Side Story 04. The Best of Those Who Gave Birth to Tisse
The early summer sunlight filtered through the beige curtains, creating soft shadows. It was already the fifth day since she came to the living room to draw a portrait at the same time every day. Chloe, sitting on the soft, flower-decorated single sofa, suddenly looked up at Damien. Damien, standing behind her, raised his golden eyebrows slightly and smiled.
“Chloe, if you change your position, won’t the painter be embarrassed?”
“...Your Majesty, it was you who changed your posture first.”
Damien's hands moved naturally over her round, moon-like belly, as if he were playing the keyboard, over the loose, soft dress.
“The child is calling me.”
It was a sandal, and the movements of the fetus were so vivid that it was impossible not to notice. In addition, the baby was so active that he was busy wriggling his hands and feet here and there.
“Yes, I know it’s cramped inside. So now it’s time to show your face to your father.”
Damien continued to caress her stomach and muttered in a low voice. Chloe smiled as she looked ahead, thinking that she alone could not cause trouble to the artist. In fact, she wanted to hear more of Damien's voice talking to the child.
“If you had done that much prenatal education, it would have been time to come out now. Isn’t that right?”
Chloe barely managed to suppress a laugh as she heard Damien's affectionate voice, not sure if it was a threat or a request.
“I think maybe the prenatal care is too excessive and burdensome.”
“If he had my blood, he wouldn’t be so embarrassed.”
Chloe finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, then apologized to the artist.
“I’m sorry, I need to concentrate.”
“No, Your Majesty. It would be better if you smiled naturally.”
“Look at that. The greatest artist in the kingdom is smiling.”
Damien's voice also had a hint of laughter. Chloe felt a strong movement as if following her hand, and shook her head slightly with an expression that said she couldn't stop it.
“They say that Mom made the baby’s fourteenth pair of socks.”
“She said at tea time two days ago that she had finished her twelfth pair, already?”
“It looks like she decided to just skip the thirteenth. The number was a bit unsettling.”
Chloe sighed softly and looked up at him again. She felt even more sorry because she could understand Priscilla’s feelings of wanting to avoid even the slightest bit of bad luck.
“So, I guess she must have been too much of a burden.”
“It would be burdensome to come see you every day, so I just introduced you to a hobby that would help you pass the time.”
After the official announcement of the Queen's pregnancy, Priscilla, who was excited, came to see Chloe every day. Damien watched his mother quietly for a few days, and then hinted that if she made a gift for the baby herself, the baby would be touched in the future. Priscilla jumped up from her seat, fluttering like a perfectly baited fish, and immediately began sewing. It was awkward at first, and even now, the sizes of the feet were strangely different, but in any case, the pretty baby socks were being completed one by one.
“Oh, by the way, I should send a gift to Mr. Wyatt, too.”
“The price has been paid. Don’t waste the treasury, Chloe.”
“But composing prenatal music isn’t Wyatt’s job.”
Chloe said seriously. The piano melody flowing in the living room made it feel like they were in a forest rather than in a room. She doesn’t know how Damien ordered it, but Julian Wyatt, who gave Chloe the melody that captured her heart, must have been a real genius.
“Sometimes it’s necessary to go beyond your limits. If you become complacent, you won’t progress.”
Damien moved his fingers to the piano rhythm, making sounds that would be unpleasant to hear. Chloe watched his hand quietly and then gently squeezed it.
People probably don't know how affectionate such a cold-hearted person can be. It was Damien who painted her portrait every month when her body changed, who told Priscilla to show her devotion, and who asked the musician to write music for Swanton's successor. It was so harsh that he temporarily suspended the performance of tragedy at the Royal Theatre during the Queen's pregnancy. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he hadn't had a child.
“...Is it that good, Your Majesty?”
When Chloe asked him without realizing it, Damien's lips curled up nicely.
“Are you tempting me?”
Chloe squinted her eyes, blinded by the sunlight. As the baby grew in her womb, she felt like she was discovering a new side of her husband that she had never known before. Her body was getting heavier, but her mind seemed to be floating on clouds.
He commissioned the university to prepare systematic educational guidelines for children and ordered Weiss, who was the commander of the Royal Guard, to submit a plan for promoting physical development for infants and toddlers. Damien exposed this situation to the press and announced that future children would receive the same education as his own. Wyatt's prenatal music was selling like hotcakes, and it was famous even in the principality.
“I respect you.”
Chloe didn't bury the words that were welling up in her heart, but blurted them out. Damien lowered his head and kissed her ear.
“It’s tempting, isn’t it?”
