“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Aaah, Rowenloa. Just a moment, just… Aaaah!”

As Rowenloa’s screams grew stronger, Detrian’s screams also pierced the sky.

“Your… Your Majesty! Please… let go of his hand first……”

“It’s fine. I’ll share Rowenloa’s pain too… Aaaah! Aaah, my head!”

To be honest, the room was in complete chaos right now.

Rowenloa, my best friend and the current empress of the Gellions Empire, was now… pulling the hair of the emperor, another supreme dignitary.

The problem was that she wasn’t even in labor yet.

“It seems Her Majesty the Empress is experiencing much more severe labor pains than others.”

Delian and I sighed.

“Brother. What should we do?”

“Leave them be…. The only one who could stop the empress was His Majesty the Emperor, but look at the state of the emperor now.”

Hearing that, I looked at the emperor with eyes full of pity.

The emperor was willingly offering his snow-white hair to one of Rowenloa’s hands.

Whenever Rowenloa’s pain intensified, she pulled the emperor’s hair more vigorously.

…At this rate, our Emperor might go bald.

* * *

Why on earth didn’t the world tell me?

That the process of childbirth is so painful.

That I could curse my husband whom I had loved so much because of it.

I pulled Detrian’s hair with all my might whenever the pain intensified.

Come to think of it, I was feeling indignant.

I clearly said I was tired and didn’t want to, but Detrian was the one who insisted, so why do I have to bear this pain alone!

The pain made rational judgment impossible, and I felt unfairly wronged for no reason.

After suffering from labor pains for a long time, they finally subsided by nightfall, and I was able to lie down on the bed and rest my tired body.

Detrian also collapsed beside me with his hair in tatters.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

“Yes, I think I’ll live now.”

As my body started feeling better, I realized that I was still holding Detrian’s hair in my hand.

“Oh my.”

I let go in surprise, and only then did Detrian catch his breath as if he would finally live.

“Detrian… your hair……”

Feeling somewhat sorry, I fiddled with Detrian’s hair.

“It’s okay… when you’re in that much pain, these things can happen.”

Detrian must have been in considerable pain too, as there were traces of tears at the corners of his eyes.

“But… the physician said the baby will probably come tomorrow… so this pain will end too……”

Detrian smiled broadly as if genuinely happy.

“When is Lady Poluria coming to the palace?”

“Ah, Lady Poluria said she would live in the palace and take care of the child as soon as the baby is born. Delian seems displeased about her coming to the palace… but he also seems happy that he’ll be able to see her face every day……”

I burst into laughter at his words.

We had decided to employ Lady Poluria as the nanny for the prince or princess.

Fortunately, she gladly accepted.

Of course, Detrian and I wanted to stay by our child’s side and take care of the baby as much as possible, but it was impossible to balance that with our duties.

While chatting with Detrian, I eventually fell asleep. And when I woke up, terrible pain was waiting for me again.

Perhaps because I had talked with Detrian all night, this time I didn’t grab his hair.

But with the maddening pain surging through me, I gripped the bed sheets tightly, trying not to lose my mind.

The physician sent everyone except Mylene, Frill, and Lady Poluria out of the room, saying the baby would come soon.

And so my painful screams filled the room again.

The hours of pain continued.

After screaming for a long time, at the moment when I thought I would really die, I felt as if the universe was being pulled out of my belly.

And then, the baby’s powerful cry filled the room.

“Huh… huh……”

For a moment, it was as if everyone around me had disappeared, and only my rough breathing and the baby’s crying echoed in my ears.

When I carefully tried to raise my body at the unreal sound, Mylene and Frill told me I shouldn’t get up yet and laid me back down on the bed.

“It’s a princess, Your Highness!”

As soon as the physician finished speaking, cheers erupted from the people in the room.

When the physician nodded, Mylene opened the firmly closed door of my room, and Detrian came rushing in with a clattering sound.

“Rowenloa! Are you okay?”

Contrary to my expectation that he would rush straight to the baby, Detrian came directly to me and held my hand.

I managed to lift the corners of my mouth into a smile at Detrian with my face drenched in sweat.

“This time… I’m disappointed I couldn’t grab your hair……”

Detrian carefully brought my hand to his head.

That made me smile.

“I’ll place the princess beside you.”

Frill laid the baby, warmly wrapped in a blanket, between Detrian and me.

Seeing the wiggling baby, I finally felt the reality of becoming a mother.

As everyone expected, Detrian shed tears once more.

I had a very busy moment teasing him and greeting the baby.

After playing with the baby and teasing Detrian for a while, Lady Poluria entered the room and took the baby.

“Your Majesty must take even more care of your body than before giving birth. If you want to see the baby, please call me through others.”

Fortunately, the baby in Poluria’s arms looked very comfortable.

After cleaning up the terrible process of childbirth, I fell asleep as if fainting.

When I woke up, the sun was setting, and Detrian seemed to be dozing off, nodding in and out of sleep while sitting on a sofa beside the bed, unable to lie down but firmly holding my hand.

“…Detrian.”

Hearing my voice, Detrian looked at me with a start.

“Why are you sleeping like that? Lie down beside me.”

He made an anxious expression and then shook his head.

He seemed concerned about what Lady Poluria had said earlier.

“Oh my, why is the emperor of an empire so timid? It’s fine, so lie down, quickly.”

When I pulled his hand, he pretended to give in and lay down beside me.

His eyes were as stiff as logs.

I looked at him, sighed once, and then turned my body to the side to hug him.

“You… aren’t you in pain?”

When Detrian asked nervously, I nodded.

“I’m not in pain. I haven’t been able to hug you like this for a long time because of my belly.”

At that, Detrian hesitated for a moment and then carefully wrapped his hand lightly around my waist.

We were able to fall asleep feeling each other’s warmth for the first time in a long while.

The next day, I headed to the baby’s room in Detrian’s arms to see our child.

“By the way, have you decided on a name?”

Detrian nodded.

“Eliana. It means ‘God’s grace.'”

I smiled at Detrian to indicate that I liked it.

“Let’s go quickly and call her by her name!”

At that, Detrian’s footsteps quickened.

However, when we visited our child’s… no, Eliana’s room, we couldn’t help but be surprised.

“…Lady Poluria? Mylene? What on earth happened during the night…?”

Hearing my voice, Poluria and Mylene slowly turned their heads toward us and then gave weak smiles.

“Good morning……”

“Good morning……”

…What on earth happened in this room overnight?

After hearing the story… hmm, it seemed our daughter took strongly after Detrian and me.

“All night… she cried and then laughed… Lady Poluria soothed the princess very skillfully… but I didn’t know a baby’s cry could be so loud……”

Lady Poluria smiled gently.

“Taking care of a child is always hard. You’ll get used to it after spending about a week together, so don’t worry too much. Your Majesty. Would you like to hold her?”

Detrian carefully put me down on the floor, and only then could I hold the baby in my arms.

As if recognizing that I was her mother, the baby smiled adorably.

My heart tingled for no reason.

I smiled even more brightly than the baby, responding to her smile.

Detrian approached us and whispered,

“Your name is Eliana. It means ‘God’s grace.'”

May God’s grace always be with our child.