episode_0206

[Episode 202] – Collapse of Common Sense

Before I could even come to terms with the fact that I was pregnant, news of my pregnancy quickly spread throughout the bustling palace. It was a situation I couldn’t hide no matter how much I wanted to.

Naturally, my announcement of pregnancy was not received as good news by everyone. It was expected. Who could possibly take this news well?

The former queen. To suddenly become pregnant years after her husband’s death. It was only natural for everyone to suspect my infidelity. Even I would have doubted my own fidelity in their shoes.

But suspicion is just that—suspicion.

It didn’t turn into certainty.

The evidence? The ministers who did not come rushing to investigate despite the rumors spreading. A day had passed since the rumors began circulating, yet the ministers did not come to question me about infidelity.

Well, there was simply no concrete evidence to suggest that I had committed adultery, no matter how much one thought about it.

“Did you conceive a child when you left the palace?”

It had been months since I left the palace, and if I had conceived a child then, I would have been close to full term by now. It was simply not possible from the start.

“Then, did you commit adultery with a man inside the palace?”

…If the ministers knew anything, they would know that there were no male figures around me. Furthermore, they were well aware that the reason there were no men around me was because of Titania.

Thanks to Titania, who was either seen as a virtuous lady or a harlot, depending on who you asked, I hadn’t even been assigned a personal maid. There were only a few servant girls around, and Titania handled everything related to me.

To break through such a formidable barrier like Titania and commit adultery with me? The ministers knew very well that there was no such insane man in the world.

“Who on earth is the child’s father?”

The ministers, unaware that the child in my womb was Titania’s, gathered together to ponder this question, but no matter how much they thought and deliberated, they couldn’t find an answer that made sense to them.

“Instead of just discussing among ourselves, wouldn’t it be better to directly ask Her Majesty the Queen? While it may be disrespectful to doubt the Queen’s fidelity, we seem to have no choice but to confront her directly.”

After a night-long meeting, the ministers decided to approach me directly. They planned to ask me who the father of the child was and whether I had committed adultery. They were going to press me for answers.

“So, are you going to go and ask? Are you going to accuse Her Majesty the Queen of infidelity? She is the Queen Mother’s right hand. Do you want to be demoted to some rural corner like the former ministers for meddling needlessly?”

“Are you just going to keep pondering for the rest of your life? Even if the Queen Mother doesn’t know, surely Her Majesty the Queen will listen to our story. Of course, we can’t all go. Only those ministers who have a good relationship with Her Majesty the Queen should go.”

“Ministers with a good relationship with Her Majesty the Queen?”

At his words, the ministers’ attention turned to ‘three individuals.’

“…Alright, I will go and ask Her Majesty the Queen.”

One of them, Bangsho, said calmly.

“Haha, if I didn’t like it before, would I say such things? These damn old bastards! Twisting the words about dismissing ministers so nicely!”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs clenched his fist, visibly enraged.

“It seems my days as a minister are over. There’s no suitable successor for me. What should I do?”

The Minister of Education let out a resigned laugh.

Though the Minister of Foreign Affairs resisted, upon hearing the Minister of Education’s suggestion to “resign from being a minister and live a peaceful life in the countryside with grandchildren,” he too could only manage a resigned smile.

Three people came to my bedroom to ask me the truth. Among them, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, despite appearing as if he had much to lose, incessantly grumbled behind Prime Minister Bangsho and the Minister of Education.

“No, isn’t it just enough to send only Bangsho? Didn’t he say he would go by himself!”

As if finding the grumbling voice unbearable, the Minister of Education kicked the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ calf. Ugh! The Minister of Foreign Affairs made noises, and the Minister of Education looked at him as if he were truly pitiful.

“Oh, you ungrateful person. We’ve been friends for a long time, so how can you suggest sending Bangsho alone? You must feel why you have so few friends even today.”

“People must live their lives. Can’t we send Bangsho alone now?”

“It’s already too late to resign ourselves. We didn’t come here to ask strange questions. We came because we couldn’t understand no matter how much we thought about it. Surely Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness will understand us.”

Although the words “perhaps” followed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs pretended not to hear. Yes, it’s not that we came to ask strange questions. It’s disrespectful in itself to inquire about infidelity.

Knock-knock-

That’s how Bangsho knocked on the bedroom door.

“Come in.”

With my permission, the door opened.

The three ministers who came to see me first explained the contents of their meeting and everything leading up to their visit here, as if making excuses, and thus brought us to the current situation.

*

In the end, such a day has come.

I had vaguely thought that such a day might come someday, but I was just thinking about it. Frankly, even I found it hard to believe until the diagnosis of my appointment as a councilor.

How should I explain this situation? It was too absurd and unbelievable to tell the truth, and even if I explained it properly, would the ministers believe it wholeheartedly?

“Sigh… First of all, I did not commit the kind of infidelity you think. Don’t you already know? Does it seem like I have a partner for infidelity?”

I glanced briefly at Titania, who was nonchalantly sipping tea, in response to the ministers’ suspicions of my infidelity. The Minister of Foreign Affairs breathed a sigh of relief at Titania’s calm demeanor.

