Side Story 6

“Raymond.”  

Helen was in the middle of reading a fairy tale to Olivia. She turned her head sharply toward her husband, who had rushed in anxiously. Between the two, a tender emotion passed in their gaze.  

That was when Olivia interrupted.  

“Daddy!”  

Raymond, who lifted his daughter with both arms as she reached out to be held, pressed his forehead to her small one.  

“Has our princess been good?”  

“Yes! I’ve been good!”  

“Really? Then you deserve a reward.”  

Raymond smiled brightly and planted kisses on his daughter’s forehead, nose, cheeks, and eyelids. Olivia, who had said earlier that she disliked Daddy, now burst into giggles at the ticklish shower of kisses and then pushed at his chest, wanting to be set down.  

While Helen watched the sweet antics of father and daughter, the door opened again and Tom entered.  

“Miss. It’s time for dinner.”  

Tom, reading the room, took Olivia out with him, leaving just the two of them.  

Raymond, sitting at the head of the bed, shed his gentle father’s demeanor and stroked Helen’s cheek.  

“I was really surprised when I heard the news. I’m so happy, and just as grateful.”  

Even when she was pregnant with Olivia, Helen had already passed the average childbearing age. Fortunately, the delivery had ended without serious trouble, but since then, Raymond always used contraception during their relations. He could not bear to put any more strain on Helen’s body. Losing control two months ago had been a rare occurrence.  

Suddenly, Raymond recalled that the previous night had been similar and his expression clouded.  

“Are you all right? Did I push you too hard last night…?”  

“Raymond…”  

It was like looking at a big dog with drooping ears. Helen let out a small laugh and grabbed his hand, placing it on her lower belly. Raymond’s eyes lit up. Her belly showed no sign yet, but just knowing life was growing there made his palm feel a rush of warmth.  

“I’m fine. Our baby is fine, too.”  

“But…”  

“Have you forgotten all the times we rolled around together on the battlefield? I’m pretty sturdy, you know.”  

Only after repeated reassurances did Raymond finally let out a sigh of relief. He then pressed his lips deeply to his wife’s forehead.  

“Is there anything you want to eat?”  

“Not right now.”  

“If you do, tell me right away. And if you feel uncomfortable anywhere, you must tell me. All right? In fact, we should move to Groene Hall tomorrow…”  

“Raymond.”  

Helen shook her head at his readiness to pack up immediately and kissed his cheek.  

“Calm down, okay?”  

“I’m just so happy…”  

“We all are.”  

Helen thought of Henry, who had jumped up and packed his dormitory bags as soon as he heard he would have a new nibling. There was another person who would be happiest to hear of their pregnancy.  

“When we return to Groene Hall, let’s tell Mother about the pregnancy first.”  

“Oh, right. We should…”  

Raymond nodded like a child, dazed.  

Even though she still couldn’t recognize them, his mother always greeted them warmly whenever they visited. Because of her occasional fits, she stayed at Groene Hall during every social season, but since Olivia’s birth, her health had stabilized, and she went for light walks every morning and evening with the maid who cared for her.  

“The rest, we’ll prepare step by step. Things like the christening, or setting up the baby’s room.”  

If being suffocated by happiness meant anything, it was this. As Helen calmly continued, Raymond nodded again and again.  

“Let’s do everything as you wish. My winter forest fairy.”  

* * *

After returning to Groene Hall, Helen slowly began her prenatal care. In the mornings, she walked hand in hand with her mother-in-law, Charlotte, and ate meals on the terrace, bathed in warm sunlight.  

After finishing school lessons, she spent entire days in the study reading poetry and novels, or did puzzles and crosswords with Henry and Olivia.  

After sunset, the couple enjoyed private time together. Raymond, who used to return at dawn with dew on his shoes, now came home for every meal. After dinner, the two of them would sit in the living room, sipping tea and chatting quietly.  

“How is your morning sickness?”  

“As long as it’s not fishy-smelling seafood, I’m fine.”  

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”  

“I’m very healthy. As you can see.”  

Helen answered all the routine questions one by one, and then turned the question back on him.  

“And how’s your work? The contract?”  

“It’s going well. Even the parts that were stuck are coming along.”  

Raymond answered gently, then came over and knelt at her feet. He wrapped his arms around her belly, and Helen, used to it, stroked his blonde hair.  

Raymond savored her touch, but soon pulled away. Her gentle caress quickly made him hard.  

