Chapter 16: Ah, I'm Having a Baby!?

“Please, Miss Kohagi, there’s no need for such formalities.”
Yomi struggled to maintain her composure, bracing herself as she asked, “May I ask the reason you summoned me here?”
Though she spoke these words aloud, a flutter of unease gripped her heart.
‘So the day has finally come… Miss Kohagi must intend to break off our engagement. After all, as a fiancé, I’m truly unworthy of her, especially now that I’m no longer even a man…’
Even the carefree optimist that was Tsukigara Yomi understood that she had lost all “use” to the Kurohimeyama clan.
Oh no—if the engagement is truly to be broken, won’t Ayaka scold me to death?
Yomi was not so worried about ending up homeless and returning to her desperate wandering life.
What troubled her more was the thought of her stepsister’s heartbreak, or the disappointment of the clan’s scattered vassals and subjects who longed for her to reclaim their lands.
Yomi was not adept at living up to others’ expectations, but if people needed her, she was the type to try her best.
‘But now, no matter how hard I try, it seems futile. I’ve become a woman… The Kurohimeyama clan doesn’t want a son-in-law—they want a child who carries the Tsukigara name.’
She gave a bitter smile inwardly.
To the Kurohimeyama clan, she had lost her most vital value. If the princess resolved to annul the engagement, it would be only natural.
“Lady Yomi.”
Kohagi lifted her lowered head and smiled gently. The sharp, icy aura she once radiated softened noticeably, and it was hard to tell whether she wore lipstick, but her lips glowed vividly.
“Do you like the kimono I brought you? It was custom-made in Kyoto. It truly looks beautiful on you…”
“Eh, is that so?”
Instinctively, Yomi glanced down at the feminine kimono she wore, adorned with morning glory patterns on pale grass-colored silk satin, tightly bound with a dark obi—obviously an expensive custom piece.
“This… could it be yours, Miss Kohagi?”
Being told she looked “beautiful” made her cheeks flush deeply, but she thought, that’s no compliment—I’m clearly a man.
“You’re right. It is my kimono,” Kohagi smiled faintly. “We have similar builds, so it fits you perfectly. It’s my honor.”
“Well…”
Yomi was still uncertain of the princess’s true intentions.
“Miss Kohagi, are you perhaps planning to break our engagement?”
The Kurohimeyama princess laughed lightly.
Her shoulders trembled slightly as she covered her mouth with a sandalwood fan.
“Break the engagement… Lady Yomi, what kind of talk is that?”
She asked calmly, “I have always been satisfied with our engagement. Why would I want to end it? Could it be… my fiancé harbors some dissatisfaction with me?”
“W-well, the thing is…”
Yomi hesitated.
“But I’ve become a woman and can no longer be a son-in-law to the Kurohimeyama clan.”
She scratched her head awkwardly, the embarrassment growing.
“Though I don’t know if this is a curse, it doesn’t mean I will break the engagement.”
Kohagi’s tone was sincere.
“As your future wife, I will do everything I can to help you return to normal as soon as possible. So there’s no need to worry about this.”

“Huh?”
Yomi tilted her neck slightly, tilting her head in a gesture of puzzlement.
Her fair skin and exposed creamy neck radiated an inexplicable allure.
‘Hehe… she really suits being a woman.’
Kohagi chuckled quietly to herself.
‘This fool was an idiot when she was a man, but now as a woman, she’s at least somewhat passable…’
She had come to understand the meaning of “pitiable”—the transformed Yomi had a natural innocent charm, a kind of foolish beauty that, while silly, was not unpleasant but rather endearing.
This realization steeled her resolve to choose Yomi as her target—indeed, she had thought so before, but after meeting the transformed Yomi, she hardly hesitated; she would definitely choose the female form of Yomi for that task.
“Hehe~ There’s no one more suitable than this fool… As long as… heh heh, with me, she will become my substitute~~”
To achieve that grand and splendid “goal,” she didn’t mind humbling herself to win others over.
“Lady Yomi, you misunderstand.”
Kohagi lowered her fan and bent forward, clasping Yomi’s hands tightly.
“Since the engagement was formed, you have been my future husband. That has never changed.”
Her words threw Tsukigara Yomi into utter confusion.
“B-but now I’m not a man, and this isn’t a curse I understand or know when it will end.”
Yomi frowned anxiously.
“It seems you still cannot believe my resolve, so then—”
Kohagi gripped her hands firmly, cleared her throat, and her clear voice echoed through the tatami room.
“Let’s have a child!”
“Ha!?”
Yomi was startled by her words.
—Have a child?
Who with?
Oh, with Miss Kohagi?
But we’re both women. Women cannot bear children together, right?
Yomi was shocked, her mind in a daze.
She shook her head.
Could it be that this sheltered young lady knew nothing of men and women, thinking that as long as lovers were close, some divine stork would deliver a baby to the newlyweds?
So innocent~~
Yomi was both shocked and moved by the pure side of this Kurohimeyama princess.
Kohagi’s right hand slowly reached out to stroke Yomi’s lower abdomen.
“In the Kurohimeyama clan, women are naturally infertile—it seems to be a side effect of their strong spiritual power… For a long time, the wise among our clan have researched various methods of conception.
One such method considers the possibility that a clan member might be infertile, employing a special technique. The core is to reprocess the woman’s blood.”

