Chapter 69

C-Cum… Mmm. 

Lino blinked at the vulgar word tumbling from Grondil’s lips. By the time his long eyelashes fluttered for the third time, his faintly flushed cheeks had burned a vibrant crimson, the color rushing violently all the way to his earlobes. It was such a spectacular sight that Grondil couldn’t suppress his playful urge. Tracing Lino’s swollen lips with his thumb, he pressed for an answer.

“You just smacked your lips and licked up every last drop smeared here without leaving a trace. Maybe because it’s mine, all I taste is bitterness and a metallic tang.”

“Ahem, ahem… Well, about that. Um…”

With his chin held firmly in Grondil’s grip, Lino could only roll his eyes wildly to avoid making eye contact. He had learned from firsthand physical experience that escaping this grasp was impossible.

“…Yes. Well… ahem. I don’t really know the reason either, but… it’s quite d-de…licious.”

Ultimately, unable to withstand Grondil’s piercing gaze, Lino was forced to admit it was delicious with a face completely red with embarrassment. Since I answered, surely he’ll let it go now, Lino thought. His darting green eyes cautiously met Grondil’s blue-gray ones. Normally, Grondil would look highly satisfied upon hearing that answer and carry Lino off to the bathroom, so Lino expected the same routine.

But today, for whatever reason, a new question caught Lino completely off guard.

“The due date is fast approaching. Shouldn’t you be taking it easy and resting your body until then?”

“Excuse me? Ah… r-right. I suppose so.”

Truthfully, saying the due date was ‘fast approaching’ felt a bit ambiguous. Unlike ordinary humans, Lino’s gestation period was inherently short—three months at the earliest, four at the latest. Since he had arrived in Isberg two months into his pregnancy, he only had about seven weeks left. Looking at the entire gestation period, he wasn’t even halfway through, but calculating purely by dates, he only had a month and some change remaining. Saying he was going into labor ‘next month’ wasn’t exactly inaccurate.

However, Lino had no idea how he was supposed to rest his body any further. He had never lived this comfortably in his entire life. It was so incredibly, flawlessly comfortable that he often woke up wondering, ‘Is this a dream?’

From the very day Lino arrived in Isberg, Grondil absolutely refused to let him walk on his own two feet for more than five minutes. He forbade Lino from leaving the bed, and if he absolutely had to go somewhere, Grondil carried him for short distances and put him in various vehicles for longer ones. Naturally, Grondil accompanied Lino everywhere he went.

—‘Why don’t you just carry him on your back everywhere?’ 

Even Enoch had felt compelled to make the sarcastic remark. However, Grondil fiercely scolded him, claiming that giving a piggyback ride to a pregnant person with a protruding belly was incredibly dangerous. In the end, Enoch had to apologize for his ‘massive blunder’ by presenting Lino with a three-wheeled magical carriage as a token of atonement. The reason he had to offer not one, but two carriages—a single-seater and a two-seater—was because Grondil’s treatment of his Letia was evolving by the day. He had blown past simple coddling and had fully entered the realm of nauseatingly overprotective obsession.

Having arrived in Isberg with a noticeable baby bump, Lino had to prove he was the legendary Letia in front of four individuals: the Grand King, the High Priest of the Grand Temple of Aquila, the Grand Marshal, and the Chairman of the House of Nobles. He received three votes in favor and one against, but since the ultimate decision lay solely with the Beloved of the Gods, it wouldn’t have mattered even if the majority voted against him.

The Beloved of the Gods was Castillion Luz Grondil La Isberg, the Grand King himself.

The owner of the single dissenting vote was Marquis Honelus, the Chairman of the House of Nobles. Even after Lino personally lifted his shirt to show his swollen belly and underwent an ultrasound at a verified hospital right before his eyes, the Marquis remained fiercely in denial. Upon seeing three Beast cubs nestled peacefully together on the ultrasound monitor, he even began a relentless, obsessive interrogation, accusing Lino of secretly being a woman.

