**Chapter 73**

“Really, there’s a baby growing inside me…”

Until now, I hadn’t fully grasped the reality of having a child growing in my womb.

I only thought vaguely that the baby was growing because I was showing signs of pregnancy and my belly was gradually getting bigger.

Even though I talked to the baby out of habit, it felt just like I was talking to myself.

It even felt strange to refer to myself as “mom.”

However, as I felt the baby moving as if to say it was growing well, tears filled my eyes with emotions that words couldn’t describe.

“My baby.”

Only then did I truly feel the reality of becoming a mother.

I was really going to have a family connected by blood.

Even the baby’s small movements, like a greeting, made me forget the hardships I had endured so far, like the snow melting away.

I had experienced many discomforts and pains during this pregnancy, but I was now willing to embrace even those discomforts and pains with joy. I gently wrapped my hands around my quiet belly, whispering with a voice thick with tears.

“Thank you for greeting your mom, my love.”

The baby didn’t respond, but I no longer felt anxious.

If I waited just a little longer, I would be able to see the baby’s kicks with my own eyes.

I was more than willing to wait for that time.

“I wish Richard could be here too.”

At that moment, the door opened.

“Elisa…?”

Richard, who had entered the room, paused when he saw Elisa’s tear-stained red eyes.

Seeing her like that, especially with all the turmoil surrounding her birth, made his heart sink.

Richard quickly approached the bed where Elisa was sitting.

“What’s wrong, Elisa? Why…?”

In a hurry, he held her and started to wipe her tears, but for some reason, despite her tearful face, a look of joy was clear on Elisa’s face.

“Richard, I just felt the baby move.”

“What…?”

Elisa smiled and pulled his hand down to her belly.

“Say hello to Daddy, love. Daddy has been waiting a lot for you to respond, okay?”

Richard placed his hand on Elisa’s belly with a bewildered expression.

However, despite Elisa’s whispers, he felt no reaction in her belly.

Elisa concentrated on the baby’s movements, furrowing her brow and sharpening her senses, but it seemed there was still no response.

“Um, I guess it’s still a bit shy to say hello to Daddy.”

Elisa showed a hint of disappointment as she fidgeted with Richard’s hand resting on her belly.

“At first, it felt like a very small fish was passing through my belly. So I was like, ‘Oh?’ but then it sounded like droplets bursting. Poro-long! Like this.”

“Really?”

“It’s so amazing, and I’m so proud that it’s growing safely… and it’s so lovely.”

Richard gazed at Elisa, who was chattering about her first sensations of the baby’s movements, with a distant look. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she smiled brightly while talking, making her appear endearing.

Her excited and bubbly voice made him smile in return.

“I’m curious too.”

“In just a little while, you’ll be able to feel it too. The baby is still small, so it’s not very noticeable yet.”

Elisa yawned as she continued speaking.

Noticing that Elisa was getting sleepy, Richard took out a massage cream from the drawer of the bedside table.

It was time for him to give her a massage before she fell asleep.

Richard carefully began applying the cream to Elisa’s round belly.

As she felt his familiar touch while lying comfortably, Elisa suddenly seemed to recall something and opened her mouth to speak.

“You know, Richard.”

“Yeah?”

“I may not know exactly what it means to be a ‘mom,’ but I can still be a good one, right?”

This thought came to her after hearing a story from a noblewoman who was spending time with her mother before giving birth today.

Richard’s hand paused for a moment at her words, but he soon resumed gently caressing Elisa’s belly and replied, “You’re already a wonderful mom, Elisa.”

“Hmm, it feels like I’m being praised for being poked in the side.”

Elisa said this, but she seemed pleased by his compliment and let out a happy laugh. Then she soon let her heavy eyelids drop.

Before long, Elisa’s regular breathing could be heard as she fell asleep.

Richard covered her belly and lay down beside her.

Elisa was sleeping with a faint smile on her face.

Richard gazed at Elisa’s sleeping face nestled in his arms.

It didn’t matter which family she belonged to.

What mattered was that she held his child and was his wife, whom he loved more than life itself.

