"...."
Her mother had died at age 26, when she was only eight years old. Right now Esme is 19 years old, and it has been a full eleven years since her mother's death. The possibility of her dying the same age as her mother was high, this meant she had very little time left to live.
Not only did she have such little time left but Arthur was also not aware of this.
She bit her bottom lip as she realized that she would have to tell him about it. Feelings of disappointment and sadness washed over her. She realised that her happy future was going to be short-lived and there was very little she could do about it.
She did not doubt he would throw her out should he find out about it. He seemed to be very different from the typical men of this kingdom but despite that, she knew that many would be disappointed to know that his wife was not only going to die but his children would also have the same disease that killed her.
She stood up and sat on the bed with a solemn look on her face. The feeling of elation she had felt earlier was now gone, her shoulders were slumped and she felt as if all the energy she felt had been suddenly sapped from her body.
The solemn look on her face changed into a deprecating smile as she thought about the words her sister had said to her.
"Hehe!"
She chuckled softly, finding the fact that she had thought she had found some happiness to be quite amusing. Her stomach churned and twisted into knots, the realisation that her future was not going to be long enough to enjoy it made her feel sick.
She took a few moments in silence, marinating in her own sadness and pitiful existence before she began to deliberate on what to do, she heaved a deep sigh and let herself fall back on the bed.
"I suppose my pregnancy is not something necessary"
She whispered to herself, maybe her decision was selfish and she was a bad person for that but for the time being she wanted to at least enjoy her life.
From what she knows, the sickness that killed her mother only started to show itself when she was at the age of 24 but she wasn't really bedridden until 26 and she spent the next 8 months in bed before dying.
"At the moment I am still at 19 years of age, that means I have 6 years on my life"
She said to herself. With only 6 years there's no point in getting pregnant and having children, it's better to not have them and save everyone from the heartache.
At present she didn't really love Arthur, he was handsome and she found him attractive but that was just physical attraction not love, she was sure he felt the same, however, Arthur did choose her meaning at the very least he wanted to learn to love her and she could learn to love him.
So the best she can do now is just enjoy the married life she will have and then pass on, it is selfish but she was fine with that, Arthur will find another woman after her.
"In fact I can even assist him with that matter, making it so the loss is not as devastating to him"
She reasoned, in her last days she figured she could steer him towards another woman or perhaps set him up with one of the maids.
Help him move on quickly and without too much hurt. Once again it wasn't lost on her how terrible all of this sounded but if Arthur were to find out she is going to die in just 6 years then he'd certainly throw her away and unfortunately, she cannot go back to the castle.
Having been born to a commoner, means that once she's married she is no longer part of her previous family and thus cannot return.
After another silence that lasted more than a few minutes, she stood up from the bed and once again rummaged through her luggage, looking for her silk underwear. She had less excitement than before but that was replaced with determination.
If she was going to be selfish and keep the truth from her husband, the least she could do is be a good wife while she's with him. There's a possibility that he might find out in the future but she'll deal with that when it happens.
.....
[2 hours later]
Sweat dripped onto the hard floor, as Arthur did a handstand. The entire floor was drenched in his sweat as if someone had poured a bucket of water on it. Such copious amounts of sweat were a testament to his diligence and hard focus.
After a full 10 minutes of doing a handstand push-up up he flipped himself to his feet and landed on the dry spot of the floor so as not to slip. His breathing was heavy, a clear sign of being tired but he felt he could continue for a few more hours.
"Nah it's fine"
He said to himself. The man's body was lean and tall but with visible muscles, he had clear-cut abs and lean but muscular arms, his physique was similar to a certain bald protagonist but unfortunately with nowhere near the level of power.
His skin was dark, the color of beautifully vanished wood and it carried a significant amount of scars.
There was a jagged tooth-like scar around his left arm just above his elbow. On his chest were gruesome claw marks, three of them, it was clear that such scars were made by some type of creature, one he had to fight with all his might.
Right below his left shoulder, there was a horrid puncture scar, as if he had been stabbed by something like an arrow or a sharp fingernail.
The scars weren't a bother to him as they came with the territory of being an explorer but he did wonder if she wouldn't mind them.
After all, he didn't really know what was considered attractive in this kingdom, but it was pointless to worry about that.
Wiping himself off with a nearby towel before he made his way out of the basement which was quite spacious and made him wonder if he could use it as a gym space or something else.
As he walked out he couldn't help but think of his new wife, when he first saw her was during something called the Sun's rebirth festival which is a celebration centered around the reincarnation of the Sun God: Sol, the bringer of light and life.
Amongst the members of the royal family that he saw at that festival, she was the one who stood out the most and none of her siblings or relatives could compare to her beauty.
Unfortunately, he couldn't stay long and he was just passing through because he needed some equipment in this kingdom, so he had to leave but he made sure to come back, and come back he did.
"Although whether or not that's a good thing, I can't say"
He said to himself while thinking about the situation, she didn't seem unhappy, in fact she said she was quite pleased but even though she said so, he still had misgivings about the situation.
His recklessness barged into a situation without thinking or learning extensively how to do things, instead, he just took the word of some random citizen and went with it.
"Heh! If this had been a raid on a monster's den I would have died for being so reckless"
He joked with himself, fortunately though as things stand no one seemed unhappy so he figured it was fine, at least until she says it's not fine, so it was alright to just assume it is fine, he isn't dissatisfied with the current situation.
"Just have to treat her right, can't be that hard"
...