I Don’t Even Know Who The Child’s Father Is - Chapter 1

“Push Harder! Give it more!”

Oh my gosh, my stomach hurts!

Ugh, what is that woman saying? What does she mean by ‘push harder’?

I can’t even breathe properly because of the pain coursing through my veins, and now she wants me to push?

Please, I feel like my whole body is going to tear into half!

“Push it!”

Why do you keep telling me to push? I’m hurting so much that I don’t even have the strength to open my eyes! Whatever it is you want for me to push, just take it from me!

I really can’t do this anymore.

Whatever is happening, I could feel every fiber of strength in my body being drained out because of it…

But why does it hurt so much?

I’ve had several dreams before where I was cut or attacked, but during those times, I wasn’t in such intense pain as I was in, right now.

Is this even a dream? Am I still alive?

This is all so weird!

I could sense that something is definitely not right, and so I twisted my body to the side.

Just then, an intense pain seemed to fall down on my stomach. It kept growing and growing and I felt the pressure balloon up inside of me…

“Ahhh-gh! Why is this so painful?” I exclaimed.

Even back when I was constipated for several days, I was never this hurt!

If this was a dream, I would definitely buy a lottery ticket as soon as I wake up!

I remembered that there was a saying that the more vivid one’s dream is, the better the luck they would receive.

My eyes instantly lit up at the thought of money. However, as soon as I did, my vision started to focus on my surroundings…

I began to see people in strange clothes surrounding and staring down at me. They also seemed to have concerned faces as they uttered cheers. They were coaxing me to push harder.

They look restless, though.

What’s going on?

However, I was quickly losing my interest in trying to figure out what was happening because my lower body started to hurt so much that I thought I was going to die!

“Hmph! Argh! I am dying!”

I was slowly feeling lightheaded, and as soon as my surroundings became hazy, only one thing was clear to me; my lower limbs were being torn apart!

Even as I clenched my teeth and tried to take hold of my bearing, the pangs of pain were too much for me. I was drowned in an unexplainable agony and I couldn’t escape.

I couldn’t find the right words to describe just how much I was suffering, so I just kept on wailing.

This is a dream right? Please tell me this is just a dream.

I mustered whatever strength I had left and willed myself to wake up from this freakish nightmare. I bit on the insides of my cheeks and let out a strong force hoping to escape the clutches of this dream.

I felt my insides squirming and squeezing, and then I felt a rush of something slipping out of me. A sudden wave of a strange burning feeling washed over my senses.

Maybe I was waking up…

‘Heh, heh heh…Great! Just great. I think I’m going to get 1st place in the lottery…’ Just as I felt a sense of release, a sudden loud cry filled my ears.

“Uwaahh!”

“Huh? Wh-” When I tried to raise my head which was still heavy from exhaustion, the sight of a newborn covered in blood greeted me.

The baby was held in the arms of an unfamiliar older woman.

Why is there a kid here? This is weird…

Oh well, I guess I dream wildly!

This is such a vivid dream, but I’d rather have a different dream, now.

When am I waking up?

Somehow, this older woman was leaning closer towards me and showing me the baby. I gave the child a blank stare, this strange creature is someone else’s child isn’t it? What’s it doing so close to my face?

I could feel sweat trickling down from my forehead and I raised a hand to wipe it off, as soon as I did that the unfamiliar middle-aged woman smiled at me and said, “Congratulations your highness! You’ve given birth to a healthy princess!”

“Oh, yes thank…What?” Did I just hear what I heard?

“This is the child the princess had given birth to.” She must have misunderstood my outburst, because she started shoving the baby more into my face.

Excuse me, ma’am, but what are you saying?

I am a single, unmarried woman, how can I have a baby?

Besides, what princess is she talking about?

This is nonsense, I tell you!

The woman cradled the child into her arms and was wiping some of the blood away. She then stepped closer towards me again. I instantly closed my eyes as I felt her trying to make me look at the baby once more, “Come on now, doesn’t she look so pretty? She looks like you, princess.” I heard her speak softly.

I sighed, and slowly opened my eyes and saw the child that she was holding.

The older woman stared at me expectantly, I was still confused but I felt like I needed to say something, “Uhm… Well, yeah, she’s pretty. By the way…”

Did she say the baby looks like me now?

No, is that right? Does this child really look like me?

That’s such a scary thought!

The child seemed to have sensed what I was thinking since it suddenly burst into tears.

“Ah, dear…” The woman pulled away and started to soothe the crying girl.

I could feel panic rising up from my chest, why does this dream seem so real?

More importantly, how long is this dream going to last?

“Uwaaaah!” The child’s cries grew louder and more incessant.

I felt goosebumps run all over my body and spread more quickly as her cries filled the room.

This dream is really starting to make me uncomfortable.

I began to feel a sense of fear like I was sleeping next to a pair of scissors that will poke me the second I wake up. Just thinking about that, made me break into a cold sweat.

I really have a bad feeling about this…

My body started to feel warm, and the pain from the lower half of my body still made me wince. I could sense my mind wandering and filling me up with disorientation. While at the back of my confused mind, anxiety was knocking…

My gaze drifted across the rest of the people in my room, they all looked at me with eyes full of apprehension.

