56: The Parenting War

Seven days after the safe birth of the triplets.

“Ella, you definitely gave birth to angels.”

As Aella fed her son, Noah, who had woken up late, she grew slightly tired of hearing her husband’s repetitive admiration, as he cradled their two daughters in his arms.

“Kael, don’t just dote on Ayla and Claire. Try showing Noah the same kind of affection.”

“Well, that boy likes you, his mom, more than me, his dad.”

“Have you ever considered that it’s because you’re always clinging to his older and younger sisters?”

Aella sighed as she glanced at her husband, who avoided her gaze, and turned to her son, who was looking up at her.

“Noah, don’t worry, sweetheart. Mommy will cherish and love you even more.”

“Fine! I’ll play with Noah starting today, okay?”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that, Ella?”

Aella let out another sigh and fell into deep thought for a moment.

‘How did my rational husband turn into such a jealous man that he’s even jealous of his own son?’

The thought made her chuckle involuntarily, and she shook her head.

“Ella!”

“Keep your voice down, Kael. You’re scaring the kids. Look.”

Startled by his father’s loud voice, Noah hiccupped. Aella gently patted his back.

“Hic—!”

“Did my sweet Noah eat well? You’re such a good boy. You’re the calmest among your siblings. Hoho.”

Watching her smiling son, Aella felt nothing but happiness. She handed Noah over to her husband, who had promised to play with him.

“Waaaahhh!”

“What’s with this kid? Why is he crying so much when his dad is holding him?”

“…Sigh, Kael, stop making your son cry.”

Kael reluctantly handed Noah back to Aella, who held out her arms. Meanwhile, Kael picked up their youngest daughter, Claire, who was giggling while making eye contact, in contrast to their eldest daughter Ayla, who had already fallen asleep after being fed.

“My lovely Claire~ Let’s live here forever with Daddy, okay?”

“Kyah~”

“Hahaha. Do you love Daddy that much?”

Among the three children, Claire was particularly attached to her father. Watching Kael dote on their youngest daughter, Aella couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘She’s still a baby, so it’s natural that she only knows her dad for now. But once she grows up and understands emotions…’

Aella shook her head, deciding not to dwell on the stormy future she could already foresee for the father-daughter duo.

Kael and Aella were managing to raise their three children relatively smoothly.

News of Aella giving birth to triplets, all brimming with magical power, had already spread across the entire continent. The triplets, born to a mother with healing abilities, quickly became stars of the continent.

What’s more, Ayla, the eldest, possessed not only immense magical power but also divine energy—a power on par with that of gods. Her extraordinary abilities were so remarkable that even neighboring nations coveted her, recognizing her as a “superbaby” with limitless potential.

This made Aella even more anxious. In the shadows, forces from the dark world were already reaching out to target Ayla.

Just a few days ago, a group had bribed a maid to attempt to kidnap Ayla, but they were met with a brutal end at Kael’s hands.

After the incident, Kael entrusted the imperial guard to its deputy commander and began guarding his wife and children himself, staying by their side 24/7.

“Kael.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any regrets?”

“About what?”

“The imperial guard… It was your lifelong dream, wasn’t it?”

“Oh.”

Since childhood, Kael had admired the dignified presence of the imperial guard and dreamed of becoming its commander. He achieved that dream at the age of 18, becoming the youngest commander in history. As the only person in the empire capable of wielding a magic sword and summoning the Water Dragon, no one dared to challenge his position as the leader of the imperial guard.

His father, the previous Duke Hormons, had been proud of him, and Aella had always showered him with praise.

Above all, Aella knew how hard Kael had worked to reach that position, which made her feel guilty about his decision to give it up after only three years.

“Ella.”

“Yes?”

“My happiness matters more to me now.”

“…”

“Protecting my beloved wife and my precious children, who mean the world to me, is now my eternal wish and happiness.”

“Kael…”

Overcome with emotion, Aella’s eyes filled with tears as she leaned in to meet Kael’s gaze. He kissed her softly.

“I love you, Ella.”

“I love you too, Kael.”

The couple smiled at each other, their foreheads touching, before laying their three sleeping children side by side on the bed.

“Newborns are supposed to cry and fuss a lot, right? But our babies are so quiet. Don’t you think?”

“Haha! They must take after their angelic mom. Ella, thank you for giving birth to these angels.”

“Oh, stop~”

Little did this couple know, they were completely unprepared for the war that lay ahead.

They hadn’t yet realized that the night before a storm is always calm, and so they were utterly unprepared for the storm of parenting that would drain them to their core.

