2. Daughter Resembling Both Parents
Compared to the difficult pregnancy, childbirth was relatively easy. Of course, this ‘easy’ didn’t imply it wasn’t challenging at all. It was only ‘easier’ compared to other mothers. The labor pains were just as intense.
Selina felt bewildered at the unfamiliar and intense pain.
“What is this?”
Before she could even register the pain, she was taken aback.
People could experience this much pain.
“Selina, now…”
“What are you talking about? How am I supposed to cross the Beast Mountain with this body?”
As the due date approached, Kalcion’s anxiety surged to the top of his head.
After learning that a significant number of women die during childbirth, his anxiety intensified even more. They had seriously discussed crossing over to the other world, where medical technology was more advanced, for Selina to give birth.
Still, there were too many constraints.
First, if Selina, who had been declared dead since her disappearance, were to return while pregnant, the entire world would be focused on her. There would be no guarantee of when she could return to this side after giving birth.
If Kalcion also crossed over, the attention would be doubled.
Furthermore, if the child turned out to resemble Kalcion, with his vibrant silver hair, it could cause a commotion in the other world. It was a rare color that could not occur without dyeing. They might even be dragged into a laboratory due to the public’s attention.
Ultimately, she decided to brave the risks and give birth in Renbird.
‘Should I have just waited there to see how it turned out?!’
As the intervals between contractions began to shorten, her willingness to endure the risk changed completely.
At first, when the contractions started, she thought, ‘Is this all there is to it?’ and took it easy. However, as the intervals between contractions began to narrow, the situation changed. She realized that such pain could exist in this world.
Moreover, the pain intensified with each contraction. It felt like she understood why people die while giving birth. If the contractions alone were this painful, then every stage of childbirth must be a crisis.
The pain was so intense that even the slightest touch of her clothes against her hypersensitive body caused her hair to stand on end. She even disliked Kalcion’s gentle touch, who had been comforting her all along. The mere sensation of anything touching her body was unbearable.
“Now, please wait outside.”
Thankfully, the perceptive midwife ushered Kalcion out.
“But I should be by your side…”
“Get out!”
Selina, reaching her limit of patience, snapped at the hesitant Kalcion. Even though he flinched at the first harsh rebuke he had ever received, he quickly read her urgency and swiftly left the delivery room.
Perhaps due to her usual physical stamina, the labor was short, and the baby was born healthy.
Nonetheless, even in that short time, Selina, like any other mother, vocalized her pain through her vocal cords. The grand scream, combined with an actress’s vocalization, pierced through the delivery room door and resounded throughout the castle.
Kalcion’s restlessness outside the door reached its peak as he listened to it.
He was on the verge of biting his nails and pulling out all his hair. If he had forgotten that she found his appearance appealing, he might have ended up as the bald northern grand duke.
Thankfully, before any issues arose with his scalp, the baby arrived in the world much faster than the midwife had predicted.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty, it’s a healthy princess.”
Upon hearing the baby’s cries, Selina finally realized that her strength had returned. She had been so drained that her mind was in a haze.
Amidst it all, it was amazing to her that she had given birth.
“Wow, this worked out.”
In a room that was not even a hospital, with only the midwife and a few maids, she had given birth. She couldn’t believe they had managed it.
Before the baby even nestled into her arms, Kalcion rushed in like a storm.
“Selina!”
As he entered the room, the familiar scent of sweat and the stuffy air enveloped him. Having been outside for a moment, the temperature in the delivery room felt unfamiliar.
Selina, with half-closed eyes and a face soaked with sweat, managed to smile weakly at him.
“We did well. Our daughter…”
Without even looking at their newborn daughter, Kalcion pulled Selina into a tight embrace.
“You went through so much, thank you. I’m grateful you’re safe.”
“…Kalcion?”
His embrace, always sturdy and unwavering, trembled. Feeling the tremor from the embrace, she gazed up at his face.
“….”
The sight was as astonishing as the fact that she had given birth, and it seemed that others were also amazed.
Astonished gazes gathered at Kalcion as tears streamed down his face. Even the elderly midwife, who never lost her calm demeanor no matter what happened, was similarly taken aback.
“Kalcion.”
“Thank you for being safe without any issues.”
He just kept saying thank you. He didn’t even complain, saying how much he was worried.
He seemed like the kind of man. He seemed like the kind of man who would say, ‘Hmm, so the world is ending,’ even if the world were to end and have one last drink. The man who would laugh and joke even when stabbed with a sword was now shedding tears just from hearing Selina’s screams.
If he were moved to tears at the birth of their child, he would have been searching for the baby first. However, upon entering the delivery room, he didn’t even glance toward the baby.
Selina couldn’t help but feel her nose scrunch up at the realization that this was the kind of love that was solely directed at her.
Kalcion’s teardrops falling in a steady rhythm seemed contagious.
“I gave birth well… I did well, so why are you crying? You should be smiling.”
“You did well. You did so well. Thank you for everything.”
His trembling arms held Selina tightly, his hand caressing her back. His voice was choked with sobs as she tried to hold back her tears.
Hearing him, she became even more emotional.
“Why do you, you keep crying, you fool…”
Eventually, Selina’s voice began to waver.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t cry because of me. Ah…”
“Why are you sorry for crying, huh, when I’m crying? Huuh!”
Although the old wives’ tale said that her vision would worsen from crying after giving birth, it didn’t seem to matter. Selina’s vision had already been clouded by Kalcion.
In the end, the two of them just clung to each other, crying uncontrollably.
The maid couldn’t find a way to intervene between the two of them, holding the newborn in her arms, unsure of what to do.
It was Selina who regained her senses first.
“We should look at the baby.”
As she wiped away her tears and smiled, Kalcion followed suit. While the two were still embracing each other in the whirlwind of emotions, the baby was carefully cleaned and swaddled in a blanket.
The maid quickly approached with the baby in her arms.
“Would you like to hold her?”
Noblewomen here often give birth without even looking at their child once — feeding, raising, and caring for the child were all duties entrusted to the wet nurses, nannies, and maids — not showing interest in the baby didn’t invite any reproach.
Selina reaching out eagerly to hold the baby was unusual in itself.
The baby came in her arms.
Naturally, both of their gazes were fixed on the baby’s face. Both of them hadn’t wished for much during the pregnancy other than for the child to be born safely.
“Ah…”
Seeing the baby, they both belatedly realized what they had been hoping for. The baby strongly resembled her. The delicate features and jet-black hair were just like Selina’s.
“…Oh my God.”
Kalcion was shocked, as if the world had split in two. How could there be two most beautiful beings in the world? The word ‘most’ could be attributed to only one thing. However, his thought process shifted.
From now on, it could apply to the two of them. The resemblance was just too striking that it was so moving.
Seeing Kalcion struggling to speak due to being overwhelmed, Selina smirked.
She knew that the child resembled her.
Before seeing it, he hadn’t shown much interest, but upon seeing the face identical to hers, his overwhelmed reaction was cute.
Though on the other hand, there was a slight sense of disappointment. If only she could have cloned Kalcion.
Creating a descendant so closely resembling herself was a proud achievement. It wasn’t unpleasant or disappointing. She felt a sense of wonder and tenderness at the fact that a part of her had become a new life.
At that moment, the baby, who had been squinting, opened her sparkling eyes.
“Ah.”
Their eyes met.
It was their first eye contact.
They saw the baby’s eyes for the first time.
…The color was the same as Kalcion’s, a lake-like color.
Their hearts fluttered, falling into that lake.
All thoughts vanished. For the first time, they felt beauty from the child. Captivated by the mysterious and beautiful eyes, they forgot about the passage of time and space.
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