A New Life Within
The scenery around us remained exactly the same as before. It was all arranged this way so as not to put any psychological pressure on Grace noona, who was still in the early stages of pregnancy. No matter how much one strengthened their body with magic power, pregnancy was something entirely separate—there was always a significant chance of miscarriage from even the smallest of reasons.
“……Um, are you feeling alright?”
“Hehe. Why are you so tense?”
I had looked up books on the subject separately. Medical knowledge in this world varied greatly depending on one’s social status. It wasn’t a society that shared knowledge in the first place. Commoners relied on folk beliefs and possessed only the most basic knowledge, such as the orders issued by their territory to wash every day. Nobles weren’t all that different, though they were relatively free from disease thanks to the power of magic, but…….
“But, that……”
“Come here.”
Grace noona, lying on the bed, smiled gently and gestured with her hand for me to sit beside her. It was close enough that I would have to sit on the bed itself. Only then did I realize I was still standing in the doorway.
“Hehehe.”
Seeing my limbs move with a slight creak, she must have noticed how nervous I was. As she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed as if I were adorable, the tension in me eased a little, and I slowly approached her.
When I gazed at her face intently, noona smiled.
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I look strange? Is my face swollen?”
The way she lightly touched her face with both hands was cute. I shook my head without a word, and after watching her tilt her head in confusion, I sat down beside the bed.
Her face, completely without makeup, made me acutely aware that she was even younger than I had been in my previous life. At that age, she had received education to become the lady of the house, married into the family, and become pregnant.
Without thinking, I reached out and stroked Grace noona’s cheek. Had it become a little rougher?
“Really, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden, Leo.”
Grace noona took the hand that had been caressing her cheek and wrapped it in her own. Perhaps her body temperature was a little higher than usual. I could feel a warm heat.
“Is your body okay?”
“You’ve been asking that since you got here, hehe.”
“I can’t help but worry.”
“Well, the morning sickness is a bit severe, but nothing too difficult yet.”
“I see……”
I had been receiving continuous reports from Lena, but hearing it directly from Grace noona eased some of the worry in my heart. As we chatted quietly, my gaze unconsciously kept drifting downward.
Beneath her usual bountiful chest was a small, slender waist—and inside it was my baby. How should I describe this complicated feeling? Me, a father. Was this what it meant to do one’s patriotic duty in an era of noble low birth rates?
“Would you like to touch it once?”
“Is that okay?”
“Hehe. It’ll be our secret from Lena.”
Contact with the baby had to be handled with extreme care. In this world where medicine had not caught up to modern standards, it was only natural, and even more so for nobles. It had to do with magic power, but I’ll skip the complicated details.
Gulp.
I swallowed nervously without realizing it. When I lowered my gaze, Grace noona began to pull back the blanket she had been covering herself with. She was wearing comfortable clothes that would have been hard to imagine her in normally. Her face without any makeup, her natural state without the perfume she usually wore. Even my older brother probably didn’t know this side of her.
Suppressing the secret sense of superiority I felt, I reached out toward noona’s slender waist.
“How is it? Can you feel anything?”
“Even I know there’s nothing to feel at this stage. Don’t tease me, noona.”
“Hehehe. To be honest, other than feeling a bit lethargic, I don’t really know much about my own condition yet either.”
With a bitter smile, noona wrapped her hands around mine where it rested on her belly. She slowly closed her eyes and leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Pregnancy. I always thought it would happen someday, but it feels faster than expected…… I’m still a little dazed.”
“Honestly, I still can’t really feel it either. But……”
Her disheveled hair. The faint, slightly stronger scent of her skin. Or maybe it was just that my eyes were blinded by love, making her look even more beautiful than usual. I wrapped my arms around noona’s shoulders as she leaned into me.
“I’m happy, noona.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. Of course. It’s our child, noona. I may not feel it fully yet, but I’m truly happy.”
I had been flustered. We hadn’t used contraception, so I had expected pregnancy to happen eventually. But it had come sooner than I thought. Still, I wasn’t displeased. I was genuinely happy.
Squeeze.
I hugged the noona who had nestled into my arms tightly. Her arms around my back tightened as well. Only now did I notice that the tips of her fingers were trembling.
“It will definitely be healthy, right? I’ll be able to give birth safely, right? There won’t be any illness or anything like that, right? Magic power—will there be enough magic power? No, it’s fine even without magic power. It’s our child, Leo’s and mine. As long as this child grows up healthy……!”
