His Breeding Obsession Chapter 195 - Completion

 

Even though it was the 10th pillar, the distance to the shore was considerable, and the land seemed to shimmer in the distance.  

 

“I expected it, but the construction seems more challenging than I thought.”  

 

Mirania, standing on the foundation pillar, looked around and nodded. The sea stretched endlessly in all directions.  

 

When she leaned forward, she could see the waves crashing in the distance.  

 

After surveying the sea, the distant mountains, and the humans and beastkin bustling near the shore, 

 

Mirania plopped down in the center of the pillar. She leaned back and lay down.  

 

The sun hung high in the sky, showering sunlight like a flower releasing its fragrance. Mirania half-closed her eyes.  

 

The clear, cloudless sky gazed down at her.  

 

The salty scent of the sea filled her nostrils, and the cries of seabirds tickled her ears. Their calls were thicker and longer than those of mountain birds.  

 

Mirania took a deep breath.  

 

Even lying on the hard surface of the pillar, she felt at peace. She glanced downward.  

 

Grecan sat at her feet, his legs dangling over the edge of the pillar.  

 

“Mirania.”  

 

“Hmm?”  

 

“How long do you think it will take for the bridge to be completed?”  

 

“Hmm, probably more than fifty years. Grangel said it’s a project that will span generations.”  

 

The construction of the Bridge of Coexistence symbolized the harmony between humans and beastkin. It wasn’t just a symbolic structure connecting two continents.  

 

Grecan fell silent as he gazed at the endless horizon.  

 

A gentle sea breeze blew, and Mirania’s eyes slowly closed.  

 

“Let’s live long enough to see this bridge completed.”  

 

Mirania’s eyebrows twitched. ‘What did Grecan know?’ She had already lived far beyond her natural lifespan.  

 

Though she vaguely understood her purpose, the end remained unclear.  

 

Where would the end of her existence, detached from the world’s causality, lie?

 

His words struck a chord in her heart, as she had been pondering this for a long time.  

 

The shadow in the corner of her heart, which had always felt uneasy despite her happiness and peace, deflated like a pricked balloon.  

 

“That sounds good.”  

 

Grecan suddenly sat up and lay down beside her. Then, he wriggled closer and rested his cheek on her chest.  

 

Thump, thump—

 

The sound of her heartbeat reached his ears.  

 

“I feel so happy, I might go crazy.”  

 

‘Ugh.’ Grecan let out a soft groan. Mirania giggled.  

 

The peaceful atmosphere and Grecan’s ecstatic remark didn’t seem to match, yet they somehow fit perfectly.  

 

Suddenly, Grecan lifted his head.  

 

“What’s wrong?”  

 

He stared at her with wide eyes.  

 

“What are you trying to say now? Stop joking around.”  

 

Mirania clicked her tongue, signaling she wouldn’t fall for his tricks.  

 

“It’s not that…”  

 

Grecan blinked, then lowered his head again, pressing his cheek against her chest and stomach.  

 

‘Huh? I told you to stop joking.’  

 

Mirania, now curious about his reaction, propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him.  

 

“Huh?”

 

💫

 

Grecan locked eyes with her.  

 

“Why do you keep doing that?”  

 

Without responding, his pupils slowly dilated.  

 

Finally, when Mirania frowned, his jaw dropped.  

 

“…I hear two heartbeats.”  

 

Their eyes met. Mirania blinked, then shouted in a panicked voice.  

 

“That’s nonsense! How can there be two heartbeats?”  

 

“Why not? If… if there’s a baby…”  

 

His trembling voice made Mirania cut him off sharply.  

 

“I don’t even have a menstrual cycle. How could I possibly be pregnant?”  

 

With a doubtful expression, Grecan pressed his ear against her stomach again, listening intently.  

 

Mirania, thinking it was another one of his jokes, was dumbfounded, but his serious expression made her swallow hard.  

 

Soon, Grecan spoke in an excited voice.  

 

“I hear it. Thump, thump! A tiny heartbeat.”  

 

Her eyes widened.  

 

“It’s the sound of happiness. What should we do, Mirania?”  

 

Grecan’s eyes grew moist.  

 

“I’m so happy, I might cry.”  

 

Mirania, in a daze, instinctively placed her hand on her stomach.  

 

If Grecan’s words were true…  

 

“Lady Mirania?”  

 

A suspicious voice interrupted them. Startled, the two turned their heads.  

 

A mermaid poked her head out from below the pillar, with Smith riding on her back.  

 

Smith’s eyes widened like lanterns when he recognized Grecan and Mirania.  

 

“It really is the two of you!”  

 

“Smith, who is it?”  

 

A voice came from somewhere. It seemed to be a communication artifact, as Smith shouted into a small stone he was holding.  

 

“Lady Mirania and the High Lord!”  

