The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 572: Once you have a child, your friends’ priority is shifted

Chapter 572: Once you have a child, your friends’ priority is shifted

On the fifth of the third month, a human storm blasted into the nursery.

"My nephew!"

Zarfa, bringing even more gifts than before, burst into the nursery like Jade, even though she was twenty years older than my two-year-old bird. Son. She didn’t care, throwing her arms in the air, running in with sparkling eyes and cheeks flushed from both cold and excitement.

Haa...how could I scold her if she looked that happy about my child?

Thankfully, Shwa was a calm and gentle boy; he didn’t cry from loud noises, although he would throw a tantrum if we didn’t feed him on time. This greedy little boy.

Or perhaps he realized that his blanket, the neatly arranged toys, the clothes he wore, and the storybooks lining up on the shelf were from this one sugar aunty.

"I was right! It’s a boy!" Zarfa slid onto the floor, clasping her cheeks as she stared at the baby in my arms.

She came right when I was visiting Shwa for my daily dose of personal bonding. While we had a whole troop of nannies and guards tending to his needs, I didn’t want him to get attached to them instead of me Natha, so I always made sure to hold him several times throughout the day; letting him hear my heartbeat and feel my temperature.

Natha usually came in the morning before he went to his office, and the evening before dinner. It was cute seeing the tall, imposing demon holding a baby that was shorter than his forearm, and I made sure to snap a few pictures for my...ahem, collections.

The nannies said I didn’t need to worry about not connecting though; they said Shwa always responded the moment I entered the room. He would stir even when he was asleep, and he would shift his head in my direction.

It was probably their attempt to console me, but it was okay--I was happy to hear it even if it was a lie.

Zarfa was fortunate to visit while Shwa was awake. The druid rangers who came, as well as the other vassals, always caught a bad timing when Shwa was asleep. And when my baby was asleep, he rarely woke up even when we poked his cheeks. He’d definitely wake up when he was hungry or peed though, along with a piercing cry.

Waking up when he was full and clean like this was rare. The rich aunty must be a lucky one.

"Aww, look at you cutie wittle pootatotie~" she squeezed the baby’s curled fists and made a weird cooing sound.

"You realize you sounded weird, right?"

"Who cares what people think about me? I’m rich!" Zarfa scoffed. "Who cares about others? Aunty only cares about her mega adorable nephew~"

I rolled my eyes and turned my head toward Jade, shaking my head and squinting my eyes to warn him about following this weird aunty’s antics. No, Jade. You shouldn’t copy her.

"Aww! You use the blanket Auntie gave you? Such a handsome little boy!" she said unreasonably--since there was no way Shwa could choose which blanket to use himself.

"You said he’s cute," I reminded her.

"Two can be right at the same time!"

Zarfa clicked her tongue and we suddenly heard a soft giggling sound. We all collectively froze, even Angwi, and stared at the wrapped baby in my arms. Shwa, my beautiful little flower, parted his little lips and made a squeaky sound. The green eyes curled and the chubby cheeks reddened.

Needless to say that we all gasped.

"Baby laughing!" Jade jumped and clapped his hands excitedly.

Gods...I didn’t want to sound like the kind of parents who thought their child could do no wrong, but at that moment, I felt like I could forgive this baby for anything he might commit in the future. He was just so, so, beautiful. I swear I would reign myself better as to not spoil Shwa too much, but at that moment...just at that moment, nothing in this world was more precious than that little giggle--not even Natha’s handsome face. Nothing in this world was more melodious than that squeaky little sound--not even Angwi’s secret lullaby.

"Kyaaa! Look at this cutie!" Zarfa clasped her cheeks and shook her head wildly like a fan girl in their idol’s concert. "Who’s a cutie, huh? Who’s a cutie?"

I narrowed my eyes after coming back from the daze prompted by that adorable giggle. "I thought you don’t like children?"

"Wrong!" she snorted. "I don’t want to have children on my own--doesn’t mean I dislike them."

"I see..." I stroked Shwa’s pink cheek and glanced at Zarfa. "Do you want to hold him?"

Zarfa flinched and pulled back slightly. "...n-no."

Huh? I didn’t expect this reaction. She shifted away nervously, even though she didn’t have any qualms about carrying Jade before.

"Why? You said you don’t dislike him," I tilted my head curiously.

"I love him to death, and that’s why I don’t want to accidentally hurt him," she pursed her lips. "He’s too small...what if I hold him too tightly? What if he wriggles around and I drop him?!"

