The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 270: Motherhood is not always waiting until after you have your baby

Chapter 270: Motherhood is not always waiting until after you have your baby

Ah...

Would answer it with a simple ’just curiosity’ cut it? I was in front of someone who had lived longer than the calendar after all. Also...she told me some information that would not be available anywhere; knowledge that couldn’t be bought with money. I felt like it would be insincere if I answered her untruthfully.

Sliding my fingers over the black pendant hanging on my neck, I gave her an honest reply. "Because I thought...it might be beneficial for this child."

I felt the pulse of the seed growing stronger for a few seconds, before it grew calm again. This was only my presumption, but after hearing Shwa’s voice a few times, I could feel it getting fainter and more childlike, as if the consciousness was regressing.

So I had a feeling that, even though Shwa was supposed to be the Primordial God, the child would be born as a child, with no knowledge about it, about who they were.

Of course, it was nothing but an unproven conjecture. But if it were true, then I would like to gather as much information as I could about this world, so I could support this child as much as I could, even if that information might be pointless.

"For that ’child’, huh?" D’Ara remarked amusedly. There was a twinkle of delight when she said the word child.

Hmm...now that I thought about it, she was technically the Primordial God’s daughter, wasn’t she? It must have been amusing hearing the One who birthed her being called a ’child’.

Well, but this was exactly why we came here. Because, as the Primordial One’s child, she might know something about how to make the seed bloom.

And now, for the first time, this daughter looked at me with a serious gaze on her blood-red eyes. "Then, would you leave that child with me for a while?"

What?!

My hand, which was still on my chest, grasped the pendant tightly in reflex as my whole body became tense. I didn’t realize it at that time, but apparently, I also glared at our host and pushed my body away from the table.

Now, I could see later that I was being too much, but at that time, I was really, really frightened. Someone who was basically almost a deity wanted to take my child away from me?! That was how I saw it at that time, and my body reacted before my mind realized it. The only reason I didn’t jump out of the chair was because Natha grasped my other hand in surprise and worry.

"Sweetheart?"

"Ah, don’t be alarmed," the Progenitor, thankfully, wasn’t offended by my reaction. Instead, she looked amused and intrigued for a second, before leaning on the table and putting on a gentle smile. "I would need to look at the seed closely since it must have been in a different state than when Natha brought it here before."

Oh, so that was what she meant. That being said, thinking about getting away from Shwa was...

Perhaps because we had been feeding the seed almost every day, my attachment only grew stronger every time. Even if we didn’t feed him, I always made sure to look at Shwa every day, talking with it for a bit about my day.

So thinking about leaving Shwa in other people’s hands was...

"Would...would it be long?" I asked cautiously, still with one hand clutching the pendant and another holding onto Natha for, well, emotional support.

"I don’t know," she shook her head, before adding lightheartedly. "But it’s not like you can’t come to see it."

Ah...so it wasn’t that she would put Shwa somewhere secluded like a secret lab research? So I could still visit my child and talk with it?

"Mm, yes--in fact, I would also like to see how it’s responded to you," she nodded while stroking her chin, before shifting her gaze toward Natha. "When do you plan to go back?"

"The day after tomorrow," Natha said, which was the time he could spare before he had to drown himself in work again. It was also supposed to be the time when Eruha and Lesta got back from the Vampire Capital.

Wait--but...if it took long...would we have to leave Shwa here? Or would I have to stay here while Natha went back to L’Anaak Eed?

I didn’t want to be apart from Shwa, but I also didn’t want to be apart from Natha--

"I see; I’ll try to find something before then," she nodded and signaled for the golem to take her plate away, replacing it with a dessert.

Oh...so I wouldn’t have to part ways with either of them? Slowly, the hand I used to clutch the pendant was relaxed, and I unconsciously let out a relief breath.

"Ah, okay, in that case..."

The red eyes turned into a pair of crescents and she laughed softly. "You’re already attached, huh?"

This was when I realized my action might have been over the top. I didn’t think I had ever felt this protective toward something--someone--before. The realization made my face heat up, and Natha’s soft pat on my hair did not help lessen my fluster.

