“You are pregnant.”
Even at the doctor’s words, Dorothea was stunned.
‘Really? Am I really having a baby?’
Dorothea patted her belly.
‘A new life that never existed before is sprouting in me.’
She had learned and knew about pregnancy and childbirth, but she felt a sense of wonder.
“Ethan….”
She lifted her head to look at Ethan, and he looked back at her in disbelief.
What makes this even more surprising to them is that they remember before the return.
So a life that could not exist before they changed their destiny.
A new future descended upon them.
Ethan couldn’t stand the
overwhelming emotions and took Dorothea in his arms.
“Thank you, Dorothy.”
Ethan muttered, unable to hold her tight, not wanting to harm the child.
The fruit of precious love.
And his love, Dorothea Milanaire, became more precious.
Dorothea rested her head on his shoulder at Ethan’s embrace.
She felt a warm breath.
‘Today I feel more loved than ever before.’
* * *
The child in her belly, fed with love, grew healthy.
Except for mild morning sickness, she passed the early stages of pregnancy without any major crisis and entered a stable phase.
Dorothea’s stomach began to grow so that the child’s presence was clearly revealed.
She could feel the baby’s heartbeat.
Dorothea would share that strange feeling with Ethan.
Late at night, the two ended the day in bed together.
“When our child is a little older, we should go out together. I like the lakeside and the flowered fields.”
At Ethan’s words, Dorothea nodded in favor.
It became their routine to imagine every night after the child was born.
They have already prepared small and pretty clothes for the baby, a cradle, blankets and handkerchiefs, diapers, and toys.
If you think about it, both Dorothea and Ethan were far from ‘a good family’.
So, there was a vague longing for ‘a harmonious family’.
They never learned how to create such a family, but both wanted to try.
“We will also play the piano together. We also play stick marches.”
Dorothea drew a scene where three of them played a stick march together with a child in the middle.
It was a picture that made her happy just thinking about it.
“Shall we teach our child swordsmanship?”
“I can ask Joy. This time, she would teach the Knights’ guards.”
“I don’t like her….”
Dorothea laughed as Ethan pretended to be disgusted.
Dorothea, who laughed at the small stories, shut her mouth at the blank space that had come for a moment.
Ethan looked at her face.
“Your expression is dark, Your Majesty.”
For some time now, Dorothea has often been lost in thought with a dark expression on her face.
Ethan was concerned that the emperor’s work would be too heavy for her pregnant woman.
Even after pregnancy, she was doing her job as an emperor, so he knows. The burden of an empire is too heavy for a woman who is not alone.
“Did you have any difficulties today?”
Dorothea shook her head at Ethan’s question.
“It’s good to work. It’s what I wanted to do, and it’s what I have to do. I will do it as long as I can.” Dorothea said.
It was not the Emperor’s job that she was concerned about.
Ethan looked at her quietly, as if ready to hear what her concerns were.
Dorothea hesitated and then opened her mouth.
“The more I feel the baby grow, the more scared I am.”
At Dorothea’s words, Ethan paused for a moment, then turned his body, which had only turned his head, to lie down.
He was completely focused on Dorothea.
Dorothea looked away for a moment, then looked at Ethan and spoke softly.
“… … Even if bad things happen, love this child. more than me.”
Ethan’s eyes shook at her serious words.
Because he knew right away what she was worried about.
It wasn’t that Ethan didn’t worry about giving birth at all.
But he thought more about a hopeful future.
But Dorothea was different.
Dorothea had this fear from the moment she found out she was having a child.
She may die giving birth to a child. As her mother, Empress Alice, did.
But Dorothea’s bigger worries lie elsewhere.
‘I feared that this little life would become an ‘abandoned child’ rather than my death.’
‘Will Ethan possibly turn the arrow of my deathly resentment towards the child?’
Isn’t the life I wanted to escape continuing to my child?’
‘Wouldn’t unhappiness come before happiness in my child’s life?’
It was a fear she had from birth.
As her child’s due date approached, the fear grew stronger.
She had nightmares.
She dreamed of a child, barely out of the womb, abandoned in a dark snowy field, crying.
“Ethan.”
Dorothea called him again as if she wanted to confirm Ethan’s feelings.
Ethan hugs Dorothea tightly in his arms.
He felt the child between him and Dorothea.
“We will be fine.”
Ethan gently comforted her.
“But promise me. That you’ll love this child to the end. I will too…. ”
Dorothea begged in his arms.
Ethan nodded his head.
“There is no other child in the world prettier and more adorable than ours.”
Then Dorothea smiled and nodded her head.
Dorothea soon fell asleep in his arms.
