Chapter 317: Morning Sickness
After everything had finally settled down, Luca sat in contemplative silence for a long moment.
His gaze drifted toward Leona, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he were piecing together a puzzle.
The intensity of his stare made Leona tense up, her body going rigid with apprehension.
Finally, Luca broke the silence.
"Did the queen of the Lamia Race say anything specifically about me after she woke up?"
Leona’s eyes widened in shock.
"How did you know?" She blurted out, her voice betraying her surprise.
Luca just chuckled softly, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
"If she saw what I think she saw..." He said slowly, his voice dropping to a more serious register. "...then she definitely had a couple of words for me."
"And I’m pretty sure those words weren’t nice. Quite vengeful and full of malice, instead."
Leona’s nervousness grew exponentially. The way Luca spoke, the certainty in his voice—it was as if he knew exactly what had happened, exactly what the lamia quee had witnessed, exactly why she had reacted the way she did.
She began fidgeting with her hands, unable to meet his eyes.
"Is it really necessary for me to tell you this, Luca?"
She asked hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"After all, all those things...they already made you react so strongly. I’m scared it’ll be even worse if I mention what she said."
"Yes, Luca, don’t listen to anything!"
Luna immediately nodded in agreement, her protective instincts flaring.
"Just forget about it! There’s no need for you to think about all that!"
Lulu, not to be outdone, quickly scrambled over and covered Luca’s ears with her hands.
"I won’t let you listen to any more of that nonsense that will make you vomit!"
"After all, the one who should be vommiting is me—I’m the one with the baby! Not you!"
But Luca gently pulled her hands down, a soft, reassuring smile on his face.
"It’s alright, you two. There’s no need to worry about anything."
He looked at each of them in turn, his eyes full of quiet confidence.
"I was a bit surprised at first, I’ll admit. Caught off guard. But now..." He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, there was steel in his voice. "I’m much better. I can take whatever you give me."
Leona hesitated, her eyes darting toward Nyx for guidance. Nyx seemed equally hesitant, her brow furrowed with concern.
But after a long moment, she gave a small, reluctant nod.
There was no choice. They had to tell him.
Leona took a deep breath, steeling herself.
"Apparently." She began, her voice barely above a whisper. "The moment she woke up, she still looked quite terrified. She kept muttering under her breath, over and over again..."
She paused, swallowing hard.
"’Monster...Monster...You absolute monster.’"
Luna and Lulu both shivered at the words, their faces paling.
There was something deeply unsettling about hearing such hatred directed at the man they loved.
Leona continued, her voice growing stronger even as her words grew darker.
"She called you a monster over and over again. And then, finally, she said..."
Leona looked directly into Luca’s eyes, her own gaze filled with a strange mixture of fear and curiosity.
"’How could you do that to your own family?’"
The room went utterly silent.
Lulu and Luna exchanged bewildered glances. The words made no sense to them.
When they thought of family, they thought of themselves—Luca’s wives, his children, his adopted village.
But Luca had never done anything to them. He had only ever brought them hope, saved them from despair, been a light in everyone’s heart.
"What does she mean by that?" Lulu finally asked, her voice small and confused. "What family is she talking about?"
But then Luna gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as a terrible realization dawned on her. She looked at Luca with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Just maybe...Just maybe the family the Lamia Queen was referring to wasn’t the family he had right now.
Maybe Luca had a family in his past world—a family he had lost. A family he had...
She couldn’t even finish the thought.
Lulu seemed to realize it at the same moment. Her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and sorrow as she looked at Luca, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Luca..." She whispered. "Did you...Did you have a family before?"
Leona and Nyx also looked grave, their expressions heavy with the weight of this new revelation.
None of them had ever truly considered Luca’s life in his other world. He was always so cheerful, so present, so focused on the here and now.
They had simply accepted that he was the Hero sent to save them, without ever wondering about who he had been before.
But now the question burned in all their minds.
Who had Luca been in his previous world? Did he truly have a family?
