I Will Seduce The Northern Duke
Chapter 170

“Sigh…”

Once again, the queen’s long sigh filled the day.

“Your Majesty, here’s a cookie that has been baked with nothing. How does this look to you?”

It was a plain cookie with a wheat color due to nothing being added to it.

Selina glanced at the cookie with disinterest, then immediately groaned and turned her head.

“Aaa, I feel dizzy when I look away.”

“Ooohh, I’m sorry! I should have brought it closer for you to see!”

The maid exclaimed in surprise.

Selina waved her hand as if annoyed. Please, be quiet.

Even with the simple motion of waving her hand, it felt as if all the blood in her body rushed from head to toe and back again.

Selina was currently in a dizzying state of nausea at the slightest blink. And it wasn’t stopping, it had been going on for several days, intensifying each passing day.

The maid, who had become increasingly perceptive in the last few days, quickly handed her a lime-flavored sparkling water.

Selina barely managed to take a sip of the sparkling water.

But even swallowing a mouthful made it frighteningly gush back out of her mouth.

“Uhhgg!”

“Oh my goodness! Is this not going down either?”

“It’s fishy…”

“Oh my, what should I do? How about trying lemon or grapefruit?”

Selina, who had spilled the sparkling water on the grass, had no strength to respond and could only groan and moan helplessly.

She had come outside, dragging her heavy body with the hope that the cool breeze would make her feel better, but it was all in vain. Instead, the dizziness worsened as she moved and shaked.

Even lying on the ground felt like floating on water, with the world spinning around her as if she were on a merry-go-round. Closing her eyes didn’t make it disappear.

“Uuhhgg!”

Unable to contain the nausea, she retched loudly once again.

She ate nothing and the only thing that came out was the scratching sounds of her throat.

During almost all waking hours, she couldn’t eat anything and would be like this.

This was her sickness

Selina, the first queen of Selinia, was pregnant.

Kalcion had tried to figure out a way to get himself pregnant instead, but even in the extensive records of the great wizard Songtullek, he couldn’t find any.

Although it was a pregnancy they had desired, it didn’t make the hardships of pregnancy any less difficult.

The only difference was that as a queen, she could receive more extravagant treatment than others, but the pain she had to endure remained the same.

His cool palm-covered Selina’s forehead, which was lying limp on the chair.

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t seem okay, but being able to moisten her mouth was all she could do.

“It’s refreshing…”

Selina mumbled in a dying voice.

Kalcion gently touched Selina’s face here and there with a slightly bowed posture until his hand became warm.

He had made sure to bathe in cool water after training.

“Did you eat anything today?”

When it was just the two of them, the maids’ rule was to leave without a sound. There was no one to answer now.

“No… I can’t even swallow water.”

Selina whimpered, grabbing Kalcion’s wrist as he tried to move away.

His hand had already warmed up, but just the feeling of his touch was enough to soothe her nausea.

Kalcion obediently offered his hand and plopped down on the floor under Selina’s chair.

“What to do if you can’t eat anything?”

There was deep concern in his voice. Seeing Kalcion lamenting like he was about to die made Selina want to lessen his burden, but that was easier said than done. She didn’t even have the energy to care for him right now.

“Kuuh…”

Struggling to speak, Selina leaned her face into Kalcion’s hand, emitting a groaning sound.

Every smell in the world was repulsive, but Kalcion’s scent was the only one she found pleasant. Since realizing this, Kalcion hadn’t used soap or perfume even when bathing.

Her stomach settled a bit at the fresh yet warm scent.

Watching Selina’s pale face as she pressed her nose into his palm and took deep breaths, Kalcion also let out a silent sigh.

“If anything comes to mind, please tell me. Anything. Even when you wake up.”

“There’s nothing…”

Even thinking was difficult. She was supposed to recall things easily, not force herself to think of something.

The persistent nausea had driven away any appetite to eat. She didn’t even want to think about eating, even if she were to starve.

She knew she had to eat to live, but eating while nauseous was as difficult as breathing underwater.

“I’ve heard that the taste of home or dishes prepared by family members sometimes come to mind. There are also fruits from that region.”

“Hmm…?”

She had only thought about things existing in this world so far.

Occasionally, something from her original world would flash in her mind, but she would just forget about it. The extreme morning sickness made even the fleeting thoughts vanish into thin air.

However, Kalcion’s words instantly sparked a reaction.

“Mandarin?”

“Mandarin?”

