In a chamber of the Stellaris Palace, a maid was breastfeeding a newborn baby, with the head butler supervising.
The baby was the heir to the throne, the firstborn prince and the crown prince. The reason a maid was nursing him, and not the empress, was that the empress had died during childbirth.
However, the news of the empress's death and the birth of an heir was kept secret from the outside world. Not even the common folk, the nobles, or the palace guards knew. Only the Royal Council, two highly trusted maids, the empress's personal knight, and the Emperor himself were aware.
The reason for this secrecy was simple: the Emperor knew he had many enemies. Therefore, from the moment the empress discovered she was pregnant, the Emperor had confined the news to only his most trusted circle.
Returning to the present moment, the maid nursing the prince said softly, "I hope this child will be strong like the Emperor and gentle like the Empress."
The head butler, hearing this, softened his expression and said, "Do you know the reason for the prince's name, Carsel von Stellaris?"
"I do not."
"The name was given by the Empress. 'Carsel' in the ancient tongue means 'protector,' and 'Stellaris' means 'star.' Carsel von Stellaris means 'protector of the star.' The Empress believed this child would become a protector someday."
"A fine name, but I don't understand the last part. What does it mean he will become a protector? Protect from whom?"
"That... only the Empress knew."
In the Emperor's private chambers, the Emperor was working on a pile of documents that needed his signature. He was accompanied by his aide, Tharlic von Veltharis, the non-heir son of Duke Veltharis, who had chosen to become a supporter of the current Emperor.
The Emperor's name was Arthur von Stellaris, the most powerful emperor of his time, stronger even than other kings who were 50+ years his senior.
As the silence stretched on, Tharlic decided to break it. "Your Majesty, forgive me if I am overstepping into your personal affairs."
"Yes, what is it you wish to say?" the Emperor asked his aide without looking up.
"When will Your Majesty go to see Prince Carsel? Is it because of the Empress? My father once advised me that time will not heal all wounds, nor will it bring back those who are gone."
"I don't say this because I believe I am wiser than you, Your Majesty, but because it means I have simply made more mistakes."
"It's alright, and thank you for the advice... I will go see him tonight," the Emperor replied, his voice hoarse.
That night, Arthur was seen walking down the corridor toward his son's room. He wore a yukata-style kimono, the type of garment worn after a warm bath.
Along the way, he passed a large wedding photograph of himself and the Empress, but Arthur did not turn his head; he ignored it completely.
Tap
Tap
Footsteps echoed. When Arthur reached the door, he opened it slowly, not wanting to wake his only son.
Tap
Tap
His footsteps were softer now. Before the Emperor lay a baby, completely bald, but with an above-average birth weight of 3.1 kg. The baby was sleeping soundly, without a care in the world, while his own father was tormented by countless thoughts.
Arthur Stellaris's Point of View
I watched my son sleeping in the large bed. He was as cute as my wife had hoped.
When I remembered her, tears fell unconsciously. When my wife was still alive, she always talked about wanting to have many cute and adorable children. And I... I would just listen to her chatter with a gaze full of love. I would have willingly listened to her talk forever, because that was her.
My legs trembled, and I knelt before him. I am a feared Emperor, yet look at me now, kneeling weakly at the memory of my own wife.
My trembling hand reached for Carsel, wanting to caress his cheek. His cheek was soft, like my wife's bottom... no, that's backward. It was my wife's bottom that was as soft as a baby's skin.
"My son, do you want to know a truth?"
"I don't love you. I care for you because you are my wife's son."
"The reason you were created was to bind your mother to my side." A shocking statement, as a father would normally love his own flesh and blood.
Arthur continued with a strange smile on his face.
"Your mother was very wild when she was young. She was naughty, loved to play pranks on her classmates at the Academy. While other women tried to act graceful to show their elegant charm, your mother was more like a hooligan."
"But that's precisely why I loved her. I loved her smile, her laugh, her eyes, her personality. I loved everything about her."
"Before I met her, I always saw such mischief as improper behavior. But when I saw your mother acting that way, I just laughed. I ate my own words."
"She turned my heart upside down."
I turned, my back leaning against the edge of the bed as I stared at the floor.
