The cloth in her hand slipped through her fingers. Amelia was too exhausted to scream and was just gasping for breath. The ceiling she saw in the castle, where she had secretly hidden herself before giving birth, felt unfamiliar.
“If you lose your mind like this, you’ll all die!”
Just before the baby was born, a midwife called from a nearby village struck Amelia's cheek and shouted.
“Wake up!”
Amelia's appearance, dimly visible in the room lit by a single candle, startled her for a moment, but she couldn't just stand by and watch a woman as young as her daughter, completely drained and exhausted.
“If you don’t plan on killing the child, you should cheer up!”
Just as her eyes were about to close, they opened wide at the warning.
How can you have such a child? Whose child is this?
Aaron told her that Ivan was dead. The mercenary who had transported Ivan was dead near the river, having encountered bandits, and the cart was broken and lying in the river. And the man who had been riding on the cart had drowned in the river, and they had given up searching for a couple of months because they couldn't find any body parts nearby.
When Amelia thought about that, she felt a sense of duty that she had to send the child out into the world, even if it meant pouring all her remaining strength into it. She couldn't let Ivan meet his newborn baby in the other world. Since the name of the land he was staying in was Death.
“Ugh, huh...!”
She grabbed the cloth that she had barely let go of. And she pushed the child away with all her might. Amelia couldn't even scream because my vision was blurry.
“You’re doing great! I can see the baby’s head!”
Just a little more. Just a little more. The midwife encouraged her. Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth, and her hands throbbed as if they were going to tear the hanging cloth from the ceiling. But what was more painful was the intense pain that felt like her body was being torn in half.
“Oh my! It’s finally out!”
Finally, a sense of liberation came along with the feeling of something being pushed away. The midwife, with her familiar hands, soaked the baby in warm water to wash away the blood and lightly slapped the baby's bottom, which was still not crying. The baby burst into tears at the sound of the light slap.
"Thank you for your effort."
That was the child's first word in the world. Amelia, lying exhausted, barely managed to wave her hands in the air. The midwife, who understood what was meant, came to Amelia's side carrying the baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth.
“His fingers and toes are all fine. His face is straight, without any distortion.”
The midwife smiled and placed the baby in Amelia's arms, her face beaming with pride as if she were a mother seeing her grandchild.
“It must be rewarding to have given birth to such a wonderful son. The long labor was worth it.”
The midwife's hand opened Amelia's clothes without hesitation, exposing her breasts. Then she brought the baby's face close to her chest. The baby instinctively latched onto the breast. Amelia's body froze as she looked at the baby's face with a longing expression.
"...Son?"
The midwife nodded at Amelia's question. It was definitely a healthy boy.
“It seems like the child hasn’t come back yet, so he must not have eaten well, but he still looks good.”
While her husband, who was not there, was being cursed, Amelia's head began to roll and creak. The midwife straightened her creaking knees to clean up. There was not a single servant nearby to help her. It seemed like she wanted to minimize the number of people involved in the delivery, and if she were a Priestess, that would be understandable.
“Please keep it a secret!”
It was a sound she couldn't bring herself to say out loud for fear of being heard outside. But the midwife could smell the faint scent of despair in Amelia's voice.
As she had a long career, she had given birth to more than one child. Since most of them were daughters, Amelia's reaction was somewhat unusual in that she often despaired, but there must have been a reason. It was strange to begin with that a woman suspected of being a Priestess gave birth to a child.
“Yes, I’ll keep it a secret. You probably still have no energy, so just lie down and don’t get up.”
It was nothing but the fact that she had given birth. Of course, she couldn't hide it for long, but she didn't want to mentally torment a woman who had just gotten over her illness. The midwife patted Amelia's hand, which was holding the baby, and told her to be at ease. Only then did the stiffness in her shoulders disappear.
“Thank you, thank you.”
As Amelia barely managed to express her gratitude, the midwife smiled.
"Thank you for your effort."
And then she started to move around busily, cleaning up the blood-soaked cloth. In the meantime, Amelia carefully wiped the forehead of the child who was already spitting up milk and starting to doze off.
“...”
No matter what gender he was born as, as long as he was Amelia's child, his whole life would be painful. But when she found out that he was a boy, she was overcome with a sense of anxiety that was driving her crazy. She didn't know what would happen to her child if the gender were revealed.
