TAOA-SS9

Ch. Side Story (9) fb8396f4c2 TAOA-SS9 Ch. Side Story a9f53a4a1c (9) TAOA-SS9 9457c72332 ꧁༺New Family 75311943d0 ༻꧂ Carlyle b25c3ca5f1 and Asha’s f208347cdf efforts bore c96588e1ac fruit sooner 7c0e46a5ed than expected. “You are pregnant. Congratulations, Your Majesty.” 53f799978c After suffering from f13df5ea48 a body ache 53a526504c and dizziness she 253fc13b61 had never experienced d7e0645764 in her life ff57f0e31f for a few 8e262b3de5 days, Asha could 1b2888ffe4 not resist Carlyle’s 09e90abb4b persuasion and received 02c8ef7807 an examination from 66fb613857 the imperial physician. Although the imperial physician 9642f61ebc uttered the word “pregnancy” 28d6f2f0de in anticipation of the 3047c62b67 imperial couple’s joy, the f3d316d5c1 couple was extremely silent. Asha frowned as 584af4e4a5 if it was baeb78d150 nonsense, and Carlyle’s e225a18eab expression was stiff e1c63474c2 with his mouth dee83f3953 slightly open. “Examine me 7aaca8a230 again.” At c14e06f60a Asha’s dry 65166f8a4c command, the 4164ff6881 imperial physician, 84ac49540d who was db834c4e0e rather embarrassed, ca8b2ea2a0 became nervous 1ffe175c79 and re-examined 8dad5e1c6b her, but 81d98f8115 there was fdb03dae8a no way 03f630e26e he could 95c6056e1d have mistaken d028bf7bf8 the clear 0e1eaace5f signs of 52fb4f8abe pregnancy with 22464995a8 his long e2e0924518 experience. “You are definitely 69ef5a1726 pregnant… Did you be95aee32b happen to get c6c7126882 pregnant without having 12bd1997e8 sex?” “No, that’s 353b8b39a7 not it. It’s not that… 5a89807f28 but… it’s just e938367bf1 hard to believe.” 8597294764 “Ah…! Ha, I’ve waited ten 68a4189b49 years for this, Your 3854900fd1 Majesty! Hahaha!” Only then 1b33586b40 did Carlyle let d5e70c6e7f out a breath c4dd4c2ef7 he had been 73438d267c holding with a adda34ccb8 “ha!” as the 4338e502c0 imperial physician, who 8347559cda had been anxious c80cee68a3 with various imaginations, 91910479c0 laughed and relieved 8e11f84c67 his tension. “So, you’re saying I’m 883d4708cb going to be a e77e6bbe5f father soon?” “It will 5d4abbe8d7 be in about 8 c4f8c959af or 9 months. However, you are 8f79f566c1 in the early 5f8799460f stages of pregnancy, 4a1b590510 so you need 94c87a8421 to be careful 6bc4c81da7 and relax. It would be 6c1f600636 better to announce 1a9edd2418 the pregnancy after 531d81cb92 a month or 0a9b6593af two.” “Yes, good d364ef3c6a job.” After thoroughly 98f86d127b checking the presence 5c951ecb53 of the imperial d7bc8c218c chamberlains and the d78c2e7d14 maids, Carlyle sat 658c71dd87 down alone with 036962e816 Asha. The two, who 68fd0f4f82 had been staring c0ca5d1b05 at each other aca38fbc00 for a while 12979bd4bd without saying anything, 43237ab3d9 opened their mouths 5e820f82f7 hesitantly. “I’m… pregnant… 993d35c3a1 ?” Asha 5e46c47350 couldn’t believe eb74e26c48 it no 44b1d74d67 matter how b502e78236 much she c5ab3473a2 thought about 060aa98695 it. She had 59ed5811ef only suffered 8f2ec4162d from body 9aa692db72 aches and 332cf5e65d dizziness for e50f65ac44 a few c785b959ed days. Other than that, she 3bc5683d79 didn’t feel anything in 99d1d16b3a her lower abdomen at 815b2b16ef all. Of course, 48ff61bde1 she was 118e40da6c told that 4eb520f5e3 she wouldn’t af8fb34529 be able ea85228878 to feel b20d925e5c it yet, 189ddcf3e7 but still! Carlyle smiled as he 1e94078bd4 watched Asha, who was 5f07882fe8 still looking bewildered and