Escalion paced the hallway nervously.
Anxious thoughts kept creeping in, making it difficult to maintain composure.
Unable to bear it any longer, he kicked the carpet in the hallway irritably and glared at Wolf with an annoyed look.
“Why is it taking so long? Bella is suffering.”
“First births usually take longer.”
Wolf replied, feigning calmness.
Though he tried to appear unaffected outwardly, he too was inwardly unable to bear the anxiety.
He couldn’t help but worry whether the lady, with her small and thin frame, could endure this difficult process.
A faint moan was heard once again from beyond the door. Escalion squeezed his eyes shut and let out a groan.
“This is maddening…”
What pained him most was the fact that there was nothing he could do for his suffering wife.
“Just a little more!”
From inside, the midwife’s shout and Belladonna’s scream could be heard.
Escalion exhaled anxiously, wishing he could cover his ears.
“Almost there! That’s it! Just a little more! A little more!”
“Aaagh…!”
Finally, along with the midwife’s shout, the cry of a baby burst forth.
Upon hearing the baby’s cry, Escalion immediately flung open the door and strode towards the bed. He boldly pulled back the curtain.
“Bella!”
The midwife was skillfully and quickly receiving the baby, washing it, and wrapping it in soft, warm cloth to hand over to Belladonna.
Belladonna, her body drenched in sweat, weakly took the baby.
She gazed at the child with overwhelming eyes, then looked up at Escalion as he approached her and lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Escalion…”
Escalion reached out to her without properly looking at the child.
Her disheveled appearance came into view, indicating it had been a difficult process.
Though she was very tired, her blue eyes were filled with warmth as she looked at the baby.
At that moment, he felt something hot welling up from inside, as if sloshing at the back of his throat.
It soon rose up his throat, passed through the tip of his nose, and made his eyes burn.
Experiencing this emotion for the first time in his life, Escalion tried not to show it as he opened his mouth.
“Bella…”
His voice cracked miserably at the end as he forced it out through the unfamiliar emotion.
He covered Belladonna’s small hand with his own, exhaling a slightly trembling breath.
“Isn’t it cute?”
Belladonna asked, showing him the baby in her arms.
The child was still crying loudly, its tiny fists clenched and flailing about.
To be honest, it didn’t look particularly cute to him.
It was redder than he expected, with its eyes tightly shut and its face so wrinkled that it was impossible to tell who it resembled yet.
Escalion turned his gaze from the child back to Belladonna.
“You’re the one who’s cute.”
“Huh? But I’m a complete mess.”
“You look cute to me.”
As he said this, he felt the emotion that had been warming his insides spreading further.
Belladonna’s image, looking up at him with a puzzled expression, blurred slightly, then returned to normal when he blinked quickly.
“Escalion… Are you crying?”
Belladonna asked cautiously.
Crying? Me?
As he shook his head to deny it, something fell to the floor with a soft thud.
Escalion looked down blankly at the liquid that had made a round pattern on the floor.
“What, you’re really crying? I’ve never seen Escalion cry before!”
She said with a small laugh.
Escalion continued shaking his head as he raised a hand to roughly wipe his face. Something moist came off on his rough touch.
“Ah, why am I like this. How unsightly.”
“It looks cute to me.”
“Stop teasing me.”
Escalion pulled at his upper clothing to rub his eyes.
His legs suddenly giving way, he tried to sit on Belladonna’s bed, but the midwife who had been waiting behind him quickly pulled him back, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
“My lord! Please come out now! The lady needs to rest and recover!”
“Huh?”
Escalion was pushed back in an instant, once again separated from Belladonna.
He blinked his moist golden eyes, staring blankly as the doctor and midwife busily moved around his wife.
“Please hold the young master for a moment!”
“Huh?”
The midwife handed the baby she had received from Belladonna to Escalion.
Holding the child in his arms, Escalion blinked his eyes, not knowing what to do.
He moved his arms awkwardly, as if holding a very small and warm loaf of bread that might slip at any moment.
The baby, who had stopped crying by now, was moving its small mouth and hands without properly opening its eyes.
