Chapter 165 - 1: Mother and Son

Chapter 165: Chapter 1: Mother and Son

Lien Kingdom, the Capital.

Taronia.

"Congratulations, ma’am! It’s a boy!"

The nurse stood by the hospital bed, her face beaming with a smile, yet her eyes harbored an unconcealable pity.

"That’s wonderful... This is truly wonderful," the woman on the bed revealed a gratified smile upon hearing the nurse’s words. Enduring the pain of her sliced abdomen, she anxiously asked, "Is he healthy?"

"Very healthy!" the nurse quickly replied.

She wasn’t lying. For a premature child delivered via C-section, the infant was healthier than she had ever expected. It was nothing short of a miracle.

The nurse was actually quite perplexed. When this beautiful woman was admitted to the hospital, she was only seven months pregnant and showed no signs of labor. Forcing a C-section under such circumstances was extremely dangerous for both the child and the mother. However, the orders came from above; as a lowly nurse, she had no say in the matter. Fortunately, both the child and the mother were strong. They were two very lucky people.

At this thought, the smile on the nurse’s lips grew a little gentler. She carefully cradled the infant and stepped a bit closer to the bed. "Would you like to see him?"

The woman on the bed shook her head. "Has his father come to see him?"

"Well..." The nurse hesitated. During the delivery, a man in a suit had indeed come by, but his attitude was cold; he didn’t care much for the woman or the child. She heard that the hospital’s Director had personally received him. The man hadn’t asked much about the woman’s condition. He only instructed them to report the exact time of birth and whether the infant was healthy so he could relay the details to the Earl.

It was only then that the nurse realized the man wasn’t even the child’s father, but merely an errand-running steward. She decided it was better not to tell the woman such a cruel truth.

Looking at the beautiful and fragile woman, the nurse said softly, "Someone did visit, but he seemed too busy and left quickly."

"Is that so?" The woman breathed a sigh of relief, happy tears welling up in her eyes. "As long as he came... As long as he came." Tears rolled down her face like pearls from a broken string.

"Please don’t cry, ma’am," the nurse quickly consoled her. "You’ve just been through surgery. Extreme emotional fluctuations aren’t good for your recovery."

The woman nodded, but she couldn’t stop crying. Facing this situation, the relatively inexperienced nurse was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

"Um..." Struck by a sudden idea, she took another step forward with the baby in her arms. "Ma’am, you haven’t named him yet, have you? How about we think of a name for him together?"

The woman gently shook her head. "Take him out first," she said softly. "I want to rest for a while..."

The nurse paused for a second before nodding hastily. "Of course! Ma’am, call me if you need anything. I’ll be right outside."

She took the young infant and left the ward. The child was just born and seemed to be in good health for now, but being premature, he still needed a series of subsequent observations and examinations.

After handing the baby over to a colleague, the nurse gazed toward the ward for a long time. She suddenly realized that this beautiful woman didn’t seem to care about the child as much as she had thought. If that was the case, why had her first question upon waking up been whether the baby was healthy? The thoughts of the rich were truly hard to understand.

The nurse was very young, only in her early twenties. She had just graduated from nursing school this year and was very lucky to have secured an internship at the hospital. Having only been working for a short time, she always harbored an extraordinary passion for every patient. During her rounds, she would ask about their conditions in detail. Whenever she noticed they were in a bad mood, she would initiate conversations and try to cheer them up. Being confined to a hospital due to illness was already unfortunate enough. At the very least, she hoped her patients wouldn’t suffer so much mentally.

Through their frequent chats, the nurse gradually learned some basic information about the woman. Her name was Marian Brooks, and she was the exact same age as her—only twenty-one. She was gentle and quiet. The thing she did most often was sit on her hospital bed and stare out the window, looking as though she were in a daze, or perhaps waiting for something.

Unlike the other young, beautiful, and powerful girls the nurse had met, Marian didn’t carry any condescending sense of superiority in her words or actions. When she spoke to others, she was always gentle and kind, yet simultaneously cold and aloof. She didn’t like interacting with anyone. That is, except for the Earl.

One month after the child was born, the Earl paid a secret visit to the hospital. Since the nurse had a good relationship with Marian and had been the one taking care of the baby all this time, she managed to catch a glimpse of him that day. He was tall and handsome, but the overriding impression he gave off was cold, dangerous, and terrifying. It was as if he could control a person’s life and death with just a casual word.

The Director and the Head Nurse, who were normally so imperious and bossy, practically wanted to bow their heads to the floor to show their humility when facing the Earl. But the Earl didn’t even spare them a glance. He walked over to the nurse and looked down to check on the child’s condition.

"How is his health?" a deep, steady voice rang in the nurse’s ears.

The nurse froze for a moment before snapping back to reality and hastily answering, "He is very healthy, sir! He’s the healthiest baby I’ve ever seen!" Mustering a sudden burst of courage from who-knows-where, she tentatively offered the child to him. "You are his father, aren’t you? Would you like to hold him?"

As her words faded, a deathly silence fell over the room.

The Director’s forehead was dripping with sweat, and the look he shot her was filled with sheer terror. It was only then that the nurse realized she had said the wrong thing. Meeting those icy eyes, she felt a layer of cold sweat break out across her back. She practically thought she was going to be executed. She was just about to apologize and beg for mercy when, unexpectedly, the man didn’t get angry. He merely took a step back, indicating that there was no need.

Before leaving, he even gave the nurse a nod. "Thank you for taking care of him these past few days."

SLAM.

The room door was closed. Only after confirming that he had gone far away did the Director let out a massive sigh of relief. On the other side, the nurse’s legs had gone weak. Her tone carried the daze of someone who had just survived a disaster. "I-I’m sorry, Mr. Director..."

Before she could finish her apology, she saw the fifty-something-year-old Director rush over with a vigorous stride.

"Alina, you have worked so hard these past few days!"

"...Huh?"

"That’s right, Alina!" The Head Nurse also chimed in, her face covered in an obsequious smile. "You really have been working too hard lately. If there’s anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask!"

Alina was completely bewildered by their sudden enthusiasm. She was at a loss for how to respond when, suddenly, the main doors of the room were pushed open.

BANG!

Amidst the loud crash came the worried cries of the other nurses, "Mrs. Brooks! You haven’t fully recovered yet, please don’t get out of bed..."

Alina looked up in a daze. At the doorway, that normally quiet and beautiful face was now filled with anxiety. Marian frantically scanned the room, yet failed to spot the familiar figure. Her eyes instantly turned red.

"Where is Earl Sir? Where is Earl Sir? Since he came all this way, why... why wouldn’t he come to see me..."