Regardless, backed by the absolute support of everyone except Marquis Honelus, Lino became the very first Letia of the Isberg Grand Principality. The press and the public went absolutely wild, proclaiming that God had bestowed a heavenly match upon His Beloved as a divine gift, but Lino remained completely oblivious to the uproar.

The reason Lino was so in the dark about external news was partly due to his natural aversion to exhausting, noisy gossip, but primarily because—aside from that single outing to verify his Letia status—he had remained entirely confined within Grondil’s palace.

Under Grondil’s strict orders, Lino’s health management was conducted entirely within the palace walls. Erin handled the medical aspects, while Enoch managed his daily needs. Grondil even constructed a private clinic exclusively for Lino so that Erin could reside in the palace and provide continuous care until Lino safely gave birth and entered a stable recovery period. Complex surgeries might be difficult, but it was more than adequately equipped for a healthy mother to undergo a normal delivery.

While Erin was thrilled to have unlimited access to a variety of exorbitantly expensive medical equipment she could never afford on her own dime, she was also constantly berated by Grondil every other day for failing to solve the bizarre problem of Lino’s morning sickness.

“Come here.”

“Oh.”

Bringing over a steaming hot towel, Grondil slipped his hands under Lino’s armpits and hoisted him up with ease. With his belly significantly larger than before, he should have been quite heavy, yet Lino always felt sheepish at how effortlessly Grondil lifted him. As his pregnant belly became more pronounced, Grondil had begun treating Lino like an actual baby. Just as he was doing now.

Sitting against the headboard, Grondil placed Lino on his lap so they were facing each other. Using the hot towel, he meticulously and gently wiped Lino’s messy face. It would have been much faster to just go to the bathroom and shower, but citing the ‘slippery bathroom floor’ as a hazard, Grondil frequently gave him full sponge baths like this instead.

After finishing with his face, Grondil lifted Lino’s arms to wipe his armpits, his thumb smoothly rubbing against Lino’s nipples—which had sprung up tautly without even being touched. He stuck a finger into Lino’s navel to clean it out before moving further down.

“Ah, L-Lord Grondil. Not there…”

Panicking, Lino hastily tried to stop Grondil’s hand. However, it was physically impossible for an ordinary human to overcome the sheer strength of a Beast. Completely helpless, Lino had to spread his legs and allow Grondil to wipe down his sweat-slicked groin.

Truthfully, wiping his groin wasn’t the main issue. The problem was that Grondil’s hand kept casually brushing against his cock. Already half-erect, Lino’s pink member began to harden further with every accidental graze from Grondil’s hand.

“Haa… Lord Grondil. You don’t have to… do down there…”

“Tsk, so clumsy. You touch mine perfectly fine, so why do you neglect your own?”

“Because if my stomach tenses up, it’s bad for the babies…”

Even as he answered, Lino turned his head away, his earlobes burning red with embarrassment. Watching him intently, Grondil tossed the hot towel aside and firmly grasped Lino’s beautifully erecting cock.

“Ah…!”

“I’ll do it gently so the little ones don’t get stressed, so don’t worry and just lean back comfortably.”

“But— Nngh, mmph.”

To prevent Lino from protesting any further, Grondil sealed Lino’s lips with his own. Before, he would crash into him as if trying to swallow every last whimper, but now, the kiss was light and languid. His thick tongue slipped between Lino’s parted lips, but it merely tapped playfully against Lino’s tongue before withdrawing. While Lino was distracted by the soft kiss, Grondil’s hand returned to his cock. Rubbing his palm smoothly against Lino’s pristine, completely hairless pubic mound, he slipped the erect shaft between his fingers. Since overwhelming pleasure could cause stomach cramps, he intended to provide just enough stimulation to bring him to climax.

Twitching his waist, Lino let out soft, stifled groans against Grondil’s lips. The way he shifted his hips on Grondil’s thighs made it clear he wanted deeper stimulation. Because penetrative sex had been strictly banned for the sake of Lino’s health—which had become increasingly sensitive since arriving in Isberg—Lino was driven absolutely insane with need every time they engaged in this kind of heavy petting.

“Don’t be impatient. It’s driving me crazy too.”