I’ll Be The Matriarch in This Life [Novel] Chapter 286

"Pregnant?"

@though
What is she talking about?
@end

I stared blankly at Estira, wondering if it was some kind of joke, but there wasn't a single trace of humor on her face.

Right, she wasn't the type of person to joke about something like this.

If so…

"Are you… sure?"

"I have checked multiple times, Matriarch."

"So I really am having a baby."

I was bewildered.

I couldn't even believe it.

Yet, before I knew it, my hand was gently resting over my lower stomach.

It went without saying, but my stomach was completely flat, with no changes whatsoever.

If anything, it had gotten even hollower lately since I hadn't been eating properly.

And yet, there was a child in there.

It felt strange.

I could only describe the feeling as utterly surreal.

Keeping my hand on my stomach, I asked…

"How far along am I, Estira?"

"You are about eight weeks along."

"Eight weeks?!"

Eight weeks was nearly two months.

That meant I had been carrying another life inside my body for two whole months, and I hadn't noticed the slightest hint of it.

"It is quite common, Matriarch. Usually, there aren't many physical changes during the very early stages of pregnancy, so it often goes unnoticed."

"Even so…"

"Mild lower abdominal pain, loss of appetite, indigestion, headaches, and fatigue do occur, but they can all easily be mistaken for simple overwork or stress."

Those were all the exact symptoms I had been experiencing.

"So, what I'm going through right now… is morning sickness?"

"It appears so."

"Does that mean it's going to get progressively worse, to the point where just smelling food will make me cover my mouth and dry heave?"

"I can't give you a definitive answer as it varies from person to person, but that is often the case."

Haa.

Just thinking about it was agonizing.

"Then, when exactly does morning sickness usually subside?"

"That also varies by individual. It is generally said to disappear around 20 weeks, but in severe cases, it can last until childbirth."

Until childbirth? Can a person even survive having morning sickness for that long?

Seeing my complexion rapidly deteriorate, Estira quickly added…

"There's medicine that helps with morning sickness. I will prepare it for you right away."

"Will taking that medicine give me some energy too? I keep feeling so sleepy."

"That happens as the fetus settles in, so it can't be resolved with medicine. You need to rest, but…"

Knowing my situation all too well, Estira's voice trailed off.

If I need to take medicine, I'll take it. If I need to force myself to eat, I'll try.

But resting is the one thing that's difficult right now.

I have my upcoming wedding preparations, and as the Matriarch of Lombardi, there are meetings where I absolutely cannot back down.

"In that case…"

Estira said with a heavy sigh.

"I will brew a restorative tonic to help boost your energy. But above all, resting is what's most important. Matriarch, perhaps you could speak with His Majesty and adjust your schedule…"

"No."

My response was firm.

"We can't let Perez know just yet."

Neither Perez nor I could back down on this current agenda regarding the Academy.

As an Emperor who graduated from the Academy himself, Perez had been preparing this agenda for a long time.

Therefore, I had no choice but to do my absolute best to defend against it.

We had been fiercely battling it out, both inside and outside the conference room, without yielding an inch.

But if he found out I was pregnant…

"I can't even imagine what kind of face he'd make."

However, one thing was absolutely certain: that fool would quietly drop the Academy agenda.

"That absolutely cannot happen."

The next meeting was tomorrow.

With any luck, tomorrow could be the final meeting to discuss the Academy issue.

Even if it wasn't, it was a matter that had to be wrapped up before the wedding.

I could hold out for a few more days.

"Don't tell anyone, Estira. Not Caitlin, not anyone. Understood?"

At my words, Estira reluctantly nodded.

"I will personally bring the medicine to your bedroom tonight."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Estira packed up all the various medical instruments she had brought and left the office.

I was alone once again in the quiet room.

"Wait, I guess I'm not really alone anymore, am I?"

Lying stretched out on the sofa, I placed my hand on my stomach once more.

It was a peculiar feeling.

Was it because this happened earlier than expected?

I still felt more bewildered than overjoyed.

It felt like I had suddenly received a surprise gift.

"A gift is a gift, I suppose."

And a massively huge one at that.

