Young Lord - 2
When I first fell in love with someone, it felt as if I possessed the entire world.
When I first married someone, it felt as if the world itself were blessing me.
And when my child was born for the first time—
"A splendid young master."
It was as if the world had stopped. Not a single thought rose in my mind.
Strange. This was clearly a joyous thing. From the day I learned of Mar's pregnancy, this was the moment I had waited for, the child I had longed to see even a day sooner.
Yet for some reason I could not open my mouth, could not so much as twitch a finger.
First Snow.
My child. Mine and Mar's.
The palace maid, still damp with sweat as if to prove how fierce the birth had been, smiled gently and held First Snow out for me to see.
Eyes not yet able to open properly, all wrinkled, flushed red, and crying so loudly the room itself seemed ready to fly away—First Snow.
"Are they both all right?"
"Yes. My lady is exhausted, but there is no problem with her health."
The maid answered in a soft voice to the words I finally managed to force out.
For a moment my legs nearly gave way. The First Snow before me, and Mar who had labored for hours—neither had any trouble. How desperately I had hoped for that news outside the door.
"Your Excellency, please hold him. The young master will prefer Your Excellency's arms to mine."
At those words I began to tremble for an entirely different reason.
Hold him?
That child? That tiny, fragile thing that looked as if it might vanish if I touched it wrong?
Would that even be all right? The clothes I was wearing were the ones I had been out and about in; there would be dust and dirt on them. My hands were damp with sweat and filthy. To hold a newborn with a body like that—
"Stop fussing and take him. What could be warmer for a child just born than a parent's arms?"
My father-in-law passed by, thumping me once on the back with a gruff voice. Judging by how hurried his steps were, he meant to check on Mar after her hard fight.
The touch stung a little, but it brought my drifting mind back.
"Yes, go on and hold him. Don't worry about cleanliness."
Trixie came up next and lightly stroked my shoulder. At once the sticky, sweat-soaked feeling left my body, leaving it fresh.
Right. Magic existed. No matter how dirty something was, one spell turned it into first-class purified water.
"Th-then, just a moment."
With trembling hands I carefully received First Snow.
Light. Far too light. If I exaggerated a little, lighter even than the wooden practice swords we used in training. No—perhaps truly lighter than that.
A laugh escaped me. So this tiny thing was what had been kicking in Mar's belly, fretting that it wanted something to eat at the slightest chance. This little one was what had made our whole family and the household staff tremble.
"Karl."
While I was staring blankly at First Snow, Father approached and spoke.
"Congratulations. Now you too are a father."
"A father…"
At Father's words I looked at First Snow again. Just as Mar had made me a husband, this child had made me a father.
Starting with this child, my family would keep growing.
"There's no need to hold it in. No one can stop a parent's heart when they look upon their child."
When I bit my lip, Mother patted my back. Unlike Father-in-law's spicy touch, it was a hand that soothed the heart.
Perhaps that was why tears came before I knew it.
They simply came.
After finishing that strange chorus of son and father both crying, I placed First Snow in the arms of Mar, who had recovered some of her strength.
"He looks just like you, Karl."
Mar smiled bashfully as she gazed at First Snow and said so.
Does he?
I wiped at still-damp eyes and thought seriously. How was she projecting my face onto that still-wrinkled child? Well, he did have eyes, nose, and a mouth, so there was that much resemblance.
"Our First Snow. Grow up healthy and become a splendid young lord, all right?"
Even in her exhaustion Mar held First Snow close and murmured in a voice thick with moisture.
It was a voice full of many emotions. The joy of seeing her first child, the relief that he had been born safely, and even the lightness of having borne a firstborn son as the first wife.
It wouldn't have mattered if it were a daughter.
I had told Mar that from the beginning—the child's gender did not matter. If it was a child born between us, what difference did something like that make? This was not a world where passing a title to a woman was impossible in the first place.
Yet deep in Mar's heart she seemed to have quietly hoped for a son. As with the examples of Trixie, the Wise Duke, and the Crown Princess, the law did not forbid women from inheriting titles, but there were still plenty of nobles who insisted on male-preference succession and shut daughters out. So Mar was relieved that First Snow was a son who could succeed without any fuss.
Of course, given Mar's nature she would have been happy with a daughter too. She simply wanted to take the safe, smooth path.
"Looking closely, I can see Mar's face as well."
In the middle of that, Father-in-law looked thoroughly satisfied, which only confused me more.
Where exactly were they seeing the resemblance? Let me know too. I'm the father, and I seem to know the least.
"Now that I think of it, have you decided on a name?"
"Pardon?"
"A name. You can't keep calling a healthy child by a temporary name forever."
