I Became the Obsessed Ex-Husband in a Romance Fantasy Chapter 137 - Read Online

Translated Chapter 137. Side Story — The Season of Roses (1) The Duke and Duchess's bedchamber. Flickering candlelight cast the two of them in shadow. The silhouette of Rose lying in bed had changed considerably from a few months ago. Now in the final month of her pregnancy, her belly had swelled so much that it looked as though it might burst at any moment. And I resolved to tell her everything about myself before our first child was born. "I have something to tell you." When I first opened my mouth, I was a little tense, and worried I might be spinning an utterly absurd tale. "So that's what it was." After I finished my story, Rose's large green eyes sparkled. "So that's how you realized I had regressed." "…You believe me." I had expected her to at least question me once or harbor some doubt. But Rose accepted my words with complete trust, without a hint of hesitation—her reaction was the more surprising part. "Darling." Rose knit her brows slightly and gave a soft smile. "Have you forgotten that I returned to the past?" "I haven't forgotten." "There are things in this world that can't be explained by common sense or experience alone. I know that better than anyone." "Still, I didn't think you'd accept it this easily." Even as we talked, my hand kept stroking Rose's belly. It was truly wondrous. That belly, once so flat, had swelled like this. And inside it, our child was alive and breathing. While thinking that, I made sure not to forget to channel mana into her. The physician had said it was enough by now, but just in case. "Everything that has happened between you and me can only be explained by the word 'miracle.'" Rose placed her hand over mine and smiled warmly. "I believe everything you say. You're my husband, after all." Then she lightly stole a kiss from my lips. "…Rose." I couldn't stop there and drew Rose's lips in deeply. For a while, only the moist sounds of their tongues intertwining lingered in the bedchamber. "Haa…." Rose gazed at me with hazy, unfocused eyes. Her cheeks, which flushed red at the slightest provocation, were as tempting as flower petals. '…I have to hold back.' At one point, I had used the excuse that she was in her stable period and that I was channeling mana into her body, and had been quite… enthusiastic. But lately, I was truly exercising restraint. 'Your Excellency! Please! If you keep doing this, I'll simply return to the royal palace!' The royal physician's nagging was one thing, but more importantly, Rose genuinely seemed to be struggling now. "Haa, haa…." Rose was panting from just this brief kiss alone. Lying flat on her back was impossible, so she had been lying on her side, and even then she groaned about her back aching. "Let's turn you to the other side." "Thank you, darling." I quickly rose and helped Rose roll over to face the other direction. Then I promptly switched places and lay down facing her. Rose giggled at the sight. 'How adorable.' In my eyes, Rose waddling while holding her swollen belly was adorable, and Rose making a tearful face because her fingers had swollen and her wedding ring no longer fit was also endearing… But I knew all too well how little self-control I had, so I hadn't even let things start in the first place. 'Endure it, endure….' I struggled to shift my gaze from Rose's reddened, swollen lips to her belly. 'The baby is watching….' So what if the baby sees? We're married, after all. …No, that's not right. Rose was struggling this much, and I couldn't even control this brief impulse…. "Darling, it's truly amazing." Rose smiled and pressed her body close against mine. It was a knowing smile, as if she could tell I was holding back. Where her chest used to reach me first, now it was her firm, swollen belly that made contact—a minor difference. "To think there's another world besides this one… and that you came from there. I never could have imagined. I just thought you had come back to the past with me." "That's understandable." "There was a far more thrilling story hidden away than I expected. Will you tell me more?" Rose whispered as she cupped my cheek with her hand. "So that world doesn't have magic stones or mana? What do you use for power?" Rose's gaze shifted to that of the magic scholar I knew. She was ready to absorb new knowledge. "Instead of mana, there's something called electricity…." I chuckled and diligently answered the barrage of questions Rose unleashed. How people lived there, how it differed from this place, and so on. "What kind of person were you in that world?" "Hmm… Honestly, I don't remember well. I think I was just an ordinary person." In truth, my memories of the past had long since grown hazy. By the time I first realized everything, I was already Dane Schumichel. Nevertheless, I answered Rose's questions with all sincerity. Her eyes, sparkling brilliantly as she looked at me, were a beautiful sight. Meanwhile, Rose shifted positions a few more times, and each time I adjusted the cushions so she could lie comfortably. "Darling, then…." Rose reached out and cupped my