“Ana, how are you feeling? Did you find out why you were sick?” Sir Gino asked when he returned.
The first thing he said as he stepped out of the carriage was about my health. He was such a kind person to worry about me like that. It really warmed my heart.
“Well, I’d like to talk to you about that...”
Then I told him to come to the sixtieth drawing room, the Black Magatama, later.
“So, tell me what’s wrong! Is your illness serious?!”
As we sat alone in the room, I could tell how nervous he was by the way his voice was shaking. He was sweating profusely, fraught with worry. Oh...I see. I only just realized that my phrasing might have made it sound like I was suffering from some kind of ailment. I’d been nervous when I told him to meet me, so my expression most likely hadn’t helped to reassure him. I need to straighten this out immediately, but also, now I have the determination to tell him.
“Um, I-I’m pregnant...”
Bridgette had said that Sir Gino would jump for joy, but in reality, he didn’t. Instead, his eyes went big as saucers and he shot to his feet, freezing like a statue. After that, he simply cried and embraced me while wailing. His tears were very warm and I found myself crying too. I’m truly so, so very happy that I was able to marry him.
The Sevensworths had a history of difficulties with conception. Both father and I were only children. If I were unable to have a child, it would greatly affect our house, and it’d drag even our servants into the chaos. I should have felt relief as soon as I discovered I was pregnant, but I never did until that day. Now, I finally felt relief and joy for the baby inside of me. It was all because Sir Gino had returned and was overjoyed about the pregnancy. It greatly helped change how I felt.
Ever since then, he stayed close to me all the time. He helped me with even the smallest things and was currently boiling water for me. As he got the water from the stove, our head butler, Matthew, asked Sir Gino a question.
“Sir Ginorious, might it be all right if we review the plans for your next visit to the Simon territory?”
“Sorry, but cancel all my plans.”
Matthew stood there, shocked. “May I ask why?”
“I read in a book about how to prepare yourself for when your wife is pregnant that their emotional state is generally unstable, so it’s best to stay by their side as much as possible.”
“So, you’re staying here in order to be close to the madam?”
“That’s right. Until our child is born, I’m canceling all my plans. I’m going to be by Ana’s side twenty-four hours a day until then.”
“It’s still very early into her pregnancy, so the birth won’t be for quite some time. You not tending to your duties will be gravely detrimental...”
“That can’t be helped. This is all for the sake of our child.”
Matthew stared speechlessly in the face of Sir Gino’s determination, then he turned to me with a pleading look.
“Ana, don’t worry. I won’t let you feel any unease. I promise,” Sir Gino said, holding my hand with a very sincere look in his eyes.
“Um...I think I’d feel more at ease if you did your work.”
It was true that I’d feel more comfortable with Sir Gino by my side at all times, but that wasn’t realistic. If he neglected his work the whole time until our child was born, the Simon territory would be in trouble.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, of course! Any pregnant woman would become uneasy if they saw their husband lazing around the house,” Matthew immediately interjected, not letting this opportunity escape him.
In the end, Sir Gino relented and returned to working properly. Though he did reduce his schedule greatly, he still made trips to the Simon territory.
✦ ✦ ✦
Though I was told to hold off on going out as much, I couldn’t stay at home all the time. Today was one such case, and I was now heading to the royal palace for a ceremony. My grandfather, the king emeritus, had passed away, and I couldn’t miss his funeral.
“This now concludes our services. Thank you all for coming,” His Majesty said.
At long last, the ceremony, which felt like it had gone on for an eternity, ended. We stood and Sir Gino escorted me out of the venue. Suddenly, my surroundings went black. Anemia. I became unsteady on my feet; however, I was a member of House Sevensworth and had to protect our dignity. I couldn’t let myself fall in front of all these people.
“I’m sorry, but could you escort me somewhere private?” I asked, gripping Sir Gino’s arm.
“Escort you?! I’m not letting you walk like this! What if something happens to you or our child?!”
“Huh?! S-S-Sir Gino?!”
While smiling to make me feel at ease, Sir Gino picked me up and began running at an incredibly fast pace.
“Oh my! How bold!”
“Oh, that’s the so-called princess carry from the play!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Amazing! They’re both so beautiful, it feels like I’m watching a play in real life!”
“Heh heh. Not bad, grand duke!”
Th-Th-This is so embarrassing! The ceremony had just ended, so everyone had yet to leave, and now they were all seeing me being carried away. Some of the knights even whistled and clapped. In public places, the only acceptable contact between men and women was for their hands to be touching, and even the most affectionate couples would be especially reserved in the royal palace. I’d never heard of anyone running while carrying their wife like this. I could have died from the sheer embarrassment alone. It was making my mind go haywire, and I buried my face in my hands.
“Oh my, look at that!”
“Wh-What?!”
“Oh, how romantic.”
“Wow, it’s like right out of the climax of a romantic play!”
Even as we ran through the hallways, the people we passed couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
“Th-Th-This is so embarrassing! Please put me down!” I was so taken off guard, I hadn’t been able to say anything at the start, but I was finally able to squeeze these words out.
“But your face is so pale...or wait, it’s red.”
“Of course it is!”
“Do you feel okay now?”
Yes, I do. Even if I had fallen from the anemia, it would have been better than being rushed through the palace while being carried.
Once he put me down, I began to escape to the carriage. I didn’t feel anemic anymore, so I was fine to move quickly. If anything, all the blood rushing to my head made my face feel like it was burning.
As the carriage pulled away from the palace, the reactions of everyone we’d seen began echoing in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about how they’d commented on how bold “we” were being or how it was straight out of a scene from a play. I could feel my face getting gradually hotter.
“Um...I’m sorry. I just got so scared about the worst possible situation.”
I understood his reasoning. He’d read a medical book last night that must have made him feel very worried; he’d gone pale after reading about all the different ways to die in pregnancy. Sir Gino possesses a normal person’s level of embarrassment...or at least I think he does. So the fact that he forgot his embarrassment and went to those lengths for me shows how worried about me he was. Though not the most skillfully expressed, he truly and deeply cares about me. He’s a very kind husband.
Sir Gino looked like a puppy who’d been scolded. It was very adorable. It was hard to believe that someone who was so calm and had the beauty of an ice sculpture could make a face like this. Seeing how different he was acting from usual made my heart skip a beat.
“Agh!”
“M-Madam!” Bridgette exclaimed as I furiously rolled around in bed. My mother had just finished telling me all about how Sir Gino and I had become the talk of the royal palace. Though she’d seemed extremely amused, I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in knowing all the things people were saying.
It was so embarrassing, I’d immediately gone to my room and thrown myself on the bed in agony. I’ve changed my mind! I’d like Sir Gino to be a little more levelheaded!