CHAPTER 95…………………………
“Linnegrym, where were you! You left your bag behind, too!”
Lauren was running toward me, clutching my bag tightly in her arms.
“Senior Lauren. We’ll go in right away.”
I took the towel the maid brought and entered the birthing tent.
Harisa, who had transformed into a massive tiger, was breathing heavily.
“Who are you people?”
An elderly woman barked at us sharply.
“We’re officials from the Imperial Palace Administration. We came to assist with Lady Harisa’s delivery!”
But the moment we revealed our identities, all the midwives in the birthing tent stiffened.
“Oh, heavens! That’s enough! You’re just here to mumble prayers over a suffering woman again, aren’t you?”
“That’s not it!”
Lauren snapped back, indignant, but the midwives ignored her and continued their preparations. They hung curtains around Harisa and drove us out.
“Staying out of the way is the best help you can give, so just stand over there quietly!”
Banished to a corner of the tent, I tried to calm the fuming Lauren.
“Senior, how long has it been since Lady Harisa’s water broke?”
“Right after she took the herbs you sent earlier… so, a little less than an hour.”
“…Let’s wait just a little longer.”
Screams rang out in short intervals. The midwives kept urging her to push, but there was still no sign of the baby coming out.
The amount of blood soaking the replaced towels was alarming.
The baby hadn’t even been born yet, and there was already excessive bleeding.
“Grrrhhh!”
“My lady! You need to push harder!”
“Something’s wrong! The baby isn’t coming out!”
She was pushing, but the baby wouldn’t emerge—only the pain grew worse. Two hours had passed since her water broke, and the bleeding hadn’t stopped.
“…It’s a difficult labor.”
“A difficult labor?”
Lauren echoed my words, just as the midwives cried out in panic.
“I see the baby’s feet!”
“The baby’s coming out upside down! What do we do?!”
A breech birth—dangerous. The baby could get stuck in the birth canal and die.
“My lady! Please, push harder!”
A midwife rubbed Harisa’s belly, shouting. But just as Harisa’s trembling limbs went limp and her eyes rolled back, horror spread through the tent.
“My lady!”
“Please, wake up, my lady!”
The midwives shook her, but she wouldn’t regain consciousness.
The difficult labor continued. The baby was stuck in the birth canal, and the mother had passed out. There was only one way to save them both.
“Mother!”
The door burst open. Rihasol and Rira rushed in, their faces pale.
“What’s wrong with Mother?!”
“Miss, what should we do…!”
The midwife swallowed her tears as she spoke. She was experienced—she knew exactly how dangerous this was.
Hearing her explanation, Rihasol’s face turned completely white.
“Both Mother and the babies are in danger…? Then, what should we do…?”
“The baby is stuck in the birth canal, and my lady has fainted—there’s nothing we can do—”
I couldn’t wait any longer. I steeled myself and stepped forward.
“We have to perform a cesarean section.”
Everyone turned to me—the midwife who had been speaking through tears, and the two daughters anxiously watching Harisa’s still body.
“Cesarean… section? What’s that?”
“It’s a procedure where we cut open Lady Harisa’s abdomen and remove the babies trapped in the birth canal.”
“Cut open her abdomen?! That’s insane!”
Rira shouted furiously, her voice trembling with anger, as if she might lunge at me at any moment.
“It’s been over two hours since her water broke. The baby is blocking the birth canal, and the others in the womb are in danger of suffocating. If that happens, Lady Harisa’s life will be at risk, too!”
“But still, how could—!”
“…Could you explain in detail?”
Rihasol, after steadying Rira with a hand on her shoulder, staggered forward.
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a scalpel wrapped in cloth.
“With this tool, I’ll make an incision in her abdomen. I’ll use ivy fruit to anesthetize her first. After removing the babies, I’ll use a healing stone to close the wound. In this situation—where induced labor is impossible—this is the only way to save both Lady Harisa and the divine beasts about to be born.”
Rihasol squeezed her eyes shut, as if she couldn’t bear to look at the scalpel.
“…What are the chances of success?”
“Fifty-fifty.”
“Only half?!”
It was natural that the odds were low. I didn’t have modern equipment. No X-rays, no proper sterilization. Under these conditions, the chance that both mother and children would survive was barely 50%.
“But one thing’s certain—if we do nothing, Lady Harisa and the babies will die. The surgery, even with its risks, gives them a much better chance.”
“Damn it! Sister, what do we do?”
Rira bit her lip nervously, waiting for Rihasol’s decision. Rihasol’s tightly closed eyelids trembled.
Then, she opened her eyes and took my hands in hers.
“…Please. Save my mother and my siblings.”
There was a scalpel in my hand—but Rihasol looked only into my eyes, not at the blade.
‘Can I really do this? What if I fail?’
I bit my lip hard. The sharp sting brought me back to focus.
