Chapter 287
Because everyone was overwhelmingly busy dealing with the aftermath of the war—and because anticipation for the newborn heir was so great—the people of White Swan Castle all said the same thing.
‘This winter was surprisingly short.’
In truth, no one had the leisure to notice the seasons changing. Aside from the stretches when roads were blocked by heavy snow, prisoners, merchants, and nobles streamed up from the south without pause. Just as many went down—exiles sent away, merchants hauling northern specialties, and newly elevated nobles returning to their lands.
Thousands—tens of thousands—were punished or rewarded according to what they had done. The great noble houses that had once ruled the empire vanished, and new nobles rose to fill their place. Pellena, once called the Imperial Capital, remained populous and important, but the heart of imperial administration had moved to Penmewick, the new Imperial Capital.
White Swan Castle had never been built with the expectation that nobles would come and go every day. They managed to accommodate the influx required for state affairs, but social events had to be dispersed across several other cities.
Fortunately, the MacKinnon family, whose title had been raised to a dukedom this time, was well-accustomed to hosting society. Many sought out the MacKinnons as one of the families closest to the Empress. Yet Lady Diane MacKinnon—her friend, and one of the most sought-after brides in the empire—remained shut away in White Swan Castle.
The Ganielo Dukedom, one of the old great houses that had survived on merit, also played its role. As the Maindulante Grand Ducal family became the Imperial family, the Ganielo family—soon to receive the title of Grand Duke—used their diplomatic ties to reassure neighboring countries. Promises crossed the borders without end: that the empire would not suddenly waver and threaten their security, and that friendship would continue.
The empire’s commercial world was reorganized over the winter as well. The phrase “the empire’s three major trading companies” had become outdated overnight. The Moriér Merchant Group, which had taken on a significant portion of the postwar settlement, expanded rapidly. Together with the MacKinnon Trading Company, it split the empire’s commerce between the two of them.
And at last, the snow melted, buds sprouted on the trees, and spring arrived in full bloom—even in the cold north.
It was while discussing the nearly finished coronation and wedding with her husband that the Empress went into labor.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Damn it. Isn’t there any way?”
As screams echoed from the room, Cledwyn snapped at everyone around him. Ren, tense with his own anxiety, snapped back.
“How am I supposed to fix this? It’s not something I can cure!”
The Pope could restore Nerys’s body after childbirth, but he couldn’t take away the pain of giving birth. That fact didn’t change, no matter how sincere he was—or that he’d come all the way from the Papal States a month ago.
‘In the first place… isn’t this the fault of the one who got her pregnant? She’s in agony. She didn’t need to give birth at all.’
Ren kept the thought to himself, glaring. He didn’t dare say it out loud, afraid Nerys might hear and get annoyed.
“Aaaagh!”
Nerys’s scream suddenly grew louder—not because the pain had spiked, but because the door opened. Two men, about to ask with bright faces whether the baby had been born, froze when they saw the midwife’s grim expression as she looked out at them.
“It’s noisy. You’re disturbing the mother. If you’re going to keep talking, leave.”
Using the word “talking” to the de facto Emperor and the spiritual pillar of the empire was an offense worthy of death. Yet neither man could respond. The midwife—a legendary figure who had delivered three hundred healthy babies—had an aura that could silence any useless man.
Cledwyn and Ren promised to be quiet and were allowed to remain in the room next to the birthing chamber. There, Diane sobbed, clinging to the arm of Mrs. Truydd—now formally Duchess Truydd.
“How long will she be in that much pain, Mother? How much longer until the baby is born? I’m scared… Can’t she just not give birth?”
“It’s okay. Shh, it’s okay, Di. Your mother went through all of this when you were born, too. Your mother was so happy you were born.”
Certain her mother was happy she existed, Diane nodded, but tears of pity still streamed down her face.
Duchess Truydd, who tried to stay composed, was just as shattered inside.
Her husband had died young, leaving her alone with a small daughter. There had been countless offers for her to remarry—young, healthy, and beautiful as she was—but she chose her daughter. If she remarried, she would be forced to give her child up to her birth family.
When her daughter reached the age to attend the Noble Academy, she wanted this clever child to have greater opportunities, and in the end, she asked her birth family for help.
Duchess Truydd. It sounded grand, but with her as the Truydd family’s only member—and no chance of it ever growing—it was a ceremonial title at best. What she had wanted then, and what she wanted now, was the same.
The happiness of her beloved family.
It felt as if her heart were being torn apart as her precious daughter suffered. She knew how hard it was—she had given birth herself. She couldn’t understand how other women did it multiple times.
‘Will she be okay? What if my only family disappears again? Even someone healthy yesterday can die in childbirth…’
Her fingertips went cold. With every scream that came from Nerys, Duchess Truydd wanted to cry.
Cledwyn had promised the midwife he would stay quiet, but his anxiety surged again and again. He had never been this frightened since the day he was born… no, there had been once. When Nerys collapsed under the curse.
‘But does it really have to be this hard? Wouldn’t it have been better if she hadn’t had a child at all, if she didn’t want to? And why do humans have to give birth in such pain, like this—so brutally?’
So nervous he could barely breathe, Cledwyn spiraled into questions that should have been fundamental. He paced the adjoining room like a man possessed.
“Ugh… ugh… ugh, heuuuek!”
How many times had Nerys made a sound that was half scream, half groan—ragged with exhaustion? Just as Cledwyn decided he would have to go into the birthing chamber—
“What are you doing here?”
