The Beloved New Daughter-In-Law of the Wolf Mansion Chapter 199 - Side story 12

“…A baby?”

 

Arsene muttered with a look of disbelief.

 

“Do you think you can hear it?”

 

“Linsy, is that true? You… are pregnant?”

 

“I’m asking if you can hear it, Arsene.”

 

Mr. Hern said I was in the early stages of pregnancy. 

 

So of course, you wouldn’t be able to hear something like the child’s heartbeat.

 

No matter how sharp Arsene’s hearing is, there’s no way he could hear that sound.

 

Even so, I was too embarrassed to talk directly to Arsene, so I kept changing the subject.

 

“How does it feel to be a dad?” 

 

“I can’t believe it… is it really true?”

 

“Child, how many times are you going to ask? I’m telling you, it’s real.” 

 

I took Arsene’s large, strong hand and placed it on my belly.

 

As his strong hand rested on my flat belly, the comforting weight and warmth felt pleasantly soothing.

 

“Our child is in here, Arsene.”

 

The child won’t suffer from the ancient curse, nor will it ever be abandoned by its parents for being born with red feathers.

 

This child will grow up seeing only good things, hearing only good things, tasting only good things.

 

They will come to know the beauty of golden fields, the sweetness of a sip of mountain stream water, and the preciousness of a slice of apple pie.

 

As those thoughts kept piling one after another, my heart swelled with emotion.

 

“Again…”

 

“Mhm?” 

 

“…I want to hear it again.” 

 

Arsene pressed his forehead gently and slowly against my belly. 

 

A satisfied sound of a whimper escaped from Arsene’s throat.

 

He gently held me as if I were the most precious thing in the world and pressed his ear against my belly once more.

 

Arsene’s ears perked up.

 

I couldn’t tell for sure whether he had actually heard the baby’s heartbeat.

 

But one thing was certain: Arsene’s tail was gently swishing back and forth.

 

“Can you hear it?”

 

“I still don’t know.”

 

“But there’s a baby.”

 

“I can’t believe it, that I’m going to be a father.”

 

“I can’t believe it either, so you can only imagine how much more unbelievable it must be for you.”

 

Arsene, who had been resting his ear against my belly for a long while, suddenly lifted his head.

 

His curly hair was completely tousled from my touch.

 

“Linsy.” 

 

“Mhm.” 

 

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

 

“…Mhm?” 

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Huh?” 

 

“In the wolf clan, when a mate is expecting a child, they must give them whatever they desire.”

 

Arsene spoke with a rather serious expression.

 

“Even if you say you want something that doesn’t exist in the world, I’ll do my best to get it for you.”

 

The expression on Arsene’s face as he said that was truly serious—as if, if I asked him to pluck a star from the sky, he would try to do exactly that.

 

Seeing him like that, I laughed and wrapped my arms tightly around Arsene’s neck.

 

“There’s no such thing, you fool.”

 

“Still!”

 

“Just hold me like you did now.”

 

***

 

“Congratulations, Linsy.” 

 

Kendrick, having heard the news, smiled brightly and said,

 

It was one of the brightest, most radiant expressions I had seen on Kendrick while staying at Yeckhart. I hadn’t realized he was a beastman capable of such a beaming smile.

 

Feeling shy, I scratched my cheek and spoke.

 

“But since it’s still early… the doctor said I need to be careful. I actually thought about waiting a bit longer to tell you, but I couldn’t help wanting to share it with you as soon as possible…”

 

“What do you mean by that? If you’re pregnant, the whole of Yeckhart should know. In the early stages of pregnancy, the mother needs to be careful with what she eats and how she lives, so everyone must pay attention.” 

 

Kendrick said firmly.

 

I placed my hand on my stomach and chuckled, then looked at Kendrick.

 

“What kind of beastman will be born?”

 

“It could be a bird beastman, or a wolf beastman. Either way, it doesn’t matter.”

 

“After the child is born, by looking at the eye color, we should be able to roughly tell what kind of beastman it is, right?”

 

“Yes, but we still need to be careful, because although unlikely, it’s possible to be mistaken.”

 

Kendrick said.

 

“I’ll tell the maids to be extra careful. Since you need to eat well, of course I’ll tell the kitchen.”

 

“Oh, I’ve been craving sweets a lot lately.”

 

“I’ll make sure to pass that along as well.”

