The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 111

“Congratulations.”

I confirmed it. I checked twice, three times just in case, and even called someone else to double-check. There was no mistake. I could feel another surge of mana from her.

“Ha, haha.”

She was a mage. If mana felt like it was pooling in a certain area rather than flowing like a river, then there was only one place it could be: the heart. However, the faint, almost imperceptible mana—the kind you’d miss if you didn’t concentrate—and decisively different from her own, was located in her abdomen, making its presence known to me.

Squeeze-

My fist clenched. I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t feel real. I had been preparing myself mentally since the trip, but now that it was actually happening, it was as if all that preparation was useless, offering no help at all.

‘I’m going to be a dad?’

I had countless experiences in both my past and present lives. Experiences unique to my past life, experiences unique to my current life, and even experiences I had in both. But I could say with certainty that this was the most nerve-wracking, anxious, surprising, and even dumbfounding moment of them all.

‘Does this mean I have to completely give up on going back?’

When I was born here as Renil, my first thought was that I had to go back. Having grown accustomed to the conveniences of modern science, life here, no matter how abundant, would always feel lacking.

That’s why I learned magic. I thought it was the only clue to returning. I soon realized it was beyond my abilities and gave up, but as time passed and I reached a level beyond my expectations, a sliver of hope remained. But as of today, it seemed I had to completely abandon that hope. I couldn’t abandon my family in this life for the sake of my family in my past life. The chances of it happening were slim anyway.

“Are you okay?”

“Honey.”

She, too, was staring at her stomach with a dumbfounded expression. As the person directly involved, I thought she would have at least suspected, but she seemed genuinely unaware, and now that it was a reality, she seemed quite flustered.

“It’s certain. One. I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but…”

“…I see.”

We were silent for a moment. The way she gently stroked her stomach, which wasn’t even showing yet, with loving eyes, was subtly different from the face I had always known. But there was no denying that it was a sight that was difficult to approach rashly, something that even felt sacred, like standing before a masterpiece and not daring to touch it.

But I slowly approached and took her hand. That masterpiece couldn’t be just her alone. It was a masterpiece that would be completed with me being added to it.

“I’ll do better from now on. Let’s be happier, the two of us—no, the three of us from now on.”

#

The news of her pregnancy spread very quickly. My father wanted to come in person, but due to health issues, he sent someone to convey his congratulations, and my brother-in-law had relatively more free time, so he showed his face in person.

“I was wondering when I’d hear good news, and you kept your promise like clockwork! Clockwork!”

“Cough, ahem.”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s something that should have happened a long time ago.”

In addition, countless people congratulated me and her on the fruit of our love. It’s like this now; I can’t imagine how happy I will be in a few months.

“Did you say spring of the year after next?”

“Yes. It’s a relief. If it had been next spring, I really would have…”

Unless there were special circumstances, it would be 8-9 months. If the start of the conquest had been next spring, I would have had to leave my wife, who would have been suffering, which would have been a disaster. Of course, given the circumstances, there would have been a way to join later, but knowing the Emperor’s plan, I wouldn’t have liked the situation to go wrong from the start.

“Well, even if my brother-in-law isn’t around, there won’t be any problem with the child being born, but you have to be by her side so you don’t get caught with a lifelong weakness.”

“Of course.”

At the same time, I tried to stay by her side as much as possible. Except for things that only I could do, such as the time I spent training with Serena, the overall inspection of the lab, and the creation of the core, I delegated or postponed other tasks to other people. Thanks to this, I was able to live a life so leisurely that I couldn’t even remember when I had been so relaxed.

“How’s your body?”

“Thanks to you, I’m fine. Thank you. You must be busy, but thank you for caring so much.”

“Thank you? It’s something I should be doing. Rather, I’m more sorry that I can’t stay by your side all the time.”

“Don’t say that. You have things you need to do, and I’m even happier that you’re trying to take care of me as much as possible.”

“How’s the baby?”

“It’s quiet. It doesn’t even fuss because it’s worried about its mother. I wonder who it takes after to be so smart.”

Time passed quickly. Her belly began to grow, and the mana felt inside her was also growing in size.

Tap tap tap tap-

My fingers moved incessantly. Had I ever been this anxious? I couldn’t stay in the same space for a moment and kept pacing.

“Just stay still. What are you going to do if you’re anxious?”

“…Aren’t you an experienced person, *hyung-nim* [older brother/respected male figure]?”

“I’m telling you the lesson I learned from that experience.”

Around the time her belly began to grow, we moved our residence to Zeke Territory. I thought it would be a little more comfortable for her that way. There was no reason why it would be inconvenient to assist her here, but childbirth was a first for both her and me.

