Chapter 48: Chapter 48

“I’m sorry we’re so late, Allen.”

Following Humming’s apology, Kalia also spoke in a shy voice, “We’ve caused you great concern. I’m sorry, Allen.”

“……I hope you’re both safe. Were you injured? Did you find the children?”

“Yeah, they’re both with their mothers now.”

“That’s a relief—I’m so glad.”

But he didn’t let go of his tight embrace. His cares and worries were fully revealed in his stiff, rigid arms. Allen took a few quick breaths to control his breathing and slowly released them from his arms. His retreating fingertips were pale.

“I will prepare hot tea. Both of you sit here for a while. I’ll see if there’s any wounds,” He sweetly instructed, quickly turned around and ran to the kitchen.

At first glance, it seemed to them that his eyes were a bit watery. Kalia and Humming made eye contact with each other.

“Uh…I think Allen must have been really surprised, Miss.”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“I feel sorry. What should we do?”

“Well, it’s alright.”

He was always a worried man, but he seemed to have gotten worse in the past few hours. Kalia picked up the pot that had rolled over the floor. Humming, who was looking at it, burst into laughter.

She didn’t think she should laugh, but…

It was too funny, the image of Allen wearing a pot over his head, so determined to go rescue the two of them.

In the end, Kalia smiled quietly with Humming’s quiet laughter.

“You two! Don’t laugh, alright? I was really serious,” Allen, who had been warming up some red wine with lemon and cinnamon, burst in shouting, his face flushed. 1

He seemed both embarrassed and frustrated.

“Thank you very much, Allen, but, uh, isn’t the pot a little too big for you?”

“……There was nothing I could do about that. Your head is a weak spot so I had to find some way to protect it,” Groaning in embarrassment Allen placed two glasses down on the table.

Allen’s heart was as warm as the steam rising from the glasses. Humming put down the dragon egg she’d been holding onto the sofa, approached Allen and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Allen, I’m sorry we made you worry.”

“Yeah… Don’t do this next time, okay?” Allen replied harshly, pretending to hit Humming’s forehead with a knuckle.

Soon his gaze turned to Kalia.

He asked worriedly, “Are you really okay, Kalia? Did your stomach cramp?”

“Just a little. I think he’s become more active lately.”

“I’m sure you’ve got a full baby now. Your stomach will slowly get stuffy. He’s getting ready to come out.”

“It’s always amazing and exciting.”

“Pregnancy is… sacred and beautiful.”

As if in agreement, Allen looked at Kalia’s growing stomach with tender eyes.

“May I put my hand on it for a moment?” Allen asked carefully after a bit of hesitation.

Even though he was her attending doctor, he had never touched her stomach. He was a respectful and polite man who held her hands only when she needed medical care and had never made any unnecessary contact.

Kalia gave permission with a slight smile. Allen’s large, warm hands gently and carefully touched Kalia’s belly. As if the baby was chasing the warmth, Allen felt a tap against his hand. It wasn’t anything special but Allen and Kalia made eye contact and smiled at each other.

Humming, who was watching them, suddenly thought those two matched better than she expected. Allen, who was always cautious, careful and soft-tempered, contrasted quite well with Kalia, who was bold, slightly indifferent, strong and tough.

‘I don’t think it would be bad to just settle down here and live.’

Allen didn’t particularly seem to want to return to the Capital. Due to his personality, the countryside seemed to suit him better than the bustling and noisy city. Furthermore, he would often catch big fish on the weekends because he was good at fishing. At that time, it was amazing to see how proudly and happily he had smiled by how much his forehead had creased.

‘But Kalia is… …’

Humming looked at Kalia, who was smilingly caressing her heavy stomach.

The plump-cheeked Kalia, wearing a maternity dress that she had slowly grown accustomed to over the past months, now looked as beautiful and noble as any ordinary lady. Of course, as Humming had witnessed the her in the woods; once Kalia raised her sword, that image changed, but in fact… It seemed unlikely that she would have to wield her sword in word anymore in this peaceful age that she herself had ushered in.

No, even if it’s an age of chaos and darkness, she doesn’t necessarily have to jump into it anymore, right?

‘I think you’ve done enough already.’ Smiling silently, Humming looked at Kalia.

Clearly, Kalia’s face had looked more and more comfortable and relaxed throughout her stay here. She laughed a lot more and rested a lot more than she did when she lived as General Kalia. However, there was just one thing. On the surface, Kalia seemed very peaceful, but…

‘But sometimes, very occasionally, you seem a little nervous and restless.’

Like a person who was missing a piece in the corner of their heart, but didn’t even know they had lost that piece yet.

Like she had a feeling of vague insecurity.

Did she really want to go back there or stay here?

