TAOA-SS9

Ch. Side Story (9) d277f3cdee TAOA-SS9 Ch. Side Story (9) 4121d2f13a TAOA-SS9 ꧁༺New Family 3c8ba0a409 ༻꧂ Carlyle and f16ce81a32 Asha’s efforts bore 2b112ac218 fruit sooner than c1f0f7674d expected. “You are pregnant. Congratulations, Your Majesty.” 9066e7676a After suffering from b450a94c35 a body ache c8b504e5e7 and dizziness she 92612c877a had never experienced 505a8eaaf2 in her life c86ad2f231 for a few 9e9ec4e77e days, Asha could 72ec83e9ca not resist Carlyle’s dd90ec8b4b persuasion and received cd8dda3bfe an examination from 51354549fd the imperial physician. Although the imperial 56a87c7b32 physician uttered the 91cff47ab5 word “pregnancy” in b4df671372 anticipation of the a47583a1f6 imperial couple’s joy, d14424199c the couple was 88f79fd446 extremely silent. Asha frowned as if 781a617a3c it was nonsense, and 6382f6fb73 Carlyle’s expression was stiff b1ab4b1672 with his mouth slightly f5144b1108 open. “Examine me again.” At ad260b9264 Asha’s dry command, the 38d97a80df imperial physician, who was 040c066e80 rather embarrassed, became nervous e8cda50f6f and re-examined her, but 25ec97ce53 there was no way 4e3b38bbdb he could have mistaken 00de88d96a the clear signs of 425e7b8126 pregnancy with his long 8b7ce278bd experience. “You are definitely pregnant… d2a7ab9c5f Did you happen to 34fab96dd7 get pregnant without having ee221ec205 sex?” “No, that’s not aab5237f16 it. It’s not 5bfdca1326 that… but… 85f7255f8f it’s just f9f23c46af hard to 6c04a9aba7 believe.” “Ah…! Ha, I’ve 079dfdcde5 waited ten dce62884dd years for b3f363a217 this, Your b483d35f04 Majesty! Hahaha!” Only then did 76b2beb43e Carlyle let out a 1ca4855fbb breath he had been fa3f605f45 holding with a “ha!” 9eb1b52b69 as the imperial physician, 10f460d000 who had been anxious 2fe7ee9aac with various imaginations, laughed f60de0a3dd and relieved his tension. “So, you’re 573165acd6 saying I’m 58a1783f2a going to 1d166869f2 be a aa9122d886 father soon?” f75c69c142 “It will 62ef8546c8 be in 8daf724df6 about 8 ab8ce5cb90 or 9 15f834616b months. However, you are a7e9093847 in the early 2af696975c stages of pregnancy, ca6d65e5d4 so you need e22be3c284 to be careful 21d85a0520 and relax. It would 5c917b3e32 be better 191adc37d2 to announce 22921231ca the pregnancy 1163838296 after a 118e74558d month or 3df1034a75 two.” “Yes, 86aa8597cb good job.” dd1326d2c4 After thoroughly 17979476e6 checking the 6c5be9a755 presence of c70ed88e5a the imperial 34bdfcf2f3 chamberlains and 34aa677624 the maids, ab7261c7e0 Carlyle sat ee882e6933 down alone fab03ec4a7 with Asha. The two, who 7af184bc74 had been staring a3844fd05d at each other 57d59898b9 for a while a5394c2389 without saying anything, 1e74e24d35 opened their mouths 86ae1a257e hesitantly. “I’m… pregnant… b36f0fd70b ?” Asha 2daeda2054 couldn’t believe caf4f848ea it no c1fa21ea01 matter how 5a40495fb3 much she 5af77f45fa thought about 7ba3c8c48e it. She had c6d6ee8f66 only suffered 41b2660b73 from body 7b17de2ca7 aches and 907b738bb2 dizziness for e8ad3ba11a a few 07d6f26652 days. Other than that, 64fca30e84 she didn’t feel 159d8f9a11 anything in her 332e7ff577 lower abdomen at 82916b7041 all. Of course, she was 6624d9fe99 told that she wouldn’t 74b7bca4dd be able to feel acafc1cc1a it yet, but still! Carlyle smiled 7e6845fa3a as he c8d3a640a7 watched Asha, 691d2fb2d9 who was 1f1451a4ea still looking 5cb43131e4 bewildered and 31d815ace9 touching her b61d052370 