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“AGHH!” A tortured scream echoed throughout a castle during a storm that yearned for the world's destruction. 

“Push! Just a little more!” A handmaiden lay next to a woman with a face that, normally as fair as can be, was red enough that those witnessing it might believe the blood vessels in her face were exploding.  

“I CAN’T ANYMORE!” The woman screamed once more and made a final attempt to birth the child. As the child came out, thunder resounded throughout the kingdom. The baby’s birth was the most ominous moment in the history of the empire.

“Congratulations! It’s a beaut-” The handmaiden started to rise with the baby in her arms before her face turned pale and she fell to the ground. The newly born baby remained safe as a slim pair of arms caught it. 

“Y-You-” The woman who had just given birth watched in horror as this stranger cradled the baby.

“Shh. You’ll disturb the child. I felt it. She is the one who will bear suffering for an eternity. We should all be grateful, but mortals may never understand the realm of the gods.” The stranger stayed in the dark, so their features were unknown, but their delicate voice revealed them to be a woman. The strange woman kissed the child’s forehead as the mother watched in horror. The strange woman was speaking in riddles. Surely her child would not suffer? And how could a mother not understand her daughter? 

BANG

The door was opened with brute force and a man in armor appeared. “Evelynn! Our child-!” The man rushed in but froze when he saw the woman holding his child. He was the only one who saw her features that evening, and he would never forget them for as long as he lived. He watched the woman’s lips curl into a sneer. 

The woman cackled as she loosened her grip on the baby and it floated to its mother’s arms. “Truly a pity. I warn you both to raise her wisely and with caution.” The woman left those final words before she disappeared in a flash of light. 

“Herman…” Evelynn, the mother of the child and the wife of Herman, the man who stormed in, gasped as she felt her body weaken. Herman rushed towards her and grabbed her hand. 

“Evelynn! Please! Hold on! A priest is coming!” Herman begged her. She was his wife. The one who truly cared for him and the one he truly cared for. He couldn’t lose her, and he couldn’t watch her die in front of him while he remained powerless.

Evelynn tried to breathe, but she felt the strength leave her body. From the moment the child landed in her arms, Evelynn realized something was incredibly wrong. But this is her daughter, and she loves her unconditionally. “Name… Lesa… Her name… Please… Her-” Evelynn died with a whisper. Her body went slack, but her daughter remained carefully protected in her embrace.

“No… No… Please!” Herman screamed as he grabbed Evelynn’s body which was losing warmth fast. Herman sobbed as he realized that she was truly gone. But his wife had left a piece of herself here, his daughter, Lesa. “I will take care of you Lesa. I won’t let any harm come to you.” A part of Herman loathed his daughter as without her his wife may have lived, but he also acknowledged that Evelynn gave her life for this child, and this child was hers and the only proof that remained of their relationship.

Several men rushed into the room through the broken door. “Duke!” They froze as the scene in front of them registered in their minds. The Duchess was dead, the handmaiden was dead as well, and their lord was kneeling on the floor. The child was nowhere to be found.

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Herman turned and glared at them. “You’re too late.” He stood up and faced his soldiers, revealing to them that his child was safe. “Prepare to depart.” Herman calmly stated and marched out of the room past the soldiers with Lesa in his arms.

“Wait! Duke! Where are we headed?” The men hastily followed after their lord and his newborn child. 

“The palace.” Herman continued walking without missing a beat. Those who didn’t know him would assume that he didn’t care the slightest about his wife as she had just died but he’d left her body on that bed without a single glance back. 

The commander of the soldiers paused and ordered a few of the soldiers to go and fetch the Duchess’s body so she could have a proper burial back at her home. He understood that Duke Herman wasn’t thinking straight out of grief. He just watched his wife die in front of him. The shock was likely too great for him to even register that she was gone. The burial would be a way to honor Duchess Evelynn as well as give the Duke closure on his wife’s death. 

Swiftly, the duke jumped on his horse and started heading towards the palace. He would occasionally glance down and stare at his child. She was newly born, so there was little hair on her head, and her eyes were still closed. Herman wondered if she would look like him, with black hair, amber eyes, and sharp features, or more like her mother, with deep caramel-colored hair, bright blue eyes, and more soft and delicate features. Herman could feel his eyelids tremble at the thought of Evelynn. He kept repeating to himself: She’s dead. She’s dead. She’s dead. But his heart couldn’t accept it. He held hope. He would arrive home and she would be there, that all of this had been an illusion, but the child in his arms was a clear reminder that this was reality.

As Duke Herman arrived at the palace, the King walked to greet him. “Duke Herman! Did you accomplish your mission?” Herman clenched his fist. The emperor was a kind-hearted man, but he was weak. If the emperor was stronger, would his wife have survived? Silver hair that shone in the sun and light purple eyes that were said to hold a sacred power. The emperor fit the appearance of a royal, but his demeanor was out of place.

“I did what you asked. I vanquished the commander of the enemy forces.” Herman jumped off his horse and kneeled while maintaining a stable balance with his child in his arms. 

“Stand! Stand! This is a wondrous occasion! I remember you said you had a wish before you left?” The King probed. He wondered what a man like Duke Herman von Carstein could desire so much he left his pregnant wife. 

Herman clenched his jaw. He left so he could bring honor to his wife and child. He wanted to fulfill the wish that Evelynn had for their child. “Your Majesty, King Vicar, you are generous and wise, and I implore you to grant two wishes of mine.” Herman wanted honor for Evelynn as well as her wish to be fulfilled. 

“Interesting! Let’s hear it!” King Vicar smiled. Herman had been his friend for a long time, and he had no qualms about granting an additional wish for him.

“My first wish… I wish for a holiday to be celebrated on my wife’s birthday every year to celebrate her kindness. I want a royal decree declared to officiate this event.” Herman stared at King Vicar.

“I shall grant your first wish,” Vicar waved his hand at an attendant to grab a royal decree. “Now, what is your second?” 

Herman gulped and made eye contact with King Vicar. “My daughter… Lesa von Carstein… I wish for her to be engaged to the Crown Prince, your eldest son, Ernest Hal Anselmet.” Evelynn’s wish for their child was for them to be happy, and Herman believed that their child could obtain happiness by becoming the empress and wielding ultimate power over the nation. Power brought benefits and these benefits led to happiness. He wanted his daughter to have every advantage possible to find happiness.

“Hmmm… An engagement to the crown prince… This is not a decision that I can make lightly. I will make my decision after your daughter, Lesa von Carstein, has turned five years old.” King Vicar nodded and smiled.

Herman nodded back. “Thank you. I must be going now, Your Majesty.” He knew the King had postponed making the engagement official, but this was for the best as it gave him time to solidify his daughter’s status and nurture positive feelings between their children. Announcing it at this moment could be seen as hasty and make his daughter’s position as the Crown Prince’s betrothed unstable. It would also be seen as favoritism as one of his wishes had already been granted. Herman was not an unreasonable man, and although the King was weak and kind-hearted, he was no fool.

Herman secured himself back on the horse and headed towards his home. Lesa had been sleeping peacefully in his arms during this whole ordeal, and a small smile was on her face. To truly suffer, one has to know what happiness is.