Chapter 194: Extra 1. Gemini

— You bastards! If anything happens to my wife, I'll have you all…!— Your Majesty, don't be angry! We're doing everything we can!

Ever since this morning, there has been a tense atmosphere in the maternity ward of the Imperial Hospital. The royal consort suddenly went into labor in the middle of the night and since then, the whole palace has not been able to sleep a wink. Everyone was waiting for news.

This was perhaps the longest labor process in the history of the royal family. It had been about twelve hours. And the one who was most nervous was Rachel — who had been asked not to come in and wait in the corridor.

But how to be calm…?!

— Your Majesty, don't worry. I think everything will be all right,» the commander of the guards tried to find words of encouragement, but she waved him off.

When this happens, there is no way to just sit back and wait quietly. The woman paced from side to side and listened for any rustle from the delivery room. Right now, Leriana was in the worst pain in the world, and Rachel couldn't even do anything for her…

If she'd known this was going to happen, she never would have agreed to the proposal to have children… Was such torment of little screaming creatures worth it?

Honestly, from the beginning, it was mostly Leriana's idea. When she found out she was expecting a baby, she wanted to keep it. Rachel just had to agree with her to make her happy. She herself wasn't too thrilled about the fact: that soon their quiet happiness for two would be disrupted by someone else…

Still, one trait remained unchanged in Rachel Cassius, no matter how events around her changed. She did not understand children at all and did not know how to handle them. If a child cried in front of her, Rachel was more likely to order him to shut up than to try to calm him down.

And what was the point of having them at all…? Just unnecessary hassle. Rachel would have been happy to live simply with Lerian for the rest of her life. But it didn't work out that way. And now, hearing all the screaming from the room, Rachel could only hope that she herself would be okay. At the very least, if it came down to a choice between Leriane and the baby, Rachel certainly wouldn't hesitate.

— If you say everything's okay, then why is there so much screaming coming from the room? — Rachel couldn't take it anymore and pounced on the head physician's assistant.

The already pale man turned even more white.

— Y-Your Majesty, those are not the screams of a queen…! — He hastened to explain himself.

— What?

— It's… Ahem… The maids. Her Majesty has unusual symptoms during labor. She swears and bites.

Rachel was taken aback.

— «Bites…»?

— Yes. The maids just happen to get in her way… Any more and I'm afraid she'll start throwing furniture.

The queen didn't expect such an answer and was somewhat dumbfounded.

— Well… Go.

When the aide went back into the room, Rachel sat back in her chair for the first time in ages. Are you sure it's a birth and not a demon summoning ritual in there…?

It didn't take long to think about it. Because a few minutes later there were screams coming from the delivery room again. But this time, children's cries. Rachel jumped out of her seat at once. About ten minutes later the head physician came out into the corridor, bundled up in her arms.

— How is she?! — Rachel was the first to ask.

— Her Majesty is fine,» the healer smiled, «She is resting at the moment.

The woman sighed in relief. But the next moment something caught her attention.

— It's…

— Congratulations! You have twins!

Rachel was taken aback.

Two… Why two? She clearly wasn't prepared for this. Where did the other one come from?

— How is that possible? — You examined Leriana months ago and said there would only be one!

— I guess that was my mistake as a doctor…» She sighed angrily.

Rachel exhaled angrily. Leriane's belly had been a little bigger than usual from the beginning. But then everyone thought the queen had just had too much sugar… Not even the healer suspected a second child. And now this.

Rachel was at a loss.

— At first, we thought it was just going to be a little princess…» the healer excused himself, «But the contractions didn't end there. And after a couple of minutes, the little prince appeared.

She sighed. Okay… There's nothing to be done anyway. Rachel awkwardly accepted both rolls and at first didn't know what to do with them. Everything was new.

Then for the sake of interest, she pulled back the edge and looked at their faces. At the same moment her heart involuntarily sank. Were these tiny creatures really their children?

At first Rachel was not thrilled with the idea. But after seeing twins that looked so much like her wife, her opinion was shaken. She even put on the semblance of a smile.

There was no doubt that the children did indeed belong to the Cassius clan. Only a few minutes old and already they were looking at people like garbage. Even the healer flinched when the newborn prince and princess measured him with a devastating look.

Thanks to the Ileas clan's ability, Leriana recovered quickly. Within half an hour she had recovered. Rachel picked up both babies and made her way to her spouse.

The woman lay on the bed very tired.

— Look,» Rachel said with a smile, «they look just like you!

