Ruri jumped out of her seat, but Rutile opened the door and talked to the court lady standing there. Ruri nervously waited for Rutile to return. After the court lady bowed and left, Rutile closed the door.
Ruri rushed up to her and asked, “Rutile-san, what did she say?!”
With Ruri right in her face, Rutile gave a strained smile and said, “It’s the news you were waiting for, Ruri. It seems that Padparadscha has given birth to a girl.”
“And Padparadscha herself?” Ruri asked with bated breath.
“She’s fine. Both mother and child are in good health.”
Relieved, Ruri exhaled so deeply that it practically emptied her lungs. “Thank goodness...”
“Yes, thank goodness indeed, Ruri,” Rutile said, more concerned about Ruri than for Padparadscha. As a soldier of the Nation of the Dragon King and Ruri’s bodyguard, it was clear who she was prioritizing, so no one pointed out the obvious.
Ruri felt like she was the only happy one in the room, but when she went to check on Padparadscha, she saw that people from the Nation of the Beast King, fresh off relief work for their recovering kingdom, were outside her front door, and they couldn’t help but be in a festive mood.
As soon as they saw Ruri, they tried to play it cool, but their uncontrollable joy seeped through.
“Lady Beloved, this is all thanks to your incredible help. On behalf of the people of the Nation of the Beast King, I offer my deepest gratitude,” one of the men said, triggering a round of thanks from everyone present.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ruri looked around for Celestine. “Where is Celestine-san?”
“She is inside. Padparadscha was so exhausted that she fainted, so the doctor said to stay with her until she awakens.”
“You could have left everything to the lower people, but you truly have a strong sense of responsibility, Lady Beloved.”
“Indeed. As expected of one beloved by the spirits.”
From the smattering of praise, the love and respect the people of the Nation of the Beast King had for Beloveds was the same as usual. If there was a numerical scale to measure how much they adored their own Beloved, Celestine, it would likely go off the charts—maybe a thousand percent.
“If she’s asleep, I should probably come back another time. Please give this to Padparadscha in my stead,” Ruri said, handing the man a small bottle she was holding. Inside were small, round, red berries.
“What are these, miss?”
“Special berries that Kotaro and Rin gained from the Spirit of the Trees in the Nation of the Spirit King. Eating just one restores both mana and physical strength. It helped me heal up quickly, so I can guarantee the effects.”
“Is it...okay for us to take something so rare?!” It must have been because she had name-dropped three supreme-level spirits, but the man from the Nation of the Beast King trembled as if he’d received a national treasure.
Ruri couldn’t help but awkwardly smile. “It’s all right. Kotaro and Rin brought back a lot, so there’s no need to worry.”
They were special berries made by the Spirit of the Trees, which even Jade hadn’t known existed. While they could be even rarer than dragon’s blood, Kotaro and Rin had brought back so many that they could barely carry them home, so it somewhat depreciated their value. Therefore, the amount she gave to Padparadscha was negligible, but it would be impossible for spirit-worshippers like the people of the Nation of the Beast King to wrap their heads around that. She regretted mentioning the Spirit of the Trees, but it was too little, too late. Everyone gathered around the bottle of berries, sparkles in their eyes, as if they were looking at uncovered treasure.
Ruri worried whether they would actually hand it off, but she later found out that they had. Celestine informed her that Padparadscha had made a quick recovery and Padparadscha herself sent a letter showing her gratitude.
It wasn’t long before Arman came to the castle as well. He’d heard that Padparadscha had given birth and rushed over. The giddy, dopey expression he made upon learning the baby was a girl was not becoming of a king in the least. Not a trace of his usual dignity. The baby had only been born, but he was already a doting father.
“I will never let this child marry!” Arman blurted without an ounce of shame, saying what any doting father would say at least once in their life.
Celestine looked at this, unamused, while Jade turned to Ruri and earnestly pleaded, “Please don’t have a girl.”
It took everything Ruri had not to burst into laughter. It seemed he got jealous of their hypothetical daughter having a hypothetical lover. Celestine also looked at Jade, unamused.
