I hugged Nier who was curled up in my embrace crying due to overjoy. I stroked her head and back while she gripped my clothes tightly. In my arms, she excitedly murmured: "My child…… My child with his majesty…… My child with his majesty…… Finally…… We finally have a child…… Your child……"
I stroked her back as I nodded with a smile. I said: "That"s right, that"s right, Nier, our child. This is our child. I told you didn"t I? I told you we"d definitely have a child."
"Uhm! Uhm! Our child. Our child…… Your majesty, this is our child……"
Nier hugged me tightly, wiped the tears at the corners of her eyes, looked up and kissed my lips with excitement. We kissed each other pa.s.sionately. I was a lot more excited about Nier"s pregnancy than Lucia"s because it was harder for Nier to get pregnant. Further, descendants had more meaning for humans. News that Nier was pregnant virtually shocked everyone in the palace.
Even the empress was so excited her hands shook, not knowing what she should do. I could only pray that mom wouldn"t make Nier that soup. She"ll die. And it"ll be one corpse but two lives.
Nier released me and then wiped the corners of her mouth. She looked at me with puppy-eyes and softly asked: "Dear… are you doing to the desert? I heard it from Freya. You wanted to go to the desert to find something, right? I don"t really know what you"re doing… but… do you have to leave?"
I shook my head and hugged her tighter. I replied: "No, I"m not going anywhere anymore. I"m not going to the desert anymore. I"ll stay by your side. I"m just going to stay with you and our child."
Those were honest words. Nier wasn"t pregnant yet when I was starting to get ambitious. I know that Nier can look after herself, plus she has the empress and Freya, so I could leave her here and head to the desert alone. But, not now. She"s pregnant now. She"s carrying our child so I can let Nier stay here alone with our child, and there"s no way I can drag her along with me. I need to stay by her side. They are my most cherished treasures.
I never even had a girlfriend, but I was now a father. How could I ditch my wife and child? A man"s ambition is flimsy in front of his family. A man feels more accomplished if he can put a smile on his family"s face than being way out somewhere in the world. Put another way, a man"s career pursuits are just for the sake of giving his family a better living standard and home.
I don"t want to go. I just want to stay by Nier"s side. Socina whatever and whatever metal-mabob, don"t matter. They can"t make me as happy as Nier"s smile. I just want to stay here with her. I don"t want to unite the continent or accomplish some great feat. My greatest accomplishment would be having Nier by my side with a smile and watching my child grow up.
Nier grabbed my arm firmly and then shook her head. She clarified: "No… that"s not what I meant, dear. I was just apologising to you…… I may not be able to protect you now. If you want to go to the desert, I can"t protect you at your side. I don"t want to be running around because I have a child now."
"Nier……"
I then paused to look at her and s.p.a.ced out. Nier looked up at me with a smile. She reached her hands out to clasp my face and with a smile said: "My world used to be a tiny one at her majesty"s side. That was my everything. I once thought that that was the entire world. I never thought the world would be this large and this wonderful. You were the one who let me see this vast world. You were the one who let me experience countless moments of bliss and new things. You were the one who gave me the entire world… so I don"t want your world to end here because of me."
Nier then gently leaned her head on my chest and softly continued: "It"s all right. I have her majesty with me as well as Freya. I"ll be fine. Go to the desert without any worries, my dear. I don"t really understand what you are trying to do, but I know that it must be something that will be useful. I want to be of use to you, not a burden to you. Don"t worry about me. You are the prince, so please go and do what a prince should do. However, you must promise me… you must promise me… you must… return to my side alive……"
"Nier!"
I was so moved I couldn"t hold myself back any more and I hugged Nier tightly. This girl who was once cold as ice and tough as iron leaned into my arms. I hugged her tightly. I was choking to the point I couldn"t utter a world. I really admire the h.e.l.l out of myself. I"m so fortunate to have her as my wife. She was the one I loved most.
"I promise, Nier. I promise I"ll come back alive for sure. The same goes for you, Nier. You must look after yourself. You must. Let the other Valkyries take over the training supervision. You just focus on looking after yourself. Don"t partake in any strenuous work and don"t put yourself in danger.
I hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. Elizabeth then knocked on the door and pulled the door open. She smiled as she looked at us and asked: "How nice, how nice, son. You"ve got a child now, son…… Mommy… mommy is trying to come up with a name…… Which one do you like, son?"
"Mom… our child still hasn"t been born yet……"
"Hmm…… I actually came up with your name, Troy. It"s a combination of the elven language and humanity"s language. It means "brave and kind person". Naming is important. See, look at you. Doesn"t that describe you perfectly? You"re brave and kind. What about our child? Our child… Ah, sorry, I meant, your child with Nier. What will your child be like?"
Did you just say something you shouldn"t have in a moment of excitement?! Did you just make a mistake?! Did you just say "our child"?! Did you just say something you shouldn"t have?!! I believe that we have never done anything of the sort! There"s no way!
Nier giggled and remarked: "We still do not know our child"s gender, so we cannot name our child yet, your majesty. However, I believe that if it is a boy then he will definitely be a great man like his majesty. If our child is a girl, then she will be as n.o.ble and great as you, your majesty."
"Uhm, uhm, you"re right, you"re right. That"s how it"ll be. That"s how it"ll be." Elizabeth rubbed her hands together excitedly. She then looked at Nier and told her: "I have already arranged for two active Valkyries to guard you, I"ve ordered maids and experts in taking care of maternal mothers from the royal capital to come here as well as the best chef. There will be no problems. You"ll be fine for sure. But you must look after yourself. You must bring seven Valkyries and three maids with you no matter where you go. You must take care of yourself!"
I was a little stunned. That"s too much, don"t you think?! This makes me feel like there will be a problem……
"Uhm! There will definitely be no problems!"
How come Nier has become so obedient all of a sudden?!
"Mom, do you have time right now?"
I looked at mom as I patted Nier on her head. I then stood up and looked at mom.
Elizabeth nodded and replied: "Yes, I do. I definitely have time. Is something up?"
"Uhm, yes there is, mom. Let"s step outside and talk."
"All right."
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