Side Story 2
<The Fruit of Love>
“What on earth did you two fight about?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Startled, I asked, but Raymond quickly shut his mouth.
“If the Sun of the Empire and the Master of the Magic Tower fight, isn’t that practically grounds for war?”
I said it in exasperation as he turned his head away, but Raymond only stubbornly kept his lips tightly sealed.
“Is Niyan not hurt?”
“He is. I turned his face into a rice cake.”
“….”
Raymond proudly said that while raising his fist.
If I said, “Oh wow, well done,” he would surely sulk, so I chose to keep my mouth shut.
Niyan probably healed himself with healing magic before leaving anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.
“Anyway, I really am hurt.”
Having endured my scolding, Raymond apparently decided he couldn’t take it anymore and began urging me. It was hard to see clearly since it was dark inside his mouth, but I caught a glimpse of blood, so it seemed he did have a wound.
“You’ll heal me, right?”
“Alright. Come here.”
No sooner had I answered than the face above me dipped down abruptly. We met lips every night—what was lacking that he had to call for them even in the daytime? As my arms wrapped around Raymond’s neck, his arms encircled my waist. Our heads tilted diagonally, and our lips met, moving softly. Though I had scolded him, there was certainly a flavor unique to the daytime, different from the night. It tasted slightly metallic, perhaps like blood.
“Haa.”
Each time our tongues rolled together, the wound healed, leaving only the lingering scent of him. Our breathing grew ragged as we repeatedly exhaled languid breaths, healing and love mingling inside our mouths.
Like this, Raymond’s feigned illnesses increased day by day. Especially on days he trained, he would cling to the bed every night. He would come up behind my back as I lay down, wrap his arms around my waist, and pull me close against his body.
“Empress. I am in pain.”
“Your Majesty. Why are you in pain?”
“I was struck by my opponent while training.”
Struck, he says. When I watched earlier, his opponent was the one getting beaten up.
“I saw the training earlier….”
“Shh.”
Raymond pressed a finger to my lips.
“That’s why I’m in pain. I overexerted myself trying to win.”
“W-What.”
He turned my body and pulled me tightly into him. As our bodies pressed fully together, my face flushed red.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“I will not let you sleep tonight, so be prepared.”
Our lips pressed together deeply. It was the beginning of a long night.
After the long night passed, the morning sunlight sparkled. Raymond and I were being helped into our clothes in the same bedroom. Now that we were husband and wife, such things were routine.
“I feel unusually tired today.”
At his sigh-laced remark, I flinched guiltily, my shoulders twitching. Dark circles hung heavily beneath my eyes like shadows as well.
“Oh my, I wonder why.”
“Her Majesty the Empress heals you with kisses every day, does she not? Hohoho.”
Now quite smooth and sly, Raymond even bantered with the maids. My face turned bright red as I deliberately avoided looking that way.
“What nonsense. Nightly affairs are far more invigorating than kisses.”
“Oh my!”
“Your Majesty, really.”
The maids were embarrassed yet delighted. At their giggling, I was horrified and shouted,
“How can you say such shameless things!”
I hurried over to cover Raymond’s mouth, but he caught my wrist. Then, with a nod, he ordered the maids, “Leave.” The maids covered their mouths or bowed their heads, chuckling as they quickly exited the room.
“Why tell them to leave while we’re getting dressed….”
My words were cut off by Raymond’s lips.
Peck.
“It seems I need some separate morning vigor.”
“What about the morning meeting?”
“It’s fine. I can postpone it a little.”
With his arm around my waist, he pulled me toward the bed.
We brought our noses close enough to feel each other’s breath. I pushed against his chest and spoke. Of course, since Raymond was also applying force, my body did not budge.
“Your Majesty. After last night, you still intend to…?”
“I can’t help wanting to again.”
“You may gain vigor, but I lose it.”
“Oh dear. I suppose I’ll have to invite a large number of priests so that the Empress may receive vigor.”
“You never consider not doing it?”
“Of course not.”
As the balance of strength tipped, our chests met. Soon, the room filled with rough breathing.
Thus, our days of rolling about day and night continued, when one day a sudden red flag appeared in my health. I began to fall ill.
When I stood up or walked, I felt dizzy, and my lower abdomen ached. I even felt nauseous. The delicious foods that had made me happy after possessing this body now became things I could not even bear to smell.
Had I contracted some serious illness?