I couldn’t help but think, this dream is really so crystal clear. I could even see everyone’s features and expressions clearly!

As my eyes scanned the room, it landed on a nearby mirror. As I stared at it, I saw the image of an unrecognizable woman who was also staring back at me.

Wait, aren’t I the one looking at the mirror? Shouldn’t it be my image that should be reflected on it? But why, why does she look different? It’s like she’s from a different race?

The woman in the mirror had long, flowy blonde hair that went past her shoulders and she also had pure white skin. Furthermore, she had vibrant red eyes that seemed to be filled with the scorching heat of a blazing fire.

Yeah, that is not the face I know, I had.

I know who I am.

I am a proud Korean citizen.

Ever since I was young I had the dream and ambition to join a large corporation and become its president.

After years of hard work, I was finally taking the first step towards that goal and had become a full-time employee. I was supposed to start my first day at work tomorrow, so I remember going home early to prepare myself for a full day.

But what is this situation?

“Why, why are you acting like this, Princess Etricia?” A woman who caught me staring at the mirror with a stunned look on my face called out to me and referred to me as princess again.

This time, she called me Etricia, Etricia…why does that name sound so familiar? Where have I heard it before?

Wait a minute!

Do they mean, Etrcia Lete?

I recalled that I stumbled upon a web novel a few days ago.

I just got back from working all night when I saw that novel pop out on my recommendation list. I remembered buying it then…

What was the title of that novel again?

I know! It was a novel called;  ‘I am a villain, so I will live my life as I please’.

Since I was so tired from work, I only read the first part of the novel and went to sleep immediately because it was already so late in the night. Therefore, I did not know the rest of the story.

However, as of this moment, the only thing that came to my mind was the ‘villain’. She was the female lead of the story. In it, she was just living her own life, and although it was a typical reverse harem novel, the male leads of the story were all crazy characters that it wasn’t so well received.

Regardless, are these people seriously telling me that Princess Etricia was pregnant?

I mean, that she already gave birth?

That’s absurd!

Still, does that matter right now?

What’s more important to me is figuring out my current situation.

Do these people think that I am the princess? Is that why they are all staring at me and calling me Princess Etricia?

I turned to one of the women around me and asked nervously, “Please look at me, did you just call me Princess Etricia?”

The woman gave me a puzzled look before she answered solemnly, “Yes, that’s right! Princess you must still feel disoriented since you’ve just given birth to a child. Your energy levels now are low, and you need some rest to replenish it.” Just then the lady turned to address one of her companions and spoke to her, “Hurry now, and call up the senator!”

What are these people saying?

“No, no. Everyone please stop! Don’t move from your place!”

Everyone remained frozen in their seats and stared at me intently, as if waiting for a command. I could tell from the way they were gazing at me that they were scared of what I was going to say. They even appeared like they were trembling and couldn’t breathe while looking at me.

Still, I had my own worries to settle. I needed to figure out my current predicament. So I voiced out my questions once again, “So, I’m Pr-Princess Etricia, you say?”

The women around me stared at me like I just said the most obvious thing in the world and started nodding and reassuring me that I was the princess.

I could feel a bitter laugh rising up my throat…

What kind of dog shit is this?

I pulled myself up in a sitting position and instantly felt pain. However, I tried to ignore this, and attempted to jump out of the bed.

But before I could do so, one of the ladies near me, handed me the child.

Suddenly, I found myself having a baby in my arms.

It seems I can’t run towards the door now that I was carrying the kid. I began to worry if I was going to drop her, “Ugh, Ha…this is hard…”

As I struggled to hold the girl in place, a thought crept up my mind, I felt like I had forgotten something important.

Wait a minute…

‘Bang!’

Before I could further dwell on my thoughts the doors opened.

A person who looked exactly like Etrica abruptly ran to my side and held one of my hands. As I looked at him closer I became more certain that this person was more than ninety-nine percent, related to the princess.

He suddenly started talking to me, “Etricia you’ve been through a lot…”

The man paused as if catching his breath before he added, “…But I want to ask you one thing, who is the father of the child?”

I stared at the strange man before me and the child I was cradling. Honestly, this man and this baby looked similar to each other, “… Are you the father of this child?”

Really, who’s this kid’s dad? I mean, is this child even mine?

The confusion I was feeling escalated to the point that I started to talk unknowingly, “I mean, I have a baby? Me? This beautiful child is mine? Really, isn’t this a sh—surprise?” I hurriedly corrected myself.

Gosh, I almost said a profane word in the presence of a child!

I had to be careful with my words, knowing that a baby was listening to me.

Just then my vision seemed to be filled with stars…

Is it night time?

Why am I suddenly seeing stars?

Wait, doesn’t one need to look at the night skies to see the stars?

So why am I suddenly seeing them right now?

Ah… that’s right, this is not my body.

Maybe this body, unbeknownst to me, is seeing the skies.

Hahaha…

[T/N: She thinks the real Etricia dead]

“I am having a child… I am having a child…!” My head was spinning and was throbbing in pain.

I felt shaken and sensed my eyelids fluttering for a moment. Suddenly, the world around me turned pitch black.