The artist, who had been moving his brush slowly, blinked his eyes a couple of times and quietly got up from his seat. The painting was already complete, so all he had to do was look at the photographs and do the finishing touches.
Click.
At the sound of the door closing, Chloe poked her head over Damien's shoulder. She couldn't bring herself to look at the painter who had disappeared along with his canvas, but as Damien had said before, happiness wasn't something that could be hidden.
“I want to meet the baby soon.”
It was nice to be like this, as if they were one body, but as her stomach grew bigger, she wanted to see the baby's face as soon as possible. Now, it was the due date, and she had difficulty even moving.
“The doctor said he doesn’t have much time left, so I guess we’ll be able to meet soon?”
Damien said, “Yes,” and slowly kissed her cheek. The attending doctor looked at Chloe’s slender figure and her large belly, and hinted that he hoped the baby would come today. Damien whispered in Chloe’s ear what the doctor had told him when he came to visit him privately.
“If you want to meet the child soon, Chloe.”
Her hazel eyes opened wide, and soon her cheeks turned a peach color.
Swish. The curtains fluttered in the wind that blew from somewhere. Amid the fresh green waves all around, only Chloe's face was very red. Every time Damien's shadow slowly covered her and disappeared, sunlight shone on the armrest of the sofa and tickled her toes.
"Beautiful."
Damien's face, which was becoming increasingly serious, grew hotter. Chloe closed her eyes, completely absorbed in his deep color. Her delicate fingers, which were wrapped around her stomach, moved along with the movements of the fetus, like a bird poking its beak inside an egg.
Two days later, on the night the portrait was completed, Queen Chloe von Tisse of Swanton went into labor. There was a tense atmosphere in the King’s bedroom, which was connected to the Queen’s bedroom by a door. The walls and doors were thick and soundproof, but because it was so quiet, the sounds coming from the next room were transmitted as they were.
“Your Majesty, please hold on a little longer.”
The midwife could be heard encouraging Chloe. Damien’s eyebrows furrowed as the thin moans that had stopped started again. For three hours now, Damien had been sitting motionless on the chair in front of the door, watching over her labor.
“Ah... Haa...”
Chloe could not even scream, but was faintly groaning. Priscilla, who had been waiting anxiously, clutching her handkerchief, was now praying with her eyes closed. Chloe's father, Lord Verdier, was catching his breath in the silent hallway, his face pale after thirty minutes.
“Your Majesty, you must be strong. You can do it.”
The voice of the attending doctor, Brown, also became urgent. Then, as Chloe’s voice, which had been groaning, suddenly stopped, Damien’s eyes, which had been staring at the door, distorted.
“Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!!”
Damien jumped up and opened the door. Inside the darkened delivery room, Chloe was in the center of the wide bed. She was drenched in sweat, her eyes closed, and she was just breathing hard. The doctor and midwife couldn’t stop the King from walking towards her. When the midwife tried to wipe Chloe’s half-conscious face with a wet towel, Damien took the towel instead.
“Chloe.”
Chloe slowly opened her eyes as Damien whispered softly at her bedside. She looked at him and smiled, despite her weakness.
“You have less patience than me.. What should I do... Hehe...”
As the labor pains that had stopped for a while began again, Chloe grabbed the long linen sheet hanging beside her. Damien looked at the doctor with bloodshot eyes. The doctor looked at him briefly, said a few words, and then began to encourage the mother again.
“It will be all right, Your Majesty.”
Damien, who had seen Chloe in labor right before his eyes, heard his words that she would be okay as a low-quality insult. He threw off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. Chloe, who was in labor, looked at him with wrinkles on her sweaty forehead.
“I’m fine, Your Majesty... Ahh...!”
Damien held her hand tightly and placed it over his heart. He held her delicate hand so tightly that it felt as if it would break.
“...Damien.”
Chloe groaned and looked at him. The heartbeat that was about to burst was transmitted through her hand. Damien’s eyes, looking at her in the dimly lit room, were like blue flames. She wished he could say something, but Damien did not open his mouth. He just looked at her.
The eyes that had captivated her from the moment she first saw them. The eyes that had made her heart bloom and set fire to it, and at that moment, Chloe was about to say, “I’m okay,” as she looked at them. Chloe saw tears falling down, gently drawing Damien’s lips as he smiled at her.
“...”
Chloe gasped, tightening her grip on Damien's hand. It was dim and dark, but she couldn't help but see the tears streaming down Damian's face. It was as if tears were streaming down from a statue. And Chloe could tell that Damien wasn't even aware that he was crying.
"Ha..."
