《How to Avoid Becoming a Vicious Step Mother》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1: First method. Don¡¯t be a stepmother (1) It is often said that you are the main character of your life, but there was a life where I wasn¡¯t the main character. I felt this more clearly growing up as a childhood friend to a girl who was much prettier than me, and was born into a much better family at around the same time. The child became an elegant and gentle girl, married the Duke and had a successor. When I heard that my childhood friend wanted to see me, I ran a great distance. The baby I held was a very healthy and beautiful boy, half resembling the Duke and half the girl. Perhaps, like his mother, he would be the kind of child to be the main character in someone¡¯s life. The Duke looked at the delicate child I held in my arms and said, ¡°The child¡¯s name is Carlos.¡± Then he left without even looking at his wife who had nearly died giving birth to their child. I saw the Duke¡¯s back in a daze. It was the first time a man left without even paying much attention to his newly born son, or the wife who looked sad and haggard after the birth. ¡°Cough, cough.¡± The sound of a sick woman coughing matched the sound of winter wind blowing outside that seemed similar to the cold hearted Duke who ignored his sick wife. ¡°The child¡¯s name is Carlos.¡± Carlos, Carlos Von DeMancier. What if I put the child¡¯s mother¡¯s name as a middle name? Carlos Merilyn von de Mancier. The more I ruminated, the more familiar the name felt. ¡°Carlos, his nickname is¡­ Carlo. No, I prefer Carl.¡± Coughing and wheezing, Merilyn said. His nickname would be Carl. The mother¡¯s name was Merilyn, and the father¡¯s name was Gellerhard; and he was born on a winter day in the Duke¡¯s family of DeMancier, the ruler of the North. I saw a baby with beautiful green eyes like his mother. He really was the main character of this world! It reminded me of a novel I had read in my life before I became Merilyn¡¯s childhood friend, before I was born as the daughter of a Viscount. Half of the year was a novel about a man born on the coldest day ahead of spring in the north, which is winter. The man lost his mother shortly after birth and grew up in the hands of a vicious stepmother, and his half-brother threatened his right to succession. Even though he was a great hero, the story of the first book was that his father did not protect him, so he left the gloomy winter castle and entered the academy. The second and third books were about life in an academy where the dreams, love and tactics of fresh youth were prevailing. The man who grew up as an adult in the fourth book returned to the family, but due to his stepmother¡¯s plot, he left for the border where the battle with monsters raged day after day, where he made exploits and gained loyalty from soldiers and knights. Then he falls in love with the dragon during the battle and ends the war at the border. At the finale of the much-anticipated fifth volume, the man kills his wicked stepmother and half-brother, and then takes over the estate and title from his father and becomes a Duke. I realized the baby in my arms was the hero of this world, who would end the long-running war with monsters with love and be remembered as the greatest Duke in the north. ¡°Cough Cough Cough.¡± Merilyn¡¯s cough became more frequent, and the maid continued to add firewood to grow flames in the fireplace. But Merilyn¡¯s life, unlike that flame, would soon fade, and this child would grow up abused by a vicious stepmother because of his father, who was indifferent to him. Pity for the child fluttered in my mind. Such a beautiful child, I felt sorry for him. If it weren¡¯t for Amanda¡­ What? The Count of Petrika, Merilyn¡¯s father and the child¡¯s grandfather, urgently needed to find the next Duchess who would take good care of the young Duke like his own mother. The Count of Petrika recommended a woman of a Viscount family who would not be able to fight later as a new Duchess. Amanda, the daughter of the Viscount of Ventta, the vassal of Petrika, was only a Viscount¡¯s daughter and was able to become a Duchess. The fact that she was a childhood friend who grew up with Merilyn was also a good part for the Count of Petrika. She was expected to take good care of her dead friend¡¯s child and know her place and act. ¡°Cough cough cough cough!¡± Merilyn¡¯s cough became intense and her slender body trembled. The doctor flustered and a seasoned maid whispered to me, ¡°The disease may spread to Young Master. Take the Young Master out of here!¡± At those words, I carried the baby outside. Unlike Merilyn¡¯s room, which was hot and humid due to the fire, the hallway was chilly because it was cold. In the hot room, the baby with pink cheeks chewed its small lips. I took the baby in my arms and walked slowly to the nursery. Where should I go? A maid approached me quickly. ¡°Miss Amanda! There you are! Count Petrika and Viscount Ventta are looking for you!¡± I stopped walking with the child in my arms. The Count Petrika¡¯s vassal, the Viscount of Ventta. Amanda, that was my name. And maybe, I¡¯ll be the stepmother who bothers this kid. Fuck. * * * Chapter 2 First method. Don¡¯t be a stepmother (2) Amanda was born the daughter of Viscount Ventta, a vassal of Count Petrika. She had three older brothers, and Amanda the youngest and famous daughter, was quite loved by them and her mother. The Viscount made enough living to fit Amanda in a pretty dress every year and hire a maid to follow her and do chores and errands, but her childhood friend was the only daughter of Count Petrika. It was perhaps bad luck in her life. Merilyn, who had fine blonde hair and sprout-like eyes that glowed in the spring sun, was also a Countess, so everyone spared no affection in front of her. And there were many people in the world who could not stand flattery, who could not elevate others without undermining someone. They praised Merilyn by undermining Amanda, who was right next to her. Merilyn had fair and shiny blonde hair compared to her common, dull brown hair. Green eyes like buds, not brute-looking yellow eyes. From appearance characteristics to gestures, refinement, and walking, they analyzed on a molecular basis to lower Amanda and raise Merilyn. Merilyn, with a soft heart, felt sorry for Amanda but couldn¡¯t say anything to them because she couldn¡¯t say something harsh. Instead, she would smile puzzled and give Amanda a ribbon, necklace, dress, etc., which she loved, as a gift when they left. It was also turned into a story about good and generous Merilyn and Amanda, who didn¡¯t know her place and took gifts. In any case, Amanda had been compared to Merilyn since childhood, concealing a twisted sense of inferiority towards her, and since Merilyn became the Duchess, Amanda had been delaying her marriage, seeking a husband to become a lady of high status, if not a Duchess. Amanda was also the beloved youngest daughter of the Viscount Ventta and his wife who were perplexed by their daughter¡¯s vanity, but didn¡¯t force her into the marriage, and two years later, Amanda replaced Merilyn as Duchess. Amanda, who felt inferior to Merilyn, let alone their friendship, secretly tormented her young son and began to treat Carlos openly when she realized that the Duke was not even interested in his only son. And she also tried to kill Carlos after giving birth to her son, but eventually drove the child out of the castle. Amanda¡¯s misdeeds came to an end when Carlos, an adult, took control of the Duke¡¯s forces and returned to the castle with a Dragon as his lover, accusing her of being a wicked woman who disturbed the North with tyranny. Amanda kills herself on condition that she drinks poison instead of saving her son. Oh, that¡¯s my destiny. Amanda¡¯s life in the novel was a monotonous, obvious, vicious stepmother¡¯s life that ended as I walked down a relatively short corridor toward Count Petrika and my father, the Viscount of Ventta. The maid opened the door, and in the warm-smoked drawing room, two gentlemen were waiting for me with very tired faces. ¡°Oh, Amanda. It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Long time no see, Count. Have you been well?¡± ¡°I am. Well, I guess that¡¯s my grandson.¡± The Count of Petrika, who I haven¡¯t seen in a long time, looked very old and tired, but his face shone at the baby in my arms and at me. Unlike the gleaming Count¡¯s eyes, my father frowned and looked displeased. ¡°Where is the nanny that you keep holding the Young Master?¡± My father was displeased that his daughter was holding the baby for long, not even his own. At the words, the Count raised his arm, saying he would hold his grandson, and the baby went to his grandfather beautifully without crying. After I had removed the child from my arms, I felt a throbbing pain in my shoulders. It¡¯s not normal to hold a kid. Born as a lady of the aristocracy, the heaviest thing I¡¯ve ever held was the needle used for handicraft. My father was slightly lowering his head in case he dared to show a displeased expression in front of the Count, his lord. I couldn¡¯t even show that my arms and shoulders hurt because it was obvious that he would be upset if I was sick. In the book, Viscount Ventta opposed Amanda becoming the Duchess. He did not want his daughter to be a wife of a man who was unwelcoming to women and was too high up in stature, or be a second wife, to live a life of caring for another person¡¯s child, not her own. However, since Amanda wanted to be the Duchess and his lord, Count Petrika, wanted Amanda as the Duchess, Viscount Ventta was forced to allow the marriage. The Duke, who could not leave the position of the mistress of the Duke¡¯s Castle empty, also allowed her who was only a wife in name. In the midst of everyone working together for their own interests, Amanda becomes the Duchess¡­ A very vicious Duchess. But it was Amanda. The character of the book I read in my previous life. I didn¡¯t know until now that I was reborn as Amanda, the character of the book. And although I didn¡¯t mean to, I could be proud that I¡¯ve lived completely differently from Amanda so far. ¡°Oh, how cute. It looks like he has Merilyn¡¯s eyes. What about these tiny lips?¡± ¡°Looks like Merilyn¡¯s rose-like lips.¡± The Count¡¯s eyes were wet with emotion at the sight of the child. The Count smiled at me, but my father pulled my hand slightly with dark eyes. It was a gesture that I shouldn¡¯t step forward. Unlike Amanda, I was a big fan of Merilyn. The child¡¯s pretty blond hair, green eyes, and a soft heart also liked Merilyn to the point where I sometimes got hurt by the pretty child, but she remained with me. No matter how old I was, it was more fun to play with girls my age than to help my mother with her work. Above all, I was always more mentally mature than Merilyn, so she followed me like a sister, and I liked taking care of her as if she was my pretty little doll-like sister. Chapter 3 First method. Don¡¯t be a stepmother (3) Oh, what can I say? I was nosy from my past life and liked to take care of others. At any rate, I was with Merilyn until she left the Count as a Duchess. I couldn¡¯t go to see her in person after the wedding, but we often exchanged letters. And while helping my mother with work in the house, I managed to pick the right man for myself. It was Oscar, a friend and colleague of my second brother, a knight. He was a knight belonging to the Count of Petrika, and a handsome and fit knight with a fairly promising future. I have been in and out of the Knights Templar several times as a sister of a friend and of Count Petrika¡¯s daughters, and have recently been proposed to by Oscar. The reason I¡¯m here right now, in the midst of preparing for my wedding, is because Merilyn, who was about to give birth, wanted to see me while she was in very bad health. I was worried and ran immediately, but I thought it was a good thing that I came. The large belly, which made it difficult for Merilyn to even breathe, fell into disrepair after labor and childbirth, which continued throughout the day. But Merilyn, who gave birth, felt as if she had poured out her soul. Merilyn will die. Everyone here was expecting that. And Merilyn¡¯s father, the Count, had to fill his daughter¡¯s position as soon as possible for his grandchild. His number one priority was me. I was a childhood friend who grew up with Merilyn and liked her baby because it was pretty and gentle. However, I didn¡¯t intend to become a stepmother, I¡¯d rather be the child¡¯s godmother. Plus there was a very handsome, well-built knight fianc¨¦ waiting for me. Oscar wasn¡¯t a very good man enough to pass all my strict standards, but as a lady from a not-so-rich Viscounty, he was the perfect match to marry. ¡°Amanda, be the Duchess for Merilyn¡¯s sake.¡± My father and I were right on the mark. The Count¡¯s appearance holding the young baby looked sad and I was confident that I would not be a vicious stepmother like Amanda, but I didn¡¯t want to give up my happiness and take care of Merilyn¡¯s child. The Duke did not take care of his son, Carlos, nor his new wife, Amanda. I don¡¯t think the husband¡¯s love is the only happiness of the wife, but the husband¡¯s love certainly contributes to the wife¡¯s happiness. Especially love on the bed. ¡°She has a fianc¨¦ back home who she has already promised to get married to.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the breakup.¡± My father stepped up and began to oppose, and I watched the two fathers stand up for their respective daughters. This was the first time he had confronted the Count so strongly because my father was the Count¡¯s Vassal. The baby, who was still in the Count¡¯s arms, began to cry. The Count, who was the father of two children, including Merilyn, but had never taken care of the child, was in a hurry, and the child was eventually put back in my arms. ¡°Our Young Master, are you surprised? Is it because you¡¯re surprised?¡± Carlos listened to my voice in my arms and began to stop crying little by little. ¡°Oh, how gentle you are. Aren¡¯t you hungry? Shall we leave the adults to talk?¡± ¡°Woo-bu-bu,¡± When I saw the child stop crying as soon as he was in my arms, I felt proud and happy. Behind the door, the two fathers were still confronting each other. After that, the Count kept asking me and my father, but I had no intention of going to the Duke¡¯s place and my father opposed his opinion as never before, so the story of me becoming the new Duchess was canceled. My father told me to go home and prepare for marriage now that I had seen Merilyn and Carlos, but I decided to stay a little longer in the Duchy, foreboding of Merilyn¡¯s increasingly debilitating death. Anyway, Merilyn and I were best childhood friends and I wanted to stay with her for as long as possible. Fortunately, my fianc¨¦ Oscar respected my decision. The Count also remained in the Duchy, so my father left alone. I took care of the child by Merilyn¡¯s side and took care of her too. Since the Duke¡¯s doctor confirmed that she didn¡¯t have an infectious disease, I took Carlos and sat next to her whenever she had time. Maybe Carlos doesn¡¯t remember Merilyn, but I wanted this child to be with his mother for a moment. And Merilyn hoped to see the child she had given her life in exchange for. * * * The fireplace in Merilyn¡¯s bedroom was burning again today with plenty of wood and oil. Even if the fireplace burned so much, the air was not murky because the magic tool, which makes the air clean without opening the window, was working. Merilyn¡¯s bedroom was as hot as summer, so I took off my thick coat and did the same for Carlos. As Carlos came out of the breastfeeding mother¡¯s arms, Merilyn was watching with satisfaction. ¡°Amanda, Mandy. I¡¯m so glad to have you.¡± Coughing, Merilyn said, calling out my childhood nickname. Her green eyes, which were like green shoots, were overcast like rain and wind forests. Her voice was still like a nightingale. ¡°Car¡­ I¡¯m so worried about Carl.¡± The nurse feeding Carl was chubby, unlike the skinny Merilyn. There were two milkmaids for the well-fed child, and Carlos was growing up as a really healthy baby. ¡°I think Carl should be worried about you.¡± A chubby, healthy baby and a skinny sick woman. It was Merilyn who was obviously the one to be worried for. I replied, covering her shoulder again with a shawl that had slipped from her coughing. Merilyn giggled. The laugh shook her body like a dry twig. Chapter 4 ¡°Mandy, I probably won¡¯t reach spring. So my child, Carl, is¨C¡± Cough cough, Merilyn¡¯s cough became intense. I patted her carefully on the back. Oh, what should I do? Carl was freed from the vicious touch of his stepmother, Amanda, but perhaps another stepmother was set aside for his ordeal. I saw the child writhing and reaching for me as if it were a matter of course. Carl has already recognized me from hugging and cuddling him these days. This little baby seemed to believe without a doubt that I would hug him. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s already very heavy. What about Young Master?¡± Carl burped and spat out the milk as she gently patted the child on the back. The sour smell of vomiting mixed with the smell of milk was not so disgusting because it was a baby¡¯s. I wiped Carl¡¯s lips while the maid wiped the vomit on my clothes. The baby, who waited calmly while he was wiped with a handkerchief, smiled like an angel when she took off the handkerchief. The rosy lips resembling Merilyn¡¯s were wide open and his cheeks were full. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s pretty, too. Look, mom, don¡¯t be depressed~ Carl is laughing.¡± So cheer up, Merilyn. Don¡¯t get sick. I smiled as I showed Carl to Merilyn. Maybe Merilyn wouldn¡¯t die, just as I didn¡¯t become Amanda. ¡°Mandy, if anything happens to me¡­ I want you to protect him then.¡± ¡°As a godmother, I¡¯ll always be by his side.¡± I knew it wasn¡¯t what she wanted, but I said I wasn¡¯t going to take her place, and disappointment flashed across her face. She would have quickly erased the disappointment and smiled kindly, but Merilyn could not easily hide her disappointment as the illness had exhausted her. ¡°My father is calling Agatha.¡± I was surprised at what Merilyn said. Agatha was the second daughter of Viscount Bell, another vassal of the Count Petrika. I was familiar with her personality as I had once fought with her by the hair. She¡¯s really, really, really¡­ bad. Agatha¡¯s personality could not be simply expressed in bad words. In this feudal society, Merilyn, the County¡¯s Lady, was much higher in rank than me and Agatha, because the order of father and family led to the order between us, the daughters. It wasn¡¯t just high enough. In a fairly large, wealthy county, Merilyn was the noblest girl, and she had the highest rank unless a peer of her class visited. But Merilyn was a very kind and gentle girl, so she was kind to the daughters of her father¡¯s vassals like me and Agatha, and unlike Merilyn and I, who became good friends, Agatha¡­ She seemed to forget who the count¡¯s daughter was. Agatha came out to drink tea time with us, acted forcefully to Merilyn, and committed excessive acts such as punishing her maids or performing sadistic acts. Merilyn was at a loss and I was so enraged that I grabbed Agatha by the hair and fought. In this unprecedented situation, the Countess, Merilyn¡¯s mother, came forward, and Agatha was half expelled from the County. I can¡¯t believe he brought that Agatha. Unlike me, who has an excuse for ¡®Merilyn misses you,¡¯ Agatha had nothing. When she was called in at this point, it meant that the Count of Petrika had her in mind as the next Duchess. No matter how hard it is, what do you mean Agatha?! The Count must have gone mad. The impression of the poor old man who was looking for a place similar to his daughter with his grandchild in his arms has changed. What do you mean Agatha? Agatha? Even Merilyn, who always had a warm perspective on people, looked stiff and full of anxiety and worry. If it¡¯s the old Agatha she would definitely be the next Duchess and perhaps a more vicious stepmother than Amanda. Oh, my God! Without Amanda, am I creating a new vicious stepmother? If this was the law of preservation of the original, it was scary. ¡°Mandy, Agatha¡­ Hah.¡± Merilyn sighed, emphasizing again. Even when she was only a Young lady of a Viscount, when she thought of Merilyn as weak, she moved as if it were her own house and harassed her maids. I was also worried about Agatha becoming the new Duchess, but¡­ I was very worried that this pretty Carlos would grow up under Agatha, but¡­ I closed my eyes tightly. I had the hot body of Oscar waiting for me. Oscar, the knight who protects the County, is quite promising handsome! There was an Oscar who wouldn¡¯t be taken to the battlefield of the border for a symbolic reason because he was too good-looking! Even pretty and kind-hearted Merilyn didn¡¯t intend to marry a Duke who didn¡¯t show even a handful of affection for his wife, she gave birth to his child, and he didn¡¯t come to see her, so who would become a wife in name. What¡¯s more, her friend becomes a Duchess! Even with the protection of Count Petrika, she would not be loved by her husband, the Duke, nor would she cherish how hard life would be for a Duchess of Viscount ancestry who raises a Duke¡¯s heir, and not her own son. I turned a blind eye to Merilyn¡¯s plea, and Carlos¡¯s cuteness. ¡°Agatha, too.¡± I couldn¡¯t speak when I tried to tell a lie indifferently. I quickly licked my lips with my tongue and recited a near-false wish. ¡°If she sees Carlos, who is cute, Agatha might change.¡± After confirming my determination, Merilyn had a depressive look on her face, but quickly smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes, I hope so.¡± Unfortunately, however, it could not have been so. * * * Chapter 5 Agatha, who entered the Duke¡¯s castle in the carriage of the Count of Petrika, seemed embarrassed by the atmosphere in which no one welcomed her after coming to the castle with a raised nose. What the Duke was doing had never been seen by me since Merilyn¡¯s labor, and I pretended not to notice that the Count of Petrika was auditioning her for the new Duchess position. He didn¡¯t come to see Agatha or me, the new Duchess candidate, and Agatha seemed very offended when her aide, not even the Count of Petrika, welcomed her. After getting off the wagon with an aide¡¯s escort, I laughed when I saw her pushing his arm. I watched her through the window, listening to Merilyn¡¯s cough. Agatha didn¡¯t immediately act like she had forgotten that this place was a Duke¡¯s castle. Because she didn¡¯t hit the maids who greeted her. Soon Agatha learned that Merilyn was still alive, that the Duchess was alive, and that I was also a guest at the Duchy. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Agatha complained to me with an angry face. Carrying Carlos in the nursery and heading to Merilyn¡¯s bedroom with the nannies, I stopped because of Agatha, who blocked me. ¡°I¡¯m here because it¡¯s Merilyn¡¯s house. Get out of my way. I¡¯m on my way to Merilyn.¡± Agatha looked at me with a fierce look and turned to Carl in my arms. Her eyes gleamed with subtle glitter. ¡°Is that baby ¡®him¡¯?¡± ¡°This is Young Master Carlos. Keep your manners.¡± Agatha snorted at my words. ¡°Isn¡¯t he my son now?¡± She reached for Carlos and I took half a step back, hugging the child tightly. ¡°It¡¯s Merilyn¡¯s son. Come on, don¡¯t be impolite to Young Master Carlos!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Agatha was dumbfounded, but when I didn¡¯t back down with a tough face, she clenched her teeth and lowered her head. Carlos was a young baby less than a year old, but he was the Duke¡¯s only son. If Carl were to grow up, he would be the Duke¡¯s successor, and the next Duke after the Duke¡¯s death. ¡°This is Agatha Blanche De Bell, daughter of Viscount Bell.¡± I said to Carlos. I could feel Agatha grinding her teeth. Originally, a high-class aristocrat who was greeted had to be greeted to stand up, but Carlos was not a big enough child to do so, so Agatha raised her head and was quiet for a while. With her head up, she glared at me with sharp eyes. ¡°You still believe in Merilyn, don¡¯t you?¡± Her voice was sarcastic, but it didn¡¯t hurt or itch at all. ¡°It¡¯s the Duchess of DeMancier. How dare you say the Duchess¡¯s name?¡± Agatha snorted with a furious look and murmured in a low voice, ¡°Stump with the soon-to-be-dead duchess.¡± Then she turned around and left. Watching her step away slowly, I didn¡¯t seem to forget my hand and I grabbed her hair saying, ¡°What do you mean by that!¡± Thinking about the baby crying in my arms, I clenched my teeth and took Carl to Merilyn¡¯s bedroom. Since then, Agatha has remained calm for a while, perhaps conscious of my existence. When she saw me, who was in a similar situation to her, sitting next to Merilyn while taking care of Carl in the Duchy, she thought of me as a rival for the position of next Duchess. Trying to find fault with me somehow, she tried to appeal to Carl whenever I was away, but she repeatedly failed. However, she looked at me without getting angry. Then she found out that I had a fiance named Oscar. I never thought I¡¯d hear Agatha congratulate me on my engagement in my life, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s starting to show her true colors. When Merilyn was only slowly debilitating while Count Petrika was not calling for a new candidate, she began to act as if she had already become a Duchess. At first, she slapped or punished the young maids for one reason or another, and when no one stopped her, she gradually became bolder. ¡°Lady! Lady, now in the nursery! Lady Bell!¡± A maid who became contemplated ran to me and said, who was wiping Merilyn¡¯s body with a towel soaked in warm water. Merilyn and I made eye contact. Before the Duchess, I noticed Merilyn¡¯s look at the maid who was making a fuss in the castle to me, but she was just surprised and urged me to go. Eventually, I handed the towel over to another maid and headed to the nursery with the maid. ¡°Lady Bell is hitting the nanny and the Young Master is crying!¡± ¡°What? No, why?¡± ¡°The nanny said that the necklace and brooch that Miss Bell wore are big, so why doesn¡¯t she take them off and hold the Young Master?¡± As I rushed to the nursery, the maid informed me of the origin of the incident. She was in such a hurry that her words mixed in with a harsh breath. The moment I heard the maid, I could guess the situation. I didn¡¯t expect her to think about touching a nanny. In this society, nannies of high-ranking nobles were different from the common nannies that took care of Agatha when she was growing up. They were all wives of the Duke¡¯s Vassals! So one was the Baroness and one was the Viscountess. The wives of his subordinates who the Duke trusted enough were made his son¡¯s nanny! ¡°What are you doing?! Are you crazy, Agatha?!¡± The nanny, tangled with Agatha, was the Viscountess Desmond. And she wasn¡¯t being beaten unilaterally by Agatha. Both of them forgot their dignity and everything, were tangled tearing off each other¡¯s hair, and occasionally hitting each other¡¯s cheeks with their palms. Another nanny, the Baroness, was nowhere to be seen as if she had left. While the nanny and his stepmother were fighting each other, Carl was crying his head out in the cradle. I hugged Carl in a hurry. Carl, who was crying loudly, cried at the top of his voice when he hugged me. Chapter 6 ¡°Oh, Young Master must have been really surprised. You must have been surprised. Yeah, yeah. You were scared of the adults, right? It¡¯s okay, Daa. It¡¯s okay now.¡± While comforting the baby, I encountered Count Petrika on his way to the nursery, apparently hearing the news. Slowly he stopped moving and saw his grandson in my arms, touching my hair. ¡°Count.¡± He dissuaded me from bowing lightly while hugging Carl. Yeah, it¡¯s so hard to greet with a baby in your arms. ¡°I heard Agatha was making a fuss. You seem to have arranged it well.¡± ¡°No, first of all, Carl, I only brought the Young Master out. Maybe they¡¯re still fighting inside. Let¡¯s go in.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t expect her to fight with the Viscountess Desmond.¡± The Count of Petrika lamented in front of me, not entering the nursery where he could hear the roar of the battle still in full swing. I picked a few words, hugging the heavily weighted Carl. ¡°¡­Are there any other candidates?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only one in front of me.¡± At the words of Count Petrika I realized he was going to play a chicken game with me. I wonder if my family and Agatha¡¯s family are the only Viscount families who can manage things as Count Petrika likes. I just came from a Viscount family, and he could find as many girls as he could with good character and take good care of this child. It¡¯s just that he seemed so confident that I was the best choice and he didn¡¯t move. There may be some time left for Merilyn, but if I hold out until the end, Count Petrika will put a woman or Agatha who has less than verified her qualifications in a hurry to save her pride. And frankly, I don¡¯t feel guilty about that. ¡°You¡¯ll have to find someone else, not Agatha.¡± With that said, I bent my knees slightly to give courtesy and headed to Merilyn¡¯s bedroom with Carl in my arms. The best way for Carl, Merilyn, and for me is for her mother, Merilyn, to wake up and be healthy, but¡­ Merilyn¡¯s complexion of greeting us in the bedroom looked more flimsy than yesterday. Her recovery would be an unexpected miracle. * * * Agatha was neither evicted nor punished in spite of her atrocities. It made her more proud and the Duchy¡¯s maids began to murmur and look at Agatha, who was more likely to be a Duchess. The discipline of the servants had collapsed a lot even to me, an outsider. With spring just around the corner, Merilyn¡¯s condition became critical. Merilyn, who foretold death, became more resolute in the face of death. The doctor said tonight would be her last night, and in her bedroom were Carl and Count Petrika, me and Carl¡¯s two nannies, and even the Duke, who was hard to see. The Duke of DeMancier was sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace and he was silent even as his wife was dying. And Merilyn also didn¡¯t look at her husband. At first, I was somewhat embarrassed and nervous by the appearance of the high man, but I quickly forgot the existence of the Duke sitting there like furniture. Merilyn breathed heavily with a feverish face. I carefully raised her hand to help Carl grab her finger. The baby grabbed his wheezing mother¡¯s hand tightly and turned around and wiggled on the bed where she was lying. Sometimes my hands patted Carl in the stomach and tickled him in the ribs, making a high laugh. The innocent laughter of a baby with a dying mother next to him made adults smile but also made them cry. I watched my old friend die as I stood by her bedside, wiping away the tears secretly. ¡°Mandy, Carl, please, Carl¡­¡± Perhaps he already understood my name, Carl blinked his green eyes that resembled his mother with an innocent face. Oh, Merilyn. