The Baby Isn’t Yours

Mrs. McCanna understood her words and placed her hand on Kalia’s belly. Laughter filled the kitchen, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

As time passed, the blush on Kalia’s face deepened. She had never felt this awkward before.

Mrs. McCanna, who had been laughing and wiping her tears, nodded in response to Kalia’s question.

“Well, it’s quite common to have dreams like that now and then. I believe I had a few of those dreams during my first and second pregnancies. I’ve heard from other friends that they experienced it as well.”

Kalia’s face displayed a momentary surprise. She had no idea that dreaming about such things was so common. Pregnancy was indeed a mysterious and unique experience.

Mrs. McCanna noticed Kalia’s surprise and softened her expression even further, speaking kindly to comfort her.

“It’s not something that happens to everyone, of course, but it’s still a fairly common occurrence. Those are just the experiences you have during pregnancy.”

“Ah, I see,” Kalia replied, heaving a sigh of relief.

It was reassuring to know that this unusual experience was quite ordinary.

As she let go of her guilt, she began to feel that the sensations from last night weren’t entirely unpleasant. Though she had enjoyed that unforgettable night, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret that it ended so quickly.

The dream offered some solace.

‘…Hmm, I may not be trash after all.’

After acknowledging this truth, she felt a little embarrassed but ultimately accepted it.

Someone had once told her that there was no shame in it; in fact, it was sacred and beautiful to give birth to life and complete love.

‘But who had told me that? Oh, right, it was something Simon had said.’

With a little chuckle, Kalia brushed away the remnants of her dream from last night, even though it was still lingering in her thoughts.

She couldn’t understand why she kept thinking about him even though they were separated.

“Still, be careful when you have dreams like that, as they can sometimes lead to uterine contractions. You’re already doing well on your own, and Allen will surely take good care of you, but always remember to be cautious.”

Mrs. McCanna looked at Kalia with a warm, indulgent expression, and Kalia couldn’t help but feel a bit shy in response.

Lately, many people seemed to perceive her as ‘small, cute, and fragile.’ Each time she noticed this gaze, she felt a mix of embarrassment and ticklish sensations in her heart.

Even though she knew she could break an ogre’s arm with her bare hands, she couldn’t help but wonder why people saw her that way. She decided to put these thoughts aside.

“Now, shall I prepare breakfast? Hemmie and Allen will be waking up soon.”

Kalia nodded lightly in response to Mrs. McCanna’s kind words. As Mrs. McCanna patted her shoulders, the warmth of her touch was comforting.

For a while, Kalia felt that it was okay to be just “small, cute, and fragile” Lia Rayman.

* * *

After starting the day with a hearty breakfast prepared by Mrs. McCanna, Kalia went for her regular check-up with Allen. Inside the darkened examination room, Kalia relaxed her body  and lay down leisurely.

Allen scanned her lower abdomen, passing the magic through to visualize the growing baby on the wall.

What was once a small bean had now transformed into a recognizable human form. Kalia’s eyes filled with affection as she watched the baby’s tiny hands and feet wiggling.

Even in black and white, the baby looked as cute and lovable as ever, as if its cuteness was etched onto the wall.

Kalia couldn’t help but think, how can my baby look so adorable, even while curled up like that?

“This is Sasha’s head and this is their leg. Now, as you can see. Here. Between the legs…”

A small laser dot moved to exactly where Allen was indicating, pinpointing the place between her baby’s thighs.

She could feel the baby’s movement through the walls of her stomach as the child shook his legs.

The shift allowed them to see a round and cute protrusion between the legs.

A small, cute and round shape.

He showed off his presence by spreading his legs wide open as if the child knew his mother was watching. Of course that was not what really happened but it was how Kalia interpreted the baby’s movements.

“Do you see? This round shape here.”

Kalia eagerly nodded in response. This was the gender reveal, and it was incredibly clear.

‘….My God. My baby is too cute. Cute! So cute!!’

She clenched her jaw tightly, trying hard to stop herself from shouting about Sasha.

“Boy, it’s a boy. I can say it without a doubt.”

“Indeed. It’s so clear, I can’t deny it. My little Sasha… Really…”

Kalia restrained herself from saying more, clenching her lips to hold back her overwhelming emotions. She felt a wave of relief.

“Graceful and cute.”

“Yes?”

“Graceful and cute, I mean. Oh, goodness, I must be going crazy.”

His hands, feets and thighs. They were all so small. It was absolutely adorable. It seemed that the smaller something was, the cuter it got.

Blushing, Kalia excitedly turned to Allen.

“Do you see that? It’s visible, right? I didn’t expect it to be visible. My baby is incredible. Oh, the way he’s lying there… How confident! My baby! While still in my belly! It’s unbelievable. Truly, it’s beyond cute, like a divine realm.”

“…Uh, Kalia?”