And if so...what had happened to them?
Their thoughts drifted back to the mysterious flower women who had appeared out of nowhere, the ones who had looked at Luca with such adoring voices.
And that one specific woman—the one who had told Luca to keep running while he broke down in tears.
They realized, with a sinking feeling, that they knew almost nothing about the man they loved. He was a mystery wrapped in a smile, a Hero with shadows in his eyes that he never let anyone see.
And now, the Lamia Queen’s words had cracked open that carefully constructed facade.
Luca himself had gone completely pale once again.
All the color drained from his face, leaving him ashen and ghostlike. His hands started shivering uncontrollably, and his lips parted as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.
"Monster." He muttered under his breath, his voice hollow and distant. "Monster."
He let out a hollow chuckle, a sound so devoid of humor that it sent chills down everyone’s spines.
"I guess I am a monster, huh?" He said, his voice trembling. "After all, I lost all my humanity the day I committed that deed."
The sorrow in his voice clenched at every woman’s heart.
They wanted to rush to him, to wrap him in their arms and tell him he was not a monster at all.
They wanted to wipe away whatever terrible memories were haunting him, to replace them with love and warmth.
But before they could say anything, Luca suddenly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
He shook his head violently, as if physically shaking off all the negative feelings that had engulfed him. And then, impossibly, he smiled.
"It’s alright." He said, his voice steadier now. "It’s alright now."
He reached out and took Luna’s hand, squeezing it gently.
"Honestly, I got shook up once again for a moment." He admitted. "But I’m totally fine right now."
All four women looked into his eyes, searching for any sign of deception.
To their immense relief, they found that he wasn’t as disturbed as before. Even though he still looked slightly weak, his eyes held vitality. He didn’t look like he was going to break down on the spot.
But still, all four of them burned with curiosity.
They wanted to know more about his past. About his family. About why the Lamia Queen had called him a monster.
Luca noticed their probing gazes, and just looked away.
He wasn’t ready to talk about this. He might never be ready.
So he quickly changed the topic, his expression turning solemn.
"You should immediately transmit a message to the Lamia race."
He said, his tone becoming serious. "Tell the Lamia Queen not to do any predictions on me ever again."
He paused, his eyes growing dark.
"This time, she honestly got very lucky. I’m surprised she didn’t instantly die on the spot and get erased out of existence."
All four women blinked in shock.
Erased out of existence? What exactly had she seen that was so dangerous, so catastrophic?
Luca continued, his voice grim. "But it’s good that nothing truly bad happened to her. However, please tell her not to do it again. She won’t be lucky the second time."
"You don’t need to worry about that, Hero." Nyx quickly nodded. "From what I’ve heard, the Lamia Queen is absolutely traumatized by what happened. The very thought of doing any sort of ritual right now terrifies her."
"I’m pretty sure she won’t be doing anything targeted toward you anytime soon."
Luca nodded in relief, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
Leona saw her opportunity.
Now that the immediate crisis had passed, maybe she could finally get some answers.
She opened her mouth to ask about his past, about his family, about—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sudden knocking on the door made everyone jump.
Voices called out from outside, urgent and worried.
"Luna! Lulu! Are you inside?" It was Selma voice, filled with concern.
"Is Luca inside with you?!" Another voice called out—Alia, her tone panicked. "Please come out! We’re all worried right now!"
More voices joined the chorus. Ivy. Tessa. An entire chorus of villagers, all shouting over each other.
"Is everyone alright?!"
"Someone was screaming!"
"We heard vomiting—"
The five of them exchanged glances before heading toward the main door.
Luca pulled it open, and the sight that greeted them made even him freeze in surprise.
The entire village had gathered.
The platform was completely filled with elves, and even the stairs leading down were packed with villagers.
Every single one of them looked concerned and worried, their faces pale with anxiety. Even the little children were there, clutching their mothers’ hands tightly, their young eyes wide with fear.
The moment they saw Luca, Selma immediately stepped forward.
