Eva smiled softly, her fingers still resting over his hand pressed against her belly.

  “Honey… I’m pregnant.”

  Eyan’s eyes widened as if the world had just shifted beneath his feet.

  “Pregnant?” he repeated, almost breathless.

  He stared at her.

  Then at his hand resting awkwardly on her belly.

  Then back at her face.

  Then again at her belly—just to be certain it hadn’t imagined it.

  Eva tilted her head. “Well… that’s not exactly the reaction I was expectin—”

  She didn’t get to finish.

  Still sitting on the floor, Eyan suddenly let out a disbelieving laugh.

  Not a royal chuckle. A full, bright, unguarded laugh.

  He rose quickly and pulled her into a tight embrace—but careful, very careful, as if she were suddenly made of glass.

  “Eva… really?” he asked, his voice filled with boyish excitement.

  “Really,” she confirmed, smiling.

  He pulled back, hands resting on her shoulders, his face glowing in a way none of them had seen before.

  His eyes were bright. Alive. Almost sparkling.

  “I’m going to be a father,” he said, as if testing the words. Then louder, “I’m going to be a father!”

  He turned immediately toward Luca.

  “Luca! Did you hear that? You’re going to be an uncle!”

  Luca, leaning against the pillar, chuckled. “Yes, Your Majesty. I heard.”

  “And Hans!” Eyan continued, pointing at him excitedly. “Did you hear?!”

  Hans bowed slightly, smiling. “Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

  Eyan ran a hand through his hair, laughing again. “This is—this is incredible!”

  Then his gaze fell on Leo. He hesitated for half a second before smiling warmly at him too.

  “And you…” he said gently, almost awkwardly, still caught in joy. “You’re going to have a little sibling.”

  Leo blinked, playing his role, but nodded.

  Eyan turned back to Eva, his happiness undiminished.

  “I can’t believe this,” he said, shaking his head in wonder. “You just… you just made me the happiest man alive.”

  His joy was so pure, so overwhelming, that even the tension from earlier felt like a distant memory.

  He was radiant. Beaming. Glowing like the sun itself.

  Eva watched him for a moment. Then she said gently—

  “Eyan.”

  He looked at her immediately, still smiling brightly. “Hmm?”

  Her expression shifted.

  “There’s something I want to tell you.”

  His smile remained. But the hall—Once again—Grew quiet.

  Eva drew a slow breath and, while his hands were still wrapped around hers and his face was glowing with unguarded happiness, she told him everything—the truth she had hidden about Leo, about Prince Velco and the chain of events that led to his death, about the child they had lost in another timeline, about the despair that drove her to make a wish, about turning back time to change fate itself, about how Leo was truly theirs, born of their love in a future that no longer existed, her words tumbling out steadily, without pause, until the bright joy on Eyan’s face slowly stilled into stunned silence.

  __________________________________

  The hall remained unbearably still after Eva finished speaking.

  Eyan stood motionless, as though the weight of two lifetimes had just been placed upon his shoulders.

  He inhaled slowly.

  Her truth.

  Their lost child.

  The Dragon king.

  The wishes.

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  The second chance.

  Eva lowered her eyes, voice trembling. “Forgive me for hiding everything from you… but I had no choice—”

  “Why?”

  His voice wasn’t loud. It was raw.

  She looked up at him.

  His eyes were already shining.

  “Why did you do that?” he asked, emotion breaking through every word. “Why did you sacrifice your life… and our child’s life… to come back in time?”

  “Eyan…” her voice cracked.

  “You could have stayed there,” he continued, pain rising in his tone. “You could have lived… even without me. You could have raised our child. You could have been happy. Why did you come back?”

  She stared at him in disbelief.

  Then her tears fell harder.

  “Eyan… when I died… after falling into the execution pool…” Her voice shook. “You brought the black marble there to release the dragon.”

  A ripple of tension moved through the hall.

  “Why,” she whispered. “You should have let me die. You should have lived happily without me.”

  Eyan’s expression shattered.

  “Eva… how can you say that?” His voice broke completely. “How can I live happily without you? No. I can’t live without you. Not even for a second.”

  Her tears streamed freely now.

  “If you can’t live without me,” she cried, “then how can you tell me to live without you happily?”

  The words hit him like a blade.

  “You think only you love me?” she sobbed. “No… I love you more. I can’t live without you either.”

  Before he could answer, Luca stepped forward carefully.

  “Eyan, I know you’re upset, but you can’t say things like that to sister-in-law. She endured so much—”

  “You better shut your mouth.”

  The temperature in the hall dropped.

  Eyan’s head snapped toward Luca, eyes burning. He strode forward, fury flashing through his grief.

  “I told you to take care of her when I am gone,” he said sharply. “But you— you didn’t stop her. You joined her. You came back in time with her.”

  “We had a reason, Eyan,” Luca said firmly.

  “I don’t care about the reason,” Eyan shot back. “You disappointed me, Luca.”

  “Father.”

  The small voice cut through everything. Leo stepped forward, tears streaming down his face.

  “If you are angry… don’t take it out on mother or Uncle Luca,” he said, voice trembling. “It was all my doing. Be angry at me.”

