◆
Sylvia, trying to keep her focus, braced herself and pushed with all her might. When labor began, it was broad daylight, but now the sky outside had turned pitch black.
Relying on the glow of the crimson lanterns, she stifled her cries and endured the pain.
“You’re doing great, Your Majesty! Just a little more strength!”
At Barbara’s encouragement, Sylvia took a deep breath and pushed again. All the nourishment she had consumed over the past months had paid off. Though it was tough, it wasn’t unbearable.
“Ugh!”
Sylvia pushed with all her strength, and after a few more attempts, just as an odd thought crossed her mind, she felt her belly suddenly deflate, followed by a loud cry that filled the room.
“Waaah!”
Hearing the baby’s cry, Sylvia let go of her remaining strength. Her body went limp, too exhausted to even move a finger.
“Your Majesty! A healthy prince has been born!”
Barbara’s voice, cracked with emotion, called out joyfully.
Felix, who had been waiting in silent anxiety, heard the announcement and quickly rushed into the bedroom.
“Darling!”
He ran towards Sylvia, prioritizing her over the newborn. As he approached, he stopped in shock upon seeing her condition.
She looked more exhausted than he had ever seen, and it pained him deeply. Sylvia reached out her hand to Felix, who had frozen a short distance away.
“Felix…”
“Yes…”
As she called to him, he quickly moved closer and took her hand.
“Ha… Look at our Roundie. He’s okay, right?”
At Sylvia’s question, Felix finally turned his attention to their child.
By then, the baby had been cleaned and was wrapped in a soft cloth embroidered with the dragon, the symbol of the Capitis royal family.
Roundie, who looked remarkably alert for a newborn, resembled Felix so closely that anyone could see the likeness.
His wet, black hair clung to his head. Barbara quickly brought the prince over to Sylvia and Felix.
“Your Majesties, look at the prince. Isn’t he incredibly handsome?”
She gently placed the prince into Sylvia’s arms.
Sylvia turned to look at her child, and the sight of him puckering his lips, as if he was hungry, was irresistibly cute.
Felix, too, couldn’t take his eyes off the baby. It felt surreal.
Though the child was unmistakably his, the fact that this was Sylvia’s child struck him first.
With that realization, the worries he had been harboring quickly dissipated. He had been holding onto a fear he hadn’t shared with Sylvia.
He was afraid that, like his father, he might become a father who felt jealousy towards his own son.
The bond of a dragon’s heir was so intense and deep that it could even spark jealousy towards one’s own child.
As Sylvia’s belly grew, so did Felix’s anticipation and fear.
But contrary to his fears, his heart felt calm. Even his second heart beat with joy.
“…Siri, he’s our child.”
As Felix acknowledged this aloud, he was finally able to fully take in the sight of their baby.
Felix could also fully gaze at Sylvia, who was smiling happily.
And so, they welcomed a new member into their family.
◆
“No, Ruth.”
Sylvia gently stopped Ruth from continuously biting his fingers.
“Are you already hungry? You just had milk not too long ago.”
“Aboo!”
Ruth responded with a sound, as if trying to communicate.
Everything he did was irresistibly adorable, and his actions were so endearing that Sylvia’s smile refused to leave her face.
“How is it that you look so much like Felix?”
Ruth resembled his father so much that it was hard to find any differences between them.
“Black eyes and black hair. Even with the Black Dragon gone, it seems these traits remain unchanged.”
After all, if the dragon that disappeared could change her hair and eye color, it must have had an even greater influence on its descendants.
Ruth, who was growing rapidly, was now quite heavy to carry with just her arms. Sylvia used wind magic to gently rock him from side to side.
“Kyaah!”
Ruth laughed gleefully, waving his hands in delight. The fairies that had been fluttering around him scattered upwards in surprise, only to descend again.
“They must really like you, seeing you every day.”
Since Ruth’s birth, the fairies had hardly left Sylvia’s side.
Before, they would occasionally wander outside on their own, but now, like Sylvia, they rarely left the room.
“Hmm… Winter will be here soon, so how about we go for a walk?”
“Uu!”
Ruth wiggled his feet as if he understood what she said.
“Could he really be understanding what a walk means already?”
Whenever Ruth did something like this, Sylvia couldn’t help but wonder if her child might be a genius.
“Alright, let’s go out.”
Sylvia dressed Ruth in a light coat and stood up. At that moment, Barbara entered the room.
“Are you going out, Your Majesty?”
Barbara was carrying a new dessert along with some fruit juice for Ruth.
“Since winter is coming soon, I thought we’d go for a walk.”
“Today’s weather is perfect for it. The sun is warm, and the breeze is cool and gentle.”
“Is that so? Then let’s take that outside with us.”
