Chapter 81 - Pregnant

A few days passed, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Classes, relaxing, fooling around, sleeping. Except for the occasional ground tremors, of course, that didn’t happen every day but still happened.
Then, one afternoon, Nozomu received another message from the Princess, asking him to go see her and that Koyaga would also be there.
He left, leaving behind Taisetsuna biting her lower lip, wondering if he was going to be with the Princess in the evening again.
When Nozomu arrived at the Castle, the guards at the gate told him that the Princess was in the back garden with Koyaga, and he could go meet her because she was expecting him.
He rode Rampage around the Castle, and he easily spotted the two women seated on the same bench where he was a few days ago.

The Princess waved at him, and when he dismounted, she received him with a hug. “Hello, stranger! Long time, no see! How is everything in the Academy?”

Nozomu answered while hugging Koyaga, “All is well, despite a few skirmishes. Do you remember that Lion-kind boy? Draiky cut off half his tail with a bite during unarmed training, and he is sad almost every day. It was his fault, but maybe the punishment was too severe. And with you? Because you two look happy, and I am pretty sure it is not because of me.”

“Well, actually it is because of you, but I don’t know how this happened.”

“Now you got me curious. Something wrong?”

The Princess vigorously shook her head, while Koyaga kept on smiling. “No, nothing is wrong! In fact, everything is perfect! Let’s sit, and I will explain.”

Nozomu waited for the now nervous Princess to begin, and she fixed the frills of her dress with a flushed face before speaking, “You see, I have been feeling nauseous for the last few days in the morning, and my Magic increased. At first, it was difficult to control because I started to glow when I got distracted, and there is only one reason that explains these symptoms.”

“You think you are pregnant?”

The smiling Princess nodded, suddenly surrounded by Magic. “Yes, I am. It should be impossible, because on the first night that I was with you, I was wearing a Magical Item that prevents pregnancies, and the last time you came here, I wasn’t using it, but it was too recent for me to be like this, nauseous and glowing!”

“Could it be that because I am immune to Magic the Item didn’t work with me? That is the only thing I can think of.”

“Magical Items don’t affect you? I thought it was only the Magic of Magical Beings!”

“I am not sure, but that is the only thing I can think of. Now, what do you want to do? Weren’t we supposed to wait for three years before taking care of a baby?”

The Princess caressed her belly while looking at it with a cute smile. “It’s too late for that now. I have already done a test, and it is confirmed. It has been only three weeks, but I am expecting your child. We just need to take care of things sooner. Koyaga has time to train a receptionist for the Guild before accepting her job here as a Captain of the Royal Guards, but you will still be in the Academy. Being an Adventurer is dangerous, but with the Unicorns and the Dragons, I think you will be alright, as long as you are careful not to do something foolish. But... You didn’t say if you were happy or not... Is it just me and Koyaga that are thrilled with this?”

Nozomu held her hands and said, “I am happy. Surprised but happy. Are you sure being pregnant so soon won’t give you any problems with the Nobles of your court?”

“I think they already suspect it. It is kind of hard not to notice when I run out of a room to throw up. Or when I start to glow for no reason. At first, a few thought I was sick, but then they realized that after throwing up, I was alright. They are just waiting for me to confirm and announce who the father is. Not that they don’t suspect it already, considering that I have often been near you ever since you came here for the first time.”

“So I guess we need to celebrate, then. Would a ball be a good idea? I am not sure how the royals of a country celebrate a pregnancy.”

“Normally it is with a party and a ball, yes, but I prefer to wait a few more weeks before doing that. For the time being, I only want to share this with both of you, and my court and the country can wait a little while longer. Especially because as soon as I make the announcement, I will have many people always near me making sure that I don’t tire myself, or take any risks.”

Nozomu wondered why everyone would be so concerned, and then he remembered, “Oh, right, because your baby will be the next ruler, and everyone will want to make sure you have a safe pregnancy! A baby… I wasn’t expecting one so soon, but it sure is nice.”

“That is the smile I was waiting for! I hope our baby has that smile; it sure is cute! Do you want a girl or a boy?”

“I don’t have any preferences, actually. What about you?”

“Well, a girl would be nice, but a boy would have less trouble dealing with the Nobles and other countries. Women are always underestimated. I should know!”

Koyaga nodded with a serious look on her face. “A Prince would have his work easy, that’s for sure. But you already made everyone realize that a woman can be as good as a man when it comes to ruling a country. Or even better.”

