“Celly, are you okay?”
Of course, I wasn’t. I wanted to say that, but all I could manage was a weak movement of my lips.
Fortunately, after a while, the pain that seemed to grip my entire body disappeared, allowing me to respond to Karl.
“No, I’m dying of pain…!”
Hannah, who said that now that I was an empress, I had to show proper dignity, had told me this repeatedly. I thought I had done my best to maintain a dignified tone for months, but now, suffering so much, all dignity and composure vanished.
In agony, how could I say, “I’m fine, Your Majesty. Please don’t worry and focus on your duties”?
“This is the worst pain I’ve ever felt, oh my. Karl, please save me.”
I kept exclaiming how painful it was, how unbearable it felt.
I understood why women in labor pull on their husbands’ hair, and I thought it was incredibly misleading how many dramas portrayed this painful process in such a ridiculous way.
Then, just a few minutes later, the pain intensified to the point where I couldn’t even think those thoughts anymore.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but you must remain outside.”
The time for delivery was truly near. The doctor requested that Karl step outside. It was the royal protocol, they said.
It was hard enough being in pain, and now I had to endure it alone without the child’s father by my side. A sense of unfairness flickered in my mind, but as the contractions intensified, I couldn’t afford to think that way.
When labor pains struck, all I could do was gasp in pain, and when they faded, I could finally breathe. After several repetitions, the intervals between contractions became shorter.
“The contractions have shortened. It’s really almost time.”
Everyone present in the room, from the doctor to the royal medical staff assisting with the delivery, was female.
“Empress, we are down here. Don’t worry. Now, focus on your breathing.”
They kept telling me to breathe, but that was the last thing on my mind. It hurt too much to think about breathing…!
“Empress, push…!”
I pushed with all my strength below my abdomen. Without knowing what I was pushing out, I just focused on contracting my belly and pushing again and again.
Though I felt I couldn’t push any harder, people kept cheering me on to exert more strength. This was my best effort; I couldn’t do any more…!
In the end, I was exhausted and lost consciousness. I briefly let go of my senses, and upon hearing Rive’s tearful cry that I shouldn’t lose my consciousness, I barely opened my eyes only to close them again repeatedly.
“I’m dying… The sky is shining, and I am indeed dying,” I experienced that process. My whole body was damp with sweat.
“Gather your strength, Your Majesty!”
“One more time!”
“I see the head, Your Majesty, push!”
“Now! One more time…!”
I didn’t know how I endured that time.
I simply pushed like crazy, then took frantic breaths, pushed again, closed my eyes, then stood up to push, losing track of what came first or last. I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing…
“Uaaang!”
It was around the time I truly felt I couldn’t do it anymore. Everything in front of me seemed to whiten, then the vivid sound of a baby’s cry echoed in my ears.
“Uang, uaaang!”
“Your Majesty, you’ve succeeded! The baby has come!”
What was this success about? Did the baby come out? I had no strength to ask, only gasping breaths.
“Your Majesty, congratulations. You have a beautiful princess.”
Princess. A girl. I raised my hand. No, I thought I did, but my hand remained still. I wanted to see the child who had been inside me just moments ago. Valerie. Could this child truly be Valerie?
After quickly completing the delivery, the doctor wrapped the baby in a soft blanket. Then he carefully brought the child to my side.
The baby, small enough to barely be seen under the blanket, was wrapped up, like a cushion. An inexplicable anxiety rose in me.
With trembling fingertips, I tugged at the corner of the blanket, and the baby’s head slowly revealed itself from the folds.
Though cleaned with a dry towel, the baby was still messy, covered in amniotic fluid, small and wrinkled. And…
“Her hair… is purple.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s hair of the same lovely shade as yours.”
The anxiety that had been consuming me moments ago vanished in an instant. An indescribable sensation filled its place.
Was it a feeling of warmth, or perhaps joy? I couldn’t tell. A complex emotion surged within me, too intricate for words.
“Here is your exquisite Highness with violet hair. Your Majesty, congratulations.”
The doctor carefully placed the baby in my arms. I thought about how small she was. The doctor gently lifted the blanket so that the baby’s face could touch my chest.
She was tiny, soft, and warm. Her wrinkled, red face was so endearing. The gentle breaths of the little one tickled my heart.
“…Hello, Valerie.”
I met Valerie again. My child, Valerie.
***
“Your Majesty, please don’t worry too much.”
“No, I don’t need a chair.”
“We don’t know how many hours the labor will take. It’s better if you sit and wait…”
“With Celeste in so much pain, how can I just sit idly and wait!”
Even with the doctor saying that the Empress was alright and not to worry, he couldn’t calm down at all. Despite the admonitions to sit down since it might take hours, he continued to pace back and forth in the hallway.
It was just a simple door, yet to Karl, the bedroom door felt incredibly large and thick.
He wished he could throw open that door and rush in to embrace Celeste. Each time he heard her groan in immense pain, he felt an urge to tear his own belly open.
Why must the pain of childbirth only be borne by women? It felt so unfair that this fragile woman, not even strong in body, had to go through this alone. His worry for Celeste was unbearable.
Clovis was just as worried, but Karl’s abnormal behavior—pacing up and down the hallway, even biting his nails—made Clovis even more concerned.
No matter how brutal a criminal he faced or how challenging a battle, the calm demeanor of the man who used to be called the emotionless, ice-cold Duke Prince was hard to believe in such a disheveled state.
What was the nickname people called him before he ascended the throne? Was he not the one known for his stone-faced, emotionless poker face?
Seeing the owner of that icy poker face biting his nails was beyond shocking. Is this really okay? Clovis’s slightly different concern turned towards Karl.
“Waaah!”
The baby has been born. Karl’s eyes sparkled as he anxiously paced outside the door.
“It’s a baby! The baby has been born!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Congratulations!”
The sound of the baby crying was heard, and Clovis promptly knelt down and bowed to Karl, offering his congratulations.
Following his lead, the knights of the Imperial Investigation team, along with the healthcare providers and attendants who were in the hallway, all began to kneel and bow in succession.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”
“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”
Karl’s heart swelled. Unable to hold back any longer, he urged the physician to open the bedroom door. One doctor, observing the situation inside, nodded, and the attendant cautiously opened the door.
There was no time to hesitate. Karl squeezed through the partially opened door, rushing into the bedroom.
Celeste, precariously sprawled on the bed, caught his attention first. He had no reason or time to look at anything else. Karl headed straight for Celeste.
Just three steps away, the physician stopped him, but she quickly agreed when he said they needed to disinfect for the safety of Her Majesty and the princess.
A magic potion that neutralized all kinds of germs was sprinkled from Karl’s head. Snap, snap. It was an act that took only a few seconds, yet to Karl, that time felt endlessly long.
“Celeste. Are you okay?”
Celeste’s face was pale. Her cheeks, usually rosy from flower blushing, had lost all color. The hair stuck to her face, wet with sweat, looked pitiful.
Karl moved in close to her, gently stroking her head. Celeste’s half-closed eyelids fluttered. Then, slowly, her hidden eyes turned towards him.
“Karl…”
“Yes, I’m here. Are you okay, Celly? Oh, my goodness.”
“Karl, look here.”
“Yes, I’m watching, Celly.”
“No, here… our baby.”
Only then did Karl notice the small blanket draped over Celeste’s chest. He had been so focused on her that he hadn’t noticed—it was their child, his and hers.
“It has purple hair.”
Karl immediately understood what Celeste meant.
“Our baby, Valerie…”
Valerie had returned. No, he had met Valerie again. Their child, Valerie!
