The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 314: Get Pregnant

Chapter 314: Get Pregnant

Mineah was still in deep thought when she suddenly found herself being invited by the Queen Mother for a spot of tea. She didn’t know what it was about, but based on the older woman’s expression, she could only assume that it was nothing truly out of the ordinary. Still, with her current predicament of her body being unable to support life, she could only hope that whatever it was they were going to talk about, it wouldn’t be about her having Nikolai’s children.

"I really hope that’s not the case...." she whispered to herself. "I don’t know what to say if she ever asked me..."

She sighed to herself as she made her way to the garden alone. She would normally have at least one or two of them around her doing their usual jobs, but she wanted a bit of time alone walking through the halls of the castle. Sure, she knew that some of them would have their eyes on her in the shadows, but at least she could pretend that she was truly alone and enjoy the peace for once. Very rarely was she alone these days, and while she appreciated the company, there were just precious few times that she had nothing around her except for the silence of her surroundings.

Besides, she really didn’t want to bother her shadow maidens for this. They had more than enough things to do on their plate as it is, and having them accompany her for a casual tea date with the Queen Mother would simply be a waste of their time and effort.

Letting out another breath, Mineah appreciated the sound of her own footsteps, the garden now in her sights as she entered its vicinity. Same as last time, the greenery around her made for a soothing background as she made her way to the place where she agreed to meet with her mother-in-law.

"Ah, you finally made it," the Queen Mother smiled warmly at her from where she sat at the table. "I was starting to think you’d be late for a few minutes."

"I wasn’t doing much at the moment anyway, Queen Mother," Mineah greeted with a teasing tone as she made her way to the seat right in front of the older woman. "Besides, we rarely get a chance to talk like this. It would be poor of me to ignore you."

Taking her seat, she smiled as she looked at all the snacks currently laid out in front of her. With all of the sweets and teas in front of her, it almost felt like they were being served more than what was expected for two people to eat.

"Do you like the spread, Mineah?" the Queen Mother smiled as she sipped on her tea. "I made sure to have an extra amount of sweets for this meeting, especially since your love for them is pretty well known at this point."

"Is it now?" Mineah faintly blushed even as she grabbed her own cup of tea from the table. "I didn’t think that my appetite would be big enough to be a significant thing to note."

She couldn’t help but think of all the food she managed to put down even as her stomach started growling at all of the sweets in front of her. She knew she was a glutton, but she at least hoped that nobody would put too much note into it. It made her feel like she was eating more than she should, which was definitely not true.

"I know that look, dear. Don’t worry, nobody thinks ill of your appetite," the older woman reassured her. "In fact, some even look at it as a sign of good things to come."

"O-Oh?" Mineah couldn’t help but blush as she stuttered. "And why is that?"

"Well, some, myself included, couldn’t help but think that you’re just practicing eating for two once you get pregnant with my son’s child."

Mineah’s eyes widened as the blush on her face intensified to the point that she looked as bright red with embarrassment. She didn’t expect her to just swerve right into that topic immediately!

"I-I’m glad you think that," she sheepishly replied.

"Come now, no need to be embarrassed," her mother-in-law reassured her with a chuckle. "I won’t lie though, I’m rather excited to be a grandmother once it does happen. I’m assuming you’re already letting things happen as they are?"

"Yes," Mineah meekly nodded. "I’m not doing anything to stop myself from getting pregnant if that’s what you’re asking."

"That’s good. That means it’s only a matter of time now," the older woman beamed. "Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you’re having trouble conceiving though. That’s simply a part of life, and I won’t begrudge you for not being as fertile as you might hope."

A sharp pain erupted from Mineah’s chest at those words. Not in a life-threatening sense, of course, but the older woman’s words just hit far closer to home than she would’ve hoped.

"I’ll try my best," Mineah replied with a forced smile. "I’ll make sure to give you and Nikolai many children to dote on."

"That’s great, but again, don’t force yourself if it’s just not working," the Queen Mother reassured her. "In fact, let me give you a few supplements anyway just to help things along."

Mineah could only blink as her mother-in-law just suddenly began to shove packets of herbs at her. She could only assume that she was supposed to put them in tea, but that was a problem she’d have her shadow maidens tackle for later.

"There," the older woman smiled after she finished shoving various supplements to Mineah’s side of the table. "It’s not much, but I can tell you with certainty that it helped me when I needed it."

"Thank you, Queen Mother," Mineah gratefully nodded.

"It’s nothing, dear. Just helping things along for both of our sakes."

From there, their talks devolved into more mundane and casual topics, and Mineah could only breathe out a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to relax. Truly, her problem was something that she had to find a solution for. For now, however, she should at least allow herself to have a bit of fun and enjoy the company of family and friends.