Side Story 2 ; Part 1

“Then you can stay here.”

The elderly chief smiled kindly and opened the door. Eric stood in front of Tenere, wary. He was worried that strangers might burst through the open door. Tenere clutched the bow she was carrying tightly.

But as soon as the door swung open, their tense faces turned to panic as the smell of dust wafted through the open door.

“Ugh…… what is this?”

Eric muttered with a grimace, while Tenere turned her head and coughed softly. The village chief continued to chuckle.

“It’s been a while since we’ve managed this place, so it’s a bit messy. It looks like we need to start with cleaning.”

“……who?”

“You, of course.”

At the nonchalant answer, Eric looked back and forth between the house and the village chief as if it were ridiculous. The house was gray and dusty, with cobwebs everywhere, and the old furniture looked like it could fall apart at any moment. The floor was littered with dead rats, feces, and bugs. For someone who had never cleaned up his own room before, let alone an abandoned house, it was a tough situation.

“You mean me alone……?”

“Then who? A pregnant woman?”

“No, some kind of laborer…….”

Eric looked around, but there was no way there was a laborer in the small village outside the manor. The chief tapped him on the shoulder.

“I don’t know where you’ve been or what you’ve been doing, but here you’ll have to do some of the work yourself.”

It was a kind of consideration that, even if they recognized their original status, they would pretend not to notice it. At the same time, it was also a kind of warning not to make themselves conspicuous. Eric and Tenere nodded slowly.

“It will take you a while to do it on your own, so you can stay at my daughter’s house for the time being.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks…….”

Is it okay not to ask his daughter for permission? Eric tilted his head when told to stay at his daughter’s house, not his own. The village chief gestured to a distant place.

“My baby, Sarah.”

“Oh, Father.”

The woman spotted the chief and came running. The woman was too large to be called a baby, and judging by the wrinkles around her mouth and the occasional gray hair peeking through her upturned head, she appeared to be approaching middle age.

“Who are these people?”

“Travelers, they said they were looking for a place to stay. I happen to have an empty house, so I invited them to stay…….”

“They can’t live here, I told you we shouldn’t let strangers in.”

The woman spoke in a high-pitched voice, perhaps changing her words to say she couldn’t take them in. Eric and Tenere looked at each other in confusion. The chief coughed in vain.

“She’s a descendant of the Patrona, my dear, and since we don’t have a proper watchman, she could help us……..”

“We decided that the villagers would take care of it somehow, Father. Whether it’s Patroana or not, letting strangers in…”

“We can’t just throw out someone who is pregnant.”

“A pregnant woman?”

Sara looked back at Tenere with surprise. Tenere flinched involuntarily under the scrutinizing gaze. Glancing at her stomach, which was still visible through her clothes, Sarah raised an eyebrow at her father.

“Oh dear, you left out the most important part of the story, Father.”

“I’ll make sure you finish your sentence…….”

“And you’re letting a pregnant woman stay in this filthy house.”

With that, Sara grabbed Tenere’s hand without asking permission. Tenere’s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t care.

“I don’t know how you ended up out here in the middle of nowhere, huh? Let’s go to my place until we get things straightened out. I know it’s a bit of a mess with all the kids, but it’s a lot better than this place.”

Sarah tugged on Tenere’s arm, urging her to follow. Their eyes met, and the chief smirked as if to say.

* * *

“It was done faster than I thought it would be, thanks to the help of …… and your wife.”

“Oh, we’re just people who always do what we’ve been doing. You’ve been through Her Majesty the Empress.”

Sarah threw her hands up in the air. Every time she moved her hand, Anzu winced in anxiety.

It had been shortly after Joshua’s second birthday that the two, who lived on the Duke of Travell’s estate, had come to the palace. It was a small gift Leonard had arranged for Tenere, who was feeling a little empty after Eric had left the capital to inspect the estate.

But neither Leonard nor Tener had expected it. Sarah, now over fifty, had answered the invitation with her belly.

