As we all went silent in surprise, she pouted. “Where’s my welcome home?”
After the shock wore off and she stepped down back onto the ground, we all welcomed her.
“Sacred Maiden, we’ve been waiting for you.”
“I didn’t expect to come back to this. We’ve gotta have a talk later, Celes!”
“I’m surprised you came back, Maria!”
“You’re so mean, Gai! Was I not supposed to come back?”
“Sacred Maiden, you’ve come back...”
“...Reynard, you two really are brothers, huh?”
As they all exchanged greetings, I stepped closer and closer to Miss Maria. It wasn’t a dream. I could touch her.
“Miss Maria...!”
“Hey, you’ve gone back to the ‘Miss’... Wait, what’s wrong!?”
Just as I was about to hug her, I felt a pain unlike anything I’d ever experienced in my stomach. I could also feel something pushing between my legs. Wait, this hurts! This really hurts!
“We... Welco...”
“Don’t worry about that right now! Lucia, hey, Lucia!?”
“I-It hurts... My stomach... It hurts...!” I gasped. The happy atmosphere from Miss Maria’s return changed to panic in an instant.
“Lucia, I’m going to run.” Sir Celes was the only one who stayed calm. Scooping me up in his arms, he ran towards the manor. But honestly, at that point, I wasn’t all there. Thinking back afterwards, I just kind of felt like he had picked me up and whisked me away.
Oh no. My stomach hurts. Is the baby okay? That was all I could think about as I tried to hold through the pain.
“...Ah.”
But after a while, the extreme pain subsided. There was still some dull panging, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Could this be...
“Celes...these might be contractions.”
“Huh?”
“I think... I think the baby is coming,” I said, pulling on his shirt. In an instant, his calmness vanished.
“T-The baby is coming!?”
“Probably. The doctor told me that I’d have intermittent pain when the baby was getting ready to be born. Since I’m feeling better now, I think that’s what’s happening.”
“Wh, wait! Sir Anaclerio! Chicca! Call the doctor!”
Because I’d suddenly gone into labor, everything was happening in a flurry. I wanted to be glad that Miss Maria was back, but it just wasn’t the time for that! Sorry, but welcome home, Miss Maria!
✦ ✦ ✦
Quite honestly, I couldn’t remember much after that. It was all I could do to hold myself together through what felt like eternal pain. I could hear Sir Celes and Miss Maria, but I had no idea what kinds of expressions they were making. All I could think about was how much it hurt. Was childbirth really this painful? I writhed in agony, my bones feeling as if they were creaking.
The waves of pain became even worse as they lengthened, and when I finally felt like I couldn’t breathe anymore, I heard it.
I opened my eyes at the helpless but strong sound of crying as the doctor smiled at me.
“Congratulations, it’s a healthy little girl!”
That brought me back to reality.
Chicca wiped the sweat from my brow, patting me on the head. “You did great!”
“Baby? The baby was born? Is it okay!?”
“She’s fine. Don’t worry.”
As we spoke, the door opened, and Sir Celes came in. It seemed that he’d stepped out while I wasn’t paying attention.
“Lucia!”
At the same time as Celes ran to me, the doctor came over with the baby wrapped in a blanket. Her little face and the fingers poking out of the blanket were bright red, and there was some white-ish mucus covering it.
When I reached towards the crying baby, she was handed to me. She’s so light... So light, yet so heavy.
“Good work, Lucia. Thank you for trying so hard.”
As Sir Celes thanked me, I touched the golden hair on my baby’s forehead. Her eyes weren’t open, but I wondered what color they were. She didn’t have eyelashes or eyebrows yet, but it was strange how she had hair already.
Calming down, whether from being held or having her head patted, the baby stopped crying, falling quickly to sleep. Oh, she’s so cute! I’m going to cry! She was just in my tummy, but now she’s out here, breathing!
“She’s adorable. She looks like you,” I said.
“Really?”
“Look, her mouth, and her eyes and nose, they look just like yours.”
From her good looks even as a baby, I could tell that she didn’t take after me!
