Swiss Arms

Swiss Arms

Chapter 113

-VB-

Hans von Fluelaberg

… I didn't know what to do.

When the midwife came out to say that Isabella's delivery came to an end and I now had a son.

I didn't know what to do.

Isabella stared up at me, sweaty and exhausted, as she held our boy, who was already suckling from her breast.

"Hey," I whispered almost as if I was afraid of waking him up, even though he was already awake and suckling.

"Hello," Isabella smiled tiredly. She had bags underneath her eyes and … yeah, she didn't look good right now, but why did that only make her more beautiful right now? Maybe it was the baby? "Do you want to hold your son?"

She raised him up, and I took him with steady hands. If I didn't have so much stats in basically everything, then I might have fainted or trembled or done any number of other things, but between my burning desire to be gentle with my baby and the ridiculous numbers in my dexterity, my hands and fingers didn't even shake despite the nervousness I felt.

And I held my son.

A tiny thing.

One wrong drop will kill him.

One wrong sip of honey might kill him.

One wrong touch from me might kill him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

And suddenly, the entire world felt like thin glass.

I gulped as I held him … and patted his stomach slowly.

He burped.

His first burp!

God, my eyes were wet already.

Our son wasn't fussy, thankfully. Maybe he recognized that I was his dad? I mean… probably not but I really liked the thought.

Isabella giggled weakly. I looked up at her.

She looked near dead.

I turned to look at the midwife. "You made sure she drank the painkiller, right?" I asked her.

I had known for months that this day was coming, so of course I did the best I could to find something to help Isabella with the labor. Most of the painkillers that I found or rediscovered also came with downsides like sleepiness and lower heart rate, neither of which were good after the early stages of labor. But preparing copper bowls with purified hot waters for handwashing along with alcohol wipes(cloth, really)? I had those prepared and then some.

"Yes," the midwife replied with a bow. "The … morphine," she hesitated to say the name properly. "Was good for her. But I haven't given her another sip of it since. She is too weak to take any medicine that might slow her blood."

I nodded. "And the bleeding? You made sure to wash your hands, right?"

"Stemmed and we did," the midwife sniffed as if she found my question below her. Kind of like "what does this man think he knows about my profession, hmm?!" "But she's lost a lot of blood. She'll be bed-bound for at least a week, and nothing strenuous for full two months at the very least," she glared at me, giving me a look.

"I know. Don't worry," I told her.

She sniffed and nodded imperiously. "Then my job here is done. Good day to you, milord. I need sleep."

I chuckled as she left, leaving me alone with Isabella and our new son.

I looked at Isabella. "Thank you," I said with a smile. "You go to sleep once the servants change out the sheets. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for our son."

She smiled back and her eyes drifted close as she finally gave into the exhaustion.

-VB-

Leon of Fluelaberg

They learned about it very quickly.

The town did.

About the birth of the baron's heir.

People started talking about celebrations, because why wouldn't they? The baron now had an heir! The succession of the barony and the city was now set and no one had to worry about some foreign noble coming to take over the city they built with their own hands.

It was a joyous occasion!

Leon certainly thought so too…

But what caught his attention more than the birth of the heir was what the baron did to help.

"You said that the baron used … alcohol-soaked clothes, purified hot water in a metal bowl, and some kind of medicine?"

"Yes, I'm telling you that's what he made sure we used!" one of the servants who worked at the castle said as she wiped her hands. "He even had expensive soap prepared for us, not the ones that hurt when you use too much."

He wrote what she said down on a flimsy and overused piece of paper. Paper might be plenty around here in Fluelaberg compared to anywhere else (according to the peddlers and merchants who passed by the town), but even then, paper was a big expense. He made sure to use every spare inch of it.

And right now, he was writing down what the baron did to help the baroness… because Elena was also expecting. His wife was pretty and slender just like the baroness. She wasn't the sturdy sort who could give birth and go back to work the very next week (like his mom, apparently), if needing to take it slowly and gently for a month or so.

So he wanted to make sure that Elena also had a good and as safe labor as the baroness got. It might be the best thing he could do for her outside of their wedding rings.

… But where was he going to get soap that didn't hurt? Most soaps hurt if he used too much of it.

Maybe he could go and ask the baron? The man was approachable and kind, so the worst answer Leon might get would be a no.

Yeah, that's what he'll do. Maybe a week from now so that the baron doesn't get angry some commoner took his time away from his firstborn son. He'd seen men get angry for less.