After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Back in the ob-gyn department, the Ross family’s consultation session was finally nearing its end.

This was the first time Cassandra had heard so much about child-bearing and, to be honest, she felt a little terrified. She… did not know what to do.

If he messed this up—

”The fetus is still very young, but quite healthy so far,” Cynthia said, pulling Cassandra back to the present.

She handed the prescriptions and other notes to Gill, when she saw that Cassandra was a little bit unstable. ”You have to be very very careful at this period—avoid excessive activity and stress. Of course, some minor exercise is recommended.”

Gill nodded, eyes filled with determination to do this correctly. Interestingly, Gwen had the same look. ”Of course we will. It’s been a long time since our family has seen a baby!”

Mathilda laughed and turned to Cassandra, who was looking a bit teary. Although they hadn’t caught up yet, she had an idea about the girl’s situation based on what she heard so far.

She also knew how hard it was to be a first time mother, especially in a place where she might feel like she didn’t have ’family’.

The older woman held Cassandra’s hand, making her flinch.

”Don’t worry, child,” Mathilda said. ”You have a home right here with us.”

There were too many what-ifs when a new life was involved but, at the same time, sometimes a parent should just take things as they come.

”That child will grow up well,” she said, her reassuring voice calming the younger woman. ”And we will watch over him or her together.”

….

After the hospital visit, the family headed back home, procuring a cart so Cassandra didn’t have to walk.

There were plenty of stops along the territory and there were also laybys so the carts could pause without interfering with traffic. As a high-traffic area, there were many stops on all streets near the hospital so it wasn’t difficult to procure one.

Anyway, while they rode, Gwen was doting on Cassandra and so was Mathilda. They’d make sure she was comfortable, even adding some pillows from their space to whatever seat she was using. They would hand her water and snacks, overall just trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

One could tell her life with the in-laws would be very good.

Cassandra’s lips pursed and she bit her lips. To be honest, it was a little difficult to believe her luck.

”You’re so nice…” she mumbled, voice a little shaky, and Gwen chuckled at this.

”No, we feel pity that you ended up with my dudderhead of a brother,” she said. ”We gotta balance things out, you know?”

”...”

Gill gave his sister a look but sighed in the end. He could never win the battle of words with his sister, so he didn’t even try.

Anyway, the family headed to Mathilda’s villa and stayed there. He gently patted Cassandra’s back. ”We will stay here while you’re pregnant,” he said. Although his own house was good, he was most rest assured if there were other people in the same house.

Lola and Yana had part-time jobs, but they were in the house to tend to everything every other time. The captain’s twins were also often here, and they could make for excellent distractions for the pregnant Cassandra—whose movements would be a lot more constrained than before.

The family settled there for a bit, using this time to catch up with each other. Gill and Gwen, in particular, had not seen or talked to each other for almost half a year!

The chatter was interrupted when Gill’s aether letter lit up.

”Captain and Miss Althea are back in their villa now,” he said. Although they met at the hospital, they couldn’t discuss sensitive stuff there, right? ”They’re calling for us.”

At this, both Gill and Mathilda stood up to go to the house next door. Unexpectedly, a soft hand held on Gill’s.

”Let me come with you,” Cassandra said. ”I am constrained by oath against saying some things, but I should be able to provide more context to your reports.”

Mathilda and Gill agreed to it after a short thought, and they arrived to see the couple already waiting for them at their dining table. The babies weren’t there, but they could hear their laughter. They were likely in the gardens behind the house.

Gill went to report everything that had happened and everything he had seen and done during his stay in Jacoba. For now, this allowed the couple to note both Jacoba and Ester Town.

Cassandra proceeded to explain the relationships between the two towns and even to Bleuelle City.

Basically, it was a strictly business relationship, though the city had began to source from other villages as well.

The only complicated part was that the Ester lord’s wife was a cousin to the Trion Patriarch. The Trion family was the family directly next to the Golds in ranking and, unlike them, this family was very… demanding and unnecessarily prideful.

If they somehow underestimated the relationship, maybe Bleuelle could get involved.

”You did well in diverting the attention away,” Garan said. ”Even if they figured it out, it’d take a while, and we’d be a name among towns by then as well.”

”I’m more curious about the Isatis,” Althea said. The current dyes were limited. She had seen the blue dye Cassandra showed and she could understand how it was considered a premium color.

It really was pretty, and it was apparently the most expensive dye next to the purple.

Gill smiled, handing her a few plants he bought. To ’celebrate’ the wedding, a lot of shops held special events. A few also offered Isatis Plant bouquets for a high price.

He bought one not to buy for Cassandra—the plant probably didn’t have good meaning for her—but for Althea and the research team.

This made the couple look at him appreciatively.

Of course, Gill was always the pragmatic one and was quick to manage expectations. ”I managed to get a few, however, it seems that turning them to legitimately good dyes had a special, well-guarded technique.”

They turned to Cassandra, who shook her head. ”I actually do have an idea, but I am under oath not to tell. I’m sorry.”

The detailed methodologies would only be passed down to the formal heir (who was a son), but she lived there for so long that she managed to pick up some things.

Sadly, women in the family took very strict and detailed oaths as early as they were very young. In the oath, they swore never to bring harm to the family and always prioritize its well-being.

This was in the assumption that they’d be ’other people’s properties’ after getting married. So, in the end, she couldn’t say anything about it.

”It’s okay, we understand,” Althea said. ”We’ll figure it out.”

There was a risk of getting traced because of this. After all, if they made this commercially available, it would only be a matter of time before it was determined they produced the dyes themselves.

However, she believed in her territory.

By the time those people noticed Alterra…, they would only be able to watch in envy.