The word “Mandarin” was not translated and was conveyed as is. It meant that the word Mandarin didn’t exist in this world. So, it meant that the Mandarins itself didn’t exist in this world.

“They are a type of fruit that was in the other world, similar to oranges but with thinner skin and a stronger sweet and sour taste.”

“I see. Mandarins, a fruit. What else?”

“Yakgwa?”

“What’s that again?”

Once she started, it all came pouring out effortlessly.

Since there were no smells wafting in front of her right now, she didn’t feel nauseated just by imagining it. It only made her mouth water.

Selina explained it to Kalcion diligently. When her words faltered, she even drew pictures.

As she explained, her desperation grew. Wanting to convey the feeling more accurately, Selina did her best to describe it.

Kalcion listened to her words late into the night without tire.

It were a hundred times, a thousand times more welcome than the words ‘I can’t remember anything,’ or ‘just give me some water’.

“…But what good does it do to talk about it like this?”

Selina, who had been enthusiastic and excited just a moment ago, suddenly looked sullen.

Kalcion was taken aback and adjusted himself.

The changes that came with pregnancy were not limited to the body alone. There were significant emotional fluctuations as well.

Selina was always calm and good at controlling herself, but the emotional changes due to pregnancy were beyond the scope of human will.

“I won’t be able to eat it, so why bother describing it? It’s just pointless.”

It was heartbreaking not to be able to eat what she craved during pregnancy, tears swelled up in an instant.

“I’ll make you eat it.”

Kalcion urgently consoled her.

“How?”

“First, I’ll have them cook something as similar as possible to what you described.”

“But how can I eat it? The ingredients, the fruits…”

“I’ll try to find something as similar as possible. If I have to search beyond Renbird to other countries, I’m sure I’ll find it. Since it had a similar climate to where you lived, it must exist.”

“When? How?”

Selina cried and stomped her feet like a child. Then, in a moment, she abruptly stopped and mumbled absentmindedly.

“…Why am I like this? Why do I feel so heartbroken just for a few things?”

She burst into tears and then immediately felt disappointed in herself for being so emotional.

Even Kalcion, who could put up with Selina’s tantrums for a lifetime, didn’t want to see her slumped in sadness.

“I must have been too impatient and thought too lightly of it. I’m paying the price for thinking lightly of it.”

Selina’s self-deprecating remarks continued in her gloomy tone.

The pregnancy was a product of Selina’s insistence.

Once fixated on the idea of a ‘child like Kalcion,’ Selina had followed through with it.

When Selina threw herself into something, how could Kalcion refuse? He had wholeheartedly endured and patiently witnessed the results.

Despite the child not appearing suddenly, Selina kept blaming herself for being too impulsive.

She hadn’t expected pregnancy to be such a challenging process.

“It’s just my condition.”

After investigating every possible angle, Kalcion found that not every pregnant woman went through this. There was a wide range of individual variations.

Unfortunately, Selina happened to be on the severe side of it.

Feeling powerless to help her suffering, Kalcion’s shoulders slumped. But he couldn’t let Selina see that. She was already fighting a difficult battle alone, and she needed someone to lean on.

“And enduring what you want to eat is not your job.”

“What if I can’t endure it?”

Despite feeling sorry for having such thoughts in this situation, Selina’s teary-eyed expression was quite cute.

Kalcion cupped Selina’s cheeks with both hands.

Her already small face seemed to shrink further from not being able to eat. It felt like even her lips were about to disappear into thin air despite being encased within his hands.

“You should hurry and pester your husband to get it for you.”

“What? But that…”

Selina chuckled softly at Kalcion’s suggestion.

It finally brought a smile back to her face, only then could Kalcion smile.

“Comforting the wife’s heart when she has a child is the husband’s job. It’s not the wife’s responsibility.”

“That’s….true.”

“So, if you’re dissatisfied with the current situation, blame it all on me. It’s my fault.”

Selina raised an eyebrow, and her lips curled mischievously.

“Yes, sure, blame it all on you.”

“Right, it’s my fault.”

“So take responsibility.”

“I’ll take it.”

“…Boring.”

However, the playful mood didn’t last long.

Facing an opponent who quickly surrendered, brandishing a wonderful sword would only result in a sword dance alone.

Pursing her lips, Selina buried herself in Kalcion’s embrace.

It felt as if a warm bowl of soup was poured over her, making her chest warm.

Embraced by Kalcion, it seemed like that was all she needed.

But the embrace couldn’t feed her.

With the real food laid out in front of her, she didn’t even think about Kalcion’s embrace.

“….this how?”