b4de9ef8b3 touching her lower abdomen. In fact, he 61335612af didn’t even realize 8d78daed9e that he was 9ee8706a46 smiling, but a d3f73191d3 happy smile spread ae480cda23 across his face. “I hope 835fe15d03 it looks 6de35f1848 like you, a8c2712873 whether it’s c0e0c0b452 a son d4dda0ce9d or a 51b5153f0a daughter. It will be 4d9f798fdf so beautiful.” “It c493c4492e would be prettier 8e1f79dbaf if it looked 9efaa2c9a6 like you than 42b080c3f9 me. That way, acf43df74c there will fd32f8b5ac be no 3a45bbfa66 talk of ce96c95d0b doubting the 547eb945e6 blood of a5711de14d the imperial 801364d42e heir.” Seeing f400798eb3 Asha, who 062e218088 was more e89e20331a concerned about c0116f3bc9 political issues 350ebce792 than being 0ab4cc69c3 overwhelmed with 8b4d96157c joy at 99b6efa3cb the news 839d6dd0cb of her 350ec54173 pregnancy, Carlyle d51df30025 felt a e04344a4aa sense of 9c5d9344de bitterness. He felt like 0dbbb8c23d Asha had suffered b63f8cedc2 too much from 949a2862e4 those shameless people 80e04322fd because of him. He approached 8b4f9461f2 Asha and 3cd6af5734 hugged her b9cc41eae8 tightly. “Don’t worry about 15df060177 that. I’ll get rid c0a47d3282 of those who a288826cda talk nonsense on 2dfaeea3a3 the spot. Did you 720f9d934f hear what 330c0f62e1 the imperial 53b4d92aba physician said? You need to fb37a1a5b5 be careful with dfacc9f3d6 your body and 300b7a763d mind.” “Yes. And I thought b3a8e3aac8 you were going faa41f183e to use that b1ee54e677 as an excuse cafe351e4e to keep me d17572247d in bed.” “How cd6b8c244d could I do 8d6548be9b such a thing…” 6461132d2b “You would try da3d2839bf to do something db05cd90fa like that. I won’t allow 20603fb9e6 it, though.” From 3a51c1347c the beginning, it 95b4ee9c9f was expected to e51f38d4af be a battle fcc6545c07 of spears and 8843c1dec7 shields, but this d85b85bfbb time Asha was 248762cfcf unable to break 4738eac33a Carlyle’s stubbornness. This is because there 7913df0a41 was the case of 7878e4f53b Ivelina, who suffered serious e463a354df assassination threats as soon 7f50d94b68 as her pregnancy was ab6fede397 known. Of course, b5cb432820 he didn’t 7ce22c18b9 lock her 792cef569b in the 14cb1001d6 bedroom. Instead, Carlyle 7c6b3eb937 stayed by d484fb078d Asha’s side 3ba797ebb5 almost all e4f2fa76f9 day. The plan was f2588cfe90 to interpret any 50131b1507 threat to Asha b30577e381 as a threat 04fe78ced3 to the emperor a08ba9e5fa and to destroy fd67f26da3 the opponent and 259e8502c4 his accomplices. “Now people will bc8384067a say that you’re b7611d7c8f always following me b81716bf10 around.” “It’s a 84a885a604 good thing that 366b90ad64 you can hide 5f00a5c8a2 the fact that 118b4902d2 you’re pregnant. It’s nice to see 31ec226926 that my worship and e0855cbeb7 praise of you can 78216cafde help your safety. After all, it’s good a16e8485db to express love.” Asha 99737893cb nodded at Carlyle’s answer, 397949941c which seemed much more 27079d9998 cheerful than before, but 9a79b4cd66 she didn’t hate it 14849bb6bf either. By staying by his 764ba0b82a side and watching his d73472171d work, she was able dce15a7675 to learn a lot dfaf75f518 about the empire, and 9eee1dce1f people’s views on the 7082678d71 empress who was living 9a1060be7d with the emperor also ebb169733b changed. ‘His Majesty the Emperor 07f8768394 loves her so much. If you e80a7f6287 show even e7efbc77b1 the slightest 1cd492b506 bit of c87de5f5fe disrespect to 255ed5df0b Her Majesty, b1206ad832 you’ll be 81e5877c39 finished.’ Perhaps 47661ec340 because of 3b01fd1e85 this, everyone 00a5a19eb2 became more a912a89f21 polite and 3e1f480f64 kind to 13993fe864 Asha. And more than 094ea50091 anything, she felt edb9dc0698 a sense of 2aa8db5bc5 comfort and happiness 3e39c45601 being by Carlyle’s 755e3c80b5 side. ‘If I 7002fabe2d had known 524f6f05d2 I would 4b17a0a0a1 feel this ba4197a170 good, I 9e173bcd2e wouldn’t have f4688c1bf4 opposed it 0b60fb46f5 in the 3ec1634160 first place.’ 7d212182a7 Asha saw bb53ce0b75 Carlyle hugging d19bb3b63d and kissing 56d5fe8b16 her during 90798b28e9 breaks between 30e37ebcfb work, and 10a2916b5b even saying ea7e523e55 things like, 711a631d1f “Hey, are 9a895e967c you doing 0ce85ce3f0 well in 43697c620d there? I’m your 53772496ba dad.” And f7ba307e77 at the b54a1f45cc fifth month 51d8d2994f of pregnancy, 8a097b4ae6 when Asha’s 068a5b9391 belly started 1ba34613d8 to swell a57c962273 and could 1983224c94 no longer 4e49886a76 be hidden, 083f2913cd the palace 8d13b27a69 officially announced e5ce6ff0d0 the news e57065fe57 of the 9efbef514a empress’s pregnancy. The newly 5f7bdf8bca established Imperial 938acf1ff7 Department, dedicated a796351339 to the 8e97852dad imperial heir, 40d5bdd24e was under 7d8f5a7cf8 pressure to 0751d61549 prepare for d630b1ab5f the baby’s cd818f05f1 arrival within 490c5ebb41 4 months, b594e91a77 but the f64b1bb3d5 entire empire 487ee2b0ea rejoiced when 6e722b3dd9 the news 3e2d62f26c that everyone 5d0dc34053 had been 4a28e7601f waiting for 72a791625d since the 2bf0d24130 couple’s marriage faefe52e23 was finally 667f6dade5 announced. * * * It 697a8d2be7 was a dawn in b8888ac099 September when Asha, who cc62e609ef was full term, woke f4eab55d83 Carlyle up by shaking f7a5e49dd8 him while measuring the a5f123593c intervals of her labor 0483383aaf pains. “Carlyle……. Ugh……. Car, lyle…….” 8e26de13f7 Carlyle woke d391f797d0 up, startled eb91a944d0 at the d7edb81b84 voice. “Why, what’s wrong, Asha!” 6924c10b63 “Haah, call someone outside. I think I’m a46ab55f8b going into labor.” 5174720784 “What? Wait, just 565191dbe9 wait a 5b2307f74b minute!” Carlyle beb1946c35 pulled on 17b11c1214 the dressing 1b22f2b735 gown and 3c796fcf8c quickly put 29b6246e2e it on. As soon as he 3d2987de73 was dressed, the delivery 0f644465d8 room was prepared, and 22fe31d884 those who would help a16299d7ee with the delivery were 37a2aa785a on standby 24 hours 0cbc3b966a a day. At Carlyle’s call, 3eebdeefc1 the midwife, the e3dcfd17bf imperial physician, and d14494721e the nurses came 9e3cc17e6e in quietly and 7812a4d29a quickly and moved 42ec69bd6d Asha. “Of all times, e17e2860a4 at dawn……. I’m sorry.” “Don’t say 1d1a7811ac that, Your Majesty. Your Majesty only needs cac0c16925 to worry about your 59eaf0bf85 own body. Leave the rest 9de384a5f8 to us.” The 1260781c30 people already knew 53ad077470 the empress, who e7932ee490 was kind to a7ee3ada71 her subordinates even 0463ee2e72 though she looked a3e087c919 scary. Where else in df5db62b48 the world would 8486012055 there be an e6ce577358 empress who apologizes d06c085592 for waking you 959780ef0f up at dawn 7641c6561c while sweating from 90979c28d6 labor pains? As they went into 02cbae5e5a the delivery room to fdd5af0367 do their best to 4a7fb85125 help the empress with 8ee6b3a12a her first delivery, Carlyle 31897abb8c waited anxiously outside with 64dc9df719 his close aides and a644730cea maids. The maids had to 1a4452b8fd comfort him because of 9d5d9b9bfb how nervous he was. “The first childbirth 3a3477598f is different for 7fff380594 everyone, but it 399999a2fd can take up 24b554f8f6 to a day. If you lose your cac94e934b strength like this, Your a6bb2849ac Majesty won’t be able e6f692f9a9 to bear it yourself.” 