Chapter 380: Our Little Secret

I was walking endlessly through the depths of a dense forest.

Why was I out here all alone in a place like this, without even my men?

When I came to my senses and looked around, I realized the weather wasn’t nearly as cold as it should have been. Hm, it seems I’m dreaming right now. Unless this was a dream, there was no way I’d be crazy enough to be out here alone.

Normally, I have two kinds of dreams.

Dreams of lazing around with Hilda, and dreams of returning to my hometown. The bus home stops right in front of Feuzen, and whenever I ride it, I always end up getting off at the border.

This dream was nothing like either of those. In fact, this was the first time I had ever been aware that I was dreaming. Then, out of nowhere, white wolves came rushing in. Startled, I hurriedly raised my halberd.

My halberd... What? This is a staff?

An ornate staff studded with a huge jewel, no less.

There was no way I could drive off wolves with something like this. But instead of attacking, the wolves surrounded me and calmly sat back on their haunches. Seeing no hostility from them, I let out a breath of relief.

Human weapon or not, taking on that many enormous wolves at once with nothing but a staff was impossible. They say strongmen of old beat tigers to death with their bare hands, but that’s all a load of nonsense.

Then the white wolves parted to either side, and a truly colossal wolf emerged from the forest. It carried something wrapped in silk cloth in its jaws and came to stand before me. There was something utterly sacred about the beast.

The sacred wolf held the bundle out to me. I could see that a very beautiful baby lay inside the cloth. The moment I hurriedly took the child, the wolves vanished.

And the baby cried with all its might.

"Waaaaaah!"

"My goodness, what a healthy set of lungs."

And then I woke from the dream.

"..."

What on earth was that dream?

Could that have been an omen?

But an omen is supposed to be a sign that a baby is on the way, and my wife was already ten weeks pregnant. I wasn’t sure whether an omen still meant anything at this point...

A giant wolf carrying a child in its jaws and presenting it to me.

What a strange dream. Does that make my child the offspring of a wolf?

My deep thoughts didn’t last long. One look at my wife’s face as she slept soundly beside me lifted my spirits immensely. I gently stroked her belly. I had fallen asleep stroking it last night too.

I’d barely managed to stop Hilda from snuggling up against me.

It could be dangerous if the baby got squeezed or pressed, after all.

The hand that had been stroking Hilda’s belly soon drifted up to caress her cheek. Then her eyes fluttered open. Whoops, looks like all my fussing woke her up. Hilda broke into a shy smile and spread her arms wide.

Naturally, I ended up burying my face in her chest.

Hm, must be the pregnancy. Her chest definitely seems bigger.

"Having you beside me feels like a dream, Wolf."

"I’m sorry. Your thoughtless husband couldn’t stay by your side."

"It’s all right, Wolf. You have so much you need to do, don’t you? The Lord has given the great wolf a mission, so I’ll wait for you patiently, always. Even so..."

Hilda tenderly stroked my head as I lay against her chest.

The sound of her breathing and her heartbeat filled me with calm.

"Let me be a little spoiled sometimes."

Pretty sure I’m the one being spoiled here, but well, a wise wife’s word is law. Hilda and I lazed around under the covers like that for a good long while. If Sabine hadn’t come to fetch us, we probably would have stayed there all morning.

"I had a strange dream last night. A huge white wolf brought me a child in its jaws."

I brought up the dream over breakfast.

As it turned out, Hilda had had the very same dream.

"Oh my, how amazing! Me too. A huge wolf came and brought me a baby, can you believe it? It was such a strikingly beautiful baby. I hope ours is that beautiful too."

As she said this, Hilda lovingly stroked her belly. Sabine and Priscilla made a big fuss over how uncanny the coincidence was. Well now, had the two of us really shared the same dream as husband and wife?

Hilda believed I had such a dream because I was a great knight bearing the name of the wolf. After all, Wolfgang means great wolf, or running wolf.

"Could it be that the Lord has sent our family a revelation?"

"If we say He sent a revelation in the form of a wolf, wouldn’t the Church throw a fit?"

"Ah, you’re right. Then let’s keep the dream our little secret."

Wolf worship was closer to folk belief, so the Church would have nothing kind to say about it. Well, it was just ordinary dream talk, nothing serious, so we laughed it off.

Since the dream featured a wolf, the child was sure to be a son, but personally, I hoped our second would be a daughter. A daughter who takes after Hilda...

She’d be so adorable I might just shiver from the cuteness.

Wouldn’t her wedding day turn into a sea of tears?

Whatever the child may be, I just want a healthy birth. Of course, what matters most is Hilda’s health. Regrettably, childbirth in the medieval era was a gamble with one’s life, a walk right up to death’s door.

All because of poor hygiene and primitive medicine.

Bearing a child is a blessing.

But the process is never easy.

The Church teaches that women suffer in childbirth because Eve coveted God’s power and committed original sin by eating the forbidden fruit. And Adam ate the fruit that Eve handed him.

God, in His wrath, cursed Eve to bear children in great pain and cursed Adam to toil unto death for his harvest, and the descendants of those two, they say, are the women and men of today.

Whatever the Bible’s doctrine might say, I cared far more about Hilda’s health and the child’s. That was why, to prepare for the worst, I relied on the family-only medical service the System provided.

It was the one and only means of protecting both mother and child.

Anything to protect Hilda’s radiant smile.

"I’m sure a fine boy who takes after you will be born, Wolf."

"If it’s a boy, I’ll name him Adolf, just as Grandfather’s will asked."

"Adolf, the noble wolf. What a truly wonderful name."

It’s a magnificent name, but that damned Hitler ruined it forever. Maybe I should track down Hitler’s ancestors and wipe them out, if only to protect the name Adolf? Though I’d have to know who they were first.

Hitler was a rare surname, but people changed their surnames often enough that tracking the family down was practically impossible. Then, suddenly, Hilda’s eyes clouded with anxiety.

"...But what if it’s a girl?"

"Hm, then wouldn’t she be absolutely lovely, just like you?"

I tried to comfort her by saying a daughter would be just fine, but I couldn’t stop her mood from sinking. For every noble wife of this era, the number one source of stress was a single question: son or daughter?