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Chapter 262: [Side Story] Euphemia El Lauren Louerg - Cattleya (2)

After giving birth, Euphemia was moved to another room where she fell into a deep sleep.

Ferzen who had been staying by her side, rose and drew the curtains.

A kind gesture to prevent the sunlight from seeping through the window and waking Euphemia.

Clack.

"......"

He took a few more steps and approached the cradle placed next to the bed.

Inside it, lay an unfamiliar thing. A living being, wrapped in a warm cloth, breathing softly as it slept.

It was their child.

Who was yet to receive a name.

Rustle.

After gazing at the sight for a while, Ferzen took out his glasses from his pocket and put them on.

Considering he hadn\'t worn glasses since killing Ciel Midford, perhaps there truly had been some mental changes in him.

“You’re…Ugly.”

Without a single hair, wrinkly skin, and chubby cheeks.

He couldn’t find any traces of Euphemia or himself anywhere on this child.

Were all newborn babies like this?

Whose eye color would the baby take after?

Ferzen reached out and slowly stroked the baby\'s cheek.

In the Underworld where time didn’t move in a straight line, he had seen this child already grown up, and he felt nothing…

But now, why was his heart drowning under the currents of his turbulent emotions?

A newborn that spends most of the time sleeping,

Imaging this baby babbling, learning how to crawl, and then toddling around in the future made Ferzen smile.

Yet, as the newborn opened its eyes, Ferzen held his breath for a moment.

Golden eyes, just like Euphemia’s stared at him.

Realizing that this child was undoubtedly Euphemia’s daughter, Ferzen slowly rocked the cradle.

The cradle swaying side to side like a rocking chair tried to lull the awakened baby back to sleep, but the baby\'s eyes, growing even clearer, stared intently at Ferzen amidst it all.

Truthfully, Ferzen considered it a win just for the fact the baby didn’t burst into tears the moment it saw him. But he couldn’t figure out what the baby staring at him wanted, so he merely continued to rock the cradle.

"Wah..."

Then, as if unable to wait any longer, the baby showed signs of bursting into tears, and Ferzen flinchingly removed his hand that was rocking the cradle.

Swish.

And he quietly picked up the baby and awkwardly held it in his arms.

"......"

"......"

The baby, who had been frowning, ready to burst into tears, now yawned softly with all traces of crying gone, still looking up at Ferzen in the warmth of his arms.

"Clever little thing."

Even though a baby\'s only means of expressing itself is through crying, Ferzen chuckled, feeling like the newborn had already used that to its advantage.

Perhaps his child was a genius?

As an inexperienced new father, Ferzen was already having such thoughts as he adjusted his hold to make the baby more comfortable.

"...You look awkward."

After a short while, Euphemia\'s voice suddenly rang out, causing Ferzen to turn his head.

Following his movement, the baby also wriggled its head, turning its face sideways towards the familiar voice.

"It really doesn\'t suit you at all…..."

Euphemia spoke in a soft voice, still greatly weakened even with the help of the IV.

But at the same time, seeing Ferzen holding their daughter in his arms filled her with an indescribable happiness.

"You should sleep a bit more."

"I need to breastfeed..."

"We can get a wet nurse right away."

"I\'m not so busy that I need a wet nurse, and once I\'m better, we\'ll be going up to Louerg... It\'s fine."

Seeing Euphemia shaking her head and reaching out both hands, Ferzen reluctantly handed the baby over to her.

Euphemia familiarly pulled down her shoulder strap, revealing her now more ample breasts.

As soon as she brought the nipple to the baby\'s tiny mouth, the baby instinctively began suckling vigorously.

If his obsessive-compulsive disorder hadn\'t been incompletely cured, would he have lain beside her and suckled on the other breast?

The thought made Ferzen feel both ridiculous and bitter.

The OCD that had haunted him for so long had been partially cured by embracing Lizzy……

Yet, some traces of it remained in him.

HIs preferences were forever altered due to living with such mental condition for so long.

While Ferzen no longer suffered from a psychotic desire to forcefully correct an asymmetry, he still favored objects or environments that were symmetrically aligned.

"Burp...!"

The baby, having drunk enough milk, let out a small burp following Euphemia\'s patting hand.

And soon after, it instantly fell asleep, so Ferzen picked up the child and laid it in the cradle.

Immediately after, the doctors entered the room on time.

“My Lord and Lady. There are no issues with the child. However, it will take about 21 days for the Lady to return to her daily life, and about 100 days for her body to fully recover. So, it would be safe to delay the return to Louerg for a least a month. I also advise waiting at least 4 months before trying to conceive a second child.”

After the examination revealed no issues and the IV was replaced, the doctors left the room.

Ferzen sat beside Euphemia.

There was a promise he had made to her long ago.

If they had a child, he would tell her the one and only reason he loved her.

But thinking back on it…

Was her ratio that didn\'t trigger his obsession really the reason for his love?

At that time, he couldn\'t say he truly loved Euphemia.

It was only a possessive desire close to obsession.

A means to an end.

Just like someone with poor eyesight used Glasses,

Or someone who couldn’t speak had to use Sign Language.

Euphemia was merely a tool for Ferzen to calm his OCD.

"It\'s alright."

"......"

"Now, even if I don\'t hear the reason you love me through your own mouth... I\'m not too anxious anymore."

Seeing Ferzen struggling to open his mouth, Euphemia reached out and gently clasped the back of his hand.

Honestly, being human, Euphemia couldn\'t completely quench her curiosity…

But it wasn\'t to the point of needlessly tying a noose around her neck with an inferiority complex like before.

Because she realized it through the sight of Ferzen holding their child in his arms, awkwardly trying to act as a father.

The man before her eyes would forever be her husband from now on.

