Celine's words from the past came to Lucian's mind: 'We are living in unstable times, waiting for things to become stable is just a waste of time.'
It was a foolish decision to become pregnant at this time, and a very careless thing to do, but Celine's world had never been stable and safe. She had stopped waiting for it to become so.
She told Lucian that any heir would be a blessing to the Rochefort house.
The Duke would not reject their child, but he might use him or her to his advantage, especially if he could control the mother.
If the Duke found out who the real father was, he would definitely make use of him too.
'Maybe I should just go to her father and ask for her hand,' Lucian mused. They could all use each other like a big loving family.
Her father was right next room. All Lucian had to do was to get up and go talk to him.
He could stay with Celine and not feel like a criminal sneaking in to see his own child.
Lucian had the necessary funds, the connections, and the power. What more could the Duke want?
"Is it the Crown's prince?" The Duke's voice came through his ear, not even asking who the father was. He was stating what he wanted the answer to be.
"Whoever assures my child's safety," Celine whispered weakly, "...is the father."
Lucian's head dropped in his hands, his fingers pulling on his hair in frustration. Right, he was not a noble.
"It's not the Crown Prince's," the Duke concluded.
And he was not wrong.
Celine's muffled whimper made Lucian's heart jump.
"What are you doing?" she gasped, "Don't touch me."
Lucian was up on his feet in an instant, ready to break down the door, but the physician's words stopped him.
"Your Grace, the child is endangering her life. I advise we take it out," the physician said, "The longer we wait, the more Young Miss will over-exhaust her body to keep it alive. Please, consider it."
"No," Celine gasped, her breathing ragged, as if she was fighting for every breath. "I...I need the child. I need to have the child. Don't take it away from me. Don't take it away."
Lucian pulled at his own hair, his teeth grinding against each other. He couldn't stand listening to her begging for their child's life while he stood helplessly on the sidelines.
"I...I need the child. I...need to have the child. Please," Celine trashed in her bed, trying to fight off the physician and her father.
Lucian had activated his third eye and saw her father trying to restrain her, together with the cloaked figures.
They were all females, wearing male clothes but their distressed voices gave them away.
"Young Miss, you have to calm down! You can't strain yourself!" They tried to reason with her, "You can have as many children as you want in the future. Just let this one go! It's impossible to bless it to full term! You will die!"
"Useless!" Celine screeched, "Can't even save a child. A child! You are all useless! Let go of me! Bless it to health. Bless it to health, you worthless maggots!"
"Put her to sleep," the duke ordered.
"NO! No! No, you can't...you can't...you can't!"
"Calm down," the duke grabbed her hands while they grabbed her legs, "You are going to hurt yourself."
"I...don't care," Celine hissed, "If you do this to me...I will kill myself. I will kill myself. Do you hear me? I will kill myself!"
"Celine!" the duke's voice echoed through the room, "Stop this nonsense. Stop it right now!"
"I'm not...talking...nonsense. I'm talking...sense. You think you can stop me...?" She laughed, her laughter mixed with sobs. "I can't even...give life to my child. How am I going to live with this shame? How?"
Lucian covered his mouth, stopping himself from making any sound.
"Take it out," the duke commanded.
Celine's scream was the most horrifying thing Lucian ever heard. It was full of pain, despair, and hopelessness. It was a scream that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Lucian's legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground, covering his mouth with his hands harder, stopping himself from screaming with her.
She didn't cry when her soldiers died, she didn't cry when her brother turned on her, she didn't cry when she repaired the broken cat's bell, yet she was now crying her soul out.
The drugs they gave her did not work, she continued to bleed as she refused to let them touch her stomach.
She was crying, screaming, cursing them all, and the curse she cast on whoever touched her was taking effect.
She was using both the blessings at the same time, causing her to cough up blood.
Her father started to cough up blood as well, their faces pale as death.
Lucian grabbed his mask from his bag, then pulled the hood over his head, storming towards her room.
He burst through the doors, going straight to Celine's side, the hood of his cloak pulled low to cover his face.
"It's okay. It's okay. I'm here now. I'm here now," Lucian whispered in her ear. His hand cupped her cheek as her pinned body trembled on the bed.
"You are here..." she muttered in relief.
"Your cries summoned me," he choked a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.
She didn't laugh, "Protect...our child," she threatened through gritted teeth.
"I will, I will," Lucian assured her, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Celine finally calmed down a bit, shocking all the people present.
He could feel the curse slowly dissipating, and her trembling slowly subsiding. The drugs were finally taking effect, and she was losing consciousness.
Lucian took a deep breath when her body went limb, pressing his forehead against hers.
He couldn't feel her warmth, the mask was blocking it.
The smile of the demon on the surface hid his grief underneath, allowing him to stay composed despite his next words.
"Perform the operation. Now."
Lucian rose, taking a step away from her.
Nobody cared to question him, not even her father. Everyone was in a hurry to keep Celine alive.
"I need more hot water, and clean towels!" the physician shouted as she worked. Her hands were bloody, moving wild with concentration.
Celine's blood soaked through the sheets, into the mattress, and Lucian was afraid it wouldn't end.
They cut her stomach open and removed their child.
Lucian quickly wrapped the small, unmoving, bloody baby in a towel, "I'm leaving her in your care."
The Duke wiped the blood from his mouth with his arm, weakened by the curse he was under, but he still managed to keep his composure.
"If I see any of your people following me, I won't be kind," Lucian continued.
The Duke had no time to answer as Lucian was already running out the door, carrying his child in his arms.
'You can't die, you hear me?!' Lucian looked down, speaking to the child, 'A child of Lucian Arclight and Celine Rochefort cannot die so easily!'
They both swore not to let history repeat itself.
Lucian and Celine had discussed some emergency plans for the worst-case scenarios.
However, the timing was never right, and Death didn't have a schedule.
It was trying to take away someone dear to them again, and they would be damned if they didn't try to prevent it.
╔═══ Author's note ════╗
End of Arc 5. Huray! 🎊
Any thoughts?
I noticed a small spike in the powerstones, GTs and gifts. Thank you! The consistent boost is really motivating! I won't say no for more motivation, though. 🙏 😆
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