In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 240

Chapter 240: The Kukkoro Male Knight and an Unexpected Pregnancy

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Roswitha had become pregnant. It was so unexpected that I almost toppled out of my chair, but for the moment, I decided to offer my congratulations with a smile. When things got awkward, laugh first. That was my creed.

“It was truly wonderful news. Congratulations.”

Her belly had not swollen at all yet. Judging by the timing, the child must have been conceived after she moved to the city of Carrera… Roswitha had summoned her husband from her territory, after all. Well, if a husband and wife were together, it was only natural that they might have a child.

Roswitha was also Karina’s mother, and among demi-human nobles, it was common to marry and give birth while still in their teens. Roswitha herself was still in her thirties, an age one could fairly call the prime of womanhood. Being a hardy demi-human as well, there probably was not too much cause for concern when it came to childbirth.

“It’s a bit early, but I’ll arrange for a skilled midwife.”

“That helps. …Ah! Sorry, but there’s another pregnant woman. I’d like you to prepare for two.”

“…Another one? And who might that be?”

There were few members of the count’s household staying with Roswitha. Having two pregnant women among them was quite a shock. When I asked cautiously, she scratched her reddened cheek and turned her face away.

“My sister-in-law… In other words, my husband’s other wife. She’s a hume.”

“…”

Like our Kingdom of Galea, the Holy Empire also followed the Church of the Star Guide as its state religion, so marriage was basically a one-husband–two-wives system. Wives who shared the same husband were treated as sisters-in-law.

That said, among nobles, the wives who shared a husband were usually members of a hume clan kept by the household—so-called hidden kin. Even though they were not related by blood, hidden kin were treated as family or relatives, so despite being “in-law” relationships, they were often closer than true sisters (among nobles, blood-related sisters often clashed due to inheritance rights)… But still.

“H-Hey, don’t make that face! I finally let go of responsibility and had some free time… It’d be a waste not to enjoy it, right? There’s nothing wrong with the three of us getting along ‘intimately.’”

“I’m not saying it’s wrong.”

So, while living as hostages, this couple went ahead and pulled off a threesome, huh. Whew… What freedom. Well, I wasn’t tactless enough to interfere in someone else’s sex life. In any case, an increase in family members was something to celebrate.

“W-Well then, I’ll provide full support for both of you… So please rest easy.”

“Sorry about this, especially during such a busy time.”

With an apologetic expression, Roswitha bowed her head. She knew that we were currently tied up dealing with the elf situation. Without the assistance of the Diesel family, there was no way we could possibly meet the elves’ food demands. We had no choice but to share the circumstances with her.

“This is what happens when I use being busy as an excuse and slack off on effort in that particular direction. Isn’t it a good thing? Two or three babies, at least…”

If it were someone like Sonia who got pregnant and had to withdraw from the field, that would be serious. But this woman’s main job was being a hostage. There wouldn’t be much impact.

…Still, Sonia being pregnant, huh. If that happened, I might secretly cry. When I was a kid, I used to think, “Maybe I’ll end up marrying Sonia someday”… but despite how close we were, she never brought up anything like that. She probably only saw me as nothing more than a best friend who just happened to be the opposite sex…

Well, Sonia was the legitimate daughter of an important noble, and both she and Margrave Suolahti surely knew that the Blondin family’s bride had to be a hume. Thinking about it calmly, there was never any chance to begin with. Honestly, how did I even manage to have such an arrogant misunderstanding?

“Hey, hey, that won’t do. My dream is to hold my grandchild and my daughter at the same time, you know.”

“…Pardon?”

No matter how late I ended up marrying, I didn’t think it would affect when Roswitha got a grandchild…

“I’m talking about Karina, of course. Karina. She’ll be coming of age soon. It’s about time she started thinking about children too, don’t you think?”

“Ah, I see.”

I understood. If I, her step brother, was struggling with marriage prospects, it wouldn’t be strange for that to have a negative effect on Karina as well. Among the nobles of Galea and the Holy Empire, it was common to marry upon reaching adulthood (in the western part of the Central Continent,the age of adulthood was at fifteen), and then immediately conceive the first child. Even though she was still fourteen, the time was approaching when Karina couldn’t afford to be careless anymore.

One’s twenties were the prime years for a warrior. Since it was impossible to go to the battlefield while heavily pregnant, childbirth should be finished while still in one’s teens… That way of thinking was common among demi-human nobles.

Everyone around me was unmarried and treated their work like a lover, so my sense of that whole issue had completely gone numb. Chancellor Adelaide was unmarried in her late twenties, after all. None of my childhood friend knights were married either… Even though it was someone else’s problem, it made me worry. Well, I was in exactly the same situation, so I really couldn’t criticize anyone.

“She’s certainly a disowned daughter… From a status standpoint, a proper marriage might be difficult. But she deserves at least the happiness of being with the man she loves. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, of course.”

That was true. Karina was in the position of having been disowned by her family. Finding a marriage partner might be even harder for her than for me. Still, even if only by law, I was her brother. For the sake of her happy future, I would bend over backward to help.

“I will never let Karina suffer an unhappy fate. Leave everything to me, Albert Blondin.”

“Thank you. I really owe you so much. I’ll never forget this debt.”

With tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, Roswitha tightly clasped my hand with her right one. Warm feelings overflowed from my chest before I knew it. We had once been enemies, yet now we could clasp hands sincerely like this. There was nothing more wonderful than that.

“Now that it’s come to this, we’re practically family. Leave the grain matter to me. I’ll make sure to supply every bit of what’s needed, no matter what the main house says.”

It seemed that, thanks to Roswitha, procuring food would somehow work out. All that remained was how to transport it and that depended entirely on the outcome of the tripartite conference. Well then, this was the critical moment.

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