As such, anxiety was bound to arise in every little thing, and it was impossible to erase that anxiety with just the maids. However, I judged that she would be able to have a more comfortable prenatal education since her family was in Zeke Territory.

“Caw!”

Whew-

I don’t know how many hours I’ve been doing this, how many times I’ve been listening to screams without being able to do anything. Even in that terrible situation I experienced before I became an adult, which I no longer dream of, I didn’t feel this sense of powerlessness. It felt like I had returned to being a baby, unable to do anything and having to leave everything in the hands of others.

“The ground is going to cave in.”

Wah-

That’s when it happened. The sound that was unfamiliar but everyone was waiting for was heard. At the same time, my gaze, which had been sighing and bowing my head so that the ground would collapse, met with my brother’s gaze, who was comforting me and patting me on the shoulder.

Bang-

Normally, opening the door so hastily would have been a cause for scolding, saying that it lacked elegance and dignity, but no one cared about such things at this moment. The expressions of everyone who had been waiting were filled with joy at the nanny’s cry as she rushed in, sweating profusely.

“It’s a princess!”

“How is the wife!”

“You don’t have to worry. Both the princess and the young lady are healthy.”

Only then was I able to shake off the last bit of anxiety that remained in my heart and express my joy as much as the people around me. After rejoicing for a long time, people around me began to push me on the back.

“Go in quickly. The baby needs to see her father’s face, too.”

“Haha. She probably can’t even open her eyes properly yet.”

After tidying up my body as much as possible and making sure that not a speck of dust was on it, I entered the room with the nanny. There were many people in the room to help with the delivery, but I could only see two people.

Signy, who was holding an arm-sized baby in her arms, removing the hair that was stuck to her face with sweat, as if to prove that it had been a very difficult struggle, and Louise, whom I had thought of as my daughter’s name when I decided on the name of the child to be born soon.

“You…came?”

“You’ve worked so hard.”

“Look. Isn’t she pretty?”

“Yeah. She’s so pretty; I wonder who she takes after.”

From an objective point of view, a newborn baby could not be pretty. Because she had just come out of the womb, the skin on her whole body was wrinkled, and she couldn’t open her eyes properly. But in my eyes, she looked cuter and prettier than anyone I had ever seen.

“Do you want to hold her?”

“Can I?”

Very carefully, I received Louise as if I were receiving a work of art that would shatter into pieces with the slightest mistake.

“······.”

As I held my daughter, I was overwhelmed with emotions that I couldn’t explain. I wanted to say something to my child, to thank her for being born as my daughter, to tell her to grow up healthy, but the words wouldn’t come out easily.

“Thank you.”

Please grow up healthy.

#

Even though a child was born, I became busier than before my daughter was born, and the time I had to spend with my family decreased. The Northern Conquest, which would determine the fate of the Empire, was starting as early as next spring, so this year was bound to be really busy. I had to maximize my strength and concentrate on the Terra Barrier. I was also planning to leave for the Terra Barrier before winter came.

“Ah. It’s really not long now.”

From beginning to end, it was what I wanted: the person who would go up north first and come down last. That was me. But these days, I hesitated to go up north.

“It doesn’t work out the way I want it to.”

The reason was, of course, because I had something to protect. There was one more person who had entered the fence that I had to protect. I couldn’t help but hesitate to walk into the battlefield, leaving my newborn daughter behind.

‘Still…I’m going.’

I had to go in order to become a proud father to my daughter. It wasn’t anything special. It was just that one more reason had been added—also a reason to come back.

‘And slowly…I need to call him in.’

I slowly began to write a letter in order to bring in someone I hadn’t seen in a long time, someone who was maintaining silence in a remote area. The more excellent wizards, the better.

Scribble scribble-

It was his fault, but it was I who sent him down. After agonizing over what to write in the letter, I began to play with the quill. We didn’t need unnecessary rhetoric between us.

#

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Thanks to you. Congratulations. And I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. And there’s no need to be sorry. It’s all in the past, and it was something I was worried about, too.”

What should I say about Jojo’s face, whom I saw after a long time? Should I say it had become heavier, or that he had grown up? It was difficult to evaluate in a single word. But one thing was certain: he was still my friend and my best helper.

“Go north.”

“Are you starting now?”

“Yeah. While you’re at it, please deliver this to my father-in-law, too.”

I handed Jojo the artifact containing Titan – Ruin Unit 2 – which my father-in-law had not yet named. If he betrayed me once again, I would be greatly hurt internally and externally, but I believed that he would not betray me twice.

“…Thank you for trusting me. I’ll deliver it no matter what.”

“I’m going to go up before winter comes. See you then.”