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to give her the answer she wanted and left vague words that I would watch him like my child. Then the bedroom door burst open. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the entrance, and Agatha, an uninvited guest, entered the place proudly. ¡°This crazy woman¡­¡± A new curse word came out of my lips. God, Agatha, this crazy girl was wearing a colorful winter dress and flashy jewelry. Her look was slightly lowered and her expression looked somber, so her outfit itself was really odd. ¡°Merilyn, how did you become so weak?¡± Agatha, who had never visited Merilyn, sat at Merilyn¡¯s feet with a very worried voice. The seat was very close to the Duke sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace and I saw Agatha, the stingy girl, raising her eyes and scanning the Duke secretly. The Duke also raised his head to see who the new woman was, and Agatha¡¯s cheeks, which faced him, flushed. He never visited his wife, who was dying after giving birth to a child, but came when she was on her deathbed, and although he was a suspicious person, he was as handsome as his appearance. He was an impressive man with the strength and determination of a knight who always travels through the battlefield, and the overwhelming atmosphere of the northern ruler. Besides, he was young. For Agatha, who wants to be the wife of a powerful man, the Duke of DeMancier is a very coveted groom. ¡°Oh, is it hot in here?¡± Agatha shook her shoulder slightly and slipped off her shawl. To my surprise, she was wearing a dress that showed off her shoulders and collarbone. Merilyn¡¯s room, which always lights up the fireplace, was hot, but it wasn¡¯t enough to wear such an exposed dress. Besides, what she wore was not a home dress, but a dress to wear to a party. Agatha, who showed off her thin and soft shoulders, did not hide it and gave the Duke a candid glance. Chapter 7 Looking at that, it seemed that Agatha would never be a good stepmother to Carl. Merilyn is still alive with her eyes wide open, and she¡¯s flirting with her husband, the Duke. The Duke of DeMancier turned to the fireplace again as if he was not interested in it, and Agatha seemed a little embarrassed, but soon recovered her posture. ¡°Oh, Carlo, what a pity.¡± It seemed like she was going to show off that she had a side to be a good mother by affectionately calling Carlos¡¯s nickname. Carlo, how unfriendly is she to Carlos, to have come up with the wrong nickname. Agatha came out in a fancy open shoulder dress, approached Carl, and his eyes sparkled. Carl opened his arms, and Agatha hugged the baby and comforted him. In particular, she raised her head to me and made a triumphant expression. Carl seemed completely distracted by Agatha¡¯s necklace, and the baby, born with anything in his hand, also held Agatha¡¯s necklace. Agatha walked slightly in front of Merilyn¡¯s bed, showing off Carl, who was still in her arms, and sat back on her bed, while Carl tucked the jewels of her necklace into his mouth. ¡°Ooh, buu, buu.¡± ¡°Wow, what is this! It¡¯s dirty!¡± It was different for me and Agatha to feel dirty. Agatha freaked out, pulled Carl away, and Carl, who had never experienced such a cold touch in his life, burst into tears and opened his arms to me. Coming into my arms, I soothed Carl, who was crying, and stared at Agatha frowning at the baby¡¯s saliva-stained necklace. ¡°That¡¯s why I told you not to wear big-sized jewelry when hugging a child.¡± Viscountess Desmond, who once fought with Agatha over this, pointed out and did not miss the opportunity. She could not hide her savory expression, and Agatha and Viscountess Desmond stared at each other. Since Viscountess Desmond had already stabbed Agatha with words, I swallowed my sharp words for Agatha and focused on appeasing Carl. ¡°Young Master Carl, good boy. Oh, you were surprised. Really? Yeah, you¡¯re fine now, you¡¯re fine. Shh.¡± In the quiet bedroom, all I could hear was the sound of soothing Carl and his sobbing. When I hugged him, he soon touched my hair with his hand and buried his face in my arms, and I patted him gently on the back because he seemed sleepy. ¡°Mandy¡­¡± Cough, and cough, Merilyn looked at me with a mournful look. The moment I saw her face, I felt hurt and intense guilt at the thought that I had not been able to see her before her death, although it was not my fault. ¡°Mandy, please, Carl¡­¡± Her voice was as dry as a leaf that would break apart if touched. ¡°Be Carl¡¯s mother.¡± Over and over again she¡¯d ask me to take care of him, to be his mother. This was the first time Merilyn had asked me so clearly. ¡°Merilyn¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean? Carl¡¯s stepmother is me!¡± Agatha raised her voice and forcibly removed Carl, who found peace in my arms. It happened out of the blue. At the same time, Carl started to cry again. Agatha tried to placate Carl, but the baby¡¯s cry only grew louder. Carl, who was gentle in anyone¡¯s arms, struggled with his hands and feet. Agatha now glared at me with the baby in her arms, wondering if she thought she would miss the Duchess position if Carl was taken away. The child¡¯s crying was getting louder and Carl was struggling even worse. I tried to ignore the cry, not to listen, but I couldn¡¯t. The baby, Carl, was crying. ¡°Let go of Carl, Agatha!¡± My voice got louder because of Carl¡¯s loud cry. Agatha just hugged Carl tightly without any tricks, and his struggles gradually increased. In the end, Agatha gave up Carl and I quickly brought him into my arms. ¡°Shhhh, you¡¯re surprised. Everything¡¯s fine now. It¡¯s all right now.¡± Viscountess Desmond blocked Agatha from rushing back. Fortunately, the two women did not fight here by grabbing each other¡¯s hair. Carl came into my arms and wept sadly and clenched my hair and clothes. A small, plump hand clasped tightly and desperately. Merilyn reached for us. ¡°Oh, Mandy¡­ Please, there¡¯s no one but you. I need you, I need you.¡± Merilyn begged. With her still on the verge of death, my friend grabbed my collar. I sat by her bedside again and held her dry hand. My heart beat uneasily. Carl had his face in my arms and was clutching my clothes with his hands. How can I turn a blind eye to these two. While staying in the Duke¡¯s castle, Oscar¡¯s handsome face became blurred, and the future I dreamed of became blurred. I finally promised her in the face of death. ¡°I promise, Merilyn. I¡¯ll raise him like my child, but I won¡¯t let him forget you, his mother.¡± ¡°Mandy¡­¡± ¡°Merilyn, I¡¯ll give him the love you¡¯ll give the child. I¡¯ll be Carl¡¯s mother and take good care of him. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Oh, Mandy.¡± What should I say to reassure the mother who is leaving her young baby? I couldn¡¯t say more, I closed my lips and Merilyn smiled faintly. ¡°Thank you, I trust you.¡± Was the past time we spent together enough to reassure Merilyn? Was I trustworthy enough to leave her young son to? Merilyn closed her eyes with a smile. Just as if it was Carl that really worried her until the very end, as if she was relieved to leave him to me. ¡°Merilyn!¡± I screamed her name at the sight of her not opening her eyes, and her doctor approached and examined her condition. Her doctor pronounced her dead. Count Petrika sighed loudly and Agatha looked around with a bewildered face. I held Carl in my arms and burst into tears. Then the Duke got up without a word and left the bedroom. I knew Agatha was chasing after him, but I let her. The next day, the carriage of Count Petrika carrying Agatha left and Merilyn¡¯s funeral began. A few days later, my father Viscount Ventta, my mother, and my three older brothers came to the Duchy at once. They tried to persuade me for a long time, but failed, and the next day I and the Duke became a couple on paper. The wedding could not be held soon after the funeral of the Duchess Merilyn. The Duke¡¯s wedding was postponed and I didn¡¯t think he and I would be officially celebrated. I sighed as I signed a document confirming my marriage to the Duke. Amanda eventually became Carlos¡¯ stepmother. The first method. Don¡¯t become a stepmother. Failed. Chapter 8 It was necessary to put aside the failed method and set up the next method. Now that I have become a stepmother, I can be a good mother to Carl as I promised Merilyn. After Merilyn¡¯s funeral, I decided to hold Carl in my arms. What¡¯s the big deal about a good stepmother? Being nice to him. My mother said that even if I raise him like my child, others¡¯ children are others¡¯ children, and that no matter how much I care about Carl and how much Carl follows me, it will not look nice to others. She foretold the rigors of raising the child that wasn¡¯t mine, and she told me to reconsider becoming a Duchess, but I was determined. I thought it would be a good life to be a stepmother who raised Carlos, the main character of the world, rather than living with Oscar, a handsome Knight. I was determined to do so, but unfortunately, I was not Carl¡¯s nanny, but Carl¡¯s stepmother and Duchess of DeMancier. The Duchess seems to have a lot of work to do, but the Duchess of DeMancier and the North had more work to do because most of the Lords and Knights went to war for half a year due to their geographical characteristics. As Merilyn got pregnant and lay bed-ridden at the same time, the Duchess of DeMancier¡¯s seat was virtually vacant, and at that point, I decided to remarry on her deathbed, so there was no one to take over for me. Even if Merilyn left, time did not stop, so as spring was just around the corner, Mrs. May looked at me and asked me how she should prepare to go to war. ¡°Ready to go to war? What should I prepare?¡± Unlike me, who just became a duchess, Mrs. May, who had been a maid before Merilyn became a duchess, answered without hesitation. ¡°The Duke and his aides do things like military rations and war supplies, but things like gathering the wives of the castle to mend armor or make military uniforms are things the Duchess prepares. I was supposed to do it during the winter¡­¡± Half of the year was winter in the north, and the other half had wars with monsters trying to move south at the border. From now on, my husband, the Duke of DeMancier, spent half the year on the battlefield. During the winter, monsters did not break in easily, so only the minimum number of soldiers stood guard, and most of the Knights and soldiers, including the Duke, returned to their respective homes and prepared for another battle to begin in spring. And this winter, Merilyn was sick as she gave birth to Carlos. The work that Merilyn was doing before she was sick stopped, and the maids proceeded with the least amount of work that they usually did, cleaning up the castle. ¡°When will the Duke go to war?¡± The goods had to be prepared in time for the Duke to leave. Mrs. May replied, ¡°A week from now.¡± And at that moment she was absolutely beside herself. Originally, there were rituals to greet spring, but it was fortunate that there would be no such celebrations or ceremonies this year since Merilyn died. I looked at what Merilyn had done, but it was too much to prepare the rest in a week because things were neglected for a long time, and eventually I had to spend a lot of money to buy new items. The quick delivery also added to the costly expenses. The Duke and his aides did not take issue with the expenditure, knowing that the Duchess¡¯s seat was vacant during Merilyn¡¯s illness, and that they could not do what they were doing every winter. However, as soon as the Duchess died, those who were interested in the new Duchess said that I was already incompetent and extravagant, and that I made the Duke spend a lot of money. I felt so dirty and annoyed when I was criticized for something that wasn¡¯t my fault. Anyway, after a week of being busy searching for new war supplies, the ceremony of the Knights and soldiers heading back to the border was just around the corner. I made sure all the supplies were loaded into the carriage until the end and prepared to show my face to Carlos and begin the ceremony. Spring was just around the corner, but the weather was fierce because there were still remnants of winter. Carlos was clothed in thick clothes and wrapped in fur. I also put on Merilyn¡¯s fur coat and went outside. As a self-created lover, I didn¡¯t have many clothes and I didn¡¯t have enough time to buy new clothes to suit the Duchess¡¯s dignity, so it was a choice I couldn¡¯t make. ¡°Are you frustrated, Young Master? Even if it¡¯s frustrating, hold it in. It¡¯s cold outside, so if you catch a cold, you will get sick.¡± Wearing thick clothes, I was frustrated, so I came out with the child wrapped tightly, soothing Carl who was whining. As expected, a fierce wind blew. I curled up and took care not to let Carl get caught in the wind as much as I could, and headed for the Duke who had not yet mounted the horse. He seemed calm as if he had little appreciation for his annual expedition. I know he survives until Carl grows up, but war has always been accompanied by numerous variables. Moreover, for about half a year, he hoped that the stepmother would further solidify Carl¡¯s position as soon as he, who might not return from the battlefield, lost his life. While I¡¯m at it, I¡¯d like you to build up my prestige as a duchess, but¡­ I don¡¯t expect much from a man who didn¡¯t respond much to the dying Merilyn. The Duke of DeMancier saw me approaching him, at this moment the Duke¡¯s aide approached him and whispered something. The Duke nodded slightly, handed the reins of the horse to the aide, and approached me. The Duke of DeMancier, who spent half a year on the battlefield, was really strong. I have three fairly tall brothers, and yet he surprised me, who is used to my second brother who is a knight. The Duke was a man of great stride, one step being my three steps. Whenever he strode toward me, my head gradually lifted upward and bent backward. Chapter 9 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (2) The Duke was approaching without saying hello, without a wink, or without any expression. He was so big that it felt threatening just to come close. I had no idea what the approaching Duke meant without a word. In the confusion, I thrust out Carl at him. With the green eyes of Merilyn, Carl saw his father, who gave him his black hair. The Duke, who was approaching, stopped walking when I put the child out in front of him. ¡°Give him a hug!¡± The Duke held Carl in his arms vaguely, as if he were not a fool. The Duke¡¯s outfit, dressed in hard armor and cape, seemed to make Carl puzzled by the stiff chest as usual. Carl¡¯s brackish hand felt the Duke¡¯s cold armor, and the fur wrapped around Carl loosely flowed down because the Duke clumsily hugged him. Oh, no, no matter what, people who watch know how to do it. I quickly approached and closed up Carl¡¯s fur a little tighter. When he felt my touch, Carl opened his arms toward me and hugged me without any hesitation. The Duke lowered his hand awkwardly and glanced at me and Carl. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you hug your father a little when he was going far away. Huh? You have to say goodbye to your father.¡± Carl just smiled brightly. Indeed, I don¡¯t know if Carl had the idea that the Duke was his father. Maybe he¡¯s a stranger. I had to raise my head to see the Duke¡¯s face up close. The duke, who had seemeda little scary for a while, that I couldn¡¯t even see his face properly due to my status. Um¡­ He was much more handsome than I thought. His skinny, long neck and a hard, clear jawline were visible. The sculpted handsome man, who had no embarrassing features frome head to toe, also had a high nose. ¡°Well, then, Duke-¡± The Duke lowered his upper body and suddenly thrust his handsome face into me. I stepped back half a step without realizing it, but a cold, hard hand wearing a gantlet wrapped around my shoulder. ¡°Ah,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back, Madam.¡± The Duke¡¯s face came very close to my face. I made eye contact with his face close enough to know what color his eyes were. The Duke¡¯s eyes were violet-like, pretty purple. Merilyn¡¯s green eyes are also very pretty, but it was such a beautiful color that it was regrettable that Carl did not inherit them. ¡°You can call me Gellerhard in front of others.¡± It didn¡¯t really mean much for a wife to call her husband¡¯s name, but it meant a lot between me and the Duke. Everyone in the Duchy knew that we were just a couple on paper and that I was here to raise Carl. The fact that I could call the Duke by his name, that I could call the Duke¡¯s name affectionately in front of others, was a sign that he cares about me and respects me. ¡°Yes.¡± Maybe it¡¯s the advice of an aide who whispered to the Duke before I approached him. Until he heard my answer, the Duke did not lift his face, and the breath he exhaled touched me. He slowly raised his head from me, I stopped breathing for fear that my breath would reach him, and he left me frozen close to him. ¡°Sigh.¡± I breathed out the last breath and hugged Carl. The Duke turned back to the horse and mounted it nicely, and I slowly moved away from him and into the castle. My heart pounded loudly and my cheeks flushed for no reason. Oh man, my heart is squeezing. Entering the castle angily, I was surprised to hear that the Duke and I looked like we were kissing. Maybe that¡¯s what he meant. Though in actuality his lips didn¡¯t even touch my cheek, what others knew as a kiss was better for me. * * * Before leaving for the border, the Duke personally established my prestige, and thanks to the maid and two nannies who saw how devoted I was to Merilyn during the winter, and how well Carl followed me, the castle where the Duke left was hierarchized around me, the new Duchess. However, those who had bad thought about me disapproved of me showing my face to the ceremony, wearing Merlin¡¯s clothes, and showing off my affection with the Duke on the spot. They accused me of being an insidious woman who waited for Merilyn¡¯s death to take her place. The second Duchess, Carlos¡¯ stepmother, was a position cursed in many ways. Doesn¡¯t matter you¡¯re good or bad. If you do well, they will nitpick, and if you can¡¯t¡­ Your position will be criticized. But I had no choice but to try. For Carl, who smiles brightly in my arms, looking for my arms more than a nanny or others, and smiling at me. For Merilyn, who had no choice but to leave this pretty child behind. As soon as I became a Duchess, Count Petrika recommended a Countess as my lady in waiting with a letter of comfort to me who was cursed from all sides. It is said that her husband was the late Count Blone, a noble lady of a County on the border. She was an old woman who had a great knowledge of preparing and organizing for wars that broke out on the border side, and was still in the border area helping her daughter-in-law and son. Count Petrika said that there would be no one to teach and help the Duchess as well as the work to do in wartime and to set up a castle. A young girl who was born as a Viscount¡¯s daughter, and who had only learned the level of homemaker her mother raised, I did not have the talent to raise the household of a Duke. Furthermore, the Duke of DeMancier was on display every year. Therefore, I gladly accepted the recommendation of Count Petrika and asked Lady Blone to teach me and brought her to the Duke¡¯s castle. Lady Blone, who was difficult to bring at the recommendation of Count Petrika, sometimes showed disapproval of my lack of knowledge as a Duchess, but she actively helped me. Because she also understood the situation that the Duke and I were in. Chapter 10 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (3) Half of the year was the best choice for me, the current selection, to protect the Duke who was on the battlefield and his young heir, Carl. On behalf of the absent duke, the Duchess was also acting lord, so the butler and the Duke¡¯s administrative aides worked closely with me, and everyone¡¯s response was no different from that of the Countess. It was still a little lacking, but the situation is like this, so it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s better than expected. How much? I also didn¡¯t think I was a ¡®real¡¯ Duchess, so I felt like a ¡®proxy¡¯ Duchess acting on behalf of Merilyn, so I approached it with that kind of heart. My main job is Carl¡¯s mother. A mother who pours a lot of love into her child. Carl grew day by day with a lot of love from me. Half a year passed quickly and by the time the first snow fell, the Duke returned. The war on the border, which was only described in the book, was much more serious than my vague imagination, and half of the soldiers who had left in good health were injured, some of the knights were killed and others looked very tired. In between, only the Duke was upright. His posture on the horse was straight and his eyes under the helmet were sharp. It was also the reason why the castle and the duke of DeMancier could not be coveted by other that he left for half a year due to the war. Duke of DeMancier of the north is a man who carried the geographical war on the border, and yet is probably the strongest knight in the Empire who comes back from that war every year. Watching the Duke¡¯s procession from inside the castle through the window, I patted Carl in my arms. This little baby grows into such a bold man, protects the North, and later falls in passionate love, achieving the peace of the past. ¡°Carl, I hope Young Master grows up as soon as possible.¡± It would be nice if there were any other methods, but there was no way to speed up the peace between monsters and humans as Carl and Dragon fell in love. I want Carl to always be like a baby angel in my arms, but on the day I witnessed the remnants of the war like today, I thought differently. The Duke disbanded the soldiers and knights, and the butler and administrative aide approached the Duke who got off the horse. Seeing the three of them talking, I also started moving with Carl in my arms. Both the Viscount and Baroness, who are Carl¡¯s nannies, were women whose husbands were Knights that went to war with the Duke, so both had left to meet their husbands with their children. The Knights stayed in the castle for a while and today was the first day before returning to their respective territories and hometowns. The Duke¡¯s kitchen has been frantic since three days ago, as there will have a big feast with a lot of food and they distribute the remaining food to the people outside the castle tomorrow. There was a smell of food all over the Duke¡¯s castle. We also checked the condition of the hall and kitchen where the dinner will be held and made sure that the Knights entered the rooms assigned to them. And of course there¡¯s enough alcohol. They made an unintended mistake before going to war, so they put everything into this dinner. The Duke and knights, who had returned from the battlefield and washed themselves, gathered in the hall at the bell to announce the evening time and began dinner, and I arrived a little late because I was changing Carl¡¯s diaper just before I left. Just thinking that I was late for the celebration where I had to participate as a Duchess, I rushed to the banquet hall with Carl in my arms. The banquet hall was so noisy and loud that a hushed and chattering voice could be heard above the hallway in the distance. When I went down near the banquet hall, it was noisy and bustling, with servants busily running with empty bottles of alcohol and entering with grilled pork full of plates. Carl looked around the noisy area curiously. Standing at the entrance of the banquet hall, I heard someone singing a song at the top of their voice. I took a deep breath listening to the clap and the chorus. I have to go in quietly and sit like I¡¯ve been here since the beginning. Using both arms to hug Carl, who has become very heavy these days, I winked at the servant at the entrance. The servant hesitated. Disappointed by the reaction, I turned around and tried to look for a maid, but the maids who helped dress me up were no longer followed me. ¡°Where did they go?¡± I wondered, but when I saw the servant again in a hurry, he opened the door. I sneaked into the banquet hall, smelling like a pork belly restaurant on a company dinner day, mixed with the smell of meat and alcohol. It was a door near the upper seat where the Duke and the Duchess sat, so as soon as I entered, I could see the Duke¡¯s back while eating, and the aides and Lords who occupied him on both sides. They were all drinking, raising their voices, and eating. It was completely, completely different from the dinners I occasionally attended at the Countess of Petrika or with my close family and friends from my own home. Above all, there was no woman. Of course, there were many married men who had a longing wife in their hometowns, but the Viscountess and Baroness, Carl¡¯s nannies, were not present, and even those carrying empty plates were all male servants. I momentarily judged that I came in the wrong way. However, others first found me standing at the entrance and observing the situation. ¡°It¡¯s a lady!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a woman!¡± As if they had never seen a woman before, their eyes and fingers turned to me with a loud cry. I was embarrassed as I hugged Carl tightly. I felt an unknown fear in the gaze of men pouring out, saying, ¡°It¡¯s a woman!¡± The Duke approached me, leaving me frozen like a frog in front of a snake. ¡°Why are you here ¨C let¡¯s get out of here.¡± He gestured as if he was covering my shoulder but his hand didn¡¯t touch my body, but I could still feel the stability just by him coming up to me. I followed him along. Carl clutched my clothes tightly as if he were nervous, and I hugged him tightly. There was a whistling sound from behind me. Chapter 11 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (4) The Duke took me through the hall without saying a word and climbed the stairs. The smell that was strong enough to make me feel nauseous died down as I climbed the stairs. When he led me into the duchess¡¯s inner quarters, my steps stopped. ¡°Madam?¡± ¡°Oh, well, I haven¡¯t used the Duchess¡¯s room yet. Well, thank you for taking me here. My room is near here.¡± When I was in a hurry, I took out Merilyn¡¯s clothes and wore them, but I was not yet using the room where she lived and the bedroom where she slept as my room. At first, it was because I felt strange to take her place shortly after Merilyn left, and then because of my status and the way others felt like a ¡®temporary¡¯ Duchess. The Duke shut his lips to my words and went on again. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to your room. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to go anywhere right away, and I have something to say.¡± With that said, the duke was the most legitimate man that could enter my bedroom, so I took him to my room. Carl was still in my arms until then. When I went back to the room, I thought I should take off the clothes that Carl had dressed. When I entered my room, the Duke looked around and sat in a rocking chair in front of the fireplace, even though I had not recommended it. The rocking chair creaked back as he sat down. The Duke leaned back comfortably to his head, leaning back against the back, as if the movement were uncomfortable. I glanced at the figure and put Carl on the bed. Carl lounged comfortably on my bed. ¡°No woman is present at the dinner.¡± ¡°I guess so. I vaguely mistook it for something like a dinner at the Count of Petrika.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the way it is for a normal dinner. Both men and women attended. But-¡± The Duke sighed low. ¡°I don¡¯t want to make excuses for war. However, since both alcohol and women are prohibited during the war, drunken knights used to commit atrocities at dinners held immediately after returning to the castle. From some point on, women were not present at the dinner at all, and even the maids briefly served at the beginning of the dinner, but from the moment the alcohol started to run, they didn¡¯t even come near the banquet hall.¡± The Duke¡¯s explanation was much kinder than I expected. Like the world I lived in, murder, robbery, and rape were all serious crimes in this world, and rape did not consider the status of victims and perpetrators. And it was usually the Lord¡¯s job to decide on punishment for the perpetrator. So when a Knight who came back from the war and drank heavily raped a maid, the Duke was in a terrible dilemma. In principle, whether to punish a Knight who made a contribution in the war for rape or ignore it. The criminal was ¡®merged¡¯ as a soldier in the war and was unable to participate. The difference between conscription and participation is huge. The conscripted criminals are not subject to sharing the war¡¯s credit, but the Knight who participated is subject to sharing the war¡¯s credit. Not to mention the probability that a conscripted criminal will die is higher than that of a participating Knight. I could conjure up a series of situations like this in the Duke¡¯s account. I understood what he said. That I was mistaken for a place where I shouldn¡¯t be. And he also knew that I went there under an illusion. The only thing I¡¯m curious about is, Why didn¡¯t anyone stop me from going to the banquet? The Duke closed his eyes and hung down, shaking the squeaky chair a few times as if he liked the rocking chair. After the explanation, he closed his mouth again, and I changed Carl¡¯s clothes and took care of him without changing my clothes. When Carl crawled around on the bed, flipped over, and fell asleep again, the Duke also opened his eyes and raised himself. Looking at him getting up, he seemed to be asleep in a rocking chair. ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± The Duke spoke awkwardly and strode out. Patting Carl on the stomach, I looked at the Duke¡¯s back, which disappeared in an instant, and raised my heavy body. The banquet dress was as heavy as it was fancy, so I couldn¡¯t wait to take it off. I called the maid, changed my clothes, and sent Carl to the nursery. A few days later, I heard a rumor that I was not mistakenly present at the banquet, but that I was a rare master who went to a place where the Duchess should not have gone. When the rumor goes into the ears of the person concerned, it is already the time when everyone has heard it, and in the ears of the person concerned, it goes into a very gentle expression. The simplified version turned out to be a ¡®sweet witch¡¯. People who like to talk know how dirty my rumors are. Honestly, I don¡¯t even want to know more. I thought I was a Duchess who had managed to do well in her own way and had no exception, but I was a luxurious and empty woman who was lucky to become a Duchess by the death of a friend. In addition to the two years that I have been anxiously waiting for the death of a friend, wanting Duke¡¯s body is also added. It hasn¡¯t been a year since I became a Duchess, but who knew I would ruin my reputation like this already? To be honest, I felt a sense of shame and weakness. The only thing that comforted me was Carl, who didn¡¯t know anything about my reputation and still followed me the best, babbling mama. Well, yeah¡­ everyone was supposed to live their lives looking after children. When I was so hard on myself, I heard a surprising news from the butler. I heard that the Duke wanted to come to my bedroom at night. That is, he wants to sleep with me. * * * Chapter 12 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (5) I wasn¡¯t the only one surprised at the news. Everyone was excited and surprised, but who would object to the Duke¡¯s idea of sleeping with the Duchess? I wasn¡¯t in a position to tell the Duke not to come, either. I thought I would live by watching Carl¡¯s growth while doing the eagle workshop, but now I guess I also have to sleep with the Duke. Wow, that¡¯s awesome.. Still, I didn¡¯t think it was right to do it with my friend¡¯s husband, and it¡¯s already been more than half a year since she left, and now he¡¯s my husband, so I¡¯ve been thinking about it. That¡¯s true, didn¡¯t the original ¡®Amanda¡¯ also give birth to a child. Since a virgin cannot have a child, it seems that the Duke and Amanda in the original shared a bed together. The butler, who delivered the Duke¡¯s words, asked if there was a specific date I wanted or if it was a time to avoid, but there was no need to consider the date separately because I was not my menstrual period and it was not a day to celebrate at some point in the future every year. I didn¡¯t even have to calculate the envious ovulation cycle because I didn¡¯t want to give birth to a younger brother to Carl already. Above all, the present union was closer to the sense that the Duke accepted me as his real wife rather than his wife on paper, rather than the ¡®producer of successors.¡¯ Because it has such a symbolic meaning, the Duke may not have sex with me. So let¡¯s not look forward to it. It was yesterday that I decided to live only by looking at Carl! Usually, my husband, who was clean and prepared, would visit my bedroom, but my room was shabby for the Duke to stay, so I headed to his room. I was in a hurry that I couldn¡¯t keep the Duke waiting for a long time, so the way through the hallway to his room was cold because of the hair that was still not dry. I took a slow, deep breath, hugging my coat tighter over my pajamas. Will the Duke¡­ be good? I hope so, but the Duke had no other scandal involving women. The only scandal that stuck to him was the talk of Merilyn and I, the extravagates. In addition, a child was born between the two, and when I thought of Merilyn and the Duke who was so cold¡­. Oh, I thought of Merilyn for no reason. I tried to erase my thoughts. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll really have sex with me, but I¡¯m his wife now. Entering the bedroom, the Duke was sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Every time I look at him, I see him sitting in front of the fireplace, so he must be very fond of it. A scarlet light fluttered over his face and a high nose cast a deep shade. Because it was a three-dimensional face in a good sense, the Duke¡¯s face looked very atmospheric due to its deep shadow. ¡°Take off your coat and clothes and lie on the bed.¡± In a low voice the duke commanded. It was a very hard and authoritative word. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t feel repulsed, but I slowly took off my coat and moved to the Duke¡¯s bed. He dropped his thick coat on the floor and took off his pajamas. The clothes I took off carelessly were to be arranged by the maid who came to see the fire in the fireplace around dawn. Maybe this is the Duke¡¯s bedroom, so a servant will come and clean up. And the words same servants would spread. The Duke and the Duchess slept. For the aristocratic servants, their master¡¯s bedroom situation was nothing short of gossip in modern times about celebrity scandals. They giggle among themselves in a place where the masters can¡¯t hear, but at some point, it slowly leaks out and other nobles find out how good the noble couple is with each other. I walked behind the Duke undressed without hesitation. The broad back flinched at my presence passing behind him. The Duke¡¯s bed was a little hard, and there was a hot water pouch in the blanket, so the blanket was warm. ¡°Sleep there.¡± The Duke picked up the quilt and said, rummaging through the firewood in the fireplace. Once the flame struck, it burned loudly, and I looked at it and asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do it?¡± ¡°What, what?¡± The Duke asked me again what I was talking about, but from his reaction it didn¡¯t seem like he really didn¡¯t know what I was talking about. ¡°Sex.¡± The Duke looked at me with a startled face and turned his head back toward the fireplace. His ears were seen burning red through the scarlet lights. Well, I put my disheveled hair over my shoulder. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to do it.¡± I think it was a bit disappointing. The traces that would remain on the bed when I slept could show more clearly than the Duchess¡¯s clothes on the floor that were disorganized. And if I was to defend myself as a healthy adult woman, she didn¡¯t want to live her life alone, no matter what. Now that I¡¯m a duchess, I won¡¯t have a chance with another man, but who else can I spend time in bed with if it¡¯s not my husband, the duke? Well, I¡¯ll do it with the Duke one day, too. Because there was Carl¡¯s half-brother in the book. Maybe not yet. Anyway, as I was about to go under the blanket, the Duke said. ¡°Can I do it?¡± As he stuttered to the end, the question he asked in a hurry sounded very innocent. I put down the blanket I had, and walked towards the Duke, at the foot of the bed. The Duke was still eyeing the fireplace. ¡°We¡¯re a couple and we can do it if we want to.¡± Ah, what I just said wasn¡¯t a very noble lady¡¯s answer. I don¡¯t know what a noble lady means, but when I think of it from the point of view of a modern person, I was quite right when I called it old-fashioned. This is the same as the rumor, but the Duke turned to me at the moment when he was about to regret it. The Duke¡¯s eyes wandered around as he saw me approaching. Looking at his face sitting down, he looked young again. Chapter 13 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (6) How old is the Duke this year? When Merilyn married, I heard at first glance that the Duke was two years older than us. So maybe twenty-two this year? He was young. The Duke swallowed dryly. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to force yourself. Well, there¡¯s a successor.¡± ¡°Carl. Your son¡¯s name, Carlos.¡± It was so heartless to call such a pretty son a successor. When I said Carl¡¯s name, his eyes went blank for a moment. He corrected his explanation with a look of who it was. I¡¯m so dumbfounded. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s Carl¡­ In any case, I asked for a joint statement because I needed to build up your prestige. You don¡¯t have to force yourself.¡± He said it over and over again. I didn¡¯t want to have sex right now, but I was a little moved by the Duke¡¯s innocent eyelashes and shyness with a handsome face. Thinking whether to do it or not, I measured the Duke. He looked handsome, big, and fit. I don¡¯t know the size of it, and somehow I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able fit it. He glanced at me while I measured him silently. He looked as if he was pretending not to, but he seemed quite eager to do it. So I asked myself if I could do it right away. Nevertheless, he waited calmly for my answer. Since we are married, it would be good to check if we have a good chemistry. Rationalizing myself, I said yes to the Duke, who was burning. ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± The Duke nodded at my words. His body fluttered up, his hips lifted up and then sat down again. Then, he touched the knot of his clothes and touched his hair, and it was busy. Looking at him, he looked like he didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Take off your clothes and come up to bed.¡± I smiled, reversing the orders he had given me. The Duke raised himself up and I lay straight on the bed, watching the long tall rise. The Duke undressed silently and revealed his body. I could tell from his tight clothes that he was in good shape, but his naked body was pretty, really pretty. Muscular shoulders were wide and firm, and the chest was quite thick below them. How do you know that I like a man with a big chest? Unlike the thick chest, the waist was quite sleek because the abs were tightly wrapped. The Duke, who had a perfect inverted triangular body, calmly took off his bottom. It was also worth seeing his long thighs, which were deeply slanted from the flat abdomen and thickly muscular, but wow, falling between those thighs revealed that his masculinity was not normal. No, wow, my God. If the Duke was born and modeled in modern times, or if he had been a trainer, he would have made a huge profit. Wouldn¡¯t his modeling fees go through the roof when he sometimes goes to art school as a nude croquis model? Maybe he¡¯s reluctant because he¡¯s too perfect. If he had lived in Greek times, his body would have been carved into models of the bodies of many gods. His body looked as strong as the god of war. The Duke climbed onto the bed somewhat awkwardly with a body that could stand confidently anywhere. I could read shyness in his gesture. However, the next move was quick. The Duke sat on my body, lying down. As he put his nose to the back of my neck and breathed in, his large chest swelled and touched my body. What are you doing now, I followed with my eyes where the Duke¡¯s hands went. One hand was supporting my weight by my head, and the other¡­ He was smelling my body and rubbing his p*nis with his hands. What is this¡­? Because he¡¯s a Duke, does he need to satisfy his needs first? I carefully swept his shoulders with my hand, and gently swept his chest with self-interest. The Duke looked up, trembling. ¡°Why?¡± Asked the Duke, with a slightly nervous face. Why? Why? Do women need a reason to touch a man¡¯s body while having sex? I was a little flustered. Don¡¯t couples touch each other when they¡¯re in a relationship? I don¡¯t know until I hear something. I had a secretly spent time with my fianc¨¦, but I didn¡¯t know anything about how the couple¡¯s relationship was done on the bed. I shook my head and lowered my hands calmly, fearing that I might appear to be too obscene by this world standard. The Duke began to move again when he put his hands neatly on the p*nis. I glanced down and looked at what he was doing, and he was pressing down on the hard swollen genitals. In an overly ignorant way, I pushed the Duke¡¯s shoulders with both hands. Aiyo, I was supposed to be the Young Lady, but I had no intention of shoving such a big thing into me without being caressed. In terms of size, it was a Duke that wouldn¡¯t be pushed by me at all, but he naturally bit himself by my touch. The shadow fell on the Duke¡¯s face as if he were kneeling, looking very gloomy. ¡°Duke, no, Gellerhard.¡± He nodded when I called his name. Yeah, name calling is a basic premise for intimate relationships. I raised my lying upper body and faced him. Mysterious purple eyes looked deeper because of the dark interior. ¡°Do you hate touching a girl¡¯s body?¡± The Duke shook his head. ¡°What about me touching your body? Do you hate it?¡± He seemed to think for a moment and shook his head again this time. It felt like one of the basic premises of sex was established. So what should we do now, looking at the Duke¡¯s appearance, we¡¯ll put it in, we¡¯ll wrap it up. I didn¡¯t seem to know anything else. ¡°All right, lie down.¡± I heard the Duke trying to lay me down. I said, pushing the Duke¡¯s shoulder slightly. ¡°You, lie on your back.¡± The Duke obeyed me more calmly than I thought he would. He lay on his back and I got on his belly, though there was a hint of bewilderment. The texture of the hard abs felt under the hips was unique. The Duke looked very awkward with someone above him. Seeing the awkward face, I struggled with my hair behind my ears. I laid it down, but now what do I do¡­. Chapter 14 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (7) First, I grabbed the Duke¡¯s hands. A hand as big and heavy as a pot lid followed as I led. I put one hand on my thigh and the other on my chest. I could feel the Duke¡¯s body stiff and tense. ¡°Touch it. Stroke it gently.¡± This is how I do it, so I told him, I moved the Duke¡¯s hand on my thigh and stroked my thigh. The Duke raised his eyes, saw my face, and began to move his hands properly. A dry hand, which seemed a little rough, tickled my thigh. Then he kept looking at my face. He seemed worried that I might be offended. His hands were far bigger than mine and his strength was much stronger than mine, so the Duke needed to approach me carefully. The Duke¡¯s other hand wrapped around my chest, and the feeling of rubbing the nipples on the rough, hard palm was good. The touch of a man with apparent sexual significance, touching a secret area, gradually excited me. My heart beat faster and my body heated up. I reached my hand down because I couldn¡¯t expect a seductive skill from the Duke, and I wanted to finish as the Duke built it. Before coming here, the maid recommended drinking, but I felt like I refusing for no reason. It felt strange to get on the man¡¯s belly and touch the bottom with my sober mind. Whoo, I exhaled a long breath and began to touch my body with my fingers. Fortunately, it was a little wet underneath and gently rubbed my body with my fingers with that slippery fluid. The Duke looked at me with his eyes wide open, as if he were surprised. It was a look he¡¯s never seen before. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Do you touch that, too?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± You have to rub it well before you put it in. Replying to the Duke¡¯s words with a sour look, I scanned the Duke¡¯s slender face and thick chest muscles. Life was really something to see again. Sitting on a man like this. ¡°Why? What¡¯s the difference when you touch it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very different. It¡¯s good for me to touch the Duke like this, too.¡± I reached back and felt the Duke¡¯s genitals. It seems to have been built for a while, the Duke¡¯s was standing healthy and well. Maybe it was because I was young, but a hot, hard chunk of flesh moved as if wriggling under my hand. The duke wrinkled one eye. ¡°Uh.¡± I couldn¡¯t see it behind the waist, but the Duke groaned as I groped it gently and wrapped my hand it around it. I slightly pressed the Duke¡¯s p*nis with my hands and released it again and focused on what I was doing. The Duke looked at my face with regret. Hold on a second. As I swallowed what I couldn¡¯t say to the Duke, I felt my body getting excited little by little, the nipples of my chest were on edge and my legs were wet. The Duke licked his lips with his tongue. I thought I couldn¡¯t keep the Duke waiting forever, and I wanted to slowly put in the Duke¡¯s p*nis, so I raised my back. The Duke¡¯s hands came up on my thighs and stroked them, and gradually swept further upwards. I began to lower my waist carefully, grasping the Duke¡¯s p*nis. The hard p*nis touched under me and grabbed what I was about to slip in and placed it properly to the entrance. ¡°Haah.¡± I slowly exhaled my nervous breath and tried to put it in slowly, but I faltered because of the tight feeling at my entrance. Wow, it¡¯s big¡­ It was a size that wouldn¡¯t fit until I was quite excited. ¡°Why, why are you doing this?¡± My hesitating movement irritated the Duke and he asked. He was a man who was always expressionless and blunt like a cold northern man, and was bewildered and baffled on the bed. ¡°I think it¡¯s going to be hard because it¡¯s too big.¡± Telling the truth, I lowered my back as it was. It didn¡¯t hold the Duke¡¯s pen*s, but I sat down on his pen*s with my p*ssy. The Duke groaned with another frown. A slightly moist, wet folds split and his d*ck caught between them. ¡°Wait, yeah, wait a minute.¡± I moved my waist by placing my hands on the Duke¡¯s thick chest muscles, which he had been paying attention to for a while. The Duke¡¯s thing rubbed on my walls, and the stimulation alone made the Duke tremble and moan for a long time. The clitoris between my hair was rubbed against his d*ck, which made me feel good too. The Duke¡¯s response was good, so he moved his body excitedly. There was a squishy, wet friction sound below, and the more slippery it became, the more sensuous it became. ¡°Ha, ha, ah!¡± I rubbed my p*ssy and clitor*s against his d*ck as if in a trance, thinking that rubbing a little harder would make it feel better. As the expected climax arrived, my thighs and buttocks became tense and my body trembled. Taking a shaky breath, I looked at the Duke¡¯s face, and he was looking at me with a face that had both his ears and the nape of his neck dyed bright red. His slightly gaping lips looked defenseless and sexy, so I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. Slightly sucking his slightly thick lower lip and raising his head, the Duke was staring blankly at me. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Well, a good one?¡± I couldn¡¯t think of a moderately good word and equivocated it. Well, you¡¯re in a good mood, aren¡¯t you? I raised my upper body, conscious of the tingling, good sensation rising. I looked down and saw the peacock had his stomach dirty with his own semen. When I took off the vagina that pressed his genitals, it was pink and wet again. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m young and healthy, so I was worried about whether I should try again by standing up halfway. Chapter 15 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (8) I think it¡¯s okay now that I got excited once I raised my waist again and grabbing onto him. The Duke had guessed what I was going and moved his p*nis upright. I tried pressing down my v*gina. I guess I was much more relaxed than before, and my body opened more easily, perhaps because I was wet. Yeah, since we¡¯re doing it, let¡¯s just put it in! ¡°Haa.¡± The Duke looked at me with anxious eyes as I exhaled a long breath again. At times like this, it would be nice to touch his body in a passionate way, but I decided to be satisfied with just that face. If I do that, I will get more of the Duke. Slowly, the Duke¡¯s genitals pushed into me. As he came inside, I felt like I was pushing everything inside me up at the same time. The Duke¡¯s d*ck was very large and thick and hard. Half swallowing it, I couldn¡¯t bear to swallow it and slowly soothed my body by rubbing the cl*t again. Half-heeled hips and thighs trembled. The Duke¡¯s filled me fiercely without having to tighten it by applying force below. There was a purring sound from the Duke, as if a beast were crying. Fortunately, the Duke didn¡¯t seem to want to force the rest into me. As I rubbed the cl*t, my body gradually got excited again and began to welcome the intruder that entered me. The presence of something solid filled with my walls and I began to feel good little by little. My waist began to shake slowly, and the Duke¡¯s handsome eyes frowned and colored with pleasure. ¡°Ha, yes, ah!¡± I¡¯m the one who moves, but the Duke¡¯s chest muscles are greatly swollen. His hand was constantly stroking my thigh, and the Duke, who had been clenching his teeth and maintaining a steady posture, shook his waist. Perhaps all the muscles were not for decoration, so he put me on top and lifted my waist high. ¡°Yaa!¡± His arm tightly wrapped around me, who almost fell from his stomach. I calmly settled on the stomach again and laughed because the situation was somewhat embarrassing and funny. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It was just, it was a little funny. My back is a little unsteady. If we move together, it¡¯s better-¡± The Duke moved his waist slightly when he heard me. ¡°A little more.¡± ¡°Like this?¡± And then I lifted it up a little more and it was shaking. ¡°Well, a little more? And it moves a bit faster.¡± The Duke¡¯s waist rose and fell to a decent height. With that power, my hips also moved up and down, and the Duke raised his waist faster. ¡°Ah! Yes! Oh, good!¡± The Duke¡¯s waistline was regular and soon became reckless. Every time he moved, my waist moved up and down with a thud and he entered deep inside me. At one point in the midst of increasing pleasure, our hands met. The Duke¡¯s body trembled as I tightening down with an orgasm. I couldn¡¯t stand up any longer, leaned over him like I was falling down, and I could hear a very loud heartbeat in his chest. I took a breath, stroking his thick muscles, sweaty, smooth chest muscles. It was a very awkward sex all along, but I felt quite refreshed after doing it. ¡°What was that just now?¡± Asked the duke blankly. ¡°Sex.¡± I could answer this with confidence. It¡¯s sex because it¡¯s up, it¡¯s in, it¡¯s cheap, and it feels good. The Duke said blankly to me. ¡°It was like this¡­.¡± It was strange for a man with a decent son to say, but with little regard, I escaped from the Duke¡¯s arms. When his hot stuff fell out of me, white turbid spilled over and stained him and my groin. I felt a little uncomfortable, but there was nothing to wipe, and I was lazy to ask for it, so I just lay down next to him. Perhaps because of the hot water under the blanket, it was hot on the bed. ¡°Do you get cold easily when you sleep?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I leave hot water packet out and go to sleep. I think it¡¯s going to be too hot.¡± In my words, the Duke put his hand under the blanket, took out the hot water packet, and put it out of bed. He rose and headed toward the fireplace, as if to see the flame of the fireplace again. Looking at the long legs, the hips on top of them, the slim back muscles, and the wide back muscles, I went under the blanket. It was hot because it was not long after I took out the hot water packet. ¡°I¡¯ll go to bed first.¡± As I spoke, he nodded as I watched the duke raise his butt. ¡°Good night.¡± Good night? What are you talking about? His tone, pretending to be serious, was strangely awkward, but he nodded without expression. ¡°Yes, sweet dreams.¡± It¡¯s a little hot, but on a cold northern winter night, it was much better to sleep hot than to be cold. As I gently closed my eyes and breathed slowly, I felt the Duke lying next to me carefully. Maybe he¡¯s the type of person who sleeps lying down quietly, but since then, I haven¡¯t felt any movement or tossing and turning, and I¡¯ve fallen asleep little by little. I slept pretty warm and well in the Duke¡¯s bed, even without a hot tub to heat the bed. * * * Chapter 16 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (9) As if he had a taste for pleasure, the Duke expressed his desire to join the union the next day as well. Whether the original purpose of sharing bed was to strengthen my position, but he dared to express his intention through the butler again this time, and the butler came to me when I was with Lady Blone. There was a small whisper between the maids, ¡°Two days?¡± Lady Blone¡¯s voice quickly died down, but I listened to the whispers. Later, when I put this and that together, I gathered information about the relationship between the two, saying that the Duke had never joined Merilyn for two consecutive days and that the two had to sleep together once a month. The night between the Duke and me did not end in two days. On the third day in a row, when I heard from the butler that the Duke wanted to join me, I could hear more about this and that because I was with the maid. The relationship between the two couples was not good and cold, but they had a bed once a month, perhaps because of their duty to produce succession. For the fourth time in a row, I heard that he wanted to be with me tonight. Considering the Duke, who seemed eager to do so on the first night, the rare once a month was probably due to Merilyn¡¯s refusal. I couldn¡¯t imagine Merilyn, who I knew, refusing the Duke because she was so gentle and nice that she couldn¡¯t help even refuse Agatha¡¯s ridiculous requests. Well, when you think of the Duke is not very good it and is very large, it is understandable to some extent that Merilyn was avoiding it. If I hadn¡¯t remembered my previous life, I probably wouldn¡¯t have liked to sleep with the Duke. The Duke found me the next day, the next day, and the next day. And within a fortnight, the Duke was annoyed as he hugged me as I had come to his bedroom with the maids behind me. ¡°Your body is as cold as ice. How long are you going to go through the hallway and come to my bedroom?¡± Contrary to what he said, my body wasn¡¯t very cold, but he was so annoyed and nitpicking. I didn¡¯t bother to refute what he said, knowing that the reason why my body is cold was because I came to his room across the cold hallway. Unlike the original husband¡¯s visit to the wife¡¯s bedroom, I, the wife, came to the Duke¡¯s bedroom because I used a bedroom that was much less classy than the Duchess¡¯s. The Duke was now making me a cause for the Duchess¡¯s bedroom. When the Duke was displeased, the maids bent down closely. The Duke was annoyed that his wife¡¯s body was cold, so the maids had nothing to say. This is the right time for me to answer, right? I patted him on the shoulder and answered shoulder. ¡°Gellerhard, I must have offended you unwillingly in memory of Merilyn. Let¡¯s go in, I¡¯m cold.¡± When I looked up at his face and trembled, the Duke nodded at my face. It was a gesture of patience by looking at my face. He closed the door, only me in the bedroom, and I took off my coat. Holding my hand in light pajamas, the Duke led me to the fireplace. ¡°It¡¯s not really cold.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± He stood awkwardly. Standing in the middle of the room, the expression was so serious that I thought a little about whether my words went against the Duke¡¯s spirit, and when he just stood there without saying anything, I could quickly see that it was not. It was mainly night time, but I slept with him for more than a week, so I could learn a little about his personality. The Duke of DeMancier is never the type to stand silent and stare at his opponent when he is angry. Says what made him annoyed and angry, as he just shot back in front of the maids. As the only son of the Duke from birth, there was nothing he was ¡®unable to say¡¯ in this northern part of the country, and his words were quite rough for a noble, perhaps because he spent half the year leading knights on the battlefield. Especially when expressing irritation and anger, he sometimes used abusive language. In that sense, the Duke was an opponent I didn¡¯t need to speculate, wonder, and examine the thoughts of. It¡¯s important to please the Duke, but he wasn¡¯t the type to hide his thoughts or feelings, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about guessing his feelings and interpreting the hidden meaning of his words. In other words, he was a pretty simple man. Anyway, this honest Duke was just standing tall, at a loss what to do. One of the things I recently realized was that the Duke was very sociable and he was good at making people do things even though he wasn¡¯t good at it. ¡°Should I take off my clothes?¡± The Duke nodded when I presented the direction. Soft pajamas fell to the floor, so did the Duke¡¯s. The Duke just doesn¡¯t know women very well, but he¡¯s very motivated to please women, so he spent a few nights with me and had pretty good sex. Sweeping through my long hair, I smiled at the Duke, who glanced at my face. In the fireplace and the fire, the ripe Duke led me to bed with his bare face. His hands were very warm, perhaps because of being in front of the fireplace the whole time. The Duke began to kiss me on the cheek and lips and licked me with his tongue out. The movement of matching and licking lips without the sultry technique was just like a puppy. There was heat in the little movement and my body began to react little by little. Chapter 17 Second method. Recognized as the Duke¡¯s Wife (10) The Duke¡¯s hand rubbed the standing nipple while touching my chest. The Duke¡¯s purple eyes captured my face, not my chest. When I made eye contact with him, I felt a little embarrassed, so I lowered my eyes and bit my lips. ¡°Well, uh-huh.