The Day You Came to Be, the Whole Continent Whispered of Your Existence - 1

The moment I realized our honeymoon had become a party of five instead of two, I started preparing for the return home.

Fortunately, our official purpose in the Holy Kingdom—serving as witnesses—was already finished, and before we ever set foot in the Holy Tower we had already toured every major sight worth seeing. There was no reason left to linger in Enestiye. Better not to cling to the honeymoon and simply go home.

What surprised me more was learning the truth only after everything was done. Children who hadn't even been born yet, and already overflowing with filial piety.

"A pity. I only handed you the pass yesterday—I never imagined you would leave so soon."

When word got out that we were going back, Tanian came all the way to the harbor to see us off.

"Still, it would be harsh to keep someone carrying new life in a strange land any longer than necessary."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Haha—I'm almost embarrassed to hear the word understanding. Isn't this only natural?"

I smiled along with Tanian's quiet laugh. I had worried that our sudden departure might put the Holy Kingdom in an awkward position. Even if our business was finished, hospitality was a matter of the host's face—and leaving only three days after setting foot on Holy Kingdom soil could easily look like a slight to the Church's dignity.

But from Tanian's reaction, the Church held no hard feelings at all. Even if they had, they clearly had no intention of making an issue of it.

"His Holiness the Pope and the cardinals hope the two of you enjoyed your sightseeing, and they send their most sincere congratulations on the new lives that have taken root."

"We're honored. Once the children are born, I'll bring them straight to the church."

"Ah—when that day comes, show the bishop your pass. He will bestow the finest blessing his power allows."

At those words, Trixie's expression softened at once.

The finest blessing for the tiny triplets yet to be born—for a mother-to-be, that was pure happiness. True, elf blood that served Constantina ran in the triplets' veins, but the world they would live in was a human one. On this continent, the depth of a god's favor and blessing was one of the measures that proved a person's authority.

Of course, no title would ever outrank the one they already carried: the first children born to House Katoban in roughly a hundred years.

"Then, Brother, Sister—I will pray that the Lord's blessing rests upon the three children to be born next year."

With Tanian's final bow of farewell, we returned to the Empire.

We had left on a honeymoon. We came home on a family trip. A strange journey indeed.

The moment we reached the mansion in the Imperial Capital, a blaze of welcome erupted.

"Welcome home, Sister. You must have had such a hard time abroad."

"Master, are you uncomfortable anywhere? Or is there anything you'd like to eat?!"

"Th-this—they say this tea is good for expectant mothers!"

To be precise, every last bit of it poured onto Trixie, not me.

Anyone would be shocked if someone who left on a honeymoon came back carrying three children, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not a single person paid me any attention, and I felt a little wounded. This husband had, for the record, just made history at the Ecumenical Council…

While I watched my lovers with a faintly bitter smile, the servants and Titi came running from the far end of the corridor.

"Second Madam! Second Madaaaam!"

"Butler, if you shout like that you'll startle her!"

Even the servants seemed to have eyes for no one but Trixie; every last one of them crowded in to check on her.

— Woof!

Only Titi wagged his tail and welcomed his master home.

Good dog.

I stroked Titi's panting head and quietly closed my eyes.

In this vast mansion, you're the only one on my side. Tonight I'll get you some good meat.

No—from now on, our Titi eats nothing but premium beef.

I kept silent as I watched the Retired Emperor's back while he fed a carrot to a black horse. His Majesty was no doubt doing the same to order his own thoughts.

"Your Majesty."

"Yes, Retired Emperor."

When he finally spoke, I inclined my head slightly in reply.

"Many pillars uphold the Empire, but the five firmest among them have never changed—not since the Great Emperor himself chose those Five Pillars."

Out of respect for my position as Emperor, the Retired Emperor used formal speech. He stroked the black horse's head, then turned to face me.

"And the collapse of even one of those five pillars is as good as an official admission that the Empire is unstable."

"Your words are true, Retired Emperor."

I bowed my head again in agreement.

If even one duke's line were to end, it would broadcast to the entire continent that the Empire—and the imperial house—could not manage its own affairs. Everyone understood what the five ducal houses meant to the throne.

That was why, for roughly a hundred years, the shared anxiety of successive emperors had been the succession of House Katoban. While the other dukes married and produced heirs in the ordinary way, the Magic Lord alone had married no one and lived in solitude. Her long lifespan was the only reason no one had forced a match; had she been human, an emperor would have stepped in personally to bind her to someone.

Moreover, the founding ancestor of House Katoban—the Snowblade Duke—had been the decisive figure who delivered the finishing blow to Apels's Mandate of Heaven. A revolutionary who, in the square of the Apels capital, had openly questioned the legitimacy of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last Apels emperor's rule. If the line of such a man were to die out, the image of Crefelofen—the empire that toppled Apels—would become rather awkward.

