If this were a television program, Rhode definitely would have heard this opening: “Spring is here. Snow and ice are starting to melt and everything is coming back to life. It’s mating season. In the Dragon Soul Continent, wyverns from the land of darkness and dragons from the Void Territory came all the way here for the flourishing of the races…”
But…. This wasn’t Animal Planet[1]!
Rhode was skeptical about Lydia’s words. After all, she didn’t explain it clearly and was the kind of person who always liked to bring in similes in her speeches, which sounded particularly ambiguous when listened to closely. But he knew that she must be hinting something towards him since she and Erin were best friends. Rhode was also well aware that they shared gossip that couldn’t be said to a man with each other. It had nothing to do with how close they were, but it was simply a difference in identities. It was just like how Marlene and Lize often whispered secrets between themselves. Well, he didn’t know what they were talking about and, of course, even if there wasn’t anything about him, it would be embarrassing if their private conversation was overheard by him. Beyond everything, girls were also really bold when it came to private communication. If Lize and Marlene were discussing whose body Rhode lasted longer in, wouldn’t he be asking for trouble if he were to hear it?
Erin and Lydia were best friends, not to mention the fact that in order to coordinate with the troop movements of the Country of Darkness and Country of Light, both sides must have contacted each other a lot. It would be reasonable to say that during this period, they must have exchanged some private talks.
But even so, Rhode didn’t understand the true meaning behind her words. At least, for the time being, news about Erin feeling unwell was certain. Of course, he didn’t react too agitatedly or nervously. Even though he was bewildered at that possibility, he was still calm in front of Lydia. He merely inquired a few more questions about Erin’s health and Lydia also didn’t seem to be dwelling on it, so the topic was considered to have ended for now.
But after the tea session was over, Rhode apparently couldn’t keep his cool any longer after returning to his room. Fortunately, he was already prepared… Didn’t Angelina remain in the Country of Darkness for this?
Angelina was like a fish back in water after returning to the Country of Darkness. Even though she adapted well in the Void Territory, she had never forgotten about restoring the pride of her vampire family. Rhode didn’t disagree with her, but wasn’t supportive either. Because the reproduction method of vampires was different from other races. Perhaps one should say that the reproduction method of undeads was distasteful to other races. No matter what, the Void Territory was a nation full of mortals. Angelina wasn’t foolish either, which was why she kept her intention only to herself. After Rhode sent Angelina over to aid Erin, it was considered the perfect timing and opportunity for Angelina.
Comparing the Country of Darkness to other countries, the biggest advantage for Angelina was the difference in their values. Other countries might have poor systems in place, but mortals regarded their lives highly. But the Country of Darkness was different. After hundreds and thousands of years of brainwashing, humans in that country wholeheartedly accepted their lowly ranks and status. If it were humans in other countries, they would definitely not offer their lives to undead creatures and whatnot. Meanwhile, humans in the Country of Darkness would be as joyous as striking the lottery upon hearing that they were the ‘lucky ones’ chosen to be converted into undead creatures.
It was a supreme honor and also a Cinderella story to them. Losing their lives wasn’t the end, but a new beginning instead. If undead creatures were willing to resurrect their human corpses, it was considered the best reward for humans in the Country of Darkness. This was the result of thousands of years of brainwashing in the Country of Darkness. If not, how would humans, as mortals, possibly live an honest life in a nation of death until this very moment?
Such twisted values were deemed insanity in the eyes of foreign mortals. Despite that, it was apparently better for Angelina. Besides, Erin also needed to strengthen her forces, which was why she supported Angelina’s movement. Furthermore, Angelina had been thinking of restoring her family’s glory for centuries, so she definitely had a plan in mind. In the past, she was weak and had no strong background. But after she became a supporter of Rhode and Erin, regardless of whether she was willing or not, she performed well like a fish back in the water. With each passing day, she grew in individual strength. Of course, she knew how to please Rhode too. According to her, she searched for plenty of young, beautiful female vampires as ‘gifts’ for him in the future. Even if the vampires couldn’t work under him or enter his harem, he could still have some fun if he wanted to.
One had to admit that as a subject, Angelina was rather talented at reading Rhode’s mind.
“Master, is anything the matter?”
