Chapter 314: Children
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 314: Children
“A son… it’s a son! Blood Dagger’s son has been born!”
“The son of Blood Dagger and the Queen of the East, Jang Ye Ri, has been born.”
“A prince! It’s a prince!”
The clamorous voices from outside reached my ears. From a Green Skin’s perspective, it didn’t matter whether the child was a son or a daughter, but the humans seemed overjoyed by the fact that it was a boy. Cries of “Prince!” echoed continuously. Since Laveua was a girl, a part of me had secretly hoped for a son, but the moment I saw the child’s face, I realized it didn’t matter at all.
He was so small and adorable. Rather than resembling me, his face was the spitting image of his mother, Jang Ye Ri. The tiny horns sprouting from his forehead were incredibly cute.
What was strange was that he didn’t cry. The moment he was born, he reached his hand out to me, as if he already knew I was his father.
“He is your son and mine. He resembles you so much.”
“He resembles you more than me. He’s so lovely.”
His hands and feet were, of course, tiny. With his pure white skin and black eyes, I found myself holding him without thinking, and I saw him giggle. Remembering that Jang Ye Ri hadn’t even had a chance to hold him yet, I gently passed him to her. She, too, embraced our son with a look of pure love.
“I am so happy. To be honest… I never thought I would become a mother. This is all thanks to you.”
“…”
“Let us go outside. It is only right that we show this child to your brothers and my retainers who are waiting.”
“I think it would be best for you to lie down…”
“I was healed with holy power. This is nothing.”
True to her word, Jang Ye Ri began to rise.
“My lady! No… Q-Queen! You must rest!”
“It’s alright, nurse. I’m only going to look outside for a moment. I will change into clean clothes.”
“M-My lady.”
I wanted to stop her as well. But I saw in Jang Ye Ri’s eyes a determination to go outside and show off her child, no matter what, so I found myself nodding in agreement.
“Hahaha. It seems he prefers his mother’s embrace to his father’s.”
“Hmph…”
He certainly smiled more brightly when he was in Jang Ye Ri’s arms. At her command, the maids and the nurse quickly prepared for them to go outside. Mev was watching Jang Ye Ri with an anxious expression; she was probably worried that I would become so infatuated with my son that I would neglect Laveua. I stroked Mev’s head once before opening the tent flap, and a massive cheer erupted from the countless Green Skins and humans gathered there.
“It’s the prince!”
“The child of Blood Dagger and Jang Ye Ri!”
“Woooooah! The second heir is born!”
Jang Ye Ri smiled faintly and handed our son to me. I took him and lifted him high into the air.
“The child’s name… will be Ratga.”
It was only natural that a thunderous roar erupted. It was a name Jang Ye Ri and I had decided on beforehand. I smiled as I held Ratga aloft. Jang Ye Ri, despite her exhaustion, stood before her retainers and began to speak.
“This child will be a symbol of the harmony between two races, human and Green Skin. He will become a great pillar supporting the East. He will live as the heir to the great city of Garia and the successor to Blood Dagger, Chieftain of the Brother’s Land. My beloved retainers! Kneel before the one who will one day be your king.”
It was a speech truly befitting a queen. At Jang Ye Ri’s words, her retainers began to kneel, one by one. Park Han Cheol in the front, the members of the Greenbelt Clan behind him, and even the Green Skins, who didn’t seem to understand what was happening but knelt anyway, likely just reading the mood.
Starting from the front of the tent and spreading to the back, the sight of everyone placing one knee on the ground to pay their respects to the future king was truly a spectacle. Jang Ye Ri watched the scene and murmured.
“This child will be a king.”
Hearing her voice, I smiled. Whether this child would become a king or not was yet to be decided, but Jang Ye Ri would certainly raise him to be one.
I slowly began to look around. In the distance, Goff and Black Spear were offering their sincere congratulations. Laveua had a complicated expression on her face; I figured she was probably feeling jealous. Mev’s expression was even more complex than Laveua’s, but I thought it would be fine once I talked to her later.
Choi Eunju and Choi Seulgi looked rather bitter. It was only natural for the two of them, for whom pregnancy was nearly impossible, to be envious of Jang Ye Ri. Jung Hayeon was also staring this way, her fists clenched tightly. I then remembered that I had completely forgotten about my promise to try with her. When I gave her a subtle nod, Jung Hayeon quietly nodded back. The clan’s executives, including Gark and Orbo, were there. Gark’s eyes, in particular, were red and brimming with tears, while Hakajin was nodding silently.
Kim Yoora and Nicole were staring blankly at Ratga.
But every face was filled with joy. The faces of my women welcomed the birth of a new family member, and the same was true for Jang Ye Ri’s retainers and our tribe members. I slowly cradled Ratga in my arms, and Jang Ye Ri leaned her body lightly against my shoulder.
“Hahahahaha.”
All I could do was laugh.
*
Jang Ye Ri decided to rest in our settlement for a few days. We agreed that the child would be raised not in the Brother’s Land, but in the great eastern city of Garia. Of course, the tribe members weren’t happy about it, but their expressions finally softened after we promised he would visit the settlement at least two or three times a week.
Goff and Black Spear gave Ratga their blessings, and the gathering concluded only after all the women had said a word to him as well.
‘Congratulations, my love… You worked hard too, Ye Ri.’
‘You must be happy, Kim Taesung… You too, unni.’
‘You… you went through a lot to bring Laveua’s little brother into the world.’
Baek Ahyeon was only able to come see Ratga late at night. She looked a little wistful, but I remember her being happier than anyone when she saw the horns on Ratga’s forehead. The memory was enough to make me smile, but I had to focus on something else now, so I pushed the thought away.
