< — The Beginning and the End — > (3)
Hugo was sleeping but because of the body moving around next to him, he woke up. When he saw Lucia sitting up on the bed, he was surprised and sat up.
“What? Is something wrong?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“…”
Hugo inwardly thought to himself, ‘Well, you slept so much during the day, makes sense sleep won’t come.’
It had been three weeks since the day she was diagnosed as pregnant and the time Lucia spent asleep had increased. She slept almost all day. She slept early in the evening, woke up late in the morning and also took a nap in the afternoon. It was a lifestyle drowning in sleep as if she was getting a lifetime of sleep in advance.
These days, Hugo had barely seen anything but his wife’s sleeping face.
“Is there something I can do?”
“It’s not only that I can’t sleep, I keep thinking of food…”
“What do you want to eat? If you tell Jerome, he’ll get it ready for you soon.”
“I told him, but he said he couldn’t get it.”
A food that Jerome couldn’t prepare. Hugo had a slightly ominous foreboding.
“What is it?”
“Green grapes.”
“…”
Spring had only just arrived. The winds outside were still chilly. Grapevines were yet to sprout proper leaves.
“You can’t get it either?” (Lucia)
Hugo was confident that he could comb through the entire world to find anything she wanted. However, no matter how talented he was, he did not have the ability to make fruits that had not sprouted yet. Deep down in the south, there was a country with warm climate but now wasn’t the harvesting season for grapes.
However, Hugo just couldn’t say no to his wife, who was looking at him with clear eyes full of expectation. So, he bluffed and said.
“…I’ll look for it.”
“Whoa.”
She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him, and as Hugo wrapped his arms around her in embrace, he broke out in cold sweat.
‘Damn, I’m in trouble now.’
* * *
Kwiz heard from the Queen that the Duchess seemed to be pregnant. After hearing that, he learnt that the Duchess had stopped her activities outside and guessed that she must indeed be pregnant.
However, even though he met with the Duke of Taran almost everyday, the Duke of Taran didn’t seem to have any intention of telling him the good news and it had almost been a month. At this rate, it seemed like he would only be told of the pregnancy after the child was born.
Kwiz lightly brought up the subject first.
“Gong, this king heard that you will be becoming a father soon.”
“It has been a long time since I became a father.”
“I heard you would be seeing a second child.”
“…Yes.”
“Some people, really. You have to tell good news like this quickly. Congratulations. The Duchess is doing well?”
“Yes. There are no big issues.”
“I’m glad to hear that. When the Queen was pregnant with the princess, she couldn’t eat properly so she suffered a lot. They say such symptoms are common if the baby is female, how is the Duchess faring?”
“She isn’t troubled too much.”
“I guess the child is gentle like the Duchess. I wonder if it will be a boy like you, Gong, or a girl like the Duchess. You know, this king made a bet on it with my adjutant. I bet it would be a boy. This king believes in you, Gong.”
It would seem that Kwiz had terrible luck in gambling. As Hugo looked at Kwiz who was guffawing loudly, he inwardly muttered to himself, ‘It is a girl’.
He thought that the yet-to-be-born child should definitely resemble his wife. Otherwise, it wasn’t worthwhile to go through all this trouble.
Hugo roughly ignored it when the King boasted and gushed about the princess’ loveliness whenever he had the chance. His thought process was, ‘What does the loveliness of someone else’s child have to do with me?’. In fact, he was going through agony before his own child was born.
One month had passed. It was only just a month, but one month was really a long time. There were still six to seven months left until the child was born. This situation was like standing on a narrow ridge, with an abyss of darkness at your front and back, and the gloomy prospects make you unable to go forward or backwards.
Lucia’s morning sickness was not severe enough to make her refuse food. Although she refused meals with strong smells, she usually ate quite well.
The doctor had said several times that it was fortunate that she wasn’t like some mothers who had almost nothing but water during their pregnancy term and slimmed down drastically after giving birth.
Hugo agreed wholeheartedly. He felt like if he watched his wife suffer from morning sickness that made her throw up everything and not eat properly, he might dislike the child.
However, nothing in the world was easy. Lucia’s morning sickness was light, but her nerves were relatively sharp.
Still, from the standpoint of others, it wasn’t to the extent that it was unusual. Her tone was curt, and her irritation had only slightly increased. But because it was such a contrast to her gentle personality, it seemed like such a dramatic change. Especially for Hugo who experienced his wife’s change firsthand, he was dealt a great deal of shock.