“Yes, but a girl would have to do a lot to get out of my shadow to make a name for herself. A boy, not so much. Remember that I am the first Princess to rule our country, and it was always Princes before me.”

The smiling Bovine-kind woman got up to stretch her arms and continued, “What about if we go for a walk? You will have a lot of time to be seated when your belly becomes too big for you to walk carefree. “

The Princess nodded and asked with red cheeks, “Nozomu… you will sleep here tonight, right? Because… I…”

“You have an idea, I can tell. What is it? No one is around, it is just us here, so speak up. As long as it is nothing too weird, because if it is, I don’t want to know!”

“No! Nothing like that, I just… Well, I was with you last time you were here… But Koyaga… We haven’t been together for several years… like that…”

Nozomu looked at both women, who looked back at him with flushed faces. “Oh! Right… So what is your idea?”

“Well, remember where you slept on the first night with that hidden passage to my room? I thought we could pretend that you were going to sleep in my room, and Koyaga would sleep there. I can show you the way over that passage, and you could change rooms with her. Early in the morning, she would get back to your room, and you to mine. It will also serve for us to get used to doing that, because we can’t let anyone know about our arrangement, right?”

“I guess I can do that, but your court won’t think it is weird if Miss Koyaga sleeps in your Castle near you? Weren’t your Royal Guards supposed to sleep in their quarters outside the Castle, and only a few sleep inside?”

“No, because I already told them that Koyaga would be a Captain and my personal escort so that she can always be near me. I also need to warn you that, so far, you haven’t dealt with the Nobles of my court because I was always near you, but you need to get used to them. They tend to look for anything they can mock or gossip about, and it would be better if you didn’t let them upset you or make you angry. Some of them will try to make you feel uneasy or have you say something they can use against you, so try not to give them any excuse.”

Nozomu sighed, “Yes, and the little I dealt with them, it annoyed me. I already had two classes in the Academy about dealing with Nobility and Royalty, but I disagreed with all that nonsense. It will be hard for me not to answer with sarcasm or mockery if one of them tries to pinch my nerves.”

“Try to avoid that, because it is me they will annoy after you leave tomorrow.”

“I will try. No promises, though!”

The Princess held his arm and grabbed one of Koyaga’s, and she led them to the lake in the middle of the garden to enjoy the good weather and their company while discussing names for their baby.
…

At dinner time, they went back to the Castle, and while the Princess was surrounded by a few Noblewomen as soon as she entered the Throne Room, Nozomu and Koyaga had some Nobles that came to greet them.
While a few were forcing a smile, others were not even disguising their annoyed looks at the visitors. Two of them looked at Nozomu with such a disgusted face that he wondered if he was covered in manure.

One grey-haired man, dressed in dark green clothes and full of necklaces and rings, asked with a grin, “So, Baronet Nozomu Shinchaku greeted us once again with his presence. It has been difficult not to notice that lately, you are frequently where the Princess is.”

Nozomu smiled and tried to remain calm as he answered, “From my point of view, it is the Princess that is frequently near me. Not that I am complaining, but I find that particularly interesting. I would assume that she had a lot to occupy her time with by ruling the country and such to waste her time with me.”

“My point exactly! What did she see in you, anyway? You only recently achieved Knighthood, by mere luck, I may add, and during the Academy try-outs you were also lucky and got a higher Noble title!”

“Well, I would prefer it if I had inherited my title from my family, doing nothing worthy of it besides being born there, but since I was not, I guess luck was needed. And the strangest thing is that I didn’t even think of gaining anything. I went to a cave to save two little girls, and by mere chance, I encountered a vast horde of Goblins. In the Academy, I only tried to catch a Monster to pass the try-out, and I found another horde of Goblins plus two Drakes. Apparently, by doing those absurdly dangerous feats, I saved hundreds of people. But I digress. What were the amazing feats you did to get your Noble title, Count? Don’t tell me you only inherited your title from your father!”

That remark made the man uneasy, and a few other Nobles were frowning or looking away, trying to find an excuse to leave.

Two of them actually left, pretending to have an urgent need to talk with someone, but the Count that was facing Nozomu cleared his throat and continued as if he didn’t notice the attack in Nozomu’s words. “Aham!… Well, inheriting the title of a father is the proper way among Noble families, but I suppose you are not familiar with that, considering your upbringing.”

“And what has my upbringing to do with knowing that simple fact? According to the books about World History that I read and a few speeches from my Teachers at the Academy, most Noble families in the World began with someone that was a commoner like I was, and because of a feat he did, he was granted a Noble title.”