70
“…What?”
“Oh, am I mistaken?”
The woman with a warm smile disappeared with quick steps to finish her work, having thrown not just a pebble but a boulder into a calm lake.
Apophis, who had been listening from behind, chuckled and whispered:
“It seems Mr. Ji-ho’s cross-dressing suits him very well. To even receive such an amusing misunderstanding.”
“……”
“……”
However, unlike Apophis’s light reaction, Yeon Ji-ho and Set’s expressions were different. Their faces were deeply serious. Set was the first to speak.
“…Ji-ho.”
“Set, just a moment please.”
Yeon Ji-ho somehow felt he knew what Set was going to say. So he stopped him. This wasn’t a conversation to have here with many listening ears.
“Let’s talk in the carriage.”
Chronos would be riding with them too, but at least Apophis wouldn’t be there. As they quickly arrived at the carriage, Yeon Ji-ho had sorted out most of his thoughts.
Pregnancy.
Why had he forgotten about that? With all the events rushing by since coming to this world, it was something he hadn’t even thought about.
He had spent his heat cycle with Set, and the pregnancy probability during an omega’s heat cycle exceeded 70%. Assuming the partner was an alpha.
Yeon Ji-ho had assumed Set would naturally be a beta. After all, there were no alphas and omegas in his world. But if he was an alpha, or even similar to one…
Could he possibly be pregnant?
“Ji-ho. Is my guess… correct now?”
As soon as they boarded the carriage and Apophis the coachman set off, Set spoke up as if he had been waiting. Chronos was sitting quietly opposite them, listening to the conversation.
Yeon Ji-ho didn’t answer Set’s question hastily. Then, after closing his eyes tightly once and opening them, he said:
“No, it’s not.”
His denying voice was quite firm. Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes were fixed on Set’s odd eyes.
“Even among omegas, I’m a recessive type, so the probability of getting pregnant from one heat cycle is really low. So it can’t be.”
“But, Ji-ho. Even if the probability is low…”
“I told you, Set. Don’t expect too much.”
Yeon Ji-ho hung a bitter smile on his lips as if he had painted it there. At that, Set’s mouth closed.
In truth, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he might really be pregnant. No, at times like this, intuition usually proved right, so Yeon Ji-ho was half certain.
But this wasn’t something to tell Set right now.
Yeon Ji-ho would soon have to part with Set and hide in a safe house, while Set had to risk his life to rescue his comrades. How could he tell someone in that situation that he might be pregnant?
“…If I were pregnant, Uncle Soo-cheol and Uncle Seon-rok would have been the first to notice. Trait-humans can sense each other, you know.”
Of course, trait-humans had no such ability. Like betas, trait-humans could only know for certain about pregnancy through a test kit or ultrasound.
However, Yeon Ji-ho smiled at the anxious Set and comforted him. Even though his own heart was pounding as if someone was beating it vigorously.
“W-Wait. Just a moment. What is this talk about? Pregnancy? Did I hear that wrong?”
The conversation that had momentarily subsided flowed naturally thanks to the surprised Chronos. Chronos looked at the cross-dressed Yeon Ji-ho with disbelieving eyes and carefully asked.
“Perhaps… are you female, Mr. Ji-ho?”
“No. I’m a man.”
As Yeon Ji-ho shook his head, Chronos opened his mouth slightly with an “Ah.” Then he asked with a face that couldn’t understand at all.
“Then… what do you mean by pregnancy?”
“Ji-ho is a man who can become pregnant.”
Chronos blinked. It was an unbelievable story to him.
“What do you mean…”
“It’s common in his world, apparently. They’re called ‘omegas’.”
“Y-You mean he’s not a special being?”
“Ji-ho is not the seed of a god, Chronos.”
In this world, male pregnancy usually referred to such stories. Mythical tales of being conceived in a male body when talking about the extraordinary birth of some founding emperor or a god in scripture.
Chronos, who had momentarily looked at Yeon Ji-ho as sacred, breathed a sigh of relief at Set’s words. If he had been the seed of a god… he would have felt like an untouchable being.
“Please don’t look at me strangely, Chronos.”
“Ah, no. Of course not.”
“I’m also one of the ‘Beasts of Gorgon’, haha.”
As Yeon Ji-ho spoke as if joking, Chronos just swallowed hard. Well, even the Beasts of Gorgon, a gathering of unique individuals, would find a ‘man who can get pregnant’ unfamiliar.