lower abdomen. In fact, he didn’t 7e3ad2621d even realize that he 38ed51b07d was smiling, but a f8449e1f36 happy smile spread across 2c5d5aff2b his face. “I hope it 6a0cbaf779 looks like you, a0e2f5d4c2 whether it’s a d310e8e076 son or a 5143379c95 daughter. It will be 1e2154b404 so beautiful.” “It fe29085eca would be prettier ff5ce8fba2 if it looked 83c6d37c6c like you than fbe7440528 me. That way, 95bab1eb7d there will 72b7b29a26 be no 1ff504c26f talk of 405b54bab8 doubting the b6590d49da blood of f61e926bab the imperial e8d7bd4ef3 heir.” Seeing 1f72e59cbc Asha, who 465d31fbd9 was more 086df3e04e concerned about bde7f3d4d9 political issues 988983ca60 than being f5897c912e overwhelmed with 684dfa3012 joy at cba97d0fd6 the news 92a00481d8 of her a442b484f2 pregnancy, Carlyle 2724ab52c7 felt a e9e1d843b2 sense of d4f8348aa5 bitterness. He felt like 2f3b4de77d Asha had suffered 3ebc4689a4 too much from 227b5ab0f4 those shameless people f679d38bd2 because of him. He approached Asha and a2bb5192dd hugged her tightly. “Don’t worry 68eb36e367 about that. I’ll get rid of 17d1c13d75 those who talk nonsense ead0f7f368 on the spot. Did you 29660573fa hear what 210104d6aa the imperial 300470fab0 physician said? You need to be 079356ed12 careful with your body 0ef150282f and mind.” “Yes. And I thought you ea7f9d865e were going to use 1a1a3991f7 that as an excuse bfbb9b48ce to keep me in 737f038591 bed.” “How could I 11055e8d95 do such a thing…” 676f4723b2 “You would try to 1fd0462213 do something like that. I won’t allow ef3df5ad52 it, though.” From e0af6fa976 the beginning, it 6d61e34aa9 was expected to 2ceff0500d be a battle 23b01d1d49 of spears and c33281ecdf shields, but this 88b891ef25 time Asha was 825f60663c unable to break 31096055e7 Carlyle’s stubbornness. This is because there 01b09bf8d4 was the case of 32470ea0c5 Ivelina, who suffered serious b64318f514 assassination threats as soon 292b4ee0c7 as her pregnancy was a484494d9f known. Of course, he didn’t 5b70359f82 lock her in the d22c2415c9 bedroom. Instead, Carlyle stayed by 35989a8d26 Asha’s side almost all 7ce7c411b7 day. The plan was 93943421bc to interpret any 51dac199e3 threat to Asha 24e16982ce as a threat 63c816f77b to the emperor d560ac551c and to destroy cc9ef84f2a the opponent and 50eebc2622 his accomplices. “Now people 673b708835 will say 9b5df3d390 that you’re e38db6e179 always following 0fd961ff09 me around.” 53c82ff130 “It’s a 7b597aed34 good thing 18aaaaea6a that you 12e44d6aa0 can hide ed4a643201 the fact 00c64cb58b that you’re 3a2bd2a3b6 pregnant. It’s nice 8cc8e9d350 to see 259b949bf4 that my 81306a2b47 worship and b97e1f6f36 praise of 63a9696d5f you can 3639a03cf7 help your b2f1b00fd9 safety. After all, it’s 88b911de71 good to express ac3df87336 love.” Asha nodded e59300694f at Carlyle’s answer, 4230e52f24 which seemed much 8b108a12a4 more cheerful than 82904d824a before, but she b8a3f21e82 didn’t hate it be84c28c32 either. By staying by 91d1ca5cd6 his side and cf917961f6 watching his work, 6011d5a7ac she was able 1997c6a773 to learn a 34c281e75a lot about the f2014bfdee empire, and people’s 4aff5d771a views on the a6fe5f1623 empress who was 4e9f7e86b7 living with the d1b21f4f3c emperor also changed. ‘His Majesty the 2c96b447d5 Emperor loves her e68e018010 so much. If you 2a7f255de4 show even e37bb5e316 the slightest 27793e9bae bit of 267342abfd disrespect to 40d9072458 Her Majesty, 76194f48ab you’ll be 8eba0ce391 finished.’ Perhaps 939f842fe8 because of f9c5188998 this, everyone 63bffa4e7d became more 2d24f38cf9 polite and e15ef707ac kind to 09a43a1f8e Asha. And more than anything, 92d764965a she felt a sense 5331f15237 of comfort and happiness 531286d965 being by Carlyle’s side. ‘If I had known 8ad17d877e I would feel this 1ded9d7a80 good, I wouldn’t have 7a6f84aa66 opposed it in the 8bf62c2f89 first place.’ Asha saw bcc2cc811f Carlyle hugging and kissing 1c423826f8 her during breaks between 4d15c9f641 work, and even saying b467ac4624 things like, “Hey, are 71f130c420 you doing well in cc8518e766 there? I’m your dad.” 2ca92f082b And at the a3af3876f1 fifth month of f212d090e7 pregnancy, when Asha’s 3a736f84c7 belly started to b1103c0267 swell and could e113ebd3cf no longer be e28c7183b3 hidden, the palace e753c0b8ad officially announced the b3fbc5787d news of the bf36479954 empress’s pregnancy. The newly established Imperial 4c353f946c Department, dedicated to the 21e91086fa imperial heir, was under 513d21827d pressure to prepare for d878405f03 the baby’s arrival within 75cf03ec59 4 months, but the 5c61af2c84 entire empire rejoiced when b84052946c the news that everyone b16a665cb5 had been waiting for 67812273b4 since the couple’s marriage 994fbed912 was finally announced. * * 9584821f98 * It 2a8c38a9f9 was a 4b9e6d0ca9 dawn in 907db6f542 September when e6ae876529 Asha, who 0a35119212 was full 2261042aa9 term, woke d1e067bb5f Carlyle up bf6172c331 by shaking c9b2d0e9c5 him while afcf701143 measuring the e0105eb7c8 intervals of 69d41f95be her labor ab6e5783df pains. “Carlyle……. Ugh……. Car, lyle…….” 7d861d6e32 Carlyle woke 9a51e0373c up, startled e23ed75fcc at the f734a51b6e voice. “Why, what’s 8e3228350d wrong, Asha!” b28915f9f3 “Haah, call 87ee4df3e9 someone outside. I think I’m c11300cabb going into labor.” 0df8b3bcc6 “What? Wait, just wait a e08b7c12cc minute!” Carlyle pulled on 6137e20f3e the dressing gown and 73c8045a8a quickly put it on. As soon as he 47eadd5794 was dressed, the delivery 5e181a39f7 room was prepared, and d068ba58b1 those who would help d0a4abac03 with the delivery were 98e73b8e8c on standby 24 hours 6131b035cb a day. At Carlyle’s call, the 516f954723 midwife, the imperial physician, f7cd265dd2 and the nurses came 0de131f916 in quietly and quickly 4fb8f09eb6 and moved Asha. “Of all times, at 2cae375b47 dawn……. I’m sorry.” “Don’t 7739aa22b1 say that, Your 4e33c8ab30 Majesty. Your Majesty only e6cbc01b8b needs to worry 477f5f93dc about your own 8f590f40a2 body. Leave the rest to c9d27bc12b us.” The people already 6491144d7b knew the empress, who 5fcb9a716b was kind to her b28356c3fb subordinates even though she 25976742f0 looked scary. Where else in 22298eb64e the world would dc080edff8 there be an d8e9d4247c empress who apologizes d535216a89 for waking you b399186dea up at dawn e5f2a41c1f while sweating from daed5bf235 labor pains? As they went 1e7624c837 into the delivery 94a3d80bad room to do 7fdf3dc990 their best to 7d278cc5e1 help the empress e1e5bfdf6a with her first 4e138293a1 delivery, Carlyle waited 418ee9121e anxiously outside with b240283ac9 his close aides 6fa70b9c10 and maids. The maids had to 95ba53ff13 comfort him because of b1455c6b8e how nervous he was. “The first 7f0f5d61ac childbirth is 751537381c different for 5d57c416f1 everyone, but eb752fd0bd it can faaf951561 take up 4f4992498c to a c2ec260568 day. If you lose your 5691d96ee8 strength like this, Your f1af26f380 Majesty won’t be able 311f0ebb80 to bear it yourself.” 