喵绅HCMOIC士网页版

Side Stories 29

There\'s a saying, ‘the terrible twos.’

It means that the tantrums children throw at that age are hard for even most parents to handle.

The Crown Princess of the Empire had also entered this ‘terrible twos’ phase.

As a result, the Emperor was on edge.

No matter how much she was the future empress, she was still a child.

He was worried about what to do if she threw a tantrum when things didn\'t go her way.

Of course, the Empress was convinced that would never happen, but you never know.

She was worried about what to do if the Crown Princess did become a ‘terrible two.’

"Daddy!"

At first, his daughter used to call him ‘Your Majesty.’

She called the Empress ‘Mommy’ and Count Karl ‘Uncle.’

He was hurt that she didn\'t call him ‘Daddy’ but ‘Your Majesty.’

In the end, he took drastic measures and made her say the word ‘Daddy’ whenever he had time.

He thought that if she got used to it, she would be comfortable using it later.

And fortunately, she soon started saying ‘Daddy’ instead of ‘Your Majesty.’

"The Crown Princess is here. Come and sit here."

Fortunately, his morning work had finished on time today.

This meant he could spend some time with the Crown Princess before lunch.

"What did you do this morning?"

"I, I! I read this whole book today!"

"Book?"

The Crown Princess, sitting on his lap, waved her arms and pointed at something.

The head maid was holding a rather thick book.

"That! It\'s a book about the history of the Empire! Daddy!"

"You were reading that instead of a picture book?"

"Yes! It\'s much more interesting!"

As the future ruler of the Empire, she couldn\'t grow up like ordinary children.

Yes, he knew that. He knew, but still, a two-year-old should act like a two-year-old.

The fact that she was already reading a book that would scare other children was...

"Today I learned something!"

"What did you learn?"

"Marriage!"

Marriage?

"Daddy, do you know what relatives are?"

"Relatives? Well, I\'m not sure. Can my little Princess explain it to me?"

"Yes! Relatives are people connected by marriage or family! That\'s what relatives are!"

"Is that so? Our Crown Princess is very smart."

"Right! And in the old days, people used to marry their relatives!"

[TL/N:: Oh hell nah. Author-nim let\'s stop here.]

[PR/N: ]

"...Hmm?"

Wait a minute. I think I heard something strange. This isn\'t right, is it?

The Emperor glanced at the head maid, who had a very troubled expression on her face.

It seems that this isn\'t just the Crown Princess spouting nonsense.

"Crown Princess? What did you just tell Daddy?"

"Marriage! There! In that book! They used to do it in the old days!"

"Hahaha. Yes, in the old days. Marrying relatives is something from the very distant past."

"So they don\'t do it now?"

No, they don\'t. Absolutely not. There\'s no reason to. We don\'t marry relatives.

The Emperor explains gently to his daughter, who tilts her head in confusion.

The books she\'s read clearly say they did. Why not now?

"Lily, can you tell Daddy why you\'re talking about marrying relatives?"

"No!"

"Really? Then Daddy will guess. Let\'s see. Ah, I see! Our Crown Princess must really like her uncle!"

"No, no!!"

She denies it, but she immediately reacts with a flustered denial.

This is why children are so easy to handle. They think they\'re being sneaky, but they can\'t hide anything.

Their faces and actions already reveal everything.

"Crown Princess, I know you really like your uncle. But you can\'t do that."

"Why not?"

"How many siblings do you have now?"

"Two!"

"That\'s right. What are their names?"

"Luen! And Me... Mary... Marien!!"

"So, would it be okay if your sisters suddenly disappeared?"

The Crown Princess was startled by the Emperor\'s question and asked why her sisters would disappear.

"Of course. If you marry your uncle, they wouldn\'t be your sisters anymore."

There were plenty of other reasons. Like how marrying relatives was now illegal.

And even if it weren\'t, marrying someone as close as a third cousin was even more impossible.

But he decided to approach it from the child\'s perspective.

"And there\'s another sibling growing in your third aunt\'s belly."

"Um, yes."

"So you\'d be losing three siblings. Will that be okay?"

"Ugh...! But, but! Lily is getting a sibling too! Mommy said she\'ll have a baby brother!"

Oh. That\'s right. Hmm, this makes it a bit harder to convince her.

The Emperor racked his brain and decided to push on.