 

“What?!”  

 

A shocked voice erupted. Instantly, the shore became chaotic.  

 

A bat-like figure, presumably Leverianz, and a witch on a broomstick flew into the air.  

 

Grecan’s face twisted in annoyance. He glanced at Mirania, who shrugged, having snapped out of her confusion.  

 

“Looks like we have no choice.”  

 

They had to face them.  

 

Grecan glanced at Leverianz, Chera, and Grangel approaching from the shore, then stared intently at Mirania’s still-flat stomach.  

 

Then, as if making up his mind, he scooped Mirania up in his arms.  

 

“What are you doing?”  

 

Grecan was dead serious.  

 

“We can’t let them ruin this important moment.”  

 

He took off at high speed. A loud shout followed from behind.  

 

“Hey, Grecan! Stop right there! Why are you running away?”  

 

Leverianz, Chera, and other winged creatures chased after them.  

 

“Grecan, stop! You came all this way, and you’re not even going to say hello?”  

 

“Hmph. Get lost.”  

 

“You jerk! You just don’t want me to meet Mirania, don’t you?”  

 

“…”  

 

“If you keep clinging to her like this, she’ll get tired of you and leave!”  

 

Grecan ignored him and sped up.  

 

Leverianz’s eyes gleamed with frustration.  

 

“You could’ve at least said hello.”  

 

“If I did, you’d just spout nonsense. I heard you badmouthing me earlier.”  

 

Despite being chased, Grecan remained calm.  

 

Only his gaze toward Mirania was damp, and his pupils trembled slightly.  

 

At that moment, Mirania laughed. Suddenly, Grecan spoke.  

 

“What should we name the baby?”  

 

Her smiling face froze.

 

💫

 

Six months later.

 

Mirania stood blankly in the kitchen, holding a pot.  

 

“What should I put in this?”  

 

The table was filled with ingredients. After setting the pot down, Mirania picked up a tomato and froze again.  

 

It had been 10 minutes since she decided to cook, but she had only taken out the ingredients and made no progress.  

 

“Grecan’s always been the one to cook.”  

 

Grecan had never allowed her to enter the kitchen. He acted as if he wouldn’t let a single drop of water touch her hands. 

 

At first, she thought he was being overly protective, but over time, she grew accustomed to it, and lounging on the sofa became her daily routine.  

 

Right now, Grecan was taking a nap. After staying up all night watching her, he had finally fallen asleep.  

 

“It’s strange to just wait for Grecan to wake up…”  

 

Besides, she was hungry.  

 

Since becoming pregnant, her cravings had intensified. Mirania licked her lips.  

 

What came to mind was tomato gratin. The combination of tomato sauce and lamb was irresistible.  

 

The changes after pregnancy were astonishing. Her appetite had increased, and her tastes had changed. 

 

Most notably, she had started eating meat. Grecan was overjoyed that her picky eating habits had improved, but Mirania couldn’t help but suspect the baby.  

 

‘The baby must take after Grecan.’  

 

With her mouth watering, Mirania clenched the tomato with determination. She washed it and began cutting it with a knife.  

 

A few months ago, she had cooked for the school staff with Wigenia, but her skills had rusted, and her knife work was clumsy.  

 

“Since I’m making it, it should be better than what Grecan makes.”  

 

Soon, her hands grew accustomed to the knife. She chopped the lamb with increasing skill.  

 

The thought of Grecan enjoying her cooking brought a smile to her lips.  

 

A soft hum escaped her.  

 

💫

 

Just cutting vegetables and meat, and cooking, made her happy.  

 

A deeper sense of fulfillment than when her body was filled with magic.  

 

Love, happiness, and fulfillment were inseparable.  

 

Over the past year, she had come to understand many things.  

 

Even she, who had lived so long that there was little she didn’t know, began to grasp things she hadn’t understood before.  

 

She even understood why the Empress had been so indifferent to the long, well-meaning advice she had given.  

 

‘If I could go back, I would have comforted her more warmly.’  

 

Though she had done foolish things, she was a woman more passionate about love than anyone.  

 

‘I would have given the Emperor a stern warning.’  

 

She would have warmly embraced the young witches who had struggled with emotions they couldn’t handle.  

 

‘The fact that I’m thinking like this is proof that I’m happy.’  

 

Mirania, who had always longed for peaceful eternal rest and never imagined such a day would come, felt the corners of her lips curl up. She placed her hand on her stomach. It felt like a small, rounded hill.  

 

The waves of magic emanating from within. It was growing rapidly day by day.  

 

Mirania, whose parents were witches, often lost herself in the mystery of this life.  

 

‘It seems like the baby takes more after Grecan than me.’  

 

Whenever she said that, Grecan would frown.  

