Year 407 of the Armored Dragon Calendar.
In a large house in Buena Village, a delivery was taking place.
Despite the complexities, they had Lilia, who had received all kinds of knowledge and techniques for assisting childbirth.
It was vital because labor was taking longer than expected. Arriving just when the child decided to come out was, in Zenith's words, extremely fortunate.
The father, Paul Greyrat, a burly man with light brown hair and green eyes, had frozen in a corner.
The mother, Zenith Greyrat, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, was in labor.
Because of this, Paul was nervous.
Luckily, there were no problems beyond the time it took.
There was no excessive blood loss nor the predicted fainting. Simply put, the baby that was born did not cry.
Why isn't he doing anything? Lilia wondered, starting to break into a cold sweat.
If a baby did not cry, it was clear he had a problem. However, upon clearing the amniotic fluid, she felt a strange sensation running down her spine because the baby was looking at her as if he were judging her.
He was not really looking at her. His eyelids were still closed, but she felt that under those eyelids something was observing her. With the experience she had, the first thing that came to her mind was that the child had been stillborn.
For a moment, that was what she believed until she saw his chest rise and fall slowly. His pulse was beating and his forehead was warm.
Even so, he did not cry.
"Babies who do not cry at birth usually have some kind of abnormality." Those were the words of a teacher of the royal guard maids.
Just as she was reflecting on the meaning of that phrase, she noticed something unusual.
Huh? It cannot be...
The baby's hair was so peculiar that it was impossible to ignore.
Black hair.
He did not have blonde hair, nor brown.
It was of a shade so dark that it seemed to absorb the candlelight.
And when he opened his eyes... red.
Not a soft red, not a red leaning toward blue, not the dull red of a newborn, but the shine of rubies under sunlight.
Paul stopped when he saw the baby.
What could he think?
He was someone who jumped to conclusions without even listening a little to what he was thinking.
No...
He looked at the baby, then at Zenith.
She was exhausted. Was he really going to say something?
He did not know what to do, so he just let his weakness speak for him.
"What is..." Paul started to say, "...this? Huh, w-why?"
"I don't... understand... What is... wrong with you? I gave birth to your son... Why aren't you happy?"
It was then that he saw his baby clearly.
"Oh, I know what you are implying, Paul... Speak."
She propped herself up on the bed with the strength of an angry mother, ignoring the fact that she had just given birth.
"D-do you remember what you said?" asked Paul.
"What did I say, Paul?"
"You said that if I promised to be faithful, you would let me sleep with you," said Paul.
"Yes. What does that have to do with now?" asked Zenith.
"That now it turns out you said it to... hide a pregnancy with someone else..."
"Do you hear yourself, Paul?!" Zenith exclaimed.
She looked visibly upset.
Even so, she was also being hurt.
In short, the man she loved was mistrusting her.
"Are you serious? You were gentle when I asked you to be! There was blood, Paul! My body was shaking! How... how do you doubt my first time? I got pregnant that time. That is all," concluded Zenith.
She started strong but faded due to exhaustion. Even so, she raised her gaze again.
"Come on... don't be an idiot. He is your son... Besides, do you want me to remind you how you were before?" She looked directly at him. "I don't need to mention it. You know very well."
The only thing the man who accused her did was look at her.
Then, slowly, at the black-haired baby.
Then, at nothing.
And then he directed his gaze toward Zenith again.
"Look at him, Zenith. How do you explain that? The hair is very..."
"I don't have to explain anything to you. You should already know!"
"But..."
"His hair could be purple, red, or made of fire, but he will still be both mine and yours!"
The argument was about to escalate, but Zenith returned to the birthing position immediately.
"N-not... again... no..."
Paul could only ask questions.
"What is happening?! Zenith?"
Lilia handed the baby to Paul and moved as fast as she could. She could not run due to her condition, but she still moved efficiently.
She leaned toward Zenith and checked.
"It cannot be, Zenith-sama..."
Paul had held swords for years, but the baby was too fragile.
As for Zenith, her belly was still raised. Lilia regretted not having realized it sooner. Paul's suspicion had invaded and poisoned the room from the first instant.