Amelia Escliffe, who would eventually lead to death, whether she gave birth to a daughter or a son. Her very existence seemed like a sin.
But more than that.
"Nice to meet you..."
Clear tears fell down the child's face. It was because of the endless guilt.
Rather than feeling sorry and anxious about giving the child an imperfect life, she was happy to see Ivan's shadow reflected on the child's face.
“Did you find it?”
At Ivan's question, Rodan shook his head with a look of defeat on his face. As expected, Ivan's face had turned cold.
“It’s been almost a year already.”
“...”
“Does it make sense that you still haven’t found it?”
It had been almost a year since Ivan had started to track down the black-haired man he had absconded with. At first, he had thought it would be easy to find one of the men who had escaped naked. However, he surprisingly did not show up easily.
He had already searched the area around the temple thoroughly, but there was no trace of him anywhere. Not even a single strand of black hair.
“I'm sorry.”
It was something that could not be reported in the Empire, whether it had risen to the sky or fallen to the ground. However, it could not be reported on a large scale. He had not committed a crime. All Rodan could say was that he was sorry.
“Bring him in no matter what. He is one of the seeds that will grow in the hearts of those who pretend to be God’s agents.”
Suddenly, Rodan remembered a story Ivan had once told him. There were two seeds that Ivan had chosen.
"Your Majesty."
Then, doesn't that mean there is one more option?
“I remember you saying there were two seeds.”
Two seeds. Ivan rolled his eyes slowly, searching for the memory.
“That’s right.”
And then, as if he had remembered it belatedly, he gave a positive answer. Judging from his reaction, it seemed that he had also forgotten about it until now.
“In fact, at this point, I feel like even a single seed would die in the ground before it could sprout.”
“...”
“Just in case, why don’t we continue to track him, but use the other one?”
Rodan suggested. Ivan was silent for a moment. However, judging from the fact that he didn't show any of the unpleasantness he had shown before, he could guess that he didn't take it negatively.
“The timing is perfect.”
Ivan answered after finishing his calculations. His face looked much more refreshed.
“But may I ask what those seeds are?”
Rodan asked fearlessly. Usually, Ivan would tell the truth without getting irritated in such situations.
“The child in Amelia Escliffe’s womb.”
But he couldn't help but be surprised when Ivan opened up about it without holding back.
“You said there was a child in the Priestess’s stomach?”
“If that were my child, he would have come out into the world by now.”
Ivan spoke with an indifferent expression, stroking his chin.
“...You said that the child in the Priestess’s womb is Your Majesty’s child?”
“I guess she could conceive since she's a normal human being and not a representative of God.”
By this time, Rodan's mouth was wide open, as if his lower jaw was about to drop to the floor.
“It’s hard to believe that a Priestess is pregnant, but it could be Your Majesty’s child?”
It's hard not to be surprised that only the truth of the body is conveyed with the beginning and end of the secret cut off. Even if you look at the two facts separately, it's shocking.
“Because she spent the night with me.”
“The note you sent me that day was all you asked me to do, to be on guard near the door at dawn two days later.”
With great effort, Rodan managed to keep himself from shouting. However, there was a hint of anger in his tone.
“Because it wasn’t a situation that could be explained at length.”
Ivan was always like this. He always caused trouble first and then told Rodan the truth later. So far, there had never been a big enough accident for Rodan to clean up, but this time it seemed a little different.
"Ha..."
Rodan raised a hand and ran it over his face. It seemed as if he was growing older by the minute because of the events surrounding Ivan over the past year.
“But, if the Priestess is pregnant...”
I don't know. Rodan gave up on thinking clearly.
“How do you plan to use it? I don’t think you plan on stealing a child from within their walls.”
Since Ivan has already made up his mind, he has no choice but to ask him about his plans.
“Or would you rather declare him as Your Majesty’s child...?”
Rodan asked cautiously.
“No way.”
Ivan chuckled and picked up the glass he had poured. The amber liquid inside the clear crystal glass sparkled in the light of the room.
“Even if he is my child, he is still an illegitimate child. It is not something I can proudly boast about to the empire.”
“If...”
“If you lose your mind like this, you’ll all die!”
Just before the baby was born, a midwife called from a nearby village struck Amelia's cheek and shouted.
“Wake up!”
