the two of them.
Julia rushed over in the blink of an eye and checked Mano’s condition from head to toe.
“Madam Mano. Please raise your arms. Turn around.”
“Yawn.”
Despite yawning, Mano obediently spun around and raised her arms as Julia instructed, as if she were used to it.
Confirming that Mano was fine, Julia looked like she was about to cry and gave thanks to the goddess this time.
“Oh goddess! Thank you so much. I will pray towards the empire every morning.”
She then started scolding Mano.
“Madam Mano, why did you escape from your bedroom again? I thought you went to His Majesty, but he was clueless. Do you know how scared I was?”
“Yawn. I’m sleepy.”
“Where do you even learn these escape methods? Does Gilead’s dream teach you this? It’s not enough to hide pillows under the blanket, you even added a wig!”
Julia waved a luxurious wig she had produced from somewhere.
“Where did this wig come from? It looks like the one the head steward used. Don’t tell me you took it from him?”
“I had no choice because of the gift for the baby…”
Mano hung her head, looking dejected at Julia’s fierce scolding. Julia, who seemed ready to hunt a beast with her nagging, hesitated and asked.
“A gift?”
“A gift for the baby…”
Mano’s face grew even more forlorn. Julia looked at her, not knowing what to do. She quickly handed the wig to a knight and began to soothe Mano.
“Madam Mano, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just worried about you. When I first saw the wig, I almost fainted, thinking someone had kidnapped you and cut your hair. You can go for a walk anytime. Just please let us know beforehand?”
“But I thought I’d be late to meet the baby…”
Mano shook her head weakly. Julia sighed and held her forehead. The brief skirmish ended decisively, as always.
“Yes, you shouldn’t be late to meet the baby…sniff.”
Kailas silently admired Mano, who had subdued Julia with just a few words. She couldn’t openly express it, being a fellow wing.
“I wanted to meet the new baby too.”
Mano grabbed Kailas’s hand. Surprised by the sudden shift, Kailas flinched. Fortunately, Julia only looked at Kailas with a wistful expression.
“Yes, if you want to meet them, you should. Just come back safely. My heart is already in pieces…maybe it’s already burnt out.”
Julia, who had been staring off into the distance, supported Mano and thanked Kailas.
“Kailas, I rely on you. Madam Mano’s escape skills have improved significantly lately. We never know when or where we’ll see her next. Ahahaha.”
“Don’t worry. If I see her, I’ll bring her back just like now.”
“Sniff, now I feel a bit more at ease. Madam Mano, let’s go inside. I’ll read you a fairy tale.”
“Yes, yes!”
Watching the two of them walk away, Kailas also headed back to her quarters.
Was it because she learned that Leticia might be having twins? Her heart still pounded with excitement.
‘I never suspected.’
Despite observing Leticia daily, she hadn’t guessed.
It must have been because it was still early in the pregnancy.
‘Just a few more hours to wait.’
In the morning, she would meet Leticia. The thought of confirming the twins thrilled Kailas already.
Perhaps because she had something to do, the anxiety she felt in bed melted away.
She would be busy for a while, so she should be fine for the time being. She could live a reasonably useful life.
But once the tasks were done, the anxiety would return.
‘To think Madam Mano called me a baby.’
Kailas chuckled, recalling Mano’s affectionate term. Such a loving nickname didn’t suit her at all. She doubted a day like this would come again. Soon, she would leave the palace and not return.
So she thought.
* * *
Despite her excitement until dawn, Kailas didn’t get to meet Leticia in the morning.
Leticia had been absent from her duties as the queen for too long, making her morning schedule incredibly busy.
She had to deal with the nobles non-stop, naturally delaying Kailas’s audience.
Hearing the news, Kailas leaned on the windowsill, staring blankly at the sky.
With nothing to do, her schedule was empty again. All sorts of thoughts began to creep in.
‘Can I live well in the principality? Can I accomplish something useful?’
She was different from her past self. She was Leticia’s wing, not Josephina’s.
Still, she kept recalling how she always felt out of place in the empire. She remembered the priests who pointed at her, calling her gloomy.
‘I want to stand on my own without relying on Lady Leticia…’
She doubted whether she could live well among ordinary people without Leticia’s favor.
“Sigh.”
She kept sighing from frustration. It would be comforting to have something to do. She got up and started preparing to go out.
She needed to go somewhere.
Anywhere.
She needed to start something.
‘Should I set up a small clinic? To check on the health of the palace people. Maybe visit an apothecary? The medicines of the principality and the empire must be different.’
As she was planning various things, an unexpected visitor came to see her.
Irene, the wing of light, the youngest little wing.
“Sister, please help me.”
The small child’s face was wet with tears. Her nose was red from crying so much. Surprised, Kailas wiped Irene’s tears and asked.
“Irene, what’s going on since morning? Why does your face look like that? Have you been crying?”
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