"Oh, make sense..."

Pfft--I didn’t think she would have all of those colorful thoughts just from one prompt of holding a baby. Hmm...now that I thought about it, I never had that kind of thought before. Did it come naturally if it was your own child? Natha also looked very natural--although, to be fair, Shwa was just a tiny bundle he could hold with one arm.

...

"Valen!"

Once again, the nursery door burst open; this time bearing a newly adult succubus and her elf boyfriend. Why did they keep coming roughly, though? Shouldn’t they know there was a baby inside?!

Phew...but I’d forgive them since they came with genuine affection. And because I missed them.

"Zia!" Jade got up and ran to hug the succubus, who wore more mature clothing now. Too bad--I like those cute frilly gothic stuff.

Zarfa also got up and cheekily made a curtsy. "Oh, if it isn’t Lady Matriarch Ra Zidoa."

"Zarfa!" Zia was bashful at first, but immediately came forward and hugged her, laughing at the jest. Perhaps she preffered it more than a serious formal reaction. "How come you’re here before me?"

Zarfa smirked and wiggled her brow. "By the virtue of inter-realm portal."

"Tsk--we should install one too!" Zia clicked her tongue before suddenly gasping and, just like Zarfa earlier, kneeling on the ground and holding the baby’s fists. "Dearest young cousin! Oh, he’s wriggling--Izzi, look! Look!"

"I’m looking," the elf muttered quietly, careening his head to take a peek at the baby who was surrounded by his aunt and cousin.

I had a feeling he was looking more at Zia though, smiling in relief. She probably had been having a hard time as the new matriarch, and this courtesy call could be treated as a little vacation. Well, she did seem like she was having fun playing with Shwa, if her sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks were any indication.

And different from Zarfa, she was eager to hold Shwa. It seemed like she was used to handling babies back home--you know, since she had a lot of siblings, both legitimate and not. Shwa was making a fuss at first, but gradually calmed down after Zia swayed him gently.

I nudged the elf who was watching the view in a daze and whispered. "Makes you want to have one, huh?"

"Don’t tempt me," Izzi hissed, prompting my brow to arch in surprise.

Not tease but tempt? Oh, this elf!

I wanted to tease him more, but I didn’t think it was an appropriate topic to be had in a nursery, so I saved it for a later time. Instead, we moved to the lounge across the hall to not crowd the nursery, while also having a peaceful tea time. Angwi had taken Shwa again so we could enjoy our tea, and I could finally talk to Zia.

"Hey," I chuckled as he fidgeted awkwardly.

"Hey," she bit her lips and shifted closer, looking at me worriedly. "Are you okay? I heard--"

I swiftly placed my fingers on her lips. "I’m fine. Don’t I look fine?"

"Well, yes..."

"Then let’s not think too much about something that’s already passed."

Zarfa didn’t know about it, and Jade did not know the details. I didn’t want to taint the beautiful memory of Shwa’s birth with what happened back then. The fact remained that I was alive, so there was no need to make a fuss about it.

Well, to be fair, I also didn’t remember much after I lost my ability to breathe,

Zia bit her lips and pulled me into a tight embrace. "I’m so glad," she whispered in a strained voice. "I’d hate myself if something happened to you again while I wasn’t here."

I patted her head, feeling a bit melancholic. Ah...I did miss her. "What about you?" I stroked her cheeks, which seemed to have lost some fat. "How do you fare?"

"I...I managed," she fiddled with her skirt. "Great Aunt and Sister taught me a lot. I have a lot to study for now, but once I get used to it, I won’t have to stay in the realm all the time."

"Oh, isn’t that good?"

"Yeah," she suddenly looked bashful, which made my brows arched by themselves. Glancing subtly at Izzi--who was having a staring contest with Jade--she added in a whisper that was so quiet only I could hear it. "I...I’m thinking about visiting the elvendom."

My brows wriggled in response. "It’s getting serious, huh?"

She bit her lips again and smacked me with her face flaming in flusters. I couldn’t help but giggle gleefully since it had been a while since I could tease anyone. "I’m happy," I whispered back as I held her hands. "You’re both my precious friends after all."

"Oh, Val..."

"And...ahem--" I leaned closer and whispered in her ears. "I’m not trying to burden you or anything, but it would be great if Shwa could have a playmate--"

"Val!"

Zia smacked me in fluster again, and I laughed as Zarfa shoved her head between us and wiggled her brows mischievously. "Oh, juicy~"

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