Side Story 4 – Eight Months
Side Story 4
Eight Months
“Which one would be good?”
It had been a month… no, a month and two days. Hadel paced around the bedroom with anxious eyes.
“Asha, what should I do?”
As if truly cornered now, he drooped the ends of his straight eyebrows and made such a pitiful expression that I couldn’t help but sigh.
When I didn’t answer, Hadel adjusted the imperial princess in his arms and asked again.
“Asha, really, what should I do? Making a decision is so… so difficult.”
I’m having a hard time too.
I had no idea Hadel’s indecisiveness would be this severe.
The imperial princess was already over a month old. Yet we were still calling her “the imperial princess.”
What does this mean?
“Her name… what name would be good? Hmm? Asha!”
“Sigh… Hadel. Please stop now.”
“Nothing seems to suit this child! Every noble name seems insufficient!”
Yes, insufficient. Just like the Emperor Hadel’s dignity…
Long before the baby was born, Hadel and I had been contemplating names.
This was our first child. If it were a prince, we’d use this name; if a princess, that name…
We shared our thoughts and enjoyed the process.
Yes, that was until the imperial princess was actually born.
The problem lay in Hadel’s terrible indecisiveness. Even though we had already settled on candidates, no decision was made.
“Then what about Fiona, which Teiman suggested…”
“No, not that! That name sounds like a princess trapped in a tower. I don’t like it.”
What is he talking about now?
Though bewildered, I moved on and brought up another name.
“Then Elizabeth…”
“That’s not good either. It feels too much like a common queen.”
Common queen? Where in the world does such a queen exist?
I pressed my temples and spoke again.
“Shavetia.”
“Lacks dignity.”
“Hanelliana.”
“It’s too similar to my name. If anything, I’d prefer something closer to Asha.”
“Hashariel.”
“That’s too similar.”
“Adelphion.”
“No, that somehow reminds me of a scorpion.”
A stifling pressure began to constrict my chest. My anger was rising, as if something were about to burst from the top of my head.
I gave up offering more suggestions and called to him with a small sigh.
“Hadel.”
“That’s my name, isn’t it…oh?”
Perhaps sensing my anger, Hadel tore his gaze from the imperial princess in his arms and looked at me.
His clear pink eyes trembled slightly as he stared at me anxiously.
“Asha? Are you… angry?”
Hearing his dejected voice, I placed my hands on my hips.
A cold breeze entered through the window we had opened briefly for ventilation.
Hadel hastily closed the window in alarm at the sudden drop in temperature, but the papers that had filled the table had already been blown to the floor.
Flutter, flutter. The fallen papers were densely covered with candidate names for the imperial princess that Hadel and I had agonized over.
It had been a month and two days of naming worries.
No more.
The nobles were also pestering us to please name the new imperial princess.
Today, in this place, I was determined to settle this matter.
At first, I too had tried to find the prettiest and best name, but now I didn’t care about anything.
My eyes fell on the last piece of paper remaining on the table.
A name whose recommender I could barely remember.
“Lobelia! Let’s go with Lobelia!”
The very last name on the list of candidates that Hadel had relegated to the back, saying he didn’t like it.
“But…”
Hadel made a pitiful face, but I was exhausted now.
Seeing me standing firm with a hardened expression, Hadel reluctantly nodded.
“Y-Yes… It doesn’t seem bad… Lobelia.”
And yet I’m sure his opinion will change in five minutes. One hundred percent certain. That’s how it’s been all along!
I had to finalize it before he changed his mind. I quickly pulled the bell cord.
“Yulia! The scribe! Quickly call the scribe! We’ve decided on the imperial princess’s name!”
I had waited all this time out of respect for Hadel’s opinion, but no more. I’ve waited long enough.
“Wait, Asha! Let’s think about it a bit more…”
“No, I like Lobelia. I like it—does Hadel dislike it?”
“Well, that’s…”
Hadel’s pink eyes trembled. Meanwhile, the waiting scribe quickly entered and presented a document.
“Here, you can write it here, Empress.”
This was the imperial genealogy book that recorded the births of imperial family members. Once written with the special pen, the child’s name would be finalized.
I took the pen and began writing the imperial princess’s name without a moment’s hesitation.
Beside me, Hadel anxiously bit his lip, but I had gained a significant insight this time.
‘Indecisiveness isn’t resolved by waiting.’
“Come here, Lobelia.”
I took the imperial princess from the dazed Hadel and kissed her cheek.
The imperial princess with red eyes whose plump, soft cheeks captivated attention charmingly.
“Loa. Your nickname shall be Loa.”
Lobelia, as if pleased with her name, briefly met my eyes and then smiled brightly.
It was the most beautiful smile in the world.
MrsHokage
So we got a Shrek reference and queen Elizabeth 😆