The Sweet Alpha Crown Prince Loves Me So Much Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Although he had only stayed for a little over half a year, the castle of Lindbergh had turned Carl Lindbergh’s life completely upside down.

Carl walked slowly through it with Elizabeth.

While everyone except Leia Lindbergh was busy, split into groups of those returning and those staying, the only idle person was Carl Lindbergh.

Ostensibly, it was for the recovery of his physical and magical strength, but it was also because Adrian, Leia, and even the Grand Duke had joined forces to restrict his movements.

Groaning, Carl patted his back and kneaded the area behind his knees. He had finally realized that Adrian Heineken’s rough actions last night had been a high-level strategy to tie his feet down.

He had been so displeased with Carl, who was hell-bent on scurrying around, trailing after Leia or stealing chores from the servants.

“Was it really necessary to go this far? What if I can’t use my lower body at all after this? Right, Elizabeth?”

To think I’d ever worry about dying from overexertion during sex.

“Wooof.”

At Carl Lindbergh’s grumbling, Elizabeth licked the back of his hand.

Swoosh.

It was then. The garden trees, which had been tidied up to the point of being unrecognizable, filtered the wind and swept Carl’s bangs up from his forehead.

After a busy and chaotic time, it finally felt like a real vacation.

“It’s neat. It seems to reflect my sister’s personality perfectly.”

“Woof!”

Lindbergh Castle, which was overall bright and light, with just enough decoration to maintain the dignity of a principality, shone like a mirror reflecting Leia Lindbergh under the spring sunlight.

He couldn’t actually remember what the castle had looked like when he stayed there.

It was probably because he hadn’t had the luxury of admiring the interior or walking in the garden.

“Sometimes, you know, I wish all of the original Carl Lindbergh’s memories were in this body.”

Carl, who had been walking cautiously with one arm draped over Elizabeth’s back for support, finally found a suitable bench and sat down.

Perhaps because he was getting used to it as the frequency increased, he no longer fell into a deep sleep or wasted the entire next day as he had before, but it was still overwhelming to receive all of Adrian’s passion.

“Whiiinee, whiiinee.”

Elizabeth, who was the size of a wild wolf, whined like a newborn puppy, rubbing her nose in Carl Lindbergh’s embrace.

Carl hugged the creature’s head tightly to his chest.

Its well-fed and well-washed fur was glossy and smelled nice.

“What was your childhood like? How deep were the scars Carl Lindbergh gave to his sister, specifically? I always wonder about things like that.”

If all the events of the past had become water that couldn’t be gathered up and had dried away, what could that empty cup be filled with?

Carl, who had been looking up at the sky, thinking useless thoughts, smirked at the feeling of a rough tongue on his chin.

“Humans are really troublesome beings. They easily become sentimental during a moment of idle thought.”

Elizabeth tilted her head.

“But do you know what makes me go crazy with joy?”

That besides you, the number of people I can talk to about Jeon Wooyoung of the past, or the Carl Lindbergh of the present, has increased.

Being a beast, Elizabeth couldn’t understand human words exactly, but she instinctively sensed that her master was genuinely happy and spun around in place, wagging her tail.

“Thank you for being my bamboo forest while I lived here.”

Carl took Elizabeth’s front paws and shook them with his own.

My good doggie. I’ll treat you well until you die.

The days of hiding things deep inside, anxious about being found out, were completely gone.

Adrian not only acknowledged everything about Carl but also allowed him to live as a pretty decent human being. Carl wanted to live with Adrian and give back a little bit every day.

To do that, Carl Lindbergh had to learn how to love himself and how to share affection in the way his partner wanted.

Slowly.

And the thought of their child, who would come someday, made his heart tingle with anticipation.

To raise a child without deficiencies, a child who is lovely and strong of heart.

So that the shadow of Jeon Wooyoung, if any remained, would not cover him.

Carl Lindbergh was going to change and grow.

A child. Come to think of it, I keep forgetting sometimes.

Carl Lindbergh whispered in Elizabeth’s ear.

“Men give birth through, you know, there. I’m still anxious about what happens if it bursts. Do you know anything?”

“Woof!”

Seeing that bright face, it was clear that Elizabeth also had no idea how a man gives birth.

“A baby’s head has to be bigger than this fist. Wow, damn. What do I do?”

Carl Lindbergh clenched his fist and then, patting his buttocks, which were still throbbing with a foreign sensation, he bit his lip hard.

“…I’ll have to ask the Duke.”

Whether a woman or a man, giving birth is a life-threatening event. Rather than trembling in fear alone, it would be better to seek advice from someone who had experienced it three times.

“Your Highness!”

Meanwhile, Marco rushed over to Carl Lindbergh, who was clenching his fist and composing his mind.

The boy, who had become a low-ranking apprentice in the knightly order and was busier than anyone, was pale as he grabbed Carl’s sleeve.

“I think you need to leave right now!”

“What’s wrong?”

Suddenly terrified, Carl’s face turned white as well.

“H-Her Majesty the Empress has gone into labor!”

“What?”

Isn’t there still a week left?

No, she said in the final month, you never know what the day will bring.

Why on earth were he and Adrian Heineken in Lindbergh right now?

If something were to happen to Her Majesty the Empress…

Carl Lindbergh froze on the spot as a terrible trauma, along with the image of his mother flashing through his mind, assailed him.

“My legs, my legs!”

Carl slapped his thighs hard.

Just then, Elizabeth let out a long howl, Awooo, and, with Carl on her back, started running towards Adrian Heineken.

