The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 154
Chapter 154. Happiness
“Welcome.”
Louid was already waiting for her in the greenhouse.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
“I brought steak and meat soup today. Please enjoy… Aah!”
As Emilia was about to open the basket, she suddenly clutched her abdomen and bent forward.
“W-What’s wrong?”
Louid stood up abruptly, his face showing rare panic. He even stuttered.
“My stomach… ah. My stomach hurts.”
“Emilia, hold on a little.”
Emilia?
Her eyes widened. Even as she was shocked, a severe pain twisted through her abdomen.
Louid lifted her up in his arms. Then he rushed out of the greenhouse.
“The Empress is giving birth. Call the physician.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Entering the Crown Prince’s palace, he shouted at the guards. Passing through the lobby and going outside, Louid placed her into the carriage prepared in front of the palace. Everything proceeded in an instant, as if it had been planned.
“To the Crown Prince’s palace!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As Louid was about to close the carriage door after giving the order, Damian, who had been coming to the Crown Prince’s palace, approached with a startled face.
“Emilia?”
Damian called her name in great shock.
“Damian, I think the baby is coming.”
Emilia, whose mind was reeling from the intense pain, also called him Damian.
Damian?
One of Louid’s eyebrows lifted slightly. He stopped moving and looked between Emilia and Damian.
“Why are you calling Lucian Damian?”
“He’s my younger brother.”
“No, I’m the older brother.”
“Aah.”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“Yes.”
As soon as Louid closed the door, the carriage sped toward the Crown Prince’s palace.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Helen?”
At the Crown Prince’s palace, the delivery room and nursery were already prepared. Helen was there as well. Soon after, the physician and court doctors rushed in.
“Louid, what is this… Aah.”
Only then did Emilia realize that she had been caught in Louid’s scheme. But the pain was too intense for her to even get angry.
“I’ll explain later.”
As Helen pulled back the blanket, Louid laid her down on the bed and held her hand as he spoke. Perhaps because he was flustered, sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Louid?”
“It’ll be alright, Emilia.”
He tightened his grip and gently comforted her. Just like back when they had been close. Then he kissed her forehead.
***
“Aaah.”
That night, Emilia’s screams echoed throughout the entire Crown Prince’s palace.
Why is it taking so long?
Louid paced anxiously in the waiting room next to the delivery room. He had only just found her again, and he was terrified that something might happen to Emilia.
“Her Majesty the Empress is giving birth?”
Asher, who had been away on a distant assignment, rushed into the waiting room with a shocked expression.
“Yeah, labor started suddenly.”
“…?”
Asher stared at the Emperor, who looked perfectly fine, with a stunned expression.
“Asher, thanks for persuading Emilia.”
Louid smiled and lightly patted his shoulder.
“Don’t tell me you deceived us?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? Then what about Lucian? Did he know everything too?”
“I found out today that Lucian is Damian.”
Asher’s eyes widened even more. Louid’s words meant that he had put on an act to bring Emilia back even while knowing there was another man by her side.
“You’ve got quite an excellent aide.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Aaah.”
“Waaah.”
“Aaah.”
At that moment, Emilia’s scream rang out again, and then, a few minutes apart, the loud cries of newborn babies followed one after another.
“Congratulations, Louid.”
“Thank you.”
A moment later, the delivery room door opened and the physician stepped out with an exhausted expression.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty. Her Majesty the Empress has given birth to healthy twins. A prince and a princess. You will be able to see Her Majesty the Empress shortly.”
“How is the Empress?” Louid asked urgently.
“She is exhausted after a long labor, but she is unharmed.”
“Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”
Louid let out the breath he had been holding and felt relieved.
The physician went back into the delivery room, and Asher, who had stepped outside, delivered the good news to Damian, who had been waiting.
Louid walked over to the window and stood there, staring at the dark night sky with a blank expression. Meeting Emilia again and having children still didn’t feel real to him. But after a moment, his shoulders began to tremble.
“Goddess, thank you,” he muttered quietly as he lowered his head. Thick tears fell to the floor one after another.
A few weeks ago, after seeing Emilia in the vineyard, he began acting mad as soon as he returned to the imperial palace. She wasn’t someone who would come with him if he tried to drag her by force, and doing so would only have made things worse.
Of course, the reason he came up with that plan was because he didn’t know that Lucian and Damian were the same person. If Emilia had run away because she liked Asher’s aide, he planned to persuade her until she changed her mind.
‘I didn’t know they were siblings. Emilia, I never intended to let you go.’
Soon, after stopping his tears, he wiped away the traces on his face and then walked confidently toward the delivery room.
