The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c69
“Ugh!”
Count Fitzroy groaned and grabbed the back of his neck. His dilated pupils could be seen rolling back.
It was right after the bombshell remark made by the Countess.
“D-Dad!”
“Father!”
Ryan and Edgar jumped up from their seats simultaneously. However, before the two could approach, the Countess raised her hand to stop them.
“Now, dear. Try taking deep breaths. Breathe in deeply, breathe out, breathe in again, breathe out. Good. Take another deep breath and release it slowly. Yes, you’re doing well.”
She calmly soothed her husband and also signaled with her eyes for the two sons to sit back down.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. As you can see, the Count seems to be shocked, so please wait a moment.”
Then she apologized to Hendrick this time.
“Take your time.”
Hendrick nodded with an apologetic look. It was natural since the reason for Count Fitzroy’s reaction was because of them.
Just a few minutes ago, as soon as Count Fitzroy and Edgar entered the mansion, they immediately prepared seats. And for a while, they softened the atmosphere by discussing trivial topics.
‘I heard Ryan is pregnant.’
When the Countess dropped the bombshell, starting with “dear,” Count Fitzroy didn’t immediately understand what she meant.
‘Who? Catherine finally got pregnant?’
‘No. It’s Ryan.’
The Count’s eyes, which had naturally assumed it was about his daughter’s pregnancy, widened greatly, and his gaze immediately turned to his youngest.
Of course, Ryan slyly avoided his father’s eyes. The Count asked him to tell the truth again, and the answer was no different from what the Countess had said.
As soon as he finished speaking, Count Fitzroy let out a yelp and grabbed the back of his neck.
“What, what is this? Ryan is pregnant? W-when… Don’t tell me he had an accident during the trip!”
His voice came out almost like a scream. He forgot that the prince was in front of him, and that it would take at least 14 days to know about the pregnancy.
“Your Highness! How could you cause such an accident!”
No. Although he knew Hendrick was in the same place, upon hearing the shocking news that his cherished youngest suddenly got pregnant, he decided to blame everything on him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey! If you apologize there…”
It’s not your child, I said! But if you do that, won’t my parents really misunderstand? Ryan tried to protest. However, seeing Count Fitzroy’s face looking as if his world had collapsed, he couldn’t bring himself to reveal the truth.
“Now, dear. Calm down. First of all, the pregnancy didn’t happen during this trip. According to the doctor, it’s been over a month.”
This time too, it was the Countess who soothed and comforted the agitated Count. Three years older and entering the Fitzroy family as a beta, she actually had a bolder side than the Count.
“And instead of getting so emotional, we should discuss what to do from now on.”
“No, dear! Is this something to gloss over so leisurely? O-our Ryan! My precious child! Without us knowing! Completely gobbled up… mmph.”
The Countess quickly covered the Count’s mouth before he could blurt out nonsense in front of the prince.
“We’ve always hoped for His Highness and Ryan to be together. In a way, it’s going as we wanted, so what is there to get heated about?”
The Countess looked at Hendrick as if asking if that wasn’t the case.
“That’s right. I came here because I want to marry Ryan.”
“Hey!”
This time too, Ryan’s face turned bright red as he snapped at Hendrick.
‘What are you saying? When did I say I would marry him? I haven’t even said I’d date him yet, but where is he telling such lies with a straight face!’
What was even more absurd was the sight of his mother smiling contentedly and his father catching his breath as if relieved.
“Yes, a proper alpha should know to take responsibility for his actions. Then, Your Highness, will you inform His Majesty right away?”
“No!”
This time, Ryan interjected before Hendrick.
“You can’t? Ryan? You’re even pregnant. Wouldn’t it be better to hold the ceremony before your belly grows? It’ll be hard to move when your body gets heavy.”
“No, that’s, I mean…”
Ryan stammered, unable to answer his mother’s gentle question straightforwardly. This time too, he couldn’t bring himself to say that Hendrick wasn’t the baby’s father and that they had no relationship.