"Lilia, will you tell me what is happening? Is she okay?" asked Paul.
"Paul-sama, there is another... another baby..."
Twins.
It did not matter what they were. The situation became too complicated, especially for the swordsman who was now sweating while holding the baby.
"Damn it! Why didn't anyone tell me there were two?!" shouted Zenith.
"Breathe, my lady. Save your energy," said Lilia calmly.
"Lilia, please, let it end already..." pleaded Zenith.
"This one will be faster. I guarantee it," continued Lilia.
As she said, the second birth was faster but no less exhausting. Her body barely had strength, although her maternal energy seemed infinite.
It was another boy.
He did not cry, and because of that Lilia felt her fear double.
He had light brown hair like his father, and when he finally opened his eyes, they were green.
Paul tried to amend his mistake, albeit clumsily.
"Zenith, I... sorry. I should have thought before... I am so sorry..."
"Lilia, my babies. Please. Give them to me."
"Zenith, please..."
With extreme care, Lilia brought the little one with brown hair closer.
Then she approached Paul seeking visual confirmation.
He simply nodded. What could he do after all that accusation?
"Here he is, my lady."
"My sons... my two beautiful sons... How could I be angry? My little ones..."
She leaned in and kissed each one on the head.
Paul took another step toward the bed.
"Uh, I..."
"Come here. Look," called Zenith. "This baby has your eyes. Even your hair... and that cowlick you always have..."
"I know. I... am so sorry. I should not have doubted you. Never..." said Paul, downcast.
"I am not going to lie to you. I understand. A baby that looks nothing like you... I would have questions too. But you are a hypocrite, Paul Greyrat. That is all I will tell you." Zenith lowered her head for a moment.
"I know perfectly well. You are absolutely right. I have no valid excuse," said Paul.
Zenith sighed, raising her gaze again.
"No, you do not. But these two need their father. Not a perfect man. They need someone who is present. Who loves them. Who takes care of them. Can you do that? Can you love them both equally?"
Paul could not remain standing. His legs gave way and he ended up kneeling on the floor.
He looked at the babies.
One with his hair and the other with a new color.
Paul rested his hand on Zenith's leg.
"I will... I swear I will love them."
Zenith let out a faint smile.
"Good. Because if you doubt me again, you will sleep outside with the animals. Understood?" declared Zenith.
"Understood, my lady." Paul let out a choked laugh.
"And you cannot touch me for a day," added Zenith.
"A day?! Zenith... I waited months. I don't think I can stand it!" said Paul, almost shouting.
"Of course you can. You are strong, right?"
◇◇◇
Half an hour later.
Zenith was resting.
She had used healing magic on herself and had finally lain down.
The brown-haired one tried to say something.
"Ah, ah..."
Zenith smiled at that.
She looked at her two sons.
She studied their small faces.
Their soft breaths.
How both were completely different.
The black-haired one remained still, while the brown-haired one was somewhat restless despite being a newborn.
However, neither cried.
"So trying to speak, my love? Mmmm, you will be Rudeus."
She kissed the brown-haired one on the forehead.
Then, with the same smile, she turned toward the black-haired one.
They had chosen a name for their son, but they did not expect a second one.
"You will be... Damian!"
Zenith noticed how he turned his head slightly to the right.
What she interpreted was that he did not like the sound.
Does it bother him? she thought. Surely that is it. I better try something else.
"Don't you like that one? This is weird. They didn't tell me a baby could choose..."
In Lilia's mind, she was completely scared, but she could not do anything else.
"It is just that in theory it shouldn't be like this, my lady..." whispered Lilia.
"It doesn't matter. If he doesn't like that one, we will try another, right? Anyway, I was improvising," said Zenith.
She looked at her son again.
"Mmmm... Roland?"
He did not look at her.
"Adrian? Kieran? Lysander?"
Nothing.
Unlike Rudeus, the black-haired one did not look at her.
That disconcerted her.
More than she thought.
Look at me, son! she thought.
Paul decided to do something this time.