The hand she was holding trembled slightly. Chloe looked at him with an expression that she couldn’t tell whether he was smiling or crying, and frowned. One thing was certain: she would never forget this scene. The midwife and the doctor’s voices faded away, and only her breathing and Damien’s voice grew louder in her head.
Chloe, my love. I'm here. I'll be with you forever.
“Hahahah!!!”
A loud noise shook her eardrums. It felt like all the noise was sucked into her ears in an instant.
“Your Highness the Healthy Prince!!”
Damien gasped and closed his eyes tightly. Chloe smiled faintly at the sight of her husband finally looking relieved. Look at that. I told you the baby and I were okay. Oh. But why? My stomach still hurts...?
“Oh my, oh my...! I see another head!”
Damien's blue eyes flashed sharply. No way. Chloe bit her pale lips and held his hand tightly. Unable to express her surprise and excitement in words, she just groaned with strength.
“Your Majesty, we are almost there!”
“Hooray! Hooray!”
“Ugh!”
Finally, two cries, strangely different in pitch, mingled together. As soon as the attending doctor cut the umbilical cord, the strength in her legs gave out, and the midwife could not hide her emotion in her voice.
“You are the Princess. You are the Prince and the Princess!”
Chloe blinked her eyes hard, unable to comprehend the situation. Damien was equally surprised, but as usual, he quickly accepted and understood the situation.
“It seems that the gift that Lady Stella sent had its effect.”
Damien, who had laughed at the sight of Chloe sending him the rocks she had kept with her every time she gave birth to a child, could not help but admire the miraculous coincidence that had happened to Chloe, who had treasured them.
“Damien...”
Damien was not unaware of Chloe's wishes. With the help of the midwife, he held the babies in his arms one by one. Chloe's face quickly turned bright red. The unusually large belly and the fetal movements that seemed to be chaotic now made sense. The maid sobbed beside her.
“Your Majesty, you are truly amazing...!”
It seemed like she could accept the compliment that had always been embarrassing. No one had ever had two babies with Tisse at the same time. Chloe closed her eyes and smiled brightly as she watched Damien holding their babies.
“Yaaap!”
“Ho! Ho!”
The twins, holding wooden swords, joined forces to attack their father. Dad deftly blocked one sword and wrapped the other around his waist, sending him rolling lightly in the grass.
“Please look at it just once, Your Majesty.”
“Anna. How can you surrender so easily?”
Damien held his hand in front of his nose and held back a laugh as he watched his daughter speak in a slurred voice. While he hesitated, Declan, who had seen the outside world three minutes before Anna, climbed onto his back and wrapped his arms around his neck.
“That’s what I was going to do!”
Damien, who was on the defensive due to the twins' joint attack, got up from the grass. Declan, who was being carried, put more strength into the arms holding his father, and in an instant, Anna, who was being held in her father's arms, screamed in joy.
“The sun is hot. Come here!”
“Should I go to Mom now?”
"Yes!"
Damien walked toward Chloe, who was waving from the shade of the trees, with the children in a group. The picnic in the flower-scented garden always ended in a hand-to-hand fight. Chloe handed juice to the children who were slurping until their little faces turned red, and looked at them with loving eyes as they drank. She couldn't believe that four years had already passed since she gave birth to the twins.
“Anna.”
"Yes."
Anna looked at Damien, licking her tongue at the apple juice on the corner of her mouth. Damien pulled the child into his arms and pretended to speak in a serious voice.
“I told you to fight with your sword, I didn’t tell you to surrender cowardly.”
“Excuse me, Dad. It was you who planned the plan.”
Damien's eyes were fixed on Declan, who was said to have neat blond hair and a resemblance to Damien's childhood. Despite the arrows turning, his son stood tall.
“The Princess has a very cute face, so if you ask her to look at it just once, you can’t win.”
“So you two conspired and attacked me?”
"Yes!"
Chloe and Damien couldn't help but laugh as they watched Declan raise his voice confidently.
“You are my son. Come here. Read a book to Anna.”
As Damien gestured to his son, Chloe handed Declan the storybook she had brought. Declan sat down next to Chloe, and Anna lay down on Damien’s lap. With the children between them, Damien reached out and gently touched Chloe’s back.
“Everyone wants to be a hero, but not everyone can be a hero. The reason heroes emerge in troubled times is that the times need heroes.”
Declan, who was reading a book out loud, paused for a moment and looked at Chloe.
“Mother, what does troubled times mean?”
“It means it’s a difficult world.”
“What kind of world is this difficult world?”
Declan asked with a puzzled expression. Anna was yawning, resting her head on Damien's lap. Damien, who had been silent, answered softly, stroking the child's forehead.