“I’m afraid you’re overexerting yourself, Mrs Anzu. You’re not even in shape.”

“It’s fine because of the walking stick. Eyi is such a troublemaker.”

Sarah giggled as she slapped Anzu on the shoulder. Anzu let out a small squeal with each blow, but she didn’t dare stop her. Tenere smiled at the sight.

“I see you two still get along well. This is your sixth time, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, the sixth… yes.”

With that answer, Anzu sneaked a glance at Sarah. For some reason, Sarah’s unexpected pregnancy with the sixth child was entirely his fault for forgetting to take his pills.

“I suddenly thought I wasn’t getting my period because I was getting older. But then, it turned out to be pregnancy. If I had known, I would have secretly fed him some herbs.”

The last part made Anzu jump. He looked back at Sarah, shocked.

“W-were you carrying it?”

“Of course, I was carrying it…”

After she said that, Sarah’s mouth dropped open as if she remembered something. She cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

“……Ah, that’s the thing, you freaked out at the sight of Livano and tried to dry the seed, so how did you get it?”

“Well… it was a long shot.”

Anzu squared his broad shoulders as if he knew he was at fault.

“If you’re going to be so h*rny, at least take birth control pills or something, or stop fooling around at your age. Anyway, I can’t live like this.”

“That…… was my fault, Sarah.”

“You’re just saying that. Just saying?”

Sarah ranted for a long time, seemingly forgetting they were in the palace. Tenere smiled at the familiar sight and tipped her teacup. Anzu’s eyes narrowed and she shouted.

“Mmm, I’ll eat!”

“…….”

“The grass…… I’ll eat it…… okay?”

Tenere’s eyes widened at Anzu’s declaration, though she didn’t particularly want to know what would happen to her husband’s reproductive function. Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise as if she had heard something unexpected.

“…… Really?”

“…….”

“Are you really going to eat it?”

Sarah asked again, and Anzu nodded, looking downcast. Sarah looked at Anzu in disbelief, and then cringed and tugged at his ear.

“Oh my, really… Wouldn’t it have been nice if you did this before having more kids, huh?”

“Ah, ouch, Sarah. Woe, we’re in front of the Empress.”

Anzu said urgently, and Sarah quickly turned away. Catching Tenere’s eyes, she quickly lowered her hand and giggled.

“Oh my, my, causing a fuss in front of Her Majesty the Empress…”

“The two of you know the situation well. I’m just worried the baby might be startled.”

Tenere said, looking at her belly, and Sarah smiled wryly and turned away.

“In any case, it would have been nice to see our El…… nay, the Marquis.”

“He’s been away for a while, so he hasn’t been able to take care of the estate, though His Majesty has taken care of it for me…….”

After Tenere’s wedding, Leonard graciously gave Eric not only the estates he had been managing for him but also the estates he had taken back after Ludwig Evan’s treason. Eric was overwhelmed with the responsibilities, ridiculing the nobles who couldn’t even utter a word.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is doing well, isn’t he? He was so adorable.”

“Yes, indeed. He’s getting better at talking these days. It seems like he’ll soon be out of diapers.”

Since officially becoming a prince, Joshua has been growing up every day. He’s learning respect, albeit clumsily, and he’s fully potty trained, so he doesn’t wear diapers except for sleeping and public appearances.

It was a thrill to watch him grow so quickly. Every time he wiggled his tiny fingers to count or pretend to eat with his toy utensils, every time he drew big and small circles to say, mommy and daddy, Tenere felt like the world’s happiness was pouring into her.

“That time is the most beautiful. Everything he does is amazing.”

Sarah said, nibbling on a cookie on her plate. Tenere nodded.

“The nanny will be here soon; it’s time for a nap.”

“Ahhh, I wonder if he remembers me.”

The three of them talked for a while. Sarah occasionally stroked her swollen belly, and each time she did, Anzu looked at her restlessly.

It wasn’t long before Laura took Joshua’s hand and opened the door to the parlor. As soon as Joshua saw his mother, he ran up, grinning widely.

“Mother!”