The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c79
The commotion ended with Ryan returning safely. Hendrick was worried that the same thing might have happened as when he left the capital last time, but he was more bothered by the person Ryan said he met.
“Julian? Why are you meeting him?”
He refrained from using expressions like “that bastard” or “that jerk” or even more explicit ones because all of Ryan’s family was here.
But not understanding his feelings, Ryan even got angry.
“What? So what? Are you dissatisfied?”
The man he met at the palace knew for whom the betrothal gifts Hendrick ordered were for. And he even deliberately brought it up and pretended to ask for Ryan’s well-being, getting on his nerves.
‘Even though he already has a mate.’
Who was he trying to hit on? Ryan was too ignorant if you looked closely. That’s why he was attracted to a merchant wearing the worn-out mask of a nobleman and pretending to be dignified.
‘If it weren’t for the betrothal gifts…’
Hendrick swallowed his irritation, just like when he met Julian at the palace. It was a problem that the highest quality gems from that region came out this year of all times.
Wasn’t there no reason not to use top-grade items because of his personal feelings? Moreover, the period was tight, so there wasn’t enough leeway to wait for items to come from elsewhere, which was also a problem.
‘Yeah, it’s fine as long as I do well anyway.’
Just as Hendrick was trying to change his mind and pretend to be magnanimous, Catherine intervened and scolded Ryan.
However, since he was such a precious youngest brother, it was closer to just asking about the circumstances rather than scolding him.
The problem was that Ryan seemed to have enjoyed his time with that man quite a bit, chattering away with a happy face, and just hearing that story made him feel quite unpleasant.
Anyway, once the situation was sorted out to some extent, Hendrick came to Ryan’s bedroom with him. Since he couldn’t properly check earlier due to the darkness, he tried to examine his condition more carefully.
“Why aren’t you leaving?”
“You’re not hurting or anything anywhere, are you?”
Not knowing his feelings, Ryan acted prickly. Honestly, he wanted to call the court physician right away.
Ryan said he was fine, but seeing that there was an immediate reaction from his body just because he was away for a moment, he didn’t feel reassured at all.
‘And he says I’m not the baby’s father in this situation.’
It was cute how he strongly denied it, but Hendrick also felt sorry, so he swallowed his breath inwardly in a way that didn’t suit him.
It was usually what Ryan did when he was feeling complicated, but before he knew it, even Hendrick was influenced by it.
“What? Why are you sighing?”
No. He thought he did it secretly, but it seemed Ryan noticed. Perplexed, he pressed his index finger between his eyebrows for no reason, and this time, the round corners of his eyes went up again.
Then he was saying something he didn’t even mean. He said he would take care of it himself. Why couldn’t he understand his worried feelings?
“I even regretted going to the palace today at the very least.”
It was a sincere remark he made without realizing it. When he was startled and raised his eyes in surprise, Ryan was also flustered and had his mouth open.
“Oh, that’s…”
Then, after fumbling, he said next time he would definitely tell him when he went somewhere. That appearance reminded him of the black cat that broke an expensive vase from abroad and looked at him for his reaction, making him laugh naturally.
‘He’s so cute anyway.’
Hendrick tried to manage his expression and just said he would accompany him whenever he went somewhere. But misunderstanding something, Ryan even waved his hands and poured out words.
He wouldn’t take a single step out of the house, and he would tell him when going out.
It was good up to this point, but then he told Hendrick to mind his own business.
“Well…”
No matter how much he thought about it, he felt like the problem itself was being apart from Ryan. Wouldn’t it be better to keep going together as he had said?
‘That way, I can let people know about my relationship with Ryan.’
Last time, when he carried Ryan in his arms, he wanted the servants working here to spread rumors, but there were no signs of that.
It seemed that their loyalty to the Count’s family was higher than he had expected. So he thought, how about showing them going together on this occasion?
While Hendrick was thinking about this and that, Ryan made an unexpected suggestion.
“Ah, whatever. Okay. Then what do you want? I’ll do as you say, so just tell me what you want!”