Amelia's appearance, dimly visible in the room lit by a single candle, startled her for a moment, but she couldn't just stand by and watch a woman as young as her daughter, completely drained and exhausted.
“If you don’t plan on killing the child, you should cheer up!”
Just as her eyes were about to close, they opened wide at the warning.
How can you have such a child? Whose child is this?
Aaron told her that Ivan was dead. The mercenary who had transported Ivan was dead near the river, having encountered bandits, and the cart was broken and lying in the river. And the man who had been riding on the cart had drowned in the river, and they had given up searching for a couple of months because they couldn't find any body parts nearby.
When Amelia thought about that, she felt a sense of duty that she had to send the child out into the world, even if it meant pouring all her remaining strength into it. She couldn't let Ivan meet his newborn baby in the other world. Since the name of the land he was staying in was Death.
“Ugh, huh...!”
She grabbed the cloth that she had barely let go of. And she pushed the child away with all her might. Amelia couldn't even scream because my vision was blurry.
“You’re doing great! I can see the baby’s head!”
Just a little more. Just a little more. The midwife encouraged her. Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth, and her hands throbbed as if they were going to tear the hanging cloth from the ceiling. But what was more painful was the intense pain that felt like her body was being torn in half.
“Oh my! It’s finally out!”
Finally, a sense of liberation came along with the feeling of something being pushed away. The midwife, with her familiar hands, soaked the baby in warm water to wash away the blood and lightly slapped the baby's bottom, which was still not crying. The baby burst into tears at the sound of the light slap.
"Thank you for your effort."
That was the child's first word in the world. Amelia, lying exhausted, barely managed to wave her hands in the air. The midwife, who understood what was meant, came to Amelia's side carrying the baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth.
“His fingers and toes are all fine. His face is straight, without any distortion.”
The midwife smiled and placed the baby in Amelia's arms, her face beaming with pride as if she were a mother seeing her grandchild.
“It must be rewarding to have given birth to such a wonderful son. The long labor was worth it.”
The midwife's hand opened Amelia's clothes without hesitation, exposing her breasts. Then she brought the baby's face close to her chest. The baby instinctively latched onto the breast. Amelia's body froze as she looked at the baby's face with a longing expression.
"...Son?"
The midwife nodded at Amelia's question. It was definitely a healthy boy.
“It seems like the child hasn’t come back yet, so he must not have eaten well, but he still looks good.”
While her husband, who was not there, was being cursed, Amelia's head began to roll and creak. The midwife straightened her creaking knees to clean up. There was not a single servant nearby to help her. It seemed like she wanted to minimize the number of people involved in the delivery, and if she were a Priestess, that would be understandable.
“Please keep it a secret!”
It was a sound she couldn't bring herself to say out loud for fear of being heard outside. But the midwife could smell the faint scent of despair in Amelia's voice.
“I want to surprise you, so please, please....”
“Yes, I’ll keep it a secret. You probably still have no energy, so just lie down and don’t get up.”
It was nothing but the fact that she had given birth. Of course, she couldn't hide it for long, but she didn't want to mentally torment a woman who had just gotten over her illness. The midwife patted Amelia's hand, which was holding the baby, and told her to be at ease. Only then did the stiffness in her shoulders disappear.
“Thank you, thank you.”
As Amelia barely managed to express her gratitude, the midwife smiled.
"Thank you for your effort."
And then she started to move around busily, cleaning up the blood-soaked cloth. In the meantime, Amelia carefully wiped the forehead of the child who was already spitting up milk and starting to doze off.
“...”
No matter what gender he was born as, as long as he was Amelia's child, his whole life would be painful. But when she found out that he was a boy, she was overcome with a sense of anxiety that was driving her crazy. She didn't know what would happen to her child if the gender were revealed.
Amelia Escliffe, who would eventually lead to death, whether she gave birth to a daughter or a son. Her very existence seemed like a sin.
But more than that.
"Nice to meet you..."
Clear tears fell down the child's face. It was because of the endless guilt.
Rather than feeling sorry and anxious about giving the child an imperfect life, she was happy to see Ivan's shadow reflected on the child's face.
***
“Did you find it?”
At Ivan's question, Rodan shook his head with a look of defeat on his face. As expected, Ivan's face had turned cold.
“It’s been almost a year already.”
“...”