"When she found out she was pregnant, she was overjoyed, saying she couldn't wait for you. She even studied how to properly care for a baby. And in the end, when her child was born, she wasn't there."
"She lied. I hate her and love her now. She once said she would be with me until the end, but she didn't keep her promise. I hate her for that. But I also still love her."
My throat went dry, and tears streamed down as I spoke the next words.
"When she was heavily pregnant, she asked me something that was incredibly difficult for a husband and a father."
"Some people die while giving birth to their child. If the doctor were to later say, 'Save your wife, but your baby will die,' or 'Save your baby, but your wife will die,' which option would you choose, hubby?"
"I would choose you," I answered, looking into her amber eyes.
"Why?"
"I believe a baby is a gift from God, and when they grow up, they will have their own family. In the end, the one who will accompany me is my wife."
"Hmm."
I saw her face, wanting to give an opinion but hesitating.
"What is it, bunny? Tell me," I said, holding her chin and guiding her face toward mine. She was 160 cm tall and I am 190 cm, so it was natural for her to look up at me.
"What if I told you to choose to save the baby?" she asked.
My hand unconsciously tightened on her chin.
"And abandon you?"
"Y-yes."
I realized my action might be hurting her, so I released my right hand.
"Why?"
"I think it's a woman's destiny. It wouldn't matter if I died in childbirth. The real problem would be waking up to find the child I carried for nine difficult months gone from my womb," she said, tears streaming down her face. When a woman is pregnant, her hormones are unstable; even a strong woman can cry over trivial things.
I reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks, showing her my most beautiful smile.
'You're only thinking of yourself. If you were gone, what would become of me?' I monologued internally.
"I give you my permission to remarry if that happens," she said, as if she could read my mind.
"No, I will not marry anyone else."
When the day of labor arrived, the doctor in charge of my wife's delivery approached me and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty. I wish to discuss something privately."
"Speak here," I replied, then cast a soundproofing spell.
"The Empress's body is weak. If we proceed with the delivery, the Empress will die, but the prince will live. If we stop now, the Empress will live, but the prince will die."
"Which option does Your Majesty choose?"
My heart shattered when I heard those words. My eyes turned red, my entire body trembled. I wanted to gladly say the first option, but when I imagined my wife waking up and screaming hysterically, asking where her baby was, I couldn't bear it.
I couldn't bear to see her suffer.
In the end, I decided...
It is enough that I am the one who suffers. My beloved must not. From the beginning, this was my mistake. I was selfish.
I am currently 19 years old, and my wife is the same. I once read in a book that if a woman gets pregnant at a young age, she is more susceptible to miscarriage because her body is weak. My wife didn't miscarry, but her body was weak because it hadn't fully matured like someone in their 20s.
I should have gotten her pregnant then, I should have controlled my desires. My wife died because of my own selfishness, and as a man, I must take responsibility for my actions.
And so, I chose the second option...
Third Person Point of View
Back to the present - but in the Imperial Capital. The capital's name was Stella. The city was bustling, as it was now January 2nd, of the year 1000. The city had been lively since December 31st of the year 999.
You can probably guess the reason—the new year brought many performances, special sales, and tourists.
In a park, a group of 17-year-old teenagers were gathered, enjoying the festivities. They weren't wearing expensive clothes; the young men wore simple shirts and trousers with boots. Likewise, the young women weren't wearing the gowns one might expect; they wore practical attire similar to the men's.
Althair von Kaelvros's Point of View
I was chatting with my classmates. We were students from the grand academy named Ostrivien. Well, not students anymore. We had just graduated.
As we were discussing our future plans and laughing at a joke, I saw a man in a black cloak that concealed his entire body.
I immediately stood up. My friends, noticing, turned to see what I was looking at.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Rio asked.
"Answer the question, or we'll have to resort to force," Alicia warned.
He was suspicious. For all we knew, he could be a criminal. If so, we had to stop him. There were too many people around.
Suddenly, he began to cast a spell with words we didn't understand. I realized it was the ancient tongue, and he was creating a rune. I didn't know what kind of rune it was, but it looked dangerous. I shouted to my friends who were already moving toward him; fighting an enemy of unknown power was incredibly risky.
"Everyone, get away from him!"
The rune began to glow.
I quickly began to cast a spell of my own.
But...
BOOM!