Chapter 157: Approaching Storm

“Queen’s Diary” (Pregnancy Edition):

“January 13th, it snowed again today, and Anna still wouldn’t let me go out. I had no choice but to continue practicing yoga with Milan in the house. Leon stayed with me the whole time this time. After yoga class, I went to the balcony and watched my daughters playing in the snow in the yard as usual.

Leon stood beside me for a while, as if suddenly remembering something, and hurriedly ran out. When he came back, he was holding a nearly melted little snowman in his hands.

The little snowman was obviously a ‘girl,’ with long hair, a melon seed face, and a rudimentary but sufficiently expressive tail. Leon said it was made to look like me.

I had intended to praise him, and now he knows how to cheer me up. But this jerk asked, “Looks good, huh?” and then slapped that snowman to bits.

His action hit two of my sore spots at once: first, it was something I had always wanted to do to him, and he stole my idea; second, the melted snow made my floor dirty.

Well, he made a snowman of me during the day, so as revenge, I made a ‘little man’ of him at night. As expected, he surrendered and made me a snowman again, placing it outside my balcony.

Hmm, I’m happy.

“January 14th, yoga.”

“January 15th, yoga.”

“January 16th, yoga.”

“January 17th, I gave Milan the day off. Things didn’t quite go as I initially thought. While doing yoga does pass the time, it still becomes somewhat boring in the long run. I thought about going out for a walk, but Anna probably wouldn’t allow it.”

“January 18th, my palace turned into a ‘prison’ for me, and I am planning an escape, with Leon Casmode as my accomplice. On this day, we devised a detailed escape plan.

Firstly, after dinner tomorrow, Leon will go find Anna, under the pretext of checking her recent proxy work and inspecting various parts of the palace.

Meanwhile, I will slip out through the front door. The most dangerous place is often the safest, as Anna would never suspect I’d dare to leave through the main entrance.

Secondly, I will prepare a maid’s dress, so the guards at the gate will mistake me for a member of the maid corps, causing no commotion.

Lastly, by the time Anna discovers her queen has successfully escaped, I’ll have been outside playing with my precious daughters for quite some time!

With the plan flawless, the escape is sure to succeed!”

“January 19th, escape failed. Anna mentioned that the prince has never shown interest in the affairs of the Silver Dragon clan, so suddenly coming to her to inspect work was abnormal. Therefore, she remained vigilant and indeed caught wind of Her Majesty’s escape plan.

Foolish Casmode, unable to handle such a simple task. What use are you to this queen?!”

“…”

“February 20th, the sixth month of pregnancy, my belly has noticeably grown larger, often experiencing backaches, making it impossible to stand for too long. Yoga classes have also been forced to stop. My daily life has become confined to bed, dining table, and restroom, following a routine.”

“February 21st, Leon brought me many new and interesting toys. Rubik’s Cube, wooden cars, puzzles, nine-ring puzzles, and some other knick-knacks. I asked him where he got these, and he said he made them himself, but aren’t they the crystallization of human wisdom? Don’t you dragons have them?”

“March 25th, Noia is about to start school again, this being her second semester at St. Hys Academy. Looking forward to my daughter achieving even better results.”

“…”

“March 5th, while measuring Muen, I found she had grown much taller compared to last year.

She’s gone from a small-sized cutie to a medium-sized one, and by the end of this year, she’ll probably be a large-sized cutie.

Leon said our daughter is getting prettier as she grows, just like him.

I told him he has no shame.

He got flustered.

Don’t worry, your turn to be flustered will come.”

“March 6th, the clan doctor came to check on me and said the baby is developing well, with an expected due date around late June this year. The doctor also mentioned that my own health, especially my mental state, is much better compared to when I was pregnant with Noia and Muen, which is highly beneficial for the baby’s development.”

Before leaving, the doctor dropped a little gossip, asking me, ‘Your Majesty, is it because of the prince’s company this year that has made you so happy?

Although I didn’t want to admit it, over these past few months, Leon has indeed made outstanding contributions in alleviating my pregnancy anxieties.

“100 Ways to Use a War Prisoner: Pretending to be a Husband.”

“… ”

“On April 7th, my sister wrote to me, mentioning the Red Flame Dragon King, Constantine, whom we discussed during our last visit to Sky City. She mentioned that he had recently dispatched a considerable number of troops to harass the Wind Dragon Clan’s vicinity, causing minor conflicts in an attempt to instigate a larger clash between the two clans.

However, what’s strange is that Constantine hasn’t sent his elite forces yet; he’s merely keeping a close watch on the borders of the Wind Dragon Clan’s territory.”

This could be a precursor to war. My sister said she has been secretly communicating with the Wind Dragon Clan, fearing that Constantine might pull some trick, causing the Red Dragon Clan to be attacked. Hence, she hasn’t been able to visit me during my pregnancy, and she apologized for that.

I replied that there was no need to apologize. If necessary, I could lend her part of the Silver Dragon Clan’s forces as we discussed before.

She said there was no need for now and that when the time came, she would naturally ask me for troops.

“I hope everything is well with my sister.”

“…”

“On May 15th, Noia came home for the weekend and mentioned that she would be on summer vacation next month. She said that after I give birth to the baby, our whole family of five will go to the seaside for a vacation. Naturally, I agreed.”

At the same time, I couldn’t help but sigh at how quickly time passes. It’s almost my due date.

“On May 29th, in the afternoon, there was a sudden thunderous roar from the back mountain of the temple, and even the sky gathered dark clouds due to the powerful magical fluctuations.”

I thought there might be some dangerous creatures sneaking in, until I saw Leon sneaking back from the back mountain on the balcony. I knew it must be him up to something.

“During dinner, I asked him what he was up to in the back mountain and how he caused such a commotion.”

“He stuttered and seemed to be hiding something. Didn’t want to talk? Alright then, let’s have a long-overdue round of truth or dare at 2:30.

It turns out he was testing the extent of his magical recovery in the afternoon. Judging from that thunderous roar and the exaggerated ‘change of heaven and earth,’ it seems this dog of a man has already recovered to his peak.

But I just found out that he was in a depleted magical state before. Damn it, he hid it so well. If I had known earlier, I would have bullied him more before he fully matured.”

“…”

June 29th, Rosvitha’s due date.”

By evening, the bedroom was filled with the members of the maid squad and several excellent female doctors from the clan.

The queen’s childbirth was of utmost importance, and there couldn’t be any mistakes.

She lay on the large bed, completely exhausted, with occasional contractions causing her to break out in a fragrant sweat covering her forehead and cheeks.

Several female doctors continuously monitored the queen’s condition, providing the safest birthing environment.

The maids were busy, leaving no time to be idle.

At this final stage, Leon could not help much. He could only sit quietly on the balcony, holding Muen, while Noia stood beside him, holding her sister’s small hand. The three of them waited silently.

But inexplicably, Leon started to feel anxious, as if something bad was about to happen.

Noia seemed to notice Leon’s worry and proactively comforted him, “Daddy, Mommy will be fine. After Mommy has the baby and recovers, we’ll all go to the beach together.”

His little sweetheart was always so understanding.

Leon adjusted his mood, patted her head, and smiled, saying, “Okay.”

He then turned his head and looked towards the horizon. The sunset had dyed the sky red, resembling a blazing fire.