  The hall went still again.

  “But before that… let me tell you something.”

  He wiped his tears with the back of his sleeve, trying to stay strong.

  “I did everything because I wanted my parents to live a life with happiness,” he said. “I wanted a world where everyone was there with me. My father. My mother. My Grandfather. My uncle. My aunty. Everyone.”

  His voice broke completely.

  “Father… you have no idea how lonely it feels to live in a world where everyone is gone.”

  He looked up at him, eyes full of pain far too old for his small face.

  “You can never understand,” he whispered. “I do.”

  The words struck deeper than any blade.

  Eyan’s heart ached violently at the sight of his son breaking apart in front of him.

  He crossed the distance without hesitation and lowered himself to Leo’s height. Then he pulled him into a tight embrace. Leo’s small body trembled against his chest.

  “Don’t cry, Leo,” Eyan whispered, his own voice unsteady. He held him as if afraid he might disappear again. “Forgive your father… I didn’t see your pain. I was blind.”

  His hand cradled the back of the boy’s head.

  “I’m not angry at you,” he confessed softly. “I’m angry at myself. I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t protect your mother. I failed you both.”

  Leo shook his head quickly, pulling back just enough to look at him.

  “No,” he said through tears. “You always protected us, Father. Even when it cost you everything.”

  His small hands gripped Eyan’s clothes tightly.

  “You always stood in front of Mother. You always stood in front of me.”

  Eva stepped closer, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

  “Eyan… you should be proud,” she said softly. “Our son did everything he could to save our family. To save you.”

  She placed a trembling hand over her belly.

  “And because of him… The Dragon King is gone. The curse that bound the Therald bloodline is gone too.”

  Her voice steadied, though her tears did not stop.

  “You won’t die.”

  The words hung in the air like a blessing.

  “You won’t leave us,” she whispered. “Now… we can all live together. Happily. As a family.”

  Eyan looked at his son in his arms.

  At Eva standing before him.

  At the child growing safely within her.

  And he realized—

  They had all endured unimaginable pain.

  Not out of recklessness.

  But out of love.

  Luca stepped forward, his voice warm with quiet meaning.

  “Eyan… do you remember what you told me that day in the market?” he asked gently. “You said if the Therald bloodline hadn’t been bound to the Dragon King… you would have shown sister-in-law to the world. You would have kept her beside you openly… as your Empress.”

  He smiled faintly. “Well… now you can. The Dragon King is gone. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

  For a heartbeat, Eyan went still. Then something changed in his eyes. The weight he had carried for years — the caution, the restraint, the constant calculation — cracked and fell away.

  “The Dragon King is gone…” he repeated softly.

  And then he laughed. Not a quiet chuckle. A bright, unrestrained laugh that echoed through the hall.

  “Gone,” he said again, as if savoring the word.

  His gaze found Eva. Slowly at first. Then fully. And his smile widened into something radiant.

  “I don’t have to hide her anymore.”

  Before anyone could respond, he bent and swept Leo into his arms effortlessly, lifting him high enough that the boy let out a startled sound.

  “Father—?” Leo blinked in surprise, clutching onto his shoulders.

  Eyan grinned at him. “Hold on tight.”

  With his other hand, he reached for Eva — not hesitantly, not cautiously — but boldly. He laced their fingers together and tugged her forward with boyish excitement.

  “Come with me,” he said, eyes shining.

  Eva blinked, caught off guard. “Where?”

  He didn’t answer. He simply began walking. Out of the hall. Through the grand corridor of the imperial palace.

  Servants and knights along the way immediately bowed low, but confusion rippled through their lowered gazes.

  The Emperor… walking openly. Holding a child. Holding a woman’s hand. Who is she? Who is that boy?

  Whispers hovered in the air like restless birds.

  “Eyan,” Eva whispered urgently, her cheeks warming as dozens of eyes followed them. “Everyone is watching. Where are you taking us?”

  He only smiled wider. “Let them watch,” he said calmly. “I want them to see.”

  His grip on her hand tightened, grounding and sure. “I want to show my wife to everyone.”

  Eva’s breath caught. “What—”

  They turned down the eastern corridor. And realization struck her all at once.

  Her steps faltered. “Eyan… wait. You’re taking me to Father.”

  “Yes,” he said without hesitation — and without losing that bright smile.

  They stopped before the grand doors of King Thalor Therald’s chamber.

  Eyan carefully set Leo down and crouched in front of him, hands resting on his shoulders.

  “Leo,” he said warmly, “wait here for a moment. Your mother and I will greet your grandfather first.”

  He leaned closer with a playful smile. “Then I’ll call you in properly. Today… we’re doing everything properly.”

  Leo beamed. “Okay, Father.”

  Eyan rose and turned back to Eva. Their fingers intertwined again — firmly, proudly. His eyes searched hers. Not fearful. Not hesitant. Only overflowing with happiness.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, almost breathless with excitement.

  Eva swallowed and nodded.

  Eyan didn’t wait another second. He pushed the doors open with steady hands And walked inside with his wife at his side.

  .

  .

  To be continued—