Chapter 138
‘It can’t be. It’s not the time for a baby to be coming.’
Despite her thoughts, Amber refrained from reaching for the wine.
“Nora, please take this away.”
“Yes, Madam!”
“If you want some, you can have it.”
“Really?!”
Tonight, Nora was the maid attending to her.
With a look of excitement, Nora quickly picked up the dish, and upon smelling the cheese, looked ecstatic.
Watching her, Amber felt uneasy again.
But she wanted to believe it wasn’t true; it was too early for her to be pregnant.
If that were the case, it would mean that this wasn’t the same baby from her past.
‘Let’s just say I’m being picky about my food.’
After going to bed early, Amber stretched out her arm to pat the empty space beside her.
The bed felt too vast without her husband, and she hated it immensely.
With those thoughts, she drifted into sleep.
Her dreams were restless.
* * *
“Ugh!”
When she opened her eyes, she hoped things would be better, but they weren’t at all.
She had felt fine after eating vegetable and potato soup with bread for breakfast, but she couldn’t even touch the seafood dish served at lunch.
The clams tasted off, and the fish also had a strange flavor.
Having experienced morning sickness before, Amber felt a deep sense of dread.
‘This can’t be happening… If I’m really pregnant, and if it’s been a few months…’
How far along was she when Nidhogg appeared?
It had been after her morning sickness subsided, if she remembered correctly.
‘I feel nauseous.’
But she couldn’t just eat nothing. If she really was pregnant, she needed to eat something for the baby.
‘To confirm the pregnancy, I need to see Nick.’
Nicholas had rented a room on the first floor of the castle to set up a clinic and cared for the castle’s residents, often taking breakfast and lunch inside to avoid unexpected patients.
To see Nicholas now, she would have to go directly to the clinic…
‘But that might spread rumors that I’m unwell.’
If she discreetly summoned him later, there was a chance that rumors could arise about her being involved with an outsider.
Given that there were many visitors in the castle right now and her husband was away, it would be wise to act carefully.
There was no need for unnecessary commotion.
‘Everyone’s busy preparing for the ski tournament; I don’t want to worry the people of the castle. It could just be temporary symptoms or even a phantom pregnancy. Besides, Igmeyer said he was being careful.’
After some thought, Amber made a rather poor decision.
She chose to avoid the situation.
Perhaps her instinct about being pregnant was making her hesitate and retreat.
Though a vague sense of anxiety tightened around her, she decided to let it go for today.
‘I wanted to have a baby in happiness, not in this unstable situation.’
When everything was settled, when she was sure it was the right time for a baby.
That’s what she wanted…
‘Right now, the North is in a state of stabilization. I can’t afford to fight a final war.’
If they needed to kill Nidhogg in a hurry… there was only one answer.
Igmeyer would have to go alone to confront that terrifying dragon.
Or perhaps he could take elite knights with him.
‘What should I do? I don’t know.’
As she couldn’t stand the smell of the food, she made her way out of the dining hall.
In the distance of the hallway, she spotted Jason, shimmering like a mirage.
Hadn’t Jason gone hunting with Igmeyer? He shouldn’t be here at all.
“Jason? What’s going on? Are you the only one back?”
Amber was very startled, but she approached calmly. She reached out, but to her surprise, Jason slipped right through her fingers.
No, he just flickered like smoke.
Amber widened her eyes, staring at the boy.
He was definitely here, yet not here.
It felt real, yet he had no physical form.
“Jason? What’s happening? Is this a new ability?”
She didn’t understand what was going on.
Moreover, Jason appeared just as surprised by his state.
“…”
At that moment, Jason’s lips began to move.
Amber felt a rush of anxiety and couldn’t bring herself to reach out; she just clenched her fists and kept asking.
“What’s wrong? Did you see something? Or… no, please don’t tell me… don’t say it.”
That he was dead.
It couldn’t be.
As her thoughts spiraled into darker possibilities, chills ran down her spine.
Once she felt that strange sensation, every hair on her body stood on end, especially since there was no one else in the hallway.
“Are you trying to tell me something?”
When his voice didn’t come through, Jason grasped his throat and frowned. Then he began to move his lips very slowly.
Slow enough for Amber to read.
“Not… dead… yet?”
As she followed the shapes of his lips, Jason nodded.
Then he continued with another sentence.
“At first… it’s bad… but later, it’s good. Is that right?”
Jason’s face brightened as Amber read the message.
It sounded like a riddle, and she didn’t fully understand it, but she decided to accept it for now.
As long as nothing was wrong with Jason, that was what mattered.
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