Imprisoned to Love You [Edited]

♦⊱ Chapter 37 - Birth ⊰♦

This chapter is dedicated to haso12123! Happy reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruka pov:

I sat with my eyes closed in the tea garden with one hand resting gently on my now round stomach. It was a pleasant day with a warm sun and gentle breeze, making me feel not only content but also a little sleepy.

Months had gone by so quickly and I was already more than eight months into my pregnancy. Walking around was tiring so I often spent my time relaxing in the gardens. Kichiro sama was aware of my tiredness and had been strict on not allowing me to walk around the palace as I used to before. He had two soldiers guarding me at all times and even during the times we sat together having tea or just spending time together. If I wanted to see him, he would come to me instead of having me go to his study or wherever he was and anything I wanted was brought in by the attendants without me having to lift a finger.

His over-protectiveness was just adorable.

As soon as it was known that I was pregnant and Kichiro sama was a little lost on what it all meant, I had asked Kijima san to help. He had brought books to help Kichiro sama understand the process of pregnancy and having children. It was all so new to him and it was actually a little fun teaching him. I still laughed every time I remembered the one night when he had disrobed me and seemed confused by the pregnancy bump instead of my usually flat stomach.

Well, after reading though every page of every book that Kijima had got for him, he became better aware of the situation. He became careful and over-protective of me. The way he held me was gentler than before, his kisses were softer, and every gesture towards me was softer. He made sure that I didn't strain myself with walking around too much or bringing him tea or cooking, he made sure I had extra-nutritious meals, and often touched my growing stomach curiously. There was even one time when he had kneeled in front of me while I sat on the beg and he had exposed my stomach to get a closer look and caress it and try to listen to any sounds from it.

Goodness, he was just so adorable!

"Your Highness," I heard Kijima san speak. I opened my eyes to look at him bowing to me.

"Is there something you need, Kijima san?" I asked, straightening up slightly.

He gave a momentary glance at my stomach before meeting my eyes again. "Your Highness, if it's not too much trouble," he said, "I had a favor to ask of you."

He got down on one knee, his head bowed. His behavior confused me but I nodded, "Of course. What can I do for you?"

"I'm unsure if you have noticed, Your Highness, but all of the villagers of the capital were making preparations for a ritual this morning."

"I heard about that in passing conversations in the palace," I said.

Kijima san's jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were narrow but distant. He seemed bothered by something and it only increased my curiosity. He said after a moment, "This is the day His Majesty was born."

A smile lit up my face at that. "Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The gears in my head were already working out a plan to make this day special for Kichiro sama. However, the distasteful expression on Kijima san's face made my cheeriness falter.

"Kijima san, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Do you remember I told you that His Majesty's parents passed on soon after he was born which made people think of him as a bad omen? It was on this same day many years later that His Majesty killed the others of the royal family and rose to the throne," he said. "People call this day as Black Day and go to the local shrine every year on this day to ward off the evil spirit that was born today. It's just a rumor that was started by someone within the royal family to lower His Majesty's worth and I'm sure that the commoners do not know that this is the day when His Majesty was born...but practices of Black Day are still followed."