* * *
Today as well, Lucia was not among the people who came to greet Hugo upon his return home. Jerome gave his master the same answer he gave yesterday.
“The Madam is sleeping.”
“What about dinner?”
“She has not had it yet. She has been sleeping since afternoon…”
Hugo was becoming worried that his wife was sleeping too much. So he recently asked the doctor if it was okay.
[Feeling easily fatigued and sleeping a lot are typical symptoms of early pregnancy. Although the Madam is sleeping a lot, you do not have to worry. The Madam is actually going through the early stages very smoothly.]
Hugo couldn’t agree with the doctor saying that it was going very smoothly, but he was relieved and also disappointed by the doctor’s answer that it was normal. After all, normal meant that the excessive sleep couldn’t be lessened with treatment.
He couldn’t remember when he last sat down with his wife and had a conversation. If he was at home during the day, he would be able to see her awake, but Hugo’s busy schedule had him leave in the morning and return in the evening so there was no room to slack.
A few days ago, something happened that got Hugo more depressed. He had been able to soothe his regret by sleeping with his wife in his arms, but she began to get annoyed by such contact. He put his hand in her nightwear a few days ago and touched her a little (by his standards) but she couldn’t stand it and told him not to come near her at all.
Hugo didn’t know where to resolve his bafflement and grievance. So he asked the doctor again. Nowadays, the doctor was acting as a consultant for the Duke.
[In the early stages, an expectant mother may have an extreme reaction to her husband’s physical contact. It may or may not improve in the middle stages of pregnancy.]
The doctor’s advice wasn’t helpful at all. Hugo thought again that the doctor must be a quack. He was harboring a grudge against the innocent doctor.
Hugo entered his wife’s bedroom. He approached the figure lying down on the bed in the dimly lit bedroom and carefully sat on the bed.
While he was just looking at her, Lucia, who had her back to him, tossed in her sleep and turned around to face him. He unconsciously stretched out his hand but hesitated unwittingly and felt ashamed. Why couldn’t he touch his woman as much as he wanted?
His gaze went down and stopped on her stomach, covered with the blanket. A mysterious creature, invisible to human sight, was growing in her womb and driving him to the greatest crisis of his life. However, Hugo knew very well, that he should not ever make the mistake of letting the words of blaming the baby leave his mouth.
He had thought too simply about having a child. He had simply thought that if they have a child together, the child grows, it is born and that was it.
He couldn’t help but admire the king who had gone through this process four times.
Hugo gathered his courage and stretched out his hand. He touched her soft cheek, caressed her forehead and swept a hand through her hair. When Lucia made a droning noise, signaling that she was waking up, he got nervous. And when he watched Lucia blink her eyes, he held his breath.
“Hugh…?”
Her reaction was gentle. Hugo inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. His wife’s mental state was like thin ice, so he felt tenser than on a battlefield. Just a few months ago, his wife was always smiling at him and he missed her like that a lot.
Lucia gave him a bright smile and stretched out her arms. Despite thinking ‘what’s the occasion’, Hugo promptly reciprocated. As he embraced her soft, warm body and took in the fragrance brushing past his nose, he realized that happiness could come from something so trivial.
“I saw my mother in my dream. She looked young, beautiful and happy.”
“Then I have to hope she appears in your dreams every day. Young, beautiful and happy.”
Lucia chuckled like she heard a joke, but Hugo was serious.
“You have to eat dinner before you sleep. Shall I have them prepare it now?”
“I don’t really have much appetite.”
“I heard you didn’t have much at lunch either. Is there anything you want to eat? If there’s something in particular on your mind, tell me.”
‘The baby in your stomach is sucking up all the nutrients in your body,’ Hugo mumbled to himself, adding a strong sentiment onto what the doctor had told him.
“Mmm…there is something. If it is that then I think I will have the appetite.”
Hugo was nervous. He wanted to tell her to please ask for something he could get this time.
Last time, he eventually could not get the green grapes. When he saw her looking sullen for a few days, he felt like he was on thorns and had to realize his own incompetence.
“There was an opened night market in the village I lived in as a child. The grilled skewers that Mister Peter made were really delicious.”
It was a sudden request, but Hugo was relieved since it didn’t seem impossible. Night market. Peter. Grilled Skewers. He put down the key words in his mind.
“All right.”
“Oh wow. Then we can have that for dinner.”
“…Now?”
“If not now then…?”