A tender expression appeared on Kohagi’s face as her slender fingers traced the kimono.
“Then, the primordial seed from the woman’s womb is extracted, and the combined product is transferred into a suitable mother’s body. After ten months of pregnancy, a baby will be born.”
The Kurohimeyama princess looked upon Yomi’s belly with affection.
“Lady Yomi, you might doubt me because we haven’t achieved concrete results yet. But if you bear our child, you will understand my feelings: I have never wavered in my commitment to this engagement—”
Yomi, her thoughts in chaos from the princess’s words, suddenly snapped back to reality.
Wait, who is supposed to bear the child—
Yomi blinked in disbelief as she stared at Kohagi, her eyes wide.
She couldn’t comprehend a word the princess was saying.
“Of course, it will be you~~”
Kohagi smiled knowingly.
“We are both women, but your body is very healthy. Even Granny Shuka has examined you and said your reproductive function as a woman is quite normal… What an extraordinary curse, blessing you with a robust body.”
Her mind seemed about to explode. Yomi suspected she had misheard, but the words were so clear. Suddenly, a chill ran through her, cold sweat poured down her back, and her heart raced wildly. The words caught in her throat, but reason forced her silence.
Kohagi seemed oblivious to her reaction, still smiling brightly as she said cheerfully, “Your hips are quite ample too. Didn’t they say that shape is good for childbirth? Our child will surely be born healthy.”
But Yomi barely caught any of this, her mind too overwhelmed.
Later, the young lady said more and even invited her to stay for tea.
But at that moment, Tsukigara Yomi could take in nothing. She hastily drank a large bowl of tea, bid the young lady farewell, and then fled in a daze, stumbling as if losing her soul.
Watching Yomi’s disheveled escape, Kohagi smiled silently, holding her tea bowl with a cold gleam in her eyes that seemed to say, “You cannot escape.”
“It’s useless, no matter where you go~ I will make you bear a child for me and him…”
The Kurohimeyama princess coquettishly adjusted the collar of her kimono.
Thinking of the near future when she could rightfully claim the love fruit of both of them, Kohagi’s crimson lips curved into a smile full of affection and stirring emotion.
That dazzling smile was fraught with ominous beauty.
—What she had decided would not change.
Tsukigara Yomi could not escape her grasp.
Moreover, besides herself, there was another participant in this matter—an infuriating vixen who was equally enthusiastic.
That little girl was cunning and ruthless; even if Yomi wished to give up, she would never let such a golden opportunity slip away.
…
Time rewinds to two days prior.
Yomi had a secret meeting with her half-sister by the same mother, the second princess of the Kurohimeyama clan, Kuzuha.
This was arranged by the Sako family. Kuzuha’s faction was no weak force within the Kurohimeyama clan.
She and her allies controlled one-third of the clan’s economic resources—no, nearly two-thirds now.
The reason they controlled such vast wealth lay in Kuzuha’s abilities.
The second lady Kuzuha had awakened a supernatural power known as the “Ruinous Defilement Annihilation Technique,” also called the “Ruinous Defilement Combat Art,” which could rival the “Chrono Chant Power.”