Humming didn’t dare to guess her mind yet either.

‘But who the hell is the father of that baby? Who is it that Kalia hates so much that she is hiding all the way out here?’

She didn’t think he would be a normal person.

He was Kalia’s lover after all.

Until now, Humming didn’t even dare to ask about it. She refrained from speculating because she thought it was something she shouldn’t pry into.

‘No, wait, a lover… right? If it’s not a lover, I don’t think I can know?’ 2

Humming suddenly recalled a few men who were not lovers but were close to Kalia.

The first to come to mind was the Duke, Simon Terroan. The next is the Crown Prince, and then deputy Derek, but he was a married man.

‘…And if it’s one of them?’

Humming, who thought this far, suddenly widened her eyes. It was because she had suddenly wondered if one of the first two people that came to mind might be the baby’s father.

“Oh my god,” Humming hurriedly covered her mouth.

Either way, this empire would be turned upside down if either of them was the real father of that baby.Humming’s heart sped up violently.

Although she had long wished for the baby to be born, at this moment, she was wondering whether she could handle the birth of the child.

‘No, it’s not something I can handle. But….Still!’ 3

“Humming, what’s wrong?” Kalia, who had been watching Humming cover her mouth in surprise, asked strangely.

She looked to where Humming’s gaze had blanked out on but found nothing out of the ordinary that could have warranted her surprise. Humming quickly waved her hand.

“Oh, no. I just thought of something else. Hey, shouldn’t I tell Allen more about ‘that’?”

“That? Ah!” Kalia realized what she was referring to and turned to look at Allen.

“Allen.”

“Yes, Kalia. Go ahead.”

Kalia hesitated for a moment before asking, “Um, do you know how to treat animals?”

“What?”

An animal…. What? That’s out of the blue.

Looking at Allen shaking his head in reply, Kalia corrected herself. “Do you know how to diagnose eggs, to be exact?”

“Egg? Huh?”

‘….. Eggs? Cluck cluck, that sort of thing? Is that what they mean?’

***

Allen couldn’t believe his eyes. He never thought he would ever see a real dragon egg in his life.

Maybe he had lived too long as a country doctor?

Could it be that dragon eggs were easier to find than he had thought?

No, it wasn’t obtained through any auction but picked up from the forest…

“….to see a dragon egg in my life,” He muttered, stunned in surprise.

“What do you think? Is it possible to examine this?”

“Oh, yes. I think I’ve seen it written in a book before. Let me check the vital signs first.” He hurried upstairs with a little excitement and grabbed some of his medical equipment.

In the meantime, Humming was looking hard at the egg, wearing the pot Allen had dropped.

Allen, who was walking down the stairs, glumly stopped and said sullenly, “Humming, how about taking that off?”

“Why? I feel like I can understand your feelings like this. No?” In case Allen would take it off, Humming held the pot with two hands.

Her eyes twinkled with mischief and mirth, and the playfulness on her face was like that of a younger sibling who purposefully didn’t listen.

‘Geez.’ Allen, who had been looking at Humming, shook his head and turned to the egg that had been placed on the table.

First, he measured the temperature of the egg and then the wavelength of its magic. Then, he checked its thickness by tapping its thick shell several times. He even closely examined the conditions inside the translucent shell under a microscope.

A few minutes went by with him examining the egg like this. The way he tilted and shook his head was a little unsettling. He even felt that the light emanating from the egg was a little weaker than when they had first brought out the egg.

Kalia, who was watching, asked worriedly, “What’s wrong, Allen? Did something go wrong?”

“Actually, it’s my first time examining an egg, so I can’t give a diagnosis but the numbers don’t look good.”

“Number?”

“Yes,” Allen’s dark brows gathered seriously.

“It’s known that the normal temperature for a healthy dragon egg is between 65 to 72 degrees Celsius. But right now, this egg barely reaches 60 degrees. Fortunately, the shell doesn’t seem to have gotten much thinner. The problem right now is the wavelength of the magic that’s flowing from inside.”

He rubbed his chin as if to carefully choose his next words, and continued his explanation in a soft voice.

“It has no power/strength. Normally, the mana’s wavelength should be about 50-60 meters a minute which would be 3 Hertz per minute. But right now, the wavelength is only 40 meters which is about 2 Hertz per minute.” 4

The egg was weakening.

Why?

When they brought it out from the woods, it looked strong…

Was it just what it looked like?

‘No, I’m sure the Fairy King said it’s rare for such a strong egg to be thrown away…’

“On second thought, I feel like it’s exhausted. The eggs are quite weak, ” Allen muttered, not seeing Kalia’s agonizing.

At that moment, Kalia recalled the great wave of mana coming from Humming’s direction when she heard her name being screamed.