Hugo gazed at Lucia who was returning the question for a moment, then he swallowed a sigh. He immediately called Jerome and instructed him. Jerome personally took a few servants and went to the village where the Madam had lived as a child.
A few hours later, Hugo received the delivered grilled skewers and took them to the second floor, personally.
Lucia was in the receiving room making clothes for the baby and when she saw the dish her husband brought, she was delighted. Seeing her like this brought a smile to Hugo’s face. However, after taking just a few bites, she put it down and said her stomach was full.
“When will green grapes be ready for harvest?”
That damn green grape. Hugo seriously considered whether he should buy a farm.
- Forget My Husband, I’ll Go Make Money – Side Story 17.2 - November 19, 2024
- Forget My Husband, I’ll Go Make Money – Side Story 17.1 - November 19, 2024
- Forget My Husband, I’ll Go Make Money – Side Story 16.2 - November 11, 2024
Awesome! I think this is one of the most realistic description of pregnancy I’ve reading in a translated novel. Usually novels just focus on morning sickness.
I really should proofread my comments closer. >_<
Correction:
"Awesome! I think this is one of the most realistic descriptions of pregnancy I’ve read in a translated novel. Usually they just focus on morning sickness."
As a man that has gone out scouring town to find “Pozole” at 11 pm… I can relate
My mother was thankful she just craved sour mangoes and cane juice (abundant where she lived at the time) for me and milk and bananas (again, abundant during her pregnancy) for my little sister. I have heard of some aunties (not mine, just the equivalent of “neighborhood ahjummas”) joke that they’ve heard of women who crave inedible things. There was even a story about a weird craving for car-tire, which I kind of doubt is true but funny to think about.
craving for inedible things is really a thing, its called pica, where pregnant women crave for nonfood substances. Sometimes they crave for ice, hair and even soil 😂
In that’s case, my friend wife was far worse in my perspective because she carve for her husband c@*k. And it was funny when he heard a news that his wife pregnant again he was scare af .🤣🤣
I’ve already met a woman who during her pregnancy wanted to eat clay, really.
Isso é real, provavelmente a vontade de comer algo não comestível é falta de alguma vitamina ou proteína no corpo!! Minha vizinha comia os fios de pneu novos na gravidez, e outra comeu tijolo!!!
Os desejos tem significados. É bom pesquisar!!!
Lolololololololol the grapes. The sour green grapes pfthahhaahah good luck Hugh. Dealing with her demands
Many thanks
Found it! Thank you so much 😊
Omg this chapter was so funny ! It’s feels so fun to.imagine this giant man being on his toes because of his small pregnant wife 😂😂😂🥰
Hugo is the perfect husband. ❤❤❤
Thank you so much for this chapter! 🙏
Lmaoo poor Hugh 😂 It’s okay, when the child will be born, all your hard work will be paid off
Thx for the update 🥂
Lmao poor the doctor. Poor the grapes.
Thanks.
🤣grapes🤣
Lucia’s mood is me everyday.
Demanding and eating what I want then sleeping xD
THANK YOU FOR THE CHAP RUBY-SAMA
🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
REST IN PEACE HUGH
That moment when the doctor becomes the guidance counsellor too xD
Y’all green grape farms will be very rich soon
The green grape farms will be rich soon
Damn I just noticed that somebody has the same comment as me o.o
bwahahahaha…… the last sentence is sooo funny!! that damn green grape!!! XD
I feel like I’ll end up like Hugo soon.
“It was a lifestyle drowning in sleep as if she was getting a lifetime of sleep in advance.”
That was definitely me during my pregnancy! 😂
Many thanks for your translation ❤️
Hmmmm~ Lucia is like a child now and she never think about Hugo’s feeling ~ hahaha
Poor Hugh! It will be such an experience for him
Thank youuuuu. Do you know how sweet you are, Ruby? I think you are.
I could feel the translator’s feeling/personality through the translation style.
Lmao she keeps craving for the dang grapes hahahaha poor Hugo😂
Anyway, Thanks for the update miss ruby!
I feel bad for Lucia. Can you imagine the SHAME she is going to feel after her pregnancy when she realizes how terrible she’s been acting to him. They are both going to develop a neuroses towards green grapes XD
I dont think hugh is planning for a third child anytime soon .. Hahaha kwiz is so gonna lose that bet and that moment when he said hugh is gonna be a dad soon, hugh’s retort is gold xD
Gracias …😘😘💐🌺
Pobre hugo se pone mas tenso por el caracter de lucia..🤣
Q en el campo de batalla 😂
Omg.. I really really love this novel and of course your translation too.. ❤
So realistic!. I’m wondering if Hugh is going to get a very bad case of blue balls, good for you Lucia.
