Time passed, and finally, the due date arrived. The pain came unexpectedly on the eve of the expected date.

Tenere woke up, squeezing her forehead thinly at the pain she felt without fail.

It had been three days since she’d awakened to faint contractions at dawn. She rolled onto her side and took a deep breath, and Leonard, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes.

“Tenere.”

Leonard sat up quickly and gingerly placed his hand on Tenere’s stomach. She looked unusually nervous.

“I’m going to get a midwife.”

“It’s okay…”

Tenere blurted out, embarrassed that she’d been calling for a midwife every morning for three days. But Leonard ignored her hesitation and got up. Whenever she felt a sharp pain, Tenere took deep breaths.

It wasn’t long before the midwife came running. Since the court physician was a man, a woman was called in to assist with the birth, and Evelyn, the doctor who had diagnosed Tenere’s pregnancy in the past, took on the role.

“We’ll prepare for delivery soon, Your Majesty.”

Evelyn was too afraid to speak, so her maids and assistants prepared hot water and clean towels. The preparations moved swiftly, as the dew reflected on the ground below and they knew the birth would happen soon. Tenere looked a little surprised, but then nodded.

“Josie will be surprised tomorrow.”

Tenere smiled. Her face was still largely relaxed, as she hadn’t yet gone into full-blown labor.

“…I’m sure he’ll be happy. He’s been waiting for his sibling all this time.”

Leonard smiled back, but he couldn’t hide his anxiety. Tenere took his hand as if to comfort him.

“According to the nanny… They usually get jealous of their siblings. I’m worried he might feel lonely…”

“I’ll do better. I’ll play ball with him more often, and read to him more.”

“I think it would be okay to gradually bring in more.”

As we chatted back and forth, the contractions became less frequent. Tenere would stop talking and grimace, and Leonard would fidget and tighten his grip on her hand. Evelyn remained as calm as a distinguished doctor could be throughout the labor.

As the contractions began in earnest, Tenere’s face gradually lost its relaxation. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead with each push, and her hollow m*ans grew into screams. Leonard gripped her hand tightly and closed his eyes tightly. Regret squeezed his chest tightly.

‘This was not what I wanted to see. I didn’t want her to tear her flesh and tell me she wanted another child. No matter how badly she wanted it, I should have tried to talk her out of it. I should have been so hard on her about having a daughter like her.’

‘I couldn’t help but feel so helpless that I couldn’t do anything even though I was in pain right in front of me. Even though I saw him desperately grabbing my hand, there was nothing I could do.’

“Tenere…….”

The hand that held it trembled. Leonard did not know whose trembling it was. He could only hope that this moment would pass quickly.

It was a long time before Tenere’s grip loosened. Her body sagged, covered in sweat. Leonard finally raised his head. Tired eyes met his, then softened, and soon there was a loud cry.

“Aaah!”

Joy filled both their faces at the robust cry. Leonard stroked Tenere’s cheek with a trembling hand.

“…You’ve suffered a lot.”

“You did too.”

Tenere smiled, but she couldn’t hide her exhaustion. Her tired eyes turned downward, unseen through the cloth.

“Evelyn?”

Tenere called to the midwife, her voice a little shaky. The answer came slowly.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

They were cleaning up the discharge and umbilical cord first, but if a child was born, they could at least tell her if it was a boy or a girl. At the cautious tone, Tenere stiffened uneasily.

“Is there something wrong……?”

“Oh, no, Your Majesty.”

Although Evelyn hastily replied, her voice still carried a sense of bewilderment. Unable to bear it any longer, Leonard quickly got up, and Evelyn, holding the swaddled baby, revealed himself belatedly.

“……He is a healthy prince, Your Majesty.”

Evelyn said as she looked between the two of them. And with one look at the child, they realized the reason for the hesitation.

“Why……?”

Tenere was the first to speak. Leonard’s mouth twitched as if at a loss for words. Evelyn’s head snapped up.

“I dare say, it’s not uncommon for hair that was light in color as a child to darken as it grows. And it’s very rare for a child to resemble their grandparents… or even further up the lineage…”

“It’s not uncommon for a child to…….”

Leonard opened his mouth, unable to take his eyes off the child in Tenere’s arms. The thin hair, less than a handful, was undeniably silver.

“……You look like my father.”

Leonard’s words made Evelyn sigh with relief. Tenere gave a wry smile.

“It seems the notion of Patrona’s blood being strong… was all a lie.”