“A world where the leader cannot fulfill his role.”
Declan's blue eyes blinked, blinked, moving silently.
“Then there can be no heroes in this world.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because Anna and I are studying hard.”
Whenever the child spoke like this, Chloe couldn't help but feel the fear of bloodlines in her body.
“That’s right. We study every day and learn swordsmanship.”
Anna, who had been yawning, let out a sleepy voice. The twins’ bond was beyond their parents’ expectations. It was Declan, not the nanny, who read Anna a book until she fell asleep.
“We will become strong Kings.”
“But, brother, Dad said he would give us crowns but not power.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
"I don't know either?"
Chloe finally opened her mouth in a soft voice, looking at the twins, who were looking at each other.
“Strength comes from within.”
The twins looked alternately at their mother's hand, which was carefully placed on her chest, and her face.
“From the heart?”
“From the heart.”
Anna asked again.
“As I grow, my mind also grows, so will I become stronger?”
“There are people who are very big in body but small in heart.”
Declan, who had been listening to the story carefully, opened his mouth.
“How can I make my heart bigger?”
“Declan, remember when Anna was sick? When she had a cold.”
Declan nodded and frowned. Anna's body was burning hot, and her face was the color of a beet.
“Declan didn’t attend history or swordsmanship classes back then, but instead worried about Anna?”
Declan rarely complained about Anna being kept out of sight for fear of catching the disease, to the point of shouting, 'The Prince is not sick!'
“Yes, I did.”
“Why didn’t you eat?”
“Anna can’t eat, so I can’t eat. Anna... must be hungry too.”
“That’s when Declan’s heart grew this big.”
Chloe took a flying flower petal in her hand and gently placed it on Declan's lapel.
“If I get sick, does Declan’s heart grow bigger?”
“Declan’s heart grew because he cared about Anna, who was sick. It was the heart that truly cared for and understood someone that made Declan’s heart grow.”
Declan listened to Chloe's words carefully, then slipped the petal into the book he was holding. Chloe looked at her son with pleasure. It was as if she saw herself collecting pretty fallen leaves in him when she was young.
“So if Declan gets sick, I can feel better too?”
Despite Anna's absurd remarks, Declan was serious.
“I’ll run and fall hard. My knees will bleed.”
Anna, who had been thinking deeply after hearing Declan's words, shook her head.
“No! I don’t want Declan to get sick. You don’t have to be angry. Anna can still be a good King. Right, Dad?”
Instead of saying that her feelings for her brother had already grown a little bigger, Chloe gently placed a flower petal in Anna's hair as she stretched out her legs and rubbed her eyes on her father's lap. Declan started reading his book again, and Anna fell into a deep sleep. Declan's voice gradually became quieter, perhaps because he was tired from running around, sweating all morning.
“Should I read it, Declan?”
Declan turned his head and glanced at his sister, then smiled harmlessly at Chloe.
"Yes."
Chloe brushed back his dazzling blond hair, kissed Declan’s round forehead, and began to read a book quietly for the child. The wind blew, causing flower petals to flutter. The petals landed on Declan’s face, listening to his mother’s calm voice, and on Anna’s small body, sleeping soundly like an angel. Declan, who had been holding the petals that had settled on his eyelids without removing them, finally became restless as his breathing became more labored, and Chloe looked at Damien.
“If my mother had been like you, I would not have become King.”
“Why?”
Chloe frowned slightly at him. They had never had a disagreement about the children's education before, but today was probably that time. However, she was confident that she would not give in, no matter how strong Damien was. She did not want to raise her children with the power of hatred toward someone. Damien smiled faintly as he watched Chloe tightly clench her delicate hands, preparing to fight back.
“You seem like you could even inspire a devil and raise him to be an angel.”
“...That’s a compliment, right?”
“Of course. Thanks to you, the devil got three angels.”
Chloe then gave him a small glare and smiled. He was a man whose speech was always confusing, but now it was impossible to hate him. After making sure the children were asleep, she lowered her voice even further.
“Then I would like to thank Princess Priscilla for raising you to be who you are.”
This time, Damien smiled and whispered back.
“Why? Do you like the devil?”
"Yes."
Damien's lips turned up even higher as he watched Chloe nod boldly without denying.
“Our story began because you decided to become King.”
Was it possible to become sick of her? Damien wanted to go back to his past self, who didn't believe in love and laughed at his arrogant self if he could. Instead, he tilted his head with a satisfied expression at Chloe's answer.
“Kiss me, my love.”
During the fluttering flower rain, the King and Queen quietly kissed each other with the sleeping children between them.
