This morning was an especially cold one, the plain's flora buried under a decidedly thick blanket of snow, one almost entirely undisturbed, as most of the critters had yet to wake. And as cold as they were, the winds were calm. If one stood somewhere in this plain right now, they would witness a profound silence, the only movement in sight being that of the slowly rising sun and the sparkling reflections of its rays dancing along the flawlessly white terrain beneath.

But none of this concerned those living deep underground, far beyond the reach of the elements. Two such beings, inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, sat in a pristine, lavishly decorated room, one that would astound even the most indulgent, avaricious monarchs of this world. Yet it was merely one of countless of equal make on the 9th Floor of the impenetrable, hidden fortress.

"... Yes, I believe that's all. Have you sent the new wave of spies to the south by now?"

The demon adjusted his glasses with some pride, but spoke without letting it show too obviously in his tone.

"Indeed, Overseer. everything is going as planned on that front."

After many months of focusing almost all of Nazarick's manpower on building up their current territories, the greatest minds of the Tomb unanimously agreed it was time to prepare for and set in motion the acquisition of new lands. With their glorious master's approval, Demiurge would, for the foreseeable future, focus his attention to both the east and south. Though if Nazarick desired the smoothest execution and most profitable results, both campaigns would be lengthy undertakings, involving great patience and thorough espionage for years to come. But according to their master, there was no rush.

To the south, there were multiple countries with which the Sorcerer Kingdom had almost no contact up until now, though it seemed most parties were open to trade and amicable official communication.

And to the east, there was of course the Minotaur Nation and its pitiful panic over the loss of their most powerful, something which could leave them entirely unprepared for the seemingly inevitable war with the hordes of the catfolk. The rising suspicions that the attack was somehow an early blow orchestrated by them, or even a third party, satisfied Demiurge greatly. The minotaurs were like ants at the mercy of a child scorching them with a magnifying glass, painfully and helplessly seared by forces beyond their small minds. While their suffering filled the demon with glee, that satisfaction was of course nothing compared to the knowledge that Demiurge was doing it all for his master, the wise and great father annoyed by the eyesore of an anthill's presence.

The succubus nodded in response to his prideful tone.

"Hm. Good work."

"Thank you. Oh, and regarding my inquiry..."

"Yes, I've asked Lord Ainz about it, but he did not divulge any details."

The disappointment which then forced itself onto his face was probably more than obvious. Surely, even if their master did not bring an heir into this world out of calculated pragmatism, but simple love, he would still already have genius plans in mind, right? Why would he not reveal anything so late into that woman's pregnancy? Why were preparations not being made to use the heir in political manoeuvring? In the end, all the demon could muster was a sigh.

"Unfortunate... But no matter. Well, back to the topic at hand, I do wonder how useful Baraja and her church will be in the south. Hopefully the locals are not too hostile to other religions, or-"

"That's Lady Baraja."

Albedo spoke sternly and matter-of-factly. Demiurge took a moment to parse the meaning of her interruption.

"Ah, yes... I was wondering about Lady Baraja..."

...

Now that he was finally done with his work for the day and had made himself presentable, Satoru teleported to Neia's bedroom with excitement. As soon as the scenery changed before his eyes, they searched around for the thing which they loved taking in the most, Neia. The room was lit only dimly, with the two most prominent sources of light being the early morning sun just barely breaking through the blinds, and the lit fireplace in front of which a wide chair stood. In truth, perhaps it was more of a sofa, one just large enough for two people to sit comfortably side by side. From where Satoru was standing, he only saw its back, but there was only one person who could've been using it at this moment.

"Hello, Neia."

As soon as he spoke and started walking closer, his beloved's head peeked out cutely from behind it, face bearing a vaguely startled, but very happy expression.

"Darling! Hello!"

"Sorry if I spooked you…"

Satoru smiled too, just as joyously as his beloved. Something that only added to his cheer was the fact that Neia did not run up to hug him as she normally would, something he only barely convinced her not to do anymore, concerned for Neia's comfort as the pregnancy went on and the size of her tummy increased.

