Chapter 1349 – ##11_I’M The Only One Without A Baby!
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1.
It was a summer day with scorching sun.
Dorothy was lying under a tilted parasol, listening to the sound of the waves.
-Splash, splash-
“Hmm~ This is nice~”
Despite being on the sandy beach, Dorothy, dressed in a long maternity dress, enjoyed the moment, sipping on a non-alcoholic cocktail.
The reason she was wearing a dress instead of a bikini was because Dorothy was heavily pregnant.
Since intense water activities weren’t good for the baby, she was content with just watching today.
“Sasha, are you excited too? Let’s play in the water together later, okay?”
Seeing her belly being kicked, it seemed Sasha was also enjoying the clear sea breeze.
Just then, Luluye, who had been enjoying playing in the water with the twins, came running over.
“Dorothy! I want watermelon!”
“Watermelon? What should we do…? I don’t think we have any…”
Watermelon was indeed perfect for water play…
Although she had packed the cooler with plenty of drinks, she didn’t remember bringing any watermelon.
While Dorothy was troubled,
“It’s okay. Didn’t I bring it here?”
“Huh?”
Luluye reached into Dorothy’s bulging dress and pulled out a watermelon.
As the watermelon was taken out, the dress, which had been puffed up just a moment ago, deflated.
Dorothy stared at the scene with a dumbfounded expression.
Her belly was definitely bulging?
Where did it go?
Could it have been a watermelon?
“Huh!”
Dorothy jumped up from the bed and reflexively stroked her belly.
There, she felt her usual smooth abdomen.
Well, it was inevitable.
Dorothy had never had a baby in the first place.
“Ugh…”
It was still early dawn.
It was just a dream.
2.
“Ugh! Please, just go away!”
Gretel was bothered.
Lately, Dorothy had been visiting the workshop every single day.
“What am I doing? I’m just here, why are you being so sensitive? I’ll be quiet. I won’t even talk to you, okay?”
“Just go!”
“I even bought you your favorite melon, aren’t you being too harsh?”
“Who asked for it? Who asked for it! Just don’t come!”
Gretel, recognized by Siwoo as an eccentric and a my-pace person.
It wasn’t an achievement anyone could accomplish to make her raise her voice like this.
It was a reaction that could only come out if you poured gasoline and set fire to the workshop.
“Hey~ Why are you like this between us? Don’t you know I’m a guest? I heard that in Gehenna, there’s a custom of treating any guest with utmost respect. Aha~ Gretel, you haven’t fully shed your exile ways, have you?”
“Ugh, I feel like I’m going to get a stroke… I’m dizzy…”
“Should I cut the melon? Is melon good for a stroke?”
If you interpreted Dorothy’s words literally, they weren’t exactly wrong.
She wasn’t constantly talking or interfering, she was just sitting quietly and leaving.
“I’m trying my best in my own way, okay? If you keep watching me like that, it’s just a distraction!”
But it was a different story if she followed her around every time she moved, and squatted in place, staring intently like a CCTV for hours.
The above example was about Dorothy (stalker) and Gretel (stalker victim).
You might think it’s nothing? But it’s been two months already!
Feeling a gaze staring at her from behind all day long, even the easygoing Gretel was suffering from nightmares where a Dorothy-shaped ghost opened the closet door and peeked out!
“Hmm~ Then you just need to produce remarkable research results quickly, right?”
“That’s why… you’re a spirit who hasn’t recovered for long, so pregnancy is dangerous… You shouldn’t do this to your savior…”
“I’m really grateful for that. Gretel, anyway, please hurry up with the research. Fighting~ Fighting~!”
She wasn’t even not doing research.
She was researching improvements to the baby-making magic for Dorothy, who was whining that even a year of waiting was too long.
Yet, she was giving her all kinds of tangible and intangible pressure, making her feel like she was going to have a nervous breakdown.
No, she already had one.
“Ugh… I’m going crazy.”
In the end, Gretel made an SOS call again today.
She wanted to call the head of the Siwoo Academy, “Manage your wife properly!” but even Gretel couldn’t handle calling him over for such a trivial matter.
So, as always, she called a suitable person.
“Nephthys, I’ve come after receiving your call.”
“Oh, you’re here? Please, just take that thing away.”
“Yes. Madam, please go inside and rest.”
“Frau~ You’re still pretty even after a long time? You have a cool charm.”
Frau, the eldest daughter of Werphanus, who came running after receiving the call, served Siwoo as her godfather.
His wife, Dorothy, naturally became a very high-ranking madam.
So, at first, Frau treated Dorothy with a bit of difficulty.
In the first place, Dorothy had been notorious as a dangerous public enemy since she was the ‘Witch of Seeking the Way.’
The charisma of inner strength from her easygoing demeanor was burdensome even for Frau, who had been through a lot.
“I want to stay here…”
“I’ll escort you.”
But that was only for a time or two, now Frau was picking up the squatting Dorothy like a piece of luggage.
“Gretel~ I’ll come again next time~”
Gretel watched Dorothy, who was being carried away while still saying goodbye, as if she was disgusted.
3.
There is a word called FOMO.
