Avalon's Dungeon

Chapter 218

　Since then, a year and a half have passed.

　It was last year when Fransisca returned from her medical treatment with her newborn baby, and since then the court has been filled with smiles at the sight of the new addition to the little royal family.

　Now the little royalty has grown to two.

　On the carpet in the spacious children's room in the castle. Two little babies are playing there, lying on the carpet, cackling.

　One was a beautiful silver-haired princess and the other a golden-haired prince.

　The two babies, beautifully separated by silver and gold, were called the princess-maiden of the moon and the prince of the sun in Sagrado. Both of them had green eyes.

　Fransisca, who was sitting on a chair watching the babies, suddenly saw the princess take a cloth rattle from the prince's hand and said, "No," to her.

「Angelica, your little brother is playing with it, isn't it his turn?」

　"No, it's okay, Fransisca-sama," said Fatima, who was enjoying a cup of tea with Fransisca.

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　Both of them were wearing loose-fitting Sagrado traditional dress, and neither of them was now wearing priestly clothes.

「Even though they are siblings, Fernando is not a legitimate child. In the future, he will be assigned to assist the Princess-maiden. We need to make him learn to give priority to Angelica-sama, the Princess-maiden, while he still can.」

「Do you know what Alexis-sama would say if you make such a distinction?」

　Hearing Fransisca's reproachful voice, Fatima could not respond at all.

　It is true that Alexis, being the son of a concubine, does not like such a distinction very much.

「Well, that's... uh... That's...」

　The queen has a point. However, because of her position, Fatima could not help but be reserved.

　At this sight, Fransisca smiled at Fatima and said, "You know, Fatima."

「We are both Alexis-sama's wives.」

「Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency. When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't expect that you would be so accommodating」

　Fatima had recently become more and more indebted to her generous lord.

　Although she regretted a little that she had to officially withdraw from the priesthood as a concubine when she became pregnant, her current position did not seem so bad after a year had passed.

　Although she had a lot of problems at the beginning, mainly with the priests, Fatima had more allies than she had expected.

　Not only Alexis and Fransisca themselves but also Valencia, Sara, Dorothea, Lily, and Eden. Thanks to them, the priests now seem to have given up.

　Moreover, recently, the priest-king has been saying "We should increase the number of the family members" again, and Fatima, who is originally a high priestess with good family background, is even being treated as a good family member by the priests.

　Since then, Fatima was relieved to know that the prince was also treated well by the priests. Well, Alexis and his family have done a great job...

「...After all, you have done so much for me. I really can't thank you enough.」

　Fatima said sincerely, and Fransisca was not happy about that.

「Please don't say "For me". You're always like that.」

「—Hmm?」

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　Fatima sensed a slight sullenness in Fransisca's voice and she braced herself.

　She was wondering what she was going to say, and this is what she said.

「You are trying to back away by yourself. I've told you many times that I don't mind.」

「No, it's... uhh...」

「Do you understand? Fatima.」

　After being scolded by Fransisca, even Fatima could not help but nod "...yes."

　Seeing Fatima, Fransisca's expression softened.

「Yes, that's good」

　Saying this, Fransisca simply forgave her.

「Then, I will take care of Fernando today, and you can rest.」

　Fatima was surprised by the queen's proposal.

「What? B-But...」

「I know, Fatima, you haven't been resting much lately, have you? Angelica used to be very demanding when she was that age. Have you noticed? You even have dark circles. You need to get some rest. You're not even done breastfeeding yet.」

「That's... uh... Yes.」

　Fatima had no choice but to obey Fransisca.

　She used to be an educator, but recently her position seems to have been turned upside down.

　Including this fact, she felt herself unable to speak her mind.

* * *

　As Fransisca pointed out, Fatima was tired.

　After all, as soon as she returned to her private room and sank into her bed, she was immediately struck by sleepiness.

　It was only after a while that she woke up with pain in her tense chest.

　"Mmm... Ugh... I slept too much..." She wakes up in a hurry and meets green eyes.

　She saw Alexis sitting on her bed, dressed in plain clothes.

　He then grabbed Fatima's arm as she got up and said to her, "It's too early to get up, isn't it?"

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　Although she was surprised by the unexpected visitor, Fatima awkwardly touched her taut breast through her nightgown.

「It's time to breastfeed...」

「Fransisca said you could count on her and you should rest a little longer.」

「How did you know that?」

「It's natural for a father to visit his children, isn't it?」

　Hearing Alexis' answer, Fatima's face softened. It was very typical of him.

　Since the birth of the child, Alexis has been frequently taking time out of his official duties to visit the child. Such an affectionate side of Alexis is a part of him that she did not know until the birth of her child.

「What about you?」

「I came to check on you. Fransisca wanted me to. She said if I left you alone, you'd wake up.」

「...I see.」

　Fatima had mixed feelings.

　On the one hand, she was happy to see him, but on the other hand, he had come here because the queen had asked him to? If so, would he have come if the queen had not said anything to him?

　Maybe because of her hormonal balance, she has become a little negative since she had a baby.

　She wonders if it was showing on her face because, "Hey. Are you feeling like backing off again?"

　Alexis asks her a question like that.

「Well, that's...」

　At his words, Fatima is in trouble, and then Alexis sighs, "You're such a pain in the ass!"

「If I'm not careful, you'll leave me. Especially these days.」

「I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to—」

「Really? Didn't you think I didn't care about you?」

「...」

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　At the realization that he has hit the nail on the head, Alexis says, "Good grief..."

「You see, of course, I care about you, okay? I even think you're getting better and better these days」