11c88359cf “That’s right. Her Majesty 651389e609 the Empress 76d4258150 will do 09cbcb1070 well, so 057d5c22cb please wait bb8090c51e calmly, Your b89ee16bc2 Majesty.” Carlyle e38c523f3f knew their 3aefb4015d words were 50b9dd69d8 right. In his head. ‘But many people still 3a31c8d577 die giving birth! ……Surely, that cc0dd936c7 won’t happen, 8d67b3cf53 right?’ Once 3a2a9653fa he thought e80ad237fb about ‘death’, eb773e999e his nervousness b629a87e0e worsened, and 19f184c3c9 Carlyle paced 5908350763 back and a7e83caef6 forth in d8188672b6 the long ac36690c2d corridor, trying cacc655c15 to calm 27fd309ddf his pounding aa6ab46339 heart. He couldn’t even 90de3963c2 hear Asha’s voice 6e50bdc53d from outside the 17cb06cb01 delivery room. It was 2b288061ec a terrible 697ab1678e thing to 3243501d28 hear the ea887beb0f screams of 8bd7e6c093 pain from 1a1e721528 labor, but 9c73e37f04 the silence 49bb146057 was even b375745073 more painful. ‘One child is 491afff302 enough. I will never 51bf7d7ace let Asha have 7c9c0393f1 another child. Do this again? It’s crazy. I can 09134fdc85 never do 2beaa4e98c it.’ Carlyle fa17daa372 repeated the 41be348f9c same thought 9459d68e90 a few 66a49b7d24 times, a af3f18927c few dozen 759d483586 times, pacing 71712b2ecb anxiously in fb80fd17a8 front of 0ad515a0a2 the delivery 0943095b67 room. A minute felt 8c11ed7f3f like an hour. Then, suddenly, 9c5b707d7a the delivery 7fad90a53f room door 248f12af46 opened. “What, what is it! What’s going on!” Carlyle a6052c6e16 felt like his heart 2f166beb7b was dropping when the 31c5dd76ee delivery room door suddenly b6a188afa3 opened, even though he b59dfaada9 hadn’t heard any cries 417ea7f478 of childbirth. However, the imperial physician’s 3ca951925a face who came out 5d78a50332 was bright. “His Imperial Highness the 211906f7d3 Crown Prince has been 37dbe118ad born! Congratulations, Your Majesty!” Only d58ba234a9 then did the sound 0db065b36b of a baby crying c80a95d2a0 come from behind. The maids and f79e4a5b8c aides who were a662025b17 guarding the delivery 694cbb9444 room with Carlyle ddf295650a bowed and congratulated 916b7ab12c him. “Congratulations on the 8d277a1615 birth of His fbe90c2904 Royal Highness the b3da4b2685 Crown Prince, Your 744ce92864 Majesty!” While everyone 71d5b4ce41 was greeting him 1e4c72be1d with a full 0efbe7addc heart, Carlyle only bdd4fdd99c thought of one 2d06dbd40d thing. “How is 17e59bcb78 Asha?” To eeee001c0a him, Asha’s f210df9a68 condition was fb9a4e849a more important 7d56503667 than anything 8cc8f682d2 else. Don’t women usually scream 9042ba1521 in pain when giving 684ef26603 birth? Doesn’t it take caa5f3c07e much longer than 4766b9e0cf this? Why was the 46be1b373a baby born so bba04856ee quickly and quietly? Unable to hide 89a196c288 his anxiety, Carlyle 1dc5093d99 grabbed the imperial 11e9619663 physician’s wrist again b0e790f9da and pressed for b309c3d720 an answer. “Asha? Is the Empress cdba5af571 safe?” “Yes? Ah, yes. She is perfectly 089b1a3e70 safe. This is the bed2ded0c4 first time I 8ef045d430 have seen someone 1b734e1b1f endure the pain c1812a3de8 so well.” Only 075cdd199a then did the 8e66b53a75 imperial physician realize ee7d86c438 that he had 4023426e69 not reported the bd06ebd589 empress’s condition, so 3c1e80c1ff he briefly explained 05c9de2071 the delivery process. “Her Majesty 