Chapter 727

The Reason for Her Obsession
Well now, it turned out it wasn't just Okaasama who was expecting, Her Majesty the Queen was too.

… If this is all thanks to the chocolate, and chocolate has become fashionable among the nobility, we might actually be looking at a baby boom.

Whatever the case, once a new royal child is born, there's no doubt that for the next several years there'll be plenty of children being born as potential fiancés and attendants.

“I see... s-so Her Majesty the Queen is expecting as well. That's wonderful.”

Okaasama looked happy too.

Back when Crown Prince Raymond-sama was born, Okaasama had tried but couldn't conceive, and when I was born, it had been Her Majesty who couldn't.

In the end, Oniisama's existence, our cousin whose identity came to light after Aunt's tragic accident, changed everything. He was taken into our family, and through the efforts of Okaasama, Otousama, and Oniisama himself, he was now serving at His Highness's side as one of his attendants.

This time, though, the children would be true classmates.

More than that, they'd grow up together as childhood friends.

“Hmm... depending on whether the children are boys or girls, there will likely be talk of betrothals again. Troublesome...”

Apparently, in my case, my mana rampages and various other circumstances had been enough to fend off those sorts of discussions.

But if there were a boy and a girl of exactly the same age, refusing would be difficult, especially since the status of both families wasn't merely acceptable, it was a perfect match.

That said, His Majesty and Her Majesty, as well as Otousama and Okaasama, had all married for love, something quite rare among nobles.

In fact, that very reason had led to His Majesty and Okaasama's original engagement being broken off before the current couples came to be.

Because of that, it seemed there was an unspoken agreement between them not to force marriage arrangements on their children.

“Well, there's no need to worry about that now, is there? After all, you never know how compatibility will turn out.”

Though sounding exasperated with Otousama, Okaasama looked delighted.

Well, of course.

This time she'd have a fellow mom friend whose child would be the same age.

She was probably already looking forward to swapping parenting advice and warmly watching their little ones toddle around together with her best friend.

“Y-yes. You're right.”

“More importantly, I'm worried about Her Majesty's health. If she's going through the same thing I am, then it must be terribly difficult...”

So Okaasama really had suffered that much...

Yeah, of course she had.

I really am sorry for being such a mana monster.

“Hey, Kurogane. Do you think there's any way we could get that Mana Amplification Grass you mentioned earlier?”

“Hmm... I would dearly like to grant My Lord’s wish, but the conditions required for it to appear are what make it so difficult.”

“I see...”

“For now, if she just keeps eating and eating, she'll probably manage somehow?”

Mashiro, don't you think that's an awfully rough solution after introducing the existence of Mana Amplification Grass?

“Yes, that would let me get by for the time being. But...”

Okaasama rested a hand against her cheek with a troubled expression.

“You gain weight. A tremendous amount.”

She let out an astonishingly long sigh.

According to Okaasama, whenever her mana became depleted, it endangered not only her own health but eventually the baby's life as well.

So she had relentlessly forced herself to eat rich, heavy meals, throw them up, then eat again.

As a result...

She gained weight.

… Well, of course she did.

High-calorie meals were rich in mana, making them effective against the effects of morning sickness, but if you couldn't judge how much you actually needed, the excess wouldn't become mana.

It would become a calorie bomb that hit your own body and turned into extra fat.

On top of that, eating such enormous amounts had stretched her stomach, so even after the morning sickness subsided, she'd continued eating out of habit and quickly put on even more weight.

“At the time, I despaired over how I was ever going to get my figure back. But once you were born, breastfeeding and everything else helped me return to my original shape surprisingly quickly, so I was quite relieved.”

Okaasama reminisced with feeling.

“It really was a difficult time.”

… I truly was sorry, even if it couldn't be helped.

Ahhh...

So that's why.

That's why Okaasama was so particular about beauty.

I felt far too guilty about it, so once we returned to the academy, I'd secretly consult with Mariel-chan and make some sort of pregnancy aid for her as a present.

Yes.

Let's do that.

As for the Mana Amplification Grass, maybe I should ask Teacher Marlen about it after I returned to the academy.

What do you think about this chapter?