empress of otherverse
Beatrice seemed to get nervous as her mother’s belly became bigger. She still pretended to be mature and nonchalant, but it was clear that she was still only a young child. Bina smiled at her daughter and tried to make her feel better.
“Don’t worry, Beatrice. No matter how big my belly gets, it will not burst. Even if I have a triplet in my womb, my belly will be fine.”
Beatrice’s green eyes widened. “I, I wasn’t worried about that. I’m not stupid.”
The young girl’s cheeks reddened. Beatrice was pretending not to be interested, but she kept glancing at her mother whenever she thought Bina wasn’t watching.
When Bina gasped and patted her stomach, Beatrice panicked and stood up. She seemed like she was about to call for the royal doctor, so Bina quickly explained.
“Oh, it’s just the baby moving.”
The five-year-old’s eyes widened even more. “It m, moves?”
“Yes, of course. It’s alive in mommy’s tummy. You were the same, Beatrice. You were very active where you were inside my womb.”
Beatrice looked down at her mother’s belly in amazement.
“Would you like to touch it?”
The child seemed contemplative.
“… Can I really do that?”
“Of course, Beatrice. You are going to be it’s big sister after all.”
Beatrice carefully approached her mother and placed her hand gently on Bina’s giant belly. As if it knew, the baby kicked hard.
“Oh!”
“I think the baby is saying hello to you, Beatrice.”
The little girl pretended to be unimpressed, but Bina could tell she was very excited. The empress smiled secretly. For a while, she was worried Beatrice might not welcome a new sibling, but Bina now felt certain that things would work out.
She was sure that Beatrice would love the new baby.
***
The second pregnancy was more peaceful. Her nausea wasn’t as bad, and she felt better overall. Beatrice was born earlier than expected, but the second baby was a bit late. Lucretius smiled thinking that perhaps this child will have a more relaxed personality.
The labor was also much shorter than the first time. In less than three hours, the baby was born.
The midwife smiled and announced, “Her highness the second princess has arrived!”
It was a happy occasion for everyone. Of course, some felt disappointed at the gender, but no one dared to talk about it out loud.
Bina and Lucretius would never allow anyone to talk negatively about their two princesses.
Lucretius kissed his wife’s sweat-covered face.
“You did well.”
This time, Lucretius was happier because he was able to stay by Bina’s side the whole time. The midwife bathed the newborn and brought her to Lucretius. The emperor’s hands trembled slightly as he held his new daughter in his arms.
Bina thought secretly.
‘He is much better now. He trembled so much when he was holding baby Beatrice that I used to be worried he might drop her.’
This time, he was a pro. Lucretius’ eyes were filled with tears as he looked down at the baby. After a few minutes, he handed her to his lovely wife.
“Here she is…”
Bina looked down at her baby’s face. The first thing she noticed was her golden curls.
Bina smiled gently and whispered to her husband, “She looks just like you.”
Lucretius whispered back with slight disappointment, “I had hoped she would resemble you. Oh well, let’s hope as she grows, she would look more like you.”
Bina shook her head. “No, it’s better to have your beautiful face. We succeeded with Beatrice, so I’m sure our second baby will be a success too.”
Bina seemed confident while Lucretius looked unconvinced. Just then, Bina noticed Beatrice who was standing in the corner of the room like a statue. This must have been shocking for such a young girl.
Bina smiled and gestured her daughter to come closer. Beatrice hesitantly walked towards her parents and finally saw her little sister for the first time.
Lucretius lowered the baby down to Beatrice’s height. Beatrice looked expectant and nervous at the same time.
Her green eyes widened as she whimpered loudly. “She looks red and wrinkly! I, is she sick?!”
The room filled with laughter.
***
Time passed so fast. Beatrice was already seven years old.
Bina thought, ‘Where did the time go…?’
It seemed like yesterday when she held Beatrice for the first time, but now, she was a young lady and taking different lessons including art.
Yulia chose the art teacher herself for Beatrice. It was Lady Lindel, who was a famous female artist. Women painted as a hobby, and it was rare for a woman to be a professional artist. Bina was aware of Lady Lindel as well, and she was happy for Beatrice to have her as her art teacher. Bina also planned on getting her portrait done by Lady Lindel.
Like the empress, Lucretius already had a few portraits painted of Bina. One of them was done after her coronation and another one was after Beatrice was born. Both portraits were of very high quality.
‘But they are not my taste.’
Bina had never commissioned her own portrait herself.
Portrait.
Before coming to this world, it was not a familiar concept. She always thought of portraits as old fashioned since she had only seen them in history textbooks.
She wasn’t interested in portraits until recently. She began to think about photo albums she had in Korea. Her family used to look at them together and remember the fun moments of their lives.
Bina realized she should leave something for her children. She began to feel this way after Liselotte was born. Maybe in ten or twenty years, Bina and Lucretius could also look at the likeness of themselves and reminisce of their younger days.
‘We should also get lots of family paintings as well.’
She thought it would be a great idea. She could pass the paintings down to her children and perhaps they would last many generations.
‘And maybe my descendants will look at my portrait and wonder…’
Just then, a slight noise came from the nearby crib.
Bina turned around to see Liselotte who was just waking up from her nap.
“Hello, Lottie.”
Thankfully, her second child was a calm baby. Beatrice was also a good baby, but because she was her first child, Bina always felt anxious.
Now that Bina knew better and had some experience, she felt more relaxed.
Beatrice glanced at her mother and her sister briefly before returning to her easel. Lady Lindel, who looked nervous, was helping Beatrice learn how to sketch and use paint. It was no wonder she was nervous. It hadn’t been long since Lady Lindel started teaching the royal princess, and this was the first time the empress herself attended the lesson.
After listening to her teacher attentively, Beatrice asked Lady Lindel, “Ma’am, may I try drawing by myself?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lady Lindel prepared simple objects for the novice painter to draw. She got things like glass bottles and fruits.
“Now, what would like you to draw, your highness?”
What Beatrice said next was unexpected.
“I don’t want to draw those objects.”
“P, pardon?! Then what would like you to draw?”
Princess Beatrice smiled beautifully. “I want to try drawing her highness and my little sister.”
“Oh!”