The Young Heir - 1
In the days after the inter-class tournament ended, the Academy was astonishingly peaceful.
It was truly bizarre. The students who had traded every kind of cheering war, psychological warfare, and full-on bench-clearing brawl were still vivid in my memory — and yet those same students were now laughing and chattering as if nothing had ever happened.
Was it just because they were bored?
At this point, a reasonable suspicion was hard to avoid. Had they never cared about national pride at all? Had they simply lost their minds because a stage had been laid out where they could legally vent their madness and stress?
The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. Because those idiots had turned an inter-class tournament into an international showdown, I had been forced into the completely unplanned dual role of mercenary and clown. Even if Ainter had been talked into standing in front of the students by Erich's whispering, if the students had shown even a little restraint, the entire Academy would never have been swallowed by that frenzy.
And now the very people who had blown the whole thing out of proportion were living their quiet, ordinary lives again.
Damn bastards.
So they had their fun, and that was that?
Still, at least it ended without disaster.
I gulped down coffee with ice floating in it and forced myself to calm down. The process had been ugly and chaotic as hell, but mercifully the results were fine.
For one thing, key foreign figures like Ryutis, Later, and Tanian had come through completely unscathed. Even the regular students, considering how passionately they had thrown themselves into the matches, had escaped serious injury — the worst casualty had been Erich, after I forcibly subdued him.
And most decisively of all, the Empire had won the battle of national pride. Thanks to that, the high-ranking personages who had taken an interest in the inter-class tournament had nodded in satisfaction.
"It may not have been a victory won solely by the students' own hands, but the Minister did not break any rules by participating, did he? His Majesty the Retired Emperor was also pleased by the Empire's rightful triumph."
"This humble servant is overwhelmed with gratitude that I could bring joy to His Majesty the Retired Emperor."
The process had been a little… murky, but a win was a win. As the Emperor said, I hadn't invented any new rules or precedents. I already had a legitimate record of competing in the four-man matches two years earlier.
Why did I even have that kind of record?
I felt like I might cry. A guy who never even attended the Academy had competed in the four-man matches twice? Even the most passionately overzealous students couldn't claim a résumé like that.
I deserve an honorary diploma for this.
Or an honorary teaching certificate. Anything. Please just give me something. If I graduate empty-handed, I might actually lose my mind.
Whether as compensation for being smacked square in the face by a clump of falling leaves at the end of my career, or simply by pure luck, the remaining schedule for the second semester flowed by without a single disturbance.
Honestly, if something else had blown up after the chaos of the inter-class tournament, I would have suspected a divine curse. The fact that this year had brought me nothing but blessings instead of curses was a relief in itself.
…I received blessings, and this still happened?
A sudden chill ran down my spine. If I had rolled this hard even while blessed, what on earth would have happened without those blessings? Would royalty have coughed up blood and then had their limbs severed? Or fallen into unconsciousness from critical injuries?
I hastily topped up my blood sugar with a cookie before I could peek any further into futures that should never exist. If I looked any longer at those wrong futures, my mental state would collapse for certain. I had far too many people who depended on me to fall apart now.
Just a little longer.
So I forced my thoughts onto brighter ground. The inter-class tournament — the only real event of the second semester — was over, so graduation would be here before I knew it. Just a little more endurance, and I could escape this suffering completely.
Hm?
Just as I was about to fully inhabit the mindset of a short-timer counting down the days until discharge, the communication orb in my pocket began to glow.
Wondering if it was the Minister again, I instinctively furrowed my brow. Ever since he had heard that I had entered the four-man matches and swung a sword at kids, the Minister had called almost every day just to laugh at me.
Damn old man. If you were in my position, you'd have thrown punches at those kids too.
"Master!"
"Butler?"
The moment I confirmed the caller was not the Minister but the butler, my brow furrowed for an entirely different reason.
This was unsettling. The butler contacting me first, and launching into speech before I could even open my mouth — neither was a good sign—
"M-Madam! The First Madam is going into labor!"
"What?"
My mind went pure white at news far worse than anything I had imagined.
It was my first pregnancy, but I had never felt anxious in my heart.
Whenever a craving struck, Karl always found a way to get it for me. The sisters who might have been jealous that I was the first to carry a child instead treated First Snow and me as if it were their own affair. The household servants rejoiced at the thought of a little master being born, so my days had been peaceful enough to make the fact that this was my first pregnancy almost meaningless.
"My lady, is there anything that troubles you?"
"No, nothing at all. Thank you."
The Empress herself had even sent over several of the ladies-in-waiting who had faithfully attended her when she was carrying the Crown Princess. With people whose ability, status, and character had been thoroughly guaranteed staying at my side, problems simply could not arise even if they tried.
Even now they were massaging my arms and legs for the sake of my greatly swollen belly. Ever since First Snow had grown so large, even moving had become difficult and my whole body ached — but they had experience attending a pregnant woman, so they noticed immediately.
The pressure was just right; my eyes were already starting to drift shut. Should I take a nap like this until Karl came home from work?
"Hnnngh—!"
"M-My lady!?"
"My lady!"