And the father of the child she gave birth to.

And Ferzen, rather, gave a bitter smile inwardly at Euphemia\'s attitude before opening his mouth.

“I was a complete madman, Euphemia.”

"......"

“Ever since my early childhood, I suffered a strong compulsion to achieve perfect symmetry in all things. Because of this mental condition, I almost gouged Jeremiah’s eyes. Furthermore, the reason I crippled Lizzy was also because of my OCD. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t overcome this disorder, so in the end, all I could do was arm myself with habits I desperately sought to create, so I could be able to live.”

Euphemia stayed silent as Ferzen continued to tell her the truth.

“After many years, I managed to create a handwriting that wouldn’t trigger my OCD. My hands now fixed my attire by reflex. I would intentionally blur my focus when staring at others……Because of this mental disease, the one named Ferzen turned into an incorrigible egoist, filled with cruelty.”

"That\'s not..."

Euphemia tried to say it wasn\'t so, but recalling Ferzen at their first meeting, it wasn\'t wrong either, so her words trailed off.

“There’s no need for empty platitudes, Euphemia. I’m not trying to receive your comfort now.”

“......”

“Now, I’m sure you are wondering, why such a man did all those things to obtain you.”

"I won\'t deny it... I said it\'s fine even if I don\'t hear it, but if you want to say it yourself, I will hear it…”

Raising her lowered head, Euphemia clearly gazed into Ferzen\'s crimson eyes.

Ferzen also continued speaking without avoiding her gaze.

“Yes. But I first must apologize to you. While my OCD was the reason for my obsession with you…It couldn’t be called love.”

“......”

“You see, Euphemia. Your body is perfect. Symmetrical in all angles. Looking at you brought me peace. It was like I was staring at the vast sky, or a calm lake. That’s why I desperately sough a justification to surround Louerg and make you mine.”

“Ah……”

“Honestly, despite making a promise…I hesitated several times to reveal this fact…I feared you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Flinch!

Just as Ferzen said, Euphemia unknowingly tried to look at the mirror.

“I imagined that you, who already feels inferior to Yuriel, would stress even more upon hearing this. Because you might have struggled to somehow maintain the only advantage that Yuriel couldn’t have.”

“......”

“But, don’t do that.”

Ferzen got up from the chair, sat on the bed, neatly arranged Euphemia\'s disheveled hair, and stroked her cheek.

“...I feared the worst today, that’s why I put on these glasses to look at our child and you…”

“......”

“But there was nothing to fear. Your body still gives me peace…However, even if this changed, the way I feel about you, Euphemia, would not.”

Patting Euphemia\'s back, which trembled slightly as if containing anxiety, Ferzen let out a deep sigh.

"Euphemia."

"Yes..."

“My childhood wasn’t good. My formation years couldn’t be called proper either. My only objective was to not get hurt. From other’s point of view, my struggles must have looked like a sign of maturity…”

“......”

“You see, I never got angry at my parent’s nagging, or something similar, that all children do.”

After his severe OCD was discovered, Ferzen was neglected and abandoned.

“As I grew older,  I had no chance to realize that my parents weren\'t perfect either."

Because before that, his parents had passed away.

"From their death, I also failed to realize that I should have the mindset that someday I\'ll have to let someone go."

Because the bond between him as a child and his parents was thin enough to be flimsy.

"So I was a child who only physically became an adult, lacking true maturity."

"......"

"And I filled that deficiency through you. And I\'ll continue to learn from now on."

Ferzen used to unilaterally impose his emotions and will,

But as he learned the emotion called Love, he changed, little by little.

He also learned how to comfort others and be considerate of them.

“......You were the one who allowed me to change. Who allowed me to grow.”

“......”

“You may have suffered from an inferiority complex…But your existence became something vital to me. Without you, I am incomplete. You were the one who taught me how to be a husband, and now you will teach me how to be a father to our child.”

And.

“This child will teach me the things I could never learn in my childhood.”

A child getting annoyed at their parents’ nagging.

A child who will someday look at their aged self and feel nostalgic for the past,

A child who will become sad by realizing that death comes to all.

Because emotions were an exchange between people, not a game to see who can impose their will onto another.

Even without being in that position, he would learn countless things he didn\'t know through his child.

"...Don\'t cry, Euphemia."

Euphemia, who had been listening silently, shed tears without a sound,

Wiping the corners of her eyes, Ferzen smiled.

His smile was now very familiar, different from the first time.

"I thought about the child\'s name. You scolded me, saying I have no sense in naming... But I still think this name will suit very well."

"What... name is it?"

“Carlea….I took inspiration from the Cattleya Flower.”

A flower that represented, beauty, elegance, strength, and most of all…

Maturity.

“It’s a name I thought of, considering that this child will be the final destination of the process where I, an incomplete human, will reach through both of you…”

“...It’s a good name.”

Seeing Ferzen trailing off, Euphemia shook her head and snuggled tightly into his arms.

"Is that so?"

"Yes... It\'s so pretty."

As Euphemia nuzzled his cheek like a child, Ferzen gently patted her back with his large hand.

"Euphemia. No, Euphemia El Lauren Louerg."

"Yes..."

"I love you."

Words that were truly difficult to hear from this man\'s mouth.

And at that one phrase, more sincere than ever, Euphemia raised her head with a sobbing face and responded.

"I love you too..."

Ferzen Von Schweig Louerg.

*****Flutter.

The wind blowing through the window tickles the curtains.

And what can be glimpsed beyond that is...

The tail end of spring.

During this joyful period, a happy family bloomed as summer approached.

May 3rd.

The lovely princess who was born in this world…

Received a name without equal,

Carlea El Lupia Louerg,

The one who was born in the Spring,

And one who yearned for the Summer.