125 The Beginning and the End [5] - Edited

Translated by: Bahk Hae-lee

Edited by: Nigel

*****

Lucia slowly got up from the bed, facing the morning sun. She had fallen asleep late in the afternoon as it was getting darker but when she opened her eyes, it was morning.

"Oh my goodness. Did I sleep that long?"

She didn't wake up at any intervals and slept like a rock. She kept on feeling tired lately, but her body didn't feel that refreshed. Rather than feeling sluggish due to the excessive sleep, her head felt light.

Lucia called her maid and asked her to bring water for washing her face.

"Has he left?"

"No. Master is in his office."

Hugo came to the bedroom after hearing that his wife was awake. He arrived just when Lucia was about to change her clothes. Once the maid attending to Lucia discovered Hugo, she bowed her head and withdrew.

Hugo quickly approaching his wife, who was smiling at him and hugged her. Lucia was taken aback by his sudden action and asked carefully.

"Did you hear…from the doctor?"

"I did."

Hugo had been worried yesterday because he felt she was sleeping for too long. When he concernedly asked if it would be better for her to wake up and eat something, the doctor said:

[It's okay for one day. Milady told me she felt tired these days, so it would be better to allow her to just sleep.]

While holding her sound asleep figure, Hugo could barely sleep all night. Her body had a slight fever, so it felt warm to the touch. Upon recalling the doctor's statement that a mild fever was common early in pregnancy, Hugo tried to assuage his worries.

His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, so he ended up not getting a wink of sleep.

"Thanks. And…congratulations."

"…What?"

"…"

Pfft. Lucia burst out laughing.

"Did the doctor tell you to say that?"

"…Mm."

The doctor made a long-winded speech as if she was taking the chance to make up for the past times when she felt inadequate before the Duke. For Hugo, listening to the doctor's prattle was very excruciating, so he momentarily considered changing to a male doctor.

The doctor talked to Hugo about the sensitive mood of an expectant mother and scared him with examples of patients with various and extreme symptoms of depression.

She emphasized that due to their severe mood changes, pregnant women tended to be more sensitive and could be easily hurt by something minor. Thinking that his own manner of speaking wasn't exactly sweet, Hugo was worried.

[The Madam is currently showing signs of anxiety. At times like this, the husband has to comfort the wife and show your sincerity in welcoming the child.]

He didn't know what to say so he recited it exactly like the doctor had told him to. Lucia lifted her head and cupped his face in her hands.

"Your words have no sincerity."

"…It's not that there's no sincerity, I just honestly don't know what to do. I don't hate it."

"I know what you mean. I'm also like that. It doesn't even feel real. And it may not be pregnancy."

"The palace nurse definitely didn't diagnose wrongly."

Lucia looked into his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking from the neutrality of his gaze. She didn't know whether she should be happy that her husband's reaction was much calmer than she expected or whether she should be worried.

She was glad that he didn't react in worse ways, such as denying it, since her pregnancy should be impossible or refusing that he was the father of the child.

"It is our child." (Lucia)

The look in his eyes turned to that of puzzlement.

"Of course." (Hugo)

Hugo couldn't understand the meaning behind her words. He could not guess that Lucia was concerned that her husband might be suspicious of her fidelity.

Hugo had not thought of that at all. He only thought that his wife was still thinking about when he said that he didn't want a child.

"I've said this before, but if it is your child then I am fine with it. I might be a little out of it because it is unexpected, but I do not hate it. If you're upset then I'm sorry."

"No. I am not upset."

Lucia was very happy. And she was thankful to him.

He did not want to have children for a long time. Even though he said that he was okay with it if it was her child, it was something he said when he assumed that her getting pregnant was impossible.

But now, it had come to the forefront and become reality. And even then, he still said that he would accept the child. It meant that it wasn't just pretty words that he was saying at the time to comfort her.

Lucia felt the anxiety buried deep in her heart melt away. She began to think that everything would be okay. She had a feeling, no, confidence, that when the child was born, he would be a good father.

Hugo looked at his wife for a while as she grinned happily, then he lowered his head and kissed her. Lucia wrapped her arms around his neck and shared a long, deep kiss with him.

"There's a part I can't understand." (Hugo)

"Me too." (Lucia)

How did she become pregnant? Just as she expected, her husband was also wondering about this issue.

"You think so too, right?" (Hugo)

"Yes." (Lucia)

"It was fine yesterday. Why is it forbidden as soon as we find out you're pregnant?"

"…?"

"The doctor must be a quack. I have to ask the palace nurse that diagnosed your pregnancy."

Lucia sensed that what he was saying, and what she was saying, were not in sync. And when she vaguely grasped what he was talking about, her face gradually stiffened.

"What does she mean we can't do it for three months? Is this not a plan to kill me?"

"Are you crazy? You're going to go where, and ask who what?"

Lucia shouted as her face reddened and she hit his chest. Hugo had a shameless expression on his face as if asking what he did wrong. Lucia pushed his chest and removed herself from his embrace.

"Just try it if you dare. You won't get a foot inside this room."