“Does it make sense that you still haven’t found it?”
It had been almost a year since Ivan had started to track down the black-haired man he had absconded with. At first, he had thought it would be easy to find one of the men who had escaped naked. However, he surprisingly did not show up easily.
He had already searched the area around the temple thoroughly, but there was no trace of him anywhere. Not even a single strand of black hair.
“I'm sorry.”
It was something that could not be reported in the Empire, whether it had risen to the sky or fallen to the ground. However, it could not be reported on a large scale. He had not committed a crime. All Rodan could say was that he was sorry.
“Bring him in no matter what. He is one of the seeds that will grow in the hearts of those who pretend to be God’s agents.”
Suddenly, Rodan remembered a story Ivan had once told him. There were two seeds that Ivan had chosen.
"Your Majesty."
Then, doesn't that mean there is one more option?
“I remember you saying there were two seeds.”
Two seeds. Ivan rolled his eyes slowly, searching for the memory.
“That’s right.”
And then, as if he had remembered it belatedly, he gave a positive answer. Judging from his reaction, it seemed that he had also forgotten about it until now.
“In fact, at this point, I feel like even a single seed would die in the ground before it could sprout.”
“...”
“Just in case, why don’t we continue to track him, but use the other one?”
Rodan suggested. Ivan was silent for a moment. However, judging from the fact that he didn't show any of the unpleasantness he had shown before, he could guess that he didn't take it negatively.
“The timing is perfect.”
Ivan answered after finishing his calculations. His face looked much more refreshed.
“But may I ask what those seeds are?”
Rodan asked fearlessly. Usually, Ivan would tell the truth without getting irritated in such situations.
“The child in Amelia Escliffe’s womb.”
But he couldn't help but be surprised when Ivan opened up about it without holding back.
“You said there was a child in the Priestess’s stomach?”
“If that were my child, he would have come out into the world by now.”
Ivan spoke with an indifferent expression, stroking his chin.
“...You said that the child in the Priestess’s womb is Your Majesty’s child?”
“I guess she could conceive since she's a normal human being and not a representative of God.”
By this time, Rodan's mouth was wide open, as if his lower jaw was about to drop to the floor.
“It’s hard to believe that a Priestess is pregnant, but it could be Your Majesty’s child?”
It's hard not to be surprised that only the truth of the body is conveyed with the beginning and end of the secret cut off. Even if you look at the two facts separately, it's shocking.
“Because she spent the night with me.”
“The note you sent me that day was all you asked me to do, to be on guard near the door at dawn two days later.”
With great effort, Rodan managed to keep himself from shouting. However, there was a hint of anger in his tone.
“Because it wasn’t a situation that could be explained at length.”
Ivan was always like this. He always caused trouble first and then told Rodan the truth later. So far, there had never been a big enough accident for Rodan to clean up, but this time it seemed a little different.
"Ha..."
Rodan raised a hand and ran it over his face. It seemed as if he was growing older by the minute because of the events surrounding Ivan over the past year.
“But, if the Priestess is pregnant...”
I don't know. Rodan gave up on thinking clearly.
“How do you plan to use it? I don’t think you plan on stealing a child from within their walls.”
Since Ivan has already made up his mind, he has no choice but to ask him about his plans.
“Or would you rather declare him as Your Majesty’s child...?”
Rodan asked cautiously.
“No way.”
Ivan chuckled and picked up the glass he had poured. The amber liquid inside the clear crystal glass sparkled in the light of the room.
“Even if he is my child, he is still an illegitimate child. It is not something I can proudly boast about to the empire.”
“If...”
“If Amelia Escliffe gives birth to a daughter, she will have to live the same life, but if she gives birth to a son, he will die before long.”
Rodan's eyes opened wide. He seemed to have read between the lines, even though the explanation was unfriendly and brief.
“But it’s okay because it’s you.”
“I wish I already had a child.”
“So that I can continue to remember you.”
Amelia Escliffe loves him.
Ivan was sure that now that Amelia thought their love had ended in tragedy, she would be even more affectionate towards Ivan.
“She wants to protect that child.”
So if a child is born between them, she will want to protect it somehow. Even if it is not his child, Amelia is not the type of person to ignore a small child.
Although it is,
“Use that mind, Rodan.”
Even if it becomes a seed of delicious despair.
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