 

[If it takes after me, it’ll have a hard time. I hope it takes after you. So it won’t suffer.]  

 

Even when she reassured him, his expression remained serious.  

 

[You hate pain, don’t you? I don’t think this will work.]  

 

[…What are you thinking?]  

 

[Don’t worry. Even if I can’t use body-altering magic, we can share sensations.]  

 

Even when she scolded him for misusing the curse of the red flower, she was secretly pleased by his concern.  

 

Because, in truth, she was also anxious.  

 

The pain of childbirth. Wasn’t labor one of the three great pains humans endure?  

 

She conjured a flame beneath the pot.  

 

‘I hope Grecan wakes up before the food is done.’  

 

The magical flames danced in response to her emotions.

 

💫

 

Grecan was asleep. 

 

An old nightmare visited him like an unwelcome guest.  

 

A hundred years ago. The Leana Imperial Family of the Thousand-Year Empire had fallen.  

 

The blood spilled in the palace that day left the scent lingering for a year.  

 

‘Whoo. Hic. Ugh. Argh.’  

 

For fifty years, he destroyed everything he could touch.  

 

The tears never dried. His face, stained with blood and tears, stared emptily into the distance.  

 

[You’ve lost your mind, you madman!]  

 

Even Malandor of the Dark Realm and Leverianz of the Bat Clan spat at him and left.  

 

On the land reduced to ashes, Grecan saw a vision.  

 

Mirania, lying comfortably on a patch of fresh grass, turned to look at him. His heart ached as if it were being crushed. 

 

A pain that didn’t fade with time.  

 

Grecan cried, vomited, suffered, and killed himself over and over. His spirit was crumbling. He wanted to die but couldn’t.  

 

His monstrous regenerative ability brought him back to life every time.  

 

Even when he slit his own throat, he would rise again, healed.  

 

Each time, he would rage and lay waste to his surroundings.  

 

His mind grew hazier. He would destroy everything with his own hands, and in the end, he would be left alone.  

 

Then, he could follow Mirania.

 

💫

 

Grecan woke up from his sleep. A tear that had pooled at the corner of his eye fell with a soft ‘plop’.  

 

‘I had a nightmare.’  

 

He thought indifferently, his mind still hazy. It felt as though he was still trapped at that moment.  

 

A terrible sensation caused his shoulders to twitch slightly. He was lying on a hammock strung between trees, something he had set up for her since she loved gardens.  

 

With an expressionless and bleak face, he stared down at the neatly trimmed grass below.  

 

The lingering remnants of the dream gripped his ankles, pulling him down endlessly.  

 

At that moment.  

 

“Grecan, are you awake?”  

 

The shadows lifted.  

 

“Grecan?”  

 

Her voice came from inside.  

 

Grecan wiped away the tear stains with the back of his hand, and a faint smile appeared on his face.  

 

“I’m awake, honey!”  

 

It was the term of endearment that had stuck to Grecan’s lips ever since he found out about Mirania’s pregnancy.  

 

For a full six months now.  

 

Mirania, who had walked out into the garden, snapped irritably.  

 

“I told you to stop calling me that!”  

 

Grecan grinned widely as he climbed down from the hammock. He then sat Mirania down on it and wrapped his arms around her slender waist.  

 

He pressed his ear against her slightly protruding belly and closed his eyes.  

 

Thump, thump!

 

Ba-dump, ba-dump—

 

Two heartbeats echoed rhythmically.  

 

It was the sound of happiness.  

 

The remnants of the nightmare that had piled up on his shoulders began to melt away.  

 

Grecan sighed deeply in relief.  

 

“Ahem, I tried making tomato gratin. Like the one you made a week ago.”  

 

“…You cooked? Why did you do that? I told you not to go into the kitchen.”  

 

“I was hungry, so I had no choice.”  

 

“I shouldn’t have taken that nap.”  

 

“I told you to sleep at night instead.”  

 

“But your face is so beautiful, I couldn’t help it.”  

 

“…Let’s just go eat.”  

 

At her soft sigh, Grecan chuckled, “I’m so happy, I might go crazy.”  

 

Mirania retorted sharply.  

 

“If you stop calling me ‘honey,’ I’ll stay by your side so you don’t go crazy.”  

 

“…”  

 

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”  

 

“I’m touched. But…”  

 

“But?”  

 

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t give up calling you ‘honey.’”  

 

Mirania laughed, as if finding his serious tone absurd.  

 

The corners of Grecan’s lips curled upward.  

 

“I love you, honey. Thank you for staying by my side. Thank you for making me so happy I could go crazy.”  

 

“Yeah. You already seem crazy.”  

 

Despite Mirania’s scolding, Grecan nuzzled his face against her belly, grinning like a fool.  

 

A tamed beast smiles happier than anyone.  

 

《His Breeding Obsession Completed》