After arriving at her side, the two hugged lovingly, Neia still seated. Of course, it would have been unacceptable to not follow up that hug with an equally loving kiss, and so that's what the pair did next, lips locked, tongues intertwining, hearts beating faster and faster thanks to that delightful rush, one markedly familiar to both by now, yet just as strong as it always was.

After pulling away, Satoru fully intended to sit down and start a talk about their respective mornings and whatever else the conversation would lead them to, but once their faces were a bit further apart again, he could not help but stop to admire Neia's beauty.

That cheerful smile, those loving and tender eyes, the cute hairstyle, the wings quietly flapping along, the way she gently rested a hand on her ever-growing tummy... Satoru stroked Neia's cheek before finally seating himself. The spouses held hands as they conversed.

"Hello again, Neia. How's your night been? Everything okay?"

"Yes, darling. I slept quite well."

"Any dreams?"

"Well... I think there was one... it was... Something about one of the maids making an omelette for me. She caused a small fire in the kitchen, or something?"

"Oh, I hope it wasn't a bad dream."

"No, because she later told me the ducks in the pond outside were distracting her with their dances, and spitting water at each other. I went to look for myself, and the guards were investigating the ducks for theft. It was more confusing than anything."

"Yeah, that's a strange one."

"But, well, yes, I had a good, restful night. Though I am getting a bit hungry."

"Time for breakfast, then?"

"Yes, please. Oh, and there was one more thing! Satoru, have you thought about a name for the baby at all yet?"

"Ah, you've asked me to, yes, but uhm, well..."

The truth was, Satoru was not very good at naming things. Not at all confident with being able to name their child something pleasing to the ears of a person of this world, he decided to admit the truth plainly.

"The truth is, I'd prefer if you were to have the bigger say in naming our child, Neia."

"Ah, is that so? Well, might I ask why?"

"Well, there's not much to it, honestly. No secret reason, no secret fear, I'd just prefer it if you came up with something."

Neia nodded, gaze wandering to the campfire for some time.

"Are you sure, Satoru? You know, a lot of people also name their children after someone somehow significant to them. A childhood friend of mine was named after someone who saved her mother's life, and refused any sort of reward. Do you have someone like that?"

"Hmm..."

Satoru put a finger to his chin. The first people who came to mind were of course his friends, the members of Ainz Ooal Gown, but that did not feel… entirely appropriate. He did not know the real names of many of them, and with Nazarick's denizens still around…

Well, who else was there? The monarch's mind wandered, as if an object in the darkened environment would be the answer. After some time, Satoru simply sighed in defeat, turning to Neia to admit this was a dead end. But just then, a thought came.

'My mother had a rather nice name, didn't she? If the baby's a girl…'

... ... ... ...

Months later...

It was a quiet spring morning in the High Priestess' mansion. Exceedingly quiet. But this was only to be expected, merely a consequence of just how early in the morning it actually was. At this hour, long before sunrise, only a few would be awake, and those would be mostly guards assigned to night duty, or perhaps the occasional victim of restlessness.

One of the exceptions to that, a willing one, was Emma. On days off, the head maid sometimes woke up even earlier than she would on work days, finding peace in the silence and emptiness of the opulently decorated halls.

Currently, she only shared the dining room with two other people, Clara and Steffan, both cooks with odd work schedules that allowed them to serve light meals to the previously mentioned guards with night duty. And with how quiet everything was, it was mostly her own chewing that kept Emma company on mornings like these.

Today, the maid's breakfast consisted of some porridge with honey, and forest bounty both fresh and dried; raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and pink currant, all sprinkled in tastefully.

Emma was not someone who rushed her meals, especially not breakfast, instead using her first waking hours to both start up her mind and sort out her own thoughts for the day ahead. This was especially important right now, as she had mixed, complicated feelings about the day's plans.

...

