Epilogue. End of Happiness – 01
It was one night with a blizzard raging outside the window.
Outside, it was full of cold as if it would freeze everything in the world, but inside the room I was standing in, it was so hot that the outside cold felt colorless.
No, simply saying that it is full of heat might not be enough of an explanation. Because I was worried that a small amount of cold air might penetrate this room, I even installed a barrier that drives away the cold and activates the warmth in the air.
Bondi Estel Duchy is a territory located at the northern end. Even if the decisive factor that made this land barren and dry had disappeared, it was clear that the cold itself, which even froze the land, was native to the northern regions. I was also born and raised in this land since I was a child, so it was not at all that I was afraid of the cold and made a fuss like this.
The reason why he prepared for the cold so much that he thought it was too much was because it was absolutely necessary. If nothing else, expectant mothers who will give birth soon need to be careful about even the smallest factors.
“aagh-!”
The back of the room was filled with Iris’s screams. Iris’ belly was already close to full term, and she was currently in a state of distraught due to the labor pains of childbirth. To be honest, it was the first time I saw Iris screaming with tears so full of embarrassment.
“…it’s okay? Iris? This is the first time I’ve seen you in pain like this…”
Iris glared at me without answering my worried question. And Bianca, who was standing next to her, starts giving me bruises instead of Iris.
“Are you saying that now? So, Iris isn’t even sick, so you’re saying she’s at least acting out of boredom?”
“…No, that’s not what I was trying to say, but whether Iris is really okay…”
“This is the kind of pain every woman in the world has to go through. Don’t you know that when you ask such a question from the side, Iris’s mind goes wild and it hurts more?”
“…..”
For some reason, I feel only resentment at Bianca’s bruise toward me. It was a question I asked because I was really worried about Iris.
“…No, I was asking this question because I wanted me to be sick rather than Iris to be so sick.”
When I said that with a sigh, Iris, who had been breathing heavily all the time lying on the bed, answered me in a difficult tone.
“…Cain. don’t say that Because at this moment, I can only feel the pain I am feeling.”
Even though Iris was breaking out in a cold sweat, she said that to me.
“The pain I am experiencing right now is none other than the pain of childbirth. The pain you have to go through to bring me and your child into this world. If I can give birth to that child with this kind of pain, then I can bring myself to this pain without any hesitation. Because, compared to the happiness the three of us will feel in the future, the pain of this moment is nothing.”
While drawing the face of a child yet to be born in the world, Iris struggled to continue her words, while Ariel, who was serving as a midwife at the end of the bed, screamed at her.
“Everyone be quiet! Now the child’s head is starting to show. Iris, pay attention too. This is the most important moment.”
At that moment, everyone gathered here shuts their mouths as if they had made a promise. Iris was also staring at the ceiling with a contemplative face that was clearly different from before.
“Iris! Don’t strain! If you give strength to the stomach, the way for the child to come out will become rigid. Take a deep breath. However, do not take long breaths, but make them as thin and short as possible. That way, less force goes into the stomach, and it makes it easier for the child to come out.”
Only Ariel’s urgent voice and Iris’s screams filling the room fill my ears. Even while her eyes were wide open from the pain, Iris followed Ariel’s advice and tried to relax her stomach as much as possible and breathe lightly.
“…Ah, uh… aah-!”
Iris’s moaning sound, as if tearing at the eardrums, resonated everywhere. Unable to face her painful face, I ended up closing my eyes tightly. and-
“…Ha, ha, ha, ha!”
“Oh dear! Oh dear!”
It was then. Along with Iris’s rapid breathing, a cry unlike any I’ve ever known resounded everywhere.
“…..”
In an instant, I forgot what to say. I just couldn’t feel any reality until Ariel showed me the little baby wrapped in a swaddle with a somewhat relieved expression.
“It’s a boy. A very healthy boy.”
…Born. a child was born That too, a newborn baby who inherited my blood.
“…ah.”
I can’t feel it at all I couldn’t feel anything realistic, to the point where I thought like an idiot that all of this surrounding me was a dream. That me and her child would really be born into this world.
“…Ah, my child…”
Iris accepts the newborn baby from Ariel, and soon sheds tears as if she is moved. Looking at her holding the baby in her arms, something in my chest felt like it was sinking and sinking.
“Cain.”
Iris, holding the baby in her arms, looks at me. The current Iris was sending me a gentle and kind look that hadn’t been seen before.
“…Name, erase the child’s name. hurry.”
At Iris’s words, I expressed a little bit of embarrassment.
“…As for the child’s name, I already discussed it with you. What name to give to a boy, what name to give to a girl. All.”
“I know. Still, say the child’s name with your mouth again. and name the child You are none other than the father of this child. Because you think giving a name to a child is more valuable to our child than anything else in the world.”
Without any answer, I just looked at her lying on the bed with the baby wrapped in a swaddling bag. For some reason, the two of them in front of my eyes seemed to be terribly lovable.
“…Ed, Edward von Estel.”
When I managed to answer her with a trembling voice, Iris hugged the baby tightly at my words. In her movements, there was compassion for the baby.
“Come on. welcome to this world Ed.”
Saying that, she stroked the baby’s head once with an extremely careful hand, and carefully handed the baby into my hand.
“receive.”
“…uh. uh.”
Being determined not to allow rejection, I accepted the baby without hesitation. The accepted child was surprisingly light. Like a snowflake picked up by hand, it didn’t feel any weight.
…but it was heavy. The child I was carrying was so heavy that I forgot to think that I could not hold it with both hands.
