Chapter 385 - [Bonus Chapter] LATE VALENTINE SPECIAL

NIKOLAI wondered what Mona was up to when he found his lover staring at the sword lilies in the garden he gave to her as a present. He knew sword lilies were Mona's favorite flowers, but he still found it unusual for her to space out like that. She didn't even notice his presence.

[What is she thinking about?]

"Mona?"

She didn't hear him the first time he called her.

So he squatted down beside her and gently nudged her shoulder while calling her name again.

[Why is she so distracted?]

Only then did Mona finally notice him. She turned to him and smiled at him sweetly, like she often did. "Oh, hello there, gorgeous."

'Gorgeous.'

Only Mona would call the emperor who killed his own father to ascend the throne as 'gorgeous.'

"You're really something, Mona."

She laughed softly at his remark. "Where did that come from?"

"You're the only person on the continent who has the guts to call me 'gorgeous' in my face."

She laughed softly. "Isn't it my privilege as your lover to do so?"

"Oh, you're right," he said, then he stood up and offered his hands to her. "I only want to hear those words from you, anyway."

She smiled and accepted his hands, and she let him gently pull her up. Then she linked her arm with his. "Then I'll tell you beautiful words every day." She tilted her head to one side as if she was deep in thought. "I think I'm weak against good-looking people. I hope our child doesn't inherit this awful trait from me."

"What's wrong with appreciating good-looking people?" he argued, then he pulled out a chair for her. There was a table for two set up in the middle of the garden, and the refreshments were already served. But the servants were gone since he didn't like his time with Mona to be interrupted by other people. "Moreover, you always tell me my only saving grace is my handsome face. You fell for my looks, didn't you?"

She sat while laughing and shaking her head. "Hey, I admit I like your face so much."

Mona was the only person in the continent that would call him 'hey.' If Kyle Sprouse heard her say that, the two would definitely fight again.

He sat down on the chair opposite Mona's. [I'm glad Kyle isn't here.]

"But it's not your face that made me stay with you," Mona said. "Your face isn't enough to make up for your awful personality."

"I already know that," he said, then he poured tea in Mona's teacup first. If the servants saw him, the emperor, serving Mona tea, they would definitely freak out. But he didn't want to serve him, especially since she was pregnant now. "So, what made you stay with me?"

"Your body," she said, while eyeing the desserts on the table seriously.

He, on the other hand, almost dropped the teapot.

And he was pretty sure his face turned red, but he didn't want to acknowledge that. So he pretended to be calm while pouring tea into his teacup.

[I can't blush just because she's teasing me.]

Mona picked up a piece of madeliene and looked at him with those sultry eyes of hers. "To be specific, your bedroom skills."

He put the teapot down on the table and took a deep sigh. "Mona–"

She laughed while clapping her hands, immediately cutting him off. "Nikolai, you should see your face. You're blushing!"

"I am not," he denied, even though he could feel his face heating.

"I'm just messing with you," she said, then she took a bite of the madeleine in her hand. "It's surprising, but I actually fell for your personality."

"It's indeed surprising," he said, thankful for the sudden change of topic. "You always complain about my personality, after all."

"I complain because one of us has to stay sane and selfless," she said while laughing softly. But he could tell she was serious. "If both of us acted on our selfishness, then the entire world would crumble. Imagine a Roseheart and a de Moonasterio working together to do whatever they want to do." She sipped her tea before she spoke again. "I bet even the gods would step in to break us apart."

He raised an eyebrow at her whimsical words. "I don't quite get it."

"I like how you act like you'd destroy everything if I get hurt."

"But you always scold me when I lose it."

"I told you– one of us has to stay sane for the sake of the world," she said. "But my selfish side loves how you're willing to sacrifice the whole world just for me. I know that kind of love is toxic, but what can I do? At the end of the day, I'm just a woman who wanted to be loved unconditionally by the man I love the most in the world. If I could, I would stop thinking about anything else but you."

Oh.

Now he understood what her words earlier meant.

"Unfortunately, I'm not an ordinary woman, and you're not an ordinary man either," she said with a sad smile on her face. "Before I'm a woman, I'm the Roseheart Matriarch and the Daughter of Nature. On the other hand, before you're a man, you're the emperor of the most powerful territory in the West Continent. It's already a luxury for us to be together. Anything more than this is already considered selfishness from both of us."