As Sir Celes and I spoke, holding our child, I heard a voice from the door. “Um... Can I come over now?”
“Mari! Welcome home! Come here, I’m fine.”
“Can we come in too?” Sir Gaius asked.
“Guys, show a bit of restraint! It’s tactless, trying to come in right after a lady gives birth!”
“It’s fine. Come in, everyone,” I said, beckoning them inside. As I did, all of the familiar faces lined up beside me. The only disappointing thing was that Sir Agliardi and Eric weren’t there as well.
“Congrats, Lucia! I was shocked that you were pregnant when I got back! How’d you get knocked up so fast?”
“It’s been two years since you left. I’m glad that you’re doing well, too, Mari. I’m so glad that you came back!”
After I handed the baby to Sir Celes, she took my empty hand in hers. I really was happy to see her again. I almost cried, seeing her bashful smile when I thanked her for coming home.
“Congratulations, Lucia.”
“The little lady is a little mom now, huh. Amazing!”
“Congratulations — to the both of you.”
I was happy to hear the King, Sir Gaius, and Lord Reynard’s congratulations. My baby was so lucky to have so many people congratulate her this early in her life!
“Um, Mari, I’ve got something I need to ask you.”
“What?”
“Can I give my baby your name?”
Sir Celes and I had decided long ago that if it was a boy, we’d name him Marcus, and if it was a girl, we’d name her Maria Elena. Hearing that we wanted to give her name to our first child, Miss Maria nodded firmly.
“If she’s named after me, she’s gonna be a looker!”
I quickly added, “She looks like Celes, so she’s definitely going to be beautiful.”
“What, I want her to look like you, Lucia! Hey, you, you’d better be like your mommy on the inside, okay? That’d be best!”
“I agree.”
“What are you doing agreeing with me, Celes?”
Having her nose poked by Miss Maria, Maria Elena opened and closed her little mouth.
“Ooooh, she’s so tiny and cute! Ah, I should’ve looked up how to take care of babies when I was back home! I completely forgot about all of that. I didn’t think you’d be pregnant when I got back. I’m shocked that you’re my age and already a mom.”
When we saw Miss Maria off, we had both been 17, but now I was 19. It wasn’t a strange age to be a mother, but it seemed that things were different in her old world.
“You look a bit more grown up, Lucia. Did your hair grow? It’s back to its normal color.”
“You kept your hair the same length, Miss Maria?”
“It’s only been a few months for me. It wouldn’t grow that fast,” she said, shocking me with a grin. “Time flows differently between here and my old world. I was worried that I’d be all alone when I got back, but Shiro was there, so I was fine.”
“That’s right! Shiro! That big dragon is Shiro! What happened!?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Long is fine,” I said, taking her slender hand. “Long is absolutely fine. I’ve wanted to see you for all this time. I’ve got so much I want to talk to you about!”
“You’re gonna need to get yourself better, then! It’s okay, I’ll be here from now on. So when you feel better, let’s talk, okay?” Miss Maria looked out the window. I followed her eyes to Shiro, lying on the lawn and yawning lazily. “Shiro’s with me, so we can see each other whenever we want. Did you know that it only took three hours to get here? Dragons are fast!”
“I want to see him later, too.”
To think we’d be able to see each other now. Miss Maria had told us she was home. She didn’t come over — she wasn’t called — but she was home.
Honestly, I still felt guilty that she had to throw away the world that she was born in. She’d become this close to us after being forced here against her will, and decided to forsake her original world because of that. That was why I’d decided to do all I could for this world, to pay her back. I’d do everything in my power to make sure this was a world she could smile in.
And I have a new family member now. Sir Celes is with me, too. I’m not alone, so I could work hard. I decided I’d live my life to the fullest, for both Miss Maria and the little life I’d just birthed.
I’ll start with what I can do. That’s what my mother always said. I’d look for things I could do, and one by one, I’d get closer to where I wanted to be. Now that I have a new family, I’d be headed in a new direction. One step after another, with the people I loved.