“Yes, it’s the baby saying, ‘I’m here.’”
Lant had never seen a baby before, let alone one announcing its presence from within the womb. His initial bewilderment gave way to growing delight in his eyes.
“Our little one must want to greet their uncle.”
“U-Uncle?”
One hand remained glued to Bee’s belly, while the other pointed at himself.
Moments ago, Lant had felt like a grown adult, but now he was a child again. Bee burst into laughter at his adorable reaction.
Even when Lant’s navy-blue hair turned gray with frost and his taut face wrinkled with age, to Bee, he’d always be her little brother. His endearing behavior wasn’t just charming to her biased eyes—warm, maternal smiles spread across the faces of the Empress’s Palace maids waiting quietly nearby.
Knock, knock.
“Your Majesty, Count Lionel requests an audience.”
The knock was followed by a loud announcement from the attendant outside.
Such visits had become frequent lately, so Mari and the other palace staff weren’t surprised, but Lant was different.
Count Lionel was the Emperor’s guardian knight. For him to leave his charge and come to the Empress’s Palace meant something serious had happened.
Startled by Isnal’s sudden arrival, Lant instinctively pulled his hand from Bee’s belly.
Today, Bee wasn’t thrilled about Isnal’s visit.
She’d first felt the baby’s movements yesterday—a gurgling sensation, like hunger pangs, that left her uncertain.
What if something’s wrong with the baby? Should I call the physician now, despite the late hour?
As she worried, Sys’s hands roamed her body.
It was a nightly ritual, and she knew exactly how far his wandering hands would go.
Sys always promised he’d only hold her to sleep, but those promises were broken by increasingly bold touches.
Bee didn’t mind. Honestly, she loved it. She gave in to his coaxing, knowing it was because she felt cherished and desired.
Pregnancy was a joy, but as her belly grew, she found it unsightly. Yet Sys always called her beautiful, his eyes filled with adoration, proving his words weren’t empty.
Unaware of her concerns, Sys sought her out as usual. But, gripped by fear for the baby, her body reacted before her mind, brushing his hand away sharply.
Sys’s face fell, stunned. Bee was equally shocked—she hadn’t meant to reject him so harshly.
Before she could apologize, Sys began venting his pent-up frustrations, not bothering to hide his emotions.
“You’ve changed since we married. I only have eyes for you, but where are you looking? Is work more important than me?”
His complaints were childish.
Feeling they weren’t worth engaging, Bee turned away. Planning to call the physician at dawn, she dismissed his whining as mere buzzing.
Her indifference ignited his anger. When she declared they’d sleep separately, he stared at her in disbelief.
Before he could recover, Bee left the imperial bedroom—their shared marital chamber—leaving only a cold breeze behind.
Contrary to her expectation that he’d follow, a deeply offended Sys didn’t come after her, even as dawn broke.
Bee was equally upset.
At first light, she summoned the physician and learned the sensation was the baby’s movements. She ordered the staff to keep it from the Emperor.
Seeing Isnal arrive so early, Sys must’ve been particularly relentless today. Unfortunately for Isnal, Bee was still cross from last night.
“There’s a guest, so tell him to come back later.”
“Your Majesty, please, just a moment!”
Before the attendant could relay her words, Isnal called out desperately through the closed door. This kind of rejection was a first for him.
He sensed something was amiss.
“Just a minute, please.”
His voice, almost pleading, echoed through the door, but Bee remained unmoved.
“Your Majesty, I beg you.”
“Sister…”
Unable to stand by, Lant spoke up. Publicly snubbing the Emperor’s knight could cause trouble.
While Bee, who dominated high society, was unfazed by such gossip, Lant, yet to navigate that world, didn’t grasp the extent of her influence.
Unlike the composed palace staff, Lant’s anxiety amused Bee. Seeing her brother’s flustered concern, she decided opening the door wouldn’t hurt.
But granting Isnal’s request was another matter.
First, she needed a promise. Raising a finger to her lips, she signaled.
“His Majesty doesn’t know yet, so keep quiet for now.”
She wasn’t ready to share the baby’s movements with Sys, still upset. She’d decide when to tell him based on his behavior.
Then she pictured Sys, overwhelmed with emotion at feeling the baby move.
This won’t last past today, she thought with a wry smile.
“Aaah!”
Another piercing scream came from inside the room.
Before his mind could process it, Sys’s body moved instinctively toward the door. He wasn’t alone—Marquis Elient, Lant, and Evan all reached for the handle simultaneously.
Their eyes met, and all four men scowled. Bee’s cries continued to echo from within.
Each longed to rush inside, but they knew there was nothing they could do for her.
Even as reason returned, none moved. They were locked in a fierce internal battle, torn between their desire to enter and the reality that they couldn’t help.
Standing in a tense standoff before the closed door, Marquis Elient was the first to act, having faced this situation before.
He withdrew his hand and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his face impassive. But each of Bee’s screams made him flinch, his trembling eyelids and white-knuckled grip betraying his struggle.
He wasn’t the only one shaken.
Evan stood like a gatekeeper, unmoving, while Lant, pale as a ghost, stared at the door, unable to hide his distress.
Unlike the older men feigning calm, Lant, fresh from his coming-of-age ceremony, couldn’t mask his anxiety. His face contorted, he gnawed at his nails—a habit he’d never had, even as a child—unaware of his actions, his focus entirely on the room.
“Won’t you see your niece or nephew before you go?”
Bee’s single sentence had delayed his travel plans.
Her child would surely be as lovely as she was.
Imagining a baby resembling Bee intensified his longing to see it. He’d altered his plans to meet his niece or nephew first.
But he hadn’t anticipated that waiting for the baby would be this nerve-wracking.
He almost resented the unborn child.
“Damn it!”
A curse burst from Sys’s lips.
The crude words clashed with imperial dignity, but no one stopped him. Everyone waiting anxiously for the baby’s arrival shared his frustration, yearning to let out their own curses.
“What are the physicians doing?!”
Unable to enter, Sys paced frantically.
It had been over a day since Bee’s labor began. With each passing hour, his heart constricted.
Her once-gently rounded belly had grown alarmingly large.
Before her, he’d feigned calm, but as her due date neared, the sight of her swelling belly filled him with dread that it might burst. He watched her daily, his heart in his throat.
Thankfully, no such disaster occurred, but the labor that began last night showed no sign of ending.
“Go in and find out what’s happening!”
A maid waiting with them cautiously entered at Sys’s command.
It was the dozenth such order. He wanted to barge in himself, but the birthing chamber was off-limits to men.
Instead of the maid, a weary-looking physician emerged. Sys lunged at her, as if ready to grab her collar.
“What’s happening?”
“The baby’s passage hasn’t opened yet.”
As a first-time mother, Bee’s labor showed no progress despite the prolonged pain.
The palace staff assisting in the birthing chamber grew increasingly anxious and brittle as time dragged on.
Already on edge, hoping for the baby’s passage to open, they were further rattled by Sys’s relentless, minute-by-minute demands.
The tension wasn’t limited to the staff. Bee, the mother, was equally strained by the labor pains.
“You said the same thing last time!”
Unaware of the situation inside, Sys, frustrated, shouted. Her screams grew closer together, yet the physician’s reports remained maddeningly unchanged.
“Stop repeating yourself and give me a real answer!”
Sys growled threateningly at the physician.
