Pregnancy Is Too Much For The Villain-Chapter 159

“So don’t worry. Even when things are hard, you have to keep living. You don’t give up and fall into the trap of that devil who came to deceive Muhammad. You keep walking.”

She brought her hands together in a gesture of prayer, as if in supplication to Allah.

“And look at that star over there.”

“The star?”

“Our family who’s already left us… they’ve become stars in paradise, watching over us. So, we’re never truly alone.”

Tears welled up in Valentin’s eyes at that moment.

‘Sharon…’

He had thought something similar before—his poor daughter, who had left too soon, was watching him from heaven.

“…You’re right, Peruja. We’re not alone.”

“Of course we aren’t.”

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The old woman’s warm hand rested on Valentin’s shoulder. The comfort from her touch was enough to instill a sense of hope. Valentin felt the conviction grow inside him. He couldn’t give up on life, couldn’t stop walking forward. The elderly woman’s silent encouragement left a deep impression on him. Without meaning to, Valentin felt the urge to confide in her.

“I’m not sure if I should go to the baby’s father… I don’t know if I have the courage.”

Peruja smiled widely, showing her toothless grin, and wiped the tears from Valentin’s eyes with her rough, calloused hands.

“Now, I’m just an old woman with not much time left, but let me tell you something, Valentin. You should follow your heart a little more.”

“…Follow my heart?”

“Yes. Whatever you’re worrying about now, you’ll see later that it’s all nonsense.”

“…”

“Do you know what people say most often when they’re near the end of their lives? My husband used to say it too. ‘I should have spent more time with you,’ ‘I should have told my children I loved them more,’ ‘I should have been more forgiving and open-hearted,’ ‘I should have hugged you more often.’ Those are the kinds of things people regret.”

These were the heartfelt regrets of people nearing the end of their lives.

“I realize that now too.”

“…”

“So go, child. Be brave and go see him. And if he doesn’t want you, so what? We’ll deal with it then. You can spit in his face, turn around, and forget him. Then you pick yourself up and live on, just like you’ve been doing.”

Peruja laughed heartily, and Valentin took her words deeply to heart. As they walked back to the yurt together, hand in hand, Valentin made his decision.

He would summon the courage to go meet Reynard.

---

The next day, Valentin started packing.

With Asif, who was already an experienced guide for travelers, they quickly gathered their belongings, and the two were ready to leave the following day.

After tearful goodbyes with the nomadic family he had grown so fond of, Valentin strapped his bag of art supplies to his back and mounted his camel. The camel, loaded with luggage on both sides, began to walk slowly, while Asif rode alongside him on a mule.

“You sure you’re okay with this? We’ve been camping for days now.”

Asif, setting up the campfire, asked if Valentin was all right, especially since he was pregnant. Valentin shrugged with a smile.

“It’s not really camping when you’ve been setting up the tents so carefully. So far, I’m fine. Besides, when else would I get to have experiences like this?”

It felt like a dream come true, as if both his past and present lives’ desire to roam the world with nothing but a backpack had been fulfilled. Of course, in those dreams, his mouth wasn’t so parched from the desert dust, but still. Valentin smiled as he rinsed his mouth with tea brewed from the fire Asif had lit.

“I’ll never understand nobles.”

Asif shook his head as he watched Valentin chuckle.

“But Asif, do you really think I’m pregnant? I still can’t believe it.”

Valentin casually chewed on a piece of hard bread as he asked. The fact that he hadn’t experienced morning sickness, unlike when he was pregnant with Sharon, was the main reason he hadn’t realized it. It was a strange situation. Without waiting for an answer, Valentin continued.

“When I was pregnant with my first child, I couldn’t eat without my husband’s pheromones. I couldn’t even drink water.”

Seeing the puzzled expression on Valentin’s face, Asif poured him some honey and tilted his head.

“Was your first child an omega?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“I went through the same thing.”

Asif’s hands, pulling apart the tough bread, didn’t falter as he spoke, as if it were the most natural thing.

“My first child was an omega, and the second was an alpha. When I was pregnant with my first, I couldn’t even drink water unless Jamil was around. The morning sickness was that bad. I was so scared it would happen again with the second, but when I was pregnant with Pahod, I barely had any morning sickness. Strange, right?”

Hearing such a similar story, Valentin nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! I thought pregnancy would always feel the same.”

“But each pregnancy is different. My mother says it’s not uncommon, especially between alphas and omegas. It’s said to be related to the baby’s traits.”

“That’s fascinating…”

“My firstborn, being an omega, loved Jamil’s alpha pheromones from the womb, and still does now. They must feel comforted by it. But Pahod, being an alpha, didn’t seek Jamil’s presence as much, even during the pregnancy. He prefers the company of omegas instead.”

“Isn’t it funny? My little alpha son always seeks out omegas,” Asif said with a laugh, and Valentin chuckled along with him. No wonder he was so close to little Pahod—there was an instinctual connection. It seemed that alphas, with their heightened sensitivity to pheromones, had a natural tendency to avoid each other, likely due to survival instincts and competition.

“Then this baby could be an alpha too…”

Valentin murmured as he looked down at his belly, and Asif poured him more tea.

“If it’s anything like my experience, probably.”

Hearing this made Valentin’s heart swell with hope.

‘I hope they take after Reynard.’

The most handsome and dependable man in the world—if this baby resembled Reynard, an alpha just like him, it would be wonderful. Even if Reynard didn’t want to reconcile, Valentin thought, he could step back and celebrate Reynard’s new life from afar, raising this child who looked just like him. It wouldn’t be such a bad life.

For the first time, he didn’t feel scared of being a single father.

‘If worst comes to worst, I’ll find a secluded parish priest, make a big donation, and secretly baptize the baby. Then I’ll raise them quietly in a foreign land. I’m sure Dawson would come with me.’

Valentin began mentally preparing for any possible outcomes, making plans for the future.

---

“Anyway, if we keep this pace, we’ll reach the port tomorrow. After we cross the sea, we’ll get to Marqand, where you came from. I’ll escort you to the Babur family’s estate, and then you can return home, right?”

Valentin nodded. Christopher had arranged for his return to go smoothly.

Once there, Valentin would be escorted by the Babur family’s servants across the border into the western continent. After that, he could take a train to Heston. It would take several more days of constant travel, but it would still be better than enduring this camel ride. Valentin rubbed his sore rear from the endless swaying on the camel’s back.

In just a little over ten days, he would be able to see Reynard’s face again.

As he tucked his blanket more tightly around him to block out the cold desert night air, Valentin drifted off to sleep.