CFCF 71

Episode 71

After the craftsman left, Phoebe asked, amazed.

“You thought of that while looking at the rocking chair blueprint? You’re truly amazing, Your Highness!”

I let the maid’s admiration go in one ear and out the other, fiddling with the pouch in my hand.

‘If I still don’t know who the baby’s father is after the child is born…’

And if even Rurik doesn’t forgive me by then, what I’ll need is, of course, money.
I already have a fair amount of money on hand, but one can never have too much money!

‘Until now, I was too preoccupied with my terrifying brother to think of anything else…’

It was a great fortune to be able to earn money during this period.
So, I decided to more actively consider other items from the modern world that could be realized with the Empire’s technology and magic.

Six Months Pregnant

I had entered my sixth month of pregnancy.
After reading about the ominous dreams in the diary and suffering from nightmares for a while, something changed.
The diary began revealing itself at a faster pace.

‘…But it’s still not enough.’

Although several days’ or even a week’s worth of diary entries sometimes appeared within a single day, it wasn’t enough to identify the baby’s father before the birth.

‘There are only about three months left until the birth.’

I looked down at my noticeably pregnant belly and sighed.
Over the past week, about a month’s worth of diary entries had appeared, but there wasn’t much pleasant content.
The timid Louise only managed to forget the nightmares after several weeks, only to have the same dream again shortly after.

‘At least it’s a relief she could confide in Ernst.’

Remembering Ernst’s pale face when she brought up the dreams, I sighed involuntarily.

“That’s all in the past. You’re not going to say the dream has changed, are you?”

He had grabbed my wrist so tightly in his shock that the marks remained until the next day.
Seeing Ernst’s reaction like that, it wasn’t hard to guess how Louise must have acted after having the dreams.

Just then, a thump-thump reverberated from my belly.

“Hello, baby?”

I whispered softly. Suddenly, the quiet fireplace crackled and sparked to life.
I happily paced around the room, waiting for the flames to grow larger.
It was the day Ren was supposed to visit, for the first time in a full three weeks.
Finally, black flames surged.

“Ren.”

I beamed and approached him. He stretched out his arms towards me, smoothing his habitually furrowed brow.
I now knew the black stains on his palms were not ash but magic stone powder, but Ren, seeming conscious of my gaze, blew on himself and his surroundings, cleaning them.
Only then did he pull me into a tight hug.

“Lu, my god. You’ve gotten a belly.”

The familiar scent of ash and flames wafted to my nose.
I burst out laughing and grabbed his hand, bringing it close to my belly.

“Feel it. The baby’s moving.”

Ren flinched for a moment, then carefully moved his large palm and gently placed it on my belly.

“A bit lower.”

I subtly pushed his palm down to where the baby had been moving.
We waited, holding our breath, until the baby moved again.
Ren nervously licked his lips. His usually confident purple eyes were tinged with rare tension.
Poke. Finally, the baby moved again.

“Now?”

He asked with an uncertain expression.

“Yes, here. It moved right here just now. Did you feel it?”

When I pressed down on his palm resting on my belly, Len’s lips stretched into a wide smile.

“…I felt it.”

His voice was very soft, as if afraid he might miss the baby’s next movement.
Shadows fell neatly beneath Len’s eyelashes as he looked down at my slightly swollen belly.
Until now, I had been too focused on the baby’s movements to notice, but he was too close.

‘If not for our height difference, our breaths would have touched.’

When I slightly pulled my head back, it had the opposite effect.
As I retreated, Ren leaned in, then bowed his head and kissed my cheek.
His warm lips touched silently, lingered leisurely, then pulled away.
He whispered lowly by my ear.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone all this time.”

In reality, I had never been alone for even a moment, so I was the one who felt sorry, and my cheeks reddened.
The good baby moved a few more times after that, delighting Ren.
Only then could I put a little distance between Ren and myself.

“Thank you so much for looking after my brother, Ren.”

After the tense atmosphere eased a bit, I finally spoke. He sighed.

“Don’t mention it. All hell’s broken loose at the imperial palace.”

