Melly lowered her gaze again.

Then, after staring at the neatly folded baby clothes in the box for a moment, she slowly reached out her hand.

Her hand was careful as she stroked the clothes, as if she had found her lost child again.

Along with the soft touch, the feeling of when she made the clothes flowed into her.

‘I made it while crying the whole time. It felt like I was piercing my heart, not the fabric, with the needle.’

Now she was happy. But not because she would be able to dress her child in its first clothes. That had already become her past.

She was happy solely because of Edric. Because he understood her painful feelings from that day, as if he had been pierced by a needle.

“I thought you wouldn’t know.”

“How could I not?”

Edric narrowed his eyes as if reproaching her.

“You saw me as too much of a bad guy.”

“No, that’s not…”

Just as a selfish man, that’s all.

But she decided not to speak anymore about things past. Although he may have been a self-centered man, he was not someone who ignored his wife’s pain due to duty to the imperial family.

That was what mattered.

Melly gazed at the baby clothes in the box with enraptured eyes, then suddenly spoke to Edric with a wistful expression.

“I feel sorry for Jade. Originally, Jade should have worn these clothes.”

“Jade would be happy just to see her sibling wriggling in these clothes.”

“I suppose so.”

Melly added with a bitter smile.

“If it’s a little sister.”

The topic shifted to the child’s gender in an instant.

“Jade wants a little sister so badly, it’s troubling. How disappointed will the child be if it’s not a little sister?”

“That’s like me too.”

Unlike the serious Melly, Edric spoke in a light tone.

“When I was young, I really wanted a little sister.”

“You did?”

Edric nodded.

“A little brother felt like a competitor. Although primogeniture is common, it’s not always the rule.”

‘The second son of the Pelton family.’

No matter how hard she tried, Melly couldn’t imagine Edric’s little brother with blonde hair and blue eyes, looking just like him. Especially not as someone who could threaten Edric’s position.

“But even without that, I preferred a little sister. She seemed like she’d be cuter somehow.”

“You would have been a good elder brother, I think.”

Melly added, recalling the past.

“Like you were to me.”

After opening up to each other, he had been a good elder brother. Melly remembered how he always prepared gifts for her birthday.

He would give her handmade hairpins he designed himself, placed in a small box with a letter, and always brought desserts from parties. She also remembered when he put a wet cloth on her forehead when she had a cold. It was truly unexpected that he, who prioritized taking care of his body above all else, nursed her without concern for catching it himself.

When she opened her eyes at dawn in his bed, sweaty and disheveled, Melly remembered him lying face down just barely within reach of her fingertips. He had fallen asleep there.

His broad back rising and falling regularly. Their breaths mingling secretly in one space. And the softness of his golden hair under her fingertips as she stroked it surreptitiously.

That’s when her love began. When was it for him? When did he start feeling love for her while they were like elder brother and younger sister?

“I don’t think that’s right.”

Edric suddenly said in a changed voice.

“No matter how much I wanted a little sister, I wouldn’t have treated her like I did you.”

“…”

“I never treated you as a blood-related younger sister, not even once.”

Melly couldn’t even see her own bewildered face reflected in Edric’s eyes.

The ripples that filled his eyes revealed the light of longing more clearly than an afterimage.

Melly felt a certain atmosphere slowly filling the room.

It was more vivid than drops of blood, more stimulating than hot breaths.

His Adam’s apple twitched slightly, and his eyes were filled with desire.

Left to right, then right to left again.

Each time he looked at Melly’s eyes in turn, his pupils grew darker and deeper.

The slight movement of his Adam’s apple seemed like a small act of rebellion, constantly pushing down the words he wanted to say.

“Melly.”

But his reason finally gave in.

“It may sound beastly, but I have to say this.”

“…”

“I’ll be gentle, so please allow me.”

Edric’s voice was even lower than usual. As if it were a sound coming from pushing up the lid of restraint from the very depths below.

‘Beastly? I don’t think that at all. I’ve wanted you so much all this time.’

Melly wanted to say that right away, but all she did was shyly nod.

Somehow, that seemed like the more fitting action for this moment.

And he would probably know soon.