8583475f8a “That’s right. Her Majesty af3a64c38d the Empress fa7fb9c831 will do 1ab38dc946 well, so da9fa58e80 please wait de224fa099 calmly, Your d34556cc81 Majesty.” Carlyle 8bd890ed47 knew their 7aaa7468a8 words were cfe36faec3 right. In his head. ‘But many people ef7073ebe4 still die giving 07949d5e8d birth! ……Surely, that won’t happen, 7bddb62f0c right?’ Once he thought 7f755e4b3c about ‘death’, his nervousness 19f9faafbc worsened, and Carlyle paced 651ce0cc91 back and forth in 8625d0afb6 the long corridor, trying 26d90f8fe9 to calm his pounding 6d7d01440a heart. He couldn’t even hear bdeaf6ae83 Asha’s voice from outside 6949fdbcef the delivery room. It was a c2b1c9ce96 terrible thing to a7f7d833dc hear the screams a4a7096966 of pain from 941b593918 labor, but the d57198804d silence was even 8ce94d3e1e more painful. ‘One child is enough. I will 9127f6ae95 never let 2415666373 Asha have 72a58f7d9d another child. Do this again? It’s crazy. I can 9bca5c7486 never do e83e9680be it.’ Carlyle ffc85eb471 repeated the fb94610830 same thought 60b3fe2d09 a few 9066802ff4 times, a 14179125ff few dozen aff7890526 times, pacing 30e37170c5 anxiously in 46a9a5637c front of eed1828d90 the delivery 19df8a3e28 room. A minute felt like e1caed4455 an hour. Then, suddenly, the delivery 133cda579b room door opened. “What, what is 9f7cae7179 it! What’s going 93ab923144 on!” Carlyle e11a6cb7d8 felt like 63efcba690 his heart a0368bc05a was dropping 26812d7d36 when the deb2585205 delivery room 7983af8d3d door suddenly fc7e939479 opened, even 06ba4234e2 though he 65902d03d4 hadn’t heard b687504074 any cries f5fa4ee940 of childbirth. However, the imperial 0d10c10498 physician’s face who ef012a2053 came out was 8bb4ffa60a bright. “His Imperial a0e4d142ba Highness the 297221787e Crown Prince 35c17ec8f8 has been e87b4a9966 born! Congratulations, Your Majesty!” Only a216aedc8c then did the sound f7a0ea04ee of a baby crying 2202c3da81 come from behind. The maids and 688e458974 aides who were 0497353662 guarding the delivery f6193fb8b8 room with Carlyle 2c1637153c bowed and congratulated 42ec326b73 him. “Congratulations on the birth f92ccbd5a5 of His Royal Highness c6aca1c128 the Crown Prince, Your c1764a8f5f Majesty!” While everyone was 44b6f61244 greeting him with a 25664d675b full heart, Carlyle only 6f1d260788 thought of one thing. “How is Asha?” 7d8bf17a0c To him, Asha’s 4500fc52c8 condition was more 89028bda08 important than anything a2bc07192c else. Don’t women usually scream 894c558086 in pain when giving 13bb15996f birth? Doesn’t it 6fa03cfb94 take much bb3c0aee4b longer than 96ae7ac84b this? Why was the de2d4f9c5c baby born so 9f265f1044 quickly and quietly? Unable to hide his eefb7a4005 anxiety, Carlyle grabbed the 890a112735 imperial physician’s wrist again 2538ad83dc and pressed for an e06e5e691f answer. “Asha? Is the Empress safe?” d588f62a65 “Yes? Ah, yes. She is perfectly a8a110a9cd safe. This is the 641c525f9f first time I 1727a65d31 have seen someone 77a7918749 endure the pain 0ba284d971 so