Chapter 70 – Future (Letty’s POV)

Everyone was stunned, our expressions going from worry to shock to joy in the span of a couple of seconds. No one had expected ‘this’ to be the reason behind Teacher’s strange illness.

“Wow. Oh my God, we are having another baby!” Sir Richard exclaimed. A huge grin formed on his face as he was barely able to control his excitement.

“Mom, that’s such amazing news, I can’t believe it!” Aria covered her mouth and squealed. “After all this time, I’m going to get a cute little sibling!” she said, before running up to her and pulling her in a tight hug.

“Congratulations, Teacher”, I said, equally stunned and relieved to know that nothing is actually wrong with her body. But that doesn’t really answer our question. What happened to her on the battlefield, and why did she faint?

Sir Richard also joined the hug. He placed a gentle kiss on Teacher’s forehead, on her cheek, and then finally, on her lips. And he kept at it, forgetting that his daughter, me, and the Grand Meister are right here.

Poor Aria awkwardly looked away, unsure of how to react. Her cheeks turned pink as she stepped back with me, giving them some space. We shared a look that said everything.

Thankfully, Teacher was still sane and pinched his arm tightly. “Stop it, the kid-sh are right here”, she said, scolding him.

At this point, Teacher’s face was blushing red, and she was fumbling with her words. It’s very rare to see her ever dignified self make such a shy and embarrassed expression.

Sir Richard winced in pain. “Oh! Sorry, Honey, I got too caught up in my emotions”, he said, sheepishly scratching his neck. “And, uh, I’m sorry you two had to see that”, he told us.

“Cough, It’s understandable, but please don’t make a habit of it”, Aria muttered, her eyes glued to the floor.

Before the awkwardness could ruin the moment, the Grand Meister cleared his throat and said, “Congratulations everyone. This is truly a joyous occasion”, he said, his voice deep and steady. “If I may, I’d like to take a few moments to explain a few things about this pregnancy. After that, I’ll leave your family to celebrate”.

“I’m sure you must be wondering what Lady Martha’s pregnancy has to do with her symptoms,” he began. “As you previously said, Lady Martha is from the royal family of Bregonia. The lineage that has created the best Mages the world has ever seen for the last few centuries”.

“This brings us to what’s happening now”, he said, taking a small pause before continuing, “She is experiencing what’s called Royal Infusion. Essentially, it means that the baby’s mana core is currently being nourished directly by Lady Martha’s mana. It’s a fairly common occurrence in the royal family of Bregonia, as every one in four royal babies is born this way. It’s truly an honor to witness such a miracle in person”.

“Does that mean that the baby has formed a mana core already? But the baby is barely visible, he can’t be more than a couple months old by now”, I asked.

“Yes, the baby has already formed a mana core. During this process, the mana core’s formation begins fairly early on”, he explained.

“So that’s why she couldn’t use her remaining mana, because it was being used by the baby”, Aria said.

“Exactly”, he replied, nodding. “But there’s more. What makes this case extraordinary is the amount of mana being drawn by the baby. The sheer amount of mana required to nourish his mana core can only mean one thing”.

He raised his finger and continued, “we are about to witness the birth of the greatest mage in centuries. This is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon”.

Sir Richard’s face lit up with pride, but there was a flicker of concern in his eyes. “Does this… put Martha at risk?”

“No”, the Grand Meister assured him. “Although we can’t be certain because such a case hasn’t been recorded before, it seems that the baby is utilizing exactly half of her mana capacity. It must be a limit placed by the almighty to protect the mother. So as long as Lady Martha doesn’t use any spell that costs her more than half her mana, she’ll be perfectly safe”.

Before we could take in all the information, he spoke again, this time in a somber tone, “But- I must warn you. This must be kept a secret for now. There’s no need to place a target on your unborn child’s back. There are many evil doers who may want to harm or exploit such a gifted soul”.

Hearing this, Sir Richard’s expression turned grim again. It’s certainly going to be hard protecting the child, especially when he becomes a child. But that’s a worry for another day, right now, we should focus on making the best of this situation.

