Chapter 349: A Child That Protects Its Mother
Although Primrose had heard from Edmund that Dr. Celdric was around seventy years old, his appearance was nothing like what she imagined. He looked more like a man in his early thirties, his skin smooth, his face barely touched by wrinkles.
She couldn’t help but wonder if her husband would also look this young when he reached that age.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Dr. Celdric lowered his head politely as he stepped closer. His expression, however, was cold and unreadable, with no trace of a smile.
Primrose felt her chest tighten. She wasn’t sure if the doctor would look down on her or worse, despise her completely.
But then his thoughts slipped through, and every doubt in her heart shattered at once.
[Oh, poor queen. She must be suffering, forced to carry a lycan seed in her frail body.]
[Even her personal doctors said the fetus feels so faint, as though it could vanish at any moment.]
Primrose’s hand instantly flew to her stomach beneath the blanket. Dr. Alina and Dr. Grace had never once mentioned that her child felt like it was about to vanish.
The only thing they had said was that her baby’s presence felt faint, but she had never heard them use such a frightening word like ’dissapear’, even in their thoughts.
Could it be true? Was she really too weak to carry her child?
What if she lost the baby because it couldn’t grow inside her?
Her heart hammered painfully in her chest, and Edmund must have felt it through their bond. He immediately sat down beside her, taking her hand in his warm grasp. "Wife, what’s wrong?"
Primrose forced herself to breathe deeply, shaking her head. "No, nothing. I’m fine." After a pause, she lifted her face and offered Dr. Celdric a polite smile. "Good morning, Doctor."
Dr. Celdric didn’t return her smile, but he did give a small nod. It seemed he also struggled to express emotion, much like her husband once had.
"Please, excuse me," Dr. Celdric said. His words were short but respectful. He sat across from her, placing his hands on hers and then gently over her stomach. Magic spread through her body like ripples in water as he reached for the life growing inside her.
The silence pressed down heavily, making Primrose feel as if the air itself was suffocating her. The longer his hands lingered, the more her anxiety grew.
[Don’t be afraid, my wife,] Edmund’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind. [We’ll face whatever comes, together.]
She tightened her grip on Edmund’s hand and looked at him quietly.
Yes, no matter what happened, her husband would always be by her side.
After waiting for fifteen minutes—though to Primrose it felt much longer—Dr. Celdric finally lifted his head. "I have examined your child thoroughly," he said slowly, "and I must admit ... this is the first time I have seen anything like this."
Primrose held her breath. "What do you mean?"
Dr. Celdric straightened his back before explaining, "The reason your child feels faint is not because it is weak, but because it is deliberately restraining itself."
"Deliberately?" Edmund’s brows drew together in disbelief. "How could an unborn child possibly do something like that?"
The baby in Primrose’s womb was still little more than a fragile lump of blood and flesh, nowhere near a fully formed infant. To think that it could choose to act in such a way ... it sounded impossible.
"I know it sounds unbelievable," Dr. Celdric admitted, his tone calm but firm. "But that is the truth. Your child already knows that its mother’s body is fragile, and so it is suppressing its own presence to protect you."
Primrose’s lips parted slightly, her breath catching in her throat. "Protect ... me?" she whispered, as if the words were too heavy to believe.
Dr. Celdric gave a slow nod. "Yes. Instead of drawing on your strength recklessly, the fetus has chosen to remain faint, to minimize the strain on your body. It is waiting, conserving its power until you are ready to carry it further."
Edmund’s hand tightened around hers, his icy blue eyes filled with a mix of awe and worry. "So our child is not weak?"
"No," Dr. Celdric answered firmly. "Quite the opposite. A will like this ... I have never seen it before. It is rare—unheard of, even—for a fetus so young to have such awareness."
Primrose placed her other hand protectively over her stomach. "But ... will that affect my baby’s growth?"
"There is a possibility, yes," Dr. Celdric said after a brief pause, carefully choosing his words. "Beast offspring usually absorb a great deal of energy from their mothers.
"For most of us, that isn’t an issue, since our bodies can heal themselves quickly. But you ... you don’t have that healing ability. If your child were to draw on your strength constantly, your body would fail. You wouldn’t survive more than three months."
Primrose froze, her breath caught in her throat. Three months? The words echoed in her mind like a death sentence.
Her fingers clutched her stomach tighter, as if she could shield the tiny life inside with nothing more than her touch. "So ... in other words, my baby won’t be able to grow properly in my body? And if my baby decides to take my energy, I’ll die in three months?"
Dr. Celdric’s gaze softened slightly. "I’m afraid that is the truth, Your Majesty." He continued carefully, his voice measured but heavy. "Your baby may be able to hold back for now, but if it continues like this, it will not survive either."
No matter which path the child chose, both mother and baby would eventually perish.
Maybe this was a punishment for her, because not long ago she had thought to herself that she wasn’t ready to be a mother, and she had feared that the baby would ruin her body completely.
But that had only been her anxiety speaking. She had never truly wished such a cruel fate upon her child. She didn’t hate the baby, she had only been afraid.
Her eyes burned as tears welled up, blurring her vision. She pressed her palm harder over her stomach, whispering desperately in her heart as though the tiny life could hear her. ’I’m sorry ... I didn’t mean it. Please, stay with me.’