Pregnancy Is Too Much For The Villain - C154.2

She took off the simple fedora she had been wearing like a man and handed it to her aide, shaking off the night dew from her hair. Although it wasn’t polite, it was an action showing familiarity, so neither Valentin nor Reynard minded. Rather, they felt comfortable with her unchanged appearance.

“If you’re this busy, you could have called us to the palace instead of coming here.”

When Valentin spoke, observing the deeply sunken area around her eyes, Ellison smirked.

“It’s a place that hasn’t been good for either of you, so why would I bother to call you there?”

It was a consideration for Reynard, who had been unjustly imprisoned, and Valentin, who had been terribly harassed by the 3rd Prince Clifton since his boyhood.

Ellison picked up a sliced orange with small silver tongs, put it in her black tea, and stirred it with a teaspoon. A refreshing fragrance rose. She took a sip of it, then set the cup down on the saucer with a clicking sound and spoke, looking at the couple sitting across from her.

“You brought this victory.”

Ellison looked straight at Valentin’s face.

“A victor who fought not with guns and swords, but with pens and brushes.”

It was an unprecedentedly firm expression.

The emperor truly thought that Valentin had played an incredibly large role in what they had achieved. And that gaze held the same light for Reynard as well.

“And your husband, the Marquis, was the ‘designer’ of this fight.”

They had been companions who walked together for over a year, sharing the same goals, ideologies, and hopes, patting each other’s shoulders. But ‘victory’ as she expressed it… Could this, achieved by overcoming such complex world affairs and a tainted society, be simply expressed as ‘winning’? Valentin’s feelings were complicated, but he didn’t contradict the emperor’s words. It would be a victory from her perspective.

“I don’t want you to be buried like this in the background, quietly living as just victims of the messy affairs. Don’t you think the world should know?”

The emperor proposed with a profound face.

“It’s unfair. Especially you, Marquis of Valkyries. Aren’t you the one who set up the board to make all of this possible?”

Reynard, who had been quietly drinking tea as if he was just accompanying them, raised his head at Ellison’s words. And he opened his heavy mouth.

“Respected Your Majesty the Emperor.”

It was the most solemn voice ever.

“Your words about setting up the board… I agree to some extent.”

The sound of swallowing saliva was heard from the listeners.

“But I’m sure Your Majesty doesn’t think I did this because I had some great ambition or purpose.”

“Hmm…”

“The beginning was very simple.”

Reynard gazed intently at the person sitting next to him. The side profile with soft platinum hair falling gently on fair and translucent skin, those eyes as clear as water sending trust towards him. The young man with a straight back and proudly squared shoulders, gently holding his slightly swollen belly with a clear expression that had now shaken off everything. His one and only love.

“I simply disliked seeing my person suffer. Honestly, I couldn’t forgive that man for targeting and victimizing my husband in the past, and I couldn’t bear to see him still being treated as his tool even as the wedding approached.”

“That’s an excessively honest sentiment.”

But Ellison nodded as if understanding his feelings for his omega as a fellow alpha.

“At first, you simply requested an alliance with Your Majesty thinking you had to prevent him from ascending to the throne.”

“That’s right.”

She recalled the day before the Grand Duke’s son’s wedding when Reynard had personally come to her, handing over an invitation and asking her to attend the ceremony as an ally sharing the same goal.

“I know that as my husband grew closer to Your Majesty, you came to share the same thoughts and beliefs, but for me, it would be accurate to say that until the end, I only had the will to achieve what my consort wanted, to take revenge on the one who had hurt Valentin.”

“…”

“It’s true that I planned and set up all of that board from the beginning, but the point is that it wasn’t for some grand cause. And regarding the fact that the end result for those who played on that board became such a perfect destruction, I only laid out bait and bridges here and there, everything was their choice. All of this is the reason why I’m quietly staying without raising my nose, Your Majesty.”

“So you’re saying that although you planned it, the reason it ended in such a perfect victory was because they made choices that led to their destruction due to greed.”

“Precisely.”

“And that there wasn’t some tremendous justification either.”

“You’ve seen clearly.”

Reynard turned his head and firmly held the hand of Valentin, who was smiling beside him. A warm warmth was transmitted to him as he listened quietly.

“In the end, is it just luck that I became emperor…?”

Ellison gazed somewhere diagonally, falling into quiet thought.

“That’s not the case, Your Majesty.”

Valentin’s straight voice woke her from her reverie.

“What do you think was the reason you were able to survive among those who self-destructed due to greed? Isn’t it because Your Majesty continued to strive to move forward on the straight and right path for the development of this country, thinking of the imperial citizens?”

“…”

“You have always made choices for the people without falling into the many temptations. The people eventually recognized that, so you have every qualification to stand proudly in this position until the end.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

The exchanged smile was affectionate.

