The Dragon King’s Lucky Baby Chose My Womb

“If Your Majesty is so angry, you can punish me.” Elara touches her belly and smiles faintly. “But whether this child can survive it, I really don’t know.” The Queen Mother slams the table. “Outrageous!” Her chest rises and falls with anger. She turns and glares at Kaelen. “This is what your spoiling has done!” Kaelen says nothing. He only stares coldly at Elara. Elara looks like she doesn’t care at all. She brushes off her shoulder. The Queen Mother looks around the hall, and finally her eyes land on me. Her gaze moves from my face to my waist. Then she nods. “This girl is pretty enough.” “She has huge hips. She looks fertile.” My face burns at once. The Queen Mother ignores it and keeps staring at me. “How many years have you been in the palace? Why do you look so unfamiliar?” I quickly lower myself. “Your Majesty, I entered the palace in the same group as Her Majesty the Queen.” The Queen Mother lifts a brow. “Then why have I never seen you attend the King?” My palms are covered in sweat, but I force myself to answer. “His Majesty has always focused on ruling the kingdom. I have never received his favor.” Kaelen’s brow moves slightly. The truth is, he has been heirless for years, so he has long been cold toward women. Later, Elara charmed him with her strange ideas, and he favored only her rooms. Who would have thought that after just one time, Elara would actually get pregnant? And yet she doesn’t want the child. The more the Queen Mother thinks about it, the angrier she gets. She stands with the help of her maid. “If the Queen refuses to give birth, then let someone willing do it.” She looks at Kaelen, saying each word clearly. “Tonight, you will go to Lydia’s rooms.” “Let the Queen know she is not the only woman in this palace.” 【Yes! Let that stupid woman regret wasting what she had!】 The baby voice cheers happily beside my ear. On the other side, Elara’s face turns iron-gray. That night, half the porcelain in her rooms is smashed. The next morning, the fire in the Queen Mother’s hall burns hot. The Queen Mother sits at the head of the room in a white fur cloak, but her face is colder than the snow outside. Elara arrives very late. She comes in holding her maid’s hand, her back straight. Her belly is not showing yet, but she walks like she is about to give birth any day. Kaelen sits below the Queen Mother, his lowered eyes even sharper than before. Elara gives a careless curtsy. “Did you sleep badly last night, Mother?” The Queen Mother looks at her coldly. “Thanks to you, Elara, how could I sleep?” Elara laughs softly and sits down on her own. “Why be angry, Mother? I simply refuse to be trapped by the crown and children.” “A woman’s life should not become only about a child from the moment she gets pregnant.” The Queen Mother tightens her grip on her beads. “But the child in your belly is the only dragon heir the King has waited years for!” “So?” Elara raises her eyes to Kaelen. “So I should be grateful and throw away the rest of my life?” Kaelen’s fingers rest on the armrest, tapping again and again. “What do you want?” This is exactly what Elara has been waiting for. “The child can stay, but I have two conditions.” The Queen Mother’s face darkens at once.

Elara raises one finger. “First, I will sit in on state affairs and give my opinion.” Then she raises a second finger. “Second, after my child is born, he must become the next Dragon King.” The Queen Mother’s hall goes silent. The Queen Mother snaps the beads in her hand. “Absurd!” Elara doesn’t even lift a brow. “If Mother thinks it is absurd, I can simply get rid of the child.” Her hand falls back to her belly. “It is only an abortion potion. One bowl, and it’s done.” Kaelen shoots to his feet. Every servant drops to their knees. I kneel with them, my heart almost jumping out of my throat. Elara still sits there. She looks at me, her eyes bright with open contempt. “Why is Lydia so scared?” “Weren’t you so good at proving your loyalty last night?” I lower my head, wishing I could shrink into a crack in the floor. Elara lets out a soft laugh. “A woman like you has only one path left. Use your belly to beg for favor.” “Too bad. Even after throwing away your pride, your belly still can’t deliver.” I don’t dare answer. But the baby voice by my ear starts rolling with anger. 【I’m so mad! She has a miracle in her hands and wants to smash it, but she still thinks she’s so smart!】 【This isn’t bargaining. She’s throwing herself into a firepit!】 【And she wants to break me before she goes? Dream on!】 I bite down hard on my lip. But the voice keeps cursing harder and harder. When it curses that even a rock has better survival instincts than her, the corner of my mouth still twitches. Just a little. But Kaelen sees it. His gaze stays on my face for a moment. Elara is still sneering. “Your Majesty, I will give you one day.” “If you have not decided by this time tomorrow, I will go to the Royal Healers myself and take the potion.” Kaelen suddenly turns. “Ready the escort.” Elara’s brow relaxes. She thinks he has backed down. In the next second, Kaelen adds coldly, “To Lydia’s rooms.” My head jerks up. The smile on Elara’s face disappears too. …… That night, Kaelen steps into my bedchamber. I hold a cup of tea, but my hands shake so badly that half of it spills. He glances at it and does not take it. “What?” “You’re afraid of me?” My knees go weak and I try to kneel, but he reaches out and catches my wrist. “You were brave enough when you talked back to the Queen.” I force out a dry reply. “I was… scared out of my mind.” The Lucky Baby whispers excitedly beside my ear. 【Stop shaking. If you want to be my mommy, you need a stronger heart than this!】 【Hurry, sleep with him!】 Oh my God. Little one, do you hear yourself? I close my eyes. Kaelen looks at my pale face and slowly leans closer. “Since you want it, I’ll give it to you.” “Let’s see if your belly can back up that mouth.”

