***

“…Who is coming?”

“The commander of the 1st Knights Ronasso Bashel has arrived.”

At the words of the servant who hastily ran from the western castle, Tamon nervously ruffled his frizzy hair.

…l. Ronasso.

“ha.”

It seemed that something had happened since he suddenly came here.

Tamon seemed to be able to guess roughly what had happened without having to listen through Ronasso’s mouth.

“Wait a minute.”

“Yes, Master.”

Tamon entered the room to get dressed. Asha was still sleeping soundly.

Tamon looked at Asha’s brow, which was slightly grimacing at what was uncomfortable, and gently kissed her.

Lately, Asha had not been able to sleep well at night.

It was Tamon who held her tossing and turning all night and barely put her to sleep.

Because it was the last month, it seemed that the enlarged stomach was very heavy.

Pregnant women were not able to sleep on their backs because their lower back and internal organs were pressed, and even lying on their side was not comfortable at all.

It was just pitiful for Asha, who endured such hardships alone.

Tamon gently caressed Asha’s cheek while she was asleep, then quietly got up from the bed. He didn’t want to wake her from her sleep at dawn.

‘I’ll be back soon….’

Ronasso came to see Tamon so Tamon left a note saying he was going to the West Castle for a while, and he went out cautiously.

It took all he had to leave Asha by herself, especially since it was her last month of pregnancy. But he had to leave to meet Ronasso because it might be something related to the king.

He moved his feet quickly, vowing to come back before lunch.

As he had just left the hut, Asha wrinkled her eyebrows and struggled to open her eyes.

***

“Ugh….”

Asha grabbed her stomach, feeling a stinging pain.

To call it a stomach ache, she was annoyed and felt strangely painful.

Since she was not normally suffering from severe menstrual cramps, the strange pain in her stomach was strange and abnormal.

These symptoms had been on for a week or so, and it used to go away after a while, so she didn’t take it seriously.

Just in case, she asked the doctors and midwives, and they said that it was something that most mothers go through, so some of them took it lightly.

It was a common symptom experienced by pregnant women at the end of the journey, and it was a signal that childbirth was imminent.

As the pain subsided, Asha came to her senses and looked around.

Tamon was nowhere to be seen.

She wasn’t surprised, as he would be away by the time she got up to prepare a light meal or prepare a hot bath.

[Ronasso is here, I’ll be back soon. I’ve made your favorite tomato soup, so eat it when you’re hungry. I love you. ]

His love could be felt through the small note.

Asha smiled involuntarily and then whispered as she kissed the words he had written ‘I love you’.

”Love you too.”

Tamon would have been quite pleased if he had heard of her, but unfortunately he wasn’t here.

Asha went into the bathroom after she was alone for a while.

She had been sweating all night and her body was not at all refreshed.

There was moderately lukewarm water when it was heated again. While simply washing herself with warm water, she suddenly grabbed her stomach and looked down.

‘I think something just came out.’

She wasn’t sure because she was washing.

She stopped pouring the water and checked her condition again.

Fortunately, she didn’t show any symptoms, maybe it was her mistake.

Asha cleared her anxious mind, and quickly washed her body and went out.

There was no way the baby was already coming out.

Although there were differences of opinion, both the midwife and the doctor said her due date was still ten days away.

Compared to other mothers, her physical condition was excellent.

Sometimes labor pains are faster, but Asha tried to comfort herself that it wouldn’t be. And even if she has labor pains, the baby wouldn’t come out so quickly because it was her first childbirth.

Suddenly, her appetite plummeted. She went out for a walk on the beach to get some fresh air.

Lisha and De Gaulle, who were sleeping in front of the house, woke up and followed Asha.

“If you are there, the monkeys are afraid……”

The big one, as big as a tiger, pretended to be pitiful, drooped her ears and rubbed Asha’s palms against her forehead.

Asha smiled and stroked Lisha and De Gaulle’s hair in turn.