cheek. Her eyes deepened. "Before you met me, in that world…." I had a sense of what she was about to ask and waited quietly. Rose hesitated briefly before continuing in a gentle tone. "Was there… someone you loved there?" At the corners of Rose's eyes, a fleeting chill glinted. After becoming pregnant, Rose had noticeably reduced the frequency of confirming or testing my love. But that was only a temporary phenomenon—Rose's true nature remained unchanged. "Why?" As I tilted the corner of my lips and asked back playfully, I could feel the air shift around us. "……." All warmth vanished from Rose's green eyes. Those eyes that had been like fresh buds on a warm spring day transformed into a snake's. Rose's fingers, which had been cradling my cheek, slowly traced down along my jawline and wrapped around my throat—softly, yet as if binding me. Like a snake coiling tightly around its prey. "…I suppose I'll have to find a way to reach that world." Her once gentle voice had frozen over, harsh and cold. "I'll go there and dispose of that woman. The thought of any woman other than me lingering in your memories… is revolting even to imagine." A declaration dripping with killing intent. For an ordinary husband, such a statement would have been terrifying, but I couldn't hold back my laughter. How could Rose, even with a swollen belly, trying so fiercely to monopolize me, not be adorable? "Why are you laughing? I'm being serious." I pressed my lips directly against Rose's pouting ones. "Mmm…." As I wrapped my arms around the back of her neck and deepened the kiss, the slender fingers that had been gripping my throat quickly melted away. "Haa, darling…." I buried my lips against the nape of Rose's neck, who let out a shallow moan, and whispered. "There's no need for that." "Darling, I—" "Because the woman I loved has been only you from the very beginning." In that instant, I felt Rose's body tremble faintly. Rose reached up with effort and pulled my face up from where I had been nuzzling her neck. Her green eyes, now brimming with moisture, were filled entirely with me. "But…." "So there's no need to ask whether I want to go back, either." "-!" Seeing Rose's expression asking how I had known, I narrowed my eyes and grinned. "Did you think I wouldn't know what you were thinking?" "Darling…." "If you have time to worry about that, take care of your body instead. They say the mother's condition greatly affects the baby." I gently smoothed Rose's disheveled hair back into place. And finally, as if stamping a seal, I whispered with absolute finality. "Where you are is my happiness." "…Me too." At last, Rose smiled with satisfaction and leaned her body against mine. A peaceful night, no different from any other, passed by. Rose's due date was drawing ever closer. ** Deep in the night when everyone was asleep, the massive kitchen of Schumichel Castle. Only the dying embers in the hearth cast a dim crimson glow. "Oh come on, I'm telling you!" Head chef Fabri raised his voice, "I believe I'm right." Head maid Selma shook her head, and "Tsk tsk, you all know one thing and miss two." Butler Bill pushed up his glasses. Fzt! Fierce sparks flew between the three of them. "I'll stake my entire cooking career, and throw in Guriel (a frying pan) on top of it!" Fabri slammed his hand on the table and declared boldly. "It's bound to be a dazzlingly beautiful young lady who resembles the Madame!" Fabri's rugged face creased with glee. "The Madame came requesting my special lemon tarts near every day! It's a well-known tale among chefs—when you crave sourness during morning sickness, it's always a girl!" "Keep your voice down, Fabri." Selma chided him with a shrug of her shoulders. "In any case, I agree with that assessment. You can tell by the shape of the belly. It's different from when the previous Madame carried His Excellency." Selma continued with a confident smile. "Seeing the Madame's round, prettily swollen belly, there's no doubt about it. It's sure to be a young lady! Ah, how adorable she'll be…." "I'm usually all for my wife's opinion, mind you. But this time, I can't help it." Butler Bill pushed up his glasses and spoke. "I'll wager on a son who's the spitting image of His Excellency the Duke. Have you forgotten how potent His Excellency's bloodline is? Besides, he pours his own mana into the Madame every single day… It's definitely a son, a son." His voice was as grave and resolute as when he handled the affairs of the ducal household. "It feels like just yesterday when the young Excellency was running through the second-floor corridors… To think I'll see that sight again!" He tried to maintain a stern expression, but Bill was already wearing an embarrassingly doting smile. "So, what does the vice butler think? I'll gauge your judgment through this." Bill's eyes flashed as he turned the arrow of the conversation. In the far corner of the dining table, the young vice butler Kasto, who had been quietly watching, overwhelmed by the fiery momentum of the others, gulped dryly.

I Became the Obsessed Ex-Husband in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 137