¡± The Duke caressed my chest with both hands and kissed my chest with his lips. I slightly bent my fingers and stroked the duke¡¯s arm muscles and twitching back muscles with my fingertips. The smooth skin covering the muscles at the fingertips of my fingernails, which I always cut properly to take care of Carl, felt pleasant. The Duke¡¯s hand also ran over my back. As if following my hand gestures, his hard fingertips brushed my back, side, and waist strangely. ¡°Ah.¡± It felt more strange than I thought. The Duke must have felt this way, is he returning it to me because he feels good after receiving it? I lowered my hand and gently scratched his solid back and underneath. The Duke¡¯s body flinched and sprang up slightly. I lifted my leg and gently pushed the duke¡¯s thigh with my foot. Duke¡¯s eyes raised and looked as if it was unfair. ¡°Stop it?¡± One of the things I realized after spending the night with the Duke for a few days was that he responded unexpectedly quickly to the woman¡¯s ¡®no¡¯. It was a condition that didn¡¯t hurt me. ¡°Please touch the lower part, not the chest.¡± The Duke blushed embarrassingly at my words. Apart from the redness of his white cheeks, he wiggled his large body and slowly lowered his lips, and his lips touched my upper belly, lower belly, and finally on the cl*t. I¡¯m glad he understood the words lower part. I stroked Duke¡¯s hair slightly. His black hair was short and rough like a knight who often goes to war. Short hair brushed past my fingers and the Duke lifted his eyes slightly and pulled away. ¡°Touch me more. Ha, stroke me.¡± That was the request he made with a dry and solemn voice. His way of speaking to me was very strange. As if to be polite, strangely he would be using the ¡®formal¡¯ style, and informal speech would pop out. Because the Duke speaks casually to others except me, the strange ¡®formal¡¯ style seems to be a kind of engineered for his wife, but the use of it was not reliable. It sounded like someone who¡¯s never spoken to his wife. He buried his head in my v*gina again and my hands began to stroke his hair. Fortunately, the Duke did not dislike this. Realizing that a smooth and good engagement was possible only when the v*gina was hot and moist, the Duke thought of the simplest and most primitive way and buried his face under me without any hesitation. At first, I was embarrassed when I was hit by this, but I started to enjoy it freely because he was doing it for me and not asking me to do it. ¡°Uh, Uh!¡± I could feel his tongue licking my vagina. Unlike when he licked my chest earlier, he stuck out his tongue and began to lick deeply and thoroughly. My hand patting his black hair pressed against his head without realizing it. At that time, the Duke made even more passionate movements with his tongue. ¡°Yes! Oh! Good! Ah!¡± The Duke¡¯s long, hard fingers came into the wet vagin*. Every time he moved his finger, he heard the sound of water, and the Duke caressed the vagina with his finger and raised his lips again from her stomach to her chest. Seeing the Duke stimulating the vagina with one hand and caressing the chest with his lips, I was impressed by his quick learning ability. The Duke licked my neck with his tongue and gave me a variation, and my body flinched at the growing stimulus. I thought I could feel it building up a little more. My body shrank passively, but the Duke¡¯s finger did not stop. His lips sucked hard on my nipples and at the same time his fingers penetrated below. ¡°Ahhh¡± My whole body became hot and my back was sweaty. All the senses were concentrated downward and the lower abdomen was tightened. Tightening around the Duke¡¯s finger, I felt the climax. His fingers slipped out of me and I felt empty for a moment, but the Duke was amazed at his soaked fingers. ¡°It gets wet like this.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I wanted to say if you do well, you will get wet more than that, but I didn¡¯t so as to not break the mood. The Duke scoured his genitals with his wet hands. The already stiff p*nis was standing was glistening with the addition of the liquid. The duke asked me. ¡°Are you going to lie down or come up?¡± At first, I got on top of him because of a Duke who didn¡¯t know anything, but the Duke was a man who knew the basic normal movement. I chose to lie down on his options. The Duke leaned over me when he saw me hugging my thighs with my legs apart without saying a word. The Duke¡¯s p*nis was so big that it was good for each other to spread their legs wide. The hard p*nis began to squeeze in underneath. Perhaps thanks to the Duke¡¯s good licking and sucking, my body began to accept him flexibly. The Duke moved only his waist, slightly squeezing my knees with both hands. I swallowed my saliva as I watched the Duke¡¯s firm abs and sleek waist move smoothly. The Duke¡¯s body was very smooth, as if he had never been injured, and at the same time, it was sleek with hard muscles covered. The Duke, who came all the way at once, slightly pulled himself back and dug back in again, and then slipped his hand under my knee to stimulate me. His hand rubbed and stroked my thigh and came down to the wide open v*gina to accept him. He knew where he had to rub my body to arouse me and see if I liked it. ¡°Ha, hah! Ang!¡± Chapter 18 The Duke¡¯s hand rubbed and pressed against the clitor*s and stimulated it. My waist was up and down and I felt the Duke inside me more clearly as if I were tightening my lower abdomen. I couldn¡¯t control my pleasure and pleasure myself. The Duke moved his hands and waist at will, and I was swept away by great pleasure, shaking my waist loudly. ¡°Ah, ah!¡± I could feel the Duke releasing inside me. As the movement stopped, his muscles trembled at the same time, and his angular jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth tightly. The cruel Duke slowly pulled his from me, reddening the nape of his neck. Looking at his sweet expression, he seemed to want to do it at least once more, so I took a breath and put my legs down randomly. I was wide open the whole time, so my thighs and hips were stiff. After one round, the Duke put the hard wet object back and sat neatly on his knees. He seemed to want to do it again with me. However, it was not technically enough to soothe my body and enter the second round immediately, and there was no emotional bond with me enough to push me to do it, and he was not authoritative enough to order me to do it again. ¡°Gellerhard, lie down.¡± The Duke lay right at my words . The center of the man lying upright with his legs extended was standing upright, and the shape was a little funny. Mysterious purple eyes glistened at me in anticipation of sex. I sat down with my vagin*, still wet and hot. The Duke¡¯s physical strength was so good that if he had sex as much as he wanted, my body would not survive. However, I needed a little of the Duke¡¯s goodwill to deal with things. Now that I¡¯ve been sleeping with the Duke, I¡¯ve been thinking of making him go crazy with a indecent words. We¡¯re even married, so that¡¯s good for us. My vagin* opened slightly and a it wrapped around the Duke¡¯s d*ck. When I moved my waist slightly, it slid and rubbed my cl*toris together. ¡°Hah¡­¡± The Duke enjoyed a relaxed sense with a languid sigh as if he were in a good mood. I also slowly moved my back, rubbing my walls against his d*ck and sweeping my hair back. It was hotter because long hair touched my back, rubbing my neck soaked with sweat. ¡°Whoa,¡± As if I had combed my hair with my fingers and tied it up with a ponytail, I made raised myself , and when he raised his genitals again, I thought well to take it in again. ¡°You look pretty with your hair tied up.¡± ¡°What? Oh, thank you¡­?¡± I gave an uncomfortable answer to the unexpected compliment. The Duke with a pale flushed face went on. ¡°Really. You have a pretty neck.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± And as embarrassed as the Duke was, he cleared his throat and closed his lips. I should have responded more actively and enthusiastically, which made me regret a little. I put my hands on the Duke¡¯s chest and my hair fell down and touched his face. The Duke¡¯s left eye frowned as if my hair was itchy. I removed my hair from his face. ¡°Gellerhard is handsome, too.¡± ¡°What? Uh, thank you¡­?¡± The Duke replied, puzzled as if he had heard it for the first time, even though he had probably heard it dozens of times. He seemed to be copying my reaction somehow. I continued my praise. ¡°Especially those purple eyes. They look so mysterious.¡± When my gaze reached, he lowered his gaze shyly. However, since we reacted awkwardly to each other¡¯s compliments about our appearance, I moved my waist a little faster, thinking that it was direction. My chest shook with a slight violent movement, and the Duke¡¯s hand gripped my chest. As I squeezed his thing and rubbed it like pressure, I slowly felt better too. The Duke¡¯s big hand was squeezing my plump chest, and my hand was on his chest. I tried to judge the Duke, but as much as I felt good, I shook my waist and focused on the action, and the Duke¡¯s neck turned red, and a suppressed moan came out of his lips. ¡°Uh!¡± ¡°Haah.¡± The Duke couldn¡¯t resist the stimulus and released and his stomach was wet with cloudy liquid. I was also in a good mood, so it was a little disappointing that the Duke released. I lifted my back slightly. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Our parts, mixed with sticky liquids several times, were soaking wet that it made a chaotic noise. The Duke grinned, his eyes slightly frowned. ¡°Am I all right? Damn it, I love it.¡± Said the Duke in a harsh voice, hugging me and lying on his back. When I met his purple eyes, he coughed again. ¡°No, I mean, it was good. Did my wife feel the same?¡± He must have the capacity to be serious. I nodded and hugged him. My hand swept his back, waist, and hips. ¡°It was good. It really was good.¡± It¡¯s a bit disappointing. I passed through the hard hip muscles, touched the thick thigh muscles, and felt with my hand what was in between. Since I couldn¡¯t touch it between my thighs, I felt it when I fumbled up a little more and felt it again firmly and facing upward. I saw the Duke¡¯s cheeks turn red again. He let go of me as I slipped out of his arms, and as I pushed my shoulders straight down, I lay down and looked up at him. The Duke¡¯s purple eyes narrowed as if they were dazzling. The muscular white body was shiny with sweat. Climbing back over his waist, I took the erect part of his body inside me. Chapter 19 ¡°Hah.¡± The Duke leaned back his neck and groaned, stretching out. Riding on top of him felt different from lying down. The Duke¡¯s erection slid into the my wet walls, and the Duke clenched his teeth, reddening the nape of his neck as if he would have appreciated just by putting it in. ¡°Why, is it better?¡± It was a random question. ¡°Is it better?¡± ¡°Do you get better the more you do it?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you?¡± Answering the Duke¡¯s questions roughly, I placed my hand on the Duke¡¯s hard chest this time and moved my body slightly, bending my upper body. This posture, this angle was perfect. The Duke was not a fool, so he put me on his waist and moved up and down to make sure it wasn¡¯t too much. When I lowered my waist, he lifted it up and we interlocked with each other again, and a strong pleasure struck me like a bolt of lightning in my head. ¡°Oh, yes! Good! Harder, harder! Ah!¡± The more excited he was the more bigger he was, he was better and much hotter now compared to the first time. The Duke¡¯s hand began to entangle his fingers with mine, fumbling over my hand, which slipped from his chest to his abs. ¡°Ahhh¡±! ¡°Haah!¡± As we reached our climax together after a great excitement, I leaned my cheek on the Duke¡¯s chest, and he hugged me as he was, lying on his back and giving me an arm pillow. His p*nis was a pleasantly throbbing underneath the strange sensation as it slipped out from me. The Duke¡¯s arms were thick with muscles and his skin was smooth and elastic, so it was pretty good as a pillow. Still, I was a little disappointed because I liked his chubby chest better. My thighs trembled in the aftermath of pleasure. I lay comfortably next to him, stretching out my legs and raising my right leg on the Duke¡¯s thigh. A man with a much hotter body temperature than me wrapped me warmly. After a bout of sex, a restless peace came to both of us. * * * The next morning Lady May and Lady Blone advised me to move to the Duchess¡¯s room, saying they could not keep it empty forever. Even if I had used a guest room, they had never said a word so far. The Duke showed disapproval last night, so I thought there would be a reaction, but I didn¡¯t know it would be this fast. Just as I was taking care of Carl, I looked a little blank. ¡°Oh¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be a little early?¡± If I were a daughter of more than a Viscount¡¯s family like Merilyn and my marriage to the Duke was a promise between the Duke and my father the Viscount Bentta, no one would have cursed me if I used the Duchess¡¯s space the day after Merilyn¡¯s death, but my case was special. I was the one to fill Merilyn¡¯s absence, but I was a person to curse if I really took her place. He was a perfect man to be accused of adultery. Even if others first encouraged me to use the Duchess¡¯s room, I couldn¡¯t take it all at once. First of all, Lady Blone said with a stern look. ¡°I understand your desire to commemorate your late friend, but it is not good to leave the Duchess¡¯s room empty for too long. Besides, you can¡¯t stay in the Duke¡¯s bedroom forever.¡± It was quite the right word. ¡°You¡¯re not a Mistress or¡­.¡± Mrs. Blone pouted her lips as if she was displeased. The last small addition made it easy to guess my rumor that was going around behind me right now. Even so, even though it¡¯s obvious that I¡¯m going to hear that, no one told me to move to the Duchess¡¯ room¡­ I didn¡¯t trust them very much from the beginning, but I realized that I shouldn¡¯t trust Lady Blone or Lady May completely. ¡°I¡¯ll hurry up and prepare the room.¡± Lady May added cautiously. It was a cautious attitude, but I didn¡¯t mean to use the Duchess¡¯s room, but to see her go out of her way, it was quite disgusting. What about Lady Blone, who nodded her head, ¡®Yes,¡¯ to Lady May¡¯s words? Seeing the two of them made me feel miserable. I could see that the reason why they wanted to prepare the Duchess¡¯s room and the reason why the Duchess¡¯s room opened to me was that the Duke looked for me at night. I suppressed my surging anger and gently patted the good-naturedly Carl wiggling in my arms. Huh, sleeping with the Duke was clearly much more strengthening my position than being a good mother to the next Duke¡¯s successor. Unlike the purpose of the Count of Petrika to make me a Duchess to leave me with Carl. I didn¡¯t want to face them any more, so I got up from my seat. ¡°I¡¯d like to keep some of Merilyn¡¯s stuff for Carl before I organize the room.¡± Two people nodded at my words. I immediately took Carl to the Duchess¡¯s room, where there were still traces of Merilyn. Neither in the hallway nor in her living room anything changed, but she wasn¡¯t there and I was in her place. Her bedroom, which I visited again after a long time, also remained the same. The bed she always lay on, the fireplace where the fire was hot, and the magic purifier that purifies the smoke from the fireplace. Thinking that it would be nice to get all the furniture out of the bedroom and put in new furniture, I moved to find a room where her jewels would be. After Merilyn¡¯s death, the space was tightly locked and sealed by the maids, but valuables could have been stolen because people would come and go for cleaning or arranging furniture before it became my space. It was necessary to check her valuables first before the full-scale cleanup began. The room where the Duchess changed and dressed was a place I had never been to since I came to the Duchess. Merilyn was sick and no one would force a sick Duchess to dress up, so neither did I, her friend. Chapter 20 ¡°Abubu.¡± Carl clung to me more with a clumsy babble. The Duchess¡¯s space was cold as the owner of the room was absent and the room had not been heated for quite some time. I opened my fur coat and embraced Carl into my coat. The baby¡¯s warm body gave me some comfort. When I opened the colorful door, I saw a room with a dressing table, various mirrors, and a glass display. When I opened the door that followed, a room full of dresses came out, closed the door again, and I looked into the glass shelf. It seemed to have been made so that the Duchess could change her clothes, look at the display, and choose the accessories to wear herself. Merilyn, originally a pretty daughter of a wealthy Count Petrika, was on display with jewels that seemed to shine on their own without dazzling lights. There were some things that I was familiar with because Merilyn wrote about them to her in her maiden days. All of this was kept for Carl¡¯s future, and when he grew a little bigger, I¡¯ll have some of it to be kept for Carl to carry around so that he could see and remember his biological mother. In the original, Carl had nothing to remember his mother by. Because the greedy ¡®Amanda¡¯ took or resold all of Merilyn¡¯s things. Carl would often imagine what his mother would be like if she were alive. Now, Carl, looking at his mother¡¯s jewels, could picture his mother, Merilyn. ¡°This is all your mother¡¯s, Carl. I¡¯ll keep it well and give it to you when you grow up. Isn¡¯t it pretty? Merilyn had a lot of jewels that matched her green eyes. It¡¯ll look good on Carl, too. Because Carl inherited pretty green eyes of his mother.¡± Carl looked at the glittering jewels with a curious eye and reached out. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a no no. You¡¯re going to put it in your mouth if it touches your hand, right? That would be a disaster.¡± The last time he coveted Agatha¡¯s necklace, Carl seemed quite fond of glittering objects. Carl struggled and whined for a moment, but when I patted him on the back, he turned his attention from the jewel to my hair. Slowly walking along the display stand, I learned the jewels with my eyes and memorized the number by color. There are quite a few, so I thought I should ask the maid, and I opened Merlin¡¯s dresser drawer in case I missed something. Carl, who was looking at the jewels with me with an interesting face, went to the dressing table and buried his face in my arms again. I froze holding the child in one arm. Now, Carl was getting heavy to hug with only one arm. ¡°What?¡± While roughly opening the drawer, I saw dried flowers in a small drawer. A letter envelope was seen under a flower that was so dry that it was hard to tell what color it was originally, and the sender of the light pink envelope was Charlotte. Young lady of the Emile County called Charlotte. It was an unfamiliar name to me. Seeing that it was not in my memory with Merilyn as a child, it must be someone she started to interact with after marrying here. Did she come at the funeral? I was also curious as Merilyn was the one who kept the letter separately on the dressing table. Young lady, Countess Charlotte Emil. I closed the drawer, thinking I should look into it separately. Her personal correspondence would also be well collected and kept by an experienced maid. Later, Carl could guess her character and life from the correspondence her mother received. Unlike jewelry, letters are not worth the money, so Lady May will keep them well on her own. Confirming that there were no other valuables, I came out of the Duchess¡¯s dressing room. Later the maids carefully moved Merilyn¡¯s jewels and there was not a single lost article. I kept all the jewels in good custody. I decided to donate the clothes and furniture that Merilyn wore, filling the dressing room, in her name . This was probably the last charity in Merilyn¡¯s name. Things went right this winter. With the help of Lady Blone, military supplies for the next war began to be prepared one by one, and seamstresses and jewelers visited so that I could get new clothes made and buy new jewelry. When spring came again and the day of the Duke to leave also arrived, after his first birthday, Carl grew quite big and waddled and went out with me to see the Duke off. Seeing his bright young son, the Duke felt awkward, but bent down in armor and hugged him. Carl seemed to like the heightened view, so he laughed and rejoiced even when the Duke lifted him awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯ll be back, Madam.¡± The Duke casually embraced Charles with one arm, whom I can no longer hold with one arm, and with the other hand, he held my arm quite affectionately and kissed it, I lifted my head slightly and he kissed my lips this time. ¡°Have a safe trip.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± And we looked at each other silently. Under the name of a couple, we overlapped their bodies countless times, but there was an awkward distance between us because that could not overlap with their daily lives. However, the intimacy was as high as the bodies overlapped, so he and I couldn¡¯t easily say goodbye because we felt some affection was missing. I stroked the Duke¡¯s armor. The battle against monsters on the border does not stop until Carl grows up and falls in love with the dragon. The Duke would have spent almost half his life on the battlefield, just as his father, his grandfather, did. ¡°Come back in good healthily. Do a lot of good things.¡± The Duke blushed at the joke he tried to throw with a smile. He nodded stiffly. Carl, who had been quiet in the Duke¡¯s arms for some time, struggled toward me again, and I held him in my arms. Seeing the figure, the Duke said. ¡°Hug me like that when I come back.¡± Then he turned around. The way he left, as usual, was stately and dependable. I know he¡¯ll be back safe and sound. Seeing the Duke on horseback, I kissed Carl on the forehead. ¡°Yes, Carl, was it very cold? Let¡¯s go in now. Since your father is coming back later, can you wave your hand and say goodbye?¡± Carl raised his hand, waved it to the Duke, I hugged the baby tightly, and headed to the castle in case Carl caught a cold. He¡¯s on the battlefield on the border, I¡¯m in the castle. I had to take care of the administration of the estate in my own way while he was away. When the Duke comes back next winter, Carl will have grown quite big, so I thought I should build a rapport between him and Carl, and I should also build some intimacy with him. Anyway, unlike last year, I was now recognized as the wife of the Duke of DeMancier. I can live just by looking at Carl, but it¡¯s good to live with a handsome and young husband for a long time. Patting Carl¡¯s warm back, I bravely walked into the castle. Lady Blone, Lady May, and the Duke¡¯s administrators followed me in a polite manner, the lord¡¯s wife and the acting Lord. Second method. To be recognized as the duke¡¯s wife. Success! Chapter 21 The third method. Making my side. (1) Carl was weaned, but he still had two nannies, and both of their children were growing up together in Carl¡¯s nursery. The nursery had three babies, including Carl, and three older sisters and brothers who were several years older than him. Carl managed to blend in with his baby companions and older children, and was a cute little Young Master who liked to hang out with them and be in my arms when I showed up. Now that Carl was crawling around he knew how to get his hands on this and that, and filled his vigorous curiosity by putting them all in his mouth and exploring them. All the servants in the castle loved little the Little Master, who was wandering around, and treated me with a much more amicable attitude than before, which Carl followed. Countess Blone said to me, watching Karl grow day by day. ¡°I chose Young Masters escort Knight because I thought he needed one. You must accept the pledge of loyalty in his stead.¡± ¡°What? Suddenly?¡± ¡°Since he is the only and noble-blooded Young Master to succeed the Duke of DeMancier, I chose one because I thought it was urgent.¡± It was questionable whether Carl, who was always in the castle, almost always around the nursery, needed an escort, but as she said, Carl was the only son of the Duke of DeMancier. Carl was a baby in a position to have an escort because there were no other successors of the Duke¡¯s . ¡°Oh, but wouldn¡¯t it be better for Gellerhard to see and select one? From the Knight¡¯s point of view, I think he would prefer to make a pledge of loyalty to the Lord rather than the acting Lord¡­ And in a few months, Gellerhard will be back¡­.¡± Carl¡¯s escort Knights were tasked with escorting him, but their allegiance was to Gellerhard, the head of the Knights and the Duke. However, now that he is out of the war, I, the Duchess, had to act for it. Countess Blone would have chosen it well, but of course he knew better about the knights of DeMancier. I don¡¯t want to hear the rumor that I picked a weird guy for no reason¡­ Countess Blone replied to me who was pouring out one concern or another. ¡°Now that the Duke is not in the castle, it may be more dangerous than other times. You don¡¯t have to worry too much about the pledge of loyalty. In the case of a noble lady, all you have to do is reach out to the knight who vows loyalty and say, ¡®I trust you¡¯ afterwards.¡± She seemed to think that I was putting off her work because I felt burdened by the pledge of loyalty to me. That was also somewhat true. But listening to her, I inadvertently realized a painful fact. It is true that the current Duchy, where the Duke is not in the castle, is more vulnerable than when the Duke was here. But last year, too, Carl played well in the nursery while the Duke was away from the castle. That Carl needs an escort this year, without the Duke¡­. It seems they were worried about me hurting Carl, since I started sleeping with the Duke. I was probably right. I was still spending quite a bit of time with Carl, and any escort Knight would always be able to monitor my actions at his side. The suspicion was deeply upsetting, but it was not something I didn¡¯t understand. A young son of a man with a large inheritance of the largest estate in the north, including the title of Duke, and a stepmother who has a chance to give birth to the mans child, are in the castle alone¡­ It was like the introduction of a thriller novel. In order to lessen the doubt, and to avoid a situation in which Carl could really be in danger, I decided to accept the escort. It¡¯s upsetting, but I¡¯ll take it. It was obvious that Count Petrika was behind this, so I wanted to move on. Anyway, it¡¯s for Carl. ¡°Yes, after the Duke comes back, we can add more escort Knights or change them.¡± I rose from my seat, emphasizing that the reason I hesitated was to have the Duke pick Knights to protect his son himself. Seeing that the Knight came to escort right away, it seemed like she had already selected the Knights and was waiting for my pledge of loyalty. ¡°Carl must be in the nursery, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I should take them with me to Carl. They¡¯ll have to see who to serve.¡± When I beckoned, Carl toddled up to me with open arms and fell over to hug me. Looking at such a Carl, the irritation melted away. ¡°Our sweet Young Master, Carl! Are you going to go see the articles with Mandy~.¡± ¡°Maah!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, let¡¯s go with Mandy.¡± Holding Charles, now quite heavy, in his arms, he headed to where the knights were, listening to Lady Blone¡¯s explanation. There were three escort Knights in total for Carl, each will take three turns guarding him. So there are three pledges of loyalty that I will receive. I think it¡¯s going to be really cheesy¡­ Let¡¯s put up with the goosebumps. I was surprised to see the three escort knights passing through the door the servant had opened. Originally, knights who protect the castles of nobles in the north were not very capable, but they were fine-faced and had a nice body. This is because the most talented will protect the family and heir, but the most talented will be transferred to the battlefield or volunteered. Among the remaining decent knights, only the knights with good looks and figure stood by the nobles in the castle. And my ex-fianc¨¦ was a knight like that. All three of Carl¡¯s escorts were exceptionally handsome young knights, and one of them was someone I knew. Oscar, there was a man who was once my fianc¨¦! Chapter 22 The third method. Making my side. (2) ¡°Madam, please accept the pledge of loyalty.¡± No one covets the position of Duke DeMancier, who spends half a year on the battlefield, said the 2nd Knight Commander, who stays in the Duke¡¯s Castle and guards the castle just in case. I asked with my eyes wide open, wondering if that man I saw was Oscar or a dream. ¡°Who voted for the escort?¡± ¡°I decided after discussing it with the leader.¡± Mrs. Blone came forward and replied. I looked at her and asked. ¡°There¡¯s a familiar face, and as I remember it, he is a knight of the Count Petrika. Is it okay to select Carl¡¯s escort from outside?¡± I purposely fixed my eyes on Lady Blone and asked. Oscar would know I was talking about him, but he didn¡¯t come forward. She said she was worried about the safety of Carl, the Duke¡¯s only successor, so why would she choose a Knight of the Count Petrika, and ultimately my ex-fianc¨¦, in place of those who have been loyal to the Duke for a long time? Lady Blone answered my question without a sign of embarrassment. ¡°Count Petrika is the Grandfather of Young Master. The Count sent me an outstanding Knight because he was worried about his grandchild.¡± I felt like I was going to laugh. Lady Blone didn¡¯t even try to hide that she picked an escort because she was worried about me as a stepmother now. She was now blatantly warning that Count Petrika was watching me. Indeed, Lady Blone was the choice of Count Petrika in the first place. My anger went up sharply. It¡¯s not enough to make a maiden with a bright future, who even had a fianc¨¦, a nanny for her grandchild, so he didn¡¯t hide his intention to keep me in check because now he thinks I¡¯ll be more than a nanny! And how ridiculous I must have looked to be warned in this way! ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Is it my delusion of damage that Lady Blone¡¯s expression always looks like, ¡®What if you have a problem?¡¯ With a slight bite on her lip, I looked her in the eye and said. Is it my paranoia of persecution of Lady Blone that her face seem to question, ¡®What would you do if you had a problem?¡¯ Biting my lip slightly, I looked into her eyes and said. ¡°I¡¯m uncomfortable with my ex-fianc¨¦.¡± It was the result of a brief agony. You have to hold out because you hate it. Carl¡¯s escort would watch me and Carl for as long as I spent with him. My ex-fianc¨¦ as an escort, and if they was really unlucky, they could have covered up the allegations of an affair. Now that I think about it, it was also on my mind that all three escort Knights were outstanding beautiful knights. Yeah, usually with good-looking knights around, they¡¯re both eye-catching and ostentatious, but Carl was the only heir to the Duke of DeMancier. The loyal and highly capable knights were in the right position to protect him. Lady Blone looked a little surprised. She didn¡¯t think I¡¯d talk about the existence of my ex-fianc¨¦ first. But she answered, managing her expression skillfully. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it be okay now that it¡¯s been a year since the Duchess married the Duke? If you don¡¯t have any feelings.¡± Are you trying to say that I¡¯m conscious of and avoiding the Oscar because I have feelings for my ex-fianc¨¦? I was hesitant to pretend I didn¡¯t know because the rumor would go around like that, but it was still much better to block Oscar from the source than to spend time together with him as Carl¡¯s escort. ¡°I don¡¯t feel much.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± When I flatly denied it, and cut off what Lady Blone was trying to say. It was obvious what she had to say without hearing it. If you don¡¯t have feelings, then you can use him as an escort. ¡°However, if you are an escort driver for Karl, you will spend more time with me, so wouldn¡¯t Gellerhard be uncomfortable? I¡¯ll pick another escort.¡± I deliberately mentioned the Duke. For these people, it worked much better to say a word of nonsense as if it were the Duke¡¯s will than to say a hundred words of my own will. And the Duke wouldn¡¯t be mad at me for using his name. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll do something good for him. ¡°This time, please investigate the candidates¡¯ histories and let me know as well. I¡¯m picking Young Master¡¯s escort Knight from DeMancier, and I, Duchess of DeMancier, should pay attention.¡± I meant to show me a candidate and ask for permission, not to notify me after picking like now. As Carl¡¯s stepmother, as the Duchess of DeMancier, I could ask for this much. I turned away from further objections. It was the first time I shook her off in such a backlash because I had Lady Blone as my staff and I always listened to her. Lady Blone looked perplexed, but she did not dare to stop me, who had already turned. Even if she was a Countess before, there was no lady in the north who is higher than me now. For Karl, the County of Petrika is a strong maternal family and my father is loyal to him right now, so I want to get along with the Count Petrika, but if they try to screw me in this way, I had no choice but to prepare myself. First of all, I could no longer let Lady Blone sway my surroundings in this way, acting as a spokesman for the Count Petrika. I needed a new staff, and finally I needed the ability to do the work of the Duchess and the acting lord myself. It was no longer enough to be recognized as the Duke¡¯s wife, or just being a good foster mother to Carl. I have to build up my strength so that I don¡¯t get framed as a really evil stepmother. * * * Chapter 23 The third method. Making my side. (3) The 2nd Knight Commander came, as I said, with documents containing brief histories of the candidates for Carl¡¯s escort. The age range was very diverse, but only the knights who had served for at least five years were nominated. So of course there was no Oscar among the candidates. Above all, the document even stated the reason for the change and who the Knight was previously loyal to. Some Knights are straightforward and simple and know nothing but loyalty to their masters and brandishing swords, but if they are the head of the Knights Templar, they need to understand a certain amount of politics. He agreed that Lady Blone would have the Count of Petrika¡¯s Knight as an escort to Carl, and he watched me and Lady Blone¡¯s conflict in front of him. The 2nd Knight Commander would have understood why Count Petrika, with Lady Blone at the forefront, would now appoint an escort to Carl at this time. Lady Blone was doing all the work of the Duchess on my behalf and behind her was the Count of Petrika. Count Petrika was a Count of money and power enough to make his daughter, Merilyn a Duchess, Carlos, her only son and heir to the Duke of DeMancier, and a man who was influential enough to put his son-in-law into the Duke¡¯s position. And I was a nominal Duchess who seemed to be on good terms with the Duke and Young Master of DeMancier, but had no real power. No matter who you see, my side was more inclined, and in the midst of a complex background, the 2nd Knight Commander took my side. ¡°Everyone seems to be very loyal to the Duke. What does the Knight Commander think? Is there anyone who I should pay special attention to? I want anyone capable of defending Carlos and not being bought by anyone. I think it would be better if the Knight was familiar with children enough to be trusted and followed by Carlos.¡± I also gave a gesture of trust in him. I mean, the Knight Commander thought for a moment and put the papers of some of the knights before me. Seeing that they had a child of Carlos¡¯ age or a younger brother about the knights, I could tell how well he knew about them. I picked three escorts on his recommendation. Although their appearance was not as good as those of the previous knights, they were all veterans who had long been loyal to the Duke, and were sometimes his escort knights when he stayed in the castle. ¡°Since they are knights for Young Master¡¯ safety in DeMancier, it would be better to select them as they have long been loyal to the Duke.¡± ¡°¡­that¡¯s a good idea.¡± Lady Blone, who was completely excluded from this selection, did not nitpick about the Knights I chose. No, it would be more correct to say that she couldn¡¯t. Among the newly selected Knights, there was no Knight that I knew and the history of the Knights was good, so she couldn¡¯t find fault with them. I held Carl safely and completed the Pledge ceremony. The knights were not mine, but those who were loyal to the Duke of DeMancier, Gellerhard, and his son, the Young Master of DeMancier, Carlos. If Count Petrika is really worried about my unexpected change and the threat posed by it, there will be no better appointment than these. The work on Carl¡¯s escort came to a close at that line. Neither I nor Count Petrika stopped at that¡¯ But there were the Knight Counts Petrika who remained in the Duke castle with Lady Blone¡¯s wish. The more I thought about it, the more I felt dizzy about what would happen if I accepted the escort articles Lady Blone had picked. I¡¯m sure I would have heard about a lascivious Duchess, I almost added an unusual scandal that I had a connection with three handsome escort Knights. Is that all? According to the original story, ¡®Amanda¡¯ also gives birth to a son, and when I gave birth to a son like ¡®Amanda¡¯, a scandal could have occurred that the father of the child was the Duke or not. The urgent fire was put out, so it was time to make my side as determined. Who¡¯s on my side now? First, there was my most certain ally, my adopted son, Carl. Carl, who was probing a square block with his mouth, put the block on my hand without any hesitation when I put my hands together and held them out to him. ¡°Oh, good job. Thank you.¡± ¡°Kyahh.¡± Minorly, Carl gave me anything when I reached out my hands, from the pacifier he had in his mouth to toys, fruits, and so on. On the other hand, when I held out one hand, he grabbed my hand and smiled like an angel at me. With a big smile, he patted the child in his arms and returned the block, and Karl held it in both hands and began to explore it with his mouth. Karl followed me so much that people who didn¡¯t know the situation would think he was a child born to me. ¡°Young Master is really good at following Amanda.¡± And of Carl¡¯s two nannies, the Viscountess Desmond, Margaret, was probably on my side. She once fought Agatha, who was seeking the position of Duchess of DeMancier, And her husband, Viscount Desmond, is a brave knight who went to war with the Duke, and was a close retainer of the Duke. If I had refused to become a Duchess and Agatha became the Duchess of DeMancier, it would have been very difficult for her and her husband, so she was one of the people who swept my heart after I became a duchess. Of the ladies who stay in the Duke castle, the closest to my side is Margaret. I carefully added my words on top. ¡°Because I prioritized taking care of Carl over other jobs. Thanks to Lady Blone.¡± Chapter 24 The third method. Making my side. (4) Charles put down the block where he had finished probing, and picked up a new one. Carl, who looked at the block I held and put his hands together and said, ¡®Give it to me¡¯, was so lovely that I wanted to bite him. Margaret¡¯s face melted down when she saw the cute Carl. Children were creatures that couldn¡¯t be hated even if they made trouble sometimes. I gave the block to Carl and he began to probe the block with his mouth again. Small like a child¡¯s rose petal, and red lips were wet with saliva biting the block. I should wipe his lips later. ¡°Margaret is amazing. You take care of your children and at the same time manage your territory.¡± Viscount Desmond was also on the battlefield with the Duke, so the Viscountess was the acting lord. Although she is a permanent representative, she also stayed in the Duke¡¯s castle as Carl¡¯s nanny, setting up her agent and carefully managing the estates from far away. ¡°I¡¯m flattered. I was lucky to have a trusted agent.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just luck that you have someone you can trust around you.¡± Margaret and I looked at each other with a smile. She listened to me and without changing her expression or asking me directly what I meant. Margaret said with a gentle face. ¡°It¡¯s possible if you have multiple eyes. I learned it from my mother-in-law.¡± She didn¡¯t have to spill any more information, Margaret knew right away what I wanted. Her words reminded me of someone I had inadvertently forgotten. Yes, I have a mother-in-law, too! ¡°Margaret¡¯s mother-in-law¡­.¡± ¡°She is the late Viscountess Desmond. I hope she rests in peace.¡± ¡°I hope she rests in peace.¡± As we talked about the deceased, Margaretta and I recited a prayer for the deceased, as is customary. Laying her eyes down slightly, she continued. ¡°My mother-in-law taught me a lot. From close relatives to family events to how things are organized and handled, how my people make the job¡­ Thanks to my mother-in-law who taught me well, I am still running the estate and family well. I¡¯m grateful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If she looks at the current Margaret, she¡¯ll be proud of you.¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± Carlos, who completed probing the block, came to me. I hugged Carl, and Margaret went toward her children. Unlike Margaret, my mother-in-law was alive. As an ¡®Duchess Dowager¡¯ in her DeMancier, in the northern part, without any explanation, just saying her ¡®Duchess Dowager¡¯ meant her. After the Duke of King Sun Dae-si, suddenly became a machine in the war, but he was used to being a master of the war, but he was used to being a master. After the sudden death of previous Duke of DeMancier on the battlefield, my husband, Gellerhad, became Duke of DeMancier, but he was unmarried at the time, so I was told that the Duchess Dowager stayed and did the Duchess¡¯s affairs on behalf of Merilyn until she entered the house and became familiar with the Duchess¡¯s affairs. However, the Duchess Dowager had already left the Duchy before her grandson Carlos was born. I didn¡¯t see her when Carlos was born and even when Merilyn died, she only sent a letter of concern, and didn¡¯t come to the funeral. Teaching Merilyn all the things the Duchess should do and calling the Duchess Dowager back was like calling a retired person to take over again after completing all the work from a modern point of view, so I felt repulsed. Besides, I had no intention of doing the Duchess¡¯s work on my own, so I didn¡¯t contact her otherwise. As I wiped the saliva-drenched lips of Carl, he murmured. He looked tired from playing with blocks, and looked sleepy. Carl¡¯s hand ran through my hair. ¡°Our Carl is sleepy, right? Yes, you need to sleep if you¡¯re sleepy. Right. You have to nap.¡± ¡°Koo¡± ¡°Okay, nap-¡± I pat the baby on the back while holding Carl, who is now quite heavy, and letting Carl rest his face comfortably on my chest. Sitting in an armchair near the fireplace definitely made it much more comfortable to hold Carl. Patting the little sleepy child, I spoke lightly to Carl. ¡°My Karl, don¡¯t you want to see your grandmother?¡± ¡°Granma?¡± ¡°Yes, grandmother. Your grandmother will say that Carl is so cute.¡± ¡°Wow-¡± Carl is a little asleep and put my hair in my ears and put my hair in my nose. LieV on the bed and I wrote a letter to the Duchess Dowager without delay. Anyway, it was a problem that I invited to cut her wife, but I didn¡¯t have to cut her hands right away, but even if you don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know what I¡¯t know.However, it was not able to ask for help.Apart from I believe her, I can¡¯t afford to tell her everything, and save her life and the rest of the work of the work and the rest of the machine. Carl, who was falling asleep, grabbed my hair, put it in his ear, and put it in his nose, then fell asleep in my arms. Putting Karl on the bed, I wrote a letter to my mother-in-law without any delay. After all, since she was someone I had invited, I had no justification to cut Lady Blone off with my own hands right away, and since I did not know how to govern the estates and take care of internal affairs, it would cause me a problem if I cut her off. Nor could I ask Margaret for help. Aside from my belief in her, she didn¡¯t have enough time to tell me about her work one by one, and the Viscounts household agents and that of a Duke¡¯s house were different in size and scale. Since the Duchess¡¯s job was my job after all, there was only one person I could turn to and trust to teach. The Duchess Dowager of DeMancier. Fortunately, she replied that she would visit the castle in response to my request to come see her cute grandson. * * * * Chapter 25 The third method. Making my side. (5) DeMancier¡¯s Duchess Dowager was not from the North. Blessed with warm sunshine, she was a daughter of a southern noble family, and about 25 years ago, she said that she fell in love at first sight with the previous Duke of DeMancier, who was then the Duke heir. Half a year is at war and the other half is winter in the harsh North, and even at the forefront of the front line, the whole family tore up the southern noble girl who offered to marry the Duke of DeMancier. She came to the North with a heart full of love and anticipation. People thought that an immature southern aristocratic maiden would soon be unable to withstand the harsh cold of the North, but she continued to reign as the Lady of the North until her husband died. It is said that the previous Duke and Duchess of DeMancier were very good. I had never seen her in person and had only been told about her by others, but the former Duke of DeMancier had loved and cared for his wife in the North, saying that it was love at first sight. The couple had a happy marriage, but the previous Duchess of DeMancier, who had no base in the North, was said to have been pretty tough at the time. With the full help and support of her husband, in any case, her husband was a man who spent half a year on the battlefield, and she had no special connection among the northerners. Despite the cold and harsh territoriality, she established her position and, after her husband¡¯s death, took her daughter-in-law and taught her all the duties of the Duchess. After completing her duties, she left the North. If she was an office worker, she would have retired after the takeover. The Duchess Dowager, who had come a long way to Duke Castle in response to my letter, had brought only a very handy suitcase along with a companion. She didn¡¯t have any of her items in the Duke¡¯s castle as she took all her belongings with her when she left. That modest suitcase was an unspoken expression that the Duchess Dowager would stay in the castle for a short time or a few days. Even in the letter, she said she would ¡®visit¡¯. Hiding my disappointment, I approached her as she was getting out of the carriage with a soft expression on my face. Carl, standing next to me, toddled with me on short legs. ¡°Nice to meet you. Duchess Dowager. I am Amanda Edith von DeMancier. Please call me Amanda.¡± ¡°Oh, Amanda. Sure. As the Duchess Dowager, although we are not mothers and daughters by flesh and blood, Amanda, the wife of my son Gellerhard, you are like a daughter to me too.¡± ¡°Can I call you mother?¡± ¡°Well then, of course.¡± The Duchess Dowager gently softened her stern-looking blue eyes, as she said. Perhaps the Duke¡¯s purple eyes were inherited from his father. The Duchess Dowager was a lady with shiny blonde hair and blue eyes, and her stature was quite small. One seemed to be able to guess from the bitter wrinkles around her eyes how she would have commanded her big ball filling with her tiny body. Her voice was very high, and her pronunciation was good. She had a good voice. ¡°My mother also speaks casually to me. Please treat me as comfortable as you treat Gellerhard.¡± The Duchess Dowager nodded her head as she held my hand tightly. Seeing the godfather more cooperative than she had thought, I was convinced that she had read between the lines in my letter. She didn¡¯t come to Carl¡¯s birthday or any other event, but if her new daughter-in-law sent her a letter asking her to come to see her cute grandson, she must have realized that there would be something else that needed help too. ¡°Mother, let me introduce you to Carlos, your grandson. Come on, Carl, it¡¯s Grandma. You should say hello to your grandmother?¡± ¡°Hi-¡± It was a muffled pronunciation, but his voice was cute. Carl bowed his head slightly awkwardly as he said hello. Then, looking up at me, he gently grabbed Carl¡¯s fern-like hand that stretched out his arm to me, I put my hand under Carl¡¯s armpit, and held the baby in my arms. Carl, who was held in my arms, made eye contact with his grandmother, whom he had seen for the first time. ¡°Oh my gosh, you are so cute!¡± His black hair and high nose he inherited from his father, and the sparkling green eyes and pretty lips she inherited from his mother. Carl, with her unique plump cheeks and red cheeks, was so cute that the moment she saw it, she burst out with glee. The Duchess Dowager smiled brightly at the sight of her very cute grandson. ¡°Yes? And you don¡¯t know how nice and gentle he is. Let¡¯s not stay here, and go inside, mother.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Before that, let me introduce my companion.¡± The woman standing behind the godfather stepped forward slightly at her words. With her stern posture, she bowed her knees slightly and greeted her. ¡°Charlotte, the daughter of Count Emile. She is always with me because she cares for my health.¡± ¡°This is Charlotte Helen von Emil, Count Emile¡¯s daughter. I see the Duchess of DeMancier.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Her name was somehow familiar. I looked at her face, her dark brown hair wavy, to see if she knew me, but she didn¡¯t pretend to know me. The Duchess Dowager added her praise for her Charlotte. ¡°Charlotte is a master at herbs. The headaches that have always bothered me, are gone thanks to her Charlotte.¡± Ladies of high status and a certain amount of wealth, such as the Duchess Dowager of DeMancier, would have an aristocratic lady by their side, and then they would find someone to marry, but the higher the status of the lady, the more fierce the competition for the position. They felt like the Lady¡¯s secretary, her friend, and sometimes the caregiver for the Duchess Dowager. They entertained the Lady by carefully examining their health or sleep and recited poems or played musical instruments if they had a talent in literature and arts. Chapter 26 The third method. Making my side. (6) I could see how much the godfather who praised Charlotte¡¯s merit regarded her. I said with a friendly smile to Charlotte. ¡°I see. I sometimes have a headache, can you help me?¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± Charlotte replied to me, but her eyes and attention were on Carl in my arms. Carl is cute. ¡°Now, Carl. Shall we say hello to Young Lady, Countess Emil?¡± ¡°Hello!¡± Carl, who was fiddling with the necklace around my neck, said reflexively to me. How smart you are! I also made a fuss, saying that I was good to Carl, the godfather. Carl smiled and hit me again, rubbing his head on my shoulder. We entered the castle together. Charlotte unpacked Duchess Dowager¡¯s suitcase, organized her luggage, and headed to her room first to relieve some of her fatigue. The maid showed her around. When I and the godfather had climbed the stairs, she said in a low voice. ¡°She¡¯s a poor kid. She is the young daughter of the count, but she couldn¡¯t marry anywhere because she couldn¡¯t have a child. I brought her in because she wanted me to get her out of getting into a nasty old man¡¯s house. She¡¯s been with me for quite a while, so I hope Amanda welcomes Charlotte.¡± Seeing that she even told me such a background, she seemed worried that I might be reluctant to let Charlotte, who is single, into the castle. I thought of the Duke for a moment. He loves to have sex with me, but he doesn¡¯t chase other women. I didn¡¯t think he was going to cheat on me. Above all, what was urgent for me was not the risk of an affair. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a sister, but I¡¯ll treat her like a sister. However¨C¡± I lowered my gaze, blurring the end of my words. A wretched face that I¡¯m so insecure and pathetic right now! Carl responded first when he hypnotized himself and tried to make a sad face. ¡°Mandy.¡± Calling my pet name Mandy, Carl began to cry. All right, well, it¡¯s better to look pathetic for both of them. I didn¡¯t coax Carl with envy. My sad face made Carl sad. Carl¡¯s big green eyes filled with tears. ¡°But?¡± Even if no one showed me, I knew the Duchess¡¯s drawing room better than anyone else, and the Duchess Dowager¡¯s step towards it stopped. The steps of the maids following us also stopped. ¡°I¡¯ll ring the bell if necessary, so leave.¡± The servants watched each other¡¯s faces left at the words of the Duchess Dowager. The expression on the Duchess Dowager¡¯s face changed at once when she saw the maids who did not obey. ¡°Since when did I have to say it twice in the Duke¡¯s Castle?¡± At first glance, the similarity of the Duke¡¯s annoyance overlapped with her expression and cold words. I must learn from my mother¡­ Thinking to myself, I was silent. The maids bowed down. Carlos¡¯ escort also backed out of the situation. Only two of us and Carlos in my arms remain. ¡°What a mess of discipline.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to blame you. Let¡¯s go to the drawing room.¡± The Duchess Dowager¡¯s displeased voice soon became gentle when I apologized in a very discouraged voice. In the Duchess¡¯s drawing room, where there were no maids, the Duchess Dowager was in a good mood when I exaggerated a little and pretended to be very pitiful. It was not early to know the subtle conflict with Count Petrika. I only recently got to use the Duchess¡¯s room, only to say that Gellerhard was angry and then I changed my room from the guest room to the Duchess¡¯s room, that the maids were warier of the head maid and Lady Blone, and that Lady Blone picked my ex-fianc¨¦ as Carl¡¯s escort, so I could barely change the escort. Lady Blone knew the Duchess Dowager as well. And the Duchess Dowager seemed to have grasped the situation at once by saying that she had been recommended by Count Petrika to put Lady Blone in the Duchy as my staff. ¡°My precious things!¡± The Duchess Dowager, who shouted, said in a calm voice as she suppressed her anger. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here for a while.¡± Charlotte, who had gone to unpack her suitcase, and the maid, Jean, who was guiding her, were called up by The Duchess Dowager to her parlor. Lady May, and the maid, looked a little scared when they heard that The Duchess Dowager would stay for a long time, and Charlotte accepted the order with a gentle face to go back on the long journey and pack up her long-term luggage. And after a week or so, Lady Blone returned to her estate, saying she wanted to see if her son and daughter-in-law were doing well. Worried about her young grandson and weak daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law decided to stay in the Duchess¡¯ castle and teach me the Duchess¡¯s work. Perhaps her old days, when she was rejected as a stranger married from the south, came to mind when she saw me. So I got another person on my side. Winter was approaching before I knew it. Perhaps it was time for my husband to come. * * * When I went out to greet her husband, who returned from the war this year, The Duchess Dowager did not accompany her. I couldn¡¯t ask my mother-in-law, who said she was going to rest because she wasn¡¯t feeling well, to go outside and meet her son, so I had no choice but to wrap up Carl tightly. Carl¡¯s nanny, Charlotte followed me, and Carl¡¯s escort followed us. My mother-in-law¡¯s illness, which she said was sick in time for her son to return to the castle, was very coincidental at that time. The reason why The Duchess Dowager did not appear here was not because of the bad relationship between the Duke and The Duchess Dowager, but there seemed to be a reason. If she had a bad relationship with her son, she would have ignored my request to come and see Carl, and she wouldn¡¯t have helped me because I was being ignored. Chapter 27 The third method. Making my side. (7) Anyway, the Duke returned to the castle majestically, with a lot of Knights and soldiers. It was a bit tiring, but I was relieved to see the Duke looking strong. I knew he wouldn¡¯t die until that man handed over the Duchy to Carl, but the phrase ¡®I won¡¯t die; doesn¡¯t guarantee ¡®I won¡¯t be mortally injured or crippled¡¯. The Duke of DeMancier, Gellerhard, was an indifferent father to the main character, Carl, so nothing about him was detailed in the book. Therefore, when I saw him leaving for the battlefield and returning, I was relieved and afraid that he would be injured. The Duke, who disbanded the soldiers and then the knights, got off his horse and approached me. Behind him came Viscount Desmond, making eye contact with his wife. When I held Carl in the Duke¡¯s arms, the Viscount and Viscountess slipped aside and met with emotion. In the distance, another nanny of Carl, the Baroness, was seen reuniting with her husband with her children. I took my eyes off the ardent couples and leaned my head slightly against the Duke¡¯s chest, which held me rigidly. His body was hard because he was still in armor. Carl caught between us, reached out, and buried his little bracken hand in the fur the Duke was wearing, stroking it with joy. The fur worn by the Duke was much stiffer and rougher, so Karl found the touch amusing. ¡°I¡¯m glad you came back safely.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I got here safely¡­¡± The Duke¡¯s hand touched my cheek. Surprised by the cold smell and touch of iron, I reflexively pulled my face back. The Duke bit his hand and his purple eyes captured my face. I couldn¡¯t know or guess what the man who had just returned from the war would be thinking about his wife¡¯s face. ¡°Hello!¡± Carl¡¯s voice rang out. Duke and I moved to the child at the same time. Carl, whose cheeks and nose were red in the cold wind, smiled lovingly as usual and looked at the Duke¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯ve grown quite a bit.¡± ¡°Right? Here, hug him.¡± The Duke couldn¡¯t beat my momentum, so he took Carl in his arms. Carl was crying as if he was dissatisfied with his father¡¯s hard arms and then changed his mood by stroking the stiff fur again. The Duke¡¯s arms holding the baby were sloppy, but Carl was not as young as he used to be, so he managed to balance himself well in the sloppy arms. Perhaps because he was the son of a famous knight, Carl¡¯s physical ability and growth were extraordinary. ¡°He¡¯s a lot heavier than last time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been half a year, of course. Kids grow up like crazy.¡± The Duke nodded at my words. He didn¡¯t seem to be offended by my harsh tone. Eventually, Carl struggled in the uncomfortable arms of the Duke and the Duke dropped the baby off. Carl toddled himself and clung to my skirt. ¡°Hey, you poor Young Master!¡± I held Carl in my arms again and the baby laughed in my arms. As if to enter, the Duke touched my waist and led me toward the castle. Just before we entered the castle together, I found Charlotte standing still by the door. Usually, nobles were introduced before they could give a greeting. ¡°Oh, you know your mother is here, right? Let me introduce you to a guest who came with your mother.¡± ¡°¡­If it¡¯s the Young Lady, Countess Emile, I already know it. Long time no see.¡± Said the Duke, who paused for a moment at my words, in a displeased voice. ¡°Long time no see. The Duke of Desmancier.