Rhode called out for Angelina through the spiritual communications. Upon hearing his calling, Angelina seemed a little surprised as he seldom contacted her. At the very most, he would inform her to pass a message to Erin to meet up and such. As for the relationship between Rhode and Erin, Angelina naturally noticed it. But she was happy to see it happen since it was also beneficial for her. Even though Angelina was considered one of his useful subordinates, she knew that he actually ranked her at the bottom and didn’t care much about her.
But Erin was different. Three of the four legendary generals were dead, leaving Garcia to bear the brunt of the disaster. Angelina’s return was also considered her becoming Erin’s right-hand man. Her position in Erin’s mind was far higher than in Rhode’s ranking. Angelina also knew that with her identity and strength, it was impossible for her to be fighting for affection with the young ladies around him, which was why she might as well forget about it and focus on other matters. And now, upon seeing Erin and Rhode walking so close together, it meant that she had a good opportunity. As long as Erin were able to occupy an important position in Rhode’s heart, Angelina would also rise in power… But now, it was rather bewildering that Rhode actually looked for her instead.
“Angelina, how is Erin doing?”
“Her Majesty Erin?”
Upon hearing Rhode’s question, Angelina was surprised and soon, she quickly recalled the recent happening.
“Her Majesty Erin has been staying in Moon City all this while and handling important affairs of the Country of Darkness, as well as the mobilization of troops…”
“What about her health? How is she feeling?”
“Her health…”
Angelina fell into silence and knitted her brows. Frankly, undead creatures weren’t particular about health because the dead wouldn’t fall sick, and it was the same for Angelina. Apart from feeling uncomfortable under sunlight, undead creatures wouldn’t fall ill to flu, fever, and whatnot. That was why she didn’t notice too much earlier. But now that Rhode mentioned it…
“Her Majesty Erin has been eating less recently…”
Angelina wasn’t sure. But she clearly remembered that Erin had indeed eaten much less. But this wasn’t surprising of Angelina since undead creatures didn’t need to consume three meals a day. That was why since Erin didn’t have three meals a day, it was considered ‘eating less’, in her perspective.
“And?”
“Come to think of it, Her Majesty Erin seems to be feeling unwell too…”
“Hmm…”
At that moment, Rhode completely didn’t consider how ridiculous it was to ask an undead creature about the health of someone. Meanwhile, Angelina also wasn’t willing to let him think that she was a useless subject. Fortunately, she had been following Erin around everyday, so even if there was a misunderstanding… It shouldn’t be far off.
After hearing Angelina’s narration, Rhode finally got a grasp on Erin’s situation. Unsure if she was just overly exhausted, she seemed to be really busy and ate much less than usual. She merely grabbed two bites and became unwilling to move. Not only that, but she was also dazed at times and often revealed uncomfortable expressions. However, she had high self-control in this regard, where only Angelina who followed her around all day like a personal maid noticed it. If it were anyone else, perhaps one wouldn’t have noticed any problems with her at all.
However, even though Rhode received some information about Erin from Angelina, he was still hesitant. Frankly, he spent countless nights with different women, but Canary was the only one who got pregnant. Although he had a child with his younger sister, the child wasn’t conceived from his younger sister, but was born through the merging of their souls. If not, with the younger sister’s weak body that was under examination in the hospital all day, her pregnancy would have been discovered a long time ago.
Of course, considering his younger sister’s age back then… It didn’t seem likely to happen.
After transmigrating to the Dragon Soul Continent, Rhode slept with even more women and yet, none of them got pregnant. Although the Dragon Soul Continent was different from Earth and didn’t have a care in the world about contraception, currently no one had been impregnated by him. According to Christie, this was because Rhode’s dragon attributes were too strong and ordinary races wouldn’t be able to withstand his strength. That was why it was hard for them to get pregnant. Of course, it wasn’t entirely impossible. There were dragon hybrids among the half-beasts; it was just that the probability was like one in 10,000, so he hadn’t become a father yet.
That was why his concept of pregnancy was pretty much the same as any other man’s—women would mostly begin to favor eating sour food, vomit at times, and show other common pregnancy signs. But the thing was that they were humans, while he was surrounded by basically no human bedfellows other than Mini Bubble Gum and Canary. Lize was an angel hybrid, Anne was a half-beast, Marlene was a deity warden, Lapis was an elf, Gillian was an elemental half-beast, Nell was a dark elf, Angelina was a vampire, Celestina was a demon, and Erin was the Dark Dragon…
Come to think of it, would pregnancy be the same for dragons and humans? A deeper question was… Would it be an egg or a fetus?