Then his father might grab the back of his neck and faint again.
“The ceremony with Ryan is precious to me. So I’d like it to be as grand as possible, and invite many people too.”
“Oh my, Your Highness. That’s a given, of course. It’ll be an unparalleled event for the royal family, so it’s only right to do it without lacking.”
The Countess’ expression became even brighter than a little while ago. The more they conversed, the more she could see that Hendrick cherished Ryan, so she couldn’t be more relieved and happy.
“Of course, it would be good to keep the ceremony itself simple. But we should definitely be thorough in the preparation process.”
“Ah, I see. It would be good to have a generous time period.”
Understanding Hendrick’s wishes right away, she smiled elegantly again. She wanted a glamorous ceremony that would amaze everyone, but there was no reason for her as a mother to refuse since Ryan shouldn’t be strained.
“I’ll prepare the betrothal gifts on my side, so don’t worry.”
“We can’t let you do that. Of course we should also…”
“I want to do a lot for Ryan, so please understand.”
How could every single word be so trustworthy? The Countess came to feel infinite trust in Hendrick, who didn’t hide his affection for Ryan.
In her heart, which was already full of favor towards the prince, it was firmly set that Ryan’s match was indeed Hendrick.
“And Count.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I apologize again. This incident is largely my fault. So please give me a chance to make up for it in the future.”
“Oh, how can you say that, Your Highness!”
Ryan fidgeted in his seat as he listened to the conversation between his parents and Hendrick. No matter how he looked at it, the situation seemed to be flowing completely unrelated to his intentions.
But then again, when he tried to intervene, he couldn’t recklessly open his mouth because he didn’t know where to start revealing the truth.
While he was hesitating, Catherine and Edgar also joined the conversation at some point.
‘This is like…’
Shall we say it feels like watching a one-act play? It seemed like someone else’s business, with everyone excitedly discussing future plans except him.
Ryan’s eyes, who had been silently watching them in the prolonged conversation, became dazed. Strangely, he felt languid and sleepy.
‘I shouldn’t…’
He had to be alert and stop things from progressing more oddly.
‘Yawn…’
He tried to cover his mouth and hold it in, but a yawn came out helplessly. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. Glancing to the side, he saw Hendrick sitting next to him, meeting his gaze directly.
He was clearly conversing with his mother, but when did he turn his eyes this way?
‘Sleepy?’
Hendrick’s handsome lips moved. Although no sound came out, it seemed like that’s what he was asking. He shook his head. He tried his best to keep his eyes open and clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly.
“So the preparation period should be roughly two months, what do you think, Your Highness?”
Hendrick nodded at the question directed at him.
“That should be fine.”
The conversation surrounding him was still ongoing. So Ryan kept trying to chase away his drowsiness, but regardless of his will, his eyelids gradually lowered.
Eventually, his head tilted to the side.
“Oh my? Ryan, are you asleep?”
Catherine, who realized the fact late while conversing with the Countess, widened her eyes. At her question, Edgar also turned and made a dumbfounded expression.
“He’s carefree.”
“He’s not carefree, that’s just how everyone is in early pregnancy.”
“Catherine, you’ve never been pregnant, have you?”
At Edgar’s unintentional remark, the corners of Catherine’s eyes shot up. Retaliation came immediately.
Slap slap.
“Ah! That stings! What are you doing!”
Edgar squirmed and complained, trying to avoid Catherine’s fierce palm.
“You! That’s why you don’t have a lover and your popularity is rock bottom!”
“What did I…”
It wasn’t wrong though. This time, at least he didn’t make the mistake of saying it out loud.
“Be quiet! Just take Ryan to his room and come back.”
Catherine glared at the dense Edgar and motioned towards Ryan with her eyes. However, the one who stood up first was Hendrick.
“I’ll go.”
Then he even picked Ryan up preciously. Catherine and Edgar looked at each other, and the faces of Count and Countess Fitzroy also filled with contentment.
“And I have something to say, so please wait a moment.”
His following words brought a temporary tension.