The streets of the former capital were not nearly as silent as the mansion, but still silent enough that even a somewhat shallow sleeper could comfortably leave their windows open for the night without too much issue. For most of the maid's life, Emma would not have been brave enough to walk at such an hour all alone, and for good reason. But this was near the centre of Hoburns, now part of the Sorcerer Kingdom, and home of Neia Baraja. There was not a single street corner or alley to be found without undead guards patrolling vigilantly at all times.

Eventually, still before sunrise, but not that far from it, Emma reached her destination. A remarkably small church of minor personal significance. Opening the large door, Emma found it as empty as usual, with only a single priestess looking back curiously at the sound, seated alone on one of the benches in front of a wooden statue of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Oh, hey Emma!"

"Hey, Sara."

Waving back, the maid closed the door before proceeding deeper in.

"Are you here to worship?"

"I am, but seeing you is always nice."

The two exchanged warm smiles, and upon getting close, hugged before sitting down together.

"I hope life has been treating you well, Emma."

"It has continued to, yes. And you?"

"I'm so very happy to be a priestess of His Majesty's. Life as his servant is just so fulfilling!"

"Good. I'm glad to hear that."

"I'm very happy for you too, Emma. These are such exciting times, aren't they?"

She understood that this was likely referring to several things at once. Namely, the prosperity of the country, the continued steady spread of the faith, and of course, the upcoming birth of the Sorcerer King's heir. Emma's feelings towards the last of those were still rather complicated.

"They sure are."

"But perhaps I should leave you to it, hm?"

"We can talk more if you want, but I would like at least some time to worship and meditate in peace, yes."

... ...

Emma's walk back to the mansion was once again a pleasant one, streets returning to their usual vibrant selves as the sun rose, Ainz Ooal Gown's rule allowing for another safe day of great safety and prosperity for Roble's citizens.

Now inside, Emma walked back to the dining room for another meal, as did many others for their first. Quickly, she spotted Amelia sitting with Adren and Linda. While the young maid noticed and waved to her immediately, the pair of lovebird paladins took a bit longer to do the same, probably distracted by each other. Hopefully they weren't being vulgar with such a little girl around.

Or, well… Amelia wasn't little anymore, was she? Emma sighed.

Sometimes, it felt like yesterday that she was putting Amelia to bed…

... ...

Following a pleasant, casual talk over some lovely food (in Emma's case, an omelette with some lightly fried tomatoes and cheese - one of her favourite meals), Linda had separated from the rest, heading to the home of her remaining family for the afternoon. The remaining three had other plans.

Stepping outside the mansion for the second time today, Emma found that she was the second to arrive, with Adren already waiting nearby, outfitted with his rather large axe and a foreign-looking coat, probably traditional to his people.

"Hello again."

"Hello. Amelia is still dressing. She'll be here in just a moment."

"I see... Hm, we've been blessed with wonderful weather for this trip. Not a storm cloud in sight."

"Good."

And soon enough, Amelia also appeared out the door, quickly dashing towards them in a rather cute manner.

"Sorry, I had a bit of trouble..."

"It's alright. Are you ready to depart?"

"Yes!"

In her hands were two little baskets of rectangular shape, just large enough to hold all the flowers they would be gathering today.

Amelia had formed a habit of preparing all sorts of gifts for Neia, wishing to express her gratitude as much as possible, and as often as possible, even though Her Holiness herself had of course never insisted on such a thing. And as for Emma, she was simply glad to help Amelia with pretty much anything.

Despite the wilderness surrounding Hoburns already being very safe, Adren would come along too, not only ensuring the safety of the two women, but also getting their help in procuring a bouquet of his own, a surprise for Linda.

Emma was quite relieved that she and Amelia would receive male protection, especially that of an expert woodsman, trained paladin, and adept caster of holy magic.

"Good. I'll lead the way, then."

... ...