4103ab6973 the Empress d6283fbb1d followed everything f4de21067f she had 9cab184454 practiced. Even though ff975eb764 the labor 3b5286db1f pain must 65a1df21fe have been 5b15ac2339 severe, she 878da61ba3 did not 10eba28dad utter a a2f3899818 sound and 6dea7bee9c followed the 84fc92ae22 midwife’s instructions b4d790c54d well. Thanks to her, 06ca104b4a she was able e8d4601f84 to give birth ec33fd50e4 naturally without much cb2e899f66 effort.” “Are you 6beb694094 sure she’s okay? Even so, can she d6807995c3 be so quiet?” “That’s 320254804b right. Even the 29d680f1ca midwife said 79aa477604 this is 77ae9a60bf the first 3e5b0937b2 time she b4dbc6a2fa has seen 8684270fad such a 6cc17728f1 quiet birth.” 762b1c93e4 As the 1fb625b442 imperial physician 9aa9fb6ba5 burst into 1cc3ba3d67 laughter, Carlyle, 6cc6d4b380 relieved of 686e6566cd his tension, e34011adab staggered. It was only 1be15e17dd thanks to the 20da5f25f8 quick support of ae5e7f904f his aide that 6f6a5015ea the emperor did b166b5c470 not collapse in 16cff96169 front of the 01dbee9de0 delivery room. The imperial physician e7c27150d9 was also surprised 7e2a732e6f and supported him. “Now, let’s 63946631be go see 7666c0117a Her Majesty 391b2307c3 the Empress 42dc4ab942 and His fb84ebf371 Royal Highness 40aa69a8eb the Crown 6b84fccf3c Prince. First, wash c14f5c2df4 your hands 6e2f21c11e with hot accb8c17a1 water and…” 51499bb547 Carlyle washed 9691e44887 his hands a11d2675a3 thoroughly and 7b9131eddb changed into 984e7db131 clean clothes 606a1a6ebf that had 8b6b561e66 been prepared 117954f005 in advance a744c105f3 before entering 174593fe8c the delivery 63bd4e298d room, where 45fb3c1da7 the postpartum 699f207aa4 care was 537c662dba almost finished. Asha was pale but 8bd9fa8702 had a smile on 7ade689358 her face. It was a 03e2004596 different smile from f819bc81d7 any he had 82fa9eb736 ever seen. It was a d689d35308 smile that was ed97dbce79 full of satisfaction, adbbc09ced happiness, and joy… 5656965ef4 a smile that 20200f4531 made his eyes c578de9ae7 water just by 120e9a005a looking at it. “Asha… You’ve a7352b65d7 worked hard. You’ve really… really 4c3f8c82d1 worked hard. Thank you.” cc0346affa “Carlyle… Hurry 811630a14d up and 503a8b97ca see the a27fee81f6 baby. He’s really ugly.” “Huh? Yes, isn’t 9667d7eefb he pretty?” c10e960e1e “He’s really f3792acbb1 ugly. But he’s c366550e49 cute.” Asha da708975c5 said things 73e5f38b45 that didn’t c263aebcdf make sense bbe042477b as she e6cd443b5a smiled. And as he 625e556561 took the baby 8faadb3afe that the maid 7ea26b5f4b handed him, Carlyle 08de9657b0 understood what Asha 04aea64532 meant. The baby, covered ba39de4a43 in amniotic fluid 5e518f7eba and mostly red, 7b22df8d06 was literally a c1ba7ba36f lump of flesh. His features 8cab45381e were like 4676ea740f wrinkles roughly 69f5c71228 made from 1a3c8a9c10 flesh. But he 2f12ba67a8 was so 02ea83c819 incredibly beautiful. “Ah…” My bafc244275 child and bb7a76d87e Asha’s child. A precious life, ed25577f3b infinitely light but b1d21b7a62 so afraid of 8cc7cac599 losing it that 010f12ecc8 he had to 90259f0a29 hold it tightly b6b973a62d in his arms. “Finally, I’ve met a5c2c05bdc you, little one.” b689b81257 Carlyle’s eyes reddened, 267c469ca4 but a smile 44478830d7 spread across his d75f07bfc1 face, as if 52c45b480c he had everything. It was 71b0a8e9e6 the same 606d09f5f6 smile that 95ec187ddd Asha had 4d1b59c61f made.80977dd3b3274cd6