Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90 - Light And Shadow>
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112 - The Morning Comes>
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118 - After The Storm
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132 -
Chapter 133
Chapter 134 - Epilogue 1.3
Chapter 135 - Epilogue 2.1: Traces Of Life
Chapter 136
Chapter 137 - Epilogue 2.3
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141 - Epilogue 4.1: Ever After>
Chapter 142 - Epilogue 4.2
Chapter 143 - Epilogue 4.3
Chapter 144 - Epilogue 5.1>
Chapter 145 - Epilogue 5.2
Chapter 146 - The Most Romantic Weekend>
Chapter 147 - Short Stories 1.2
Chapter 148 -
Chapter 149 -
Chapter 150 -
Chapter 151 -
Chapter 152 -
Chapter 153 -
Chapter 154 - Short Stories 3.1: Unexpected Things Happen>
Chapter 155 - Short Stories 3.2>
Chapter 156 -
Chapter 157 -
Chapter 158 -
Chapter 159 -
Chapter 160 -
Chapter 161 - Short Stories 5.1: The Man Behind The Mask>
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164 -
Chapter 165 -
Chapter 166
Chapter 167 - Short Stories 6.2
Chapter 168 - Short Stories 6.3
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189 (End)
Categories Genre: All, Completed, Fantasy Status: Completed ______
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
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LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 189 Page No. 188 Page No. 187 Page No. 186 Page No. 185 Page No. 184 Page No. 183 Page No. 182 Page No. 181 Page No. 180 Page No. 179 Chapter 139
Chapter 139:
Bina ordered her maids to help Liliana clean up. With new makeup and Bina’s own jewelry, Liliana looked gorgeous. Bina told her to keep her jewelry as a pregnancy gift and make sure to tell her husband about this great news when she returned home. Liliana blushed and thanked her shyly.
Liliana decided to have dinner with Bina before leaving. Before the meal, when Bina started to bath the baby princess, Liliana gaped in shock.
“Y, you wash her yourself?”
The maids standing nearby flinched. Bathing a baby was a job for servants, not even for maids and certainly not for an empress.
Bina smiled and explained quickly before Liliana misunderstood the situation.
“Oh, the maids insisted on doing it themselves, but I love bathing her. When Luc is with me, he helps too.”
“T, the emperor helps?!”
Liliana couldn’t believe it. The emperor of this kingdom bathing a child was shocking.
Bina answered casually, “In my homeland, even the highest born parents usually have a very hands-on approach to their child rearing.”
“R, really?”
“Yes. You bath your baby a few times a day, breastfeed her, and make sure to spend a lot of time with your baby. That’s the best way to create a strong bond. This is very common in my land.”
Liliana was surprised again. “You wash your baby a few times a day?”
Bina nodded. Liliana would become a mother soon, so Bina decided it was best to tell her as much as possible.
“Yes. Frequent bath is the key. Drying thoroughly after is also very important. There was a queen in my neighboring country where the queen had sixteen children and ten of them grew up to be adults.”
Bina remembered reading about the 18th-century Austrian female ruler Maria Theresa who managed to successfully raise an unusual number of children despite the high newborn mortality rate at the time.
One of the main reasons for this success was the strict hygiene protocol. At the time, it was considered radical, but Maria strongly believed in keeping herself and her children clean.
When her accomplishment became widely known, this practice started to spread throughout Europe.
Liliana’s eyes shined with interest.
“Ten children?”
She looked surprised and Bina nodded. “Yes. It was a long time ago, but it apparently worked very well.”
“Just frequent bath is enough?”
“Yes. I heard that washing with water can prevent sicknesses.”
Bina didn’t think explaining about germs and infection would be helpful. It was best to simplify so people here could understand. As long as the result was good, it wouldn’t matter the understanding of the reason behind it.
She continued, “Of course, you also need to make sure the people around the children keep clean as well. Their hands need to be clean when dealing with the baby. Baby’s plates and bowls also need to be cleaned with hot water. We follow these rules in my land and many more newborns survive there.”