The knowledge that he had to give up on the pleasure of the night was a bombshell of its own, but there was no worse torture than not being able to even touch his wife. Hugo stretched his hand to her again, but his wife shocked him by shaking him off and avoiding his hand.

"You said you were thinking the same thing." (Hugo)

"No! I was thinking about something different. They asked us to be careful because the child could get hurt, so is that so important to you?" (Lucia)

"Hurt? There's no way my child is so weak."

Lucia was done with his dignified bullshit sophistry. She coldly turned around.

"Go and work on what you were working on. I want to rest."

"Sleep, again? You have to eat something."

"I'll eat something later."

"Vivian."

Hugo gazed at his wife, who was lying on the bed, not even responding, then he left the bedroom.

[…psychological state will be very uneasy, there will be extreme mood swings, irritation will increase…]

Hugo sighed when he recalled the contents of the lecture, 'A Study on the Psychological State of a Pregnant Woman,' that the doctor gave him.

His wife was with his child. It was beginning to feel a little bit real. The doctor said that they needed more time to know for sure, but from Hugo's standpoint, there was no doubt about it. Otherwise, there was no way his gentle, good-natured wife would change like that.

* * *

Hugo was sleeping but because of the body moving around next to him, he woke up. When he saw Lucia sitting up on the bed, he was surprised and sat up.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"I can't sleep."

"…"

Hugo inwardly thought to himself, 'Well, you slept so much during the day, makes sense sleep won't come.'

It had been three weeks since the day she was diagnosed as pregnant and the time Lucia spent asleep had increased. She slept almost all day. She slept early in the evening, woke up late in the morning, and also took a nap in the afternoon. It was a lifestyle drowning in sleep as if she was getting a lifetime of sleep in advance.

These days, Hugo had barely seen anything but his wife's sleeping face.

"Is there something I can do?"

"It's not only that I can't sleep, I keep thinking of food…"

"What do you want to eat? If you tell Jerome, he'll get it ready for you soon."

"I told him, but he said he couldn't get it."

A food that Jerome couldn't prepare. Hugo had a slightly ominous foreboding.

"What is it?"

"Green grapes."

"…"

Spring had only just arrived. The winds outside were still chilly. Grapevines were yet to sprout proper leaves.

"You can't get it either?" (Lucia)

Hugo was confident that he could comb through the entire world to find anything she wanted. However, no matter how talented he was, he could not make fruits that had not sprouted yet. Deep down in the south, there was a country with warm climate but now wasn't the harvesting season for grapes.

However, Hugo just couldn't say no to his wife, who was looking at him with clear eyes full of expectation. So, he bluffed and said.

"…I'll look for it."

"Whoa."

She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him, and as Hugo wrapped his arms around her in an embrace, he broke out in cold sweat.

'Damn, I'm in trouble now.'

* * *

Kwiz heard from the Queen that the Duchess seemed to be pregnant. After hearing that, he learned that the Duchess had stopped her activities outside and guessed that she must indeed be pregnant.

However, even though he met with the Duke of Taran almost every day, the Duke of Taran didn't seem to have any intention of telling him the good news and it had almost been a month. At this rate, it seemed like he would only be told of the pregnancy after the child was born.

Kwiz lightly brought up the subject first.

"Gong, this king heard that you will be becoming a father soon."

"It has been a long time since I became a father."

"I heard you would be seeing a second child."

"…Yes."

"Some people, really. You have to tell good news like this quickly. Congratulations. The Duchess is doing well?"

"Yes. There are no big issues."

"I'm glad to hear that. When the Queen was pregnant with the princess, she couldn't eat properly so she suffered a lot. They say such symptoms are common if the baby is female, how is the Duchess faring?"

"She isn't troubled too much."

"I guess the child is gentle like the Duchess. I wonder if it will be a boy like you, Gong, or a girl like the Duchess. You know, this king made a bet on it with my adjutant. I bet it would be a boy. This king believes in you, Gong."

It would seem that Kwiz had terrible luck in gambling. As Hugo looked at Kwiz who was guffawing loudly, he inwardly muttered to himself, 'It is a girl'.

He thought that the yet-to-be-born child should definitely resemble his wife. Otherwise, it wasn't worthwhile to go through all this trouble.

Hugo roughly ignored it when the King boasted and gushed about the princess' loveliness whenever he had the chance. His thought process was, 'What does the loveliness of someone else's child have to do with me?'. In fact, he was going through agony before his own child was born.

One month had passed. It was only just a month, but one month was a long time. There were still six to seven months left until the child was born. This situation was like standing on a narrow ridge, with an abyss of darkness at your front and back, and the gloomy prospects make you unable to go forward or backward*.

Lucia's morning sickness was not severe enough to make her refuse food. Although she refused meals with strong smells, she usually ate quite well.

The doctor had said several times that it was fortunate that she wasn't like some mothers who had almost nothing but water during their pregnancy term and slimmed down drastically after giving birth.

Hugo agreed wholeheartedly. He felt like if he watched his wife suffer from morning sickness that made her throw up everything and not eat properly, he might dislike the child.

However, nothing in the world was easy. Lucia's morning sickness was light, but her nerves were relatively sharp.