“It might not work.”
“Yes, I know, Taesung-ssi. But… I feel like I’m grasping at straws.”
“…”
“I’m sorry for being so insistent. You must be tired… If… if it’s a bother…”
“It’s not.”
Jung Hayeon lowered her head as she spoke. There was only one reason I was in the tent with her. It was, of course, about her pregnancy. The probability of a demon and an Alraune conceiving was even lower than that of a demon and a human.
Naturally, Jung Hayeon had never asked me for anything before. She had always been the one to support or cheer me on from behind, a devoted wife who cherished me deeply. But it seemed she desired a child, which was why she had brought it up with me and the other women, and why we were here now.
It was both an experiment and an attempt, but I didn’t want to treat it lightly. Not only was Jung Hayeon the closest to my personal taste, but she was also someone I loved. Seeing how unusually tense she was, I gave her a light kiss to help her relax, and she immediately began to grow comfortable with me.
The time we spent holding and indulging in each other was truly blissful. Her body, in particular, brought me pleasure. Her insides were sticky, slick, soft, and sweet as they enveloped me. I was sure Jung Hayeon was feeling just as good.
She craved me, and I craved her.
“Hah…”
I was so engrossed in her that I nearly forgot our act was for the sake of conceiving a child. Jung Hayeon must have felt the same, as she wrapped her arms around my neck and continued to envelop me with her roots and vines. The amusing thought that I might get eaten crossed my mind, but that was impossible.
The more our bodies moved, the more her moans filled the air, her voice a constant stimulus. It felt like playing a finely tuned instrument. When we first met, I never could have imagined things would turn out like this. The same was probably true for her.
“I love you, Taesung-ssi.”
“Me too…”
At my words, she reached her peak, her body beginning to tremble. It was only natural that I, too, released myself inside her shortly after. I wanted to rest for a moment, entrusting my body to Jung Hayeon’s soft form, but there was no time. I immediately reached for Mistilteinn and began to control her body.
Using my new eyes, I scanned every inch of her, maintaining control.
It was no different from artificial insemination, but this was far more difficult. I investigated whether the cause was a physical incompatibility preventing the sperm and egg from meeting, or if her egg was simply rejecting the sperm. I found the answer quickly.
It was the latter. The conclusion was that an Alraune cannot be fertilized by the seed of a demon. But I would make it possible. As I slightly adjusted her body to allow her to accept me, a reaction began almost immediately.
“Tae… Taesung-ssi.”
She must have noticed the change in her body, as she looked at me with surprised eyes, but it wasn’t over yet. If I hadn’t acquired these eyes, I might not have succeeded. I guided the way with mana and began by breaking through the thin membrane. I didn’t let my guard down until I saw it had definitively entered her.
“I… I feel something.”
I thought she was probably just imagining it. I wanted to push mana into my eyes and fully activate their new power, but I didn’t have the luxury. Fundamentally changing the body of a living creature was an incredibly taxing task. Sweat poured down my body like rain, and I was so focused that it was difficult to even answer her.
“Ugh…”
It was absurd, but creating life was a domain of the gods. A demon and an Alraune could not conceive. I bit my lip hard and began to push mana against the resisting force once more.
And for a moment, a light flashed.
‘Success, or failure?’
I was about to check her with my eyes when Jung Hayeon spoke, her body trembling. She sounded uncharacteristically frightened, as if she’d seen something terrifying. Just as I was starting to worry that something had gone wrong, Jung Hayeon spoke.
“I think… I think it’s coming out.”
“What…”
“The baby… the baby… I think it’s coming out.”
“What?”
Her belly hadn’t swollen, and ten months hadn’t passed. I had only just fertilized her, but her sudden declaration that the baby was coming left me speechless for a moment.
Wondering if she was telling the truth, I immediately looked at her with my eyes and had no choice but to realize she was right.
[Target - Jung Hayeon]
[Status - Giving Birth, Fear, Joy, Terror]
‘What is this?’
My knowledge of Alraunes was far too lacking. I didn’t know if this was because of the quest Jung Hayeon had received to bear a half-breed, or if this was how Alraunes normally gave birth, but in this sudden situation, all I could do was hold her hand.
She didn’t scream or seem to be in pain. Instead, Jung Hayeon slowly closed her eyes as flowers and plant roots began to grow from below. She couldn’t have known what was happening to her body, but she instinctively knew what to do. The sight was not strange, but rather sublime and beautiful.
My tent was instantly covered in flowers and roots, and then I saw a plant slowly growing. Other flowers and stems around it covered it again, and it began to form a shape like an egg.
A half-demon, half-Alraune. As I watched with curiosity, various pieces of information began to flow into my mind. The stems and roots forming the egg-like shape quickly receded, revealing a small child with the upper body of a female and the lower body of a plant.
Like Jung Hayeon, she had a plant for a lower body. But she was slightly different. If Jung Hayeon was a large flower, this tiny child’s stem was covered in thorns. The thorns looked incredibly violent and dangerous.
What stood out most were her beautiful face and the already large horns sprouting from her head. When her large eyes opened, I could see they were unmistakably those of a demon, and they were looking right at me.
‘A girl.’
My third child was a daughter. Despite being a newborn, she didn’t look like one. She seemed to be about the same size as Laveua, the fairy. I wanted to ask something, but Jung Hayeon’s eyes were still closed. When the child opened her mouth and called to me, I couldn’t help but realize this was no ordinary baby.
“Mother, Father.”
I was so flustered that I checked her information with my eyes. It was, without a doubt, a species I had never heard of before.
[Mythical Species - Demonic World Tree]
The moment I confirmed the details, my jaw dropped open.