 

Kendrick genuinely looked overjoyed, and seeing that reaction made my heart swell even more.

 

‘I didn’t expect you to be this happy..’

 

As mentioned earlier, the head family does not marry members of other clans.

 

Because mixed-blood offspring from other clans could create succession issues.

 

So, even after we married, I’d always felt a twinge of unease.

 

I’d worried about Kendrick, even though I knew it couldn’t happen.

 

But Kendrick’s reaction seemed to tell me that my worries had been foolish.

 

His reaction washed away, all at once, the layers of worry and anxiety that had been building up in a corner of my heart.

 

“You deserve a congratulatory gift. Tell me what you want—anything at all.”

 

“….!”

 

“Whatever you want……”

 

“Arsene already did it, Father!”

 

“Hmm? Of course he should have. That guy is the child’s father.” 

 

Kendrick looked at Arsene.

 

Arsene, distracted by what Kendrick said, was playing with my hand.

 

Arsene spoke cautiously, not even listening to what Kendrick was saying.

 

“The baby bird will be absolutely adorable, too—after all, it’ll take after you.”

 

“….”

 

“The baby wolf will be cute, too—their face will look just like yours.” 

 

“It’s still a long way from being born, Arsene.”

 

Kendrick watched Arsene as if he couldn’t stop him.

 

“I don’t think my wife was quite like that when she was pregnant with Arsene.”

 

The old butler, Ethan, who was standing nearby, interjected.

 

“No, her pregnancy was severe.”

 

“Ethan, it’s not right to speak so casually, just because it happened a long time ago.”

 

“The Young Master merely expressed his ‘wishes’ while touching the Young Madam’s hand, but you, Master, made it so that when she was carrying Young Master Arsene, her feet didn’t even touch the ground.” 

 

For a moment, I forgot about Arsene, who was watching me from the side, and listened intently to Ethan’s words.

 

“You thought she would die if her feet touched the ground, and when she said she liked being in her beastman form, she tried to stay transformed 23 out of 24 hours a day… you have no idea how much I had to deal with…” 

 

“All right, Ethan. There are kids around, so let’s stop.”

 

“When Young Master Arsene was born, how was it then? Didn’t you refuse to do any work and try to stay by the Young Master’s side all day? From my perspective, the Young Master’s personality is exactly like the Lord’s, though slightly less so than the Lord himself…”  

 

At that moment, Ethan’s mouth fell shut.

 

It was Kendrick’s first special ability in a long time. To think he’d use it to silence his butler.

 

Kendrick blushed in embarrassment as his love life was revealed in front of us, and he wiped the back of his hand from his cheek.

 

“Aha!”

 

The sight was so much like Arsene that I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Ahaha!”

 

“Linsy, what’s so fun about that?”

 

“No… I’m just so happy.”

 

The sight was so much like Arsene that I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

I glanced at poor Ethan, who was at a loss for words, then at Kendrick, whose face was flushed, and finally at Arsene, who was staring intently at me.  

 

I thought it was precious just to have my daily life back.

 

‘I never imagined an even greater happiness would come my way.’

 

Looking back, my childhood was intense.

 

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there were hardly any peaceful days since the moment I returned.

 

Kendrick and Arsene tried, but other things wouldn’t let me go.

 

‘But this child won’t be like that.’

 

I’ll make sure this child won’t have to live a life of struggle.

 

A life where they don’t have to struggle to be loved or to survive.

 

I’ll give them a life where simply breathing… simply smiling… is enough to be loved for a lifetime.

 

The ‘ordinary life’ that my younger self had dreamed of so dearly.

 

With Arsene and Kendrick, and all the beastmen of Yeckhart, it seemed entirely possible.

 

I looked at Arsene and Kendrick for a moment, then nodded toward Arsene. 

 

Actually, I’d already told Kendrick something before I came to see him.

 

Now it was time to say it.

 

Arsene, sensing the meaning of my nod, nodded. It was a sign of permission.

 

I hesitated for a moment, then took Arsene’s hand and looked at Kendrick.

 

Then, meeting Kendrick’s eyes, I cautiously spoke.

 

“Father.”

 

“Linsy.”

 

“I have a request. There’s something I want, and only Kendrick can give it to me.”

 

“Tell me anything.”

 

“When the baby is born, can you name the baby?”