"I...I mean..." I fidgeted in my seat and glanced at Natha, who was smiling fondly while observing me all this time. "Shwa is...our child...right?"

"Of course," he replied without hesitation.

"Shwa?" D’Ara tilted her head, and I looked at her bashfully. But she didn’t seem to find the nickname funny, and tapped her smiling lips with her pudding spoon. "I see..." she nodded, seemingly in approval of the name. "Indeed, it’s a flower bud," her eyes curled again as she added. "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your child."

Your child.

Hearing her say that, someone who knew what this seed was, made my heart tremble in happiness. It was like acknowledgment, that I was fit to be the parents of this important being. And, above all else, I was just happy hearing someone else calling Shwa my child.

And so, after the dinner ended, we followed D’Ara to her private study, and I took Shwa out of the dimensional storage. It pulsed slightly stronger as I stroked the patterned exterior, and I gave it a good night kiss before we went back to our building.

"I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?"

The seed buzzed softly, and Natha had to kind of drag me away five minutes later.

* * *

"Th--this is ridiculous, right?" I bit my lips while clenching the blanket, as Natha wiped the tears that didn’t stop leaking from my eyes.

"It’s not," he caressed my head gently. I liked that he sounded genuine about it instead of teasing me, but I still found myself thinking I was ridiculous.

"It’s just...it’s just two buildings away but..."

Ugh--I pressed my face on his shoulder because I felt like I would burst if I didn’t. This felt so silly. It wasn’t like I always slept with Shwa by my side, since it had always been staying in the treasure room.

But the treasure room was ours, and this time, I had to leave Shwa in someone else’s hand. It was different. It felt different. Was this what mothers felt when the nanny took their child away for an outing?

"It’s not ridiculous," Natha caressed my back soothingly, whispering gentle words. "It’s what parents would feel when they had to be away from their baby for the first time."

"...really?"

"Well...maybe?" Natha laughed awkwardly, and I pulled away so I could see his face. "At least, I think my mother was like that."

"Oh?"

He gave me a wry smile and, while still patting my side, he continued. "I was an only child, and born with alpha seed. She was...protective, to the point that she had separation anxiety," he looked up and added an afterthought. "Hmm...that’s probably why my father sent me to a boarding school in another realm."

Natha chuckled, but the laughing sound dispersed into a sigh. "She loved me, and was protective of me. She wanted nothing but the best for me, and in her mind...it would be best for me to be the King. For her, it was my fate, and it was what I deserved."

He sounded sad at the end of it, and I stroked his cheeks, kissing his jaw. He smiled and rubbed my nape as he spoke again. "But I don’t blame her, since everything that she did was because she loved me. It’s normal for mothers to feel like that, don’t you think?"

Well...I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t a mother, and...

"Oh...so that’s what a mother is like...."

I didn’t remember my mother showing me much...love, I think? Or perhaps, she did love me when I was too young to remember. Perhaps she was just exhausted because she had to take care of my sickly body...

"Sweetheart?" Natha sounded alarmed, and when he stroked my cheek, I realized I was crying again.

I gasped in surprise and swiftly cleaned my cheeks, but Natha held my hands and looked into my eyes wordlessly for a few seconds, before sighing and pulling me into his embrace, kissing my temple.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. "I forgot."

Ah, right. I already told him about my parents.

"It’s fine, I’m alright," I told him, and when he looked at me again with a frown, I repeated it. "Truly, it’s fine. I just..."

I looked down, staring at the black pendant that was now empty. Although there were still tears in my eyes, I could also feel my lips curling. "I’m glad you said it’s a mother’s feeling."

Despite the sad memory, I was glad that I seemed to be able to feel my own brand of...motherhood, if you would call it--although obviously, it was hard to call me a ’mother’.

Natha cupped my cheek and kissed me briefly on the lips, chaste and sweet. "I’m sure you’ll be great at it," he said.

"At what?"

"Becoming a parent."

It might be just a word of consolation, but it made me laugh joyfully nonetheless.