.fifty five.
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"The skies are making their announcement. It appears that a king has been born."
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As more time went by in Goryeo for Minji, her belly continued to grow to the point where she couldn't fit into most of her clothes anymore. She was being helped into a dress one morning when one of the maids grunted with the effort, trying to get the dress to fit around her baby bump. Everything seemed to be going well until there was a tearing sound heard, and the maid quickly began with a stream of apologies.
"I'm very sorry, your highness." She bowed her head apologetically. But she was also afraid that it would earn her a punishment. "Its my fault this happened."
Minji reassured her with a shake of her head, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Its not your fault. My baby's just made me a bit bigger than I normally am." In all honesty, Minji didn't know exactly how much weight she had gained since becoming pregnant with Eun's child. But she did feel heavier, and sometimes she was self conscious about it. She knew that Eun wasn't like that, but she sometimes feared that she wouldn't appeal to him. That she wouldn't be pretty enough. Her husband though, reassured her every day that she was beautiful and that he was lucky to have her by his side.
The maid helped Minji back into her sleeping robe and left the room with the torn dress. She informed that she would take a similar dress and use the torn material to add to it, to make it bigger. Then she explained that she would be taking her measurements and going into the village to get her new clothes. It would be a very difficult next few months. Her baby would be growing and with that, her body would be adapting to it. She would need to get new clothes very often.
Her husband walked into the room to check on her, already expecting her to be fully dressed, but was surprised to see her back in her sleeping robe and one of the maids rushing out of the room. "What happened, jagi? You're not dressed yet. Han and Deok are waiting for us to have breakfast." He wondered, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. The moment he said something, Minji felt something in her belly. But she wasn't sure if it was the baby kicking, or if it was the butterflies she felt in her stomach whenever Eun was around. He was having an effect on her that he didn't have before. She was starting to feel something she hadn't felt with anyone other than with Jung.
Minji heaved a sigh and sat on their bed. "I'm too fat for my dresses."
He chuckled at her way of phrasing it. But then he gave her words of reassurance that Minji wasn't sure if they actually made her feel better. "I thought you said pregnant women are supposed to gain a lot of weight."
"Well yeah." She nodded, dropping her gaze when she felt the bed dip down beside her under his weight. "But I don't feel pretty."
He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head so that she was facing him. "There is no one in Goryeo more beautiful than you."
Minji felt shy at his words, and her cheeks tinted in red. "Thank you, my love."
While they waited for the servant to come back, they sat side by side quietly, just basking in each other's company. The silence was broken suddenly by the tenth prince humming a little song, a tune Minji had never heard before. But it sounded beautiful to her ears. At the same time, she felt something in her belly, this time she was sure that it was the baby kicking because it had been a little bit stronger than just a light and nervous fluttering.
A big grin spread across her lips and she reached for his hand, bringing it to her stomach hoping that maybe he could feel the baby too. He stopped humming abruptly, taken by surprise by her actions. But he realized what she was trying to do when he felt her baby bump moving. He was in awe, since he knew there was a living human being in there. But feeling it with his own hands was another thing altogether. It made things all the more real for him. The baby stopped moving when they were quiet again and Minji urged him. "Sing to him again, love. I think he loves your voice."