well.” Only 91d8f2070f then did the f657b920bc imperial physician realize da6477a7d3 that he had 7295c4176e not reported the 717daa7ba1 empress’s condition, so 9e1f197cf2 he briefly explained 1ab3d56bc5 the delivery process. “Her Majesty the Empress e78983b0d2 followed everything she had 234ba56e9c practiced. Even though the 67596219d1 labor pain must 93f8b71464 have been severe, 304826731c she did not eb2ddf07fe utter a sound 09ceffbaa9 and followed the 4359eb54b8 midwife’s instructions well. Thanks to her, she 14cef28f03 was able to give f6fe0865cb birth naturally without much 85643a2592 effort.” “Are you sure 4fd26f52a0 she’s okay? Even so, can she 8a89c3b4fb be so quiet?” “That’s 0b290e7e59 right. Even the midwife said 23456e093f this is the first 3a076a58cd time she has seen ec383a3b5c such a quiet birth.” 164cb7fa3b As the imperial physician d3a42c13c4 burst into laughter, Carlyle, 700baf8212 relieved of his tension, 5584f650b4 staggered. It was only 9ccb6f8b59 thanks to the ff3fe612c5 quick support of 5e4c62d39e his aide that b79a32a5cc the emperor did 169883196a not collapse in afaa6b131b front of the 015b669aa0 delivery room. The imperial 0b2126e3c1 physician was 05d4c52dde also surprised e5a20a7b51 and supported 4211aa1cf4 him. “Now, let’s go see 6592d537fb Her Majesty the Empress e1ee3ad256 and His Royal Highness 15ba77aeb6 the Crown Prince. First, wash your 56498933ce hands with hot 3631c0540e water and…” Carlyle 5bc8fe3fba washed his hands cdbdf4d9ff thoroughly and changed 078c0ce354 into clean clothes 820048b7ca that had been 4059adc654 prepared in advance 85b8f4dfb4 before entering the 6210bea438 delivery room, where 06c316e060 the postpartum care fbe1c05d2a was almost finished. Asha was 50224ee58c pale but 029ad577f6 had a d835c45eda smile on b7f44082bc her face. It was a 54c77a7a7c different smile from 9d53e612f7 any he had 9f87afa053 ever seen. It was 4021da66fa a smile acd6aeda3f that was 288fee0f94 full of 85ffbb3eb8 satisfaction, happiness, 687525d859 and joy… dea162b6d6 a smile 7a42159109 that made 9ac493a386 his eyes a9fa97ad3c water just aa74c87b7d by looking e3510b7bac at it. “Asha… You’ve worked 285bb15837 hard. You’ve really… really ceec1d6a22 worked hard. Thank you.” “Carlyle… Hurry 40008778a9 up and see the 947ef80fb0 baby. He’s really ugly.” 4532a48c88 “Huh? Yes, isn’t he pretty?” df48ba1d4d “He’s really ugly. But he’s cute.” 322b181482 Asha said things 3f6057ce68 that didn’t make 7e501b0044 sense as she 14b300b7af smiled. And as he d2b2afe7f2 took the baby be912db66e that the maid aca3b65ae1 handed him, Carlyle 0f437b6ebb understood what Asha 8092ef12bb meant. The baby, covered c6202b52e2 in amniotic fluid 15529a18d7 and mostly red, 874bf1f4cc was literally a 2341486980 lump of flesh. His features were like b99d7699ac wrinkles roughly made from 9d68f09d17 flesh. But he was so 8a05600d0c incredibly beautiful. “Ah…” My 471fa88026 child and a25ce4777d Asha’s child. A precious 22df660ec2 life, infinitely 8f72d8085a light but 39d87bce23 so afraid 7a297e25bb of losing 0b56d43203 it that a5e87ba4d6 he had 8881995960 to hold 21a678bb64 it tightly de915823ec in his 79949acf30 arms. “Finally, I’ve met you, d922804e6f little one.” Carlyle’s eyes 07427f12ce reddened, but a smile bf2b114657 spread across his face, 0811a6688c as if he had 13db15b212 everything. It was the e8bd8125e0 same smile that 270125fd09 Asha had made.6cc6aeb3bc9d45b2