Once a good variety of especially pleasant flowers was gathered, they needed to be arranged in a graceful manner in which all the colours and shapes worked together once tied into the bouquet. This could be done either in some sort of pattern (though this often required many of the same flower), or just any seemingly random way that was beautiful to a person's eyes. Today, both Adren and Amelia chose the latter, and Emma of course helped both with the execution.

When they were done, the paladin decided to rest until his lover arrived, while Amelia would hand over her gift immediately, accompanied by the head maid. And although neither of them even got their clothes dirtied, both had of course changed into something fresh in preparation for meeting Neia. Emma knew the High Priestess well enough to understand that the holy woman would not be offended at all if they had failed to change, assuming she even noticed those were the same clothes in which they went outside, but that was absolutely not an excuse. If Emma had any say in the matter, all possible measures would be taken to show the prophetess as much reverence as possible.

In fact, the head maid knew how near-universal her feelings were among those who experienced Neia's graciousness first-hand. Those who witness her immense humility, kindness, and forgiveness are nearly always so moved that they work even harder after the fact. This becomes the fate of many, such as Miss Roderique, an advisor whose exact role was kept secret to most. But from the words she and Emma exchanged, it was obvious the poor woman was working herself to the bone simply because in her eyes, the High Priestess was just that pure and gracious and divine and worthy of her full devotion, not realising that working to the point where one's health declined was the opposite of what Neia would actually want, regardless of whether or not it was by choice.

Regardless, the two maids' walk through the mansion was a rather pleasant one, at least for Emma, whose excitement was building up as they neared Neia's bedroom. This excitement was not particularly strong at all, considering how much time she's able to spend with Her Holiness almost every day, but still, that was simply the strength of the grasp love had over the head maid.

And honestly, how could anyone not be excited to meet Neia? She was so... perfect...

But as Emma's heartbeat continued to increase in speed, Amelia's legs did the opposite, slowing down until they stopped completely just outside of the bedroom's door. The girl turned around, her expression one of worry.

"Are you nervous, Amelia?"

"I am... I just hope Her Holiness likes it..."

Emma kneeled as she offered a warm, comforting, and motherly smile, a description shared by the tone of her following words.

"I'm sure she will. Something like that is not just dependent on how good the gift in question turned out, but what it means, and the effort behind it. Her Holiness will undoubtedly appreciate and cherish the product of such things."

"... Yeah... sorry."

"It's okay. Come here."

With that, Emma pulled the girl in for a hug. It was a long, affectionate one, the sort which was a lot more common when Amelia's age was still of a single digit. It was truly parental, and once the head maid pulled away, she saw positivity return to Amelia's face.

"Are you ready?"

"I am. Thank you."

And as soon as Emma got back up, Amelia hurried to knock on the door.

"Your Holiness?"

"Oh, come on in!"

As the maids entered, God's consort was resting on her bed in a position somewhere halfway between sitting and laying flat, supported by several thick pillows. A soft blanket covered her up to the belly, on which an open book rested. Besides their footsteps, there were also the sounds of a magical device called a "music box", and its owner humming along to the melody, which seemed to be some sort of lullaby. It may have just been due to Neia's delightful, elegant voice, but Emma found that the song soothed her to the very core. After a little bit, Neia closed the book, and with a little pat on her round tummy, stopped humming to finally turn her head towards the visitors, and it was then that Emma finally noticed something was a bit different about her appearance.

"Hello Emma, Amelia. Ah, is that bouquet..."

"It's for you, Your Holiness!"

With that proud declaration, the young maid rushed forward, presenting the gift.

"Oh, how nice of you! It looks great!"

"We picked the flowers ourselves! I had a lot of help from Emma and we were guided and kept safe in the wild by Sir Adren."

"That's so sweet of you! Thank you, Amelia. And thank you too, Emma."

Emma responded with a brief, shallow bow, something more akin to a nod, knowing anything more would have earned her a lecture about how friends should not be bowing to each other.

"Of course... And, if I may ask, is there something different about your eyelashes?"

"Oh, yes! This is a type of make-up called mascara, and it is applied to the eyelashes in order to make them look more prominent."