“Don’t worry. No one can harm our baby”, Teacher smiled reassuringly.

The Grand Meister smiled faintly, bowing his head. “I trust you’ll do everything to ensure their safety. Now, I’ll take my leave and prepare the necessary precautions.”

As the Grand Miester left, we finally digested the new information.

“Not only is there nothing wrong with Mom, I’m going to get a sibling, and my sibling is going to become the best Mage in the world. This day keeps getting better and better!” Aria said, clapping her hands in excitement.

“Yes, it’s wonderful news. We must celebrate”, Sir Richard said.

“I’ll handle the preparations and arrange a grand feast tonight. Leave it to me, Sir Richard”, I said.

“Thank you Letica”, he said. He then moved towards Lady Martha again, he slowly picked up her hand and said, “Honey, are you fine with this?” he asked.

“Of course, I am. Why?” Teacher asked, confused.

“It’s just that back when Aria was being born, you were constantly swearing at our poor girl the whole time. You even swore that we’d never have another baby again”, he asked.

“What are you saying, dear? I don’t recall any such things happening”, she said, before whispering to Sir Richard, “What is wrong with you?! Why are you saying such things in front of her?”

She quickly moved her attention to Aria and said, “Baby, it was not like that at all. I loved you back then, and I love you now. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, don’t listen to your dad, he is hallucinating”.

“Hehe, right. I don’t know what got over me… Weird. Haha”, he said. Yeah, he’s not fooling anyone with that.

“Don’t worry, Mom, I understand. Childbirth is painful, I don’t blame you. It was probably Dad’s fault for not supporting you properly. This time, you have me, so don’t worry at all”, she said.

I kinda feel bad for him…

***

After making some preparations for the feast. I and Aria asked the staff about some helpful tips for pregnancy. After noting all the information, we made our way back to check up on Teacher. But as we entered, we saw that Sir Richard had fallen asleep on his chair by the bedside.

Teacher looked up from the book she was reading, placing a finger to her lips to signal for silence.

Well, he has probably not slept since we left. It’s only natural that fatigue caught up to him. I’m glad that things turned out for the better.

“Let’s give them some space and take a little rest for a bit”, Aria suggested.

I nodded, “Yeah”

Back in our room, we settled onto the bed, cuddling under the soft blanket. The day’s whirlwind of emotions made the moment feel especially comforting.

Out of an impulse, I asked, “Do you think we’ll have a baby too?”

“Yeah”, Aria rested her chin on top of my head. “In the future, we will”.

“Then, who’ll carry the baby? The staff said that it’s unbearably painful… Can’t we just adopt one instead…” I half jokingly said.

She burst into a light chuckle, her chest shaking against my back, “what are you thinking, silly? We are not even married yet, and you are already planning a baby”.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. “It’s just that… everything that happened today got me thinking”, I mumbled.

She gently brushed a stray lock of my hair and said, “It’s sweet, thinking about the future with you”.

“To be honest”, she continued, her voice softening, “I had some similar thoughts too. Seeing how happy they got after hearing the news. Hehe, Dad could barely hold back”.

“It made me wonder what it’d be like. To have a family of our own”, she said.

“You’d be a great mom”, I said.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Though I know for a fact that you’d be great. You just have this natural calming aura around you. Well, at least I won’t have to worry too much with you around”, she said.

“Stop it”, I interrupted her, flipping over to cup her cheeks. “You’ll be a wonderful parent. I just know it. You’re smart, gentle, and the best girlfriend in the world. Our child would look up to you”, I said without hesitation.

“Hehe, thanks, Letty, you are too good to me”, she said.

“Anyway”, she quietly murmured, “when the time comes, I’ll carry the baby. No matter how painful it’d be, I’ll do it. For us”, Aria said.

Her words struck something deep inside me. My heart swelled, and before I knew it, I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. The rest of my thoughts melted away as we lost ourselves in each other’s embrace.

“I love you so much!”, I said, expressing my genuine feelings.

She tightened her arms around me and said, “I love you too!”