RODH Side Story Chapter 18

Side Story 18. The Blessing of Kirias

“Her Majesty the Empress herself…”

“My goodness. She hardly ever attends banquets…”

The whispers were quiet, but close enough for Ian to hear.

He bowed his head politely to the Empress, whose face clearly bore traces of hardship.

“Some time ago, I received much help from His Highness Seor.”

“I see. Seor often spoke of you.”

Seor?

Ian could not begin to imagine what nonsense he might have spouted.

But since the Empress’s words carried no hint of criticism—only praise—it seemed it had not been anything bad.

What a relief it was not insults.

Still, had Seor really spoken kindly?

Ian doubted and doubted again, yet the Empress’s words held no falsehood.

So Seor had truly spoken well of him?

Why?

Ian could not comprehend why Seor, the sharpest and proudest man in the Empire, would do such a thing.

“Let us begin the consecration. Empress, return to your seat.”

At the Emperor’s words, the Empress gave a faint smile and ascended once more.

The ceremony was simple.

One by one, holy water was touched to the babies’ heads, accompanied by prayers of blessing.

First came Leo, whose black hair had only just begun to sprout.

As holy water was poured onto his head, Leo seemed to think it was bath time and wriggled energetically.

“Uung! Uung!”

“There, there, Leo.”

Nevan firmly held his upper and lower body in place.

The Emperor and the attendant beside him both smiled warmly.

The Emperor gave his blessing.

“Grow strong and healthy, and one day become a man who serves the Empire.”

Next was Elena’s turn.

She fussed at her uncomfortable clothes, and the moment the water touched her silver hair, she burst into tears.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“It is no matter. Children should indeed cry plenty.”

The Emperor then gave his blessing.

“Grow as a noble flower that symbolizes Kirias, and raise the Empire’s honor high.”

When the Emperor’s blessings were done, others who had also prepared stepped forward in line before Nevan and Ian.

They each prayed for the twins’ health and safety.

Some, however, revealed self-interest, hoping the children might form bonds with their own houses in the future.

Though still only infants, it already felt like dragging them into the noble hierarchy’s endless rivalries, and Ian did not like it.

Yet he himself had endured the same as a child.

It was the inevitable burden of being born into a noble house.

Still, Ian hoped his children would not feel weighed down by that burden.

And above all, he prayed they would not inherit his own flaws.

Just then, Nevan clasped his slightly trembling hand.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, I was just lost in thought.”

“It will be alright, Ian.”

At his partner’s reassuring words, Ian took a steadying breath.

The children had not even grown yet—what was there to worry about?

Ian answered Nevan with a gentle smile.

* * *

On the way back from the Imperial Palace to the Grand Duke’s estate.

The babies, exhausted, were fast asleep in Nevan’s and Ian’s arms.

Ian, too, yawned as he felt Leo’s warmth sink into him.

But he hesitated to fall asleep with the children—he didn’t want to leave the wide-awake Nevan alone.

Stay awake, Ian.

He bit the inside of his cheek and turned to watch the scenery.

The sight of soil and grass slowly giving way to land covered in ice and snow was always fascinating.

“It would be best if you rested once we return.”

“Shall we take a nap together?”

Because of the consecration ceremony, there were no further obligations for the day.

Nevan nodded.

As soon as they reached the estate, Ian entrusted the twins to Blony.

“Wuung, wuung.”

Too drowsy to even focus ahead, the children fussed in their crib.

“Please, go and rest.”

“Sorry. I’ll rest just a little.”

Leaving the babies with capable Blony, Ian made his way to the Grand Duchess’s chambers.

The moment he lay down, dizziness swept over him and sleep pulled at his eyelids.

“Come here.”

When he called the hesitant Nevan, Nevan sat on the edge of the bed and leaned close until their eyes met.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Without answering, Nevan kissed him.

“You told me I don’t need to announce it when I do this.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I was looking because you’re beautiful.”

“Cough.”

Ian coughed at the sudden confession. The tips of Nevan’s ears had flushed red, betraying his own embarrassment.

“Where did you learn to say things like that?”

Ian interrogated him, surprised at how fluent Nevan’s flirting had suddenly become.

Nevan admitted he had been reading one of his newly purchased books—on romance.

“‘Love, You Can Do It Too!’ was the title?”

“Yes…”

Even saying the title seemed to shame him. Nevan kept lowering his gaze, avoiding Ian’s eyes.

Ian patted the bed, urging him to lie down.

“Then you’ll have to explain what it said.”

“Well…”

“Shall I just read it myself?”

“No…”

Nevan quickly lay down beside him. He recited the author, the table of contents, and even the practical exercises in detail.

“What part impressed you most?”

“The fifth—‘Five Traits of Long-Lasting Lovers.’”

“Really?”

“Yes…”

Teasing him with more questions, Ian eventually fell asleep in his arms.

Nevan gently brushed Ian’s face with the back of his hand.

He knew, from the physicians and from his own eyes, that Ian’s health had not been good since giving birth to the twins.

The doctor had said it would take at least a year for him to recover even half his strength.

His mana recovery, too, was unusually slow.

Had their twins perhaps divided it between them?

And just as Nevan feared, before long, an incident shook the entire estate.

* * *

It happened while Nevan was at work and the twins were playing.

Ian had begun spending longer stretches apart from them, as he had to resume the heir’s lessons he had been putting off.

He could have abandoned Ruben altogether and lived only as Ian Pearl Kirias, but he did not wish to.

Unless some distant branch relative was chosen, there was no rightful heir.

And Ian loved everything about House Ruben.

So, instead of relinquishing it, he named himself heir and Bain his proxy.

Unprecedented for any noble house—but Ruben would achieve it.

With firm resolve, Ian invited a tutor north to the estate to teach him everything about Ruben.

The lessons were far from easy.

Two subjects each morning, then in the afternoon he joined his father to hear the vassals’ petitions.

Those discussions became surprise quizzes the next day, so Ian memorized them after dinner.

It left him with little time, but seeing Nevan and the twins became the joy of his life.

That day seemed no different—until a scream came from the room where the twins played.

At once Ian and the knights rushed there.

“Kyaaah!”

“What in the world…?”

The sight before their eyes was unbelievable.

Leo clapped his hands, and the objects around him floated into the air, spinning as though stirred in a teacup.

“What’s happening here!”

As soon as Ian entered, the floating objects crashed to the floor.

“Mam-mu! Bua!”

Leo giggled at Ian, while Elena beside him silently smiled.

Afterward, Ian urgently sought Alvis’s counsel.

Alvis admitted he had sensed Leo’s abundant mana from the first time he held him.

“But I did not expect his powers to manifest so soon.”

He suspected Leo possessed an ability to move surrounding objects.

“Then could Elena also…?”

Ian asked, and Alvis carefully lifted her.

His eyes flickered.

“Remarkable. Usually, with twins, one cannot use magic. But Lady Elena, too, holds abundant mana. It is only a matter of when it will manifest.”

Ian pressed a hand to his forehead.

Please, anything but life magic.

Then Alvis asked an unexpected question.

“Do you know why the young lord and lady were born with identical mana?”