The early summer sunlight filtered through the beige curtains, creating soft shadows. It was already the fifth day since she came to the living room to draw a portrait at the same time every day. Chloe, sitting on the soft, flower-decorated single sofa, suddenly looked up at Damien. Damien, standing behind her, raised his golden eyebrows slightly and smiled.
“Chloe, if you change your position, won’t the painter be embarrassed?”
“...Your Majesty, it was you who changed your posture first.”
Damien's hands moved naturally over her round, moon-like belly, as if he were playing the keyboard, over the loose, soft dress.
“The child is calling me.”
It was a sandal, and the movements of the fetus were so vivid that it was impossible not to notice. In addition, the baby was so active that he was busy wriggling his hands and feet here and there.
“Yes, I know it’s cramped inside. So now it’s time to show your face to your father.”
Damien continued to caress her stomach and muttered in a low voice. Chloe smiled as she looked ahead, thinking that she alone could not cause trouble to the artist. In fact, she wanted to hear more of Damien's voice talking to the child.
“If you had done that much prenatal education, it would have been time to come out now. Isn’t that right?”
Chloe barely managed to suppress a laugh as she heard Damien's affectionate voice, not sure if it was a threat or a request.
“I think maybe the prenatal care is too excessive and burdensome.”
“If he had my blood, he wouldn’t be so embarrassed.”
Chloe finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, then apologized to the artist.
“I’m sorry, I need to concentrate.”
“No, Your Majesty. It would be better if you smiled naturally.”
“Look at that. The greatest artist in the kingdom is smiling.”
Damien's voice also had a hint of laughter. Chloe felt a strong movement as if following her hand, and shook her head slightly with an expression that said she couldn't stop it.
“They say that Mom made the baby’s fourteenth pair of socks.”
“She said at tea time two days ago that she had finished her twelfth pair, already?”
“It looks like she decided to just skip the thirteenth. The number was a bit unsettling.”
Chloe sighed softly and looked up at him again. She felt even more sorry because she could understand Priscilla’s feelings of wanting to avoid even the slightest bit of bad luck.
“So, I guess she must have been too much of a burden.”
“It would be burdensome to come see you every day, so I just introduced you to a hobby that would help you pass the time.”
After the official announcement of the Queen's pregnancy, Priscilla, who was excited, came to see Chloe every day. Damien watched his mother quietly for a few days, and then hinted that if she made a gift for the baby herself, the baby would be touched in the future. Priscilla jumped up from her seat, fluttering like a perfectly baited fish, and immediately began sewing. It was awkward at first, and even now, the sizes of the feet were strangely different, but in any case, the pretty baby socks were being completed one by one.
“Oh, by the way, I should send a gift to Mr. Wyatt, too.”
“The price has been paid. Don’t waste the treasury, Chloe.”
“But composing prenatal music isn’t Wyatt’s job.”
Chloe said seriously. The piano melody flowing in the living room made it feel like they were in a forest rather than in a room. She doesn’t know how Damien ordered it, but Julian Wyatt, who gave Chloe the melody that captured her heart, must have been a real genius.
“Sometimes it’s necessary to go beyond your limits. If you become complacent, you won’t progress.”
Damien moved his fingers to the piano rhythm, making sounds that would be unpleasant to hear. Chloe watched his hand quietly and then gently squeezed it.
People probably don't know how affectionate such a cold-hearted person can be. It was Damien who painted her portrait every month when her body changed, who told Priscilla to show her devotion, and who asked the musician to write music for Swanton's successor. It was so harsh that he temporarily suspended the performance of tragedy at the Royal Theatre during the Queen's pregnancy. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he hadn't had a child.
“...Is it that good, Your Majesty?”
When Chloe asked him without realizing it, Damien's lips curled up nicely.
“Are you tempting me?”
Chloe squinted her eyes, blinded by the sunlight. As the baby grew in her womb, she felt like she was discovering a new side of her husband that she had never known before. Her body was getting heavier, but her mind seemed to be floating on clouds.
He commissioned the university to prepare systematic educational guidelines for children and ordered Weiss, who was the commander of the Royal Guard, to submit a plan for promoting physical development for infants and toddlers. Damien exposed this situation to the press and announced that future children would receive the same education as his own. Wyatt's prenatal music was selling like hotcakes, and it was famous even in the principality.
“I respect you.”
Chloe didn't bury the words that were welling up in her heart, but blurted them out. Damien lowered his head and kissed her ear.
“It’s tempting, isn’t it?”