Hahahaha I laughed so bad “That damn green grape.’ killed me XD if it was a chinese novel, i bet the baby would have been called little grape
Hoho looks like Hugo is being put through the wringer. Let’s see how this goes
– Comrade Crouching Flamingo
I remember my mom kept demanding green grapes too when she pregnant
Thank god modern days provide green grapes regardless of season 😁
Thankyouu miss Ruby.
What a sweet chapter.
Poor Hugh 😉 the mood swing is real.
I’m laughing so hard at hugo’s inner talk…he curse a lot…lolll
Awww don’t be jealous towards your own child Hugo xD
First time reading this i thingking that the novel will be more interesting than the manhwa…..and i’m right…..so glad i found this page….thanks translator-nim 😊😊
I came from webcomics and then find myself googling Lucia and found the novel in your page. This novel Lucia is just gold for a romance sucker like me hahaha.
I see you as a savior because this novel is really well translated. You are awesome Ruby! Your choice of words are justright in my opinion. 화이팅 루비씨 ! 😁
HAHAHAHA those damn grapes… poor Hugh
HAHAHAH THATS SO CUTE
Ajajajajaja pobre hug, y apenas va comenzando. Ánimo! Tú puedes!
😂😂 that damn green grape..😂😂
Hmm talking about grapes made me think about cotton candy grapes-basically grapes that taste like cotton candy – yum! Thank you for the translations ruby!
I find it funny how jewleries/trasures dont appease lucia but grapes do 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for the chapter~
“hahaha…… i can not help it but really laughed on this chapter”.. Oh My.. dukE..!!
“He couldn’t help but admire the king who had gone through this process four times”
That one and only time Hugo the Duke of Taran admired Kwiz.
uwahh husband material 😄😆
This is way to funny omfg lol
The pregnant Duchess is such a delight haha
Well, Hugh asked her to trouble him. Now his dreams have come true XDDD
roses and grapes are his mortal enemies now therefore roses are not so lonely anymore : )))
Ahhh so precious! Hugh is so human and a doting husband hahaha. Luci’s cravings really. Those damned green grapes 🤣
Thanks for the chapter 💕
THIS IS SO FUNNY LOL HAHA could imagine how flustered hugo is every. single. day. LOLOLOL
lmaoooo he’s going to have a blood feud with green grapes at this rate…too funny. the king has no talent for gambling
Poor baby Huuuuuuuuugh asdfghjklladfhñ xD The poor boy is just doing his best and yet it never seems enough :’) He really loves her a lot uwu <3
Thank you for your hard work!! <3
AHAHAhA so now we’re moving on from roses to green grapes. That damn grapes!! Hahahaha😂😂
“buy her a farm.” Lmao at this point he might as well take over the world and establish puppet government type situation to get her anything she wanted.
Loooolllll
Hugh suffered a lot these 2 chapters, while I’m laughing a lot reading about it 🤣🤣🤣 Sorry Hugh…
But hey, look at the bright side. This husband’s abundant love to his wife is really good for businesses. Look how happy Antoine & the jewelery shop owner were all these times, and soon maybe the green grapes farm’s owner, too.
I believe Miater Peter the grilled
skewer seller had already had his share (cause surely Hugh wouldn’t just buy a small amount of his goods?) 😀
And don’t forget other good thing: His Highness the King, Kwiz will soon become the ‘cleanest mouth’ gentleman in Xenon after losing so many bets 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
(I can understand his guess about the handerchief, but just why did he have to choose a baby boy this time??? Just his luck, really 😆😆😆)
She only asked for green grapes. Had it been me, i would want peaches and custardapples and kashmiri apples too. Hugo, consider yourself lucky. We have food urges once in a month that are very impulsive and more chronic
uejdjxjs her craving jist reminds me when myom was pregnant.. like she always buy those merengue cakes (with the minimum of twice a week) and have just a little taste with it and made me ate what was left, I BECAME A PIG WITH ALMOST 8 KILOS ADDED TO MY WEIGHT WITHIN JIST A FEW MONTHS
She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him, and as Hugo wrapped his arms around her in embrace, he broke out in cold sweat.
‘Damn, I’m in trouble now.’
Yeah, but what does it actually change ? 😂