A saintess who healed others being sick—who in the world would heal me?
As I lay in bed, more disheartened in spirit than in body, the imperial physician came and gently took my wrist. Then he smiled brightly and spoke.
“Congratulations. You are with child.”
“…Pardon?”
“I knew it was pregnancy!”
“Congratulations, Your Majesty!!”
The maids and attendants beside me burst into cheers and offered their congratulations. Everyone’s faces were bright, and I was the only one left dumbfounded. Raymond, though slightly stunned, wore a wide smile.
Was everyone aware except me?
“W-What do you mean you knew? You knew?”
“Of course. Those symptoms appear when one is carrying a baby.”
“Ah….”
So when I was saying I was terribly sick and dying, everyone had been delighted and kept calling for the doctor. No wonder it felt strange.
But pregnancy. I was carrying Raymond’s child…!
I touched my cheeks, flushed peach-pink.
The thrill and deep emotion of love’s fruit filled my heart.
But the joy of pregnancy was brief; painful and long days followed.
“Please at least take a spoonful, Your Majesty.”
“Ugh. I absolutely can’t eat.”
The maid beside me awkwardly held out a spoon. But nausea rose up, and I had to cover my mouth, unable to eat even soup.
“I want to eat naengmyeon so badly. Sniff.”
They say certain foods become irresistible during pregnancy. Inconveniently enough, I was going crazy craving foods I had eaten in my previous life. Those around me were at their wits’ end.
“Empress.”
After I pushed the food away, Raymond came over and held my hand tightly.
“If you tell me what you want, I will obtain anything.”
“But they’re things that can’t be obtained.”
“If you tell me how to make it, I’ll try to make it as similar as possible.”
At my dejected reply, he presented another solution. His blue eyes were filled with heartfelt concern. Seeing Raymond’s resolve, I gathered my strength.
“Alright. I’ll write it down as detailed as possible.”
Nodding firmly, I accepted paper and pen and began writing down the recipe.
Even securing the ingredients properly was uncertain, so success was all the more unclear. Still, it was food our baby desperately wanted, so we decided to do our best.
Even noodles themselves were not common in this world. But according to what we had heard, in a rural village on the frontier, they ate traditional strand-like foods similar to noodles. By good fortune, we were able to get a hint there.
Raymond had the head chef attempt it dozens of times. Of course, each attempt ended in failure.
“This isn’t the taste.”
“It needs to be more sour.”
“The noodles are too chewy.”
After such tearful struggle, Raymond finally created a dish very similar to naengmyeon.
“Wow, this is it. This is naengmyeon.”
Slurp, slurp.
The cold, sour dish was perfect for soothing my nauseated stomach. To think they had actually succeeded. Watching me eat well, Raymond laughed, saying he had forgotten all the hardships. The fact that he went that far so that his child would grow healthy made my heart ache warmly.
After a few weeks of severe suffering, the morning sickness vanished as if it had been a lie. And this time, an insatiable appetite descended. I stuffed food into my mouth at every opportunity, as if determined to devour everything. Raymond gathered every kind of fruit not only from the Empire but also from neighboring kingdoms for me. It was to make up for the time I had been unable to eat sour foods freely due to morning sickness.
Though I ate like someone possessed, Raymond was endlessly delighted watching me. It seemed he had been deeply distressed seeing me lose weight from nausea and being unable to eat.
The time of morning sickness had crawled by so slowly, but once I began eating well, time flowed swiftly. And before long, the time for childbirth arrived.
“Waaah, waaah!”
On the day the baby’s vigorous cries filled the imperial palace, Raymond shed tears of joy for the first time in his life.
The baby was a lovely son with pink hair and blue eyes. The entire Empire erupted into a festive atmosphere at the existence of an imperial heir born for the first time in decades.
“What will you name him?”
Holding the peacefully sleeping baby in my arms, I asked. Unable to take his eyes off the baby, Raymond lazily stroked his chin in thought.
“Hmm. What would be good?”
“He will become emperor in the future, so I would like Your Majesty to name him yourself.”
“In that case, how about Luca, meaning one who holds light?”
“Luca? Luca. I like it. It’s such a beautiful name.”
I smiled in satisfaction and lowered my gaze. The newborn, unable even to open his eyes, slept softly in my arms.
“Luca. Grow up healthy.”
Raymond and I held hands tightly as we looked at Luca together.
It was a happiness beyond compare with anything in the world.
