CFCF 105

Episode 105

The other two could have protested, but they seemed too distracted by the sight of the baby and said nothing. Callisteon, clumsily holding the baby, was equally quiet, and for a while, only the sound of the baby’s light breathing filled the serene room.

The silence was broken by Phoebe’s soft chuckle.

“She’s really pretty, isn’t she? So, so pretty? The midwife said not all babies are this beautiful right after birth.”
“I haven’t seen many babies but…”
Callisteon finally moved his lips slowly to reply.
“…That seems plausible. No child could be as pretty as our Frilly.”

Contrary to expectations, a tragicomedy of everyone insisting on holding the baby did not occur. Everyone was so entranced that they didn’t even point out Callisteon calling her ‘our Prilis.’

Len, barely regaining his composure, instead took a step further away from the baby.

“…I’ll keep my distance for now, as I don’t know how my magic might affect the baby.”

He seemed utterly astonished, despite having stayed by my side until the very end. I even sensed an awkwardness from him, as if some unexpected creature had emerged from my womb.

Phoebe took the baby from Callisteon and asked Ernst.

“Would you like to hold her, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”

But Ernst also swallowed hard and waved both hands in refusal.

“No, Phoebe. I don’t trust myself. I might make her cry… or wake her. I’ll try after I’ve calmed down a bit.”

Then, a dazzling light began to seep from Ren’s embrace. He muttered a low curse and whispered tenderly to me.

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

After Len hurriedly disappeared, Phoebe tactfully asked Ernst.

“Your Highness. I need to take the baby back to the wet nurse, would you like to come along? You could learn how to care for the baby from the nurse.”
“That’s an excellent idea. I should learn how to hold her first.”

Ernst obediently followed Phoebe out.

Callisteon stood blankly for a moment, staring at the closed door, then approached me as if snapping back to reality.

“Ru.”

Our lips met immediately. Each time he turned his head to deepen the kiss, his firm nose bumped against mine. Sweet breaths spilled out urgently. In our hastily mingled breaths, I could feel how anxiously he had waited for me these past hours.

After our lips finally parted, Callisteon spoke softly.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever felt envious of that Tower Lord bastard. While you were… in pain, I couldn’t do anything…”
“Shh.”

I gently pinched his cheek.

“Don’t be like that, Karl. I’m fine. Be nicer to Ren from now on.”

Frankly, Callisteon now had more than enough reasons to be nice to Ren. Perhaps acknowledging this, he silently nodded. I rested in his embrace for a while. As he said, he wasn’t a wizard, yet I couldn’t understand why his lukewarm body temperature was so comforting.

Callisteon only went to see the baby after feeding me breakfast. After that, I must have fallen into a short nap. How much time had passed? When I lifted my heavy eyelids, Len was there. But he looked somewhat worried.

“Ren…?”

Ren was looking elsewhere but turned to me when I called. He then hesitated and asked.

“Are you okay, Ru?”

Actually, that was what I meant to ask. ‘You looked a bit troubled just now…’ Instead of asking, I rubbed my sunken stomach under the blanket and smiled.

“Yeah, I’m just… a little uncomfortable.”
“A little uncomfortable?”

He startled and stood up, pressing his hand to my forehead.

“You’re clammy. What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

Only then did I realize I had woken up because I was in pain. Ren placed his hand over the blanket. The moment he muttered softly, the pain gripping my lower abdomen vanished. Len, paler than me, began to ramble.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. I was right here… I didn’t know you were still in pain… I thought… since the birth was over, you wouldn’t be hurting anymore. I’m sorry.”

Listening to his flurry of apologies, I ended up chuckling.

“If it weren’t for you, Ren, I would have been in excruciating pain earlier, probably enough to faint.”

He shook his head vigorously, as if not even wanting to imagine such a thing. A large, warm hand gently caressed my cheek.

“I’ll fetch someone… the midwife… or the wet nurse… or even Phoebe. Wait a moment.”

With the dizzying pain gone, sleep washed over me again. I was half-asleep when a crowd of people, including the wet nurse, rushed in. Seeing my pale face, the wet nurse gave a gentle smile.

“The pain is starting now? Of course it would.”
“Fortunately, it seems this pain isn’t unusual.”

The wet nurse continued with a voice tinged with amusement.

“With the mage here, I completely forgot to mention it. After childbirth, abdominal pain is common; it’s good to massage the stomach periodically.”

Phoebe, looking surprised, approached the bed and slipped her hand under the blanket.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t know better and left my post.”

Feeling Phoebe’s hands urgently massaging my stomach, I flinched.

“It didn’t hurt earlier…”

Suddenly feeling comfortable, my vision grew hazy. The last thing I heard was Callisteon’s low voice.

“It’s best to let her rest. Everyone, please leave the room except for Phoebe.”

“Your Highness, perhaps you should eat something now?”

After dozing off repeatedly, I was roused from my light sleep by Phoebe’s cautious voice. Struggling to lift my eyelids, I saw a bowl of soup on the small table. Truthfully, I thought of the baby more than food.

“Yeah… Where’s Frills?”

As I asked while picking up the spoon as instructed, Phoebe’s expression brightened instantly. The change was as dramatic as a light turning on, making me laugh sincerely. Phoebe spoke excitedly.

“She’s still sleeping. The wet nurse says it’s normal for them to sleep a lot at first. It usually takes a few days for them to open their eyes, and she said for the next week or two, she won’t be awake for long periods.”
“So she’s healthy?”

I asked anxiously, and Phoebe burst out laughing.

“Actually, I asked the exact same thing! The wet nurse said if something was wrong, she wouldn’t be able to sleep so soundly. She said sleeping well means she’s very comfortable.”
“What a relief.”

I answered as energetically as I could, but my voice must have sounded weak to Phoebe. She took the spoon from my hand, scooped a large spoonful of soup, and held it to my lips. I had no choice but to open my mouth and finish all the soup Phoebe fed me. After that, she made a damp cloth and wiped my face.

“His Grace the Grand Duke is anxiously waiting just for you, Your Highness. Would you like to see him for a moment?”

When I hesitated and didn’t answer immediately, she giggled.

“You can’t fool me, Your Highness. Or can you? The wet nurse said it’s rare for a newborn to be as pale as Lady Frilis. I wonder who she takes after?”

I pressed my lips tightly, mulling over my thoughts internally. As if reading my mind, Phoebe asked again.

“Why? Did you wish the baby had blue eyes?”

Could she be using mind-reading magic? Startled, I looked up at her, and Phoebe laughed again.

“Worrying about such things. Do you really think His Grace would care about the baby’s eye color? Even if she had golden eyes, he wouldn’t give it a second thought.”

It echoed what Callisteon had said. As I fell into a daze, lost in thought, Phoebe asked again.

“So, shall I call His Grace for you?”

Asking her to call him wasn’t such a special request, yet my cheeks flushed unnecessarily.

“…Well, shouldn’t Karl rest too? You as well, Phoebe. None of you must have slept much.”
“I managed to sleep a little while you were resting, Your Highness. Lord Ren seems busy with something at the Magic Tower, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is completely smitten with the baby and hardly comes out.”

Phoebe added with a bright smile.

“And His Grace the Grand Duke has been pacing the corridor. I think he’s worried because he saw you were unwell earlier?”

I finally nodded.

“Then I’ll see him. Please call him.”

Callisteon rushed to my room immediately. He sat down, propping his chin on my bedside, and examined my face from all angles with a scrutinizing gaze.