It was so peaceful that it was hard to believe a war had taken place not too long ago. There were concerns about the Nation of the Beast King now that Arman was here, but he’d apparently fulfilled his duties as a king before coming.
However, given the slight unrest in his eyes, it didn’t seem like his trip had come without any issues. Just to be sure, Ruri asked Kotaro to let either Jade or Arman know if there were any disturbances in the Nation of the Beast King. Ruri was barred from politics by virtue of being a Beloved, so she struggled to decide how far she should get involved in situations like these.
However, she had recently learned to leave everything to either Jade or Euclase since they usually took care of things well enough. Part of that being that she was too busy caring for Citrine to do so, of course.
Speaking of Citrine, when Ruri returned from chatting with everyone in Padparadscha’s room to welcome Arman, he had changed forms from a dragon to that of a three-year-old boy. With his round, yellow eyes and golden hair, he was adorable enough to be mistaken for an angel sent from above.
Instead of rushing over to hug him and tell him how cute he was, Ruri fell to her knees in despair. “I missed it again...”
She had been bedridden for the first week and couldn’t watch him grow, so she had been determined not to miss the moment when he transformed into his human form, and yet here he was. Ruri was so shocked by her failure to witness such an important part of her son’s growth again that she couldn’t get up.
“It’s okay, Ruri!”
“We filmed it!”
“Yeah! Got everything!”
“Right...thanks,” Ruri replied, wanting to praise the spirits for a job well done, but she had really wanted to see it with her own eyes instead of on film. “Dragonkin grow so fast. Literally...”
She’d been told that he would be able to take human form in a few weeks, but why did it have to happen when she wasn’t there? It wasn’t anyone’s fault. If she had to blame anyone, it was herself for not being by his side. She should have brought Citrine with her when she went to visit, but she’d left him in the room because he was fast asleep. The basket was small enough for Ruri to carry, so she could have brought him and showed Arman and the others. That way she wouldn’t have missed the moment he grew up.
Ruri couldn’t vent her frustration to anyone and beat herself up on the inside, but those feelings weren’t around for very long.
Citrine cried out. It wasn’t clear if he recognized Ruri as his mother, but by the way he outstretched his arms toward her as if begging to be held made her heart skip a beat.
“Grk...so cute...”
Ruri lifted him up to find out he was lighter and softer than he appeared.
“Citrine.” Ruri’s expression was so gentle as she said her child’s name.
Jade came into the room after a while, possibly hearing that Citrine had grown, and smiled upon seeing Citrine in human form.
“Look, Jade-sama. Citrine has grown up,” Ruri said, ecstatic as if it had happened to her. She handed the baby over to Jade to share in the joy.
“Hearing about it and seeing it in person are totally different indeed,” Jade said, savoring the moment.
Lifted in Jade’s arms, Citrine stared back down at his father’s face before breaking into a bright smile—one that was absolutely adorable.
An indescribable feeling filled Ruri’s heart. Unable to express her emotions, she hugged Jade, who was holding Citrine. As Citrine was sandwiched between them, he giggled happily, his tiny voice soothing her heart even more. Jade held Citrine in one arm and pulled Ruri closer with the other.
Ruri looked up at Jade with a broad smile, happy as could be. She was grateful to him for teaching her what it meant to be a family—no, for being more than that.
In Jade’s arms was his newborn son. Ruri’s heart was filled with a sense of happiness that filled her entire being. She had never even imagined this kind of future for herself. In the other world, all of her time had been spent thinking up ways to avoid Asahi, but now, she rarely even thought about the past. That was the proof of how fulfilling her new life really was.
As time marched on, she would think even less about her homeworld. She had Jade, Citrine, the spirits, and a bevy of other people near and dear to her. She was only going to gain more moving forward as well. This was where she belonged now, and she felt like she could say that with her head held high if anyone asked her.
“Jade-sama... I’m so glad I came to this world.” Ruri looked up at Jade and smiled. “This world, where I met Jade-sama and everyone else, is where I belong.”
He smiled gently and embraced Ruri. She wrapped her arms around him, as if to check if he was really standing before her. She got her answer as the warmth that radiated from him was real, not an illusion. It felt like the world had finally accepted her existence within it.