It’s an acronym for Fearing of Missing Out, and its meaning can be defined as the fear of being left behind by trends, or the anxiety of being excluded.
It’s a powerful psychological phenomenon that has caused many investors to crash and burn after jumping on rapidly rising stocks.
“I’m the only one without a baby…”
The feeling that Dorothy, who was forcibly excluded from the baby-making magic, was experiencing was similar to this.
She saw and heard things.
Like when she heard the news that Siwoo and Elloa had gone shopping for baby products at a department store in the mortal world.
Or when that despicable friend of hers, Linne, subtly bragged about how Siwoo liked it when she made a belly-covering rice bowl with Elloa.
Or when she watched Sharon receive all sorts of extreme affection.
Every time, a terrifying FOMO and sadness disturbed Dorothy’s heart.
“Waaah~ Frau, I’m the only one without a baby…”
Dorothy whined as she was being transported like luggage by Frau.
“Sasha… come to mommy quickly. Mommy will love you so, so much.”
“……”
In Frau’s personal opinion, Madam Dorothy had been acting like a very young child lately.
The languid pressure she felt during their first meeting was long gone, and she was whining all day long.
The dignified Dorothy had turned into a child.
Lately, she was getting a bit annoyed with her, but seeing her like this, she also felt sorry for her.
So, Frau offered a delicate consolation that didn’t suit her personality.
“It’s not like Madam Dorothy is the only one without a baby, is it?”
Of course, Kibel, who didn’t have any pregnancy plans yet, the little Odile and Odette who couldn’t get pregnant due to succession issues, and the cute Queen Luluye who had been tricked by Odile and Odette’s sweet talk, didn’t have children yet either.
“But Amelie, Linne, the Duke, and Sharon all have them… Look. I’m the only one who doesn’t.”
“Please be patient and wait a little longer. If you wait about half a year, it will happen.”
“Frau, have you ever heard that you’re not good at empathizing with people? You’ll have a hard time in society if you’re like that?”
“……”
A vein popped out on Frau’s forehead.
This was the real deal.
She was already so tired from following Dorothy around like a nanny these days…
“……”
Let’s just abandon her. It’ll be fine, right?
Frau skillfully placed Dorothy, who was curled up in a ball in her narrow arms, gently in a corner of the hallway.
“Frau, where are you going?”
“I just remembered something urgent.”
“Heeing… Don’t go… I’m lonely alone…”
“Here, this is a lemon candy. If you eat this and count to a million, I’ll come back to pick you up, no, to take you back.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
Dorothy, who had become an abandoned cow, was squatting in the hallway, watching Frau’s back as she walked away.
The Hesed Academy Hall had a lot of foot traffic.
While Dorothy was munching on the candy and squatting blankly, the witches who passed by would glance at her or talk to her.
“Huh? Isn’t that Dorothy? What is she doing there?”
“Shhh, just go. It seems like she’s not in a good mood these days.”
“Why? A marital fight?”
“I don’t know. You’ll get hurt if you dig too deep.”
The basic department members quickly passed by.
“Dorothy, what are you doing here?”
“Frau told me to wait here.”
“Ah… Aren’t you uncomfortable on the bare floor?”
“No, it’s cool, so I like it.”
The daughters of the academy, who were subtly showing interest, moved away.
“Oh? It’s Dorothy.”
“I want to take her and use her as a sleeping cushion.”
“Me too. She’s really beautiful.”
“But doesn’t she seem different lately? Before, I felt like I had to treat her like an older sister.”
“Yeah, yeah, she’s become like a younger sister, so she’s cute.”
“Really?”
“Dorothy, do you want some candy?”
“Yes!”
“See?”
The Boxz, who had recently started external activities, also gave her snacks.
Dorothy had a strange charm that captivated the same sex, but due to her unique aura, it was difficult to approach her easily.
As things turned out this way, the witches who had always watched from afar were now approaching Dorothy and talking to her, making one side of the hallway bustling.
But that was only for a moment.
-Click, click, click-
“Huh?! Hey, over there, over there.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
“We’ll be going now! See you next time, Dorothy.”
As the unique sound of footsteps was heard, the witches scattered like spiderlings.
Because the black-haired witch, who was from the same public enemy background but was more feared than admired, had arrived.
“……!”
Linne, who didn’t even glance at the people who were gathering and scattering, and was just going her own way, had an interaction exclamation mark appear above her head as soon as she made eye contact with Dorothy.
“……!”
The abandoned cow, Dorothy, also stiffened.
Let’s review the relationship between the two at this point.
Usually, whenever Dorothy found the black Linny walking expressionlessly, she would run up and kick her like a soccer ball.
Why?
Because… it was fun.
-Click, click, click, click-
But Linne, who was quickly approaching, changing her course, no longer looked like a black cat.
She looked like a Siberian tiger who had found its prey.
Linne, who had gained absolute superiority, had been taking revenge every time she met Dorothy, so in a way, it was a karmic payback.
“…Hehehe.”
“Hick! Hiiiick! D, don’t bully Dorothy…”
Dorothy’s face, who had collapsed under Linne’s black shadow, gradually darkened.