And then my languid body and mind snapped wide awake under a sudden, sharp pain.
I could not properly remember what happened after that. The ladies-in-waiting struggling to help me upright while I let out something between a scream and a moan; the servants rushing about in every direction; the butler hastily pulling out a communication orb. Only those hazy movements and figures registered in my eyes; I could not even properly hear the words they spoke to me.
But there was one thing — just one thing — that I did hear clearly.
"The Young Family Head is about to be born! Call the doctor, the priests, the mages — everyone you can reach!"
So First Snow was a more impatient child than I had thought.
It isn't first snow yet.
Our first snow will be you, then.
Even through the pain, the thought made me smile.
I urgently summoned a family mage who had been in Tyleglehen. Trixie happened to be in the middle of a class, so a family mage was needed if I wanted to travel by teleportation.
"I'm not in my right mind, so deliver the news to the two of them for me."
"Yes, Your Excellency. I will do so without fail, so please do not worry."
As soon as the mage dropped me in front of the mansion, I spoke quickly; he nodded with a resolute face.
The fact that First Snow was trying to leave Mar's womb was precious information that my parents also needed to know. But in my current state I could not possibly speak to them normally. My hands were still trembling — how was I supposed to manage that?
So I left the delivery of the news to the mage. Once he returned to the family, he would report to Mother; Mother would inform Father; and Father would pass word to my father-in-law.
"Master!"
Leaving the mage behind and entering the mansion, I was met by the butler rushing toward me in a panic.
"W-Where is the Second Madam?"
"She's in class, so I came first. I left a message on the communication orb — she'll come the moment she's finished."
I patted the shoulder of the butler, who had been startled by my solitary return, and he nodded repeatedly.
This was the first time I had seen the butler this agitated since Trixie's pregnancy was confirmed. He always got worked up over anything involving my children as if they were his own, and I was nothing but grateful. Where else would you find such a loyal servant?
Even so, the butler's moving loyalty did nothing to ease the tension coiling in my gut.
It's still only mid-November.
I wet my drying lips with my tongue and forced my brain to work. Mar had received a four-week confirmation right before the first semester began, so roughly the end of November was her due date.
But a human body is not a machine; a baby is not going to arrive precisely on the ten-month mark. First Snow could safely be born even at the end of October, never mind the end of November. I had simply forgotten that obvious fact because of the inter-class tournament.
…No. That was an excuse. What kind of husband and expectant father forgets about a birth? I had simply been lulled into complacency by the words "end of November."
"Is Mar all right?"
"The moment the labor pains began, we summoned the finest personnel available. With the ladies-in-waiting from the Empress's palace present, preparations proceeded smoothly."
At least the environment was the best possible; I let out a breath of relief. When people had first arrived from the Empress's palace I had thought the consideration excessive — but that consideration had turned out to be a divine stroke of genius.
Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.
Truly a person of excellent character, unlike a certain old yellow something living elsewhere.
"Then right now I should—"
"You must not go in."
The butler's firm declaration shut my mouth.
"If the Master enters the room, it will place mental strain and introduce variables for the medical staff. Besides, you have just come from the Academy, so there is also the matter of cleanliness."
"Am I dirty…?"
"You are cleaner than I am, but a pregnant woman's circumstances are different from those of ordinary people."
Every word was correct, so I nodded with a heavy heart. Frankly, even if I stood at Mar's side, I would be of no help — and the probability that I would only get in the way was high.
"It will end safely, right?"
Accepting the logic and stopping the worry were two different things. When I spoke again in a trembling voice, the butler nodded with confidence.
"Surely Enen's protection will be with them. Is this not the child of two Apostles, after all?"
The words eased my heart a little.
They did not ease it at all.
"───! ───!!"
"──!"
I could only bite my lip at the sounds that drifted faintly from beyond the door.
I was anxious. Was everything truly all right? Was it progressing well?
It will be fine.
I forced the anxiety out of myself. The Second Section Chief and the Emperor had both safely welcomed children, had they not? It would be the same for me. First Snow would be born into this world safely as well.
As the butler said, this was a child born between Apostles. Enen would never turn away from such a child.
Please.
If both Mar and First Snow are healthy, I'll build a cathedral-scale church in Wiridia. So please.
"Karl."
"…Trixie."
At the touch of a hand stroking mine, I slowly lifted my head.
"Don't worry. There is no problem at all."
Trixie's declaration, after she had been silently watching the door, nearly brought tears to my eyes.
Trixie was a being who could sense mana. If she was stating it so firmly, then both of them must be healthy.
At least for now.
"And while I don't know the doctor and priest inside very well, I do know the mage. When it comes to childbirth, there is no one better than that child."
I quietly nodded at the successive words of comfort.
Before I knew it, night had fallen.
Even Rory and Lin, who should have been at the Academy, and Eri and Phine — those slaves of the administration — had all gathered at the mansion.
"Count!"
Just as my reason was about to be completely devoured by impatience, the firmly closed door opened.
The lady-in-waiting who came out said something, but I did not hear it. There was no need to hear it.
"Waaaaaaaaah!"
The cry echoing from the room explained everything.