"We heard loud noises!" She said, her voice trembling. "It sounded like someone was vomiting and retching all over the place!" Her face grew even paler as she continued. "It sounded really bad. Like someone was genuinely suffering."
All the other elves nodded vigorously.
"I heard it too!" One of them said.
"I live on the farthest edge of the village." Another added. "And even I could hear it!"
"That’s why we all ran over to see what was going on." A third elf chimed in.
Tessa stepped forward, her expression concerned.
"Is everything alright? Did anything happen?" She looked toward Luca, her gaze searching. "Even though we couldn’t make out the sound clearly, it sounded like it was Luca who was vomiting."
"...Is Luca alright?"
Every single elf turned their attention to him, their eyes filled with worry and fear.
Leona opened her mouth to explain, to tell them the truth—
But Luca stepped forward before she could say anything.
"Calm down, everyone! Calm down!" He said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "It’s nothing big at all and you’re all completely mistaken! Nothing happened to me at all!"
And then, with a sudden, dramatic gesture, he pointed directly at Luna.
"She’s the one who vomited!" He declared loudly.
Luna’s eyes went wide with shock. She stared at him, utterly betrayed, not expecting him to blame it on her.
The other elves also looked surprised, their gazes shifting from Luca to Luna.
Luca continued before anyone could raise any objections.
"You know how it is—the age old issue." He gestured vaguely toward Luna’s stomach. "She’s pregnant, so she’s already experiencing morning sickness. And because of that, she made a small mess."
A bunch of the elves blinked in surprise.
"What?" One asked, puzzled. "She’s only been pregnant for a couple of days, right?"
Another elf nodded. "How can she already be vomiting? That doesn’t make any sense at all!"
But then a mature elder stepped forward, nodding sagely.
"Actually." She said, her voice filled with authority. "There are some cases where pregnancy cause vomiting from the very beginning. Each woman’s body adapts differently to the changes."
Another elder nodded in agreement. "Luna might simply be more sensitive to her pregnancy than others. It’s perfectly natural."
The other elves murmured among themselves, their confusion slowly fading into understanding.
"Oh, I see!"
"That makes sense!"
"So it was Luna after all!"
They all turned their attention to Luna, their expressions shifting from worry to concern.
"Are you alright, Luna?"
"Are you doing well?"
Do you need anything? I know a soup that’s perfect for morning sickness."
Luna hesitated, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.
This was obviously a lie—a complete fabrication.
But she glanced at Luca, who gave her a subtle nod of encouragement.
So, she took a deep breath and put on an apologetic smile.
"I’m sorry for disturbing everyone." She said, her voice sweet and polite. "I’m completely alright right now. I probably just ate too much and that’s why I vomited. As for the commotion..."
She gestured toward Leona and Nyx.
"You know how my mother and Auntie Nyx are—they already dote on me quite a lot. And because of the pregnancy, they’re even more concerned and started shouting in a panic they saw me throwing up my lunch.
"Ah, that makes perfect sense." One said.
"Of course Leona and Nyx would be overly protective." Another added with a knowing smile.
"It’s good to know that everything is alright." A third said, letting out a relieved sigh. "We were all so worried."
The tension in the crowd slowly dissolved. Elves began to relax, their faces brightening with relief.
They had feared the worst, but it turned out to be a simple case of pregnancy-induced morning sickness.
"I’m so glad it’s just morning sickness." Ivy said, placing a hand over her heart.
"Me too." Selma agreed. "When I heard those retching sounds, I thought someone was dying!"
Alia chuckled, shaking her head. "We really overreacted, didn’t we?"
But Tessa, ever observant, looked at Luca with a searching gaze.
She had noticed something, a flicker of something dark in his eyes, quickly masked.
But before she could voice her concern, a brilliant blue light erupted in front of them, tearing open the fabric of reality itself.
Whoosh!
A portal materialized in the center of the gathering, its edges crackling with otherworldly energy!
