"Ah? My dear daughter, what is this....?"
Cecilia (Note: Likely a typo for "Cecily" as it appears later) covered her mouth in shock.
The room was dim. The square bed in the center took up almost most of the space, and the half-drawn large curtains let in a little light.
On the bed--
Celia curled up steadily like a shrimp.
What surprised her mother, Cecily, was that the egg in her daughter's arms had turned into two!
Last night...
She was pregnant with another baby!
The sound of the door opening woke Celia, who hadn't fallen into a deep sleep. She unconsciously whimpered twice and opened her eyes drowsily.
She looked towards the light coming from the opened door.
A petite figure stood at the door.
But it was blurry, and the face wasn't quite clear.
At this, she rubbed her eyes hard and tried to look again.
Fortunately, the figure became much clearer.
It was a girl of the same height as herself, with a basket hooked on her elbow. Her delicate and lovely face looked somewhat similar to Celia's.
"Ah～" Celia's body trembled.
She recognized the person instantly.
Who else could it be standing at the door?
That familiar face--wasn't it her own mother!
Her muddled consciousness, which had only just fallen asleep, became mostly clear in an instant.
Looking at her mother's shocked expression with her hand covering her mouth, Celia immediately sensed that something was wrong.
She looked down at the extra egg in her arms, and her mind exploded.
She's been found out...
In a panic, she subconsciously stretched out her small hands and fumbled a couple of times, wanting to hide it so her mother wouldn't see.
But Cecily, seeing her daughter's guilty-looking appearance, was even more shocked.
She opened her mouth slightly and murmured: "Lord Ryan, you are truly amazing."
...I only mentioned it yesterday, but I didn't expect you really did it!
Celia hurriedly buried her head tightly in the nest, like an ostrich. In a muffled and timid tone, she asked, "Mom, why... why are you here?"
She didn't know why she was panicking.
It felt like--being caught doing something secretly.
Since what happened last night, that man had shown his gentle side again during the night.
She knew clearly that she was going to be pregnant with a baby, so she had been very scared, but he still coaxed her to sleep.
But in the early morning of the next day, she was still woken up by a burst of pain.
This time, though, Ryan had woken up early.
After she regained consciousness, she found herself in the incubation room.
The bed here was much softer and more comfortable than the one in her bedroom. Waking up in the man's care, the fear in her heart was greatly alleviated.
As expected, Ryan didn't lie to her this time. He seemed to have developed some kind of pain-relieving magic, similar to anesthesia on Earth.
Although there was still some pain, the intensity was much reduced. Moreover, since this was the second time she was having a baby, it was much easier than the first. So, in less than an hour, the baby was born.
Later, she was so tired that she held the baby and tried to fall asleep.
Then, she was woken up by her mother--
And her mother had come suddenly.
She herself hadn't even properly gotten used to the baby in her arms, let alone figured out how to explain it to her family. This sudden turn of events left her at a loss, so she subconsciously wanted to hide the baby from her mother.
Cecily looked at her daughter's appearance.
Gradually, a wave of distress welled up in her heart. She walked forward carefully, took off her shoes, climbed gently onto the nest-like bed, hugged her daughter's body tenderly, and said in a soft voice:
"My lovely Celia, you actually managed to persuade Lord Ryan to have a second baby. You are really amazing."
"So, why are you hiding it? Hurry and let Mom have a look."
Cecily gently held her daughter's tense wrist.
Celia held the two eggs tightly in her arms, sobbing bitterly with grievance. She huddled into a small ball and refused to lift her head.
Her delicate body trembled with sobs.
"No... wuwu... I didn't want to have it... It was, it was Lord Ry... Ryan who did it himself..."
She was very dissatisfied with that statement, and even though she was crying, she was eager to refute it first.
"Isn't that even better? It means Lord Ryan likes babies too."
"It's not good..."
After coaxing her for a while, Celia finally poked her head out and talked to her mother.
The mother and daughter sat by the window, and the curtains that had been blocking the sunlight were now fully drawn.
Ryan also came in, but he sat on the edge of the bed and didn't disturb them.
Cecily stared blankly at the two eggs that her daughter was protecting in her arms--especially the red one.
It was obviously larger in size and wobbled more frequently. This was the one that had just been born.
"Celia," she frowned slightly, leaned closer to her daughter in a kneeling and prostrate posture, reached out and gently held her ankle, and said worriedly: "Do you want me to check if you're injured? Mom knows a lot of healing magic."
"No!"
Celia hurriedly curled up her legs, moved back a little, and whispered: "Lord Ryan has treated me. I'm just a little sleepy now..."
"Is that so?"
Cecily suddenly realized, cast a grateful look at Ryan, and then immediately turned back to her daughter, asking softly: "Then... my lovely daughter, can you let me have a look at the baby you gave birth to?"
Cecily sat in a kneeling position, her arms resting on her knees, looking curious.
The two eggs were firmly held in Celia's arms. Even with just a glance, one could feel the maternal tenderness towards the child.
Speaking of which, the elves are extremely spiritual.
By nature, they are much purer and kinder than the treacherous humans.
Once they give birth to a child, no matter what the child looks like or how poor its talent is, they will basically not dislike it, and most of them will give their sincere love.
Cecily was no exception, inheriting the character engraved in the elves' bones.
"Yes..." Celia replied in a low voice, "And... I'm not lovely."
What reason would Mom have to object? She just thought that the baby would be more comfortable in her arms, and she herself would feel more at ease.
She moved her arm away from the blood-red egg in her arms.
The baby's entire appearance was fully exposed.
"Thank you, dear. Let Mom have a look～"
Cecily showed a contented smile, leaned forward, and excitedly stretched out her small hand to gently touch the surface of the egg.
"Oh?" But the moment she made contact, her expression changed.
An extremely powerful surge of magic power emanated from inside the egg.
And the nature of this magic power--was not natural magic power.
"Celia," she withdrew her hand, staring blankly and asked, "What rank is this baby?"
"I think it's... Rank 6?" Celia thought for a moment and said.
She remembered Ryan saying that, but her consciousness had been in a trance at that time, so she hadn't heard it very clearly.
"Ra... Rank 6?"
Upon hearing this, Cecily's legs suddenly went weak. She quickly turned her head, looking at Ryan with an expression of disbelief, hoping to get an answer from him.
"Mm." Ryan nodded faintly.
"Huh?"