"I am going to invent something... We lose nothing."
"What will you try, dear?" asked Zenith.
"I will let my instinct take over. Like I always do..." Paul got up from the chair and approached.
"Mmm... Cassius? Carius? No... Darius? Dari...?"
"It is not going to work, Paul. Give up..."
"You will see that it will, my love. Just let me... Mmm... Ji? O? Jill!"
Nothing.
The baby had reacted to the "ji" and the "o," but did not look at them.
"I like that it starts with 'Da'... but he doesn't like Darius or Damian... Mmm... Dai?" asked Paul.
The baby turned his head a little.
"It is working, Paul! You are doing it!" exclaimed Zenith.
"Listen to me, son... Da... i... eeeeeh... ki?" Paul almost bit his tongue.
He looked directly at him.
"Son, do you like Daiki?"
And he did not stop looking at him.
"Daiqui is a weird name..." Zenith tried to test that sound.
"No, my love. It is Da-i-ki."
"Mmmm, since when did you become a teacher?"
"There is always a first time for everything, right?"
Daiki? That name... no, I don't understand anything... thought Rudeus, who could barely process what was happening.
And in the mind of little Daiki, despite processing the names, he felt exhausted.
A new life... Why? What did I do to deserve this?
However, his thoughts were interrupted by a wave of exhaustion. The simple act of keeping his eyes open and processing the new language drained him completely.
I suppose that even with my intelligence, this body has its limits. For now, just sleep. Observe and learn.
"Welcome to the world, my little ones." Zenith held her two sons against her chest.
"I will train them to be strong. To be honorable. To be better than I was," said Paul.
"Paul, they were just born..." said Zenith between laughs.
"I know, I know. But someone has to make them strong. They are not always going to be in your arms," said Paul.
"I know they won't, but I will take advantage of every second with them. Don't make me think about that now. They will always be my little babies."
"We left a group. Friends. They hate us. Maybe we would have made other decisions, but I do not regret being here with you. It was worth it." Paul let himself fall onto the bed.
He tried to wrap his hand around Zenith's waist and lift it toward her neckline, but he was swatted away.
"Paul Greyrat, I will not allow you to do that."
"But, my love, we waited a long time... and you already healed yourself with healing magic. Wouldn't it be better...?"
"A day without touching me. I told you half an hour ago."
"But... that is a lot!"
"Two days. With every refusal, I multiply. Do you want it to be four?"
"Okay, okay!"
"I thought you were a strong man, but you are very weak. Hmm, you deserve it."
◇◇◇
--- Paul Perspective ---
Some time has passed since then. Twelve days.
Right now I am bathing my two sons.
Why? I was forced.
Well, not really, but I deserve it.
I was an idiot who got carried away by his impulse.
Now I had to take care of them from time to time, which is what a father should do, I suppose.
When I tried to make funny faces, they felt embarrassment.
No, they are babies. They shouldn't feel embarrassment, right?
I remember as a child I wiped my snot on the curtains, but...
Who am I to judge them?
Maybe they just don't like my faces.
Although one thing bothered me.
No, it didn't bother me.
It made me feel small.
When Rudeus bathed, at least he made faces.
When Lilia bathed him, he splashed more than usual toward her clothes as if he had the intention of getting her wet.
With Daiki, on the other hand, quite the opposite happened.
He stayed so still that he just let himself float.
Without reacting to the hot water, the soap, anything.
According to Zenith, there was no difference.
To her, Daiki was the "quiet baby" who reminded her of her brother. To her, Rudeus was the "expressive baby" who reminded her of herself. I don't know how to respond to that, but she said it with such certainty that I accepted it.
And now it was my turn to bathe my firstborn.
"Daiki... come on. I don't know, laugh, cry, kick, do something..."
However, although he still didn't understand the new language, Daiki saw his father restless.
By instinct, he moved his foot to make a small splash.
Wait... He did it?!
"Daiki?! That is my son!"
"What is happening, Paul? Why so much shouting?" asked Zenith from the other room.
"Zenith, he splashed!"
She hugged me tight and we kissed right there.
It was a big step.