Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought · Medical Bay No. 1.
It was also, at this moment, Charlotte's delivery room.
With the first cry,
the first of the boy-girl twins was born.
Charlotte stubbornly opened her eyes, her forehead all over sweat by now.
"Let me… see… the baby," Charlotte said, struggling.
The medical staff at once carried the baby to the head of the bed so Charlotte could see.
"Grand Marshal, it's a girl. The elder sister," a medic said.
The moment Charlotte saw her child she was taken aback, and the words slipped out of her mouth without thinking: "So ugly…"
The medic could not help laughing, seeing the tangled look on Charlotte's face.
She explained, "Grand Marshal, newborn babies all look like this. She'll be fine in a little while. I'll put this one in the incubator first; you push a little more, there's still a little brother who hasn't come out."
"Mm," Charlotte answered; but the next second she felt her heart give a lurch.
Sharp pain swept through her mind.
Somehow she was in great anguish just then.
The anguish came not from her body, but from her mind,
as though something important were about to go far away from her.
"The mother's heart rate is a little unsteady…" The medical petty officer noticed something wrong and at once began adjusting.
Luckily this strange turn of Charlotte's lasted only a few seconds before she was back to normal.
After that, perhaps because she had spent so much strength.
Charlotte fainted outright.
But luckily the second child, too, was born safely.
Who knew how long passed.
When Charlotte opened her eyes again, she saw white walls.
She felt as though her whole body had come apart; she had never imagined that having children would be such exhausting work.
"She's awake! The Grand Marshal's awake!"
Just then came a cry from beside the bed.
It must have been the medic keeping watch at her bedside.
Soon hurried footsteps came from farther off.
In no time, a ring of doctors and nurses in white coats stood around her bed.
Beyond them, Charlotte saw Lilith.
Lilith gave her a slight smile.
Charlotte answered with a smile too, to show she was all right.
Her eyes swept around again.
But she did not see the figure she had hoped for.
She could not help feeling a little let down.
But she comforted herself: she had told him before that he was not to come back until he had finished the business on the battlefield.
He must still be on the battlefield now.
She wondered how the fighting at the Hive Nests was going.
Very smoothly, surely.
After all, before her labor, all she had heard was good news.
The doctors and nurses around Charlotte examined her; about ten minutes passed.
Only then did the crowd thin somewhat.
A doctor stood before Lilith and said, "The Grand Marshal is still very weak for now, but there are no other problems. She only needs a few days' bed rest."
"Mm, thank you. You've all worked hard." Lilith thanked the doctors and nurses.
Then the room fell quiet.
The doctors and nurses had all left,
leaving only Lilith and one guard soldier keeping watch at the bedside.
Only now did Lilith have the chance to go to the bedside and look at Charlotte in the bed.
Charlotte tried to sit up, but had no strength anywhere in her body.
"Don't move! The doctor said you're still very weak. You need bed rest for a while." Lilith stopped Charlotte from trying to move, holding her down.
Seeing this, Charlotte gave up trying to sit up.
She said softly, "The children…"
"Both children are in incubators right now, very healthy." Lilith pointed to a large floor-to-ceiling window of glass on Charlotte's left.
Charlotte turned her head sideways.
Only then did she find there was another room next to hers,
with only a large pane of clear glass between them.
And in that room were two incubators.
Two newborn babies lay good as gold in the incubators, with some doctors and nurses looking after them.
As Charlotte looked at the two babies, the light of a mother's love shone in her eyes.
"I so want to hold them properly."
Having said this, Charlotte looked to Lilith. "How are things on his side?"
"His Majesty's side is going very smoothly. He's dealing with the second Hive Nest. With the experience of clearing out the first Hive Nest, dealing with the second is only a matter of time. The two Hive Nests' counterattack is wilder, though, most likely just the last flare before death. The fighting's expected to end, with the battlefield cleared afterward, in a week to half a month all told. And he asked me to tell you. That he's truly sorry he can't be at your side at a time like this," Lilith said softly.
Hearing this, Charlotte smiled faintly. "I knew that's how the fellow would think. It's only having a baby, nothing important. By comparison, the battlefield is what really matters. Can I have a video call with him now?"
Charlotte made this last request with some hope.
But Lilith shook her head and said helplessly, "I'm sorry. Didn't I just say the enemy on the second Hive Nest battlefield is striking back? They've laid a great many T5 Starlight Fireflies around the battlefield. It's badly jamming the quantum communication network. So far, what we know of the battlefield area all comes second-hand, through interstellar stealth scout ships sailing out of the interference zone and relaying it. So direct communication isn't possible right now. If there's anything you want to say to him, you can tell me now. I'll have someone pass it on with the next message," Lilith said, somewhat helplessly.
Hearing this, a flicker of disappointment showed in Charlotte's eyes.
But she still smiled and said, "In that case, never mind. Once he's back there'll be plenty of time to talk. I'm fine here. Go on and see to your own work. You've too many things to take charge of these days." Charlotte looked at Lilith.
Lilith nodded.
Then, after a few words reminding Charlotte to look after herself, she turned and walked out of the room.
Once out of the room, she quickened her steps toward a restroom not far off.
No one knew what Lilith was doing in the restroom, but the faint sound of something heavy striking could be heard.
A few minutes later,
Lilith stepped out of the restroom and looked at herself in the mirror over the washbasin, her eyes full of every kind of wild feeling.
"Lilith… don't forget what he left you to do. You can't fall apart now!"
She splashed cold water on her face.
Lilith brought herself back to calm once more, and went on with her work.