Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 299: Pregnancy

The Glass Garden of the Imperial Palace.

“Wow…”

Lucia looked around in awe, her eyes wide with wonder.

‘I wondered why the Emperor himself would come all the way here, but it turns out it was to show off this place.’

Outside, the snow was piled high, but here, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and the greenery flourished as if it were spring. One might simply think they used magic to manipulate various growing conditions, but if that were all, Lucia wouldn’t have been this impressed.

The walls, ceiling, and columns were all made of transparent glass. It could easily have felt tacky or overdone, but the elegant balance of the glass garden was nothing short of refined.

And that wasn’t all. Each time she turned her head, she caught a different floral scent.

Even in Eldrina’s gardens, different flowers were planted in each section to create a harmonious aroma, but here, the scent changed with every breath, without even needing to move.

No matter how beautiful a garden was, one could get tired of it after a while, but Lucia thought this place would never make her feel that way.

Victor spoke, offering a cup of tea. Siriel had declined her invitation, and Seira had teleported Siriel away, leaving only the two of them.

“Yeah, it’s a beautiful garden.”

Lucia nodded lightly, meeting Victor’s expectations.

“Honestly, I wondered what was up with this sudden tea party, but I suppose it’s worth showing off.”

“…I wasn’t exactly trying to show off.”

“Oh, really? Well, I do genuinely think it’s pretty.”

“Hehe, thanks for the compliment.”

Victor covered her mouth as she laughed. Then she squirmed a bit, rubbing her slightly swollen belly.

…What’s up with her?

Lucia, who had been savoring the scent of the tea, paused.

‘Could she have a stomachache?’

“Victor?”

“Hmm?”

“If you need to use the restroom, you can go.”

“What? Why would I need the restroom?”

Victor tilted her head, puzzled by what Lucia was saying.

“No, it’s just that you kept rubbing your belly, so I thought maybe you were feeling unwell.”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that, don’t worry.”

“Then why do you keep touching your belly? I thought you were just here to show off the garden, but are you trying to show off your belly fat too?”

“Well, no. Ahem. Now that I’m trying to say it, it feels really awkward.”

Victor scratched the back of her head shyly, but then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked straight at Lucia.

“I’m pregnant.”

“…What?”

Lucia’s eyes widened in disbelief at the incomprehensible statement, and then she let out a heavy sigh.

“So you’ve finally lost it. A guy claiming he’s pregnant, that’s just nonsense.”

“Huh? What? You still didn’t know?”

“…What?”

“I’m a woman.”

Victor smiled brightly as she spoke. Lucia’s head was filled with question marks, unable to process the sudden statement.

“What nonsense. You’re a woman…?”

“Oh, and by the way, Louise is pregnant too. Isn’t that amazing? I never thought we’d get pregnant so quickly.”

“Wait! Louise is pregnant too?”

Lucia leaned forward, looking like she was about to burst.

Though the sudden news left her stunned, it didn’t take long for her to accept that Victor was, in fact, a woman.

After all, Victor’s unusually delicate appearance, androgynous voice, and her tendency to hang around Shiron to the point of seeming flirtatious… there had been plenty of hints.

It even felt like the revelation had unclogged something in Lucia’s mind. But she couldn’t focus on the fact that Victor was a woman at all.

“Women can get pregnant with each other?”

“What are you talking about? Of course, they can’t.”

“Then who got both the Emperor and Empress pregnant at the same time?”

“Obviously, it was Shiron.”

Victor answered with a bright smile. Her lively, playful reaction made it hard for Lucia to suppress a grin, even though she wanted to laugh.

“Wh-why would Shiron be with you? No, more importantly, when did Louise…?”

“Maybe about a month ago? When the two of them were trapped in the maze, he managed to find a way to… take advantage of the vulnerable moment.”

Victor then shook her head.

“That’s not it, but can we just not talk about that?”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t invite you here to talk about that.”

“…”

“Besides, I feel like I’ve made things difficult for Shiron by bringing it up.”

Victor scratched her head with a bitter smile.

A pleasure derived from a sense of superiority.

Though it wasn’t intentional, by revealing her pregnancy to her rivals for Shiron, who were always hanging around him, she ended up showing off the outcome of her relationship with Shiron.

She didn’t plan to spread the word herself, but it wouldn’t be long before Siriel knew Victor was pregnant.

