The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 65

The door opened, and a woman cautiously stepped inside. What set her apart from the previous visitors was her prominently swollen belly.

A young husband held her hand tightly, accompanying her. He gripped her arm firmly as they entered the hall with trembling steps, bowing deeply at the entrance in unison.

“Princess, guardian of Macari. Thank you for helping us survive the winter.”

Yulania gazed at them with kind eyes and nodded.

“Welcome. It must have been difficult to come all this way in your condition.”

The husband seemed intimidated, stammering and unable to speak properly, but the pregnant wife, on the other hand, bowed with a composed expression. Her round belly, visible at a glance, suggested she was near her due date. Seeing the husband constantly checking on her reminded Yulania of Santia.

Yulania glanced at Alban, who was sitting on an auxiliary chair, and received the sacred stone. Once again, a warm, palm-sized yellow sacred stone rested gently on her hand. The young couple stared blankly, their eyes filled with awe at the sight of the glowing stone.

Then, with a fluttering heart, Yulania instructed Alban,

“Bring it here.”

There was a special reason why she had been particularly looking forward to this woman. Alban brought a bundle that had been prepared at the back of the hall. As he handed it to the woman, she looked at Yulania with a questioning gaze.

“It’s a tapestry to attach to the baby’s clothes. I made it myself.”

As Yulania spoke with a hint of pride, the pregnant woman’s eyes widened.

“This, Am I allowed to receive something like this? This is too much of a blessing. I don’t know what to do.”

“It was made for you.”

Yulania relaxed, relieved by the positive reaction. She had created this occasion to celebrate the woman’s pregnancy. She wanted to give even more meaning to those who were expecting children around the same time as her. The woman repeatedly bowed her head, swallowing her tears. Then, she cautiously spoke.

“Princess, may I dare to ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“If this child is born. I would like to name her ‘Nia,’ after your honorable name. If this is too presumptuous of a request. I apologize.”

Yulania blinked, slightly surprised, but soon smiled gently. It was an unexpected request. That made it all the more welcome and touched her heart.

“Nia, It’s a beautiful name. I grant it. I am honored that you would give my name to your precious child.”

She requested another sacred stone from Alban. He promptly brought her a glowing stone. Yulania placed it in a pouch along with the first stone and instructed him to give it to the woman.

“This is for Nia.”

The pregnant woman held the two sacred stones and the tapestry in her trembling hands, knelt down, and bowed.

“I will treasure them like heirlooms for the rest of my life. I will never forget this grace.”

Yulania quietly watched the scene, and suddenly, a wave of emotion washed over her, filling her heart with a surge of feeling. The fact that a simple act that was not difficult for her could have such great meaning, to the point of being called a grace, made her feel strangely moved.

‘I’m glad I held the audience.’

It was a different feeling from when she traveled through the streets. Meeting the eyes of the territory’s people and actually having conversations with them brought her greater joy than she had expected, and it was an experience that made her affection for Makari grow.

On that day alone, more than twenty people visited the castle. Some were young and full of life, others seemed to have difficulty moving, and some came with young children. But all of them had pure and benevolent eyes.

Yulania found herself growing more and more attached to the territory ruled by her husband.

She handed a sacred stone to each of the people who came in line, asking for their names, and engraved the emotions contained in each face and voice in her heart. There were no conditions for attending the audience, yet the territory’s people each gave Yulania a gift. They didn’t bring expensive jewels or grand objects, but each gift contained their sincerity, and none were unimportant.

After the audience ended, Mireya approached her and draped a small blanket over her shoulders.

“I didn’t know that an audience could be such a touching occasion.”

“Neither did I.”

Yulania replied softly. The sky visible outside the window was already turning red. As spring matured, the sky also changed to a brighter color.

Perhaps because she had been sitting in one place for too long, her ankles felt heavy, but she slowly stood up. The warm eyes and tearful voice of the pregnant woman she had met earlier still lingered in her heart like an afterglow.

Mireya, who was watching, cautiously approached and asked.

“Princess, shall I support you?”

Yulania shook her head.

“It’s alright. I feel so at peace that my body feels light.”

She thought that she could now call Makari her home.

In the early morning at Makari Castle, a slight chill of spring still lingered when the window was opened. However, the atmosphere inside the castle was filled with a distinct sense of change.

Although only a day had passed since the audience, the entire territory was buzzing with stories about Yulania. The small whispers that had started among the servants spread to the mouths of the commoners, and in the city, those who had directly attended the audience held the sacred stones preciously, whispering that the holy woman had given them directly.

People who showed off the sacred stones they had received began to appear, and the nickname “the Giver of Light” was quickly spreading among the people.

And there was one person who, upon hearing all these stories, came to the castle with a prouder face than anyone else.

“Angela? You seem more hurried than usual today.”

Her eyes were more frantic than usual, so Yulania thought that something urgent had happened.

“Princess, well something truly amazing has happened. Please listen without being surprised.”

As Yulania nodded with a kind smile, Angela took a deep breath and spoke.

“Rumors are spreading throughout the territory that a holy woman is in Macari.”

Yulania initially blinked in surprise, but soon asked with a smiling expression.

“You didn’t start the rumors, did you?”

At that, Angela flinched and lowered her head.

“Well, I didn’t start it. Really. At first, those who had attended the audience were talking about it. After that, I also, slightly well, slightly added to it, but…”

Yulania chuckled at Angela’s hesitant and sheepish appearance. Then, she gazed at the garden visible far outside the window for a moment before shaking her head.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. This is the first time I’ve experienced such a connection, and I’m enjoying it. I don’t think there could be anything better that I could do.”

Yulania had experienced many things after coming to this territory after her marriage, but they were all filled with emptiness. In particular, the memory of loss that made her whole body tingle still made one corner of her mind feel distant whenever she thought about it.

But now, the fact that she had become someone who could give warmth to others filled her heart.

Upon hearing those words, Angela placed her hand on her chest and lowered her head with a slightly reddened face.

“Princess, No, the holy woman is indeed.”

“Angela, don’t exaggerate too much.”

Yulania said, still with a smile in her voice. Angela couldn’t find any more words to say and simply lowered her head again.

Yulania looked out at the garden beyond the window again. The smiling faces of those she had been with yesterday came to mind, and she also thought of the words of the person who had first said that they wanted to name their child after her name.

All of those things remained as a warmth in Yulania’s memory. And she quietly said.

“I want to continue meeting people. If there’s anything I can give, I want to give it without holding back.”

Now, she was protecting something in her own place, in her own way. And that heart was spreading like small lights throughout the territory.

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