In the main hall, just by the main entrance to the Oriasa castle, Erzsébet turned to the side and inspected her silhouette in the mirror on the wall.
No matter which way she turned, the baby bump was now noticeable to any attentive eye.
Her normal wardrobe choices included corsets that complimented her more hourglass figure, cutting in tight to the waist so as to accentuate her bust and hips. With the child on the way, however, her regular clothes and corsets were not going to fit for the next several months. The housekeeper and maids procured her some nice new dresses, with an empire cut that cinched just below the breasts and allowed more space for the child to gradually grow.
"I'll definitely have to explain your existence, won't I?" Erzsébet muttered.
Her hand dropped down to touch the bump as she continued to observe her reflection. There would no doubt be a million questions on how she would raise the child, while also maintaining her duties as the Queen of Hearts. There was no royal inheritance for the child to receive, no rank to which they would be the successor unless the Deck itself chose them. She and Basch would certainly arrange for the child to never want for anything while they both lived, but that would be cut short if they both died early.
She also wasn't quite sure what this all meant for her relationship with Basch. Their intimacy was strictly on the sexual side; they had come to a consensus some time ago that Basch wasn't interested in romance. But now that she was expecting his child, she had recently noticed him showing a bit more affection when he thought she wasn't paying attention. Perhaps he was simply preparing himself for being a father, raising a child was a huge responsibility after all, and he had not yet voiced any grievance about it.
Erzsébet halted her inspection of her appearance as the footsteps approached her, and turned to see Alfred and Basch reaching her side.
"You're not self-conscious about it, are you?" Alfred pestered, "Probably the most I've ever seen you focus on how you look."
"Well, it can't be hidden anymore," Erzsébet addressed, "Remember, we need to tell Erika first that she is going to be an aunt. After that, you're allowed to rile up the grapevine."
"Yeah, yeah," Alfred acknowledged, "I've got it."
"Do we know who is arriving first?" Basch asked, "And where is Lovino?"
"Lovino is just up there watching."
As Erzsébet answered, she pointed at the second floor balcony just above the front doors. Lovino was leaning against one of the windows there, watching for the rumoured approaching carriage. The Ace had seemed rather moodier and more pensive than usual, Erzsébet had noticed, hopefully his brother could afflict him with a bit of enthusiasm.
After a couple more silent moments, Lovino suddenly leaned forward, something grabbing his attention. He nodded to himself as he moved away from the window, leaning on the balcony to address the other three.
"Clubs are here, green flags on the carriage. They just passed through the gate."
"Gentlemen, shall we?" Erzsébet instructed.
Basch moved to her left side while Alfred moved to her right, before the three of them walked towards the front door. Once they were a few feet away, the guards opened the doors wide so the trio of Royals could walk through and stand on the top step of the outdoor staircase. Just as they got into position, the Clubs carriage pulled in to park at the bottom of the stairs, and the fanfare was trumpeted to announce the arrival of the first Royal guests.
Although she kept her eyes forward on the carriage, she heard Lovino's footsteps behind her as he rushed to stand at Basch's left. With all of them in formation, and a guard walking over to open the carriage door, Erzsébet waited to see who would emerge first. It was tradition for the Ace to exit the carriage first, both to survey the surroundings for danger and to hold open the door for the other three Royals. However, when an Ace is a woman, that tradition is sometimes broken.
The carriage door opened from the inside, and out stepped the Jack of Clubs. Erzsébet nodded to herself in understanding, they were deliberately breaking tradition. Feliciano waved at the Heart Royals as he pulled the door fully open, allowing the King of Clubs to climb out after him.
"Don't wait for us, Feliciano," Francis directed as he took over holding the door, "Go see your brother!"
Relieved of his duties, Feliciano immediately bounced up the steps towards the doors, while Francis held the carriage door for Arthur to climb out. Lovino broke the Hearts formation and went down a few steps, meeting his brother about two thirds of the way up.
"Lovino!" Feliciano embraced, excitedly pulling his brother in for a tight hug that made Erzsébet smile.
As the two brothers hugged and spoke quietly to each other, Erzsébet looked at the carriage again. Arthur had taken over holding open the carriage door, offering a hand to Ace Natalya as she climbed out last, while Francis walked up the steps towards the three Heart Royals still standing in formation.
"King Francis," Alfred hailed, "Welcome to Hearts."
"A pleasure to be here, King Alfred," Francis returned as he reached Alfred and shook his hand, "It's wonderful to see you all again."
The Kings finished their handshake, and Francis turned to her next.
"Erzsébet, you look lovely as always," Francis complimented as he came close to her.
"You're too kind, Francis," Erzsébet replied as they kissed each other's cheeks, a shared greeting they were both well-accustomed to. As they parted, Erzsébet noticed his eyes quickly flicker towards her abdomen, before returning to her eyes.
"Am I correct in assuming you have some news to share, my dear?" Francis quizzed, his eyebrows raised in intrigue.
"You are," Erzsébet bluntly confirmed, "And it can be discussed later."
Francis nodded and winked in understanding, before turning to greet Basch and shake his hand. Arthur and Natalya reached the Heart Royals just then, with Arthur stepping forward to greet Alfred and shake his hand. After that, Arthur turned to Erzsébet.
"Queen Erzsébet," Arthur greeted, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Queen Arthur," Erzsébet responded.
As Arthur moved along to shake Basch's hand, the Ace of Clubs reached the second-last step, and gave the King and Queen a small bow as per tradition.
"Ace Natalya, welcome to Hearts," Alfred received.
"Thank you for hosting us, your Majesties," Natalya replied.
"Clubs is the first Suit to arrive," Erzsébet explained, "Your brother should be arriving shortly."
"I look forward to seeing him again," Natalya answered.
"Don't we all," Alfred digressed, "All twelve guest rooms have been set up on the fifth floor, we've assigned your group to the north wing. Let's head inside and get you all settled in, shall we?"