¡± Charlotte bowed politely to the Duke. Despite the brief exchange of greetings, I sensed at that moment that there was something strange aura flowing between the two. It wasn¡¯t a pink aura. If I had to name a color, it was a very hostile aura of dark reddish colors. Charlotte, who has always been quiet and calm, had eyes that said she didn¡¯t like it! Get it away! It was also unfamiliar to see the Duke look at someone silently with a hostile gaze. The Duke hurried without saying a word, and I followed him and told Charlotte that it is cold, so she should go in. The Duke closed his mouth tightly and his wrapped cold hand wore a gauntlet around my waist. I couldn¡¯t figure out what was what. The Duke, who entered the castle, went to wash up immediately, and the castle was busy preparing for the banquet, in which only polite men participated. In order not to repeat last year¡¯s mistake, I took care of Carl in the nursery and heard from the maid and Lady May to see if the banquet preparations were going well and went to the bedroom early. The chef prepared a mountain of food and the butler brought in several bottles of alcohol. And men will eat it all at the banquet and go in and sleep. I didn¡¯t worry much because it was an annual banquet. In addition, the discipline between the servants became stronger after The Duchess Dowager returned, so I was not particularly worried, but the war of nerves between Charlotte and the Duke was strangely disturbing. If it was a pink nerve war, it¡¯s more like falling in love¡­ Even if it felt dirty, it would have been understandable, but the hostile air current between the two of them could not be guessed because there was no clue. Charlotte said it has already been almost five years since she stood by The Duchess Dowager. The Duchess Dowager said that she left once Merilyn got used to the Duchess¡¯s work and when she was pregnant with Carl, so Charlotte would have left with The Duchess Dowager at that time. So now that the two of them are facing each other about three years later, what¡¯s the point of having a bad relationship with a woman who is his mother¡¯s caregiver? ¡°Ah!¡± The Duchess Dowager left the Duchy when Merilyn got used to the duchess¡¯s job. Merilyn! I remembered a pink envelope with dried flowers on her dresser. Young Lady of Emile, Charlotte. Chapter 28 The third method. Making my side. (8) The sender of the letter was Charlotte. This means that Merilyn and Charlotte were close enough to keep dried flowers and letters in the drawer of the dressing table. Did Charlotte know that the Duke was cold with her when she heard of Merilyn, who was weak after giving birth to Carl? Does she not like the duke who had her a new wife shortly after her death? I was also a friend of Merilyn¡¯s, and I became a Duchess because of her willpower, but Charlotte, who was away from the castle at the time, maybe thought otherwise. A man who had a child and married the friend of his wife not long after her death. Oh, it was a combination that even Nara would have cursed and hated each other, saying they had met each other. But for that matter, Charlotte has never shown any hostility to me. She always stood by The Duchess Dowager quietly. Contrary to the fact that he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of Karl at first, he sneaked away from the nursery because he didn¡¯t like the child very much, she quietly stood by The Duchess Dowager and sometimes gave appropriate herbs to those who complained of headaches, abdominal pain, or menstrual pain. I quite liked her doing her best without saying a word¡­ Looking far into the burning fireplace, I climbed onto the bed. I was depressed to think that Charlotte might actually hate me because the person she met and talked to was arrogant. Don¡¯t think too much and go to sleep. At that time, I heard a knock, followed by a woman¡¯s voice calling me ¡®Ma¡¯am¡¯. Well, clearing my throat, I replied. ¡°Come on in.¡± It was annoying to go out to open the door, and there were only two people in this castle who could open my door by themselves anyway. The Duke and his mother-in-law. When the door opened, the maid came into the bedroom with her head down. ¡°Come closer.¡± The maid, who approached me with a calm step, stopped in front of the bed I was lying on. When asked what was going on, she said some pretty surprising words. ¡°The Duke asked me if I could eat it as a bed soon¡­¡± The maid bowed her head further, blurring the end of her words. I was surprised inwardly. He must be tired, so I thought he would drink and crawl into the bedroom to sleep¡­ Did he miss the touch of a woman after drinking? ¡°Is there any owner of the bedroom between the couple? Tell him I got it.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The maid looked pleased with my positive reply. I couldn¡¯t see her expression because she lowered her head, but her voice was clear. Well, even if the answer was a rejection, it was the maid who delivered it, so she was probably afraid that the Duke would get angry if I refused. I understood her joy because many nobles sometimes vented their anger on servants and maids. The maid left the room again and I took a fresh look at myself. I wore pajamas to go to bed and tied my hair down loosely. It wasn¡¯t otherwise messy or ugly, but I was nervous to face my husband in my bedroom after half a year. It wasn¡¯t long before I heard a knock. This time, I stood up and headed toward the door, conscious of my heart pounding for no reason. When I opened the door, there was a duke. ¡°Wow, the smell of alcohol.¡± ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t drink much.¡± Compared to the strong smell of alcohol, the Duke¡¯s cheeks were red, which was relatively normal and clearly answered. As I stepped aside, the Duke came into my bedroom, took off his cloak-like coat over his shoulder, and dropped it on the floor. ¡°Whoo.¡± Exhale for a long time, the Duke roughly undressed and went to the fireplace and sat down. Sitting languidly on a fluffy carpet, the Duke, curled up on the big back and shoulders, warmed by the fireplace¡¯s flame, was just like a dog. I mean it not as a curse, but really, a dog. * * * The back of the Duke¡¯s neck was covered with shaggy black hair. The flame of the fireplace was reflected in the Duke¡¯s purple eyes, and the shaggy fur was also hair, but it was just like a dog sitting on a warm fire and watching the fire. ¡°Amanda, come here and sit down, will you? sit down?¡± Unable to find a proper answer, the Duke tilted his head. The Duke¡¯s cheeks were flushed with wine and the heat of the fireplace. I sat down beside him as asked. ¡°Why are you talking like that?¡± ¡°I have to speak up to my wife in respect, but I have to raise my authority because I am the lord.¡± The drunken duke murmured in a slow voice. Perhaps one of the aides advised him to treat his wife like that. ¡°Did we need authority between us? I didn¡¯t expect that.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just, he, someone else told me to¡­¡± When he made up a sad voice, the Duke began to make excuses, not knowing what to do. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Madam. You can talk to me, too.¡± I nodded when I saw the Duke speaking vaguely and apologizing. ¡°Yes, I can.¡± The Duke blinked with his eyes wide open as if he had not really expected me to. Soon he nodded his head and agreed. ¡°My parents respected each other¡­ And they could talk informally to each other.¡± Who dares to speak informally to the Duke of DeMancier, the ruler of the North? The only way to express the equality of the opponent he faced in the Duke¡¯s position would be by raising his words. But I didn¡¯t bother to correct what the Duke accepted on his own. Who cares? It¡¯s cute. We can¡¯t really talk informally to each other in public, but who knows just because we¡¯re talking informally to each other when it¡¯s just the two of us. It only happens on the bed. Chapter 29 The third method. Making my side. (9) ¡°You must be tired, but I didn¡¯t expect you to come to my room today.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did you come because you wanted to do something good?¡± When asked mischievously, the Duke nodded frankly. His cheeks were redder than before. Maybe it¡¯s because of the heat in the fireplace, because of the alcohol, or because of the good things. ¡°Didn¡¯t you do it alone there?¡± The Duke was silent on my question. His purple eyes caught my eye. Come on, with that. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you do it alone. You didn¡¯t do it with another girl, did you?¡± The Duke nodded hard. I wish I had stayed modest for half a year. I patted the Duke on the back. His back was curled up, so his spine and wing bones stood out, making it more bumpy than usual. ¡°I imagined doing it with Amanda.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± This is a little too much information¡­ The Duke¡¯s words made my cheeks red for no reason. ¡°Yes, Amanda¡¯s happy face and body¡­¡± What a gentleman wouldn¡¯t say, the Duke said without any shame. Shameful for no reason, I avoided his gaze. I didn¡¯t know whether the heat on the cheek was due to the Duke¡¯s passionate gaze or the flame of the fireplace. ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed. You must be tired, so let¡¯s keep it short and sleep.¡± The Duke reached out to me, raising himself obediently at my words. When I grabbed the hand, the Duke, who raised my body lightly, took off all the clothes left on his body and went up to the bed. I also took off my clothes. All the clothes fell on the floor and the Duke opened his arms as I headed to the bed. For some reason, Carl opening his arms to ask me to hug him overlapped. Suddenly, I remembered what he said before playing. ¡°When you left, you asked me to hug you when you returned, didn¡¯t you?¡± I hugged the Duke, but it was different from the usual. It was more like throwing yourself into his arms. As I opened my arms toward him, the Duke hugged my waist and leaned his face on my chest. ¡°Yes, I did. I thought you forgot¡­¡± I had a guilty conscience because I had forgotten it just now, but I didn¡¯t bother to reveal it. The Duke¡¯s hot breath touched my chest. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back safe, Gellerhard.¡± ¡°Yeah- I¡¯m glad I¡¯m back alive, too.¡± The Duke leaned his face on my chest for a long time and pulled my body up to the bed. I thought it would be nice to turn off the urgent complaints and sleep well with my husband, who was tired of alcohol and a long journey. But, will he be able to stand up when he¡¯s tired? The Duke¡¯s voice rang low as I felt the Duke¡¯s body with my hand and held it. ¡°Um-¡± Is it a triumph of youth? The rather soft lump of flesh began to harden as the heat rose quickly when it was wrapped and held in my hands. The Duke shook his back and soon began to masturbate by wrapping his hand over mine. The purple eyes, which had been more gloomy than usual, quickly became cloudy, perhaps because of alcohol or because he was emotional after returning today. ¡°Ah, Amanda, haah!¡± His purple eyes moved around after me. I kissed him on his red-colored neck and stroked his broad chest with my hand, stimulating the little Duke¡¯s nipples, too. Every time I rubbed the little nup, the Duke winced and groaned. The slightly wet purple eyes, the flushed face, and the long, thick neck were red with excitement, making it look very erotic. The Duke groaned with his mouth, but his hands wrapped underneath moved quite roughly. My hand held in his hand began to get wet. Fluid flowed from the Duke¡¯s genitals and his hands began to move rougher. And before long, the cloudy liquid spilled onto his stomach. ¡°Amanda, ah!¡± The Duke¡¯s chest rose and sank repeatedly. His already sweaty muscular body was shiny. The Duke let go and I repeatedly clenched my fist and opened it. My hand was tingling because I squeezed it so hard. ¡°Oh, look. It¡¯s red.¡± The Duke¡¯s eyes widened as I grumbled with red hands in front of the drowsy Duke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The Duke, who had never said sorry to anyone, quickly apologized to me. He held my hand carefully with both hands and began to kiss me. I almost screamed at the unexpected action. The lips that touched were romantic. I felt ticklish and ashamed. I got on top of him, pulling my hand out of him. The Duke¡¯s expression looking up at me was strange when I put my hand up to tie my slightly tangled hair again. ¡°Why? Did you get some on you?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that they kept going in my eyes.¡± ¡°Sexy.¡± With my hair tied tightly again, I put my hand on the Duke¡¯s chest. The Duke¡¯s eyes caught my hand. I slipped my body onto the wet Duke¡¯s belly. ¡°Um-¡± As I intentionally moved my waist and gradually went down below the Duke¡¯s body, I felt his d*ck standing up and touching my hip. As always, he felt like a very energetic duke. The red-colored Duke looked up at me with wet eyes. He was pleading with me with his expression. ¡°Amanda.¡± His hand cradled my arm and stroked it. ¡°Amanda-¡± The hand that patted my arm and elbow gradually came up, stroking my back and touching my waist. I raised my back, listening to a voice divided by desire, which I called eagerly. The Duke¡¯s hand, which held my waist, was energized when I laid down and rubbed off the Duke¡¯s pen*s, which stood upright. Chapter 30 The third method. Making my side. (10) ¡°Ah, Gellerhard-¡± While rubbing it like that, I lifted my waist slightly and slowly began to swallow the d*ck. It seemed a little stiff because I hadn¡¯t been in a relationship for a long time, but it was okay because I was quite excited as I was intertwining with the Duke after a long time. ¡°Uh,¡± A big thing slid deep into me. The feeling of being full inside made my stomach uncomfortable. Contrary to my frown, the Duke looked like he had entered heaven somewhere. A sighing languid groan flowed from the half-open duke¡¯s lips, and his eyes were half closed, so his purple eyes seemed dim. My body was shaking because of the Duke moving his back in a good mood alone. His butt popped up and came back down with a thud. ¡°It hurts!¡± I slapped the Duke on the forearm with my hand. Perhaps it stung, the Duke¡¯s purple eyes came to their senses. ¡°Mi, I¡¯m sorry! Should I take it out?¡± It was an apology again. The Duke raised his upper body in confusion. When he got up, he also slightly angled inside me. I pressed his stomach and laid him down again. ¡°Don¡¯t move until I tell you to move.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± You¡¯re good at answering, really. Breathing out a long breath, I lowered my hand looking at the restless Duke¡¯s handsome face. When I grabbed my chest with one hand and rubbed the clitor*s, the Duke began to reach out. His hand stroking my thigh began rubbing the clitor*s instead of my hand. I grabbed the Duke by the wrist without realizing it, and he immediately stopped moving. ¡°Don¡¯t do it¡­ ?¡± ¡°No, ha, good. Go on.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Duke moved his hand with a brighter face than before. Unlike my hand, his hand didn¡¯t know where to go, so he spun around my cl*t, stimulated it, pressed it, rubbed it, and moved it. I relaxed and lowered my hand to enjoy the Duke¡¯s caress. I tried to do it quickly and sleep, but the Duke¡¯s was too big to do it quickly. ¡°Uh, uh, ah, good-¡± As the Clitor*s was stimulated, the Duke¡¯s d*ck, which pushed inside me, began to feel good little by little. My back curled and my lips opened by themselves. The Duke¡¯s hand began to move with more confidence than before. ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°Ha.¡± A moment of violent pleasure struck me, the Duke groaned, too. My body fluctuated and at the same time, I felt the presence of the Duke inside me greatly. I said, clutching the Duke¡¯s arm. ¡°Move, now, it¡¯s okay to move, ah! ah!¡± The Duke raised his back before I finished speaking. My body fluttered and the Duke¡¯s was spirited around me. Unlike before, he felt good. Gradually out of breath and sweating, the Duke rose and laid me on my back. ¡°Oh, my!¡± Hugging my body, the Duke made more strident movements with his waist. I had no choice but to feel his movement as I hugged his body tightly with my arms while driving down my waist. ¡°Amanda, Amanda!¡± The Duke called my name with his rough breath and kissed my cheek and chin. I could feel the joy of the man who embraced me amid the chaos. He was delighted. My heart fluttered from place to place in that pervasive joy. ¡°Ah, Amanda¡­!¡± Hugging me tightly, the Duke stopped moving. The sound of him breathing heavily, I could feel the hot breath. My body trembled with a slight twitch. I patted the Duke gently on the head and back. The Duke lay on his back, exhaling a long breath. At the same time, his arms hugged me and held me, and stroked my back. I leaned comfortably toward him and felt my slowly, hot body melt warm and soft. ¡°Gellerhard-¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Because of the love affair, he, too, had a low and languid voice. Well, with a dry cough, I made a charming voice. ¡°You¡¯re busy tomorrow, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­¡± For half a year, I stayed with my aides as acting lord, but there would be a lot of work to do since the lord, who had been away for a long time, returned anyway. I held my head up a little more as I clung to his body. His firm chin slightly went down, showing a high nose and purple eyes. The duke made eye contact with me. ¡°Let¡¯s eat breakfast together, you¡¯re going to eat even if you¡¯re busy. Right?¡± The Duke couldn¡¯t have breakfast with me even after spending many nights. It was because he had a busy schedule, he woke up early in the morning and left. I thought the Duke, Gellerhard, was on my side and I believed so, but it was important for others to know that as well. Last winter, I was recognized as his wife just for sharing time on the bed with him. I wanted to spend a little more time. ¡°Yes.¡± The Duke answered with indifference. He hugged my waist a little stronger. ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡± His voice was a little higher than usual and he spoke fast. As if he¡¯s very happy to have breakfast with me. I slightly loosened my arms that hugged him because we had achieved our goal and made love with each other to the point where it was a little stuffy to fall asleep, but he didn¡¯t unnoticeably loosen his arms that hugged me. My husband is on my side. Gellerhard¡¯s actions, such as willingly listening to my words and enjoying a meal with me, had the power to melt my heart. It wasn¡¯t that I hated hugging tightly. With a more relaxed mind, I thought that if he slept, he would feel better, so I gently held him in his arms and straightened my head. The sound of breathing gradually subsided, and the sound of a crackling fireplace began to be heard. The sound of breathing gradually died down and the sound of a pattering fireplace began to faze out. A very calm and peaceful night came to us. Third method. Making my side. Success! If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 31 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (1) The Duke had overslept on my bed until it got very late. I opened my eyes to see a ray of sunlight being filtered through the thick drapes and I became a bit surprised to see that the Duke was still sleeping on his stomach right next to me. The Duke, a knight as well as the Commander, who had devoted half of the year on the battlefield, would usually wake up early in the morning. He would then utter his apologies to me before I went back to sleep¡ªno matter how intense the night which he spent before had been. Actually, he must have been absolutely tired since he had just returned from the battlefield. That morning, I didn¡¯t wake him up as I thought that we could have eaten together once he woke up instead. As I crept out of the bed, I looked at the Duke once again, but his violet eyes still did not open at all. The Duchess¡¯s bedroom did not comprise a hallway that was directly in front of its own door. In fact, the door to the Duchess¡¯s bedroom had to be opened twice through the hallway and on top of that, there was a rather large space right before the bedroom door. Thanks to that, I was able to leave the bedroom stark naked along with traces of a prior love affair. After ringing the bell and waiting for a while, the maids soon entered. And only after I asked them what time it was did I finally realize that I had overslept as well. ¡°The Duke is still sleeping, so watch the fireplace carefully and please be quiet.¡± At those words of mine, the maids began to move more silently while washing and dressing me. ¡°What about Carl?¡± ¡°He was looking for you, but he soon had his breakfast with the Baroness and now, he is currently in the nursery.¡± ¡°So, Mother is now in the office?¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± ¡°I guess I should go to the office right after seeing Carl¡¯s face then.¡± When I went to the nursery, Carl, who was playing along well with his friends, jumped up as soon as he saw me. ¡°Mandy!¡± Right after a moment¡¯s stagger, I quickly regained my balance and Carl toddled even closer. I opened my arms before embracing Carlos, who had approached me, and I could smell the child¡¯s unique scent in return. ¡°Oh, our Carlos. Did you sleep well? Did you enjoy your food with your grandmother?¡± ¡°Mandy¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, Carl.¡± ¡°Mandy¡ª¡± Carl called my nickname while rubbing his face against my shoulder. I greeted all the nannies as well as the other children before he reached out his hand and started playing while sucking on my hair as I patted the childishly cute Carl. The other children¡ªfairly older¡ªclumsily called out to me as the Duchess while giving their greetings. On the other hand, Carl and the other children simply nodded their heads along with their brothers and sisters in return. And amongst them, a child suddenly began to approach and grab a hold of Carl, so he left me before going back to the company of his friends once again. Even though he was having fun with his friends, Carl kept on coming into my arms and acting like a child, so I had no choice but to take Carl along to the office as well. I guessed he wanted to act very childishly today. But since our Carl had been young and cute, it was still okay to act just like a baby. When I went to the office, Duchess Dowager, who said that she had not felt really well yesterday, was looking at something with a very usual look on her face. However, she made a puzzled expression as soon as she saw me carrying her Carl in my arms. ¡°Good, um, morning. Mother.¡± It was still before lunch, so it could be said to be morning. Well, it was embarrassing because it had been morning, still¡ªalbeit barely. I smiled moderately and greeted her. When I put Carl down, he straight away went to the sofa in the office on his own before he started struggling to get onto the sofa itself. On the other hand, I only watched to see if Carl would accidentally tumble down. The Duchess Dowager¡¯s gaze also turned to her grandson, who was still scuffling to climb up onto the couch. Carl, who seemed to be scrambling all over just to go up the sofa that was only about his own shoulder height, finally made his way onto it as if he had rolled halfway up with his hips instead. The child raised his head and eventually looked at me with cheeks that were flushed from all the exertion. ¡°Mandy!¡± I could already feel that I could hear him saying something like; I did it! ¡°Oh, look at our Carl. Climbed up on that high sofa all on his own! He looks just like his father as he keeps on trying to use his body well. Wow, good job, our little Young Master!¡± I spoke in a high-pitched voice as I clapped. It was no ordinary talent for this little child to climb up a sofa the size of his own self. At my fuss, Carl¡¯s rose-like lips drew into an arc and his plump cheeks became even rounder. How cute that proud face had been. I quickly approached Carl and took off those tiny shoes that he was currently wearing. Then, Carl rose to his feet and stood upright while clutching tightly onto the back of the sofa itself. ¡°Yeah, great. Gellerhard too¡­¡± As she looked at her grandson¡¯s antics and recalled her son¡¯s childhood from earlier, Duchess Dowager¡¯s expression started to look a bit bitter. What was going on in her mind? Little by little, doubts began to arise. Then, Carl grabbed along the back of the sofa before toddling all over it. Unlike the hard floor, the feeling of walking on a soft sofa appeared to be rather fun for him. ¡°I had been told that Gellerhard was still in bed, so I never knew that you would be coming here instead.¡± The Duchess Dowager, who looked at Carl for a while, calmly began to speak. I looked at her in surprise before turning away my head in order to hide my blushing face. Well, there was probably no one left in the castle who hadn¡¯t been aware that both the Duke and I had slept in together from yesterday. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 32 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (2) When one eventually became the Duke and Duchess of DeMancier, things like bedtime and such would no longer be kept as a secret. When the Duke and Duchess awakened in the morning, those who stood by to aid them would have definitely known where their masters were. And in fact, those who made the bed right after their masters had woken up were not simply a company of just one or two people. What about those who had come in late at night during the time when the owners were already asleep before taking a look at the fireplace? In addition, unlike the civilized society of the 21st century, a place where lands and titles were inherited through blood like here, it was not something that should be kept hidden or concealed when the Lord slept together with his own wife. Since, even mentioning it was seen to be rude after all. Right now, amidst these early days when I had just become a duchess, I tried to build up my place by spending the night with the Duke and in emphasis, the Duke also sought me out at night in order to strengthen my position. Even though there were times when one would say something about a passionate relationship before ¡®congratulating¡¯ the couple in person, they never said that it was actually embarrassing to listen to at all. And on top of that, I really had to get used to this, but every time I encountered something like this, I still got very embarrassed. ¡°Ah, yes¡­ Gellerhard was a bit¡­ he looked absolutely tired earlier. It rarely happens, so I eventually decided to go out first.¡± It would be utterly embarrassing if she were to think that her son had actually been tired from me sucking his spirit last night¡­ All the previous mothers-in-law whom I had seen in the last drama soon passed by. Fortunately, the Duchess Dowager was a very rational individual. ¡°I¡¯ve come a long way, so it¡¯s all worth it.¡± Carl excitedly trod along the sofa before he began to spread his arms towards me and leaned over his body as if he was tumbling frontward. As I accepted the child¡¯s body and patted his buttock while tickling him, Carl chuckled as he wriggled his body in response. I watched as Carl laughed as he patted my arms and legs. Then, I withdrew his hand and took a seat down on the sofa while Carl simply sat on my lap as if it was his own designated seat. I winked at the maid and she immediately picked up Carl¡¯s shoe that had fallen on her floor. Then, I put the shoe back on Carl once again. The Duchess Dowager appeared to be looking closely at both Carl and myself. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to know that the relationship between the couple itself is good. Especially since you like Carl, I don¡¯t think it will change even if you were to become pregnant any time.¡± ¡°Sure. Even if I were to give birth to a child, Carl will definitely be the Next Duke and my attitude won¡¯t ever change at all.¡± The Duchess Dowager had never talked about having the next child. I had been the Duke¡¯s new wife after all, so it was regardless of the possibility of a new pregnancy as well. On this occasion, I replied, expressing that I had no intention of threatening the positions of both Merilyn¡¯s and also Carlos¡¯s. Even if I were to give birth to a child, the position of the Duke of DeMancier would eventually become Carl¡¯s next. Unlike ¡®Amanda¡¯ in the original novel, I would never aim for that position at all. ¡°Status is definitely important to Carl, but a loving mother has an equal importance as well. My son would have been able to enjoy it, but I couldn¡¯t really do it. Sometimes, seeing what you do towards Carl makes me feel somehow sorry for that child.¡± ¡°Mother¡­¡± I just didn¡¯t know how to react. A light of remorse was seen to flash across the Duchess Dowager¡¯s always unerring face. Nevertheless, she quickly put back her feelings under wraps. ¡°Actually, it would be more prudent for me to be present at both his departure as well as his return ceremonies as his mother, but¡­ it¡¯s a tad bit difficult since I still think of my husband.¡± Her words made sense of her behavior yesterday. The previous Duke of DeMancier had returned from the battlefield as a mere corpse. A handful of knights returned with the Duke¡¯s body and Gellerhard, who eventually succeeded the Duke¡¯s position informally, had to leave right away since the Commander¡¯s seat could never be left vacant on the battlefield. I couldn¡¯t even imagine the pain and shock that she must have felt when her husband, whom she hoped for a safe return, had come back earlier and on top of that, in an unexpected condition too. ¡°Ah, Mother¡­.¡± Imagining Gellerhard would return as a corpse made my heart thump and tears began to well up in my eyes. Even though he was just a husband who had only slept with me, I was still in pain despite the fact that I had simply imagined it. ¡°I should have been more considerate of Mother¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look like that. It was something that I should have told you earlier after all. Anyway, I¡¯m so glad that you are fond of Gellerhard and Carl. With Merilyn¡­ she had been a very nice and sweet child, but she was strangely off with Gellerhard instead.