The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go Chapter 128 - Side Story 12

 

Cedric truly wished to stay by Ciel’s side, but given the urgent situation, he had no choice but to wait outside as the medical staff requested.  

 

‘Had I known it would be like this, I would’ve paid more attention to her.’  

 

He regretted not saying more comforting words before parting to ease her fears.  

 

In the endless wait, regret and worry slowly crept up on him.  

 

“Her Majesty the Empress will be alright, Your Majesty,” Paul said, unable to bear seeing Cedric distressed and trying to reassure him.  

 

“The medical team is doing their best, and given all the good deeds you both have done, the heavens will surely look after her.”  

 

“Yeah…”  

 

Hearing Paul’s words, Cedric clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.  

 

And for nearly an entire day, until night fell again, he sent countless prayers to the heavens and the gods.  

 

Over and over, he begged for Ciel to have a safe delivery.  

 

“Your Majesty!”  

 

Just then, the door swung open, and a member of the medical staff shouted urgently.  

 

Before the call even ended, Cedric rushed toward him.  

 

“Ciel, the Empress—”  

 

“She’s exhausted, but she’s fine. The baby was born healthy as well.”  

 

Only then did vitality return to Cedric’s face, which had been shadowed with exhaustion.  

 

“Thank goodness…”  

 

His heart still pounded violently. The moment he heard the medical staff confirm that both mother and child were safe, the tension drained from his body, leaving him weak.  

 

“The critical moments are over. Now, she just needs to rest and recover slowly. It’s all done,” the medical staff said, gesturing toward the inner room.  

 

“Since everything is over now, please go inside.”  

 

“Right.”  

 

The moment he stepped into the room, Cedric searched only for Ciel.  

 

Nothing else entered his sight. And when he saw her lying on the bed, her face pale as she gasped for breath, he choked up.

  

“Your Majesty.”  

 

Despite looking utterly drained, the moment she saw Cedric, she gave him a bright smile.  

 

Clutching her hand tightly, Cedric swallowed back tears and spoke.  

 

“You worked so hard. You’ve been through so much…”  

 

Thank you for enduring it. I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you.  

 

As he poured out his feelings while holding Ciel’s hand, he only snapped back to his senses when he heard her call him.  

 

“Your Majesty, look behind you.”  

 

At her words, Cedric slowly turned around. 

 

What greeted him was a baby—no—  

 

“Huh?”  

 

Babies. Cradled in the arms of the medical staff.

 

💫

 

“Are you that happy?”  

 

“Hmm?”  

 

Only then did Cedric lift his head and look at me.  

 

“You can’t take your eyes off them.”  

 

“No, it’s just…”  

 

Then Cedric leaned forward and briefly pressed his lips to mine.  

 

“Sorry. I’ll focus on you.”  

 

“Ah, I’m not mad! It’s fine.”  

 

Honestly, I was rather pleased.  

 

It was obvious at a glance how much Cedric adored the children. I’d always thought he’d be good to our child once they were born, but still.  

 

“They’re really beautiful, aren’t they?”  

 

“Yeah. I was surprised for a few reasons when I first saw them.”  

 

Cedric scratched his cheek as he spoke.  

 

“I really never expected them to be twins.”  

 

“Right. No wonder my body felt so heavy all this time—that must’ve been why.”  

 

Nodding, Cedric brushed back my hair and said softly,  

 

“You really went through a lot. I wanted to be there with you…”  

 

“It’s okay. You were outside waiting anxiously the whole time, weren’t you? Even if we weren’t in the same room, it felt like you were with me.”  

 

“Still.”  

 

Then Cedric glanced at the children and said,  

 

“I’m just glad you’re safe, Ciel, and the kids too.”  

 

Seeing his bright smile, I couldn’t help but smile back.  

 

“Earlier, you said you were surprised for a few reasons when you saw them. Besides them being twins, was there something else?”  

 

“Ah, that.”  

 

Cedric chuckled before answering.  

 

“When the medical staff held them up, their faces were unmistakably yours and mine.”  

 

“I thought the same thing.”  

 

“So you felt it too, Ciel.”  