I stroked noona’s hair. She was still young, and this was her first pregnancy. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how anxious she must feel. I patted her back as her chest gradually grew damp with tears.
“It might be hard to hear the word ‘Dad’ from them, but yes. This is our baby, noona. They will definitely grow up healthy and beautiful.”
“Hic, Leo, Leo……!”
“Really. You’re about to become a mother, and yet you’re crying so much.”
I looked at noona’s face as she lifted it from my chest. I carefully wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. My child. The woman carrying my child. My sister-in-law. But right now, she was a fragile and lovable lover. I slowly tilted my head and drew closer.
Our noses brushed against each other. A ticklish sensation spread. Our eyes were locked on one another. We could feel each other’s warm breath. I slowly stroked noona’s cheek, closed my eyes, and leaned in. I kissed her lips.
A light kiss. A careful kiss where I could only feel the soft touch of her lips.
“I love you, noona.”
“…………I love you too. Leo.”
“Father is returning.”
“I heard.”
We hadn’t had sex. Really. I wasn’t some insane bastard who would go into heat and lose control of my lust toward a woman anxious in the early stages of pregnancy. Through light skinship, including kisses, I had waited until noona could calm down.
With slightly swollen eyes, noona lowered her head in embarrassment. It was adorable.
“Are you okay with that, Leo? You’re the acting head of the family. Once Father returns, that will end too, won’t it?”
“Come on. If I could throw away that annoying position of acting head, I would have done it long ago.”
“Hehe! That’s so like you, Leo.”
I lay down on noona’s bed while still holding her in my arms. Leaning against my chest, she seemed to have relieved much of her anxiety, because she began speaking with a slightly more lively tone than usual.
“Saren is coming with Father too. When I told her I was pregnant, I could feel how flustered she was even through the letter. Really, Saren… I wonder when she’ll stop seeing me as her little sister.”
“It’s all because she’s worried about you, noona. Still, it’s good news that she’s coming.”
No matter how devotedly Lena attended to her, it would still be more comfortable with Saren, who was like an actual sister to her. Seeing Grace noona smile at my words, it seemed that even if she said otherwise, she was looking forward to Saren’s arrival.
“There’s nothing else uncomfortable, right?”
“I really am fine. Earlier, that was just…… I suddenly got emotional, that’s all.”
At my words, noona blushed and patted my chest. She seemed embarrassed about having cried.
“Of course pregnancy is a serious matter, but I didn’t expect to be protected this excessively.”
“Is that so? Isn’t this normal?”
“Well, it is, but the Franz family seems to be especially strict about it.”
According to noona, who had come from the capital, even when a child was born into a noble house, it was rare for them to receive such thorough protection. Of course, the royal family was an exception.
“That’s because children have always been precious in the Franz family.”
“Hmm. I’ve heard that, but……”
This was probably the first time she was truly feeling it. Excluding the direct descendants of the Franz family—my older brother and myself—the rest of the bloodline. In simple terms, cousins? Even those people in the Franz family had few children. Because of that, even collateral relatives received protection on the level of direct descendants the moment they became pregnant.
“Even if it feels stifling, you’ll have to endure it.”
“I know.”
“If you really can’t stand it, tell me. I’ll come and move around with you myself.”
“Ugh. I can’t refuse that. Since you’re getting reports on everything I do in my room anyway.”
To be honest, we both knew it was overprotective, but with both Father and my older brother absent, the only direct descendant left was me, the second son. There were formalities to consider, so there was nothing we could do.
“Still, once things stabilize a bit, let’s take walks together. Have you started craving anything? Just say the word and I’ll get it for you, anytime.”
“I will. Do you know you’re being even more overprotective than everyone else, Leo?”
Me? I looked at noona in surprise. She narrowed her eyes and smiled.
“Did you think I didn’t know you come to see me like this sometimes?”
“Hmm.”
She caught me. Ahem.
“……Should I get you some wild ginseng?”
“Eating something like that recklessly could cause big problems.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Of course. ……Damn, this is embarrassing.
“You’re so cute.”
I turned my gaze away from the affectionate look in her eyes. Come to think of it, throughout our entire conversation, she hadn’t once brought up my older brother. I wondered if she was deliberately avoiding the topic because I was here, but seeing her smile so innocently, it didn’t seem that way.
Anyway, my older brother had also heard the news of the pregnancy, but because of the Muller situation, it looked like his return would be delayed. How was I supposed to face him? This was going to be really awkward.