¡± ¡°Merilyn?¡± The Duchess Dowager had already heard all about the story of how Merilyn and I had been very close friends as well as the fact that she entrusted her Carl to me while asking me to remarry the Duke. However, the Duchess Dowager had never told me the story of Merilyn herself. The Duchess Dowager was being considerate in her own way and I could feel that she would not compare me to Merlin in any way at all. She eventually broke that unwritten rule and talked about Merilyn to me. I also had guessed that the Duke and Merilyn were not on good terms, but it came out as a bit of a surprise that even the Duchess Dowager, who was only in the castle during the beginning of their honeymoon, noticed it as well. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 33 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (3) ¡°I wonder if it was my fault for rushing the marriage¡­ That child had also entrusted Carl to you, so I hope that she feels much more comfortable there now.¡± With her warm eyes, the Duchess Dowager looked at Carl who was sitting on my lap while clutching onto the hem of my skirt in his hand. As he kept on wagging along with his tricks, I just held him tight in return. She had been someone who could recognize how sincere I was while raising Carl. Then, she soon continued to say; ¡°And if only Gellerhard had a brother or sister whom he could trust in, neither you nor he would be this very busy.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡± The Duke and I weren¡¯t particularly on birth control, so I would probably get pregnant when the time eventually came. In the original story, after ¡®Amanda¡¯ had given birth to Carl¡¯s younger brother, she became more explicit in antagonizing and attempting to kill Carl. Perhaps the Duke¡¯s child whom I would eventually give birth to had been a son. Nevertheless, I would never create such a future, even if I were to have several sons in tow. ¡°When the time comes, Carl will eventually have a good brother for himself.¡± I said so while stroking Carl¡¯s black hair, which looked exactly like his own father. Our pretty Carl would become a wonderful older brother to his new younger brother and the child whom I gave birth to would follow him while getting along well with him too. Just like that, I would definitely pour a lot of love to both Carl and the new child. Knock¡ªI could hear a sound, so I raised my voice and asked the other party to come in. A maid soon entered while bowing her head. ¡°The Duke requested for the Madam as well as the Duchess Dowager to have lunch together with him.¡± I instantly turned to look at the Duchess Dowager. But she shook her head in response. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, so take Carl along and have lunch together with just the three of you. And child,¡± She called out to the maid. ¡°You tell Charlotte that I am going to have lunch soon as well.¡± ¡°Yes, Duchess Dowager.¡± ¡°Then, tell him that I will be there with Carl presently.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± The maid, who had entered, greeted the Duchess Dowager softly before she quietly went out. There was a sound of the door closing and the Duchess Dowager eventually spoke to me. She seemed to be apologetic for refusing the Duke¡¯s lunch invitation. ¡°¡­It would be great if you could tell Gellerhard that I would like to have refreshments together in the afternoon instead.¡± ¡°Yes, Mother! He would definitely like it as well.¡± ¡°Wike!¡± Carl shouted with his messy pronunciation as if he was simply imitating my words. Aww, this cute little thing. * * * In that large castle, there was also a rather small dining hall where only family members could dine together. It was a place where the Duke¡¯s immediate family would have their meal if there were no special occasions or guests and two knights would always be standing by in front of the door to strictly guard the entrance. Furthermore, it was extremely rare to invite anyone else other than the family members themselves. Despite the fact that it had not been a place that would be flaunted to guests, this dining hall was still the most luxurious amongst all the other dining rooms in the castle. Not only that, it was a place that could raise the authority of the head of household too. The butler personally came to inform me that it was already lunchtime and the Duke had been waiting for me as well. So, I eventually took Carl and headed to the dining hall. Even when the Duke wasn¡¯t present, I would eat with Carl and the Duchess Dowager and when the Duke was around, I would dine with him instead. It had been a place where even Charlotte, whom the Duchess Dowager had taken along with her like her own daughter, was not allowed to enter. Therefore, the Duchess Dowager had eaten separately from Charlotte earlier today as she had enjoyed it with Carl, so Carl quickly moved towards the dining hall on his own. In front of the dining hall stood two escort knights of the Duke, not the knights who would always guard the dining hall. Carl¡¯s escort knight was also standing beside them while the butler had just returned. Eventually, only Carl and I entered the dining hall. Gellerhard was already seated at the head of the table and only in his absence could I sit in that seat. Gellerhard was resting against his chin on that luxurious armrest while giving a heedless yawn. Oh, he looked just like a dog. His shaggy hair was still covering the nape of his neck, regardless of the fact that he was planning to grow it or just had no time to cut it, and his violet eyes were still hazy too. Gellerhard, who had just yawned when I entered, cleared his throat slightly, perhaps he felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± ¡°Huh¡­ honestly, that just happened indeed.¡± Gellerhard wiped his face dry while rubbing his dazed face with his hands. He seemed to be trying to sweep away that repressed sleep of his. ¡°You really slept well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t have breakfast with you earlier.¡± ¡°No, I also overslept just then.¡± I tried to take Carl and sit on the right side of Gellerhard, but as I was talking to him for a while, Carl had already toddled before he approached to sit where I always sat. So, it had been to where Gellerhard was sitting right now. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 34 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (4) The father and child, who looked just like each other, gazed at each other silently. Carl then grabbed a hold of Gellerhard¡¯s clothes and tugged onto them. ¡°Mandy!¡± If I had to translate that, it would definitely be along the lines of; ¡®that¡¯s Mandy¡¯s place!¡¯ During the time when the Duke had gone to war, I, his deputy, would always sit there and Carl would then be seated on my lap to eat his baby food. These days, amongst the foods that I ate, he had been tasting some mild and soft foods little by little as well. Whenever Carl had pulled on one¡¯s clothes like that, no one could help but to follow the will of the one and only Young Master. However, the opponent right now was the Duke himself. Gellerhard then grasped his robe and looked at his young son using his dragon-like eyes before raising his hand. Just then, I could hear a painful sound. Whaaaaa¡ªCarl had already burst out crying loudly. ¡°Carl! No, why are you hitting the child!¡± I hurriedly approached and hugged Carl before I started to examine Carl¡¯s forehead. There was a red mark on his white, round forehead. The Duke had bent and flicked his middle finger on Carl¡¯s forehead. Perhaps it would have been a decent joke if he had just been an older brother with a gap of a year or two than Carl, but he was one of the leading knights in the country and on top of that, an adult man. ¡°Oh no, I just¡­¡± ¡°Mandy, whaa!¡± While the Duke became so flustered that he couldn¡¯t even make an excuse, the child called out to me and straight away hugged me. Looking at Carl¡¯s forehead once again, it was all red and swollen. Oh wow, I felt so upset. As I gazed at those obvious bruises, I eventually held the child in my arms and caressed him. ¡°Yes, Carl. Our Young Master. Oh, it¡¯s painful where Dad makes it hurt. Mandy will help you, hoo¡ª¡± I was worried if my breath that brushed against the child¡¯s forehead might hurt Carl as I blew onto it softly. But Carl gradually stopped crying as I gently caressed Carl while wiping off his tear-drenched cheeks and his runny nose clean with a handkerchief. As I noticed how Carl had stopped crying and when I saw his swollen forehead, it made me feel unhappy and upset. ¡°Mandy¡­¡± I wiped his runny nose once more and glared at the Duke. The Duke, who had appeared drowsy just a moment ago, was now looking down with a rather gloomy expression instead. Oh, my God, what was that? I pulled a chair to his right and sat down with Carl. It somehow became the usual seat position of the wives. But unlike the place in which the Duke had been seated, these chairs here had no armrests and were less soft and comfortable too. I eventually wrapped my left arm around the child¡¯s body in order to prevent Carl from tumbling down. It was not necessary for a chair to have a fluffy armrest, but it still needed an actual armrest. ¡°Mandy¡ª¡± Despite shedding tears while coveting the Duke¡¯s current seat, Carl still gazed at the Duke¡¯s seat while whimpering as if he had no regrets left. A light of understanding flashed in the purple eyes of the Duke who had raised his head. ¡°Ah!¡± He instantly jumped up from his seat and gestured to me instead. ¡°Sit over here.¡± ¡°I only sit there when you¡¯re not around. How can I just sit there when you¡¯re presently here ?¡± I just cut him off and promptly refused. ¡°But it¡¯s hard to eat with a baby in that chair.¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± With a little hesitance, I shook my head in response. ¡°We won¡¯t be all alone since the servants will start bringing out the food soon¡­¡± The main seat at the table had always belonged to the head of the household and the head of the castle itself. Even though I was in an equal position with him as his wife, etiquette would always retain the single seat¡ªlike this ¡®high seat¡¯¡ªso that one could see the true gap between the superiority and inferiority relationship between both the husband and wife. The head, as well as the Duke of DeMancier, was Gellerhard¡ªmy husband¡ªand I could only substitute his place when he hadn¡¯t been present in the castle. Gellerhard¡¯s purple eyes started to furrow, albeit slightly. Then, he said the following. ¡°Stand up.¡± ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Even as I asked, I still got up from my seat. It was only possible because the Duke had allowed me to talk to him and treat him comfortably. I didn¡¯t forget that fact and followed his words precisely. The Duke then gave me a glance to step aside as he took a few steps away from the table before he soon raised a chair. The Duke moved the chair that I was originally sitting on before taking the chair that had initially been at the head¡¯s seat. The luxurious, wide and large chair with soft armrests appeared to be very heavy, but it could not overcome the power of the Duke. He lifted the chair all of a sudden and straight away placed it down behind me. ¡°Mandy!¡± Carl immediately gave a shout. Gellerhard soon said while tapping on the chair behind me. ¡°Okay, sit here. Both of you.¡± ¡°Gellerhard¡­¡­¡± This was also a good thing to get into gossip and it was nothing to refuse or keep feeling embarrassed about when the Duke himself had gone so far like this. Ah yes, well, if someone were to curse, it was the Duke! They would just say that the Duke of DeMancier did that himself! ¡°Thank you.¡± I bowed my head slightly to Gellerhard and thanked him before taking a seat down. Carl, who was back on my lap, slowly tilted towards Gellerhard, who was leaning against his armrest. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 35 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (5) ¡°Thank you¡ª¡± The Duke, who brought the chair which I had originally sat on before placing himself at the high table, smiled and assented after listening to Carl¡¯s words. It was quite refreshing to see him grinning as I had mostly seen only his cold-looking usual appearance, other than his awkward and flustered appearance on bed. ¡°You speak quite well.¡± Gellerhard said while waving the bell on his right. The jingling bell rang loudly and Carl, who was always in charge of shaking the bell while sitting on my lap, began to reach out greedily towards the bell this time as well. Gellerhard, unlike before, kindly put what his son had wanted right into his hands. Carl smiled while shaking the bell before he put it down quietly. Even if it looked like this, that was actually a magic tool, so even if there had been no line of connection, the bell in the kitchen would have still rung itself. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s now the time to start talking and getting to know Dad.¡± Carl didn¡¯t seem to have recognized his own father, who hadn¡¯t been home for a year and a half. The child grew up every half a year without the Duke¡¯s presence and eventually forgot about his father, who was never there each time. In fact, I was not sure if the concept of ¡®Dad¡¯ even existed in Carl¡¯s head in the first place. But it should not be like that. In the original work, the Duke was a father who had neglected whether the fact that he knew about the child abuse that had been done by ¡®Amanda¡¯ towards Carl, but such a thing would never happen anymore since Amanda was now myself. ¡°So, I would like you to spend some time with Carl this winter.¡± The first step had been to inform Carl of his father¡¯s existence and the following plan was to improve the relationship between both Gellerhard and Carl themselves. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes, I will help you get acquainted with Carl right away.¡± I gently pressed my lips against the back of Carl¡¯s head. The child¡¯s head, which was covered with such soft black hair, gave off a unique sweet scent of a baby. Carl then turned his head at me as he smiled. The baby, who had been crying hard earlier, had quickly recovered and was now grinning well. Gellerhard rested his chin against his hand as he looked at Carl and myself. As I held Carl in my arms while gazing at Gellerhard, I could instantly see the similarities between both the father and son. How much more would the child look like Gellerhard in the end? Maybe it was because I had just heard about the topic of a child from the Duchess Dowager, I suddenly became conscious for no apparent reason. I heard a knock and the soup eventually arrived. The maid who brought the soup in began to sip a little of Gellerhard¡¯s and mine on the spot with a small silver spoon before she immediately served the one right in front of us. ¡°Soup!¡± ¡°Yes~ I¡¯m going to eat some soup~ Umm, it¡¯s a delicious onion soup~¡± As he could smell the savory aroma of the soup, Carl¡¯s legs started waving about and eventually hit mine. Ugh, not too energetic, please. I guessed he was truly the son of a knight, then? Carl was really active. ¡°But, why Mandy?¡± Gellerhard asked while stirring the soup once with a spoon. ¡°Mandy? Ah, what Carl is now using to call me?¡± I raised my voice as I realized that there were some maids who hadn¡¯t left yet and the fact that the knights¡¯ voices could still be heard through the open door. Gellerhard furrowed his eyebrows, but he didn¡¯t really ask why I was being polite. ¡°Huh.¡± I slowly lifted up a spoon. The cook must have paid special attention since Gellerhard had just returned yesterday and this was the first meal right after the previous dinner. Everything seemed to make his mouth watered. ¡°Since my name is Amanda, my nickname becomes Mandy. And Carl calls me Mandy because it is much easier to pronounce anyway.¡± The door was closed slowly as the maid softly bowed her head before walking out. As I scooped up the soup with a spoon, Carl began to part open his lips wide. ¡°Wait a minute, Carl. Let¡¯s see if our Carl can eat it first.¡± At my words, Carl simply licked his lips and waited. The soup that I tasted was savory and sweet. Plus, it was soft, so I thought that it would be okay for Carl to eat it. After letting the soup cool down, I put it on Carl¡¯s lips and the child chomped it in a snap. Then, after scooping a little more soup and allowing it to cool down again, I promptly said more to Gellerhard. ¡°Gellerhard, if you also want to call me Mandy, please do so.¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± That thoughtless remark raised Gellerhard¡¯s voice an octave higher. Seriously, I never knew that the husky voice of his could go up an octave like that. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Of course it is.¡± ¡°This is my first time¡­ calling someone by their nickname¡ªMandy.¡± What was the use of a nickname if not for calling out to someone? Gellerhard, who had all the power to ultimately change a person¡¯s name before calling it out as he pleased, was actually asking that in an excited voice. It was simply a nickname that everyone whom I had known since childhood called me with¡­ Gellerhard seemed to like it so much that it was his first time ever doing something like this, which made me feel rather sorry for him. ¡°Gellerhard? What about your nickname then?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist.¡± I guess he didn¡¯t have any real friends¡­ It appeared that Carl needed to develop his social skills really hard in the first place. ¡°What did your parents call you?¡± ¡°Son¡ªthat¡¯s what they called me.¡± ¡°Even outside DeMancier, that¡¯s just normal. My older brother, who currently has a big family, calls his child simply by ¡®son¡¯ as well.¡± Carl kept opening his lips like a baby bird to see if the onion soup was really delicious while I continued to feed Carl¡¯s mouth as I ate from time to time too. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 36 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (6) ¡°Do you have a brother?¡± ¡°Huh. Three of them, actually. You must have seen them too¡­¡± I thought of my older brothers and parents who had rushed to the castle in order to oppose my marriage. There hadn¡¯t even been a proper wedding, so it was unlikely that Gellerhard could remember all the faces of my brothers who had attended. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see them again someday anyway. I don¡¯t have any older sisters and I¡¯m the youngest to boot.¡± ¡°Right.¡± My father as well as three older brothers were all vassals for Count Petrika. My first brother was taking care of the estate on behalf of my father while my second brother became a knight of Count Petrika¡¯s family and lastly, my third brother served as an administrator along with my father in the county. The fact that all of them worked there was one of the reasons why I couldn¡¯t get angry or hostile towards Count Petrika. Viscount Bentta had been an old vassal of Count Petrika and all of my family members were still working hard as Count Petrika¡¯s hand. In the original work, the two families pretended to be with each other due to Amanda¡¯s own greed. It would be nice for Count Petrika to stop being unnecessarily suspicious of me and instead, start getting along well for Carl¡¯s sake. ¡°How is it growing up with your siblings?¡± After clearing away the onion soup, Carl reached out and shook his bell. He jiggled and tugged onto it before putting it down and smiled at me. Carl¡¯s lips were all smeared with onion soup as well as his own saliva. As I wiped it off, I scanned the wound on his forehead, but the red swelling didn¡¯t seem to fade away easily. As I swallowed an upset heart, I eventually answered the Duke¡¯s question. ¡°Good. Well, I was good, my older brothers were a bit mean and mischievous, but it was still fun to play with them. And on top of that, they worried about me a lot too¡­¡± Amanda¡¯s father, Viscount Bentta, was very fond of his daughter and his three sons absolutely adored their little sister. There was a fair age gap and the mature first brother had always been kind to me, but the second and third brothers were very mischievous as well as naughty just like the enemies of my previous life had been reincarnated as my older brothers as well. Nevertheless, when I said that I would become the Duke¡¯s second wife and the fact that I would eventually take Merilyn¡¯s place at the suggestion of Count Petrika, all of my older brothers objected and tried to persuade me. From their point of view, it was much better for the family to not abide by the will of their lord, Count Petrika. Even though it was more helpful for the family that Amanda, an old virgin by world standards, would ultimately become a Duchess. Even if she were to become the second wife of a man with an heir already¡ªeven if I felt that I was, too. However, I couldn¡¯t just say that they were very good brothers in front of Gellerhard since they were those who had even opposed marrying me off in the first place. ¡°If we were to conceive a child, Carl would definitely have a good brother too¡ª¡± Before she could even finish her sentence, a maid had come in and set out the appetizer that was topped with thinly sliced salmon. For this time as well, the maid tasted it on the spot before verifying the demonstration. When Gellerhard took the plate first, Carl instantly reached out his hand while watching keenly at it. ¡°Oh my, you can¡¯t just eat what your dad does.¡± ¡°Ewing¡ª¡± ¡°You still can¡¯t have it, even if you do this.¡± This time, a separate tray of soft bread and soup arrived for Carl to eat. When I gestured to the maid, she first served Carl some bread and when I tore it into small pieces and gave him a bite, Carl instantly opened his lips as he ate it. Then, I put the bread in Carl¡¯s hand and I eventually received my own plate as well. Let¡¯s see, what could Carl really eat? ¡°Does Mandy always prepare meals for Carl?¡± ¡°Since he is still very young.¡± The maid finally left Gellerhard and I behind with a drink. Usually, one would stand by to attend at all times and refill the Master¡¯s cup whenever it got empty. However, when dining with Gellerhard, the maid came over only when she was called and had been outside during the entire meal. She only behaved like so when I ate with Gellerhard, so I could only guess that there must have been a reason, which I hadn¡¯t known yet. Lunch, as always, was full and satisfying. When we put some strawberry jam into our black tea and began to drink that dark dessert which eventually came out. Gellerhard followed after me, but immediately put the glass down with a frown. ¡°Carl, please jingle the bell.¡± As I raised my hand and pretended to shake it, Carl, who was really fond of shaking the bells, moved along excitedly. He rang the bell and the maid soon came in before I ordered a new set of tea for the Duke. The tea that came up afterwards seemed very deficient in return. After the maid left once again, I began to ask the Duke about that long-standing question. ¡°And so, why don¡¯t you have a servant or a maid to attend you during the meal?¡± ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Gellerhard, who was just lazily sipping tea with his back leaning against the backrest, seemed to have realized something from my words. ¡°I guess they don¡¯t have to do it like that anymore.¡± ¡°What? Why is that?¡± Why would they no longer have to do that now? What? I was curious. As he took another sip, Gellerhard eventually set the cup down. Those long eyelashes fluttered over his purple eyes as he gazed at the cup of tea. Carl, who was currently eating some ice cream, suddenly showed a little bit of interest in my tea, so I scooped a little bit out with a spoon and blew on it. Nevertheless, Carl also frowned as he spat it out. Why? How delicious this truly was¡­ If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 37 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (7) ¡°It was what Merilyn had wanted.¡± A random name popped up all of a sudden. ¡°Merilyn?¡± Even just earlier, I had been told by Mother-in-law that Merilyn and the Duke were not really on good terms. What day was it today? Also, I never expected to hear a story about Merilyn and from the Duke himself. He really, never once did ever tell me about Merilyn at all. ¡°She said that she didn¡¯t like it because she felt like she was being constantly watched while eating.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± It was strange that Merilyn, who had been born as the daughter of Count Petrika, was rather uncomfortable with the feeling that all her times during meals were being watched as her maid would always follow her around no matter what she did anyway. When she was the daughter of Count Petrika, she never minded her maid serving her meals in the slightest and even when she was sick as I visited the castle, someone would always serve her meals at any cost. And the only time that the servants of the Duke¡¯s family didn¡¯t attend the meals had been when the Duke was having a meal too. That was to say that when Merilyn dined with the Duke, she had been reluctant to be served. In fact, Gellerhard himself didn¡¯t seem to believe in Merilyn¡¯s reasons. Well, I couldn¡¯t believe in Merilyn¡¯s own reasons either. To be honest, I couldn¡¯t even fathom why she had behaved the way she was. Then, he simply continued, albeit cynically. ¡°It would have been much easier to understand if she had said that she just didn¡¯t want to dine with me.¡± It looked like they were really on bad terms¡­ Gellerhard took another sip of his tea and since I had nothing to say as well, I took a sip of mine. Carl was stirring about the melted ice cream before it splashed around and eventually landed onto Carl¡¯s own hands. This, too, if one were to be served during mealtime, would have been changed in time and promptly be given a new set of ice cream. In addition, they would have also prepared a clean handkerchief that was soaked in water in advance. So, I just allow Carl to play with the ice cream a little longer. Since Carl already had his fun stirring the melted ice cream, he instantly became all sticky. The kind of stickiness that needed to be all washed while his clothes changed as well. ¡°Then, they don¡¯t really have to do that for us anymore, do they?¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­¡­¡± I would have to wait for the maid once again and it would be obviously uncomfortable to do this whenever I were to have a meal together with Gellerhard for the next half a year. Nevertheless, Gellerhard seemed to be hesitating at my question. ¡°If there is someone else, will you speak casually with me?¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Gellerhard instantly licked his lips in a disgruntled look. Did it feel so lonely to have no friends that could call each other by nicknames and no friends to talk to each other with either? ¡°But speaking casually on bed is already enough.¡± Gellerhard bit his lip lightly. There wasn¡¯t much time that we would really spend together during the day. It was only during meals like this or just in bed instead. He was busy in his own way and I was occupied by my own as well. Carl seemed to have played enough, so I put down the ice cream spoon and wiped the sticky ice cream off Carl¡¯s lips as well as hands. Ugh, he needed to be washed up right this instant. Anything wouldn¡¯t work at all. Carl just laughed at me while not knowing what I was really thinking about. ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to be tired today, so let¡¯s just spend time with Carl starting tomorrow onwards.¡± ¡°Will Mandy be joining us?¡± Hesitantly, Gellerhard began to ask. How could you let me play with Carl without yourself; seemed to be what his face was saying. ¡°Of course. We can¡¯t simply entrust Carl only to you.¡± It could probably be passed as a joke, but how could Gellerhard, who had flicked his son on the forehead when they finally met after a long time, be entrusted with Carl by himself? ¡°Right? Our Carl? Are you going to hang out with Mandy later?¡± ¡°Huh!¡± Carl answered in a loud voice as I looked over at Gellerhard. The meal was over and the dessert had already been eaten. Now that we had talked about some things, it was time to go back to our own work. ¡°¡­Can we meet again later tonight?¡± Gellerhard asked hesitantly, albeit regretfully. ¡°Yes.¡± Why would you even ask that? Gellerhard¡¯s face instantly brightened a little as he soon nodded. ¡°See you then, Mandy.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After putting Carl down from on my lap, the child eventually toddled towards the entrance of the dining hall. It had been a sign that he was now going out to play since he had finished eating. However, before all of that, I had to give him a bath first. Therefore, I hurriedly got up as well. * * * Gellerhard took a good day off, got his hair cut as it was before and finally, he spent some quality time with me at night. Then, he woke up early in the morning before waking me up and soon left the bed without saying a word. He seemed to have gotten busy with spending his schedule just like the Lord of the North. Today¡¯s lunch was only eaten by Carl and me alone. I was a little concerned that Gellerhard had been so busy that he couldn¡¯t even have time to eat lunch. But a promise was still a promise, so I took Carl to find him. I had told him in advance at lunchtime yesterday and even at night, in the midst of our own busy schedule. I already said it several times and I could even hear him confirming that he was aware of it well, so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem at all. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 38 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (8) Gellerhard was currently in his office. He was talking with his aides when he jumped up as soon as Carl and I appeared together. Not only that, even everyone in the room stood up as well. It was one of the courtesies that I found a little bit cumbersome, but here, when a high-ranking lady or a noble lady entered a room, all the noble men had to stand up and show some courtesy. In particular, since I was the lady of the same rank as high as Gellerhard himself in this castle, I would then have to listen to those noises that were affirming the aristocratic status of a person wherever I went. ¡°Mandy.