Chapter 2: Bitter Memories
Charlotte’s in-laws, who knew nothing of the nonexistent married life between her and her husband, were absolutely delighted by her pregnancy.
She was exempted from being treated like a servant, and from then on, her only task each day was knitting socks for the baby.
Her heart danced with happiness.
After all, to think she had become pregnant from the single kiss they shared at the wedding!
Yes, Charlotte did not actually know how children were made.
The family who loved her innocent and carefree nature had failed to teach her something extremely important before she married.
Her husband, who was obsessed with his mistress and hardly ever visited home, did not even know Charlotte was pregnant.
Perhaps that was why the tragedy occurred.
If only someone had taught her sooner how children were truly conceived—
“Just a little more, my lady!
Keep pushing!”
Encouraged by the midwife, Charlotte desperately strained.
Her stomach had swollen to a horrifying size, and sweat slid down the cheeks of everyone present.
This happened exactly fifteen months after Charlotte had that mysterious dream.
A human pregnancy lasted ten months.
Charlotte’s pregnancy had exceeded that period by an enormous margin, and rumors had spread throughout the surrounding area that it was something eerie and unnatural.
And now, at last, labor pains had come for her this morning.
The most experienced midwife in town had been summoned, along with many women to assist.
Everyone anxiously awaited the birth.
And what emerged from her was—
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
The elderly midwife turned pale.
She had delivered hundreds of babies in her lifetime, yet this was the first time she had ever seen such a bizarre infant.
Its entire body was covered in scales, with a tail no human should possess and four wings.
The women crowding the room screamed and fled.
Only the midwife remained behind to wash the newborn and cut the umbilical cord.
As the creature cried out in an inhuman voice, the midwife hesitated over whether she should show it to Charlotte.
Childbirth was grueling work.
Many women lost their lives from it.
And this labor had lasted for more than an entire day.
If the young mistress learned that the child born after all that was… this thing, she might truly pass on to heaven.
An ominous future crossed the midwife’s mind.
“Tell me…
My baby…
Was it born healthy…?”
Charlotte asked weakly, barely able to breathe.
“Yes.
A very healthy baby.”
That was not a lie.
It certainly was healthy.
It simply was not shaped like a human.
“Did…
Did it have all its limbs…?”
“Yes.
Two arms and two legs are all properly there.”
Though the four wings and tail were rather excessive.
“Thank goodness…
Please…
I want to see my baby…”
Charlotte pleaded, and the midwife finally steeled herself.
Carrying the surprisingly heavy infant in her arms, she stood before Charlotte.
The baby had already stopped crying and was looking around curiously.
“Aah?”
“He” tilted his head.
He was probably male.
At least, he possessed the appropriate anatomy.
“Ah…”
Charlotte let out a deep sigh.
Covered in sweat, her caramel-colored hair disheveled, her face utterly exhausted, she spoke.
“What an adorable baby…”
The moment she said that, Charlotte lost consciousness.
Standing alone in the room, the midwife gently stroked the strange infant and muttered that at least he had been born to a mother who would love him.