If You Devour Poison / Doku wo Kurawaba Sara Made

Chapter 63: The Second Departure

When we rushed to the Queen's room, we saw unconscious maids lying strewn face-down across the floor and a petrified, paling doctor. And there was one brave midwife attending to the wailing infant.

"What...!?"
"No way...!"
"...Hoh."

Morino was at a loss for words, while Vanellope covered her mouth with both hands.
Leaving the stupefied pair, I peered at the baby sleeping in the canopied crib.

"...It is a princess."

Two large dog ears peeked out of her beautiful black hair as she thrashed about with her soft limbs, and a fluffy tail grew out of her backside.
When Nasha first laid eyes on her child after giving birth, she shrieked and fainted on the spot. The maids who were helping her deliver the baby also fainted one by one in shock. While the attending doctors were all speechless, an experienced midwife who had attended countless childbirths was somehow undaunted, and she silently continued to serve the wailing infant.

"...She's a healthy child. It reminds me of when Julieta was born."

The elderly midwife nodded tearfully at my words.

“Lord Anderheim… Please, bless this child. No matter what sins her parents have committed, this child is innocent."

I feared this child would henceforth never experience its mother's embrace.
At best she would be imprisoned, and at worst she would be killed and covered up. What the Queen had given birth to, was clearly not the King's child… Far from it, she was not even a “human” child. While it was the manifestation of the sins Nasha bore, the child was certainly innocent. I only wanted to avoid a tragedy with a bad aftertaste, if possible.

"...Be at ease."

I dropped a gentle kiss on the sobbing baby's forehead.

"Your birth parents may not love you, but someone else surely will. The masses may not treat you kindly, but there exists a place that will provide you peace. I, Anderheim Yucht Asbal, bless thou… Beautiful Princess. I welcome you to Palcemith, home of the Ancient Dragon Kharis."

She must have felt the warmth of a person nearby.
Her tiny hands reached out and patted around my chin as I kissed her forehead.
Morino timidly approached and peeked at the baby. Touching her ruddy cheeks, red as an apple, the corners of Morino's eyes drooped as he smiled at the soft sensation.

"She's adorable…"
"Yeah."
"…I'll impose a gag order at once."
"That's good. At the same time, spread the word that the Queen's first child was, unfortunately, ‘stillborn.’"
"I understand."

Switching his expression, Morino gently stroked the infant's head once more before gallantly leaving the Queen's room.

"Vanellope."
"…Yes."
"His Majesty is sitting here alone. Go console him."

King Vikram was beside the bed where Nasha lay collapsed and unconscious. His legs had given way when he saw his wife’s beastman child, and he had sat sunken on the spot ever since.
What would happen if a statesman was rendered immobile at this level? If he had to run the country in the future, there would be many more incidents where he would have to take into sight that were far more tragic and gut-wrenching than this.
Urged by me, Vanellope walked up in front of the seated King and stared fixedly at his unfocused visage, shaking his shoulders strongly.

"—Your Majesty!"
"Ugh…"
"Your Majesty, get a grip!"
"Ah…"
"Tch!"

As she bit her lips in anger, Vanellope's palm mercilessly slapped King Vikram on the cheek. He did not even return a word.

"Get a grip!"
"!?"
"I know you must be in shock! But you're—you're the King! You cannot come to a standstill!"
"!!"
"Look at the future! Laugh it over! It is the King's duty to smile and hold his head high, even when he is hurting and weeping in sorrow inside!"
"…The King's… duty."
"I'll help too, for I am your cousin. We are the last two descendants of the Hero Palcemith in this world. I will give it my all, in my own way, so that you can remain King."
"…Vanellope."