As time passed, it would be impossible to hide Victor’s growing belly.

“The reason I invited you was to see your reaction.”

“Reaction?”

“To my coming out as a woman.”

Victor spoke seriously, the smile gone from her face.

“I’m only telling trustworthy people right now. You can keep a secret, right?”

“Wait, why are you telling me this? You don’t have anyone else? Like, Siriel…?”

‘Ah, would Siriel try to kill Victor if she found out?’

Lucia felt a chill run down her spine and quickly covered her mouth. But Victor had no trouble understanding the implication.

“Of course, I’ll tell Siriel too. I just happened to tell you first.”

“…Good luck with that.”

Still, Lucia didn’t stop Victor. Even though Siriel had been under a lot of stress lately because of the pregnancy, Lucia couldn’t imagine she’d go as far as killing the Emperor, of all people.

Besides, there was another problem with how Lucia felt right now.

Resentment. Out of nowhere, she was being told that someone had been “sharing” her fiancé with her wife.

She could easily imagine the struggles Victor must have gone through hiding her gender all this time, but what did that matter to Lucia?

She had acknowledged Siriel because of her position as Shiron’s fiancée, but Victor, who had gotten pregnant first without such a status, was nothing but an annoyance.

And the way she so blatantly flaunted her pregnancy made it worse!

But despite how Lucia felt about Victor, their conversation continued without interruption. They talked about how there were now two cardinals staying in the Rien Diocese and how the fog at Arwen Highlands hadn’t cleared even after the suppression mission.

‘So many incidents when people should be resting. It’s almost pitiable.’n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

By the time she returned to the mansion, dusk had already fallen.

“What are you doing?”

Lucia stared at Siriel, who was standing on her hands.

“The conversation took longer than I expected. Guess I was right to come straight home.”

“No, what are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m standing on my hands… to make it easier for my oppa’s baby to conceive!”

Siriel’s breathing was heavier than usual as she maintained her handstand. Normally, she could move boulders the size of houses without even breaking a sweat.

Moreover, earlier in the day, she had been on edge and snappy, but now, Siriel’s face was glowing with a wide smile.

‘Looks like she had plenty of fun while I was gone.’

Lucia could easily imagine what had happened in her absence.

“But where’s Shiron?”

Something was odd. Siriel had returned with a full, round belly, but when Lucia extended her senses throughout the estate, she couldn’t detect Shiron’s presence anywhere.

“Oppa had some things to wrap up, so he left quite a while ago.”

“Where did he go?”

“To Dawn Castle.”

Still in her handstand, Siriel pointed north.

A mountain where the snow never melted, Makal. Somewhere amidst its peaks stood a castle that exuded not just grandeur but an almost oppressive aura.

The Devil’s Castle. From childhood, it had only been something she’d heard of in stories. Now, from its ancient spires, countless magical spells stretched out into the sky.

“Sir Shiron.”

Louise, adjusting her winter coat, called out to Shiron.

“Is that really the place? No matter how powerful the Silleya are, living there…”

Louise’s voice trembled, which was understandable. Ordinary people couldn’t even stand under the oppressive energy those beings emitted. In fact, the fact she managed to remain upright was worthy of praise.

“It’s fine. They won’t be living there; they’ll be settled in the northern part of the Empire.”

Shiron spoke calmly, trying to reassure the frightened Louise. Currently, outside the border, there were demons everywhere, but within hundreds of kilometers around Dawn Castle, it was a safe zone.

The mere existence of Dawn Castle would keep the lesser threats at bay. There was no better place to build a new city, secured for the next twenty years.

“Then why did we come here? If they’re not going to live here, there’s no reason to bring them here, right?”

“We’re going to see them often from now on. It’s only polite to make introductions.”

“Introductions?”

“They also need to get used to the demonic energy.”

Saying this, Shiron turned his gaze to the distance. A flickering presence at the far end of the castle walls.

“Master? Who are these people?”

The voice came out of nowhere. Shiron expected Yuma, but it was a maid with blonde hair braided on both sides who showed up instead.

“Encia. Could you bring Yuma here? I have something to discuss.”

“Well, that might be a bit difficult. It looks like you’ll have to go to her yourself.”

“…Why? Is there a problem?”

“Nothing serious.”

Encia leaned in close to Shiron’s ear and whispered.

“Yuma is pregnant.”