Despite her resentful words, her gaze upon the child was filled with affection. Tenere gently cradled the tiny baby.

“Baby, it’s Mommy.”

The child’s cries softened at the soothing whisper. When she stopped crying, Tenere turned her head toward Leonard.

“Would you like to hold her?”

For some reason, the simple words made Leonard’s heart sink. Leonard carefully took the child into his arms. It was a tiny body, so tiny he could barely feel its weight. Too small to be human, too big to have been born by a human…….

“It’s your daddy, baby.”

The voice that came out was trembling terribly. Leonard let out a long cry while hugging the child who resembled his father.

* * *

The empress gave birth to a son who resembled the emperor, followed by a son who resembled the late emperor. The good news spread quickly within the palace and beyond. Since he had silver hair and golden eyes that resembled late emperor’s, it was enough to quell any lingering doubts about the emperor’s birth.

Eric and Laura also rushed to the palace as soon as daylight broke with the news of Tenere’s birth. Laura’s cheeks had grown plump with congratulations, and Eric was equally pleased. Back at the manor, Alaina also sent letters and gifts to congratulate them.

But it was Joshua who was most excited about the birth of his brother. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he pointed his little finger at his brother and shouted.

“Baby!”

Joshua quickly let go of the nanny’s hand and ran toward Tenere. In a small bassinet lay a baby dressed in swaddling clothes. Leonard scooped Joshua up in place of Tenere, who was still recovering. Joshua clutched his father’s collar and asked.

“Is this Josie’s brother?”

“Yeah, his name is Lucas.”

“Lukey, Lucas…”

Joshua repeated his brother’s name a few times and then giggled.

“He’s tiny.”

“Small because he’s still a baby, right?”

“Yeah. Joshua’s a big brother, so he’s big.”

Joshua giggled and looked closely at his brother’s face. Lucas, who still couldn’t focus on objects, blinked his golden eyes slowly. Joshua cautiously reached out his hand.

“Babies are fragile, you have to be careful touching them.”

“Yeah. Yes.”

Joshua nodded at the nanny’s request. A small hand gently stroked the thin silver hair.

“He’s ……pretty.”

“Is he?”

“Yeah. He’s tiny and cute.”

Joshua, who was always among adults, found the smaller baby quite fascinating. His curious hands fiddled with his head for a long time. Lucas’s lips moved slightly.

“Wahhh!”

The baby’s cry was fleeting. Joshua looked at his dad and mom in surprise, wondering if he had caused it. Leonard quickly put Joshua down and picked up Lucas.

“Give him to me.”

Tenere reached out, and Leonard handed Lucas to her. Tenere quickly pulled down her dress and breastfed the baby. The child cried incessantly, but stopped crying as soon as he took the milk in his mouth.

“Oh my, Prince Lucas must be hungry.”

Laura said, quickly scooping Joshua into her arms. But Joshua’s gaze was fixed on the baby in his mother’s arms. His chubby cheeks swelled up, looking content as he observed his parents.

“Joshua too…”

“What?”

“Joshua wants milk too.”

His voice sounded pouty. Tenere scooped Lucas up in her arms and turned to Joshua, wondering if he was hungry again, even though she’d fed him lunch.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to go get a snack with the nanny?”

“No. I don’t want to go.”

Joshua scowled as if to say otherwise. Tenere asked again.

“Should we bring it to the room then?”

“No!”

Joshua shouted, shooing the nanny away and rushing to Tenere. Leonard grabbed him, but he didn’t budge.

“Joshua wants milk too, with the baby.”

“Oh dear.”

Tenere’s eyes widened in surprise as she finally understood what the child meant. Leonard was equally surprised and quickly scooped Joshua into his arms.

Laura soothed the child.

“Prince, milk is for babies. So…”

“Joshua is a baby too.”

“Oh, but you’re not a baby, you’re a big brother.”

“I’m not a big brother!”

Joshua cried out, ignoring the nanny’s words. Tener looked worriedly at Joshua, but when Lucas let go of the br*ast, she couldn’t help but shift her gaze. Seeing that, Joshua pouted his lips.

“Go away, baby, go away!”

With a sudden outburst, Joshua thrashed around, surprising Tenere, who quickly wrapped Lucas up. Leonard also tried to comfort Joshua, but tears were already welling up in the child’s eyes.

“Mommy…….”

Joshua sobbed, clutching his father’s chest. Of course, if the milk came from his father’s chest, that would be one thing, but to a child looking for milk, it didn’t seem to matter whether it came from his mother or his father.