All of these were tough questions…
Rhode had never imagined that he would actually have to seek out information on this. But now, he had to resolve this matter on its own. Erin hadn’t told him about it, probably because she wasn’t certain herself, which wasn’t entirely impossible. From what he observed, the Dragon Soul Continent was downright backwards when it came to sex education. The average woman simply didn’t have that knowledge. Anne, for instance, was still convinced that all children in this world popped out of rocks and were picked up by someone else later. Rhode was speechless at that, especially considering her origins… And like Marlene and aristocratically educated ones like Lize, while they weren’t as naive as Anne, their knowledge of this topic was simply that this behavior could create a child, but the symptoms of pregnancy weren’t really taught to them. That was why it was common that many people didn’t know they were pregnant. So it was also possible that Erin hadn’t noticed it herself, but Lydia sensed the possibility and was just beating around the bush to remind him.
Another possibility of Erin not informing Rhode was that perhaps she realized the symptoms, but wasn’t too sure herself. Because in this world, there weren’t pregnancy kits or maternity hospitals for her to do checkups. That was why she might not be aware of it, but mentioned this issue to Lydia during their private talks. After all, a chat between best friends was often most relaxing. After hearing Erin’s words, Lydia raised this matter to Rhode, which wasn’t entirely impossible.
Of course, all of this was established on the fact that Erin was indeed pregnant, which Rhode hadn’t even figured out the truth yet.
This was the first time Rhode found Lydia’s bourgeois prose to be a real pain in the butt. And if she expressed herself properly, she could save him a lot of grief. But with the metaphors and analogies… It wasn’t like they were doing reading and reflections! Should he empathize with the feeling of agony and frustration of the author just from the description of falling leaves and flower petals? Should he feel the sadness of a devastated country during times of upheaval? Maybe the author simply wrote it without much thought after seeing a falling flower petal out his window! Who knew!
Of course, it was too late now for him to head back and demand Lydia explain herself. After all, this was his personal problem and would make him seem a little on edge.
But he wasn’t entirely out of ways to find the answer.
After all, he had someone around him who was knowledgeable in this field.
“Child?”
Upon hearing his question, the younger sister blinked curiously, before looking dubiously at him.
“Didn’t we already have Christie, Big Brother? Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
“It’s just one of my thoughts when I’m bored…”
It went without saying that he wouldn’t tell his younger sister the truth. Even though his younger sister didn’t stop him from having a harem, he wasn’t that foolish to spread this news. But come to think of it, when he raised this doubt to the younger sister, he suddenly realized that he might need to consider this issue seriously. After all, if he were to become a father, there would be more than one potential mother…
“Don’t you worry about getting pregnant with a baby when we haven’t even done any safety measures here? Besides, your body right now….”
Upon hearing his words, the young lady revealed a gentle smile. She extended her arm, caressed her belly, and spoke with a smile.
“Don’t worry, Big Brother. I’ve completely restored my strength and health. Even if I’m pregnant, my body will not be hurt.”
The younger sister came to a pause with some hesitation. But eventually, she continued.
“Besides… I think even if I do get pregnant, you don’t need to consider this problem now, Big Brother.”
“Why?”
Upon hearing her response, Rhode was taken aback. Logically speaking, shouldn’t she consider how she should take care of herself after being pregnant?
“If we were humans, things might indeed be so. But Big Brother, we are dragons now, and a dragon child will have a different birth cycle. If I were to conceive your child in a human body, I will indeed give birth to the child in nine months. And even after the child is born with characteristics of a dragon, the child will still grow up like a normal human just like Christie… But I’ve restored my identity as the Void Dragon. So even if I bear your child, I won’t give birth as quickly as humans. Besides, the child will also take longer to grow up than humans do.”
“I see…”
Upon hearing the younger sister’s response, Rhode nodded. He had never expected something like this to happen.
“So how long do dragons need to give birth to a child?”
“Hmm… About…”
Facing his question, the younger sister pondered for a few moments before showing a wide, gentle smile.
“30 to 50 years, at the very least.”
She replied.
[1] An American multinational television channel.