"Is that so? I'd never heard of it before."

"Neither have I until recently, though that might be because I just don't know much at all about any make-up... Either way, when darling mentioned it during an unrelated conversation, I requested some to try for myself. What do you think?"

Amelia spoke with excitement.

"I think it looks nice! I didn't notice what exactly was different at first, but I think it's really cool!"

Emma, on the other hand, spoke calmly, but without a hint of her usual stoicism. With it gone, an affectionate warmth was allowed into her tone, one she wished she could always adopt.

"I think you look as gorgeous as always, Your Holiness."

"Ah, thank you both!"

Of course, Emma could only be so tender with her words in situations where such a thing could be excused away as merely platonic. Whenever such an opportunity presented itself, the head maid intended to make full use of it. To be honest, at least for a fleeting moment.

And the way Neia's wings flapped a few times in response to her compliment... Emma needed to clench her fists in order to retain focus and not let anything else slip as the High Priestess continued.

"Amelia, could you prepare a vase?"

"Right away! I'll be back with the vased bouquet as soon as possible!"

The young maid hurried out of the room, leaving the two alone for a moment.

"... I hope you've been well, Emma."

"I have. And you, Neia?"

"Oh, I'm still so excited! Pretty much any day now, our baby will be born!"

Emma continued smiling, although it felt more bittersweet than anything.

"Yes, I'm excited too."

If only Emma could also give Neia flowers… If only Emma was included in that "our" when Neia spoke about "our baby"... If only they could be together… If only…

... ... ... ...

Days later...

In a medium-sized, warm, and well-lit room somewhere in Nazarick, Neia stood with her back leaning against Satoru in nothing but a bathrobe, with Pestonya kneeling below her, Lupusregina standing nearby in case additional emergency healing was needed, and Shizu both as emotional support, and just as an extra pair of hands.

"... Everything still looks good, woof. Continue pushing, Lady Baraja, woof."

The subsequent voice of Satoru, who was gently hugging her from behind and supporting her weight, was like sweet nectar to Neia's ears.

"You're doing so well, honey. It's alright, you'll be done soon..."

A spell called "Regeneration" provided Neia some continuous pain relief, but even then, it was a struggle.

"Oh, there's tiny little wings, woof!"

...

"... And… she's out! A healthy baby girl, woof!"

Finally, Neia was done. Pestonya immediately wrapped the crying baby in fine cloth and stood up while the exhausted, somewhat disoriented Neia was moved over to the prepared chair to sit and rest, Satoru joining and cuddling her immediately. Once ready and resting, Pestonya handed the bundle of joy to the pair. For the first time, Neia and Satoru held their daughter.

To Neia, this moment meant far more than words could hope to describe within a lifetime, the happiness so great it made logical thought seem like an entirely foreign concept. This is why, when Neia eventually managed to speak in between the sobs of joy, she could not muster much of a coherent thing to say.

"Look darling... it's our baby... look… our baby…"

"And what a little miracle she is."

"Happy... I'm so happy, darling... so happy."

Few things had ever made Neia feel this wonderful, happy to the point of being reduced to a sobbing mess. There was the time Satoru proposed to her, their wedding, the resurrection of her parents… Sometimes, it felt like all the good in her life came from him. But that was okay. Satoru was not going anywhere, after all. Not ever. Just like he promised.

While Neia was simply enjoying the wonderful moment, Shizu seemed to have snuck over.

"... Waaaa! So cute and huggable... Just like her mom..."

Struck by realisation, Neia snapped to look at her beloved.

"Ah, darling! And her name... Will it be what we talked about back then? Will we name her after your..."

"Yes, I think that will be a good name, if you approve of it."

With that, Neia turned to her daughter once again.

"Welcome to the world, Ayame."

…

Hello. It's been a while. I know. I'm sorry.

Recently, a series of awful things happened in my personal life. I hope I can return to something resembling my previous release rate as soon as possible. I hope you understand.

Thank you for your patience and continued readership.