In the bedroom, the Silver Dragon clan's physicians bustled back and forth, not daring to slack for a moment.
The maids came in and out, heating water, wringing towels, changing blankets, busy but steady, steady but quick.
Though the scene looked chaotic, under Isa and head maid Anna's direction everything was orderly, with no mistakes.
Among that cluster of physicians and maids, now and then Rossweise's weak moans drifted through.
She was in labor, enduring the pain of childbirth.
In a corner of the bedroom, Leon held Little Light in one arm and Luna by the other hand, while Noah stood beside them.
The four of them watched everyone rushing about, helpless to do much.
A moment ago Leon and the daughters asked the eldest what they could do.
Big sister said it wasn't time for them to act yet.
Leon didn't dare press further, he didn't want to get in Isa and the others' way, so he stood aside with the girls, ready to follow orders.
Little Light tucked her tail and unconsciously gripped Leon's clothes with her small hand.
Her pink, big eyes were full of worry. She looked at the bed curtains, listened to her mother's weak groans, and whispered,
"So giving birth is this painful... it's so scary..."
Fun people can always find fun in daily life. Besides a mindset that actively seeks amusement, they also tend to have... compared to peers, a stronger empathy.
Because of that pronounced empathy, Little Light was good at thinking from others' perspectives, feeling joy from different angles.
And it was precisely this ability that let her, in such a serious atmosphere, feel the oppression and discomfort more keenly.
Though she was young, the pain her mother was enduring right now transmitted through the environment to Little Light in every way.
So she unusually hid in her father's arms.
Leon looked down at his little daughter and thought to tell her a joke to ease her tension.
"You were actually scarier when you were born."
Little Light looked up, "Why say that, Daddy?"
Leon smiled, "On the day you were born, a Dragon King's head was hung on our door. Pretty scary, right?"
A hint of a smile finally appeared on Little Light's a bit gloomy face, and her tension eased a bit.
But just as she planned to crack a joke back at Daddy, she felt the hand gripping her thigh tremble slightly.
That little smile froze on Little Light's face. She looked at the man who'd just been joking with her.
'So Daddy's carefree act was all a show.'
He worried about Mother more than she or her older sisters did, worried enough that his right hand trembled.
Looking closely, Daddy's lips were a little pale, too.
Little Light had never seen him like that.
In her memory, Daddy was always the kind of capable person who looked relaxed no matter the crisis.
But now... at his wife's labor, he could only use jokes to comfort his daughter and slightly ease his own taut nerves.
Little Light pressed her lips together and didn't speak; she simply hugged her father tighter.
Leon quietly watched the maids and physicians, with his wife's faint groans occasionally reaching his ears.
What he saw and heard brought his thoughts back to years ago, the day Little Light was born.
Back then he stood exactly like this, with Noah and Luna, silently in a corner of the room, unable to speak or help.
Then Constantine invaded; he put on the black-and-gold war gear again and went to fight.
When he returned, Little Light had already been born.
Slaying a dragon was simple, it only took a few minutes; but those few minutes were the most painful ordeal for Rossweise.
Later, though he heard from the maids about how difficult and arduous Her Majesty's struggles were, and Leon could understand her situation and feelings then; what you hear is never as vivid as what you see with your own eyes.
That oppression and heaviness almost made the former strongest dragon slayer unable to breathe.
He worried about his wife; even knowing the best Silver Dragon physicians were around her, he still couldn't help worrying.
Isa, family by blood, had heard Rossweise was about to give birth and abandoned her own affairs to rush over and help.
Delivering a child was a delicate task; Leon couldn't take part and all relied on Isa and Anna.
Compared to that, his sense of powerlessness felt even heavier.
"Your Highness the Prince!", Maid Milan suddenly called out.
Leon's eyes lit up and he straightened, thinking he might be able to help.
"What's the matter, Milan?"
"Please take the princesses to the balcony to wait; several more physicians will arrive later."
Leon froze. The little surge of excitement he'd felt was instantly extinguished.
He nodded and led Noah and the three little ones to the balcony.
Noah poured a glass of water and handed it to him.
"Ah... thanks," Leon took the cup and sipped lightly.
"Pull yourself together, Daddy."
Noah saw his father's dejection, "Imagine, if Mommy saw you all distracted like this, she'd tease you, right?"
Looking down at the water, Leon tried to picture what Rossweise would say if she really saw him now.
Probably something like, ["Scared by such a tiny thing, Leon? You're such a baby, come on, little baby, call your sister,"]
or maybe,
["Come on, you're my husband, the Silver Dragon King's spouse, show some backbone, will you? Don't just slay dragons, idiot."]
Things she might say.
Thinking that, Leon couldn't help but smile, and the tightness eased a little.
"Hey, brother-in-law, thanks for waiting."
Soon Isa came to the balcony, "It's your turn to act."
Leon looked up and scrambled to his feet, "What can I do to help, Sis?"
"Do what you do best."
Leon blinked.
'Do what I do best?'
'Sss~'
'Big sister, you can't say that out loud!'
"Stop dawdling, come with me."
Saying that, Isa grabbed Leon's wrist and hurried toward the bedside.
She then arranged for several maids to take care of Noah and the others.
They passed through the physicians and maids and reached Rossweise's side.
Leon looked at his wife in bed, sweat soaked her hair and stuck to her face.
The queen's face was deathly pale; her breathing slightly heavy; her silver eyes half-open and a bit blurred.
"Leon... you're here...", She whispered his name.
Seeing such a weak Rossweise, Leon didn't know what to say at first.
He just felt his heart ache.
Only when Isa nudged him from behind did he come back to himself.
"I'm here, Rossweise. I'm here."
Leon half-squatted by the bed, grasped her trembling hand and felt the warmth of her palm.
When that familiar big hand held his, a relieved smile finally appeared on Rossweise's pale face.
"Do I... look ugly now...?"
"No, you look fine, as beautiful as always."
"You're lying... you idiot..."
Leon reached out, smoothed the hair on her face, and gently stroked her slightly cool cheek, smiling softly, "I wouldn't lie to you, Rossweise. No matter when, you're the most beautiful queen."
"Heh... I'll reluctantly, reluctantly believe you..."
Meanwhile, Anna quietly told Milan and a few physicians beside her, "While the Prince distracts Her Majesty with conversation, let's deliver quickly."
"Yes, head maid."
This critical stage of labor left no room for carelessness.
"Leon... I hate you..."
Leon was a bit stunned, "Why suddenly say you hate—"
"You're supposed to go along with whatever your wife says while she's giving birth. Can't tell truth from lies? Idiot," Isa teased him from behind again.
Leon nodded rapidly like a small bird pecking rice.
"Okay, hate me, I hate me. I'm the most hateable."
"Want me... not to hate you...?"
"Of course I want that, wife. Tell me, how can I stop you from hating me?"
As those words fell, Rossweise's gaze briefly passed over Leon to Isa standing behind him; the two sisters exchanged a glance, as if to say, "Finally tricked him."
Rossweise withdrew her gaze and looked back at Leon.
"You must... promise me the next... request..."
"Okay, say it, I'll agree to anything."
"The first request..."
"Mm-hm."
"From now on... don't teach the baby... to play the suona..."
Playing the suona was General Leon's abstract specialty; not teaching the third baby that skill wasn't a problem.
Talent can be inherited, but abstractness can't, Leon knew that logic.
"All right, I won't teach the baby to play the suona."
Seeing Leon agree so readily, Rossweise's mouth curved into a faint smile.
"And... I want you to... uh! Sss..."
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