"So you\'re saying you don\'t need Luen and Marien as sisters anymore. When they grow up, they might say they hate you, their older sister."

"No!"

Absolutely not! They can\'t hate each other! The Crown Princess jumped up from her seat and flapped her arms.

The Emperor and the head maid covered their mouths, barely holding back their laughter at her cute reaction.

"Yes, you have to be patient for your sisters."

"Ugh."

"And for our smart Crown Princess, let me add that marriage between close relatives has been prohibited by Imperial law for a long time."

"Law? So we can\'t do it?"

"No, we can\'t. Even the Crown Princess, even the Emperor, cannot arbitrarily break the laws created and upheld by the great people of the Empire."

Of course, it\'s not entirely impossible. As the Emperor, he might not be completely bound by the law.

But he hoped it wouldn\'t come to that. He didn\'t want to see his daughter recorded in history as a tyrant or a despot, even after death.

"Ugh... then what should I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"The book said you have to marry the person you love!"

"Just because you like someone doesn\'t mean you have to marry them."

"Then?"

"Even without marriage, you can still cherish and care for them. You love Daddy, but you\'re not going to marry me, are you?"

"No!"

"Then what about your uncle?"

"I want to marry Uncle!"

Hahaha. I shouldn\'t feel hurt, but I\'m a little bit hurt.

The Emperor cleared his throat and said that it would make her uncle very uncomfortable.

He even had to use the ultimate weapon, saying that her uncle might end up hating her.

"Your Majesty."

It was the Empress\'s voice. She should have been resting in her room.

He turned his head and saw the Empress, who had come all the way from her room with her pregnant belly.

The Crown Princess immediately ran to her, crying, ‘Mommy!’

"Empress, why are you here? You should be in your room—"

"We just received news. Countess Lavrenti Friedrich has gone into labor."

Thinking about it, Lavrenti and the Empress had conceived around the same time, so if one was close, the other should be due soon as well.

* * *

With Selena, the birth went according to schedule.

He was starting to get anxious, but their first daughter, Luen, was born, easing his worries.

On the other hand, their second daughter, Marien, made her mother go through a lot.

She was born hours later than expected, and he felt like he had aged ten years.

He didn\'t even feel that tense when he was fighting on the battlefield.

And today, when Lav was about to follow in their footsteps and become a mother—

"Uh, hmm."

"What\'s wrong, Karl? Why are you just standing there?"

Lav\'s contractions started, and they rushed her into the room. Priests and doctors were called.

He thought they were in for another long and difficult struggle.

"Could it be that you\'re nervous because your third child is also a daughter?"

"It seems like it."

Lav, lying next to him, smiled and gently touched the baby sleeping soundly in her arms.

Yes, it was a daughter again. Following Selena and Eloise, Lav also had a daughter.

The only difference was that it took less than an hour. It was really quick.

Of course, a quick birth is a good thing for parents. It means their third daughter came into the world with minimal trouble.

But since she was born so quickly, hmm, how should he put it? It felt like the tension was slightly released.

"Anyway, as expected of a former sharpshooter, fast and accurate even at a time like this?"

"Thank you for the compliment, Eloise. I\'m definitely better than you, right?"

"Wow, are you trying to spark competition with this?"

"I wasn\'t trying to provoke you at all."

Eloise, calm down. What are you doing in front of a woman who just gave birth?

And Lav, you too. You\'ll wake up Anne, who\'s sleeping soundly in your arms.

"So, with Luen, Marien, and now Anne, they\'re all daughters."

"Oh, Lefia! You have to have a son!"

"Eek. But I think I\'ll also have a daughter...?"

Ugh. Hearing her say that makes it seem like Lefia will indeed have a daughter.

If this continues, wouldn\'t he end up without a single son? The thought crossed his mind.

"Why are you all so worried? I\'m already planning for my second child."

Of course, our first Countess Friedrich, Selena, had it all planned out.

At the mention of a second child, Eloise\'s eyes sparkled and she exclaimed, ‘This time, it has to be a son!’

Even Lav, who had just given birth, said she would try her best, not wanting to be outdone.

"Me, me too!"

"Lefia, you haven\'t even given birth to your first child yet. Make plans after that."

"Ah, yes! Okay, Oppa!"

Somehow, he had become a father of many daughters. This made him think about the future.

He wondered if his broadsword would remain silent when his daughters brought home boyfriends!

Future sons-in-law. You better be prepared!