Until The Real One Shows Up​

The cold winter passed quickly and the warm spring came. Spring had passed and summer had come.

At the end of summer, Anastasia had an intuition when she saw a fairly large bump. Now, really, it wouldn’t be long before she would meet her kid.

“I’m so nervous.”

“What makes you nervous?”

“We are meeting for the first time soon with our child.”

The reaction was so warm but lukewarm, Anastasia narrowed her eyes and asked Wilhelm.

“What, am I the only one nervous?”

“No way. I’m nervous, too.”

Wilhelm, who was gently stroking Anastasia’s stomach, put his lips to her stomach and whispered quietly.

“Baby, be born healthy like your mother…”

“Oh!”

It was that moment. Wilhelm hurriedly raised his head to the short scream from above.

“Asha?”

“Ah…”

Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with a puzzled expression.

“My baby just…”

“Just now…?”

“It kicked.”

Anastasia’s eyes widened quickly and she smiled.

“It’s their first time kicking! Wow, that’s so weird, isn’t it? They seem to be responding to your voice.”

“I think I read that story in a book.”

“Say it once more. It might kick again this time.”

“Great.”

Wilhelm had lowered his voice with a very serious expression.

“Baby, I hope you are born as a daughter… Ouch!”

“The gender has already been decided, what absurd coercion is that?”

Anastasia lightly slapped Wilhelm and she cut him off.

“If it was your son, why would you say such a thing? It will be sad.”

“Really…?”

“Yes. Apologize immediately.”

“I’m joking, sweetheart.”

Slowly, he lowered his voice again, and Wilhelm made a sincere apology.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter if you are a son or a daughter. You just need to be born healthy. If possible, don’t make your mother suffer too much.”

“Oh, my God.”

She can’t stop him. It was when Anastasia shook her head with a smile.

“Have you thought about the name of the child?”

Before returning, when she had their first child, Wilhelm had asked her before she even had a belly.

“… If it’s a daughter, it’s Rose.”

In a strange mood, Anastasia gave the same answer as before.

“I’m going to name him Heath if it’s a son.”

“Isn’t Rose too common?”

The same question as before the return was as expected. Anastasia tried to smile, feeling her eyes moist without realizing it.

“… It’s just pretty.”

“Uh…”

But it seems that she couldn’t fool his eyes. 

Wilhelm, who was watching Anastasia, groaned in embarrassment.

‘Why do you look like you’re about to cry…’

Wilhelm was perplexed. To be honest, Rose is not an unusual name.

So he just casually threw his thoughts…

‘Did I say it wrong…?’

“Wow, Rose! I think it’s so pretty. And it’s very symbolic. The rose is the symbol of the goddess Rosenia. Your birth flower is a moss rose. Besides, you like red roses!”

‘Why did I do that? Who’s been struggling for 9 months? Of course, he’ll name it what she wants.’

Wilhelm spewed out hurriedly, hitting himself inside just now.

But Anastasia’s expression still looked gloomy. Wilhelm was restless at the sight.

‘The book says that emotional ups and downs can worsen during pregnancy.’

So she could have been hurt enough by the little words. 

‘Wilhelm, you idiot! That’s what Asha says. Why are you being cheeky and pouting?’

“… I’m sorry.”

Wilhelm apologized, quietly looking at Anastasia’s countenance. Fortunately, her eyes, which seemed to cry at any moment, quickly bent into a smile.

Wilhelm was encouraged by the appearance and drove a wedge into what he said earlier.

“Rose, I think it’s good. I agree!”

“Really?”

“I’m telling you, of course. But what does Heath mean?”

“You…”

Anastasia, who was smiling her lips, soon replied with a faint smile.

“It’s your birth flower.”

“…”

“Isn’t it romantic?”

At the same time, Wilhelm looked blank as he looked at Anastasia smiling. 

He didn’t know why the beautifully curved corners of her eyes and the gracefully raised corners of her mouth were so lovely.

“… Yes.”

In the end, Wilhelm hugged Anastasia without saying a word. Anastasia was in his arms as if she had been waiting.

Feeling her in his arms, Wilhelm whispered in a low voice.

“It’s romantic.”

Their child, named after him.

It was Wilhelm who thought that even if he had only a daughter, he would have to make her an Empress, but for the first time, he thought that a son would be okay. 

“Thank you. You named the child thinking of me.”

“Absolutely. It’s our child.”

Her and their child. A very long time, the fruit of their long-awaited love.

Tears welled up again. Anastasia whispered, her face resting on Wilhelm’s shoulder.

“Please love them a lot when the child is born.”

“Of course, they’re my child.”

Wilhelm replied in a slightly trembling voice.

“I’m confident that I’ll cherish and love them more than my life.”

