Chapter 18

Men weren’t allowed to be present during childbirth. When it came to delivery, women took care of everything. Thus, while praying I’d get good news soon, I went about my work. In a way, it was convenient that I had work to do, as I wouldn’t have to get more anxious than necessary. To be honest, I was more worried about the mother’s health than the baby’s. Sometime in the evening, Seraphina’s lady-in-waiting came running into my office. “The baby is here! It’s a boy!” “Wow, that’s great! What about the mother?” “Yes… Your wife is a bit tired, but no more than normal after a delivery. She’s able to hold the baby herself, at least.” “Then everything’s perfect!” I stood up from my office desk. “Ah… Your wife is still quite tired right now, my lord, so might we ask you to wait just a while longer…? Sometimes a newborn’s condition can change suddenly, too…” “Oh… I see… Very well. Please see to the both of them, then.” Apparently, the lady-in-waiting was a bit taken aback by my excitement; she was probably worried a man, unused to babies, might drop them. “I do have plenty of work to do, so I’ll go visit them later. Tell me when Seraphina’s ready.” Before long, I got to see Seraphina again. She was lying in bed with no signs of distress, as the lady-in-waiting had said. “I did it, darling.” “You did. Now I don’t have to worry about an heir.” I held her hand. “We still don’t know if he can do it, of course,” Seraphina replied, ever the realist. “I’ll make sure he stays healthy. I’m lord of two prefectures—I could get a good doctor from the royal capital.” “I don’t only mean his health. You’re going to become more and more powerful. We’re not yet certain if he will be able to stand under the weight of so much responsibility. I mean, Laviala’s child might be smarter, for one.” Seraphina was eerily levelheaded about all this. “I always thought a mother would want her own to be heir.” “I want to be the wife of a hero first and foremost. I wouldn’t want to compromise our country by picking the wrong heir.” “I’m glad to have such a wise wife as you.” I took the baby into my arms. “It’s hard to tell if it’s a boy or a girl, isn’t it?” “It always is!” she laughed. The baby looked at me but didn’t seem to know what was going on. That was only natural, I suppose. I thought he would start crying, but he just had a constant vacant look. “One day, I’ll have much land you won’t even know where the name Nayvil comes from. That could be fifteen or twenty years from now, who knows, but it’ll all be yours someday.” That’s your job and your destiny. “Darling, he doesn’t understand anything you say.” Of course. I know that much. I just had the urge to tell him all of a sudden. All men act soft around their children. Including me. They will never be cuter than they are at this age, though, especially since they don’t give lip. Oda Nobunaga, you think he’s cute, too? Another person’s baby might as well be a monkey. However…if this little one proves helpful in your work as a conqueror, I suppose he might entertain me in the long run. I’ll…choose to believe he’s congratulating me. My entire domain was full of celebration following the birth. Lots of people came excitedly to pay respects, which was a lot to deal with as always. Of course, there was one other thing left on my mind. Two months after Seraphina gave birth, Laviala’s baby was about to be born. I’d heard that babies of half-elves stayed in the womb for a longer time than those of regular humans, so there was nothing unusual about it schedule-wise, but… “It seems the baby is coming feetfirst, so the mother is having some trouble…,” one of the ladies-in-waiting informed me. It made me a nervous wreck. “How is Laviala?” “My lord, I assure you I will make certain Lady Laviala is safe…” I went to a temple in Maust outside the castle—completely out of character for me—and prayed that everything would be all right. At times like these, all a man could do was pray. So you have a pious side, too. Quiet, you. I don’t need my profession’s input. I, too, wanted to look to the gods for help on several occasions. But ultimately, the gods are just a crutch. In the end, people have to forge their own destiny. But when it comes to a mother and her baby’s health, there is little that can be done aside from praying. Pray with all your might; I shall join you. Who would have thought I’d receive emotional support from my job? I wondered how the priest might react if I told him about this. Next to me was Elnarta, the priest who’d bestowed me with the Oda Nobunaga profession. I’d summoned him to Maust around the time I took it. In his mind, it was probably the gods, not him, who’d bestowed my profession, but I wanted him with me just in case. As I was praying at the statue of a deity, someone came and stood alongside me. Standing next to the count seemed highly disrespectful to me, but I soon realized who this person was. “Seraphina, I hadn’t heard you’d be here…” “Yes, because I didn’t tell you. But the gods bestowed me with the job of Saint—doesn’t it make sense for me to be here?” She then knelt down and began to pray earnestly, sending phrases woven of ancient words to the gods. It demonstrated her specialized education and cultured upbringing. I was once again struck by how angelic she was. Seraphina was a prideful person, but she had always put in the appropriate effort. At last, Seraphina’s prayer came to an end. She finally bowed her head to the statue. “Darling, I want to be your guardian angel—no, a goddess.” “I truly am glad you’re my wife. If we weren’t in the temple, I’d want to hold you tight right now.” The Saint’s prayer seemed to have been heard. Upon my return to Maust Castle, a lady-in-waiting brought word of Laviala’s delivery. “You have a baby girl!” “How is Laviala?” For me, having lost both of my parents at a young age, Laviala was just as much family as Altia. The lady-in-waiting smiled and replied, “Yes, Lady Laviala managed quite well!” I was deeply relieved. “I think I was more anxious about this than any battle.” I announced a domain-wide tax reduction for the next year. I wanted to win over the hearts of the Nagurrians anyway, so it might’ve been perfect timing. When I saw Laviala afterward, we hugged each other, crying. “Thank you for having my child.” “I’m so happy I could do this for you…” Not long after I’d become the father of two children, I turned twenty-one years old. It was probably the most eventful year of my life, for someone like me to go from controlling zero prefectures to two. No one would’ve believed it a year ago if you’d told them. What’s more, right after I turned twenty-one, once again something momentous happened politically. We discovered the location of the royal family’s Lord Hasse, who then came to us at Maust Castle. Hasse looked rather uncomfortable when he appeared before me. Though he was just a bit older than I, at twenty-five years old, he looked much more haggard. The reason was simple. Hasse had no titles. Really, as the current king’s cousin and the son of the previous king—and considering kingdom precedents—he could’ve easily had the title of duke or a position as viceroy. However, the current king, Paffus VI, treated Hasse as a criminal and had stripped him of his titles. As far as Hasse was concerned, Paffus VI wanted to secure the throne for his own line by ending his cousin’s. Of course, Hasse was not a pushover who would allow himself to be killed after being painted as a criminal, but living as a nomad probably had made him somewhat subservient. It was twelve years ago that Hasse’s father, the previous king, Grandora III, was forced to leave the capital during an attack by his nephew Paffus. So for a full twelve years, Hasse had no choice but to live as a wanderer. Grandora III died of illness three years after being driven from the capital. “Lord Fordoneria, I came here upon hearing you would offer me your support… Is that really true?” “Actually, I would like to hear your reason for doubting my intentions. Why should I try to fool his majesty the crown prince?” I deliberately used the term crown prince. “Crown prince? Me?” Hasse pointed to himself with a bewildered expression. “Yes, you. Please ask yourself this: Has the Kingdom of Therwil ever been at peace during the more than ten years since the current king’s reign began? There’s nothing but war everywhere. It’s a miracle the capital hasn’t been burned to the ground.”