 

When I first saw their faces, I was pretty startled myself.  

 

Even though their eyes were still closed, one was the spitting image of me, and the other was unmistakably Cedric.  

 

“People sometimes say babies get mixed up, but there’s no way that could happen with ours.”  

 

“Exactly. Honestly, I think I’d recognize them just by seeing them walk from far away.”  

 

“And I was also surprised they were born exactly as we’d hoped—a daughter who looks like you and a son who looks like me.”  

 

“Right. I almost wondered if the heavens decided to grant both our wishes since we couldn’t agree on just one.”  

 

“Seriously. It could’ve been a son who looks like you or a daughter who looks like me, but no.”  

 

Cedric carefully picked up one of the children, smiling as he spoke.  

 

“I wonder what they’ll look like when they open their eyes. They’re already beautiful now, though.”  

 

“I’m curious about their eyes too.”  

 

“This one will probably have blue eyes like you, don’t you think?”  

 

Cedric gently lifted the child who resembled me as he spoke.  

 

“Maybe. But your eye color is beautiful too.”  

 

“Nah. I like blue better.”  

 

And so, the two new parents continued talking for a long time.  

 

Forming new bonds was, after all, a joyful and exciting thing.

 

💫

 

“Ah, that’s right. Our Caspian eats so well.”  

 

I clapped lightly with wide, sparkling eyes as I watched the baby munch on his pureed food.  

 

When I praised him, the baby’s eyes—transparent and bright red like strawberry syrup—shone brightly, and he wiggled his bottom excitedly.  

 

“So happy. So yummy.”  

 

Meanwhile, Cedric was feeding the other baby.  

 

“Yes, good job, Ciana. That’s right, our Ciana is the prettiest.”  

 

The baby with black hair and deep blue eyes obediently opened her mouth to accept the food from Cedric’s hand.  

 

Unlike Caspian, who expressed overwhelming joy whenever I praised him, Ciana simply stared at Cedric with wide, curious eyes.  

 

Traditionally, imperial princes and princesses were raised by wet nurses.  

 

But Cedric and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with our children, so we made time to care for them ourselves.  

 

Over time, we developed a few skills—one of them being that during mealtime, I would handle Caspian while Cedric took care of Ciana.  

 

Caspian, who resembled Cedric in every way except for a single streak of silver hair amidst his dark locks, seemed to have inherited his father’s personality as well. He would smile brightly at me but stubbornly refused Cedric’s touch.  

 

This was especially true during meals, to the point where we decided I would feed Caspian until the two grew closer.  

 

On the other hand, Ciana was surprisingly indiscriminate with people.  

 

She would simply stare at whoever was looking at her with fascination before suddenly flashing a gummy smile, showing off her tiny, newly emerging teeth.  

 

‘It’s fascinating how their personalities are so different despite being born together.’

  

Of course, since they were fraternal twins, it was natural that they wouldn’t be identical in every way.  

 

Still, it was remarkable.  

 

When we took Caspian and Ciana to the playroom, their differences became even more apparent.  

 

Caspian was the type to constantly move around without stopping, while Ciana preferred sitting quietly, staring intently at her favorite stuffed toy or picture book before falling asleep.  

 

Even when sleeping, Ciana stayed in the same position she lay down in, but Caspian never did.  

 

No matter how tightly he was swaddled, he would always end up burrowing into Ciana’s side before drifting off.  

 

“Ah, ooh.”  

 

Having finished his meal, Caspian reached toward Ciana, but his arms were still too short to reach her properly.  

 

“Caspian, you’re already done eating?”  

 

Cedric, who was still feeding Ciana, asked in surprise.  

 

“Ah! Ah! Ooh!”  

 

Meanwhile, Caspian kept squirming as if desperate to get to Ciana. I picked him up, patted his back, and said,  

 

“Let’s wait just a little longer until Ciana finishes eating, okay?”  

 

As if in response, Caspian tightly gripped my collar with his tiny hand and puffed out his chubby cheeks.  

 

“Caspian’s eating speed seems to get faster every day.”  

 

Finally done feeding Ciana, Cedric lifted her into his arms.