IHTN 09

Chapter: 09

“About four weeks. It’s confirmed—you’re pregnant.”

That was the doctor’s conclusion after Yulia visited the hospital first thing in the morning, having spent the weekend in confusion.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as shocking as she expected.

She had already suspected it herself.

Sudden bursts of appetite, uncontrollable drowsiness at any time of day, chronic fatigue, headaches and dizziness, nausea, pain in her chest, lower back, and lower abdomen, and even light bleeding.

All the symptoms listed in medical books as early signs of pregnancy matched exactly what she had been experiencing for days.

“…I see.”

Yulia replied weakly.

She already felt unwell due to early pregnancy, and after barely sleeping over the weekend, dark circles hung under her eyes and her skin looked dull and dry.

Anyone would think she was a woman suffering from an unwanted pregnancy.

The doctor, as if he had seen many women like her before, looked at Yulia with pity before speaking calmly.

“Children are precious gifts. Please be happy to receive such a lovely gift.”

“…?”

Yulia looked at him in disbelief, wondering if she had heard wrong.

Behind his glasses, his small eyes glimmered with something that looked like madness.

W-What is he talking about? As if a child is always a gift? That might be true for prepared couples—but not for someone like me…!

She nearly jumped up and wanted to smack his shiny bald head, but she barely held herself back.

“Haha… There’s no way the test could be wrong, right?”

Yulia asked as politely as she could while suppressing her anger.

The doctor silently shook his head.

Instead, he spoke in a calm voice.

“Why not talk to the child’s father?”

If I could talk to the father, would I have come here alone?!

Yulia forcefully suppressed her trembling fists and stood up.

“…I’ll be going now.”

Holding back boiling emotions, she turned and slammed the door of the consultation room.

Maybe this was also a symptom of early pregnancy—anger that flared uncontrollably several times a day.

“Eek?”

Ignoring the startled hospital staff looking at her, Yulia strode out of the hospital.

“Haaah…”

She collapsed onto a bench in front of the hospital and held her throbbing head.

She truly felt like she was on the verge of losing her mind.

The father of the child?

She didn’t want to believe it, but it was probably Cassian.

In this body, she had been with no one else besides him, and she barely remembered that night—she couldn’t even recall whether they had used protection properly.

Once she realized that, fear crept in.

First, Cassian was not an ordinary man.

He was a member of the imperial family of the Tritan Empire—and above all, the male protagonist of “The Twisted Stars of Tritan.”

And in such stories, there was always a female protagonist.

She didn’t know whether he had already met her or not, but judging from how easily he had spent the night with Yulia, it didn’t seem like he had a lover yet.

A male lead who had a child with another woman before even meeting the heroine?

No matter how dramatic a novel was, it couldn’t get worse than that.

Second, even aside from the original story, their relationship was objectively bad.

She recalled their competitive relationship at the academy.

Cassian, especially, had always been cold toward her whenever they met.

“Ugh…”

Yulia rubbed her face in frustration.

She thought of the stack of letters on her dorm desk.

“Five interviews already scheduled for next week…”

Fortunately, the Tritan Empire had a very good culture regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare.

Women did not have to quit their jobs easily, nor were they unfairly treated or discriminated against.

In fact, sincerely congratulating and supporting a colleague’s pregnancy was considered a virtue of the middle class.

But Yulia was an exception.

The unavoidable one-year gap caused by pregnancy filled her with unbearable anxiety.

“More than anything, I’m not ready to be a mother!”

She shouted, pulling at her hair.

She wanted to tell someone immediately.

She desperately needed comfort, reassurance, and sincere advice.

Someone who understood her situation best… someone who could speak realistically about it.

Then, an image appeared in her mind.

A box wrapped in a navy cloth.

The special tonic box given to her by Lady Catherine.

After a moment of hesitation, Yulia stood up decisively.

She needed to go to Catherine.

“W-what did you just say?”

Catherine lowered her ornate fan and spoke in a quieter voice.

She looked at Yulia with a serious expression.

“I…”

“Pregnant?”

Before Yulia could finish, Catherine exclaimed.

Then, startled by her own voice, she looked around the reception room—they were alone.

“You come after so long and suddenly say something like that? I thought you were busy preparing for employment!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to turn to… you were the first person I thought of.”

Yulia bowed her head, exhausted.

Catherine looked at her for a moment and gently patted her with sympathy.

“I see. You must’ve been really distressed to come to me. You did well.”

Yulia felt a strange sense of relief at her calm voice.

Catherine had always been at the center of high society.

She likely wasn’t as shocked as others because she knew all the rumors circulating in the empire.

“You know who the father is, right?”

Yulia nodded quietly.

She couldn’t bring herself to say his name aloud.

“It happened at the graduation ball?”

Catherine asked again.

Yulia wondered how she knew, but it was obvious.

That was the one and only time Yulia, who always studied in isolation, had ever let loose.

“…Yes. I think I drank too much that day.”

“Oh dear…”

“I don’t remember anything after drinking. That never happened before… but that day, I just… felt strange…”

“Strange…?”

Catherine leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Oh! Jerome was quite drunk too…”

Yulia quickly added that Jerome had also been drunk, worried Catherine might misunderstand.

She was about to explain more, but—

“Alright, I understand.”

“Eh? I haven’t even finished—”

“I can tell just by your eyes.”

Catherine cut her off.

She lifted her teacup with an unreadable expression.

“I was just thinking about jobs… interviews next week…”

“Child, is that what matters now? You can work after giving birth. Right now, you must focus on the baby.”

Catherine set down her cup and spoke firmly.

Yulia flinched.

Then Catherine continued decisively:

“First, you must inform the father. And then you must marry him.”

“Marry him?”

Yulia shouted in shock.

She hadn’t even considered that step yet.

Me, marry Cassian?

How could that even be possible?

“What, were you planning to raise the child alone without marriage?”

“I… I hadn’t thought that far. I was just too shocked by the pregnancy…”

Catherine took Yulia’s hand.

Her touch was warm, likely from holding a teacup.

“Yulia, I know you’re shocked.”

She patted her hand gently.

“Even if this was unexpected, let’s think of it as a sudden blessing.”

“Lady…”

Catherine looked at her softly.

“You may think childbirth is frightening and difficult. But giving birth is like opening a new universe. You think you teach the child, but in truth, you learn so much from them.”

At that moment, Yulia felt coming here had been the right decision.

When everything felt overwhelming, she needed words like these.

“There are things you can only feel after becoming a mother. Give birth, Yulia. The child will teach you many things.”

“….”

“You are like my own daughter. I will support all the expenses and help you with everything. Think of me as your family—your mother. Can you do that?”

Her red eyes shimmered with emotion.

Yulia felt her nose sting.

She didn’t know if this was also a pregnancy symptom, but she felt like she might cry from emotion at any moment.

“Lady… I think you’re right. I was so confused, but I feel like I can finally steady myself.”

She took a breath.

If I give birth, the first person I’ll show is you.

“Good, good. You must’ve suffered a lot.”

“Like you said, I think I should go see the father first.”

“Good idea. Jerome is in his room ri—”

“I’ll go to the Isheid estate.”

“Pardon?”

Catherine’s hand froze mid-motion.

Her smile stiffened.

“…I’ll go meet the child’s father.”

“Hoho… Yulia…? The Duke of Isheid’s estate? What are you talking about?”

Catherine slowly released her grip.

“The father is…”

Yulia tried to speak calmly.

“…Duke Cassian.”

Catherine’s forced smile slowly crumbled, replaced by shock.