Ethan covered Dorothea with a blanket and looked at her angelic face.
Perhaps her worries had shifted, and he became a little scared.
‘If she’s really going to die after giving birth, how would I…’
Seeing Dorothea doing her job with good health and courage, he believed that she would be okay.
Delighted by the fact that she had a child, he did not notice Dorothea’s feelings.
Ethan hated himself for not noticing her fear sooner.
Nothing is going to happen. It will.’
Ethan looked at her silently and kissed her forehead.
* * *
The next day, Dorothea would find Ethan intently watching and studying something.
Dorothea was pleased to see him interested in something other than her, as he had been so focused on her since she became Emperor.
It was nice of him to do that for her, but she felt that he needed to find another hobby that he enjoyed.
Then one night, Ethan took Dorothea’s hand and begged her to go for a walk.
Dorothea, who just needed a change of mood, gladly followed him.
The cool, clear wind took her frustration away.
“I have been sitting in front of my desk these days, so it’s been a while since I took a walk.”
“Isn’t your body heavy?”
“I am fine, Ethan.”
Within a month or two, Dorothea’s stomach was noticeably swollen, making it uncomfortable to walk for a long time.
“They say I have to exercise consistently.”
Dorothea said as she walked alongside Ethan.
Ethan slowly walked in stride with Dorothea, escorting her as if carrying a precious jewel.
“Shall we take a break over there?”
Ethan pointed to the white domed gazebo on one side of the garden.
It was there that he once played the violin as a birthday present for Dorothea.
“It’s been a while here.”
Dorothea smiled as she sat on the gazebo bench.
It seemed like it had been years since Ethan and Dorothea had been visiting this place alone.
“Every time I come here, I think of you, Ethan.”
“Really? I don’t think so.”
Ethan shook his head.
Still, she thought it was a meaningful place for each other, but when Ethan seemed not thinking about it, Dorothea was deeply saddened.
Then Ethan kissed her on the cheek and smiled.
“No matter where I am, I always think of your Majesty…”
At Ethan’s words, Dorothea burst into laughter.
Dorothea thought every day, ‘I’m so glad I married this person’.
“But there is one thing that comes to mind when I come here.”
He sat side by side with Dorothea, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and sent the little spirits into the air.
The spirits rising one by one soon filled the garden like stars.
It felt as if she had gone back to the day Ethan gave her a birthday present a long time ago.
The day they confirmed their love for each other.
“It’s always beautiful to look at.”
Dorothea felt like she was floating in space.
After her accession, many unnecessary spirit show-offs were eliminated, so it had been a long time since she saw a spirit like that.
It’s a power she doesn’t have, but now she is not jealous.
She can enjoy the beauty of that power.
Ethan gently laid his hand over hers as she admired the spirits.
“It is said that the spirit of light has the power of life. So, Dorothea, you will smile and hold the child in your arms. I will be by your side to protect you.”
Ethan’s soft voice permeated her.
Only then did Dorothea know what he had been thinking and studying the past few days.
All the books he saw were related to spirits.
He’s been looking for a way to deal with Dorothea’s worries after she expressed her fears of giving birth.
“Of course, even if there is no spirit, You can give birth to our child safely, but if you are afraid, don’t forget and remember me.”
Even without the power of the light spirit, Ethan will not let her go.
At Ethan’s words, Dorothea hugged him tightly with both arms.
“I was really worried about stupid things.”
Dorothea laughed and muttered.
‘With Ethan by my side, what was I afraid of?’
At a time when you’re too happy to think of good things.
Then Ethan looked at Dorothea in his arms and kissed her.
Soft lips touched hers.
“It’s a silly thing to worry about, Dorothy.”
He whispered softly with the tip of his lips, and kissed her more deeply.
Too sweet and seductive to be a bee, Dorothea bit his lip in protest.
Their tongues dug into their folded lips, and they tasted each other.
The sound of wet rubbing in the still garden seemed to echo in their ears.
The hot and thrilling sensation made Dorothea’s heart beat loudly.
It was as if the breath that flowed through the veins reached the child in the belly, breathing in deeper life force.
And with his breath, even the fear that had been deeply rooted in her from birth disappeared as if erased.
* * *
Gotta say, totally proud of Dorothea for demanding Ethan love the child even if she dies…annoyed by so many characters that don’t even think about that…natural given her history…still not sure I trust Ethan though…
That was my thought as soon as she was nauseous.. birth trauma 😭 man. I love this chapter tho. Ethan is such a green flag now 🥹🥹
I’m not crying now… 🥹
Ethan, I know for sure you would not let that child behind, being a part of Dorothea and yours