“Allen! Allen, can’t you see it too? Isn’t our Sasha incredibly cute? How adorable will he be when he’s born? I’m so, so excited. He’s just too cute. I’m going crazy. What should I do?”

Caught up in her excitement and without realizing it, Kalia’s belly began to tighten, making her momentarily pause.

The sensation of her uterus contracting as it tightened made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Is your belly tightening? It’s not good to get too excited; you should take slow, deep breaths.”

Kalia laughed it off, saying it was nothing, but Allen’s expression became more stern.

Lately, Kalia had been mentioning how her belly tightened more than usual.

Allen speculated that if she was experiencing discomfort despite her high pain tolerance, it was probably a significant level of tightening.

“Hey, it doesn’t hurt.”

“It shouldn’t hurt.”

Allen sighed softly, feeling helpless to stop her. He laid Kalia back in the seat and looked at her round stomach.

After examining the extent and power of the cramp, he finally diagnosed it as a temporary cramp, and wasn’t too agitated.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t reassured. No matter how careful one was, there was no shortage of things to look out for in pregnancy and childbirth. There were just too many things that could go wrong.

As miraculous and joyous creating a new life was, it was still a strain on the body.

And it was something Allen had witnessed before. It was also the cause of his wife’s devastating death.

“I know you’re tired of it, but I hope you’ll always be careful. Sasha’s growth is above average. In 9 months, he’d already grown 3.7 to 3.8 kg which is a very dangerous weight. At this rate, he could weigh nearly 5 kg on the day of birth. You have to know that if the child is too big, it places the mother at risk.”

“I’m proud he’s growing well.”

Kalia smiled and spoke freely, indifferent to Allen’s precarious words.

She couldn’t be afraid of having a baby after having experienced her limbs had been cut off.

In Allen’s head, he understood where Kalia was coming from but he was still worried nonetheless. Thus, he had no choice but to constantly nag her, something he didn’t want to do but hoped that his worries would get through Kalia’s skull with enough repetition.

However, his expression was a little stiffer than usual.

“Kalia. I know you have a much healthier and stronger body than others. In fact, the mortality rate of knights due to childbirth is low. However, even if you have monster-like stamina and body, your uterus can collapse if you give birth to a huge baby. It could also lead to excessive bleeding. If the bleeding continues, it won’t matter if your body is like a rock or not.”

Allen’s expression basically seemed to say that giving birth to a big baby was ‘the same as dying’. Truthfully, he seemed a little angry.

But what could Allen be mad at me for?

From the time she was handed the fairy tale book last night to today at breakfast, there weren’t many changes. He was the same as usual, until just a second ago.

Allen once again spoke to Kalia in a stern voice:

“…And Sasha is not the only one growing. You, too, Kalia. You’ve already gained over 14 kg, right? At this point, gaining this amount is not healthy. I told you that you can gain weight weekly during the last month.”

“….No matter how I look at it, I think there’s an edge in the way you’re talking right now. What is it?”

“Please reduce sweets. They’re prohibited for now. Control your food intake.”

“What?” Kalia was taken aback and unintentionally exclaimed.

She stared at him as if he were lying, with wide eyes. But Allen didn’t waver and repeated his words.

“No sweets. It’s forbidden for now. Do you understand? I’ll also let Hemmie know.”

Allen continued, and his tone was colder than usual.

Her big, round eyes widened in anxiety, hastily looking at him, trying to see if he was lying but Allen just repeated what he said again without even blinking his eyes,

“No sweets okay? I’ll let Hemmie know about this change as well.”

‘…Damn.’

Kalia shut her mouth, and sat stubbornly giving him a reluctant look.

She couldn’t refute his orders because everything he said was correct. Nevertheless, his words banning her from eating sweets were just too harsh.

The baby’s kick in her stomach was so lovely that Kalia purposefully looked for sweets to eat.

This was because eating sweets made the baby more active. It seemed that the child, connected with her through the umbilical cord, was sensitive to sugar.

Just like eating sweets made her feel good, it also seemed to make the baby feel good.

“…Okay, I understand.”

Kalia responded with a sense of disappointment as she felt her baby kick from inside her, the baby’s movements being her daily joy these days. Even though Allen’s words were sensible, she couldn’t help but feel unhappy.

When she raised her head to look at her stomach, now rounder than before, she felt a tinge of regret. Even with her flattened shoulders, Kalia appeared to be sulking, her eyes filled with complexity. Observing Kalia as she sat up with a slumped shoulder, Allen sighed for a moment.

There was no way around it; he had to say this once more.

“…For now, I’ll allow it up to the next festival. But after that, you really need to reduce your sugar intake.”

Seeing Kalia nod in agreement, Allen couldn’t help but smile again.

Kalia’s 35th week of pregnancy was going smoothly, with the village festival only two weeks away.