The artist, who had been moving his brush slowly, blinked his eyes a couple of times and quietly got up from his seat. The painting was already complete, so all he had to do was look at the photographs and do the finishing touches.
Click.
At the sound of the door closing, Chloe poked her head over Damien's shoulder. She couldn't bring herself to look at the painter who had disappeared along with his canvas, but as Damien had said before, happiness wasn't something that could be hidden.
“I want to meet the baby soon.”
It was nice to be like this, as if they were one body, but as her stomach grew bigger, she wanted to see the baby's face as soon as possible. Now, it was the due date, and she had difficulty even moving.
“The doctor said he doesn’t have much time left, so I guess we’ll be able to meet soon?”
Damien said, “Yes,” and slowly kissed her cheek. The attending doctor looked at Chloe’s slender figure and her large belly, and hinted that he hoped the baby would come today. Damien whispered in Chloe’s ear what the doctor had told him when he came to visit him privately.
“If you want to meet the child soon, Chloe.”
Her hazel eyes opened wide, and soon her cheeks turned a peach color.
Swish. The curtains fluttered in the wind that blew from somewhere. Amid the fresh green waves all around, only Chloe's face was very red. Every time Damien's shadow slowly covered her and disappeared, sunlight shone on the armrest of the sofa and tickled her toes.
"Beautiful."
Damien's face, which was becoming increasingly serious, grew hotter. Chloe closed her eyes, completely absorbed in his deep color. Her delicate fingers, which were wrapped around her stomach, moved along with the movements of the fetus, like a bird poking its beak inside an egg.
***
Two days later, on the night the portrait was completed, Queen Chloe von Tisse of Swanton went into labor. There was a tense atmosphere in the King’s bedroom, which was connected to the Queen’s bedroom by a door. The walls and doors were thick and soundproof, but because it was so quiet, the sounds coming from the next room were transmitted as they were.
“Your Majesty, please hold on a little longer.”
The midwife could be heard encouraging Chloe. Damien’s eyebrows furrowed as the thin moans that had stopped started again. For three hours now, Damien had been sitting motionless on the chair in front of the door, watching over her labor.
“Ah... Haa...”
Chloe could not even scream, but was faintly groaning. Priscilla, who had been waiting anxiously, clutching her handkerchief, was now praying with her eyes closed. Chloe's father, Lord Verdier, was catching his breath in the silent hallway, his face pale after thirty minutes.
“Your Majesty, you must be strong. You can do it.”
The voice of the attending doctor, Brown, also became urgent. Then, as Chloe’s voice, which had been groaning, suddenly stopped, Damien’s eyes, which had been staring at the door, distorted.
“Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!!”
Damien jumped up and opened the door. Inside the darkened delivery room, Chloe was in the center of the wide bed. She was drenched in sweat, her eyes closed, and she was just breathing hard. The doctor and midwife couldn’t stop the King from walking towards her. When the midwife tried to wipe Chloe’s half-conscious face with a wet towel, Damien took the towel instead.
“Chloe.”
Chloe slowly opened her eyes as Damien whispered softly at her bedside. She looked at him and smiled, despite her weakness.
“You have less patience than me.. What should I do... Hehe...”
As the labor pains that had stopped for a while began again, Chloe grabbed the long linen sheet hanging beside her. Damien looked at the doctor with bloodshot eyes. The doctor looked at him briefly, said a few words, and then began to encourage the mother again.
“It will be all right, Your Majesty.”
Damien, who had seen Chloe in labor right before his eyes, heard his words that she would be okay as a low-quality insult. He threw off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. Chloe, who was in labor, looked at him with wrinkles on her sweaty forehead.
“I’m fine, Your Majesty... Ahh...!”
Damien held her hand tightly and placed it over his heart. He held her delicate hand so tightly that it felt as if it would break.
“...Damien.”
Chloe groaned and looked at him. The heartbeat that was about to burst was transmitted through her hand. Damien’s eyes, looking at her in the dimly lit room, were like blue flames. She wished he could say something, but Damien did not open his mouth. He just looked at her.
The eyes that had captivated her from the moment she first saw them. The eyes that had made her heart bloom and set fire to it, and at that moment, Chloe was about to say, “I’m okay,” as she looked at them. Chloe saw tears falling down, gently drawing Damien’s lips as he smiled at her.
“...”
Chloe gasped, tightening her grip on Damien's hand. It was dim and dark, but she couldn't help but see the tears streaming down Damian's face. It was as if tears were streaming down from a statue. And Chloe could tell that Damien wasn't even aware that he was crying.
"Ha..."
