NOVEL WEB Chapter 421
“Hehe, Johann, I guess the baby is a little troublemaker!”
I gently placed my hand on Millia’s belly, which had begun to show signs of pregnancy. Millia looked at me with expectations in her eyes as I touched her belly.
What does she want?
“Johann, kiss me.”
I leaned in, sharing a kiss with Millia, who had become increasingly spoiled since her belly started to grow. Unlike before, when we shared deep kisses, this one was light and sweet. Ever since her pregnancy, we had been sticking to gentle kisses.
If I got too intense, I feared I might lose control.
I had held back for 13 long years, so I thought it would be easy to manage a few more months, but it turned out to be harder than I expected.
“Uncle… I want…”
“So do I…”
… Thank goodness my stamina was overwhelming. With about six pregnant wives to care for, my days vanished in a blur of taking care of them.
At least, I could enjoy some peace until the babies were born, but once the kids arrive, it would be a battle of parenting.
“Hehe, Johann, could you hold my hand instead?”
“Gladly.”
I carefully took Karina’s hand. She began to hum a hymn, touching her belly gently. It was a tune sung by the choir at the Kalon Church.
I wasn’t sure if a song glorifying that guy was suitable for the baby’s development, but Karina’s voice was beautiful, so maybe that was enough.
After all, there was no way the baby in her belly could understand the lyrics.
I, no — we enjoyed a brief moment of respite, well, I did.
Taking care of six wives was no easy feat. Even in this body, it was tough. If I’d been an ordinary human, I probably would’ve collapsed from overwork by now.
I made sure to feed them whatever they craved, took them on walks, cared for the children, and kept them clean — I was doing everything possible for them.
Still, it’s my fault their bellies are growing, so I had to care for them as best as I could.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could really call myself a good parent, but I at least wanted to fulfill my duties as a husband.
“You sing really well.”
“Hehe, it’s a skill I honed in my childhood.”
“I guess the baby likes it too; she’s kicking my belly!”
Elisa, who had been sitting on a plush chair reading a book, rubbed her belly and said. I immediately approached Elisa and placed my hand gently on her belly.
Hmm, I could feel a faint vibration. Perhaps unlike Elisa, her child might have a lively personality.
I hoped it would be so.
Elisa’s character wasn’t bad, but because of some trauma from her childhood, I didn’t want her kid to grow up like that.
As we were spending this peaceful time with my wives, a knock sounded at the door.
I quickly turned to face the sound and spoke.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Gilmore.”
“Ah, Butler. What brings you here?”
“A guest has arrived.”
“Who is it?”
“Lewis and Lady Shuri are here.”
“It’s been a while since they visited.”
I remembered Lewis being busy with knight duties and parenting in the capital. Since it’s the weekend, he might have come to visit. I had asked them to drop by once, so it wasn’t surprising.
Even though the connection had faded a bit since their third year, we still kept in touch.
I had wanted to recruit him, but he said he wanted to gain a bit more experience first, so he had rented a house on one side of the capital and was living separately. He definitely had a skill, so having him train for the captain position didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Shuri also had solid abilities as a witch.
Since they were here after so long, maybe I should give them a little charm offensive.
As I was thinking that, there was another knock at the door. I sensed several presences, indicating Lewis, Shuri, and their daughter must have come together.
That would be Amy.
“Come in.”
“It’s been a while, Sir Quartz.”
Lewis greeted me respectfully as always before moving on to greet my wives. The wives welcomed him with smiles at the reunion with an old classmate.
“Long time no see!”
“Eek~!”
“Hehe, welcome!”
“Come in!”
“Hello there.”
As I watched my wives and Shuri joyfully greet one another, I had the butler bring out some chairs. It was a bit of a mess, but well, the servants would know how to take care of that.
After all, I had put a lot of effort into selecting good servants.
As expected, the servants quietly set down the chairs in appropriate spots and disappeared. I really knew how to pick my staff.
“Eek~!”
“Amy seems happy to meet you all!”
“Can I hold her?”
“Of course!”