The story Ren told me next was truly astonishing.
That the Empress had tried to have a new demon sword forged to save Hart while again offering up Rurik as the sword’s host.
Although that attempt failed, Rurik had ultimately learned the whole truth and was furious.

‘So Rurik won’t endure it anymore?’

It seemed this damned Empire was finally starting to follow a path similar to the novel I wrote.
But more surprising than the Crown Prince being unconscious was the news that Moghold had returned.

“What? Master Moghold has returned?”

Ren nodded.

“Otherwise, how could Helena Garnier have gotten from the Duros beach to the imperial palace in such a short time?”

For me, it had been months since I left the letter at the monastery, so I didn’t know how many days it took her to reach the imperial palace.

‘The fact that neither Rurik nor Helena told me about Moghold’s news… was that someone’s intention?’

My head felt complicated. I pressed my forehead lightly and asked.

“But you’re saying Master Moghold is also unconscious now? How did that happen?”

Ren’s expression darkened.

“Master recently broke the Magic Tower Master’s oath, which is pledged with one’s life. To pay the price for breaking the oath, he pushed his already strained body to destroy the Book of Studites that day.”
“Ren…”

While sympathizing with Ren’s pain, I also pricked up my ears at the term ‘Magic Tower Master’s oath,’ which I was hearing for the first time.

‘Is this what Rurik meant when he said the Tower Master is the Emperor’s man?’

Ren spoke gloomily.

“What a foolish old man… He won’t listen to any magic…”

Though his words were rough, Ren truly respected and followed his master.

‘You can easily guess by looking at his expression when he talks about his master.’

Feeling sorry for him, I stroked the back of his hand, but Len instead comforted me.

“Master would want to see you too.”

If I met Moghold, I wanted to get hints about the diary…
No, if that were the case, he would have realized I wasn’t the real Louise.
Still, I would never think this outcome was for the best.

‘If it’s the book I wrote, please, just roll in the direction I want.’

I fervently wished that the old wizard Ren loved would not leave the world like this.
Meanwhile, it seemed Ren would be stuck at the imperial palace, unable to move, until either the Crown Prince died or Rurik ascended to the Crown Prince’s position.
Before leaving, he slowly looked around the nursery, which had a few more items.

“The lighting and things like the organ are in the final implementation stage. Even if I can’t visit, I’ll send them as soon as they’re ready.”

Then, as if he had just thought of it, he asked.

“Do your legs or back hurt yet? I asked some married mages, and they said legs often swell during pregnancy.”
“Really?”

I lifted the hem of my dress and looked down at my legs anew, but didn’t feel anything particular.

“I’m not sure yet.”

As if reluctant to leave, Ren asked another question.

“Is there anything else you want to eat? Did you manage to get that fruit everyone was looking for last time?”

If he meant persimmons, no one had managed to get them.
I chuckled and shook my head.

“We didn’t, but it’s okay. I don’t really want them anymore now.”

I actually still wanted them, but one must also know when to give up.
Everyone was busy, and I couldn’t make them hunt for just one type of fruit for my sake.

Just then, a knock came.

—Knock knock.

Was Callisteon here already?

‘To buy time to meet Ren, I told Karl that Erni was leaving in the evening.’

Ren, displeased at the interruption, asked again.

“So Karl and Erni take turns coming for a week at a time?”
“Usually, yes.”

His irritation seemed justified, even to me.

“This is really unfair. It’s absurd.”

If not for the demon sword incident, Ren would have been the father candidate who stayed by my side the longest.
The moment the door opened, he peevishly kissed my cheek once more.
A sharp gaze poured from the doorway.
Ren paid no mind at all and whispered leisurely.

“I’ll come again.”

Callisteon moved, deliberately making his footsteps heard, and leaned against the doorframe.
The two men, clearly facing each other after a long time, didn’t even exchange greetings.
Len approached the fireplace with unnecessarily slow movements and scattered magic stone powder.
Whoosh. Flames surged.

After Ren left, Callisteon approached me and abruptly held out a handkerchief.