 

***

 

He forgot the pain in his back and the ache in his buttocks. While Adrian’s horse galloped frantically towards the Empire, Carl Lindbergh prayed earnestly to the gods.

The Empress was now fifty. A second birth would be a considerable burden for her as well.

Baby Jaeyoung, who was smaller than a forearm in an incubator; his mother, whose bleeding wouldn’t stop.

Her cheeks, which grew thinner day by day whenever he visited her with a toddling Jaeyoung holding his hand.

Her parched skin and hollowed eyes, which he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to, kept flashing before him, and Carl Lindbergh couldn’t even close his eyes, his hands clasped together.

“It’s okay. Her Majesty the Empress is a bold woman; she’ll give birth without difficulty.”

Adrian rested his chin on the crown of Carl’s head and muttered.

Carl, his chin trembling, managed to nod.

Though he said that, Adrian was honestly just as anxious.

In truth, the two of them didn’t need to be there for the Empress’s delivery. But Carl Lindbergh had been so insistent that they were rushing over like this. During the journey, however, he had become aware for the first time that he was about to witness something he couldn’t control.

“That’s right, it’ll be okay. It’s not her first birth. She’ll give birth quickly and come out.”

Carl Lindbergh repeated it like a mantra.

Her Majesty the Empress and my mother are different.

They’re different people.

The nature of their suffering is different from my mother’s, which was aggravated by poverty.

Beside the best medical team and her loving husband… In a place protected by her strong and warm son, she will have a smooth delivery.

Carl Lindbergh, who had been muttering continuously as if in prayer, with his hands clasped, snapped back to his senses when they were already near the delivery room.

“His Majesty Glenn is inside the delivery room.”

The Duke, who couldn’t hide his anxiety, greeted the two in the very place where the Empress had given birth to Adrian Heineken.

“The labor has been long, so everyone is on edge.”

“Why is the labor so long?”

Carl Lindbergh asked, looking at the firmly closed door of the delivery room with unfocused eyes.

“The reasons are so varied that it’s hard to pinpoint one, but we assume it’s probably because her pushing strength is weak.”

“Aaargh!”

At the scream that suddenly came from inside the door, Carl Lindbergh’s shoulders tensed up.

Even in the modern Republic of Korea where Carl Lindbergh had lived, a place that had reached the pinnacle of medical technology, mothers easily became weak.

There were many babies who went to the intensive care unit as soon as they were born.

Even if the baby and mother were safe, the child had to fight and win against dozens, hundreds of viruses to become an adult.

That was the timeless law of nature.

No human was born on their own and grew up on their own.

“Aaaaaah!”

Another loud cry came from inside.

The murmuring of the medical staff was drowned out by her screams.

Carl squeezed his eyes shut.

Her Majesty the Empress.

The one who had given him a place where he could feel safe, embracing him tenderly. If anything happened to her and the baby, he would become small again.

“M-Mom.”

At the small voice that slipped out, Adrian, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the door, was startled and turned to look at him.

“Mom…”

Carl sobbed. He was crying like a child, saying, Mom, Mom.

“Carl, shhh. It’s okay.”

Knowing all too well who he was seeing through the Empress, Adrian could only pull him into an embrace.

In an instant, the ten-pyeong-or-so space where they were waiting became damp.

It was normal that no one other than Adrian could sympathize with Carl Lindbergh’s pain, but his indescribable emotion flowed out like pheromones, making everyone’s heart ache.

Duke Hendrick placed a hand on the backs of the two young men.

Birth is a strange experience that brings both joy and sorrow.

It’s new every time, even for the one experiencing it multiple times, so how much more so for the sons who were watching?

“Both the fetus and the mother have been healthy all along. So don’t worry too much.”

Saying that Belfry had also been born after giving him a hard time, the Duke sat the two down on a sofa.

Carl Lindbergh, his face soaked, held Adrian’s hand tightly.

“When I was giving birth to Belfry, I mean. I saw hell, I tell you. My vision flashed, the sky turned yellow ^[1] Dusk. , but the baby just wouldn’t come out.”

Carl and Adrian’s faces also turned yellow ^[2] Means fear or shock. .

Sounds of ack, ack came from inside at regular intervals, but the Duke smiled composedly.

“I’m not trying to make you anxious, I’m saying it’s a natural thing. It felt like the world was turning upside down twice, and I lost all sensation below my waist, I didn’t even know where it hurt. Just when I was thinking, for what on earth must I endure this pain, and resenting the goddess, the baby popped out. But strangely, when you hold that soft, squishy body, the world finds its colors again.”

It was even dyed in quite a dazzling color, the Duke recalled that day as if in a dream.

“‘Ah, I was in so much pain for this child.’ And then I came to admire myself, and as much as the baby was precious, I came to love the Grand Duke even more.”

The Duke chuckled, adding that the Grand Duke had lost this much hair that day.

Carl Lindbergh wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Adrian was still pale.

“Her Majesty the Empress is a stronger person than I am. She won’t lose to that kind of pain. So you two should also greet your younger sibling bravely.”

The Duke patted their shoulders in encouragement.

“Waaaaaaah!”

Just then, a lusty cry came from inside.

Carl and Adrian looked at each other and let out a deep breath.

A short while later, a physician with a broad smile on his face came out and announced that both the Empress and the baby were healthy.

“It seems he was giving us a hard time, making his older brothers wait.”

Only then could everyone in that place laugh with genuine relief. 

• 1. Dusk.
• 2. Means fear or shock.