Side Story 3.2

It felt like a lie that she had been stressed about not having a child just a moment ago. Edelis couldn’t believe she was pregnant, so she looked at Lehan, then at her belly, and then back at Lehan’s face. His expression showed that he was just as disbelieving. She would have known if she had been pregnant before. She just thought that she was sleeping more and her appetite had changed because she was at ease. But pregnant… She was still so lost in disbelief that she was just touching her belly blankly when Lehan suddenly began to give various orders, softly so as not to startle her.

“Bring everything that’s good for her body. Find all the books on pregnancy and child-rearing and bring them to my office.”

“Why do you need to look at books on pregnancy and child-rearing?”

“I have to look at those to know how to treat you, don’t I?”

“I get pregnancy, but why child-rearing?”

“We’ll have a wet nurse, but since it’s our child, shouldn’t we do the basics?”

Lehan’s eyes and enthusiastic attitude showed that the “basics” he was talking about had a different meaning than what she thought. Edelis giggled and said, “Then, I’ll look at them with you,” but he told her to just eat, sleep, and rest well. He said that since she was pregnant, he would take care of all the other minor things, and she smiled happily at his words. However, it was only after she had spent most of her time in bed for over a month that she realized he truly intended to do everything he said. But she didn’t know yet. What captivated her attention more was Lehan, who was holding her hand with an emotional look in his eyes.

“Edelis, thank you so much.”

“Thank you for what?”

“I thought I didn’t have a family at first. But I did.”

Lehan said that the only person he truly felt was his family was Edelis. She was the person he had to protect, the person he would live with for the rest of his life, and the person whose mere presence made him happy. Lehan felt that his fatigue would melt away just by looking at her face, and he thought that was what family was.

“But now we’re having a child…”

Lehan couldn’t continue his words. He felt that this was the process of becoming a true family with Edelis, not just “lovers.” Since there was no child, there was a risk that legally, Edelis would return to being ‘Edelis Brill’ instead of ‘Edelis Cronad’ if he were to die. But with a child, she would be Edelis Cronad for the rest of her life. Lehan felt a deep sense of satisfaction that she would share his last name.

“Lehan, our family will be even happier in the future.”

“Yes.”

The words ‘our family’ kept echoing in Lehan’s mind. He thought he would want to tell his past self to “survive at all costs.” Edelis hugged Lehan, and he also buried his face, which felt like it was about to cry, in her shoulder and replied, “Yes. That’s good.”

One night, Edelis suddenly woke up from her sleep. She tried to go back to sleep, but the foods she wanted to eat, such as strawberries, watermelon, and tangerines, kept coming to mind. Just then, Lehan woke up and realized she was awake. She was embarrassed, but Lehan, who had heard from his ministers that pregnant women might wake up hungry in the middle of the night, asked her what she wanted to eat.

“Is there something you want to eat?”

“How did you know?!”

“It wasn’t in the book, but I heard from Raiden. That you might suddenly wake up in the middle of the night because you’re hungry.”

Edelis said she wanted to drink the fruit juice she had drunk at the market a long time ago. Lehan sent Frache to the Marquis Brill’s territory in the middle of the night to get the juice. After a lot of hard work by Frache and the knights, the juice was brought back, but Edelis took one sip and said, “Sorry, I can’t drink it,” which made Frache despair. Thankfully, she ate the lemon tart that Lehan had had prepared, which her mother had enjoyed when she was pregnant, with great relish.

Her morning sickness didn’t last long, and as her body began to feel more comfortable, she could feel the baby moving in her stomach. The movements grew stronger, and there were times when it felt like the baby’s kicks were hurting her ribs. Finally, the signal came.

“…My stomach hurts.”

It had been two hours since Lehan had attended a state council meeting. Lehan had really not wanted to go, but since he knew he wouldn’t be able to work properly after the baby was born, he had attended to handle as much work as possible. But the pain came when he wasn’t there. Edelis was in pain, so the maid serving her ran out to call the royal physician and Lehan, and the two of them entered the room right away.

“Edelis!”