Chapter 369

Chapter 369

“L-Labor pains?! Already?!”

Siegfried was shocked. As far as he was aware, there were still three weeks left before Gyul was born. How come she was already having labor pains?

“Are you sure she’s not sick?!”

“No, Your Majesty! We're certain that Her Majesty is having labor pains right now!”

“I-I’m going!” Siegfried said as he rushed over to the hospital in the castle.

‘Gyul is coming out? Goodness!’ Siegfried couldn't get a grasp at the thought of becoming a father even though it was only in a game. He ran as fast as he could to the ward where Brunhilde was located, but he was stopped by the maids.

“No! Your Majesty, please stop!”

“Your Majesty must not enter!”

“Please do not cross this line, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Huh? Why can’t I?”

The chamberlain, Sebastian, and the chief maid, Herione, appeared and stopped him as well.

“They're right, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty, please do not enter.”

Siegfried protested, “Why?! A husband should be by his wife’s side when she’s in labor! Please move!”

“We cannot, Your Majesty!”

“But I’m the king here?”

“It is against the law.”

“T-The what?”

“Your Majesty must not be aware of it as you are from another world, but only women are allowed to enter when the queen is in labor.”

“S-So I can’t go in? But I want to be there for her and hold her hand...”

“No, you may not,” Herione adamantly stood her ground.

Sebastian also chimed in, “Please behead me first if Your Majesty wishes to enter.”

“...”

“Your Majesty is indeed the king, and that is all the more reason for Your Majesty to follow the law! Please wait patiently for the princess’ birth.”

“But...”

“Please return.”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Brunhilde’s screams could be heard from beyond the door.

“B-Brunhilde!” Siegfried shouted, and he rushed to the door.

However, the chamberlain and chief maid blocked his path. “Your Majesty!”

“Can’t I be there for her?!”

“Your Majesty may not enter even if the sky is falling!”

“Bu,t still!”

“You may not!”

“Aaaah...! Kyaaaah!”

Brunhilde’s screams echoed once again, and Siegfried couldn't remain calm after hearing it.

‘Argh! Damn this law! I’m going to change all of it one day!’ he thought while gnashing his teeth.

“But why is she already in labor? I thought there were still three weeks remaining?” he asked.

“Your Majesty...” Herione replied as she looked at him as if he had said something strange, and then she explained, “Even ordinary humans like us can be born in eight months instead of ten.”

“R-Really?”

“So it is not strange at all for a special being like the princess to be born earlier than scheduled.”

“I see...” Siegfried muttered and sulked after being treated like a fool.

“Your Majesty, I implore you to patiently wait while being mindful of your status as the king,” Sebastian said.

“All right...”

In the end, Siegfried could not stay beside Brunhilde and was forced to return.

“Sigh... But I really wanted to be with her...”

It was then...

“I greet the king.”

“Hmm?”

Siegfried ran into Jessie while he was walking.

“Hello, you seem to be doing good,” he greeted in a stiff tone. Siegfried was always kind and polite to the servants and maids—except to Jessie. She was a follower of the Church of Osric and a criminal who had plotted to kidnap Gyul.

He would not have forgiven her so easily and would have inflicted as much pain on her as possible if she hadn't turned herself in and if Brunhilde hadn't appealed for her on her behalf.

“It is all thanks to the grace Your Majesty has given me,” she replied.

“Don’t be grateful to me,” Siegfried said as he shook his head, and then he added, “It’s not me but my wife that allowed you to continue working in the castle.”

“Your Majesty...”

“But what brings you here? I believe it’s not good for you to come looking for me on your own accord?”

He had a valid point.

She was doing a perfect job of deceiving Carlisle into thinking that she was faithfully doing her duties to the church. However, she seemed quite restless whenever she talked to Siegfried.

The reason she was so restless whenever she was speaking to him was due to the fact that everyone knew just how terrifying of a person he could be toward his enemies. She knew that he was capable of smashing her head open without batting an eye.