“We also do not think that Her Majesty the Queen has a partner for infidelity. We don’t believe she is someone who would commit infidelity. However, however…”

Bangsho, struggling to continue, pursed his lips as if he couldn’t understand. Knowing what Bangsho wanted to say, I frowned slightly. Today, the tea tasted bitter.

“Then whose child are you appointing…?”

“……”

I sighed deeply again, feeling frustrated and annoyed by the incomprehensible situation. Was it time to tell the truth? But even if I did, would the ministers believe it?

The fact that the child in my belly is Titania’s.

The fact that a woman bore another woman’s child.

Beyond that, the fact that two women conceived a child together.

Would the ministers even believe this unbelievable truth?

“Well…”

My lips kept pursing, unable to speak. Suddenly, irritation surged within me, wondering why I was even explaining this, and this nonsensical situation was endlessly frustrating.

As heavy silence filled the room.

Titania broke the silence and dropped a bombshell.

“My child.”

“Your child?”

“The child in Mother’s womb. My child.”

“?????? What?”

The ministers were left with numerous question marks swirling in their heads at the statement that defied logic. Trying to comprehend the incomprehensible, the Minister of Education burst into laughter at the inexplicable statement.

“Hehe, it seems that Her Majesty the Queen has learned an amusing joke. However, jokes in such a situation…”

“Am I making a joke right now?”

“…?”

The forced smile on the face of the Minister of Education slowly stiffened. Titania’s firm voice and her settled expression were clearly indicating that this was no joke.

Bewildered, the Minister of Education soon turned his head to look at me. It seemed as if he was signaling me to please say it was a joke, but there was nothing I could do.

Well, because what Titania said was true.

Rather, my silence seemed to affirm Titania’s words. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, appearing confused by the conversation, grasped his head with both hands and turned to the Minister of Education, seemingly asking for confirmation.

“I, I have a question. Can women get pregnant… even among themselves?”

“Why are you asking me that…? I am the Minister of Education, not the Minister of Sex Education.”

“But isn’t sex education one of the educations you teach? And yet, are you the Minister of Education?”

“I’ll resign from my position as minister starting today.”

Suddenly, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Foreign Affairs started arguing vehemently! Meanwhile, Bangsho, who was trying his best to understand the situation by stroking his chin, asked Titania:

“So… in other words, Your Majesty got the Queen Consort… pregnant?”

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?”

“The Queen Consort is your mother…? I tried to understand that you two had that kind of relationship, but… how can I possibly comprehend this… or rather, how can women…?”

Bangsho, utterly confused by the information, took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply while rubbing his temples with both hands. The feeling of common sense rejecting understanding. I know it well too.

Even amidst this confusing situation, I felt somewhat relieved as the truth began to unfold. Perhaps it was the camaraderie of not being the only one confused now.

Watching the ministers trying their best to understand the situation, I sipped my tea, while Titania rose from her seat as if she was about to drive a wedge between the three of them, coming behind me and embracing me tightly.

“You don’t understand that I got my mother pregnant?”

“No, well, ethically and logically, this is not…! How do I explain this to the other ministers…? The daughter, Her Majesty, impregnating her mother, the Queen Consort!”

“Yes, there’s more than meets the eye…! When did you two ever have that kind of relationship?! Did the Queen Consort see the Queen as her child in that way!?”

“How can women get pregnant with each other! Minister of Education!!”

“Don’t blame me, Minister of Foreign Affairs!!! I don’t know either!!!”

The bedroom was chaos itself.

Having given up on understanding, the Minister of Foreign Affairs screamed that they needed to find a biological way for women to get pregnant, while the Minister of Education shouted that this was not the royal family’s morality!

Yes, this would likely be the reaction of ordinary people.

Feeling a bitter taste in my mouth, almost scratching my throat, I continued to sip my tea. As the bedroom filled with the ministers’ screams, Titania clapped her hands to draw their attention.

Clap!

As the ministers’ gazes focused on Titania, she smiled mischievously and spoke in a voice that seemed to soothe the ministers, though her words were more of an announcement than a reassurance.

“5 years.”

“Pardon?”

“Just wait for about 5 years. Once the child is born and grows up, when you see the child’s face, everyone will understand. You’ll be able to see whose bloodline the child carries, and who the parents are.”

With a voice filled with unwavering certainty, the ministers couldn’t utter a word. Instead, their confident expressions seemed to reassure them in this situation.

“For now, let’s set everything aside… But what if, even after 5 years, we still don’t understand? What will you do then?”

“Such a thing will never happen, but…”

As Titania, who was gently rubbing her swollen belly, chuckled softly and spoke.

“I’ll let you marry the person of your choice. And I will personally bear the successor. Is that enough?”

Titania, who had been disgusted by the words marriage and successor until now, declared that she would have a child. The ministers, well aware of the weight of her words, could only nod for now.

“For now… I will inform the other ministers to wait until the child is born. As Her Majesty the Queen wishes… I am very much looking forward to the child’s face.”