“Yes, I’ll get everything ready.”
Barbara turned to leave with everything she had brought. Sylvia waved to her and then headed outside through the balcony.
“Aboo, aboo!”
“Are you missing Daddy?”
“Ababa!”
“Hehe, it really does sound like he’s trying to say ‘Daddy.’ Alright, I suppose a quick visit to see his face wouldn’t hurt.”
With Ruth in her arms, Sylvia headed toward the office. The fairies trailed behind her in a line.
Sylvia spotted Felix standing by the window, reviewing documents in his office.
Standing tall and straight as if rooted to the ground, Felix looked up exactly when Sylvia, who was peeking at him through the window, gave a mischievous smile.
As if he already knew she was there, Felix smiled back, his eyes crinkling with amusement. Sylvia pouted her lips.
“You’ve never missed a thing, have you?”
Felix rose from his seat and opened the window, his face lighting up with joy.
“Darling, you should’ve called me when you got here.”
“Why call when you already know?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Felix gave her a light kiss on the cheek before pressing his lips gently to Ruth’s forehead.
“Ruth, have you been listening to Mommy?”
“Kyaa!”
Seeing Felix, Ruth joyfully reached out his hands and shouted. Felix lightly ruffled his soft hair and then asked Sylvia.
“Where are you headed?”
“It’s such a beautiful day, so I thought we’d go for a walk.”
“Shall I join you?”
“Hmm, don’t you have a lot of work?”
Sylvia asked, thinking of Hubert, who was likely sitting somewhere out of sight. She knew that if Felix left his duties, Hubert would be the one to bear the brunt of it.
Felix immediately noticed where her thoughts had gone and grumbled in mock irritation.
“Where are you looking when your husband is right here? Ruth, can you ask Mommy for me?”
Sylvia laughed, thinking how silly it was to expect a response from a baby who couldn’t even speak yet.
The unwavering love Felix had for her had helped Sylvia grow strong roots in a once unfamiliar place.
Now firmly grounded, Sylvia extended her hand to Felix.
“Well, too much work isn’t good for your health anyway.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
Felix, as if he had been waiting for her invitation, grabbed his coat and jumped out of the window.
“Your Majesty! No, please don’t!”
Ignoring Hubert’s desperate plea, the three of them soared higher and further into the sky.
“Your Majesty! Where are you going?”
Barbara, who had been preparing tea in the garden, also called out in surprise, but Sylvia, Felix, Ruth, and the fairies continued to fly away, far beyond the palace grounds.
Floating in the air, the two of them paused to consider their next destination.
“So, where shall we go?”
“Shall we go see the cherry blossoms you love?”
Felix’s suggestion was tempting, but Sylvia shook her head. There was another place she had been curious about all this time.
“Just follow me.”
Felix chuckled at her words.
“I’ll trust you, sis.”
He replied, recalling something Sylvia had said to him once.
“Hehe, yes, trust this sister.”
She held Ruth tightly and firmly grasped Felix’s hand. The three of them then arrived at the house where Sylvia had lived in the Corpora Empire.
“This place…”
Felix murmured as he looked up at the familiar and nostalgic house. Sylvia, noticing that the house hadn’t changed much, pulled out a key from her pocket.
“I’ve been curious about it for a while.”
The door opened more smoothly than before. Inside, the fruits and vegetables that were still growing well greeted them.
Sylvia led Felix by the hand. They passed through the living room and kitchen, and when they stepped into the backyard, they were met with a surprising sight.
“What is all… this?”
Felix muttered as he observed the unfamiliar, noisy creatures buzzing around. Their appearance, reminiscent of a beastly king, made him instinctively gather his magical power.
“Don’t kill them!”
Sylvia quickly stopped him. She was overwhelmed with emotion. She had wondered, and it turned out she was right—this world had bees too.
Or maybe Eryngium had really brought them here.
In this place filled with memories, Sylvia conjured a table and chairs. Using wind magic, she discreetly took some honey from the beehive and offered it to Felix.
“Aahh.”
Out of habit, he opened his mouth and swallowed the golden liquid that entered.
“…Sweet.”
“Now, should Ruth have a little taste too?”
Sylvia dabbed a tiny bit of honey on Ruth’s lips. She laughed as she watched him lick it off with his tiny lips.
“Darling, let’s make some rice cakes.”
Such sweet honey definitely called for rice cakes.
Sylvia made rice cakes on the spot, and she and Felix ate them together. They drank cool barley tea and fed Ruth some apple juice.
It was hard to believe that they were now spending time as a family in the same backyard where their arguments had once started.
The fairies fluttered around, greeting the same flowers they did, flitting here and there.
On a cool and warm day, the three of them spent a peaceful, happy time together.
-The End-
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