“That's...” Jessie said before she bit her lips and continued, “Her Majesty is going to give birth soon, and the church is going to—“

“I see...” Michele said with a nod before he asked, “Does your family know about it?”

“What did you just say?!” Siegfried snapped. He misunderstood Michele's words and thought that the latter was asking if Siegfried's family knew about his devious schemes.

“Are you picking a fight with me?!”

“Huh? Why would you think so, Your Majesty?” Michele asked while tilting his head in confusion.

“W-Wait, what?”

“Your Majesty’s mother and sister are in the other world, right? Technically, they are going to be a grandmother and an aunt soon, so I was asking if they knew about that.”

“O-Oh, I see...”

“What did Your Majesty think I said?”

“Nothing...” Siegfried muttered while scratching the back of his head before saying, “I thought you were making fun of me for being so nasty...”

“...”

“M-My bad...”

He had gotten so used to getting reprimanded and insulted by Michele that anything sounded like an insult to him now.

“So, have you told them or not?” Michele asked.

“I-I did!” Siegfried replied. Of course, he had no other choice but to lie to Michele after imagining what the conversation would be like.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“I... I’m going to be a dad.”

“W-What?! A dad? What did you do?!”

“It’s nothing like that... I married an NPC in the game and will be a dad—“

“You punk!”

“Ack!”

Siegfried's mother slapped him in the back with her signature back slap.

Siegfried snapped back to reality and screamed inwardly, ‘N-No! I can’t tell them no matter what!’

Siegfried couldn't tell his mother that he had married an NPC and was about to become a father in a game. He couldn't bring himself to do such a thing to his mother.

“What are you thinking of right now, Your Majesty...?” Michele asked.

Siegfried was repeatedly shaking his head while seemingly in despair.

***

Siegfried had been standing outside the hospital for hours, pacing back and forth.

Brunhilde’s labor pains were still ongoing, and he couldn't just log out of the game.

How could he log out and sleep when his wife was going through labor?

Siegfried was forced to wander aimlessly around the hospital. However, Brunhilde’s labor pains showed no signs of ending, and Siegfried ended up staying up for two straight days.

[Warning: You have played Brave New World for forty-seven hours now!]

[Warning: Excessive gaming is detrimental to your health!]

[Alert: Your connection will be terminated in one hour!]

He hadn't logged out in so long that the game was about to forcefully log him out.

“Ah, should I go take a nap for an hour...? It’s going to be a problem if I get forcefully logged out—”

“Waaah! Waaah! Waaaaah!”

A baby’s cry abruptly echoed from the ward.

“...!”

Siegfried’s face stiffened after hearing the cry.

“Your Majesty!” Herione ran out of the hospital and exclaimed, “Congratulations, Your Majesty! The queen has given birth to the princess, and the queen has made it safely!”

“R-Really?!”

“Please go in and meet the princess!”

“Ah! Okay!” Siegfried rushed into the hospital and headed to the ward where Brunhilde and Gyul were located.

“Waah! Waaah! Waaaah!”

He was greeted by Gyul’s cries.

Gyul was in the arms of a maid and was wrapped in silk of the highest quality.

However, Siegfried went to Brunhilde first before going to his daughter.

“Sniff... Sniff... Huk... Huk...!”

Brunhilde was crying for some reason.

‘Why is she crying?’ Siegfried was flustered to see her cry.

It was all because he could tell that she wasn't crying tears of joy.

“Sniff... Sniff... D-Darling...!”

She was crying so sorrowfully that his heart ached just from seeing her cry. He felt as though his heart was getting ripped into a thousand pieces seeing her cry right after going through the excruciating pain of birth.

“What’s wrong, honey?! Why are you crying?!”

“The baby... Our baby is...”

“Our baby?”

“She's...”

“Calm down, and tell me! What’s wrong?!”

“Our baby is...”

Brunhilde finally revealed why she was crying.