Everything Mona just said now was correct.

They had already broken many rules when they decided to be together. And now, they were expecting a child. Of course, only a few close friends knew about Mona's pregnancy.

But they couldn't keep the secret forever.

"I guess I will never stop feeling sorry for you, Mona," he said, his heart heavy with guilt. "You had to endure because I couldn't abandon the throne to live a normal life with you."

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't want you to abandon the throne, Nikolai. You're the only person who deserves to be the emperor of this land. Moreover, you need to make the empire a peaceful place for our child."

He wasn't exactly thrilled to have a child because he only wanted to monopolize Mona.

But he just kept it to himself.

[Mona would be sad and upset if she knew what I just thought about our child.]

"How long are we going to call them our 'child?'" he asked, changing the topic. And he knew Mona would love talking about their child, so he brought that up. "Shouldn't we think about their names by now?"

As expected, her face lit up. "I was just thinking about that, Nikolai!"

"Really?" he asked, then he sipped his tea. "Since you're a Roseheart, it's almost confirmed you'd give birth to a daughter. Have you thought about what name to give her?"

"I did, just now!" she said excitedly. "Swordlily."

"Excuse me?"

"Let's name our daughter 'Swordlily' since sword lilies are my favorite flowers."

Ah.

[So, that's why she's looking at the sword lilies intensely earlier.]

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment when she noticed he wasn't as thrilled as her about the name that she came up for their daughter. "Is it not good? Swordlily sounds cute, though."

"It's a little…" He cleared his throat and chose his words more carefully. "Mona, our daughter is going to be the royal princess of the empire. I know sword lilies have a wonderful meaning in the flower language, but I'm afraid our daughter's name would be criticized for that. The nobles wouldn't want a royal named after a flower."

She let out a deep sigh. "This is one of the few times I want you to go on a rampage and end the bloodline of all the annoying nobles in the empire."

He laughed softly at her remark. "I was reading an old book written in Solanian Language."

'Solanian Language' was already a dead language, and only the members of the royal family were allowed to learn that.

"I came across a word that might suit our daughter. Do you want to hear it?"

Mona smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yes, I want to! What is it?"

"'Neoma,'" he said softly. "It means 'beautiful moon' in the Solanian Language."

Mona covered her hands when she gasped. "It sounds beautiful." She put her hands on her stomach. Her bump was barely visible yet, but the life in her womb was growing stronger and stronger each day. "Neoma, our pretty Neoma."

Nikolai smiled while watching Mona talk to their child happily.

[Maybe having a daughter wouldn't be so bad, after all.]

***

"NOW THAT I think about it, you inherited your awful naming sense from your mother," Nikolai declared while looking at Neoma who was standing in front of his office desk. His daughter came to his office because apparently, she had something to give to him. Then, all of a sudden, he was reminded of his time with Mona when they were discussing what name to give their child. At that time, they didn't know yet that Mona was carrying a pair of twins in her womb. "Mona almost named you 'Swordlily,' you know?"

"That would have been an awesome name, Papa Boss," Neoma said, her eyes sparkling with joy. Then she handed a well-wrapped chocolate box to him. He knew it was chocolate because he could smell the aroma. "Here, for you. I made those chocolate truffles myself."

He accepted the box of chocolate. "Is this a bribe?"

His daughter laughed and shook her head. "Happy Valentine's Day, Papa Boss."

Oh.

Was it the occasion where Neoma would hand out chocolates to people she was fond of? He remembered not getting chocolates from her all this time.

[Not until now, that is.]

"Thank you, Neoma," he said genuinely.

"You have to give me a gift on White Day, Papa Boss. It's on March 14th," his daughter said excitedly. "It's a custom to give a gift to the person who gave you chocolates on that day!"

"Alright," he said, then he pointed to the map on his table. It just so happened he was checking on the mines that he owned when Neoma arrived in his office. "Would a diamond mine suffice as a present?"

Neoma looked horrified by his suggestion. "Papa Boss, why would you give me a diamond mine just because I gave you some chocolates?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Nikolai said, then he crossed his arms over his chest. "You're my daughter, so you deserve only the best gifts in the world."

***

NOTE: Hi! Sorry for another bonus chapter. I'm writing some stockpile for the main story, and the fighting scenes are pretty hard to write since I'm quite busy lately.. Sorry! Will post the next chapter for the main story tomorrow.