—

Exactly three months after Duchess Hormons safely gave birth to the triplets, Empress Elena safely delivered Prince Terry.

The child, who inherited his father’s dazzling blonde hair and his mother’s emerald-green eyes, was so beautiful that he was often mistaken for a girl. Everyone who saw him couldn’t stop praising his appearance.

“Elena.”

“Lee… Cough! Cough!”

“You’ve worked so hard. Truly… thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Hoho, you’re crying too. And to think you teased Duke Hormons for crying like a child when he held his triplets.”

“…Ahem. Let’s forget about that.”

Elena reached out to her increasingly adorable husband and gently stroked his cheek.

“Why are your hands so cold?”

“They’ll warm up soon. Is Terry sleeping well?”

“The nurse fed him and put him to sleep.”

“…”

“Why that expression?”

“I feel so sorry for Terry. As his mother, I haven’t even been able to nurse him once… Sob! Hic.”

Elena began to cry, and Julius immediately pulled her into his arms, patting her trembling back and holding her close.

“Elena, a mother’s presence alone is enough to comfort and reassure her child. Even if you can’t nurse him, you can still give Terry your love.”

“Lee…”

“Let’s raise Terry to be a great prince and future crown prince.”

“Yes. By the way, I haven’t heard from Duchess Hormons lately.”

“Oh, haha. That couple must be overwhelmed these days.”

“What?! Did something happen again?”

“They’re in the middle of a parenting war. What do you expect? They have three kids!”

Elena let out a long sigh as she watched her husband, who seemed far too amused.

‘I wonder how old he has to get to finally grow up…’

—

The happiness of the Hormons couple lasted only seven days.

The triplets, who seemed so calm at first—crying only when hungry, falling asleep when full, and fussing only a little during diaper changes—completely changed on the eighth day.

They stopped distinguishing between day and night, waking up constantly and crying endlessly. Instead of taking turns waking up, all three would wake up and scream at the same time, leaving the household in chaos.

“Waaaahhh!”

“Aaaaahhh!”

“Waaaaaaahhh!”

Among them, Noah’s cries were the calmest.

“Claire, are you hungry again even though you just ate? Your appetite is incredible. Ow! Ow! That hurts!”

Claire, the youngest, had an unusually large appetite and was growing remarkably fast. She grabbed her father’s hair with one hand and pulled so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.

Aella, already holding the other two children, couldn’t help him and had to call for Natasha as usual.

“Goodness! My lord!”

“Don’t just stand there!”

“Yes!”

Once again, Kael lost a strand of hair to his youngest daughter. But instead of getting angry, he couldn’t help but smile at her, completely smitten by her adorable grin.

Watching her husband, Aella burst into laughter and turned to Natasha, who looked at her with concern.

“You haven’t even had proper postpartum care. What are we going to do? The young ladies and young master refuse to leave you and the duke alone.”

“Hoho, what can we do? We’re their parents, so we’ll endure it. By the way, is Kina still struggling with her morning sickness?”

“It’s quite worrying. She can’t even drink a sip of water properly. I’m afraid something might happen to her.”

After putting her two sleeping daughters to bed, Aella headed to the villa where Kina was staying.

Knock, knock.

“Kina.”

“My lady?! Please come in.”

When Aella entered, she saw Kina sitting on the bed, looking thinner than before, which made Aella frown.

“You’ve lost more weight.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Goodness, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“I’m so sorry, my lady.”

“You have nothing to apologize for either.”

Aella patted Ian’s shoulder and felt guilty that there was nothing she could do to alleviate Kina’s severe morning sickness.

“Kina, I wish my healing magic could cure your morning sickness. I’m sorry.”

“My lady, please. I’ll be fine soon. Starting tomorrow, I’ll try to eat at least a spoonful of the porridge Mother made.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“But look at you, my lady. You look so worn out. It breaks my heart.”

“Hoho, they say things will get better after the 100th day. I’ll hang in there until then.”

“If it’s you and the duke, I’m sure you’ll manage just fine.”

“Thank you.”

After leaving the villa, Aella stretched as she looked up at the clear sky.

“Letia… I’m living gratefully, feeling the happiness you’ve given me. Are you happy now with the one you love? Laura… Mother, Grandfather.”

Murmuring the names of those she missed dearly, Aella returned to her room to find her husband fast asleep on the bed, surrounded by the triplets sleeping snugly around him.

“Haha, I have to capture this moment.”

Aella used a video stone to preserve the memory.

And that night, they endured yet another sleepless, chaotic night in their parenting war.