Liliana listened carefully. She seemed to have forgotten her anxiety and instead, she was acting like a mother already. Bina continued to giver her helpful basic bits of advice.
She also started to breastfeed Beatrice in front of Liliana and added, “And you don’t have to feed directly, but breast milk can be very good for the babies.”
Soon, Bina’s unique caring method spread quickly throughout Rombrook. Liliana was the first to follow and the other highborn ladies followed suit. Ladies liked to follow the newest trends. Originally, only the poor families raised their children this way and the highborn families always looked down on this method. However, as soon as they learned that the empress and the princess followed this way, everyone started doing it as well.
This new fashion became a norm after time, and it was the biggest reason for improving the newborn mortality rate in this world.
One morning on the breakfast table.
Emperor Lucretius dropped his bread at his wife’s news.
“A… baby?”
Five-year-old Princess Beatrice, who was sitting between the two parents, smartly pointed out her father the emperor’s mistake.
“Your highness, you have dropped your bread.”
Usually, Lucretius would correct her daughter to call him dad, but he was so surprised at the unexpected news that he forgot.
“You… are pregnant?”
The respected empress Sa Bina of Cransia nodded elegantly. “Yes. I wasn’t feeling well, so I called for Regia. She assessed me and told me the news.”
Regia was Lowson’s only female student who became the empress’ and the princess’ physician. With excellent skills, she was now a respected royal doctor.
Lucretius looked confused as he gazed at his wife’s belly, which was still very flat.
“How many months?”
“She said about three months.”
Lucretius continued to stare at his wife with both happiness and fear. His beloved wife would have his baby again, so of course, he was ecstatic. However, he couldn’t help but remember the difficult time they had with the first pregnancy five years ago.
While Lucretius shuddered at the thought of her first labor, Bina helped her daughter with her dish and explained, “Next year, you will have a younger sibling.”
Beatrice thought for a second before asking her mother. “Is it like Aunt Liliana’s Cullen getting a younger sister Rose?”
Looking at her intelligent daughter proudly, Bina nodded. “Yes, you got it correctly. Would you like a younger sister or brother?”
The answer the little girl gave was a shock to both Bina and Lucretius.
“I would like it to be a younger sister because if it’s a brother, he will become the emperor.”
“…”
“…”
Silence fell in the room. Bina looked at her daughter in surprise while Lucretius asked as if he found it funny, “Why do you think that?”
Beatrice looked up at her father with the same green eyes and answered, “If it’s a younger brother, I wouldn’t even get a chance, but if it’s a sister. I might.”
This was not an answer Bina expected from a five-year-old, but Lucretius laughed loudly. “Yes. You are right.”
“You… I mean, your highness!”
Lucretius smiled at Bina’s frustrated exclaim.
“…”
They were surrounded by maids and servants, and their daughter was also present, so Bina decided to keep quiet for now.
Later when they were finally alone, Bina asked sharply, “Don’t you think that was unnecessary?”
“What are you talking about?”
Bina got frustrated at Lucretius who feigned ignorance. She knew Lucretius was very well aware of what she was talking about. He was trying to avoid the conversation, but this was important. When she heard Beatrice’s answer, her heart fell.
Bina understood this was normal in any royal families. Competing to become the heir was part of everyday life. What Beatrice said was also true, and that was why it made Bina feel fearful. The new baby would be Beatrice’s biggest competitor, especially if it was a boy. The male child would have the best chance at the crown.
Bina knew what kind of responsibilities and dangers came with the crown. She chose Lucretius despite knowing this because she was ready and willing to accept it all. However, to have her own children fight for it was not something she considered.
It wasn’t that the thought didn’t cross her mind, but she thought things would be different in her case. This was why Bina took such care while raising Beatrice. She breastfed her and made sure she and Lucretius were hands-on parents. She wanted to create a happy family she always dreamed of and Lucretius was only happy to make her wish come true.
Her children fighting over the crown was the worst possible outcome for her family, yet Lucretius seemed unconcerned.
Bina finally exploded.
“Luc!”
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
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