"Yet Heaven's Mandate rests with the Empire, and so all things flow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠according to their proper course."

What followed was equally true. The Magic Lord, once the constant worry of emperors, had at last married—and House Katoban had acquired a consort.

Young, and strong with it, apparently.

And not long after the wedding, there were children as well.

I had not yet received any official notice of the pregnancy from the Minister or the Magic Lord, but since last evening the social circles had been flooded with rumors that retainers of House Katoban were searching for seasoned former nannies. That House Katoban would suddenly seek nannies—and make no effort to hide it—could mean only one thing.

An heir to House Katoban had appeared. After roughly a hundred years.

"So, Your Majesty. It is enough for the imperial house simply to celebrate this joyous occasion. At its heart, is this not simply the ordinary matter of a ducal house gaining an heir?"

In the midst of that historic, continent-shaking gladness, the Retired Emperor counseled imperial silence.

The imperial house would congratulate the Minister and the Magic Lord on the child and send gifts—but that was little more than basic procedure, hardly worth calling a special measure. What His Majesty meant was that we need do nothing beyond that.

Yes. However momentous the occasion, it was still only the appearance of an heir in one of the five ducal houses—an everyday event that had occurred countless times across three hundred years of imperial history. If the throne overdid its congratulations for something so natural, the already delicate balance among the dukes would tip.

"Your invaluable counsel has cleared my mind, Retired Emperor."

"I am glad it was of use."

The information that the life the Magic Lord carried was, in fact, triplets reached us twenty minutes later.

"……."

"……."

Neither I nor the Retired Emperor could open our mouths for a long while in the face of triplets no one had imagined.

If communication orbs overheated the way phones did, mine would already have been reduced to ash.

I could use it as a light bulb.

Looking at the orb abandoned on my desk, I let out a sudden snort of laughter. It blinked without pause—bright enough that if you tossed it into a forest at midnight it would still scream its presence. How had the calls not cut out even once?

Trixie seems quiet enough…

It was a strange feeling. Never mind that the pregnancy news I'd shared with House Katoban's retainers had already swept the entire Empire—why were more people contacting the husband than the actual pregnant woman?

…Was it possible people found Trixie terrifying and me approachable?

Fair enough.

I accepted it. I wasn't the sort of man people could ignore, but compared to Trixie I did come up a little short. Anyone would, next to the absolute peak of her field after more than a century of reign.

In any case, my usual communication orb had been forcibly set aside under the insane flood of contact. Answering every single one of those calls would leave me short of hours even if I stayed awake around the clock. Better to answer none of them equally than to answer some and snub others.

"Ah—nothing at all."

So I had asked Trixie to make me a temporary communication orb. Refusing everyone else's calls was one thing; refusing to call my own parents would have been filial piety so scorching it burned.

I put on an awkward smile as Mother chuckled softly.

When I first called her, she had seemed dozens of times more excited than I was—but there was no need to mention that. Overnight she had become the grandmother of four grandchildren; if her heart were at ease, that would be the stranger th—

"The nanny?"

I blinked blankly at Mother's words.

For one thing, what House Katoban was seeking was not ordinary nannies to care for the babies, but veteran nannies who could pass on their knowledge of child-rearing to others. The actual nannies would be selected from among the retainers' own families—that much was natural.

And the nanny was a seasoned professional ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had raised both me and Erich. Her only real drawback was that she was not a dignified matron enjoying retirement, but the current head lady-in-waiting—yet she was not the sort of person to take interest in other work while neglecting her own duties. If she was looking at House Katoban's notice, it meant she had the room for it.

…Not a bad idea at all.

I stroked my chin and turned it over. As anyone could tell from how well Erich and I had grown, the nanny was an extremely capable and loving person. If people trained by her looked after our children, that was nothing but good news for me.

"I'll speak to the Katoban side. If it's the nanny, I can trust her completely."

Talent volunteering of its own accord—I couldn't help smiling. Unlike House Varenti, which was rich in children, House Katoban had watched its human assets—nannies among them—evaporate, and they had been fretting over it.

Even if the nanny changed her mind now, it was too late to take it back. Become the founding matriarch of House Katoban's nannies…!

I thought I understood why Mother had brought up the nanny in front of me.

"What did you just say?"

I let out a hollow laugh at the head butler, who was smiling with the air of a man who had attained enlightenment.

These insane mages.

I hadn't heard the details, but I could roughly guess.

People with experience as both mages and nannies had lost their minds over the title of teacher to the Magic Lord's child's nanny.