The Romantic Trials Of A Transmigrated Empress-Chapter 269: Early spring.

Morning came, bringing an early spring along with it. In the Eldorian new empire, where winter had ruled for many months a frozen river crackled and a tiny robin perched on the frost-kissed windowsill of a bedroom chirped brightly.

Sigrid’s eyes fluttered open to the sound and looked around. As the recollection of what had happened the day before came to her mind, her hand moved to her stomach. Had she failed to keep the pregnancy after all?

"System..." She called out. Before she could ask the question, another voice in the room cried out, ’she is awake,’ and Sigrid turned her head to the the direction of the sound.

It was Mauve and she was not the only one in the room. Roland was sleeping in a chair by the head of the bed. John and Elowin were sharing a sofa that had been moved in in the night. Both men were sleeping on opposite ends and Kip Givenchy was laying between them, curled up like a baby in a womb.

The door was opened slowly and more people entered the room, waking those that had been sleeping. This prompted Sigrid to sit up and face everyone. She saw a lot of smiles which meant there was no bad news.

"System, my baby."

"Host, your baby was saved by Cosmos." It answered her. "I do advise that you be careful in your actions from now on. Do not physically assault the holder of the halo until it has been extracted or you will suffer the backlash."

Her hands were both grabbed at the same time, Roland took one and Lord Thorin, the other.

"My love, how do you feel?" Roland asked her.

His eyes were heavy withe exhaustion, he had hardly slept all night it seemed. Faint shadows pooled beneath the, like ink bleeding into the fragile parchment of his skin. Through the fatigue, she saw faint red, and she guessed that maybe he had cried secretly.

"Sigrid, how do you feel?" Lord Thorin asked her. He tugged on her hand and she looked from Roland to him.

Her father appeared to be just as haggard as her husband.

"Is there something we can get you?" Duchess Mila asked. She did not wait for a yes or no and just shouted out "Bring some winter melon soup for the crown princess."

"And bread." Lord Thorin said.

"And bread." Duchess Mila shouted.

"And some tea, warm." Roland suggested.

This went on for a while, and they ordered for at least eleven drinks and foods or snacks before Sigrid retrieved her hands and yelled for them to stop.

"Tell me about Deanne." She said.

Lady Iryne cooed and said, "She gave birth to a baby boy, he is quite fat and energetic. It must be why he gave his mother such a difficult time. Why should I tell you when I can just show you?" She turned and left the room quickly.

Sigrid looked at her father. "Father, how is Deanne?" Her mother had answered the wrong question...a question that Sigrid had not asked.

Lord Thorin understood what she meant, his wife was so excited to have a grandchild that she had provided the wrong answer. "She made it through just fine thanks to your help and that of the phantom midwife. She lost a lot of blood so she is on bed rest for a while. Your husband has assigned her a royal doctor and nurse that are taking care of her until she has fully recovered."

Sigrid turned her head to Roland and she squeezed his hand gently. "Thank you my love, I knew I could rely on you to help my family in this difficult time."

Lord Thorin recalled the help that Roland had given, it had only come after he ensured his wife--Sigrid, was okay. He had not even stepped out of this bedroom to take a look at Deanne and her baby. Not that he could be blamed, after all, his only tie to the Thorin’s was Sigrid.

Rather than feeling uncomfortable by the way he handled the matter, they had to be grateful that he loved their daughter so much that everyone else’s well being came second to hers.

Sigrid turned her eyes away from Roland, squeezing his hand one more time. She held on to it like a needy consort determined to hold on to an emperor with a harem that had a dozen wives and concubines competing for affection.

"Has everyone been here all night?" she asked her family.

"We took turns watching over you." Elowin said. "It wasn’t as if we could sleep in Deanne’s room to watch over her. Nathaniel was there for that and Deanne’s mother Lady Ivory Everard, she showed up in the middle of the night."

"With ten carriages!!!" John whispered his disbelief. "I don’t think that she is planning to leave anytime soon. She demanded that her maids be assigned guest bedrooms, large ones too. Oh...and she gave the cook her own food menu. She also said her horses eat only top quality hay and fruits. She said we should save the cheap stuff for our skinny camels!!! The woman is mad I tell you--bloody insane."

"Do not talk about the marchioness like that John." Duchess Mila shot her grandson a look that communicated her disapproval. "But yes, Lady Ivory is not the most pleasant guest."

"We have only prize studs and mares in our stable grandmother. Where did she see skinny camels?" John asked.

Roland had a good idea of what the skinny camel Lady Ivory was talking about was. It was none other than Venom, Sigrid’s horse. Many months had passed and all that grown on the horse was its hair which Sigrid occasionally tied in knots and decorated with girly ribbons. It also had hair on its hooves. Roland had never seen a horse like Venom, short, chubby, shiny and useless!!

But, he did not plan to share any of this with John lest his wife chomp on his hand the way Venom did every time they crossed paths.

"Siggy, thank you for what you did for Deanne, if it had not been for you...." Duchess Mila shook her head. She refused to say out loud what the consequences of Deanne’s fall would have been if Sigrid had not rushed to her aid.

The mood in the room changed, from bright to dim.

"I don’t know what she was thinking going to Emmah’s shop in her condition." The duchess exhaled tiredly. "And to try and harm her knowing that it was all a futile effort anyway!"

"Let us all take this as a lesson. Before I tell you that her lucky artifact has been destroyed completely, keep all the plotting at a distance and stay away from her." Sigrid told them.

The doors opened again and Lady Iryne came in with the bundle of joy, Deanne’s baby. The mood turned bright again. Lady Iryne approached Sigrid and sat down on the bed.

"Here he is, unnamed baby Thorin." She introduced the baby, looking at him through love filled eyes. "His parents cannot agree on a name so we are calling him Thor for now. Would you like to carry him?"