Then Chronos, watching the outside cautiously, asked discreetly:
“Do Apophis and… the others all know about this?”
“Ah, no. I haven’t told them separately, so they probably don’t know.”
“Shouldn’t we tell them?”
Chronos’s last question was directed at Set, not Yeon Ji-ho. From the flow of the conversation, it seemed the two were speculating about the possibility of Yeon Ji-ho’s pregnancy, and if so, wouldn’t it be better for at least Apophis, who would be accompanying Yeon Ji-ho, to know?
Yeon Ji-ho was the one who stopped this.
“Do we really need to tell them? It’ll just make them worry. And as I told Set, the probability of it not being true is higher.”
“I see. Then to avoid unnecessary confusion, I’ll keep this confidential for now as well.”
While nodding at Chronos’s words, Yeon Ji-ho clenched his fist tightly. After parting with Set, before heading to the safe house, he would have to find a way to confirm it somehow. Surely there must be a way to confirm pregnancy here too.
At that moment, there was a light knock on the window from outside. Looking out, they saw Shango on horseback, bowing his head and speaking towards the inside.
“The city gate is soon…”
Once again, the latter part of his words faded. But soon the window closed, and Yeon Ji-ho checked his appearance once more. Pregnancy or not, he had to deal with the immediate situation first.
Deliberately pressing his hat down so that only his eyes were slightly visible, he pulled Chronos, who was sitting opposite, to sit next to him. It was roughly the family picture Yeon Ji-ho had imagined.
“…will!”
“That’s what the official document says.”
“If you keep doing this, we’ll bring out our knight too!”
Apophis’s voice could be heard. True to his aim of portraying a young coachman, his tone and manner were more frivolous and light than usual.
However, from the situation, it seemed the guards were insisting on checking inside the carriage at least once. Just as Yeon Ji-ho was gripping the hem of his dress in tension:
Knock knock.
“My lords and lady, I’m truly sorry, but the guards insist on checking inside the carriage!”
At Apophis’s calm words, Yeon Ji-ho’s shoulders stiffened. Set gently stroked Yeon Ji-ho’s shoulders and spoke to the outside in a languid voice.
“Did you tell them which family we’re from?”
“Yes, I did. Ah, if this were the south, such nonsense wouldn’t happen.”
“Very well. Open the window.”
Yeon Ji-ho was closest to the window. This was unavoidable, as if Set were close to the window, his odd eyes might be visible.
Yeon Ji-ho deliberately didn’t look outside directly, but glanced sideways. For a moment, his eyes met with the guards looking up. Yeon Ji-ho’s indifferent gaze swept over them and passed by.
“…Isn’t my wife cold? If you’ve finished checking, close the window.”
After giving an appropriate amount of time, Set spoke, and Apophis hurriedly closed the window. At the same time, they could hear Apophis arguing with the guards outside.
“Look here, you people! No matter how great a beauty my lady is, how dare you look at her with such disrespectful eyes?!”
“Ah, no… It’s not that, it’s just that the lady’s aura is so unique…”
“This won’t do. What are your names? Which division are you from?!”
Apophis was completely immersed in his act. He behaved arrogantly as if he really were a young coachman backed by a noble family.
Because of this, the guards hurriedly let the carriage through. Even though they were guards, they were ultimately commoners, and they didn’t want to get involved with noble families.
“Haa…”
As the carriage moved further away from the city gate, Yeon Ji-ho also let out a sigh of relief. Chronos, who had been stuck close to him, finally stood up and moved back to his original place opposite them.
“You did well, Mr. Ji-ho.”
“…But I have to stay like this for a while, right?”
“I’m afraid so, until we reach the safe house.”
“Hmm, now that I think about it, these clothes are uncomfortable.”
He hadn’t noticed when he first put them on, but as he kept wearing them, they felt awkward and uncomfortable. As Yeon Ji-ho fiddled with the hem of his skirt, Set cleared his throat slightly and said:
“But you’re beautiful.”
“…Hmm.”
“More than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Set’s expression was calm as he said this, but his ears were bright red. Seeing this, Yeon Ji-ho’s playful side surfaced.
Yeon Ji-ho immediately linked his arm with Set’s and tilted his head to look up at him. His flowing hair tickled even Set’s heart.
“Is that so, my husband?”
“…!”
The fire that had been on Set’s ears spread to his face. As Yeon Ji-ho continued to gaze at him, Set finally couldn’t bear it and turned his head to the opposite side, covering his face with his hand.