It seemed to be an impulsive remark. Seeing him trying to take it back with an expression that said this wasn’t it right after saying it.
He couldn’t leave it like that.
“Then let’s go to the palace with me tomorrow and greet them.”
“What? What?”
“Let’s arrange a formal meal with both sets of parents.”
Ryan opened his eyes wide. He seemed to think that he had misspoken.
‘But I can’t miss this opportunity.’
This was a chance. A chance to catch Ryan who kept trying to evade in various ways. Of course, he was also fully willing to wait until he told him the truth.
Separately from that, he wanted to make sure to pin him down so he couldn’t turn his eyes elsewhere.
‘There’s even a child in his belly, so we can’t drag on the time.’
But surprisingly, Ryan wasn’t easy either. As if remembering an important issue he had forgotten, he fussily changed the subject.
“Look at this.”
His intention to change the subject was obvious, so Hendrick rather took the paper he handed over with the mindset of seeing how he would handle it.
‘This is…’
But the contents written on the paper weren’t something that could be taken lightly. When Ryan said his condition was abnormal during his coming-of-age ceremony and that it was all because of an extract from a flower called Hydrian, he almost spilled the truth.
‘Does Ryan not know? The fact that I got excited because of his pheromones. And that he got pregnant unintentionally because I also went into a rut.’
If you put it that way, it means that the person who drank the problematic drink at the time was not him, but Ryan. Because he, who was always thoroughly managed, must have released pheromones without realizing it like when he was pregnant now.
Then, Hendrick suddenly realized that Ryan had done something quite dangerous.
“Where did this come from?”
“What do you mean where did it come from?”
“Don’t tell me you looked into it yourself? Dangerously?”
This was on a different level from researching mines or experimenting with making type out of metal. But fortunately, Ryan reassured him, saying it was the attending physician who did it, not himself.
“Yeah. That’s right. It’s really amazing.”
His mind was much more at ease just by the fact that Ryan didn’t do it himself. Of course, he couldn’t be completely relieved. It was something that could be resolved by meeting the attending physician separately and confirming it.
“Ryan, you must be tired, so rest now.”
“Mmm…”
Hendrick laid Ryan on the bed. And he stayed by his side until he fell asleep completely, then quietly slipped out.
On the way to the annex, Elena was waiting for him, whenever she arrived.
“I’ll be going out now.”
“At this hour, you mean?”
Elena followed Hendrick quietly, surprised. The destination was the attending physician’s house. Late at night, the attending physician, who was receiving the prince’s sudden visit for the second time, trembled even more than then.
Of course, Hendrick had no interest in how he felt. He only focused on finding out how he had traced the Hydrian extract and if there was anything he hadn’t told Ryan.
“One more thing, is the Seiden family closely involved in this matter?”
“No. It has nothing to do with the family.”
The attending physician repeatedly said it was unrelated to Count Seiden. Like the Fitzroy family, they also had a deep connection with the royal family.
If by any chance a scandal broke out in noble society because of the information he found out, it might affect both families.
‘That mustn’t happen.’
So the attending physician hoped that this matter could end as just a degree of individual delinquency committed by Liam Seiden.
“What about Derek Watson?”
“Pardon?”
“The prodigal son of the Watson family isn’t on the list. What happened to him?”
Rather, at the look in his eyes asking why that name was coming up here, Hendrick tapped his fingers. That name wasn’t on the document Ryan gave him earlier either.
‘I’m sure I was told that he was the one who gave the glass to Ryan, so does that mean he didn’t buy it directly?’
It seemed he would have to look into this part separately.
“From now on, deliver all related reports to me.”
“Yes, yes. I understand, Your Highness. Then… to Ryan…”
The cautious question was met with an icy gaze. The attending physician inferred the answer on his own.
‘He means to keep Ryan completely in the dark. No. More precisely, he’s saying he won’t let it slide if I needlessly say useless things and make him worry.’
The attending physician bowed his head meekly, considering himself fortunate that the prince, who was acting so threateningly to him, cherished the youngest of the Fitzroy family so much.