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「I"m Having a Baby」So My Husband Told Me

So, she ran away, did she? I see

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「I have a younger brother from a different mother.」

「Ah, yes, you do. I met him once when we got married... three years ago. Your younger brother, two years your junior, who doesn't look much like Your Grace.」

「That’s because Rauldo resembles his mother. Since I also resemble mine, it’s only natural that we brothers don't look alike.」

Neither of you resembled your father, huh? Poor former Duke.

「I'm sure your father is deeply regretting it in the afterlife.」

「Don't just kill him off like that. Both my parents are happily living in the countryside, where they retired.」

「I know.」

When people imagine a love triangle involving a noble couple and a mistress, they probably picture a murky melodrama of love and hate, but the previous Duke of Fondis was a little unusual. It's said that the three of them—Cloud's mother, the former legitimate wife; the former maid who was the previous Duke's mistress; and the previous Duke—are all very close and still live together happily in the same mansion. That sort of thing is beyond my comprehension, coming from a lower-ranking noble family that couldn't afford to have a mistress.

Well, setting that aside.

「So, what about Lord Rauldo?」

「He had a child.」

「Ah, I see. That truly is wonderful news.」

You suddenly said, "A child is coming," and I thought you were pregnant, Your Grace! When I told him that, he said, 「You're probably the only one who would think that.」 How absurd.

「And so, we're adopting him. I apologize for the suddenness, Melissa, but I need you to raise him as his mother.」

「...Huh? Say that again?」

「...Pardon?」

「My mistake. What in the world are you suddenly spouting, you idiot?」

「Me-Melissa?」

It was so sudden that my tone of voice was completely inconsistent. I tried to cover the abusive word that slipped out before I could think with a wry smile.

Since I still don't quite understand, let's proceed with a Q&A session.

「Let's see. Your brother got married last year, right?」

「That's right. He didn't have a ceremony because his partner was a commoner.」

「And now they have a child. Is it still in the pregnancy stage? Or...」

「The birth was completed safely last month, and the baby is now one month old. He seems to have been too busy and forgot to inform me.」

「Oh, I see. We'll have to send a gift. And why would he be adopted into our family?」

It's true that Cloud, the current head of the Dukedom, has no heir. That's natural, since we haven't conceived a child. It wasn't because I was 15 at the time of marriage—there is a legitimate reason—but let's not worry about that now.

「Are you taking your brother's child in as Your Grace's successor?」

But your brother would also want a successor. Although he won't inherit the Dukedom because Your Grace is here, I believe he was recognized for his achievements and became a Count, didn't he?

「He contacted me saying he couldn't raise the child and asked for help.」

「Why?」

「Because he can't raise it.」

「No, but why?」

「The mother is apparently gone.」

「Why?!」

Childbirth is a life-or-death event. I've certainly heard of women losing their lives in labor. But you just said the baby was 「born safely,」 didn't you?

「Was the post-natal recovery not good?」

If his wife had died, that would certainly be terrible news. But my husband shook his head.

「No, it was a remarkably easy birth for a first-timer. The post-natal recovery was also good, and she was doing perfectly fine.」

「Then what happened?」

「She ran away.」

「...I beg your pardon?」

「My brother. Was run away from. By his wife.」

Why did he say it so haltingly? Does he think I won't understand? I don't!

「No, that's too sudden; it makes no sense. ...Ah, perhaps, is the child illegitimate?」

「That's impossible. The child apparently has the same extremely rare green hair and blue eyes as my brother.」

「Oh, is that so.」

In this world, there is a rich variety of hair colors, including red, orange, blue, and gold. My husband has beautiful black hair like the night, and I have the not-so-rare gold. Alas, the butler, who stands motionless, has sky-blue hair.

But people with green hair are surprisingly rare. A child born to a blue-haired and gold-haired couple results in green hair... though the world is mysterious, and it's not always that simple. Green is particularly genetically strong, and Lord Rauldo's mother, the former head maid, definitely had green hair.

And Lord Rauldo's wife has black hair.

In my eighteen years of life, I have only seen green hair on a number of people that can be counted on one hand, including Lord Rauldo. It is that rare.

「Then why did she run away?」

「Well, apparently there was a man she'd loved all along, and he was a commoner...」

「I see, I see.」

「She said she had fulfilled her duty to produce an heir, and now she would live with the man she loved...」

「And she said?」

「She supposedly took the jewels and anything else of value she received from my brother and vanished.」

「Pitiful!」

Though he is a brother-in-law I have never met since my marriage, I couldn't help but shout out upon hearing of his sad circumstances.