Temple Sword

Chapter 182 The First Heir
322, Great Ramadan (February)
Timisoara, Hungary
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Demeter Neksey shook the midwife's shoulders, but he soon realized that there was no life in the man in front of him.The queen was about to give birth, her waters had broken, but he scared to death those who needed it most in labor.

When they started preparing for labor a few weeks ago, Demeter prepared almost everything perfectly, he even moved the midwife into the castle, but he didn't think about what would happen if the only midwife had an accident.

But who would have thought that this could happen?

Demeter frantically ran through the deserted corridors, basically calling everyone up, and he immediately sent someone out of the castle to find a midwife even if he turned Timisoara upside down.

When he arrived at Elizabeth's residence, he noticed from the strange eyes of the guards that he was still in his pajamas, so he tucked his linen jacket into his belt, pulled his robe over it, and straightened it again.

Then there was a groan of pain from inside, followed by a louder howl.

"What happened?" Demeter bit his fingers anxiously, but the guard just shook his head.They were forbidden from entering the queen's chambers, and only maids-in-waiting and priests could help Elizabeth during childbirth.

"In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen!" came the voice of the priest, trying to use the power of prayer to relieve the Queen's pain, but judging from the sharper groans, it seemed that he was not very successful.

"When will they bring the midwife?" Demeter asked, "This is the capital of the king, so it's impossible to have only one midwife, right?"

No one answered him. The faces of the guards were ashen. They also hoped that the midwife would come quickly. They didn't want to continue listening to these terrible voices.

The next moment, the door opened, and a haggard-looking young maid came out of the queen's room.Her hair was loose from under the headband, strands stuck to her forehead, and her trembling hands clutched a slightly bloodstained rag.

"Something went wrong," murmured Demeter, recalling what he had read about childbirth. "A pregnant woman should be able to last a few hours, even a day, after feeling the pain, but the queen is already in pain, and her It's bleeding down there..."

Before the maid could speak, the Minister of Finance's face turned pale, and when she was about to speak, he had already decided not to wait any longer.

"I'm going in," Demeter declared decisively. "If the palace can't find another midwife, I'll go and greet the birth of the heir to the throne myself."

After speaking, he was about to enter the queen's bedroom, but Elizabeth's old Polish maid stood in front of him.

"Wait!" Old Nan's eyes under her frowning brows seemed to pierce him, and she stepped onto the threshold, resolutely refusing the Chancellor's intrusion. "No man is allowed near the queen's bedside except the king!" she said bluntly in a Slavic accent.

At any other time, Demeter would have backed off, politely admitting that he had been pushed too hard by himself and should have acted calmly, but not this time.

The thought that not only was the unborn child at risk, but that Elizabeth herself might die along with her fetus, ignited a strength and determination in Demeter Nexel that he had never experienced before.

"Get out of the way, you ignorant old woman!" His majestic tone made the old nurse speechless. "As the king's plenipotentiary, I have the right to go in and do my best to help the baby to be born safely. !"

"In the name of God, my lord," said the priest, "don't sully the sacred miracle of birth! You're nothing here unless you're a midwife yourself, and you don't look like one."

"Believe me, you poor servant of God, my brain is much more useful than your mouth!" Demeter pointed at the priest angrily, "I'm not here to argue, you know, I have studied a lot Tome about childbirth, so do my bidding now, or I will make you all regret it!"

The priest was not used to being commanded in such a tone, he swallowed and looked at the person who offended him in shock.Demeter, on the other hand, began to assign tasks excitedly to Old Nan and the young maid who had just returned.

"Get me a bucket of boiling water, and a dozen pieces of clean linen, hurry! And you meddling Polish woman, bring me your scissors and knife! But be sharp, or else I will drag you to the square to flog you, do you understand?"

No matter how aggressively the man spoke, Old Nan had to obey.After she and the maid turned away, Demeter squatted beside Elizabeth's pillow and held out his right hand to the queen.

"Hold this, my queen, what follows will cause you great pain," he said tenderly to the sweaty, tearful woman, who pulled out her outstretched hand. "For God's sake, I will have no trouble with you, my queen.

Tonight you will bring an heir to this kingdom, and when the sun rises, you will all be safe and sound to welcome His Majesty home, nod if you understand me! "

Elizabeth's expression twisted, and she nodded repeatedly. Demeter took a deep breath and suddenly panicked. He didn't realize what he was doing until then.

The last time I read about this method was ten years ago, he thought in horror, if I fail, the king will definitely not let me go...

"What are you waiting for, the star of Bethlehem?" he shouted to the stunned priest, "Pray to the Father, call out to the angels and all the saints, I can't do it alone, your queen needs them! "

The prayer sounded, and Demeter raised his eyebrows. He didn't know how many thousands of prayers he would need to recite before he could be pardoned for his disrespect to the clergy.

Presently the maid came back with a bucket and a great pile of cloth, and the old Polish nurse, scissors in one hand, and a knife in the other, came back panting to her mistress, and laid her things near Demeter's box, then clasped his hands and prayed for what was to come.

The Queen was sobbing tearfully, and with an inarticulate howl escaped from her throat, the Chancellor forgot that he had forgotten a step.

"Here you are, my queen," he untied the dagger from his belt, and lifted the leather hilt to Elizabeth's mouth, "bite this!"

The priest, the old nan, and the maid were all staring at him suspiciously, and Demeter knew he couldn't delay any longer.

"Let's see what's going on now... You girl, come here! Get your hands in there, we need to know if the baby is in the right place, because... God, it's so stuffy in here!" As he shouted, he pulled his neckline open with his free left hand, as if the clothes were going to strangle him.

"Where are you going?" The maid looked at him with wide eyes. "What should I do, Lord Demeter?"

Embarrassed, Demeter struggled in hellish confusion to find the right word to describe the queen's...

He cleared his throat and was about to explain when there was a loud bang from outside the corridor.The midwives came back, and they finally found a second midwife in Timisoara, who was not scared to death by Demeter this time.

The old woman with broad shoulders and thick arms walked into the queen's bedroom, and without a moment's hesitation, directly took over the work of delivering the baby.

The big stone in Demeter's heart finally fell, and his face gradually returned to blood.Just as he was about to leave in a proper manner, Elizabeth held his right hand tightly.

"Don't leave me here, Master Demeter!" she groaned in pain, "You promised you would keep me safe, keep your word!"

Demeter Nexel will never forget that night.The queen seems to be crushing the clenching of his bones, the firm words and encouraging actions of the midwife, all kinds of blood and liquid, Elizabeth's screams,

Then there is that small, naked, bloody life, this is the greatest miracle created by God, and Demeter, who witnessed this miracle, was also filled with warmth, as if in this deep winter night , It was his own blood that came into this world.

"It's a boy." The midwife announced the good news. She wrapped the fragile little life in snow-white linen and wool, and placed it on the feeble queen's chest.

Only then did Demeter realize that he was crying. He didn't know how long he had been crying, but his tears kept streaming down his cheeks.

He looked at the newborn and his tormented mother with genuine and deep affection, and he felt it was one of the most celebratory days in the kingdom's history.

Charles Anjou, heir of Saint Stephen, finally has his first legal heir.

(End of this chapter)