The hand she was holding trembled slightly. Chloe looked at him with an expression that she couldn’t tell whether he was smiling or crying, and frowned. One thing was certain: she would never forget this scene. The midwife and the doctor’s voices faded away, and only her breathing and Damien’s voice grew louder in her head.
Chloe, my love. I'm here. I'll be with you forever.
“Hahahah!!!”
A loud noise shook her eardrums. It felt like all the noise was sucked into her ears in an instant.
“Your Highness the Healthy Prince!!”
Damien gasped and closed his eyes tightly. Chloe smiled faintly at the sight of her husband finally looking relieved. Look at that. I told you the baby and I were okay. Oh. But why? My stomach still hurts...?
“Oh my, oh my...! I see another head!”
Damien's blue eyes flashed sharply. No way. Chloe bit her pale lips and held his hand tightly. Unable to express her surprise and excitement in words, she just groaned with strength.
“Your Majesty, we are almost there!”
“Hooray! Hooray!”
“Ugh!”
Finally, two cries, strangely different in pitch, mingled together. As soon as the attending doctor cut the umbilical cord, the strength in her legs gave out, and the midwife could not hide her emotion in her voice.
“You are the Princess. You are the Prince and the Princess!”
Chloe blinked her eyes hard, unable to comprehend the situation. Damien was equally surprised, but as usual, he quickly accepted and understood the situation.
“It seems that the gift that Lady Stella sent had its effect.”
Damien, who had laughed at the sight of Chloe sending him the rocks she had kept with her every time she gave birth to a child, could not help but admire the miraculous coincidence that had happened to Chloe, who had treasured them.
“Damien...”
Damien was not unaware of Chloe's wishes. With the help of the midwife, he held the babies in his arms one by one. Chloe's face quickly turned bright red. The unusually large belly and the fetal movements that seemed to be chaotic now made sense. The maid sobbed beside her.
“Your Majesty, you are truly amazing...!”
It seemed like she could accept the compliment that had always been embarrassing. No one had ever had two babies with Tisse at the same time. Chloe closed her eyes and smiled brightly as she watched Damien holding their babies.
***
“Yaaap!”
“Ho! Ho!”
The twins, holding wooden swords, joined forces to attack their father. Dad deftly blocked one sword and wrapped the other around his waist, sending him rolling lightly in the grass.
“Please look at it just once, Your Majesty.”
“Anna. How can you surrender so easily?”
Damien held his hand in front of his nose and held back a laugh as he watched his daughter speak in a slurred voice. While he hesitated, Declan, who had seen the outside world three minutes before Anna, climbed onto his back and wrapped his arms around his neck.
“That’s what I was going to do!”
Damien, who was on the defensive due to the twins' joint attack, got up from the grass. Declan, who was being carried, put more strength into the arms holding his father, and in an instant, Anna, who was being held in her father's arms, screamed in joy.
“The sun is hot. Come here!”
“Should I go to Mom now?”
"Yes!"
Damien walked toward Chloe, who was waving from the shade of the trees, with the children in a group. The picnic in the flower-scented garden always ended in a hand-to-hand fight. Chloe handed juice to the children who were slurping until their little faces turned red, and looked at them with loving eyes as they drank. She couldn't believe that four years had already passed since she gave birth to the twins.
“Anna.”
"Yes."
Anna looked at Damien, licking her tongue at the apple juice on the corner of her mouth. Damien pulled the child into his arms and pretended to speak in a serious voice.
“I told you to fight with your sword, I didn’t tell you to surrender cowardly.”
“Excuse me, Dad. It was you who planned the plan.”
Damien's eyes were fixed on Declan, who was said to have neat blond hair and a resemblance to Damien's childhood. Despite the arrows turning, his son stood tall.
“The Princess has a very cute face, so if you ask her to look at it just once, you can’t win.”
“So you two conspired and attacked me?”
"Yes!"
Chloe and Damien couldn't help but laugh as they watched Declan raise his voice confidently.
“You are my son. Come here. Read a book to Anna.”
As Damien gestured to his son, Chloe handed Declan the storybook she had brought. Declan sat down next to Chloe, and Anna lay down on Damien’s lap. With the children between them, Damien reached out and gently touched Chloe’s back.
“Everyone wants to be a hero, but not everyone can be a hero. The reason heroes emerge in troubled times is that the times need heroes.”
Declan, who was reading a book out loud, paused for a moment and looked at Chloe.
“Mother, what does troubled times mean?”
“It means it’s a difficult world.”
“What kind of world is this difficult world?”
Declan asked with a puzzled expression. Anna was yawning, resting her head on Damien's lap. Damien, who had been silent, answered softly, stroking the child's forehead.