However…

“Even if I don’t know what it means to be a ‘mom,’ I can still be a good one, right?”

Unlike others who learn from their mothers and rely on them as they become moms, Elisa had to experience and accept this unfamiliar change all alone.

She must have felt fear and apprehension at experiencing these changes for the first time, yet she smiled brightly without a trace of such feelings, making his heart ache.

While he could do anything for Elisa, he could never replace her mother.

Richard gazed at the peacefully sleeping Elisa with affection and whispered softly, “I’ll do better, Elisa.”

Then he gently pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Sleep well.”

***

The National Founding Festival was just a few days away.

Elisa arrived at the temple with the goods and items she intended to donate for the festival.

After getting off the carriage, she gave instructions to Thompson before entering the temple.

“Move the goods and items as directed by the priests, and send the rest of the carriage back to the mansion. Just have the escort unit wait here.”

“Yes. I will carry out my lady’s esteemed command.”

“Or the knights can offer their prayers at the temple as well.”

“Oh, that sounds good too. Thank you for looking out for us, my lady.”

Thompson smiled cheerfully and guided Elisa into the temple before turning to relay orders to the knights.

Elisa entered the temple, leaving them behind.

The temple was bustling in preparation for the Founding Festival.

This was understandable, as the Founding Festival was the only major national event held at the temple among Arencea’s three great events, which included the New Year’s Festival and the Harvest Festival.

Elisa immediately looked for Leon.

‘Leon should be around…’

At this time, the children’s worship would have ended, and they would be busy with their assigned tasks.

Since Leon was still only four years old, he couldn’t work, so he would likely be playing alone in the annex of the temple where Aiden stayed.

Elisa headed toward the familiar path to the inner annex.

Upon arrival, she spotted a small and familiar figure crouched in front of the flowerbed, just as she had expected.

‘So cute.’ The tiny child looked even cuter and more lovable curled up like that.

‘I wonder what he’s doing over there?’

Elisa tiptoed quietly, suppressing her presence, to observe Leon’s actions.

The child was crouched in front of the flowerbed, diligently digging in the dirt with his bare hands.

“Leon?”

At Elisa’s voice, Leon, who had been engrossed in digging in the dirt, looked up at her with wide eyes.

His large eyes quickly filled with delight.

“Sister!”

Dirt was smeared all over the child’s forehead and cheeks, making him look scruffy.

Seeing Leon’s face like that made Elisa burst into laughter. She then took out a handkerchief and asked while wiping his messy face, “Oh my, your face is all dirty. What were you doing here?”

“I was pulling weeds!”

Leon proudly held up the weeds he had pulled.

When Elisa saw the “weeds” in his hands, she couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

“There seem to be a lot of plants that look like flowers, even to me who doesn’t know much…”

“Really?”

“No. What matters is that you’re having fun.”

What mattered was his intention to help, after all.

Elisa wiped Leon’s face, hoping that the “weeds” he had pulled weren’t flowers that Aiden cherished.

“Leon, how about we stop pulling weeds and wash our hands? What’s this on your face? You look like a crow.”

“Caw-caw?”

“Yeah. The crow would say you’re dirty and want to be friends with you. So let’s wash up quickly.”

Elisa tried to take Leon to the nearby well.

But Leon suddenly seemed to be in a playful mood as he grinned and pulled his hand away from Elisa.

“No! I don’t want to wash. I want to be friends with the crow!”

“What?”

“Caw-caw! Caw-caw!”

Leon ran away, imitating a crow as if he were summoning one.

Elisa couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief and chased after Leon.

“Leon, come here!”

Leon giggled and ran outside the annex, just as he turned a corner.

“Ouch!”

While looking back at the chasing Elisa, Leon ran into someone who had appeared from around the corner and fell backward.

“Leon, are you okay—”

Elisa hurriedly approached Leon but stopped in her tracks when she saw the face of the person he had collided with.

“Ugh, what is this tiny little rat?”

Standing in front of Leon, with a frown on his face, was Christian.