This wasn’t the time for hesitation. I had to do it. I had to save them.
“…Yes! Senior Lauren, take out all the ivy fruit we brought!”
“Okay!”
Lauren quickly opened the bag, pulled out the bottle of fruit, and lifted Harisa’s limp head. She pried open Harisa’s mouth and poured the contents of the bottle down her throat.
“You have to swallow this, Lady Harisa!”
Lauren blew gently into her nose, and soon Harisa’s throat bobbed—she swallowed the fruit.
Lauren checked her mouth and nodded. The paralysis would begin soon.
Moments later, Harisa’s pupils grew unfocused. I raised the scalpel and exhaled softly.
Fwoosh. The blade glowed red-hot as I sterilized it with flame, then cooled it briefly.
“Sol! Are you all right?”
“I’m… fine.”
“If this is too much for you, you can step outside, Lady Rihasol.”
Rihasol shook her head.
“Your blade isn’t meant to harm, is it?”
“…No.”
“Then I’m not afraid. It’s a blade meant to save my family.”
Her legs trembled, but she stood firm. If she could face her fear, how could I falter?
I could save them. I had to save them.
After a deep breath, I gently placed my hand on Harisa’s swollen abdomen.
“Beginning incision.”
The sharp blade glided smoothly through skin and flesh.
Carefully, I peered inside—and saw three small, wriggling forms.
One by one, I lifted the babies from her belly and handed them to the midwives.
“Oh, heavens…!”
The midwife hastily wiped the afterbirth away and held the first crying baby tenderly.
The second, then the third, followed. Only the one stuck in the birth canal remained.
“Linnegrym! The first three are all safe…!”
I barely had time to feel relief before I carefully pulled out the last baby.
The baby’s fur was pure white—just like Rihasol’s. But the tiny creature in my arms didn’t move.
“…It’s not breathing.”
“Wh-what do we do…!”
Lauren clamped a hand over her mouth. Rira caught Rihasol as her knees gave way. Leaning against her sister, Rihasol whispered to me:
“…You’ve done enough. You tried your best, so now—”
“No. Not yet.”
I gently tilted the baby’s small head back and pressed my mouth to its lips. Then, I breathed.
Hoo!
The umbilical cord was caught between the baby’s head and Harisa’s pelvis—cutting off oxygen.
I prayed that my breaths weren’t too late.
Again and again, I breathed into the tiny lungs, watching the small chest.
Then—just as my head began to spin—the baby’s leg twitched.
“I-it moved…!”
Lauren’s voice shook uncontrollably. My own hands trembled.
‘Please, please…!’
With one last breath, a faint cough escaped the baby’s mouth.
So small it could have been missed—but unmistakably, it was the sound of life.
—Waaahhh…
The newborn divine beast wailed, its tiny chest rising and falling rapidly.
And at that sound, tears and laughter filled the tent.
“They’re all safe! All four are alive!”
“How is this possible…!”
“Thank the heavens…!”
But it was too early to celebrate.
After delivering the babies, I still had to close the incision and monitor Harisa’s recovery—there could be infection or other complications.
“I’ll begin suturing. Senior Lauren, get me the needle, thread, and clamps from the bag.”
Lauren, who carried half a merchant’s stock in her bag, managed to find exactly what I needed and handed it over.
I carefully stitched the wound, then cut the thread.
“Can’t we just use the healing stone right away?”
“The cut’s too large. If we heal it immediately, the skin will wrinkle. It’s better to stitch first for a clean recovery.”
“I see…”
At last, after closing the wound with the healing stone, I could finally breathe again.
“She’s exhausted, but she should wake by morning. Make sure she drinks plenty of water—”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and turned around.
Rihasol, her eyes brimming with tears, was staring at her newborn sibling who resembled her so closely. She looked up at me.
“Y-you…”
Her usually calm voice trembled uncontrollably.
I grinned and handed her the scalpel.
“I don’t have the strength left to cut the umbilical cord. Could you help me?”
Rihasol slowly took the scalpel and brought it to the newborn’s cord. Snip. The thin strand broke, and the baby inhaled deeply, as if taking in the air of a new world.
—Waaahhh!
Rihasol pressed her forehead gently against her sibling’s and whispered softly.
“…Hello, little one. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the world.”
Just then, the door burst open. Jeron, Reed, and Ribel—who had been waiting anxiously outside—rushed in.
“Harisa! My dear!”
“Mother!”
“Quiet! Mother’s sleeping!”
Rira scolded them, and Reed and Ribel fell silent. Rihasol smiled brightly, showing them the newborn in her arms.
“So cute…”
“Why’s it so wrinkly? It looks funny.”
“You looked like that when you were born, too.”
“What should we name them?”
Each of them celebrated the birth in their own way.
Thus, the second set of quadruplets was born to the Aksion clan.