Since Helen’s second pregnancy, their abstinence had lasted a month. It was getting harder and harder, and whenever they were alone, he found himself frustrated at his own body’s reactions. Awkwardly, he got up and sat beside her, changing the subject.  

“Will it be another girl this time?”  

“Who knows. Would you like that?”  

Helen, unaware of his predicament, rested against her husband’s broad shoulder. Raymond held her hand tightly and whispered,  

“I’d be happy with either. But this time, I hope the baby looks just like you.”  

“Really? I hope our second takes after you. If they look like you and Henry, we’ll have another angel like Olivia.”  

Olivia was truly a beautiful child who drew attention wherever she went. Her angelic face made everyone around dote on her, which was turning her into a little brat, but Helen couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her beloved daughter.  

“Of course, our Olivia is the most perfect child in the world.”  

Raymond agreed and added dreamily,  

“If the baby looks like you, they’ll be even more angelic.”  

Just imagining it made his heart swell. His Helen was lovely in every way. Her brown hair glowed red in the light, her lively chestnut eyes, her small, adorable nose, and even the freckles on her nose bridge.  

Just then, a sharp crash shattered the couple’s peaceful time. Helen gasped and tried to get up, but Raymond caught her elbow and sat her back on the couch.  

“I’ll check. Stay here.”  

Raymond jumped up and ran toward the source of the sound as soon as Helen nodded.  

The sound came from the study upstairs. Raymond flung open the door and immediately saw the culprit.  

“Olivia!”  

“Waaah! Daddy!”  

Olivia, her face bright red, was sitting on the floor, crying. She was always curious about the study where her father spent the most time. She must have snuck in while her nanny was distracted after waking up.  

On the carpet lay the shattered remains of a snow globe. Raymond recognized it instantly. When he had said he’d only ever received money for his birthdays, Helen had later given him this as a belated present for his eleventh birthday.  

“Tsk.”  

Raymond, who told the maid to clean up the mess, picked up his sniffling daughter.  

He took her to the master bedroom and comforted her for a long time before Olivia finally stopped crying. Lying between her parents, Olivia watched Raymond’s face.  

“Daddy, are you angry?”  

“Hm?”  

Raymond patted his daughter’s back.  

“The snow globe… it was Daddy’s treasure, and I broke it.”  

Sniffling, Olivia pursed her lips. Of all the things her father had bought for her—dolls, clothes, treats—the snow globe was the one thing he had refused to give her, no matter how much she begged.  

“Hm.”  

Raymond, seeing his stubborn princess so timid, deliberately dodged the answer.  

Angry? Sure, it was a precious keepsake, but when he saw Olivia standing among the shards, tears streaming down her face, nothing else mattered.  

He kept his mouth shut to tease her, but Olivia’s tears started up again.  

“Daddy, are you angry? Do you hate Via now?”  

Helen, lying opposite Raymond with Olivia between them, urged him with her eyes to answer.  

He shook his head.  

“No, I don’t hate you. Nothing is more precious than our princess.”  

“Really?”  

Olivia sniffled and blinked.  

“Really.”  

With his confident answer, Olivia’s mood swung from crying to laughing again.  

“But…”  

Raymond pressed his finger to Olivia’s forehead as she tried to snuggle into his arms.  

“Daddy?”  

He could let many things slide, but he never wanted to see her get hurt by carelessly touching things. Thankfully, she wasn’t injured, but his heart had dropped.  

For the first time, Raymond scolded his daughter seriously.  

“You mustn’t touch Mommy and Daddy’s things without permission.”  

“Waaah!”  

Olivia blinked in disbelief, then burst into tears again. In the end, Helen picked up Olivia and rose from the bed.  

“I’ll comfort her and put her to sleep.”  

“I…”  

Raymond, who couldn’t sit still after making his daughter cry, looked so anxious that Helen smiled and shook her head.  

“I’ll do it.”  

* * *

From the next day, a cold war began between father and daughter. More accurately, it was Olivia’s one-sided grudge.  

“Daddy, I hate you! Don’t come near!”  

During the weekend, Olivia clung to her mother like a cicada on a tree, wedging herself between her parents and glaring at her father.  

“Go away!”  

“Via.”  

Helen sighed inwardly and stroked her daughter’s head to soothe her.  

“Don’t say that to Daddy.”  

“I hate you! I don’t like you! Daddy’s a fool!”  

“Olivia Somerset.”  

Surprised by her daughter’s words, Helen lowered her voice for the first time. Olivia, startled, tried to pull away, but Helen grabbed both her arms and pressed her.  

“Where did you learn to talk like that?”