Chapter 19
Wise had inherited the throne at the age of 24 and his father was enjoying his free time with his mother. Since he had inherited, Wise had a lot of work to do, fortunately Belle also helped him when he needed time for other things.
That was taking care of Harumasa and their child. Since Wise had married Harumasa and they both thought that the Eridu Kingdom needed a successor. So Harumasa experimented with various magics, and finally he succeeded in conceiving a child.
That magic changed his biological body structure a little, but it did not last forever. If Harumasa were to become younger, that magic would disappear and he would have to use it again.
Under the pretext of ensuring population, Wise had made Harumasa give birth to three children and currently there were twins in Harumasa's belly. There was a high chance that it would not stop there. And now, Harumasa had to carry his big belly and hold Wise's head for forcing him to have an unplanned pregnancy.
Wise also had a bad habit, which was fighting over milk with his child. Because newborns need to breastfeed, Harumasa also changed some of his body's biological factors to take on the role of 'mother', but the amount of milk was not as much as a woman's. The milk was already low, yet Wise kept asking to drink it.
Harumasa had asked Lycaon for help many times, the butler could only sigh, preventing Wise from entering Harumasa's room.
"Brother, I'm taking care of some paperwork for you, not for you to go to your queen's place to have fun.", Belle stared at Wise, who was feeding grapes to Harumasa.
"Haha.... Just a little more... Anyway, the due date is coming soon, I can't rest assured leaving Harumasa alone.", Wise smiled awkwardly, and took another grape to feed Harumasa, who was reading a book.
"Wise, there's still three months left, not this week.", Harumasa reminded, turning to the next page of the book, "Besides, Lycaon is watching over me. This is my third pregnancy, not my first."
"I know... But I can't stop worrying....", Wise reached out to lightly touch Harumasa's big pregnant belly and received a tap on the head from the other.
"If you know that, then try to control yourself every time you go to bed with me. Every time you get excited, you say you're going to have another one."
Wise sighed, returning to the office to continue. Their children were all carefully watched and raised by someone. Usually, they would have both of their characteristics, hair color, eye color, or some other characteristic, but not exactly the same as both of them.
After all, they were children created by special methods, it was difficult for them to look exactly like either of them.
When giving birth, Wise was always by Harumasa's side and had her hair pulled. Harumasa always said that giving birth was very painful, so he forced Wise to suffer the same pain.
As a result, every time she gave birth, Wise was by her side and had her hair pulled by Harumasa. Every time she gave birth, Harumasa would have a handful of Wise's hair in his hand. Sometimes Belle would tease him that if she continued to make Harumasa pregnant, Wise would go bald.
Wise was also thinking about asking the wizards to create a hair growth potion, at least he didn't want to go bald, it would look ugly.
Although Wise had thought many times that Harumasa's health was not good, every time she gave birth she was bedridden. But every time she faced Harumasa on the bed, sobbing and calling Wise's name, Wise couldn't control himself.
Maybe he would be recorded in history as the most horny emperor in the history of the Eridu kingdom.
"Wise, what are you thinking about that you're so absent-minded?"
"....nothing, it's just that time flies."
Wise's face had already begun to show wrinkles of old age, and so had Harumasa's. But both of them knew that sooner or later Harumasa would start to get younger, returning to the stage when he was a baby. Their children had also grown up and become talented figures in history.
Wise had passed on the throne to their first child and was enjoying his old age with Harumasa. For Wise, now he only needed a deep sleep to never see Harumasa again, ending a long life. But for Harumasa, this was no different from the blink of an eye in his life of dozens and maybe hundreds of years.
"....will we meet again in the future?"
"Yes, but in a different identity. You may not be a prince anymore and I will not be your personal butler. But I am sure that we will meet again."
"...that's enough."
The flower petals from the vase on the nightstand swayed slightly and fell onto the table. The church bells rang in the distance, perhaps it was time for prayer.
"See you again, Wise."
.
New Eridu, Random Play.
"What's wrong, Belle? Why are you crying all of a sudden?", Wise raised his eyebrows at his little sister who was holding her phone and sobbing. She said she found a good novel and now she was crying after reading it.
"....I feel so heartbroken...", Belle sniffled, wiping her tears with a tissue and blowing her nose, "You have to read this novel [The Prince and the Butler]. It's really touching...."
"Huh? Oh, it's a popular novel on Inter Knot, right? I see a lot of people talking about it."
"That's right, but what makes [The Prince and the Butler] so appealing is not only the plot of the troubled love story between Prince William and the butler Haru, but also the last line written."
Belle showed Wise the last sentence written right below the word [End]. And he could understand why this novel became a hot topic of discussion.
[Based on the true story of the first great mage of the Eridu kingdom.]
"Huh? Is it true?"
"That's right! There are some articles that show evidence that the Eridu Kingdom used to exist, but it collapsed and was gradually replaced. There are no mages anymore, but there is still evidence that they existed."
Wise nodded, there were only Hollows and Ethereals now, no mages.
"Ah, it seems like it's time for your appointment with Harumasa, right? He just got out of the hospital and he's already asking to go to Elpis Port to play."
"That's right. I'm going now. Please watch the store."
Wise quickly ran out of Random Play and went to the meeting place. After solving the old problem related to Harumasa's master and Kirishima, Harumasa's illness temporarily stabilized a bit. But that was only a temporary method to prolong Harumasa's life.
Wise could see the figure of the guy wearing a yellow headband squatting down, trying to touch the stray cat but failed, and was even hissed by it. As soon as he saw Wise coming, Harumasa hurriedly tattled on him.
"Wise.... That cat bullied me...."
Wise burst out laughing, pinching Harumasa's cheeks, "You provoked it first, it didn't bully you."
He looked at the person opposite him, who was a little shorter than him, his complexion was better than before, it seemed that Harumasa had recovered quite well. At least he looked more like a living person.
"Oh right, have you heard of the novel [The Prince and the Butler]?"
"Have you read it too, Harumasa?"
Harumasa shook his head, smiling, "No, I haven't read it. I've only heard about it."
"Belle cried so much because of that novel. She even asked me, 'Do you think they'll meet again?'. I said I didn't know. I don't know if that story is true or not, anyway."
"They met again."
Harumasa smiled mysteriously and turned his face to look at the sea. Wise didn't understand the meaning of that smile and that sentence. He moved closer to Harumasa.
"Hmm? Is there a side story about those two meeting?"
Harumasa just smiled, didn't answer, and instead just looked into the distance. He wouldn't tell Wise the answer, it was enough for him to know.
On Harumasa's phone, which was reading the news, the latest news kept popping up.
[New discovery, traces of the royal castle of the Eridu kingdom have been found.]
[There is a large magic circle in front of the gate, no one can enter, not even machines.]
[The truth about the existence of the first great mage of the Eridu kingdom. Is that a real person?]
Harumasa looked at Wise, then pulled the other party's sleeve.
"Alright, let's go eat."
"Yeah."
Wise wouldn't know that Harumasa was ready for his next rejuvenation. He hoped that his partner wouldn't be shocked.
And no one would know the faces of the two characters mentioned in the novel, because the paintings of their faces were in that magically protected castle.
The princess who could pierce the great mage's protective barrier with her sword didn't exist at this time, so Harumasa wasn't worried that his matter would be exposed.
At least he would be able to continue living beside Wise.