“A world where the leader cannot fulfill his role.”
Declan's blue eyes blinked, blinked, moving silently.
“Then there can be no heroes in this world.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because Anna and I are studying hard.”
Whenever the child spoke like this, Chloe couldn't help but feel the fear of bloodlines in her body.
“That’s right. We study every day and learn swordsmanship.”
Anna, who had been yawning, let out a sleepy voice. The twins’ bond was beyond their parents’ expectations. It was Declan, not the nanny, who read Anna a book until she fell asleep.
“We will become strong Kings.”
“But, brother, Dad said he would give us crowns but not power.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
"I don't know either?"
Chloe finally opened her mouth in a soft voice, looking at the twins, who were looking at each other.
“Strength comes from within.”
The twins looked alternately at their mother's hand, which was carefully placed on her chest, and her face.
“From the heart?”
“From the heart.”
Anna asked again.
“As I grow, my mind also grows, so will I become stronger?”
“There are people who are very big in body but small in heart.”
Declan, who had been listening to the story carefully, opened his mouth.
“How can I make my heart bigger?”
“Declan, remember when Anna was sick? When she had a cold.”
Declan nodded and frowned. Anna's body was burning hot, and her face was the color of a beet.
“Declan didn’t attend history or swordsmanship classes back then, but instead worried about Anna?”
Declan rarely complained about Anna being kept out of sight for fear of catching the disease, to the point of shouting, 'The Prince is not sick!'
“Yes, I did.”
“Why didn’t you eat?”
“Anna can’t eat, so I can’t eat. Anna... must be hungry too.”
“That’s when Declan’s heart grew this big.”
Chloe took a flying flower petal in her hand and gently placed it on Declan's lapel.
“If I get sick, does Declan’s heart grow bigger?”
“Declan’s heart grew because he cared about Anna, who was sick. It was the heart that truly cared for and understood someone that made Declan’s heart grow.”
Declan listened to Chloe's words carefully, then slipped the petal into the book he was holding. Chloe looked at her son with pleasure. It was as if she saw herself collecting pretty fallen leaves in him when she was young.
“So if Declan gets sick, I can feel better too?”
Despite Anna's absurd remarks, Declan was serious.
“I’ll run and fall hard. My knees will bleed.”
Anna, who had been thinking deeply after hearing Declan's words, shook her head.
“No! I don’t want Declan to get sick. You don’t have to be angry. Anna can still be a good King. Right, Dad?”
Instead of saying that her feelings for her brother had already grown a little bigger, Chloe gently placed a flower petal in Anna's hair as she stretched out her legs and rubbed her eyes on her father's lap. Declan started reading his book again, and Anna fell into a deep sleep. Declan's voice gradually became quieter, perhaps because he was tired from running around, sweating all morning.
“Should I read it, Declan?”
Declan turned his head and glanced at his sister, then smiled harmlessly at Chloe.
"Yes."
Chloe brushed back his dazzling blond hair, kissed Declan’s round forehead, and began to read a book quietly for the child. The wind blew, causing flower petals to flutter. The petals landed on Declan’s face, listening to his mother’s calm voice, and on Anna’s small body, sleeping soundly like an angel. Declan, who had been holding the petals that had settled on his eyelids without removing them, finally became restless as his breathing became more labored, and Chloe looked at Damien.
“If my mother had been like you, I would not have become King.”
“Why?”
Chloe frowned slightly at him. They had never had a disagreement about the children's education before, but today was probably that time. However, she was confident that she would not give in, no matter how strong Damien was. She did not want to raise her children with the power of hatred toward someone. Damien smiled faintly as he watched Chloe tightly clench her delicate hands, preparing to fight back.
“You seem like you could even inspire a devil and raise him to be an angel.”
“...That’s a compliment, right?”
“Of course. Thanks to you, the devil got three angels.”
Chloe then gave him a small glare and smiled. He was a man whose speech was always confusing, but now it was impossible to hate him. After making sure the children were asleep, she lowered her voice even further.
“Then I would like to thank Princess Priscilla for raising you to be who you are.”
This time, Damien smiled and whispered back.
“Why? Do you like the devil?”
"Yes."
Damien's lips turned up even higher as he watched Chloe nod boldly without denying.
“Our story began because you decided to become King.”
Was it possible to become sick of her? Damien wanted to go back to his past self, who didn't believe in love and laughed at his arrogant self if he could. Instead, he tilted his head with a satisfied expression at Chloe's answer.
“Kiss me, my love.”
During the fluttering flower rain, the King and Queen quietly kissed each other with the sleeping children between them.
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