It was a reliable answer. Despite the highly anticipated answer, Anastasia smiled with a relieved look.

~~~~

“Asha’s due date is exactly ten days away.”

Wilhelm asked, looking at the calendar with serious eyes.

“Colton, are you ready?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! aof course.”

“I must see it with my own eyes.”

Wilhelm got up and started walking somewhere. Eventually, he arrived in front of a room.

The servants opened the heavy pink doors from both sides. Then the curtains were pulled to reveal a dark room.

Wilhelm went directly to the window and opened the curtain, and in an instant, sunlight poured in, revealing the entire room.

The whole room was filled with pink. A pink bed, a pink crib, a pink doll and a pink hoodie… Even the window frames, curtains, and the wallpaper were all pink, although there were shades.

“Perfect.”

Wilhelm looked around the room and was very satisfied. It was his little gift for the baby to be born a few days later.

“The baby must like it. Have you completed all the safety checks?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. All elements that are dangerous to the baby have been thoroughly inspected and removed.”

“Great. Now, let’s go to another room.”

Wilhelm went to the next room. This time the door was light blue. He opened the door and went inside, this time to a room that was completely sky blue.

As Wilhelm looked at the splendidly decorated room with great satisfaction, he suddenly saw one that bothered him.

“That bed. Doesn’t it look a little weak?”

“Yes? The bed?”

“Yes. The legs look a little weaker than the ones I saw in the room earlier.”

Wilhelm then moved closer to the crib and began to gently shake it.

Colton, who looked at him indifferently, doubted his eyes. Wilhelm climbed directly into the crib.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing now!”

Colton, startled, hurried to stop him, but began to hear a creaking sound as he was already too late.

Eventually, when Colton got right in front of him, the bed made a noise and the leg broke.

“Your Majesty! Are you okay?”

Colton, who grabbed Wilhelm’s hastily staggered body, yelled with a bewildered expression.

“Oh, I can’t believe this! Your Majesty, do you know how much this bed costs? Why are you destroying a decent bed!”

“No, I mean… The bed is too poor.”

“What crib can hold the weight of an adult man!”

“Still… It’s a place for the prince to lie down, so I wanted to see if it’s strong…”

Wilhelm, embarrassed, made a sloppy excuse in front of the bubbly Colton.

Colton grabbed him by the back of his neck. Anyway, if it’s about the baby or Her Majesty, it’s too much.

“His Majesty the Emperor!”

That was then. One of the attendants hurriedly ran in and delivered the emergency report.

“Her Majesty the Empress…!”

~~~~

“Asha!”

Wilhelm hurriedly opened the door to the sanctuary and came in to find Anastasia. Shortly after Anastasia and her maids were startled, Mrs. Rochester narrowed her brows and drove him away.

“Go away, Your Majesty.”

“No, I can’t. I’m the Empress’… I have to stand by the Empress. Asha!”

“… Will, I’m embarrassed, but I can’t just leave… Ugh!”

“Asha!”

As Anastasia, who was in labor just in time, groaned briefly, Wilhelm tried to go inside with a face that looked like he would faint at any moment.

But this time he was blocked by Mrs. Rochester.

“You can’t! Get out, Your Majesty!”

“Asha, Asha!”

“Get out, Your Majesty.”

In the end, Wilhelm, who was banished from the room, dragged away by Colton, covered his face with a look as if the world had collapsed in front of him.

“I-I have to help…”

“What kind of help would you provide when you can’t even have children?”

‘I’m glad it doesn’t bother you.’

Wilhelm shouted at Colton, who was muttering.

“Obviously, the maternity books say that if her husband is by her side, she can rely on her husband!”

“That would be if her husband kept quiet and silent.”

Colton pointed out sharply.

“Your Majesty right now is acting more loudly than Her Majesty, so she probably won’t be able to do it.”

“… What a fuss I’ve made.” 

Wilhelm, who was slightly dehydrated, looked at the sanctuary with a still restless face.

And with every hour that passed, Wilhelm withered like a tree that was just drained of water.

“Whoever sees it will think that the emperor is giving birth himself.”

Colton watching from the side was embarrassed, so he advised him to wait carefully for news at the Central Palace, but…

“What if the Empress finds me?”

He didn’t leave his seat on the grounds that…

However, in spite of that, Anastasia did not visit Wilhelm.

How long had it been? 

“Crying! Crying!”

Finally, the sound of a baby crying could be heard. At the same time, Wilhelm jumped out of his seat and entered the labor room.

“ASHA!”

“Your Majesty…”

“Oh, my God, your face has become hollow.”

“That’s the same for Your Majesty…?”

Of course, Wilhelm’s personality told her it was going to be a bloodbath, but…

“People might think that Your Majesty gave birth to the child with me.”

“What nonsense is that? You’ve done everything.” 

Wilhelm held Anastasia’s thin hand tightly with an emotional expression.

“I’m so glad it ended safely.”

“Your Majesty, did you come in because you couldn’t stand to go out?”

Mrs. Rochester, who was quietly harsh, handed Wilhelm the scissors. 

Wilhelm looked at Mrs. Rochester, startled by the sudden appearance of the cutlery.

“It is against the court etiquette, but… Well, you’ve already broken a lot. Would you like to cut the umbilical cord yourself?”

“Me…? Directly…?”

Wilhelm flinched and worried.

“I’ve never cut… What if I hurt a child?”

“Is that possible? You will be fine.”

Encouraged by Mrs. Rochester, Wilhelm, with a frown on his forehead, cut off the child’s umbilical cord with great care.

“Whoa…”

And like a man who made a great achievement, he had a whimsical expression. 

She couldn’t stop him.

Anastasia finally smiled when she saw it, and Mrs. Rochester put the child wrapped in swaddling cloths beside Anastasia.

“I congratulate you two. A healthy prince.”

“… Heath.”

Putting the predetermined name into his mouth, Wilhelm kissed the child’s forehead with trembling lips.

“Thank you for being born safely.”

“I’ll be a good dad. I will always make you happy that you were born in this world and that you came to me as our child.”

Anastasia smiled softly as she heard the quiet whispering next to her.

She believed his oath, and she had no doubts. He will definitely be a good father. Like a good husband to her.

It was the moment when the second act of the family began.