“My lady, the people outside are going too far.” At dawn, my maid comes in carrying a wash basin, her eyes rimmed red. I wipe my face. “What are they saying out there?” She presses her lips together and finally forces the words out. “They say you rushed to have a baby in the Queen’s place.” “They say you’re from a nobody family and have never known favor.” “They say last night you knelt and begged His Majesty to stay.” She gets angrier the more she speaks, and turns to storm out. “Let me go argue with them!” “Come back,” I put down my handkerchief. “Don’t go.” The maid stamps her foot. “My lady, they’re practically calling you a—” She doesn’t dare finish. I finish it for her. “A shameless bed-climber chasing the King’s favor?” “Let them talk. I’m not upset, so why are you?” Half-awake last night, that little baby voice kept fussing by my ear. 【Sweet mommy, don’t worry. Lucky Baby is coming right up.】 【Eat more, sleep more, and don’t wear yourself out.】 【The bigger that idiot talks now, the harder she’ll fall later.】 Since Elara wants to pin me to this target, I might as well let her pin me there harder. By afternoon, the rumors have spread through the whole palace. Even the young servant bringing in charcoal keeps sneaking looks at me. I keep my head down and embroider my handkerchief, acting like I don’t see. By evening, the Queen Mother’s attendant arrives with tonics, her face grim. “My lady, you’ve been wronged.” I quickly stand and bow. “You’re too kind.” She glances at me, then lowers her voice. “The Queen has been sending the story outside the palace.” “When the court officials’ families came in to pay respects, they were still gossiping in the side hall.” “They say the Queen cares about the whole kingdom and refuses to be trapped by pregnancy.” “They say you…” she pauses, “…only care about rising because of a baby.” I touch my stomach. “They aren’t wrong.” “If I’m truly blessed enough, of course I want to carry His Majesty’s heir.” The older woman freezes for a moment. The way she looks at me changes. Within half an hour of her leaving, two boxes of rare pregnancy tonics are sent from the Queen Mother’s hall. Elara can’t stand it anymore. She has the abortion potion carried straight to Kaelen’s private hall. When the Queen Mother summons me, Kaelen is already seated at the head of the long table, his face dark. Elara stands in the middle of the room, a young servant beside her holding a black bowl. She lifts a hand and lightly taps the rim. “Your Majesty, I don’t want to wait anymore.” Kaelen rubs the space between his brows. “What are you trying to do now?” Elara smiles, calm as ever. “In three days, the court officials’ families will come to the palace banquet.” “If you haven’t agreed to my conditions by then, I will drink this bowl in front of all of them.” The Queen Mother clutches her chest. Her attendant rushes to hold her up. Kaelen’s eyes go dark. “Elara. Do you really think I won’t remove you?” Elara strokes her belly. “Of course you can.” “But can you bear it?” She takes a step forward. “This is the only child you’ve had after all these heirless years.” She turns her head to look at me and gives a scornful little smile. “Don’t tell me you’re counting on Lydia to get pregnant overnight and save you.” I lower my head and quietly stare at the tips of my shoes. Elara grows even more smug. “State affairs. The next Dragon King.” “Miss even one, and I won’t give birth.” The whole room goes tense. The Queen Mother falls sick that same night. Kaelen smashes three desk ornaments. Only I am woken in the dead of night by that little voice. 【Sweet mommy, eat more.】 【In one month, I promise you, that stupid woman is going to embarrass herself in front of the whole court!】