Dragon Kion entered the room with a magic wand in hand. After her Seal broke, she roamed the continent freely and appeared at Nerys and Cledwyn’s side whenever she pleased.
Before anyone else could react, Cledwyn rushed to her.
“Isn’t there some way to lessen the pain of childbirth? You’re a dragon. Don’t you have magic?”
Kion stared at Cledwyn’s hollowed face for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
“It seems Elandria’s child has gone into labor.”
“Yes.”
“There’s magic to ease pain. Of course there is.”
Everyone in the room strained to listen. Ren forgot his promise to the midwife and raised his voice.
“Use it! Quickly!”
“These humans… Who dares command a dragon?”
“Please use it!”
Ren changed his tone without hesitation. Kion laughed again and looked at Cledwyn, her golden eyes narrowing.
“Magic requires a price.”
“I’ll give you anything. Hurry.”
“If I ask for the empire?”
“That’s too cheap. I’ll even conquer the surrounding countries if you want, so hurry.”
“Yes, yes. I understand. You’re very different from my Pheros, but you’re similar at times like this. For Elandria’s child, I’ll settle for a hundred boxes of well-crafted jewels. All my dwarves are dead, so it’s hard to get jewels I actually like.”
When Kion’s Seal broke, the ruins of Dreykum surfaced and returned to their former appearance. The former residents had settled elsewhere, and Cledwyn declared Dreykum the dragon’s territory, forbidding humans from entering at will.
Only one person frequented that territory: a jewel merchant. Kion collected jewels with unrelenting zeal. That was a dragon’s nature, or so people said.
“I understand. Hurry. Do it.”
Cledwyn ground his teeth. ‘Nerys is suffering right now, and you’re joking around…’
And then he realized.
Nerys hadn’t screamed since Kion’s laughter.
Everyone stared at the door to the birthing chamber as if they could will it open. Was Nerys all right? Had the magic taken effect? Or had she fainted…?
A moment later, the midwife’s joyful voice rang out—followed by a baby’s cry.
“It’s a healthy princess!”
(T/N: A princessssss!!! Wooooot wooot!)
“Waaaah!”
Diane cheered. Duchess Truydd hugged her and finally began to sob in earnest. Cledwyn grabbed Ren and charged into the birthing chamber.
“Your Majesty!”
The midwife looked appalled, but before she could scold them, Ren immediately began pouring divine power into Nerys. Nerys smiled at them both with a weary face, and the midwife barked a warning at everyone peering through the open doorway.
“The baby is here, so no one else comes in yet!”
Diane and Dora, who had been about to rush in, stopped dead.
The midwife washed the baby according to Maindulante custom and performed several ritual gestures. Then she placed the infant in Nerys’s arms.
Cledwyn stayed pressed close, carefully wiping the sweat from Nerys’s face. Nerys was too busy smiling at the baby to scold him for hovering.
“I’m fine. I received divine power—I’ve recovered from the exhaustion.”
Ren smiled, proud, then stepped back at the midwife’s signal and returned outside.
The baby was tiny and red—not the sort of cherubic infant people imagined. But Nerys thought she was beautiful.
In fact, she had never seen a baby as beautiful as this in her entire life.
Cledwyn saw the baby reflected in his wife’s eyes. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the child.
Fathers usually meet their children later than mothers do. But he was one of the rare exceptions.
His lips moved, tender.
“Hello, Arbyone.”
Cledwyn had never spoken in detail about the years he had spent in Nerys’s memory with that mass of light. In the end, it had been Nerys who first said they should name the child Light—how much she was looking forward to meeting her, and how wonderful it would be if this child became a light that ended the long darkness.
Cledwyn had found it faintly amusing when his pregnant wife spoke like that.
He had been the first to know their first child’s name was Arbyone, because she had guided him in the form of light. But Nerys had been the first to see the child as light—long before meeting her. Past, present, and future intertwined, making it inevitable that this child would become light, hope, and happiness.
Ever since seeing his wife’s memories, Cledwyn had carried a quiet fury he couldn’t shake. The more he thought, the angrier he became. And he was afraid—afraid that the wife who had been hurt so deeply would never truly be all right.
But the moment he saw the baby’s face, that fear finally loosened.
Only then could he fully understand, and accept it.
That everything in the past was truly over.
That the noisy little one who had always been beside them in lonely, sorrowful times was another salvation given to them.
“I finally met you. I love you today too.”
‘Why “too” today, when you’re meeting her for the first time today?’
Nerys wondered for a moment, but she didn’t argue.
‘Well… I guess it means he loves her today, and he’ll love her tomorrow, too.’
So she greeted her in return.
“Hello, Arbyone. Mom finally met you too.”
Of course, the baby didn’t understand her parents’ affectionate words. She didn’t even open her eyes—she only cried. The world she’d been born into was uncomfortable. Cold, frightening, and sad.
Nerys held the baby gently. Even she could tell she was clumsy; it was her first time.
But what in this world wasn’t like that?
There were mistakes made when you did something for the first time. Wrongs committed out of ignorance. Failures and misfortunes. Despair that felt like sinking into endless darkness.
But beyond it—
Someday. Surely.
There was light.
Now, she could believe that.
***************************
T/N: Hey everyone! This chapter concludes the main story of this series. Thank you soooo much for your continous support in this project. I could not have done it without you.
That said, the following chapters will be side stories. Please enjoy the rest of the chapters!
The Price is your Everything. Main Story: The End