Chapter 2: Massive Gamble

Around the perimeter of the relatively small living room were several columns of bookshelves- the lowest rungs of which were occupied by children's books and fairy tales.

As one looked higher up the column, they would enter the world of adults, with books on ancient history (at least by the current world's understanding), politics, and military matters.

Even further up, on the highest shelves which were only just able to be reached by the occupants of the room, were novels messily sprawled across the shelf and that were not suitable for children- novels that did not belong in the household of a duchy. These were erotic tales, geared towards making adults hot and bothered, and which were only in circulation for the common folk.

Yes, they were only in circulation for the commoners. Books containing erotic literature would not be found in noble households. Or at least, they shouldn't have been.

But housewives and older teens alike, no matter their standing in society, were drawn towards these succulent-looking forbidden fruits.

And for one particular teen in the duchess's household, they were the books she reached for whenever and wherever she was in the mood- which was most of the time.

Initially, she had kept her hobby from the view of her sister who was strict about maintaining decorum. But years of the little sister's antics, and an increasing intensity of mischief from the younger sister had weathered away at the unyielding nature of the older sister.

These days Alessia would flaunt her novels by waving them at her sister when she was around. Though she was only allowed to keep them on the top shelves because Alexandria would not allow her daughter to fall into the same path as her rogue sister.

From an outsider's perspective, despite the ups and downs within their relationship, one would be able to see the love and care these two sisters had for each other.

And so, after a short time spent placating a crying Valentina, who was now sat on the carpeted floor playing with her toys, the pair of siblings kicked back and relaxed on the couch, with a pleasant silence settling over them, one that came from a strong bond formed over decades spent in the same household together.

Or at least they tried to relax, but Alessia was struggling to keep her facial expressions normal at the heavy pressure she felt just sitting beside her pregnant sister.

"It's getting denser, huh?"

Throwing out the question into the empty silence, Alessia looked towards her sister with a complicated gaze.

Alexandria did not show any indication that she heard the question, as she lovingly caressed the underside of her growing stomach. It was fast approaching her expected date of delivery, and she was looking forward to the birth of her second child.

"Indeed."

The single word conveyed a lot of her thoughts on the matter, which Alessia also picked up.

Ever since the death of her brother-in-law early on in the pregnancy, Alessia had watched over and supported her sister as she went through the different stages of grief.

The man had sacrificed himself in battle, which had temporarily pushed back the demon's advance, and protected the remainder of the kingdom's allied forces. This had helped give the kingdom a much-needed breather, especially when on the cusp of all-out war with its human neighbours.

However, it also left a mother without her husband, a daughter without her father, and a soon-to-be-born son without a father figure in his life.

A few months ago, the mention of the dreadful news had led Alexandria, who is the head of the Antigonus Ducal family, to rush to the frontlines of the battle. There she massacred thousands of demonkind just to try to find her husband. She refused to believe that he had died so unexpectedly.

This was her belief since the kingdom was doing well on the demon front. Several skirmishes resulted in dozens or even hundreds of deaths of mere foot soldiers on either side, but even in the case of an all-out confrontation, her husband would not have been forced into such dire circumstances.

It was reported however, that part of the formation had been breached and there was a not-so-small risk of the demon forces breaking through the lines and systematically slaughtering the entirety of the allied army.

In such a time of crisis, one of the joint commanders of the army decided to step in and plug the leak before it could grow bigger. The brave commander was none other than the husband of the Antigonus duchess- Kayden Brown.

As a man born of the common folk unlike his peers in the joint commandership who were mostly of noble background, and being the self-sacrificing idiot who people consider him to be even to this day, Kayden stepped up to the mantle.

Taking the decision to sacrifice himself for the kingdom's security, knowing he was the only one strong enough to do so that wasn't so self-serving as to not give up their lives among the leadership, he rushed to the area of interest.

There he found several of the top brass among the demon generals, and in his urgency, he did not even have the time to leave his wife, who he loved dearly, even a note, which was the cause of the pregnant woman's initial denial of the situation. After weeks spent looking for his body or his remains by fruitlessly massacring hordes of demons, she decided to leave.

She was frustrated. How could her husband just give up on his life so easily? How could the demons break through their ranks that had held up for so long so easily? Why did he not even consider his woman in his last moments?

Angry, hurt, and feeling betrayed by everyone and everything she left back for her manor.

But nobody had realised. She was afraid. Afraid of what her future would hold as a duchess who was about to give birth and did not have a husband to support her. Afraid for the future of her daughter and soon-to-be-born child.

She was anxious about the future. How would she cope with the onslaught of the other ducal houses? How could she protect her children and duchy?

Nobody reached out to help.

Except for her sister.

Her sister looked after her daughter while she was away looking for her husband's remains. And when she came back, her little sister also took care of her. She listened to her worries. She sat with her while she was drinking away her sorrows. And she supported her when things were rough in the pregnancy.

Alexandria was deeply indebted to the woman that was her little sister. But Alessia did not care for something such as a debt between siblings. To her, the family was everything, and while she was also sad at the death of her brother-in-law, she was happy that it brought her closer once more to her sister who had been embroiled in war for several years already.

Currently, Alessia was dealing with the depressed state of her sister. The pregnant woman did not speak so much these days, and she would constantly overthink her mind. Alessia had managed to bring out some of her inner thoughts too, which were mostly about feeling helpless.

But Alessia was no doctor of mental health and well-being. The most she could do was to be there and support her sister when she asked and did not ask for it.

'I'm just glad that the baby in her stomach has become a sort of anchor for her. I don't know if it's the most healthy thing, to devote her life to her baby, especially if it dies during childbirth, but what can I do? It's not like I have any other way to help her deal with her grief.'

Reminiscing over these thoughts, the younger sister finally heard her sister's following words.

"I'll be going into seclusion soon to deal with him."

Alessia looked slightly startled at her sister's statement which did not go unnoticed by the older sibling. She only slightly smiled in response to reassure her.

"Come on, you know how it is. It'll soon get to the point where Valentina will struggle to be around me too."

The sister pair looked towards the carefree toddler playing with her toys. Alessia was slightly jealous that even a toddler could withstand the pressure emitted by her pregnant sister, unconsciously at that, and yet here she was struggling to keep a placid smile on her face.

"Yep. The little cutie is really a monster in her own right."

Marvelling at her sister's ability to give birth to such behemoths of humanity, she felt a little afraid for her sister's wellbeing.

Alexandria had lightly struggled whilst giving birth to Valentina, but she had the support of her husband and sister.

This time however she would be undergoing birth by herself.

Her second child was far too strong for anyone to be able to intervene during the birth. It was several times more dangerous than the first child's birth.

'I'm… worried. Will I lose my sister soon too?'

The Antigonus head probably noticed the worry in her sister's eyes because she placed a hand over hers and softly squeezed it.

"Don't worry Al. You know how strong I am. I won't break so easily haha."

Alessia just smiled feebly at her sister's attempts to lighten the mood.

'I'm not worried about your physical health you doo-doo. But you're not mentally there, are you, big sis? What if you give birth safely but succumb to the mental burden in your time of physical decline? And I won't even be there to support you.'

Alessia put her distress to the back of her mind. At this point in time she needed to flood her sister with happy moments and memories like earlier. She could not afford to reduce her sister's link to reality. A grounded link may reduce the mental burden during childbirth.

'For this reason, too, I'm glad of the existence of the child in her stomach since it acts as one of her pillars. This will be a massive gamble, huh.'