At Father-in-law's sudden attack I only rolled my eyes this way and that.
I had thought of one, of course. Parents buy clothes and toys for a child yet to be born; naturally I had decided on the name that would be called for a lifetime.
But after the Lu incident and the Titi incident of the past, I no longer trusted my naming sense. If I opened my mouth again only to get roasted, I might start crying once more.
"If you've thought of something, say it. Look how many people are gathered here. Even if it's strange, we'll find a good name soon enough."
Yet Father-in-law's words—comfort that was not quite comfort—gave me courage.
Right. This was a scene of collective wisdom where both sets of parents and all my other lovers had gathered. Even if I made a mistake, there were plenty of people who could fix it.
"I… if a boy was born, I meant to name him Ferdinand."
At first I had thought of the soft, unobjectionable Chris, but shorten that and it became something like Karl-Mar-whatever, and the Ausen Labor Alliance might have been founded on the spot.
So Ferdinand. My grandfather was Reinhardt, Father was Wilhelm, my younger brother Erich—all German-style names, so a grandson should be German-style Ferdinand as well.
Wait a moment.
Come to think of it, why was I Karl? In German style it should be Carl, shouldn't it?
At the unexpected timing of this question of birth, I glanced at Mother. I seemed to recall that Mother had named us siblings.
"A fine name. Among the ancestors of House Crassius there was one who bore the name Ferdinand. A brave and wise man beloved by all who knew him."
Mother, however, took my glance as a request for help and supported my decision with a gentle smile.
Whatever.
The moment I saw Mother's smile, the question of birth melted away like snow.
Talking about German-style names in a world without Germany was ridiculous anyway. Whatever.
"Ferdinand…"
Mar seemed to like the name as well; she murmured "Ferdinand" over and over while carefully stroking First Snow's cheek.
From today, First Snow was Ferdinand Crassius.
First Snow, who had been crying so lustily—no, our child who now possessed the name Ferdinand—must have tired himself out; he fell asleep.
"Congratulations on becoming a grandfather. This year seems set to bring one happy occasion after another."
"It's my first grandchild, so I still feel rather dazed. I would be grateful for much advice."
"A grandfather's work is not much. Raising the child is the parents' duty; we need only dote on him to our hearts' content."
I let out a soft laugh as I listened to Father and Father-in-law converse.
Ever since the two of them had formally become in-laws, Father had begun using honorifics toward Father-in-law, the Imperial Count. That the Duke who had reigned supreme showed respect to almost no one outside the imperial family and fellow dukes—except his son's father-in-law—pleased me to no end. It showed how sincerely he took his children's marriages.
"Of course, as a novice couple there will be many points of inexperience, so we need only help a little when that happens."
"That sounds like the hardest part."
"Raising a new life is always like that."
Listening to their harmonious exchange, I lowered my head toward Ferdinand again.
This child was inside me.
I was still dazed. That this life had been in my womb only a few hours ago. The human body was truly mysterious.
Ferdinand.
And I was also surprised that Karl had given a normal name. The same Karl who had shortened Luise to Lu and named a puppy Beatitudo showing this side of himself.
I was a little moved. Perhaps he had awakened because our child's name was at stake?
"So cuuuuute…"
My short reverie was shattered by Sister Erzebet's voice.
"There's no way this adorable thing is the Director's kid. If he weren't Mar's child I still wouldn't believe it."
"Hehe, is that so?"
I smiled again at the way Sister's eyes sparkled.
Thankfully, Ferdinand had been born into congratulations rather than jealousy. Everyone rejoiced at the birth of the future undisputed Count of Tailglehen.
Truthfully I had worried a little—just a very little. How complicated must one feel if a younger woman had a child before one had even managed to marry? So I had thought Sister Erzebet or Sister Penelia might react a bit awkwardly.
"Ugh, too cute… I was exhausted from work, but I feel healed…"
"Master… Master's child…"
Fortunately that delusion had been my private anxiety alone. Having a child for the first time must have left me emotionally unstable.
How embarrassing.
To think such things of such kind sisters. A shameful memory I would keep secret for life.
"…And after this I have to go back to work in the morning."
Sister Erzebet's murmur sobered me.
It was already dawn, yet she would report for work on time in the morning? That was too much.
Civil servants have it rough.
I had felt it watching Karl, but I realized it anew.
Unless our Ferdinand desperately wanted it himself, I would never recommend the bureaucratic path.
"Huh?"
In the middle of that thought, Sophia, who had been tidying up, let out a startled voice.
"Wow, snow!"
At Yuris's words as she moved alongside Sophia, the gazes of everyone who had been chatting turned toward the window.
A pure white blessing was pouring down from the sky.