The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen - Chapter 171

The moment the baby was born, the barrier fell down and disappeared, as if it never was here.

I’m surrounded by many people, and they know what to do to take care of me. Someone also manages to calm Adelphium down.

The baby is wrapped in clean clothes, and he soon ends up in his father’s arms.

«It’s a boy,» the maid confirms with a smile. «Alba has a Prince, finally!»

While I’m taken care of, Ignis meets our son first. I also want to see, but he doesn’t let me for so long. His lips are curled up while he observes our baby. He walks in circles, focused only on him.

It seems that he likes our heir. I’m glad: it means I won’t be asked to give birth to other babies like this. One is enough.

«Look at him, Veronica,» he exclaims, turning back and reaching my side. «So cute, isn’t he? He resembles you!»

The kid has been wrapped in clothes from head to toe, so all I can see is the wrinkled and dark face. This poor thing seems to have suffered a lot during the delivery. It’s so ugly that it’s frightening… Is this how Ignis sees me? Where in the world does this thing resemble me?

Oh, but I can’t help… I’m curious…

I move the cloth from his head, feeling the urge to check his hair. I can spot a few strands right on top of the forehead. Red like fire, just like his father.

Oh, at least this!

«Let’s go inside,» Ignis says, stopping me from checking anything else. He gets up, and the maids help me walk toward the closest bed.

There, comfortably set, I can finally hold my son in my arms and feel like, maybe, it was worth it.

Meanwhile, Ignis offers his hand to Adelphium.

«Thank you for your help, High Priest,» he says. «I appreciate it.»

«It was my duty as a human being,» the latter replies, a little wary.

They helped him recover from shock, and he also cleaned his hands from the blood and… and from everything else. His clothes are still dirty, but a maid soon delivers a change.

Sooner than expected, most people leave the room. Ignis stays together with the guards and a few maids. Just the minimum amount because I have to feed my son now. I’ve waited for this nine… Eight months. Mother said it’s the best feeling in the world when a woman keeps her child in her arms and breastfeeds them.

«Hey, little thing,» I say, making the dress slip down my shoulder. «Your mommy is here…»

Hearing my voice, the baby opens his eyes and stares at me openly. His eyes are grey and cold, just like mine. Is this what Ignis meant?

I would have loved a son with green eyes, but I guess this is the most I get for this attempt. Maybe, the next one will be Ignis’s carbon copy. It would be perfect even if it was a girl.

«Look: how hungry,» I chuckle.

My son falls asleep without finishing his meal, but he stays attached to my breast. His little hands are cupping my bosom, and he’s sleeping so peacefully that I don’t move a muscle so as not to bother.

«It’s early,» Ignis points out, sitting on the bed and reaching out to me. He stops just in time when he senses the wild energy around me.

Oh, this thing is using my body again. He’s conducting magic through my cells because he’s still too little to do it on his own.

«How protective of his mommy,» I add, so proud.

Ignis isn’t as happy as me, and he just sits there like an abandoned puppy. His eyes are sad, almost tormented. He’s so close but can’t touch me. I know how difficult of a position it is.

«We should give him a name,» I say. I place the sleeve back and observe the sleeping child.

Even though ugly, he’s mine. And he will come to resemble Ignis more in the future, I’m sure of it. With two parents as beautiful as we are, how can our children be less than pretty?

When I have some control over the magic in my body, I sit closer to Ignis and close my eyes. I lean on him, our child still in my arms.

He winces, but he doesn’t struggle after noticing how he’s safe.

«Rather than the name, we have another problem,» he sighs while surrounding my shoulders with his arm. «Everyone saw what happened in the garden. Especially that Priest.»

«True.»

I don’t even know how to explain it. However, the way Adelphium helped makes me believe he won’t hurt this child. While letting him live, if so?

The Royal Family has the power to keep a Mage at court, which should be true two times when the Mage is part of the Royal Family. Even more when he’s the heir.

My child should be safe. I just need to avoid political decisions that can endanger this equilibrium.

«Also, what will happen with the executions now?» I wonder.

It would be bad to kill people soon after the Prince is born. Yet, keeping them alive longer feels more like torture than a blessing.

Those people know what their fate is. Delaying it will make them suffer longer; nothing more than that.

Also, it’s generally bad practice to give hope to people who are going to die anyway. It’s not very merciful.

«I can’t postpone them. But we can’t do it in public as planned before. I’ll proceed but inside the Palace. It will be quick, just like the first time,» Ignis replies.

He caresses my hair and pecks my forehead, moving his eyes from me to the baby.

There is so much we need to discuss, to think of, but we’re stuck here, watching our first son and thinking about the bright future days. So unfitting for a King and a Queen.

I swear I felt relief in Ignis’s tone at the mention of executing his friend in secret. Even though he’s not wavering on the decision, Ignis doesn’t want to make a spectacle out of it. Both for Samuel Grif and for Juliet.

«How long does it take to choose a name?» I wonder.

«It’ll take a while. This child wasn’t supposed to be born for a month more, right? But I’ll think of it very soon. You will hear my idea by the end of the week.»

«The end of the week? Days? Oh, for real?»

«Yes, Veronica. You get to choose the names only once, after all. It’s better to meditate before making the wrong decision.»

«And how many names?»

«This is the new Crown Prince,» Ignis says. «He’s the most important member of the Royal Family, right now. His name will be recorded in history books and used to sign treaties and laws. It’s better to think it through before choosing one.»

«How many, I asked.»

«About seven.»

«You don’t have seven names!» I complain.

«Just two and a half.»

«Ignatius Ignis Nerva, King Aurelius,» I chuckle.

«Our child will have seven names in total, meaning you will be able to choose one or two on your own. Don’t you like this option?»

«Yes, but… Seven names, come on. When is he going to use them all? Never!»

«You’re right. But the Crown Prince has many names since birth. The other Princes and Princesses don’t need seven but can do with five.»

«Who is going to remember all the names?»

«You know who, already.»

Right. The herald. He seems to have found meaning in life lately, since the day his job became relevant. I’ve insisted on making people realise they need to get up when I walk into a room and greet me with a curtsey. The herald has been so happy to have the chance to pronounce our names so often.

«My family will come to Mavale now,» I realise. Moreover, soon after the presence of Mages in the Royal Family has been revealed to outsiders. The news is going to leak soon, and everyone will wonder about my motives and soul.

I will become an evil witch instead of the lady who cured the King of his curse. Our child will be the product of evil.

And no one will consider me in the same way as before.

I hope, at least, that my mother can come and go unnoticed.

I am the Queen. No one will ask to burn me. But it’s not the same for mother: she’s just the wife of a Duke, nothing as spectacular as the King’s beloved wife and the Crown Prince’s mother.

It will be hard to keep the Church far from my family and me. They will attack, sooner than later, and they’ll claim this little thing in my arms as one of theirs.

But I have no intention of letting them have him.

My son doesn’t even have a name yet; I’m not ready to let him go any time soon.