Still, from the standpoint of others, it wasn't to the extent that it was unusual. Her tone was curt, and her irritation had only slightly increased. But because it was such a contrast to her gentle personality, it seemed like such a dramatic change. Especially for Hugo who experienced his wife's change firsthand, he was dealt a great deal of shock.

* * *

Today as well, Lucia was not among the people who came to greet Hugo upon his return home. Jerome gave his master the same answer he gave yesterday.

"The Madam is sleeping."

"What about dinner?"

"She has not had it yet. She has been sleeping since afternoon…"

Hugo was becoming worried that his wife was sleeping too much. So he recently asked the doctor if it was okay.

[Feeling easily fatigued and sleeping a lot are typical symptoms of early pregnancy. Although the Madam is sleeping a lot, you do not have to worry. The Madam is going through the early stages very smoothly.]

Hugo couldn't agree with the doctor saying that it was going very smoothly, but he was relieved and also disappointed by the doctor's answer that it was normal. After all, normal meant that excessive sleep couldn't be lessened with treatment.

He couldn't remember when he last sat down with his wife and had a conversation. If he was at home during the day, he would be able to see her awake, but Hugo's busy schedule had him leave in the morning and return in the evening so there was no room to slack.

A few days ago, something happened that got Hugo more depressed. He had been able to soothe his regret by sleeping with his wife in his arms, but she began to get annoyed by such contact. He put his hand in her nightwear a few days ago and touched her a little (by his standards) but she couldn't stand it and told him not to come near her at all.

Hugo didn't know where to resolve his bafflement and grievance. So he asked the doctor again. Nowadays, the doctor was acting as a consultant for the Duke.

[In the early stages, an expectant mother may have an extreme reaction to her husband's physical contact. It may or may not improve in the middle stages of pregnancy.]

The doctor's advice wasn't helpful at all. Hugo thought again that the doctor must be a quack. He was harboring a grudge against the innocent doctor.

Hugo entered his wife's bedroom. He approached the figure lying down on the bed in the dimly lit bedroom and carefully sat on the bed.

While he was just looking at her, Lucia, who had her back to him, tossed in her sleep and turned around to face him. He unconsciously stretched out his hand but hesitated unwittingly and felt ashamed. Why couldn't he touch his woman as much as he wanted?

His gaze went down and stopped on her stomach, covered with the blanket. A mysterious creature, invisible to human sight, was growing in her womb and driving him to the greatest crisis of his life. However, Hugo knew very well, that he should not ever make the mistake of letting the words of blaming the baby leave his mouth.

He had thought too simply about having a child. He had simply thought that if they have a child together, the child grows, it is born and that was it.

He couldn't help but admire the king who had gone through this process four times.

Hugo gathered his courage and stretched out his hand. He touched her soft cheek, caressed her forehead, and swept a hand through her hair. When Lucia made a droning noise, signaling that she was waking up, he got nervous. And when he watched Lucia blink her eyes, he held his breath.

"Hugh…?"

Her reaction was gentle. Hugo inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. His wife's mental state was like thin ice, so he felt tenser than on a battlefield. Just a few months ago, his wife was always smiling at him and he missed her like that a lot.

Lucia gave him a bright smile and stretched out her arms. Despite thinking 'what's the occasion', Hugo promptly reciprocated. As he embraced her soft, warm body and took in the fragrance brushing past his nose, he realized that happiness could come from something so trivial.

"I saw my mother in my dream. She looked young, beautiful, and happy."

"Then I have to hope she appears in your dreams every day. Young, beautiful, and happy."

Lucia chuckled like she heard a joke, but Hugo was serious.

"You have to eat dinner before you sleep. Shall I have them prepare it now?"

"I don't really have much appetite."

"I heard you didn't have much at lunch either. Is there anything you want to eat? If there's something in particular on your mind, tell me."

'The baby in your stomach is sucking up all the nutrients in your body,' Hugo mumbled to himself, adding a strong sentiment onto what the doctor had told him.

"Mmm…there 'is' something. If it is that then I think I will have the appetite."

Hugo was nervous. He wanted to tell her to please ask for something he could get this time.

Last time, he eventually could not get the green grapes. When he saw her looking sullen for a few days, he felt like he was on thorns and had to realize his own incompetence.

"There was an opened night market in the village I lived in as a child. The grilled skewers that Mister Peter made were really delicious."

It was a sudden request, but Hugo was relieved since it didn't seem impossible. Night market. Peter. Grilled Skewers. He put down the keywords in his mind.

"All right."

"Oh wow. Then we can have that for dinner."

"…Now?"

"If not now then…?"

Hugo gazed at Lucia who was returning the question for a moment, then he swallowed a sigh. He immediately called Jerome and instructed him. Jerome personally took a few servants and went to the village where the Madam had lived as a child.

A few hours later, Hugo received the delivered grilled skewers and took them to the second floor, personally.

Lucia was in the receiving room making clothes for the baby and when she saw the dish her husband brought, she was delighted. Seeing her like this brought a smile to Hugo's face. However, after taking just a few bites, she put it down and said her stomach was full.

"When will green grapes be ready for harvest?"

That damn green grape. Hugo seriously considered whether he should buy a farm.