I could feel my body heat through the thin fabric of my clothes.

And now, there was another existence sharing this warmth with me.

"Hello."

I offered a small greeting.

"I'm your mom."

It was still incredibly awkward, but I kept gathering up the courage to talk to it.

"Nice to meet you. Let's do our best together from now on."

To anyone else, it would just look like I was muttering to myself.

A small chuckle escaped my lips.

Did my mother feel this way too when she was pregnant with me?

"She was someone who could foresee the future, so perhaps she wasn't surprised at all."

If she were still alive, I could share this moment with her and ask her all sorts of things I was curious about.

A pang of regret washed over me.

"I wonder what kind of child you'll be. I'm already curious."

A daughter? A son?

"If I had to choose…"

I'd love it if it was a daughter.

But I swallowed those last words.

If the baby in my stomach turned out to be a boy, he might feel hurt hearing that.

"Just be born healthy."

It came from the bottom of my heart.

I wished for nothing else.

I could finally fully understand why exhausted mothers immediately count their baby's fingers and toes right after childbirth.

"Let's make sure you get your dad's looks."

A tiny baby that looked like Perez. Just the thought of it made my heart flutter wildly.

"By the way, I wonder what your dad… is going to say."

Attaching the word Dad to Perez felt incredibly awkward.

But that's how it was.

If I was becoming a mom, Perez was becoming a dad.

We were becoming a mom and a dad.

We were becoming parents.

"He'll… be happy, right?"

Whenever the topic of children occasionally came up, Perez would suddenly turn into a stiff, awkward wooden puppet.

"Pfft."

"I should tell him first thing once the Academy issue is wrapped up. That way he won't feel left out later."

My mouth was already itching to tell him out of pure curiosity.

"Still, he wouldn't just pass out, would he?"

I giggled, stroking my lower stomach with a touch that already felt like a habit.

The next day.

"Ugh…"
As the carriage came to a halt, my stomach lurched violently.

I had taken the medicine Estira gave me last night, but sadly, she mentioned it would take a few days to properly take effect.

"Ah, it's worse than yesterday."

Up until now, it had just stopped at a lack of appetite. But this morning, I couldn't eat a single bite. The smell of the omelet, which I usually loved, hit me with such a nauseating force. It was a miracle I hadn't dry heaved right then and there at the family breakfast table.

"Sister, perhaps we should postpone today's meeting. You look very unwell…" Crenny asked with a worried expression.

Estira had kept the secret, exactly as I ordered. It seemed Caitlin, Clerivan, and the others had sought her out in the middle of the night to interrogate her, but they had been forced to leave empty-handed. She seemed to have brushed them off by simply saying, 'Her body couldn't handle the overwork and stress.'

Seeing me unable to eat breakfast this morning, everyone had been so immensely worried. I almost felt guilty for not being able to share the news of my pregnancy.

'Then again, if I had told them the truth, it would have been an absolute uproar.'

The moment I delivered the news, I would have likely been hoisted up by one of the twins and delivered straight to my bed. And then Perez would come rushing over, pale as a ghost, and my father, who was currently visiting Chesayu, would ride his horse day and night to get back…

Just thinking about it gave me a headache. At the same time, it was quite lamentable that this was a process I'd have to go through eventually.

"I'm fine, Crenny. I'm just a bit motion sick today because I'm not in the best condition."

"Even so…"

"Don't mind me. I'll be fine once I get off the carriage. Anyway, are you fully prepared for the meeting?"

Today, Crenny was taking on the role beside me of presenting specific reasons and statistics to bolster the noble faction's arguments.

"Yes, Sister." Crenny's eyes sparkled.

While Crenny didn't have the personality to aggressively push his arguments or toy with his opponents, his specialty was deploying logic based on precise figures and hard facts. The facts he laid out with that uniquely calm face of his were sometimes enough to even make me waver.

"Alright, let's try to head home early today."

It was both a rallying cry before the meeting and a desperate wish. I really wanted to clock out early!

"Yes, Sister. I have a good feeling about today."

"You too? Me too."

Or so we thought.

"…Ugh."

The moment we opened the doors to the conference room, a thick smell of food assaulted me.