And that was when
“Kyaa-”
This newborn child clasps my finger that was caressing the child. I’m not sure, but the child thought my fingers were probably some kind of toy.
“…..”
The child’s hand touching my finger was really warm. For some reason, the fear seemed to go away. Once again, the thought of wanting this kid to touch my finger crossed my mind.
“…It’s pitiful. What is a man who is now the father of a baby trembling so much about?”
Saying that, Bianca carefully snatched the newborn baby from my trembling hands, and then held it tightly in her arms as if lovingly.
“Come on. Even though we are not related by blood, I can be said to be one of your mothers.”
Bianca whispered something in the baby’s ear in a small voice and carefully handed the baby to Kyrie. At that moment, Kirie’s face was stained with embarrassment.
“…I-I’m fine. I’m not used to human babies, and I don’t know how to handle babies, so I’ll decline…”
“What nonsense are you talking about? There’s no one here other than Ariel who has ever had a baby? And where the hell is the guy that the baby is familiar with from the start? You gradually get used to it.”
Saying that, Bianca forcibly handed over the child to Kyrie. Kyrie, who was a bit teary-eyed, looked at Iris in a way to ask for help, but Iris just looked at Kyrie and smiled. Apparently, there seemed to be no one who would be on her side here.
“…Really, this is something I’m not used to.”
Contrary to the murmuring mouth, Kirie holding the baby has a small smile on her face. She also gently caresses the child with an extremely careful hand, as if she loves the child.
That’s why not only Kyrie, but also Arya, Sara, and Elena, everyone in this room hugged the child once, and smiled at the end.
The moment of childbirth, which can be easily found anywhere in the world. But for some reason, tears welled up in my eyes. This moment was so gentle and warm that I felt that something filled me inside.
Like that, the baby goes around everyone’s hands in the room and returns to Iris again. Iris, who had been looking at the baby in her arms with a loving look, soon looked at Ariel with a mischievous look.
“…Well, then, Ariel will be next. With about four months left before giving birth, Tia must be a year younger than Ed. That is really, really unfortunate.”
At Iris’s remark, everyone in the room turned their eyes to Ariel. In an instant, Ariel’s face turned red as if she felt the attention focused on her.
“What are you sorry about, Iris? Isn’t it possible that there is a difference of about a year between siblings?”
Arya tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what she was saying and asked her a question, and Iris sighed and smiled as she explained.
“If the year goes on like this, the eldest son of the Duke of Estelle will be none other than Ed. Because Ed is the oldest of the other women’s children. Traditionally, in any family, the right to inherit goes first to the eldest son. In about 30 years or so, Ed will be able to reign over everyone else as the head of the Duke of Estelle.”
“…..”
“…..”
For a moment, Arya and I were at a loss for words. Could it be that at such an auspicious moment when the child was born, he was foreseeing such a distant future?
“…You’re talking nonsense. Whoever inherits the family line should be judged not by age but by ability. The Tia I knew was smarter than anyone else in the world, so if you judge her in order of ability, she can easily become the head of the duchy.”
“Oh, you seem quite confident. But what can I do? Wouldn’t Tia have already deducted one point from Ed for having to call him ‘Brother’?”
As Iris and Ariel stared at each other and fired sparks, Elena, who had been standing blankly behind us until now, looked at the two and carefully opened her mouth.
“…Come on, poor princess. And Ariel. To be honest, I don’t understand such a difficult story very well. But aside from all that, I think it’s a very good thing that Ariel-sama has a baby with her older brother.”
In an instant, the expressions of Iris and Ariel, who had been looking at each other with stern expressions, relaxed a little, but calmly. It seems that he did not want to show the appearance of arguing even in front of Elena.
“Even when I was young, the Duke of Estelle was very quiet. My brother and I were the only children in such a large mansion. My older brother always cared for me, so I wasn’t lonely, but apart from that, I couldn’t easily get rid of the thought that this place was always lonely.”
While saying that, Elena was smiling broadly. Not a speck of dust could be seen in Elena’s smile.
“But Ed doesn’t have to feel the same desolation as I do. Because if everyone here had just one child with my brother, there would be six of them. If so, the mansion will be very crowded unlike back then.”
“And as much as that, there will be a lot of memories that the children build up. I am very happy about that fact.”
Elena walks over to the baby in Iris’s arms and caresses the baby’s head again.
“This child must be happy. Because, there are many people around you who love you so much, and there are overflowing people to share your happiness with.”
“So I want everyone here to be happy. Because we are a family now.”
Elena’s words made Iris suffocate and burst into laughter as if she had lost.
“Aha, yes. That would be a pretty good thing. There are as many members as this, but it won’t lead to a comfortable life in the future. There will definitely be a lot of uproarious things in the future. And as much as that, the child’s memories will also accumulate a lot. it is not so? Cain.”
“…I guess so. Seeing how a space that was so quiet just a moment ago has quickly turned into something noisy.”
While answering that, I gently point my eyes at the women behind my back. As long as he lived with those women, a peaceful life from now on would be nothing more than passing water.
“So please be moderate, Iris. Let’s leave the succession battle that will destroy the Estelle duchy as a headache for the distant future.”
“Yes, if you say so, I will. but it’s a bit sad I was planning on borrowing the power of the imperial family if necessary. His Majesty also has a great interest in his grandson-”
“…Iris.”
In the distant future, if the Duke of Estelle were to perish due to internal strife, Iris would have at least a stake in it.