Emilia was leaning back against the cushions with an exhausted face, and in the cradle, small babies lay wriggling.
“Your Majesty.”
Helen and the maids greeted him.
“Leave us for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Once everyone withdrew, Louid bent down and gently kissed Emilia’s lips.
“Thank you. I love you, Emilia.”
“You said you’d come save me, so why did you come so late?” Emilia asked in a weak voice. But her eyes shone as clearly as sapphires.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were dead, but when I realized that wasn’t the case, I went all the way to the vineyard.”
“Huh, how did you know I was at the vineyard?”
“Levi told me.”
“…So it really was Levi flying in the sunset that day.”
Emilia’s eyes grew moist. It looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry….”
Flustered, Louid hurriedly took out the handkerchief he had used to wipe his own tears and gently wiped her face.
“It’s alright.”
Emilia smiled. It was amusing to think of such a large man pretending to be a ten-year-old child.
“When I followed Levi, you were standing in the vineyard.”
“…Then why didn’t you call me?”
He could have just called her, so she couldn’t understand why he went through all this trouble.
“I was about to, but Lucian appeared. I thought you… and Lucian… were in love. I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”
“What are you talking about? Damian is my younger brother.”
“Yeah, I know now. I’m sorry. I was blinded by jealousy.”
Louid kept apologizing while watching her expression. Seeing his large frame shrink like that made him look pitiful and a little cute.
“Alright. I accept your apology.”
“Really? You really forgive me?”
Louid lifted his head abruptly and looked at her.
“Yes, and I have something to apologize for too. I knew my grandfather tried to kill you, and I thought I didn’t deserve to stay by your side. I’m sorry.”
“That’s not your fault. I was the one in the wrong. I regret hurting you. I don’t even feel worthy of asking for forgiveness. I love you, Emilia.”
Louid, holding her, showered her face with kisses.
“Haha, I love you too.”
At Emilia’s confession, Louid stopped moving. His body, which had been holding her tightly, trembled.
Such a crybaby. What kind of predator is this? He’s like a big teddy bear.
Emilia smiled and gently patted his back.
“Waaah.”
“Waaah.”
The babies began to cry beside them.
“They’re hungry. Please step out so the maids can come in.”
“Alright. You’re exhausted, so you need to rest. I’ll go.”
Louid looked at the crying babies with loving eyes, then kissed her lips. He left reluctantly.
***
“That’s good. Very good.”
After encouraging Damian, Asher was talking with Adam. He was shocked that Louid had deceived even him, but since everything turned out well, he was satisfied.
“I knew His Majesty was fine,” Adam said with a pleased smile.
“What? How did you know?” Asher looked at him in surprise.
“He told me to bring the archive because he would write a new will. How could a ten-year-old know that?”
“Haha. I see.”
“And when I reported that Your Grace had gone on a provincial trip with the aide, he cut his hair and shaved his beard. I suppose he was preparing to receive Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Is that so? Hahaha.”
Asher burst into laughter at his friend’s carelessness. Louid sometimes had an odd side, and it seemed he had overlooked the instincts of Adam, who had worked in the imperial palace the longest.
“I’ll tell you the contents of His Majesty’s will, so keep it to yourself. I’ve been dying to tell someone.”
Adam glanced around and spoke in a low voice, covering his mouth.
“Alright.”
The contents of the will were as follows.
[The throne shall be passed to the child born to Empress Emilia Richert. Duke Asher Dalton shall act as regent for all matters.]
Adam and Asher shared a satisfied smile as they kept the secret.
***
Half a month later, Louid personally presided over the council meeting.
“I grant Damian Berthe the title of duke and bestow upon him the former Berthe territory.”
Thus, among the twins who had been imprisoned in a tower due to the mistaken belief that families bearing twins were cursed, one became the Empress of the empire and the other became a duke.
That night, Emilia stood on the bedroom balcony with Louid, gazing at the stars.
“Thank you, Louid.”
“I’d rather hear something else than thank you.”
“I love you.”
She looked at him with a tender gaze and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I love you, Emilia.”
Louid wrapped his arm around her waist. Their lips met without a gap.
Inside the bedroom, their beloved children slept softly. Whether one, two, or more, children were a blessing.
Louid issued an imperial decree that anyone who concealed the birth of twins or harmed children would be severely punished. And as it became known that the Empress herself was a twin, the superstition that families bearing twins were cursed began to disappear.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
That night, the two held each other and gazed at the stars for a long time.
<The End>
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miakatame
Wow, thank you for translating this