Chapter 27: Desperate Fight
Rosanna was bathing in the afterglow of the setting sun when she felt a kick in her stomach. A smile blossomed on her face as she rubbed her protruding belly. There were still three months until her delivery, yet her unborn child was already growing impatient.
She had already settled on a few good names for the baby, be it from Ember or Rain, but she still managed to resist her urge to learn whether it was a boy or a girl. Of course, she herself was incapable of determining it, but many high-rankers probably could after a little probing. Even Cliff was now capable of it, though he resisted after hearing her request.
The skies knew how much she missed him. With Rain busy with her schooling and Ember off on his first outing, Rosanna was alone and forlorn in the house for long hours. She couldn’t even attempt cooking some long-winded recipes, as there was nobody home to eat them. Her eldest had no interest in learning the art despite giving up combat. In her own words, she would never become half as good as her without the class, so why bother even trying?
At least Ember showed more enthusiasm. After Cliff was gone, he seemed to have taken up the role of her cooking attendant, even trying himself at times. He wasn’t terrible at it, but he still had a long way to go. Well, her standard might be a little high with her Chef class.
She stepped back on her way into the house, perhaps to help herself to something sweet and sour, when she heard a disturbance coming her way. She turned to find her father-in-law trudging into their compartment with the help of one of his sons.
Rosanna recognised this one at least. Cloud wasn’t among the most talented of his offspring, but he had some quality to become something of an assistant to his father. For now, her gaze lingered on the older man, who seemed to have aged a decade in the time she hadn’t seen him. Compared to his ever-pristine appearance, his hair was now dishevelled, a gruff beard growing on his face, though the worst of it was his left leg. He was missing it completely, only trudging along with the help of a wooden stump.
Rosanna’s heart skipped a beat as the man approached.
“I can walk on my own,” her father-in-law said, pushing off his son. “You think I'm useless just because I lost a leg.”
“But Father, the healer said—”