“But really, it’s such a shame…. Losing an excellent great noble and talent…. In the end, is your resolve not to enter politics unchanged, Marquis?”

“That’s right.”

“If you came to me, you would be a great ally and help….”

“Don’t lose the conviction you’ve always held. Aren’t you the one who has always strived to discover those with outstanding wit and talent besides the great nobles, and to create positions and times for them to play active roles?”

It was an accurate point. She had always been one to stand against politics that revolved around upper house senators who were great nobles.

“If I jump into that arena, it might actually make things difficult for the newly emerging era, the rising nobles, and the intellectuals working for Your Majesty. My duty is simply to protect the country and the sea as I have done until now.”

“…I see. But do you still have no thoughts of restoring your position as heir to the Grand Duke?”

She brought up the succession rights to the Grand Duke that Reynard had already given up. At that question, he gazed intently at Valentin’s face before turning back to the emperor with an expression of firm resolve.

“At the time I had no choice, but even thinking about it now, I believe it was the best decision. My husband gave up the ‘freedom’ he so passionately loved when he came back to me.”

“I didn’t think of it so grandly, Reynard…”

Valentin gently added that he hadn’t given up ‘freedom’ with some tremendous resolution when returning, but Reynard continued without affirming or denying.

“So I too intend to give up that tremendous position. Because I want to give back at least some of the freedom Valentin lost. So he can live a freer life away from that stifling position.”

Ellison slowly nodded as she listened to Reynard’s declaration.

It was certainly a position with no freedom.

Through today’s conversation, she perfectly understood with what thoughts the Marquis had made such a decision.

Valentin woke the emperor from her contemplation. The couple was now affectionately holding hands tightly.

“This person spoke so grandly, Your Majesty.”

“Go on.”

“It’s nothing special. We’ve just been through a lot, and now our goal is to spend the rest of our lives comfortably looking at each other rather than struggling through the storms of politics.”

“I see…”

It was truly something Valentin would say. The emperor nodded at his statement, reminiscent of an old person who had been battered by storms, wanting to spend the rest of their life peacefully and leisurely, as she looked at his proud yet affectionate gaze. A lifetime of quietly living, moving here and there freely in search of tranquility. How fitting for him, an artist who loved freedom and peace.

“If your resolve is firm, I won’t press the position any further.”

“Thank you.”

“But there will be some corrections in the media. As it is, I’m uncomfortable with those honorable deeds being buried too deeply.”

“Do as you please.”

The negotiation was complete.

“It’s still a distant story as there’s much to organize, but I’m planning a cabinet system based on constitutional monarchy, abolishing absolute monarchy.”

It was an incredible statement.

Valentin was surprised. He had thought she was an awakened person, but he hadn’t expected her to have the courage to build such convictions to the point of stepping down from the emperor’s position that had ruled this vast continent for hundreds of years. Ellison was an even more amazing figure than Valentin had seen.

“From now on, it should gradually become a country of the ‘people’.”

“…”

“For me, who’s planning such a difficult task, come visit often. I don’t want to lose a close friend.”

“How could I refuse?”

Even if they didn’t participate in politics, the names of Dennox and Valkyries would always be strong allies for the emperor who sought to lead great endeavors. Valentin exchanged a promise to maintain friendship with Ellison. It wasn’t a difficult thing. She was someone worth it.

And so the emperor left. Returning to the lobby after seeing her off, Valentin looked up at Reynard and asked.

“Is it really okay to give up everything you enjoyed and live freely with me?”

As he was no longer the heir to the Grand Duke, his position in the navy would not be the same as before. Living just as the Marquis of Valkyries with that title and as the owner of that territory was the same. But as if not minding any of that at all, Reynard shook his head.

“I had those things because I was born with them, not because I wanted them.”

“Is that so…?”

“I’ll say it again, what I truly want is you alone, Valentin.”

“Ah…”

“Because I have you, nothing else matters. I’m content with just ‘us’.”

“I feel the same.”

Valentin embraced the one saying such lovable words with both arms. The alpha’s strong arms hugging back felt so reassuring that his heart swelled.

The reunited couple needed no other explanations or excuses.

At that time, there were events, accidents, rushing emotions, and wounds that left them no choice but to choose that path. Both of them regretted it and at the same time didn’t regret it.

It was already time past.

Every day together was too precious and valuable for the reunited lovers to waste time ruminating over regrets. So they chose not to question the past. And without asking, they knew everything.

That this moment together now was better and more precious than anything.

That they would never let go of this hand again.

Valentin met Reynard’s unwavering gaze, grinned, and shook their clasped hands cheerfully as they entered the mansion. Into what would now be their home forever.