The back of his hand gently caressing her cheek. His gaze sliding down ticklishly. He would soon feel how her body responded fully to all of it.

His fingers slowly cupped the back of Melly’s head. As if tightly binding her now so she couldn’t escape anywhere.

His delicate and smooth nose bridge brushed against Melly’s, then touched her cheek. At that light yet stimulating sensation, Melly closed her eyes.

Her body, which had been wrapped in clothes, was becoming more and more free.

“Did you sleep well last night? You must have been very tired, right?”

“You were more tired.”

“No, not me. You were more…”

Jade’s bright blue eyes darted busily between her mother and father.

Although her parents’ conversation was extremely ordinary, Jade somehow felt as if there was another meaning hidden in that conversation that she didn’t understand.

“Try some of this truffle. It’s good for restoring energy.”

“Then you should eat it.”

But come to think of it, it was a bit strange too.

As far as Jade knew, all her mom and dad had done yesterday was talk together and go to bed early in the evening. But now mom and dad were passing food back and forth saying they needed to restore their energy.

Wasn’t energy sufficiently restored through sleep?

That’s what Jade thought.

She would fall sound asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow after playing all day long, but when morning came, she would be perfectly fine as if nothing had happened.

Moreover, mom and dad didn’t even look that tired.

Mom, who had been struggling until yesterday saying her back hurt, her wrists ached, and her legs were swollen, looked particularly rosy-cheeked, and dad…

Dad, whose eyes had been consistently sharp lately, looked much softer today. And he gave the fish meat he always gave to her first to mom first, followed by cutting some meat for her.

Then mom blushed shyly and became embarrassed.

Jade couldn’t understand at all why mom and dad were exchanging such strange considerations.

This morning’s parents seemed like people from a different world with a different language and culture.

“Take care on your way.”

Edric got into the car, receiving Melly’s send-off.

He felt refreshed for the first time in a while.

He had somewhat relieved his long-suppressed desires last night. Although he couldn’t fully indulge due to controlling the frequency and intensity, he had still let off some of the steam that had formed the underlying fatigue.

He could probably endure for about three days at least.

After that, they could make love gently again like last night.

There was another factor that made Edric feel refreshed.

Melly too had become softer and more generous since yesterday. The subtle dissatisfaction and discomfort that had been felt were not seen at all this morning.

Edric guessed the reason. It narrowed down to roughly two things.

First, her first baby clothes that he had retrieved for her. And… their lovemaking.

If he hadn’t made love to her, he would have thought the first factor was everything. But after embracing her, Edric finally realized that she too had been wanting him.

It was a very fresh shock to him, who had thought she wouldn’t think about that sort of thing at all since conceiving a child.

Come to think of it, she had given hints a few times.

‘Um, I’d like to lie down, shall we go to our bed?’

Edric was finally beginning to understand the profound look in her eyes and the slight trembling when she said those words.

‘I didn’t realize that and said strange things.’

‘Take a nap, I’ll move you to the bed when the massage is over.’

Pffft-!

Edric burst out laughing involuntarily at his own stupid reply that even he thought was foolish.

“…”

Wilson, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around wondering what was going on.

But when Edric flipped through documents as if nothing had happened, he tilted his head as if wondering if he had heard wrong and turned his gaze away.

Edric’s handsome lips twitched with laughter again.

‘Making love once every three days should be fine.’

Every day would be too burdensome.

His car was approaching the imperial palace.

The old-fashioned imperial palace still did not allow vehicles to enter. So he had to park his car in the garage next to the palace and switch to a carriage.

Such a cumbersome process was adopted to deal quickly with emergencies. For instance, Melly’s possible early delivery.

The carriage he switched to passed through the main gate of the palace, crushing gravel, and stopped precisely at the entrance of the main palace.

Edric nodded pleasantly to the greetings of people bowing to him as he headed to his office.

Now his office could only be entered through the secretariat where four aides worked together.

“We greet Your Excellency.”

As he entered, all four aides stood up and greeted him at once. He was about to go inside without hesitation.

Until Anton, the chief aide, carefully approached.

He reported in a respectful voice.

“The Dowager Duchess is waiting inside.”