Shuri carefully handed her wrapped-up daughter to Karina. Karina held the baby as if handling a fragile object and smiled gently down at her.
“She’s absolutely adorable.”
“She’s the daughter of Lewis and me!”
Shuri replied with a beaming smile.
…Seeing the original heroine smile like that gives me a strange warmth in my chest.
To be honest, I had a lot of worries about their future since the original plot has twisted beyond recognition.
While my path stretched out miles and miles, I couldn’t focus too much on them; still, seeing them so happy relieved my heart.
“Eek!”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry, but I’m not a mom yet.”
I looked in confusion at what she meant, and noticed the baby seemed fascinated with squeezing Karina’s chest with her tiny hands.
…It is pretty big.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone larger than Karina. The baby probably thought it was strange that her mom was so different than herself. Shuri also wasn’t small, but… thinking about that feels a bit rude.
“Shuri, can I hold her too?”
“Of course!”
“Johann! Bring me Amy!”
“Got it.”
I carefully took Amy from Karina’s arms.
She was tiny. And light.
Amy looked at me with bright eyes and then burst out laughing.
“I think she likes Johann!”
“Seems like it!”
“The daughter knows how to recognize a hero.”
That doesn’t sound entirely wrong. Nowadays, I’ve been dispersing the World Tree’s energy passively to calm my wives, so maybe Amy felt that.
Babies have a knack for picking up on things.
“Eek!”
Do my fingers look like toys to her?
I chuckled softly as I watched Amy grasp my finger and shake it about. Babies sure are cute when they do stuff like this. How long did I play with Amy?
“Johann, I want to hold her too!”
“Alright.”
“Eek?”
I gently handed Amy to Millia. It was an oddly questionable scene.
A girl pregnant with a baby holding another baby? I watched as Millia smiled tenderly at the child tugging at her hair.
Once Millia has her baby, she’d surely wear that expression every day.
I didn’t know if it would be a boy or a girl. The strange thing was, in this world, there was no way to know the gender of the baby beforehand unless some rare prophecy came down.
But I had no desire to hear such things from that Kalon guy, whether it’s a son or a daughter; they’d just be my kids. I only wanted them to be born healthy.
“Hehe. My baby would be just as lovely, right?”
“Of course! Millia is a beauty, so you’ll have a beautiful baby!”
“Hehe. I want to see them soon…”
So do I.
“Eek?”
“So cute!”
“There’s a baby like that in my belly…”
Viola said those unexpected words while rubbing her belly. She still couldn’t believe it, huh? Considering everything, Sif was the one who…
“I want to give birth quickly. My belly is too heavy…”
Twins can’t be helped, I guess.
Still, the younger siblings have been diligently studying parenting, saying they want to take care of their niece and nephew. I wonder if Sif’s kids will be identical twins or fraternal?
“I’m not sure about anything else, but I just hope they’re strong.”
Renny’s wish echoed in my ears. Out of everyone here, Renny seemed the least worrisome.
Her constitution was sturdy enough as it is.
In fact, I worried a bit whether the baby could grow properly in her womb, given how strong she was.
“Since it’s your baby, there’s no way it wouldn’t be strong. I could definitely accept if it’s doubled in size compared to other babies.”
“Hmm, but since it’s our child… that wouldn’t be weird, would it…?”
Renny, being big herself, and me being tall as well, we might just have a really healthy baby.
Who knows, perhaps it’s going to be a child most similar to me.
…Honestly, I’d prefer it to be a son.
“Waaaaah!”
“Uh? Uh? Why are you crying?”
“I think she’s hungry!”
Ah, so she’s crying because she’s hungry. I thought something was wrong.
I glanced at the baby and then, scratching my head, suggested to Lewis, who seemed to feel guilty in his gaze.
“Lewis, how about we take a short walk?”
As the host, I knew it looked a bit odd for me to go out, but for my wives, I thought it was fine. My wives would benefit from the practice as well.
“It’s an honor to explore Sir Quartz’s mansion.”
Fortunately, Lewis happily accepted my request with some wit.