She moved slowly along the wooden deck that protruded forward.

Standing here, she felt like she was floating in the middle of the sea and it felt good.

While enjoying the sea breeze so leisurely, she heard a loud splashing sound from the front of the sea.

Asha, who turned her eyes and looked in front of her, was surprised and briefly admired.

“Dolphin…… !”

She had heard of it occasionally appearing around here, but she had never seen it before.

Asha’s eyes twinkled and she looked at the large sea creature that was splashing and jumping in the sea.

The dolphin was also watching Asha, and shook its head with a squeaky, cute sound.

The dolphin, which Asha had only seen in pictures, was much cuter in reality.

It splashed a few more times, performing tricks, but at some point it disappeared into the depths of the sea.

The moment when Asha, who had reached out her hand for nothing in a regret, pulled back with a shyness.

Splash!

Right in front of her eyes, something large splashed.

“…!”

The dolphin had revealed itself once again.What was even more surprising was that there was not one dolphin.

In the meantime, whether it had brought its friend or a shy friend appeared from hiding, the two dolphins jumped back and forth in front of each other as if playing pranks.

The color of the dolphin, which appeared late, was different from the one a while ago.

Asha looked at the dolphins with trembling eyes and covered her mouth with her hand in amazement.

****

Asha calmed her excitement and looked at the soothing sea.

The big and cute creatures had disappeared without a trace.

Eyes filled with regret and surprise gazed across the sea. She wished Tamon would come home sooner. She wanted to tell him about this amazing thing she had experienced.

Boldly, the touch of her stroking the creatures who pushed their noses in front of her still remained in her palm. She took a deep breath with amazement, reminded of their pinkish hue, turned back and exited the wooden deck.

What if Tamon doesn’t believe it? How would she make him believe it? A smile spread across her lips at the excited thought.

Grrr. De Gaulle showed his teeth when he got near the hut.

A few monkeys wandered around the forest and jumped up the tree excitedly. Among the dogs was a very small baby monkey, who reached the top of the tree after a long time since he was still not good at climbing.

“De Gaulle.”

Asha stopped in front of De Gaulle as if to calm it down, and warned him in a low voice. De Gaulle meekly lowered his tail and obeyed.

“Are you here to bring me some fruit?”

Sometimes the monkeys came to give her fruit when Tamon wasn’t there.

Perhaps the fruit was an excuse for them to come and make friends. Surprisingly, the bananas given by the monkeys were exceptionally sweet and fragrant.

The courtesy of these animals was cute, so Asha did not refuse the fruit.

She sternly told Lisha and De Gaulle to stay put, and approached the tree where the monkeys had climbed.

While Lisha and De Gaulle were staying still, the monkeys did not hesitate to approach Asha.

Eek.

Another shy baby monkey came down last.

As Asha reached out her hand towards the baby monkey, the baby monkey slowly grabbed her hand.

It was a strange feeling. It was clearly a beast, the hand did not feel so different from that of a human.

The little monkey carefully climbed up her arm and sat on her shoulders.

Then, as if curiously, he gently stroked her silver hair.

The baby looked cute, be it a beast or human.

Asha peeled a banana the monkeys had given her and handed it to the baby monkey.

It was very amazing to see him nibble up a banana with excitement.

Just then, Asha’s stomach started hurting again.

“ah.”

The pain was stronger than in the morning, and Asha involuntarily closed her eyes and held her breath.

The monkeys also watched her silently if they sensed something was wrong with her.

Asha grabbed her stomach and took a deep breath, waiting for her pain to subside.

It was a short while, but her stomach was so tight that a cold sweat came out. Asha said goodbye to the monkeys, feeling worried, and she slowly grabbed her belly and walked.

One step, two steps…..

As she was walking slowly, she stopped in place when she felt something bursting out of her.

“Oh, no.”

Amniotic fluid was exploding.