Leriana looked and smiled skeptically. Do they look…? In what way? If both babies are copies of Rachel. The woman felt an injustice: so she had to carry the pregnancy and go through the hell of childbirth, and all the «laurels» went to Rachel anyway! Who had done almost nothing… Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The only thing the children got from Leriana were their eyes. They were amber, like two jewels. Which her mother Emily also had.

«I guess giving birth to twins really is my destiny.» — the woman thought ironically.

Meanwhile, Leriana wanted to ask her wife an important favor. She thought for sure she would not survive this «crucifixion of the devil» one more time. There isn't even anesthesia in this medieval world!

— Rachel, promise me… This is the first and last time,» she asked. After all, two children would be enough for them.

— Yes, yes… Of course,» Rachel could barely hear her, because she was completely «immersed» in looking at the children. She even seemed to «get a taste for it.

As it turned out, that promise had been a total lie. After all, exactly one year later, they were back there again! And this time Yoko was born.

Extra 2. Notes of Leriana

Royal family life was not without surprises. Every day something happened. Everyone wondered: what would happen when the queens' three offspring grew up? Would the empire be turned upside down then?

So that there would be no contradictions in the future, Rachel and I decided all the questions about the inheritance up front. And, contrary to tradition, we gave the title of Crown Princess to Yoko. All because the youngest daughter seemed to me to be the most suitable candidate.

In order to be outstanding: a ruler must possess not only a cool mind but also a good heart. Listening to the problems of his people. By ruling together--Rachel and I balanced this harmony. But what happens after that? Would our children be able to handle that kind of responsibility?

Richard was born with a cold and detached nature. Rachel, on the other hand. I feared that the first thing she would do would be to start a war once she was on the throne. Then no one would be able to stop them. And realizing that this issue concerns not only our family but the whole state, we had to approach it responsibly.

Thus, our joint choice fell on Yoko. She was radically different from her older brother and sister. In other words, she wouldn't hurt even an ant. I was sure that people were born with a good heart, and that the necessary skills of government could be acquired later. She was a perfect candidate for the role of crown princess, no matter how you look at her!

So we determined. At the age of four, Yoko was declared Crown Princess — her older brother the future Duke of Cassius, and her sister the Archduchess of Ashford. In my opinion, quite a fair decision. I hoped that in the future all three of them could help each other and make the empire better.

In addition, in addition to the daily occurrences, Maxie also brought «anxiety» to our family. If Razor was in travel — sent news quite rarely, the girl on the contrary with a certain periodicity let us know about herself. Especially after the birth of her children she came steadily several times a year.

Each time the Marquis's daughter came with a mountain of presents from Oberon — which made Rachel terribly angry. In her opinion, Maxie was deliberately trying to «take» her own children away from her! In fact, in a way, it was true. After all, compared to her cold mother, a good-natured aunt like Maxie seemed like a real angel.

She was Rachel's friend most of all. They quickly found a common language and in general were similar in character. On this basis — my daughter began to beg me to send her to the Academy of Knights when she came of age… And if I at least pretended to think about it, Rachel immediately turned out to be categorical.

— You're not going anywhere.

— But Mom…! — The girl pouted angrily.

— What's wrong with the Royal Academy? You'll go there.

— But I want…!

— I said it all. It's out of the question.

It's settled, then. Rachel had known from birth it was better not to argue with her mother. The only person who could ever change her mind was me. But this time, for safety reasons — I decided not to get involved in their quarrel… Besides, deep down I did not want to send my daughter to a foreign country for several years either.

How did it happen that Maximiliana Windsor became rector in the first place…? Even I didn't expect such a turn of events. But it was the Marquis himself who decided. When he realized that the girl was completely unfit for the role of ruler, and to give her the throne would be like letting the country go on its own, he made a strong-willed decision and did not force her.

Instead, he gave the title of heir to one of his capable nephews. Fortunately, the Marquis's family was big enough, and such a person was quickly found.

Maxie, on the other hand, went on her own free voyage. A year later, we got unexpected news — the girl suddenly got a job as a rector in the academy where she had once studied herself. Still, apparently, that was really her destiny. After all, in her original life she was the mentor of the main character.

Although she is now a teacher, her character hasn't changed a bit. The last time the woman came to visit, there was a real scandal about it.

— Children, you know, in the old days your mother was in love with me… But unfortunately, someone came between us and drove us apart.

— I think your head is about to be separated from your body,» Rachel warned her in such a calm tone that it became scary.

— You see…! — Maxie pointed her finger,» She's threatening me again! It was exactly the same last time!

It was moments like this when I watched their quarrels from afar and could barely contain my laughter. It's nice that things never change.

In the midst of this confusion, I drank my tea in peace and felt completely at peace. Because I knew that the same thing would happen again in a year, in two years, and would follow us throughout our lives.