Chapter 24
Fetal Movement
I first felt it during the New Year’s party.
My condition had stabilized by then, and although Alec had stopped wearing perfume ever since I became pregnant, the use of all fragrances was completely prohibited at the New Year’s celebration so that I wouldn’t feel sick from the smell.
I had become very sensitive to scents during pregnancy, so I was grateful for the ban.
At the venue, Alec and I sat on the Emperor’s and Empress’s seats and didn’t move for the duration of the event.
As I sat drinking fruit water, I felt a sudden pop—as if something tapped me from inside my belly.
“Ah!”
Without thinking, I let out a small cry, and Alec looked at me with concern.
“Reisie, are you feeling unwell?”
“No, Lord Aleksanteri, um… may I speak into your ear for a moment?”
“What is it?”
I wanted to say it softly, so I leaned closer to whisper.
“The baby moved.”
“Truly!?”
Alec immediately rose from the throne and placed a hand on my now noticeably rounded belly, startling the assembled nobles, foreign royals, and dignitaries.
Ignoring their reactions, Alec kept his hand on my stomach with a solemn expression.
Pop.
Again, a firm tap came from within.
“It moved! Reisie, the baby moved!”
Even though this was an official New Year’s celebration, Alec joyfully lifted me up, causing an excited stir among the guests.
“Her Majesty the Empress’s child just moved?”
“That means the child is healthy!”
“What a wonderful omen for the New Year!”
“Even the baby is celebrating the new year, it seems!”
Neither my telling Alec something personal during public duties nor his touching my belly and lifting me with joy was treated as improper.
Instead, the guests were delighted. Soon voices rose:
“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”
“May the Empress and the child remain healthy!”
When Alec finally set me down, a thin sheen of tears glimmered in his pomegranate-colored eyes. Seeing how happy he was made my own heart warm.
From that day on, I began to feel the baby’s movements often.
Whenever I quietly stitched baby clothes or knitted tiny socks, the baby seemed to grow particularly active.
At first, it was just gentle little pops, but soon I felt repeated taps and kicks from within.
I wondered if ordinary expectant mothers endured this regularly.
It could be quite surprising—and sometimes painful.
Pressing my hand to my stomach, stroking it gently, I felt the baby calm down. I spoke softly to my belly:
“Please grow strong and healthy before you come out.
You’re especially lively today. I’m feeling a bit of pain… could you settle down a little?”
As I stroked my stomach and spoke, the baby’s movements eased, and I let out a relieved breath.
When I told the doctor at my regular exam, he gave a surprising answer.
“They say babies in the womb can hear external sounds. Speaking to them can indeed calm them.”
“The baby can hear voices?”
“That is what is believed.”
Alec, who was present at the exam, raised his voice in surprise.
I, too, was astonished—I’d never imagined the baby could hear us.
“Can it hear my voice?”
“If you talk to the baby, it might remember your voice.”
“Will it be able to fall asleep to my voice? I’m not sure what I should say.”
“I loved picture books when I was little. If the baby hears a story being read, I imagine it will feel comforted.”
“Then I’ll have picture books delivered at once.”
His actions were swift—by the very next day, a large pile of picture books arrived at the imperial palace.
In the baby’s newly prepared room, Alec selected a book and sat on the sofa beside me as I worked on some sewing, reading aloud with great seriousness.
Whenever he began reading, the baby’s active movements gradually slowed, and when he stopped, the kicking resumed—so the baby clearly could hear him.
“It seems the baby likes this one and this one.”
“Probably because the sounds are fun.”
Smiling, I looked at the two books Alec held:
one about a child taking a bath, full of bubbly sound effects,
and the other about shoes that walk as if alive, with lively step-by-step noises.
The bath book’s bubbling and splashing seemed to be the baby’s favorite, while the walking sounds were easy to recognize.
“I’ll read to you again, little one,” Alec said gently to my belly.
His expression was so tender.
He kept his official duties to the bare minimum to spend more time with me.
Especially precious to him was the time spent reading picture books to the baby in the nursery.
Seeing how blissful he looked—just from reading to a child not yet born—I was certain he would become an utterly doting father.
I didn’t say anything, since being so loved would surely make the baby happy, but whenever he read with a melting smile and occasionally touched my belly to feel the movements, I felt an unshakable certainty:
Alec would become incredibly devoted.
“Reisie, I must attend to some work. No need to see me off—please rest.”
“Yes, take care.”
“And you too, little one. I’ll be back.”
He placed a hand on my belly and spoke softly before leaving. I waved with a smile.
At night, the baby’s movements continued without restraint, often waking me.
My bladder was already being pressed so much that I needed the restroom frequently—
and being woken by both that and the kicking left me with little sleep.
As I rubbed my belly, praying “please settle down,” Alec awoke.
“Reisie, can’t sleep?”
“The baby is kicking… ah, and now I need the restroom too.”
“Go ahead.”
While I was away, Alec seemed to be preparing something.
When I returned to bed, he was sitting beside my pillow—picture book in hand.
“Perhaps reading will calm the baby. You may sleep while I read.”
“We read to soothe babies after birth, so it might work. But… is it all right if I sleep?”
“I won’t make any noise.”
In a gentle voice, he began to read.
The baby quieted after hearing its two favorite books, and lulled by Alec’s voice, I drifted to sleep.
He told me later that he read over and over until the baby completely settled down.
“I can’t take away Your Majesty’s sleep.”
“Don’t worry. I cannot carry the baby myself. All I can do is ease your burden, even a little.”
“But you still have your imperial duties.”
“Before I am Emperor, I am this child’s father. I want to raise this baby responsibly. Only you can carry and give birth to our child—so at least allow me to do this much.”
Alec’s sincerity moved me deeply.
I truly felt how wonderful it was for a father to possess such awareness and devotion.
If I could speak with Cecil, I would tell her:
You feared having children, but Garne would have become a father this earnest and responsible.
If you were alive, he surely would have made you happy.
Cecil had been a commoner, while I had risen from a viscount’s daughter to a count’s daughter. I did not know if she would have been accepted as an empress, yet if she had married Garne, he would have protected her without fail.
Cecil and Garne were not meant to be.
But I found my bond with Alec.
Grateful for Alec’s feelings, I resolved to continue cherishing my body and the little life within until the month of birth arrived.