“…”
Ah, there it is again.
That unfamiliar emotion visited once more.
Staring blankly down at the moving child, Escalion strained his eyes, trying not to wet them again.
He couldn’t rashly define this unfamiliar emotion.
It could have been relief, it could have been emotion. It could have been gratitude, it could have been love.
Escalion slowly exhaled and tightened his grip on the hand holding the child.
He noticed the dazzling silver hair that was exactly like Belladonna’s, and the overall delicate features.
And unlike before, all of it now felt overwhelmingly lovable.
“…It’s cute.”
He stood alone in the room where people were running around busily, gazing at the child for a long time.
[This is the timeline separator]“Waaah!”
The baby’s cry resounded throughout the castle.
Phileus, who had just passed six months since birth, seemed to take after his father, with a very loud voice and an exceptional growth rate.
Belladonna woke up to the loud crying sound.
“I’ll go, you keep sleeping.”
Escalion, rising from beside her, said as he gently stroked Belladonna’s shoulder.
Belladonna barely lifted her face without even opening her eyes to look up at him.
I want to go, but… I’m too tired.
“Alright, understood. Sleep more.”
Escalion nodded as if he had sensed her thoughts, and laid her back down.
As she rested her head on the pillow again, she heard him getting off the bed and walking towards the baby’s room through the small passage.
When he, with his body temperature higher than hers, disappeared, it felt as if the bed suddenly became cold.
Belladonna reached out her hand towards his spot, feeling regretful.
‘What time is it….’
It seemed to still be dawn, as it was dark outside the window.
Our son, you’re quite the early bird… Belladonna smiled wryly, lifting the corners of her mouth.
Naturally, the image of the child who looked just like her husband came to mind.
From the thick eyebrows and blazing golden eyes, to the tendency to cry loudly when displeased, and even the growth rate that was already different from other children.
These days, she often felt wronged that the only trace of herself that could be found in the child seemed to be the flowing silver hair.
At least for now, he was quite pale due to his young age and lack of outdoor exposure, but she thought that once he started walking and running, he would soon tan and have a dark skin tone, looking even more like Escalion.
“…Later, when I walk around with Escalion and Phileus on either side, it’ll be quite reassuring.”
I hope he doesn’t grow up to be too intimidating…
Belladonna buried her face in Escalion’s pillow, thinking unnecessary thoughts.
When morning came, the child would look for his mother. Until then, she had to enjoy this short rest as much as possible.
“Bella!”
But just as she was about to fall back asleep, Escalion returned to the bed with a somewhat tense voice.
“Huh?”
Belladonna raised her head in surprise.
In the passage, Escalion stood holding Phileus, blinking his eyes.
Phileus, held in his arms, also looked back at her, blinking his eyes.
What’s with that appearance? The two of them, with their hair disheveled from just waking up, looking at her, seemed somehow funny and cute.
But amid all this, Escalion’s expression was not normal.
Belladonna, who was about to smile slightly, noticed that his face was subtly stiff and slowly raised her body.
“What’s wrong? Is Phileus sick somewhere?”
Escalion immediately shook his head.
Well, it’s a relief if he’s not sick… But why is he acting like that? What did he see to look so surprised?
“Did something happen?”
Belladonna asked again. She raised her upper body and lightly patted the space beside her.
Only then did Escalion slowly move his feet to approach her.
Belladonna looked up at her husband and child with a worried face.
Why are they acting like this…?
“Then why…”
“He’s got teeth.”
“What?”
Escalion said something completely out of the blue as he approached.
What’s grown?
“Phileus has grown teeth. Take a look yourself.”
Blinking her eyes quietly, Escalion held out Phileus in front of her, breathing heavily.
Belladonna looked for a moment at Phileus, who was flailing his short arms towards his mother who had come closer, then turned her head again to look up at Escalion.
Are you making such a serious face to say that?
“Isn’t it amazing? He already has teeth! Two on the bottom.”
“Ah…”
His deep golden eyes were truly sparkling as if he had discovered the most fascinating and greatest thing in the world.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
