Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence Chapter 662 - 384: The Birth of Louis’s Daughter (Part 3)

Louis gazed at Sif.

Sif shot him a quick glance, her eyes breathlessly urging him toward the door: "Go on. I’ll be fine."

Louis softly grasped her hand, yet in the end, he walked out.

Emily had rushed over from the corridor's far end, draped in a robe, her blue hair messily bound up, obviously just roused from bed in a hurry.

After hearing the details, she dashed into the room without pause, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Not until the door sealed shut before his eyes did Louis fully grasp that he was powerless to help.

All he could do was linger beneath the corridor.

Though the corridor stayed warm from wall oil lamps and the nearby fireplace by the birthing chamber, his hands felt utterly rigid.

Sounds from beyond the door remained subdued, yet each pierced his nerves sharply.

Elena issued calm, steady directives, Emily offered soft comforts, and now and then Sif let out muffled groans from deep in her throat.

Louis remained upright, back rigid, confronting some unseen foe.

He understood Sif's strength, her exceptional bloodline, physique, and Fighting Energy surpassing the norm, but childbirth offered no arena where power alone banished every danger.

Despite the Daily Intelligence System assuring smooth progress today, anxiety gnawed relentlessly at him within.

Louis balled his fists tight then released them, pacing to the corridor's end before circling back repeatedly, never straying beyond a dozen steps from the door.

Fortunately, the wait avoided endless agony.

After some indeterminate span, a calming herbal incense aroma seeped through the door's gap.

At last, a voice tinged with mirth emerged from inside: "A baby girl! Both mother and daughter are safe!"

Those plain words sapped the tension from Louis’ spine.

He lingered there, body easing back a touch, as though freed from some unseen taut bowstring.

A narrow opening appeared as the door cracked ajar.

Elena leaned her head out, face etched with expert weariness yet beaming a smile: "Lord, you may enter now."

Firelight wrapped around Louis as he crossed the threshold.

Sif reclined halfway against the bed's headboard, sweat still beading her brow, white hair disheveled, her face showing not pallor but weary relief.

At his sight, she offered a faint smile, nestling a tiny bundle in her embrace.

Emily gave a discreet cough and ushered the rest outside with poise, sealing the door and leaving only the hearth's crackle.

Sif lifted her hand faintly as Louis drew near, extending the bundle toward him slightly.

"Look." Her tone rasped a bit, unusually tender, "Our daughter."

Soft fabric swaddled the infant, revealing just a flushed little face.

She appeared unaccustomed yet to this realm, eyelids mere slits, perhaps flinching from the flames or peering instinctively at the unfamiliar.

Louis peered into those tiny eyes.

Chaos gripped the Empire, the post-Dragon Throne conference landscape a broken board where pieces tumbled with razor edges.

Still, she arrived right then.

This very timing hardened Louis’ resolve to shield her from those cursed tempests.

"The name..." Sif sank into the pillow, words drifting lightly, "You decide."

Silence held Louis briefly.

Flames flickered in his gaze, casting a gentle shimmer.

"Orelia." His whisper carried softly.

That name lingered on his tongue, shunning Barbarian wildness or Imperial nobility's florid lengths, its sound mild, evoking calm and radiance.

Sif echoed it, savoring each syllable deliberately: "Orelia... our daughter."

With those words, full relaxation washed over her, head nestling softly on Louis’ shoulder, heavy lids descending.

One arm steadied her shoulder while Louis cradled the fragile bundle with care in the other.

A faint wriggle stirred the baby, drawing a barely audible sniffle.

Bright flames blazed, outer winds and snow lashed the walls, but stayed far off.

"Welcome to the Red Tide." Louis murmured low.

He recognized the world beyond wouldn't soften for a newborn's arrival.

Yet within this fortress, in the glow-warmed chamber, tonight a true haven of warmth and serenity existed.