¡± He called me by my nickname with his characteristically blunt face. As we got closer, he reached out his hand. I eventually placed my hand over his and Gellerhard grabbed it before he planted a kiss upon the back of my hand. Carl, who was still clutching onto the hem of my dress, looked at it with a twinkle in his eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve decided to spend some time with Carl starting today, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Carl, shouldn¡¯t you say hello to your father?¡± As he gave a response to the remark, Carl raised his head and started to face Gellerhard. ¡°Hi!¡± Seeing that Carl was loudly shouting ¡®hello¡¯, I could hear a small laugh. His pronunciation was closer to a ¡®hi¡¯ than a ¡®hello¡¯ actually, but it was so cute that I just wanted to take a bite out of him. Nevertheless, I still corrected Carl¡¯s greeting. ¡°Hello, Father; is what you should be saying.¡± ¡°Hello¡ª¡± I nodded and lowered my head. Then, Carl offered his greeting as if he was stumbling over my dress while grabbing a hold of my leg. Before I could even bend down and embrace Carl, Gellerhard had already made a move first. He shifted his large body swiftly and removed that little hand from my leg before he held Carl in his arms. Carl, who was seated with his hips right on top of Gellerhard¡¯s arm, stretched out his arm and instantly clutched those clothes at the sight that had been increased at an instant. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± It was evident that Gellerhard had been discussing something with his aides just a moment ago. Nevertheless, as soon as he said something in passing while hugging Carl, the aides around him immediately arranged their seats before Gellerhard started to stride forward as well. Then, a silent greeting trailed after me as I followed him closely. ¡°Mandy¡ª¡± Carl, on the other hand, straight away looked for me and my arms. Not long after that, I picked Carl up from Gellerhard and held him tight. ¡°Isn¡¯t he heavy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a bit heavy, but¡­ I can still hug him though.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think Carl likes it very much¡­ Well, that will get better soon. Because today, we will go sledding.¡± ¡°Sled!¡± Carl immediately recognized the sled. How could you be so smart when our Carl had only caught words that he knew only from what people were often saying. I said so while patting Carl¡¯s cute bottom. ¡°Yes, sled. Does Carl like sledding? Let¡¯s teach Dad how to ride a sled today.¡± ¡°Hum!¡± Carl exclaimed excitedly. After seeing Carl like that, I looked at Gellerhard and he, too, had a faint smile on his lips. ¡°If it¡¯s sledding, will you be riding it through the back mountain then?¡± ¡°Uh? That¡¯s right. Ah¡ªGellerhard, did you go for a ride when you were young?¡± ¡°No. But I saw the young attendants had ridden before.¡± Oh, yeah¡­ you didn¡¯t have any friends. As I looked at him with a little sense of pity, I then patted him on the back. ¡°You are going to make use of your son as an excuse for this time. It will be a lot of fun.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks to Mandy.¡± Whatever I did, it became a rather pleasant phrase. After putting on our coats and clothes, we rode the sled happily. At first, it was Carl who rode with me in my arms, but after seeing that Gellerhard rode much faster than us, we quickly switched to Gellerhard¡¯s sled. Gellerhard, who said that he was riding the sled for the first time ever, never fell down and went on very quickly. As if it wasn¡¯t scary at all, Carl also squealed a lot with his red cheeks as he enjoyed the speed within Gellerhard¡¯s arms. After a pleasant sleigh ride for about an hour, Gellerhard soon went back to work. On the other hand, I thawed my frozen body from all the sledding while taking a bath with Carl. When Gellerhard got closer to Carl, it would then be Gellerhard¡¯s job to take a bath with Carl after playing hard. Right after soaking his body in a hot water bath, he drank some hot milk that was mixed with red and white honey before he soon went to dreamland after feeling absolutely full. As I saw Carl sleeping on the rug in front of the fireplace, he instantly reminded me of Gellerhard, who was especially fond of being in front of the fireplace himself. The rich seemed to be rich, indeed. Since it looked like he already had a good night¡¯s sleep once again, he would soon wake up, eat a lot and start to play all over again. I ordered a maid to watch over Carl and take the child to the nursery once he woke up. Rather than going out, I brought in an escort and headed for the Duchess¡¯s office where the Duchess Dowager was, but the head maid discreetly approached me instead. ¡°My Lady. I have something to tell you.¡± It was actually quite hard to hear her small voice that was akin to a whisper, but I could guess what it had meant. I gestured at the maid who was following me and went into another room with the head maid. There had been so many rooms for many different purposes that the Duchess could use, so finding a quiet room wasn¡¯t too difficult. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 39 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (9) ¡°Okay. What happened?¡± Mrs. May, who was a maid even while Merlin had still been a Duchess, had a record of being a little clumsy on her side when Madame Blone was present. However, she never had that much antagonism with me and had only secretly supported Madame Blone¡¯s words, so I did not bother Mrs. May and just left her be in return. Mrs. May was the one who had seen me gradually expand my position as a Duchess. With the return of the Duchess Dowager and the departure of Madame Blone, Mrs. May wanted to stay by my side, but I had neither cast her out nor kept her near me. That particular person had something secret to say to me at this moment? ¡°This may sound a bit strange, but¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°I felt that I just had to let you know¡­¡± What she was trying to say seemed like a long set of introductions. I eventually beckoned at her and told her that it was okay. Then, Mrs. May said in a more subdued voice. ¡°It is about the Lady of Count Emil.¡± ¡°Charlotte?¡± She nodded her head slightly and kept her head bowed. Even though it had just been the two of us, Mrs. May bowed her head and tucked in her body like she was hiding from someone. Judging from her tense appearance, it appeared that she was trying to tell me a rather big fact about something. ¡°She asked me what have I done with the things of the Madam¡ªthe late Madam.¡± Mrs. May corrected her inadvertent slip of the tongue. If it had belonged to the late Madam, it must have been of Merilyn¡¯s. ¡°Merilyn¡¯s things?¡± Suddenly, the pink piece of letter in that dressing table had popped up in my mind. The letter that arrived along with those well-dried flowers. That letter must have been from Charlotte, but why was she so curious about where Merilyn¡¯s things had gone? ¡°The late Madam and Lady Emil had been close to each other during the time when both of them were at the Duchy. I guessed that she probably wanted to keep her belongings, so I said that My Lady had been the one who stored all the jewelry and the fact that you also took all the clothes including the dress before donating them all.¡± ¡°As it was.¡± ¡°When she asked if there were any other items, I responded that they had been thrown away. But then, she suddenly asked about the letters instead.¡± All the letters were supposed to be kept by the maid. I only told the head maid to keep it, but I didn¡¯t tell her where exactly. I just thought everything was still needed in order for him to find traces of his own biological mother later on. ¡°I heard that all the letters were being kept in case Young Master would look for them later, so she said that she understood. Nevertheless, for some reason, she was still bothered by them and after that day, I took a look at the letters¡­¡± Letters, letters, all those letters. The letter that was kept in the dressing table had been a beautiful pink letter along with some dried flowers. All the letters that Merilyn had received were kept elsewhere. And she was in her own office. There had been a letter from myself to her in her mailbox as well. I was actually a special friend to Merilyn. Despite the fact that I was her hometown friend whom she first called when she gave birth to Carl and even though I was her friend who had risked my life while being entrusted with her own son, my letter had still been with the others too. But Charlotte¡¯s was kept aside all on its own. Why was that? ¡°The letters are all gone.¡± ¡°Disappeared? All of them?¡± What was that letter about after all? ¡°Yes, everything¡­¡± The head maid replied as she bowed her head in an apologetic manner. It was simply a letter which I kept for Carl so that he could get to know his real mother, Merilyn, even better later on. But still, it was regrettable to hear that all of them had all disappeared just like that. ¡°I am not accusing anything of the Lady of Count Emil. But it¡¯s quite suspicious¡­¡± In any case, Lady Emil was someone who had received the full trust of the Duchess Dowager herself. So, I couldn¡¯t merely accuse Charlotte without any proof other than just on Mrs. May¡¯s own gibberish words. And it was just a letter after all. Even if this matter were to become a problem later on, it would only end due to Mrs. May¡¯s inexperience in management anyway. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Mrs. May proceeded to bow her head in accordance with my words. By saying that I would not ignore her words and keep them in mind, it also meant that I would be wary of Charlotte in the future. Lady Charlotte Emile. A lady who was good at medicinal herbs and had been loved by the Duchess Dowager herself. She was also a close friend of the former Duchess, Merilyn. On top of that, she had been a woman with whom the Duke was at odds with as well. What in the world was her real identity? What was written in that letter which she had gotten rid of that made her prepared to be this suspicious? My sense of curiosity eventually deepened. * * * If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 40 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (10) After riding the sled together, Gellerhard and Carl began to build their memories one by one. In comparison to other babies at his age, Carl was already stronger and a bit bigger. However, just like any other child, he was still full of activity, so the nannies and I would always run out of energy in chasing after Carl. Nevertheless, Carl hadn¡¯t even been a real bite to Gellerhard at all. Gellerhard was strong enough to pick Carl up before releasing him with one hand. Not only that, he was also agile enough to catch Carl who would try to run up whenever he saw something strange and he had been a man with a good amount of stamina who never lost his breath even after playing with Carl for an hour. Gellerhard¡¯s stamina was absolutely amazing. I knew it from our experience in bed, but when I put him next to Carl, I was really impressed. Carl, who had been playing tirelessly for the first time in his life, immediately began to follow after Gellerhard. ¡°Dad!¡± As soon as I told him what to call Gellerhard, Carl started to look for his father as much as possible during the time when he hadn¡¯t been able to call him before. ¡°Dad is working right now~ So, it¡¯s decided that we will have to play with him a little later.¡± ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± As if he wanted to play right that instant, Carl shook his head with a disgruntled face. After that, I began to soothe the child. ¡°Let¡¯s be patient for a little while, our Young Master, huh? Until then, hang out with Mandy instead.¡± ¡°Huh! Mandy!¡± Even so, am I still the best? I laughed when Carl hugged me. Gellerhard was quite busy, so he couldn¡¯t make time for anything other than the already promised moment. But as soon as he, too, began to give his little son a whole lot of his heart, he spent all of his afternoon with us¡ªright from the promised time until dinner. After playing with Carl and the other children in the nursery, he became alerted just in time. When I dressed Carl in clothes that were comfortable for his following activities and wrapped him up in thick clothes to avoid him catching a cold, Carl started running around as he realized that it was already time for him to play with his father. I put on my clothes and went out to meet Gellerhard. Our destination for today was already set earlier as his hound had given birth last week. ¡°Dad!¡± ¡°Carl.¡± Carl, who found that Gellerhard was already waiting for us, immediately called out to him and dashed out. Gellerhard casually hugged his son, who had run against him like a bulldozer. Those around Gellerhard were watching the scene with such great satisfaction and as I approached, they greeted me while paying their respect. As Gellerhard and Carl became closer to each other, my stock price started soaring within the Duchy as well. ¡°Mandy.¡± Gellerhard came closer to me and called me by my nickname. He lowered his head and soon kissed my cheek. ¡°Mandy!¡± Carl, who was already in his arms, followed after him and kissed me too. Then, I responded by returning a kiss to the cute Carl¡¯s cheek. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything in front of the kids. Look at all of them.¡± When I said that he was cute while stroking Carl¡¯s ruddy cheeks, Carl smiled broadly even when he had not been aware of what I was saying. After that, Gellerhard began to speak in a hoarse voice. ¡°I think it would be a good idea to teach the child fairness.¡± ¡°How?¡± Gellerhard tilted his head in my direction. My eyes eventually met the staring purple eyes. Teaching Carl the idea of fairness? I held my eye contact with him and put on a puzzled expression in return. ¡°Mandy!¡± Carl smiled widely and pursed his lips. Ah, a realization instantly passed through my head. I placed a kiss on Gellerhard¡¯s cheek, who was still looking into my eyes with his head down, before kissing Carl, who had been pursing his lips. Only then did Gellerhard straighten his back. As the three of us moved in unison while leaving the others behind, I softly grumbled at Gellerhard. ¡°Why don¡¯t you teach your child how to be honest and tell people what they want first?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± When I compared what Gellerhard had said earlier, Gellerhard went really silent. Carl, who had been in Gellerhard¡¯s arms calmly, suddenly gave a little struggle before he got off and started walking alone. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Kiss me.¡± Gellerhard eventually said with a sullen face. I thought he was joking, but his expression was serious once again and I became absolutely dumbfounded since it wasn¡¯t a romantic situation at hand. I stared at Gellerhard, but he did not retract anything at all. When we didn¡¯t seem to follow after him, Carl looked back and waved. As I saw the child, it ultimately made my cheeks tinged red with embarrassment. ¡°What is this man saying right now? We have a child over here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also good to teach children about marital affection.¡± Gellerhard¡¯s arm soon wrapped around my waist. Carl approached us as if he was stomping his feet. He appeared to think that we were actually playing. ¡°That¡¯s just silly.¡± I nudged against Gellerhard¡¯s chest. Gellerhard was pushed away with a sullen expression and when I headed towards Carl, he started to turn around once more. ¡°Do that when it¡¯s just the two of us.¡± ¡°My father and mother had kissed even in public places before.¡± Gellerhard grumbled, but he still followed suit. It was quite a long time for him to sound that sulky. Nevertheless, wasn¡¯t kissing on the lips in front of a child had been a little bit like that. ¡°¡­still.¡± Just thinking about it had made my cheeks burned with sheer shame and embarrassment. I glanced at Gellerhard¡¯s face and saw that his face was also flaming red. Looking at Gellerhard¡¯s shyness somehow gave me some strange courage and energy in return. ¡°Let¡¯s just do it on the bed. You could put your tongue in as well. It¡¯ll be very erotic.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Gellerhard¡¯s purple eyes became completely round. Uh? Wasn¡¯t he aware of that? ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s good. I¡¯ll let you know about it tonight.¡± Gellerhard nodded at my words with a grin. His purple eyes glinted in response before his handsome lips drew into an arc. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 41 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (11) ¡°Mandy! Dad!¡± Carl stomped his foot as he urged us on. Gellerhard¡¯s eyes were warm as he watched the little child running at that spot. Gellerhard¡¯s hounds had given birth to five pups. The dog, which was quite old for a hound, eventually recognized its owner and despite its groaning body, rested its head upon Gellerhard¡¯s hand. Besides Gellerhard, who had taken care of such a dog with utmost sincerity, Carl was falling in love with the charm of those five wriggling puppies. And when one of them was held in Carl¡¯s arms, Carl smiled broadly before he kissed Gellerhard on the cheek. ¡°How could you be so cute?¡± ¡°Would you like to keep one too, Mandy?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m already too tired just from raising my dog.¡± As he carefully held the puppy in his arms, Carl¡¯s cheeks became flushed red and his expression looked really excited. Gellerhard laughed out loud when he realized the dog that I was talking about. That night, I told Gellerhard how to kiss. Gellerhard¡¯s eyes twitched as our lips met and he opened them when I tucked my tongue inside. The tip of my tongue eventually touched against Gellerhard¡¯s own and this time, Gellerhard¡¯s body flinched considerably. As he became seemingly startled, I withdrew my lips and spoke to Gellerhard, who had closed his eyes with his half-opened lips. ¡°You mix your tongue together like this. How is it? Does it feel a bit bad?¡± ¡°Oh, no. I just feel a little strange¡­ Let¡¯s try some more.¡± ¡°Yeah, tell me if you don¡¯t like it.¡± As I pressed my lips against Gellerhard¡¯s again, I stroked his chest muscles and shoulders with both hands before plunging my tongue inside. He began to move his tongue clumsily as we rubbed and caressed each other¡¯s chunks of flesh against one another while our senses gradually heightened. ¡°Um, uh¡ª¡± A low, booming voice eventually leaked out from Gellerhard. I slipped onto his legs while Gellerhard¡¯s arms started to wrap around my waist. My chest was pressed tightly against his body and a strange sensation inflamed in response. ¡°This is just like having intercourse with tongues instead.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Gellerhard was definitely smart. He looked quite dazed, but he could still understand the essence of the kiss rather well. It was the same whether we mingled down or up, only the blend had simply been different. ¡°Does it feel good if you do well at this?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I want to try some more.¡± ¡°Good.¡± In conclusion, Gellerhard also quite liked this tongue-in-cheek kiss. My lips and tongue, which had been relatively relaxed, eventually became busy since Gellerhard started coveting my lips every time I went to bed. After having my lady parts sucked, I would push him away and reject the kiss, but before that, I would always welcome it as much as I could. Gellerhard¡¯s kissing skills were one of a kind and there had been no reason to refuse it at all. While Gellerhard¡¯s kissing skills improved, his puppies grew little by little and gradually left their mother¡¯s side. The puppies of Gellerhard¡¯s hounds were quite a political gift, especially for his subordinates, so the four puppies quickly scattered around in search of their own owners. The puppy that Carl chose also left its mother and settled down by Carl¡¯s side. Gellerhard¡¯s dog had also been given to him by his own father was what the Duchess Dowager told me before. Carl petted the little puppy and soon after, the puppy could be seen to be barking and following Carl wherever he went. Gellerhard could now play happily with Carl without my help and I used my time to spend a relaxing and fulfilling afternoon by watching the two of them, both father and son, playing together. Gellerhard was keen on playing games that he had ¡®never played, but had seen before¡¯, as if he grew up being resentful of watching the servants of his age played as a child. It started with sledding on the back mountain behind the Duke¡¯s Castle before it became skating on a frozen lake, then ice sword fighting with icicles on the eaves, hide and seek with other children and servants in the Duke¡¯s Castle as well as playing catch in the banquet hall¡­ In the large castle, there were many places for children to run, hide, jump and mount on. It had been up to the point of getting nagged by the Duchess Dowager when she saw that the two¡ªfather and son duo¡ªwere roaming around the castle recklessly. Sometimes, it could be seen that he had grabbed the still-young Carl around and on other occasions, he encouraged Carl to follow after him instead. Nevertheless, the nagging had eventually reduced the awkwardness between the Duchess Dowager and Gellerhard themselves. It was because the nagging had felt warm enough that Gellerhard and the Duchess Dowager appeared just like a normal pair of mother and son. ¡°I thought that the nagging which I heard about ten years ago was the last¡­¡± After listening to his mother who nagged at him for the first time in ten years, Gellerhard shrugged his shoulders. Despite his mother¡¯s nagging, he continued to work hard with his son and they still stood out. Right next to him, Carl smiled as he tried to shrug his shoulders as well, but he soon tripped over. As the relationship between the members of the family that owned the castle of Duke DeMancier improved, the atmosphere in the castle became brighter in return. There was not a single one who hadn¡¯t been aware of my credit for the good relationship between Gellerhard and Carlos, which could be seen as rather obvious. As a gesture of such amicable reconciliation, Count Petrika promoted my third brother despite he had done nothing special and I heard that the Countess had also sent some presents from herself to my mother. It was supposed to be good like this since I didn¡¯t show any signs of closeness to Count Petrika. In the beginning with the matter of choosing an escort knight, we, who had been strangely in a standoff, finally came to a truce like this. That particular winter had passed especially quickly and the time for Gellerhard to go out was right around the corner. While Gellerhard and I were busy preparing for the campaign once again, Carl played along well with the puppy that had grown so much. Carl was never aware of the circumstances of the adults who were all preparing for the half a year war while still dealing with the aftermath of the previous war for the other half. The night before the departure date was finally set yet Gellerhard still came by to my bedroom as usual. * * * If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 42 The Fourth Plan. To increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (12) There had been neither excitement nor expectation for the war amongst those who were preparing for war since defense wars that were to protect the borders occurred every year¡ªnot conquest wars. A war with no income, but only casualties and damage instead. Nevertheless, if it wasn¡¯t done, the whole country would fall right into chaos. The Duke of DeMancier and his knights who led that war would go down in the record as honorable knights, but from the position of a hostess who prepared for war while waiting for her husband¡ªwell, I could only wait for the end of the war which would eventually be brought by Carl¡¯s love. The ambitious knights, who had never been in war before or those who had gotten excited and had already participated in several wars, were sharpened by the tension of going straight to the battlefield. And the same went for Gellerhard as well. Gellerhard¡¯s expression, when he was due to depart just the next morning, stiffened all over. Nevertheless, I welcomed him into my bedroom. Gellerhard silently followed my hand towards the bed without looking at the blazing fireplace, which he usually liked. I took off the clothes he was wearing and doffed mine as well before leading him to have a seat on the bed. It would have been better to go to bed early considering the long campaign that would start tomorrow, but if it became a long night where you would never be able to sleep due to all the tension anyway, it might be better to spend it as usual after all. Gellerhard¡¯s hands began to embrace my body and I stroked the back of Gellerhard¡¯s hair, which had been cut shorter before the campaign. His short, wiry hair brushed against my palm. Gellerhard opened his lips and wrapped them around my breasts as if he was biting into them while sucking them in. Then, he gently caressed my body with both of his hands. His hands stroked my bottom before they shifted to my nether regions along with his fingertips as he followed by putting me on the bed and started to kiss me. With the tip of his well-learned tongue groping against my lips and the inside of my mouth while intertwining his own tongue, Gellerhard spread his fingers under me and stroked even further. From above and below, there was a sultry, wet sound. I swept my hands through Gellerhard¡¯s shoulder and chest muscles before scratching his chest with my fingernails as he tactfully fondled my bud. Then, he proceeded to bend his inserted fingers to nudge and stimulate my insides. It was because of Carl that my nails were all cut short, but they still left such red marks behind. ¡°Sorry, are you okay?¡± Although he had been a knight who would be going to war soon, he was still a Commander and he grew up so finely that there had not been even a single scar on Gellerhard¡¯s body. Gellerhard, who glanced at his own chest as he stroked the red nail marks with his palm, smiled as if it was simply incredible. ¡°It¡¯s always like this after all.¡± ¡°Anyway, ah! Aanh!¡± My hand eventually slid down Gellerhard¡¯s chest. Then, my back trembled at the touch that stimulated both my bud and orifice at the same time before Gellerhard¡¯s hands soon got drenched. I could feel Gellerhard¡¯s back muscles. Beads of sweat eventually pooled and slipped between those tight muscles. ¡°Quick¡ªput it in quickly.¡± The continuous kiss made our saliva overflowed around the mouth and I began to beg Gellerhard while I was soaking wet above and also below. He licked my cheeks and lips before grabbing my bottom with his damp hands and eventually dug into me. ¡°Ah, hey, okay, ah!¡± Gellerhard, who mounted over my body and hugged me, began to move his back vigorously. My body started to shudder at his movements and I instantly wrapped my legs around Gellerhard¡¯s waist. That same pair of sweaty legs slowly slid off his waist. ¡°Mandy, ugh¡ª¡± His lips brushed over my forehead and touched my eyelids, cheeks before they finally went to my lips. My tongue became entangled again and I wrapped my arms around his neck as I hugged him close. Gellerhard, who had filled both my lips as well as my bottom, was doing it right according to his impression that those kisses were just like making love. His saliva eventually went into the wrong airway and I choked, which stopped the kiss, but the movements that kept on filling my below still didn¡¯t stop. He caressed my lips and eyes with his big hands, but he never pulled himself out of my body. Just by looking at it, it was actually pretty sneaky. ¡°Cough, ah¡ªwhoa, yes.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± As I nodded my head, I grabbed Gellerhard by the waist with both of my legs. It was such a waste to throw the time away with just a brief occurrence. Gellerhard, who was looking at me with a worried face, bit his lips before he hugged me. Both me and Gellerhard stuck our bodies together as if we were going to do as much as we could on this particular night. ¡°Hey, haa, are you okay? Tomorrow, hey! You have to go, aah!¡± When I asked about it with sudden concern, Gellerhard eventually responded with those purple eyes of his. ¡°It¡¯s okay, more than that, yes, Mandy¡ªtoo, yes,¡± ¡°Aanh!¡± The moment Gellerhard swayed and pounded his back, a thrill of pleasure ran through my head and my whole body ultimately flinched. Gellerhard¡¯s brow eventually furrowed. Unlike me, who unwittingly shuddered, Gellerhard¡¯s body ceased to move as if it became stiff and I gently pressed his furrowed forehead with my fingertips. I could feel that Gellerhard¡¯s shaft, which had been bobbing inside me the whole time, slowly slipped out and his fluids eventually trickled underneath me. The heat that had risen to his body was still hot and I could feel it in my lower stomach. The bottom, which was really full before, had seemed empty now. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 43 the fourth plan. to increase the intimacy between the father and the son. (13) ¡°¡ªit feels empty. hanh¡ª¡± he bit his lips as his phallus was burrowed into me once again. oh, i shouldn¡¯t have said that just now. gellerhard hugged me as he rammed in from behind this time. as he wrapped my body tightly from behind my back, gellerhard then kissed my cheek and ear. there wasn¡¯t much movement, but i could feel his presence every time i breathed. gellerhard cupped my breasts in his hands and squeezed them slowly. somehow, i could feel his breath getting hotter with each and every breath that i took. normally, i would have asked him to stop at an appropriate level, but today was a special day, so i gave in to gellerhard¡¯s wishes a little more. i was going to have a solo session for the next half a year, so i would like to enjoy this a little extra today. as i turned my head, gellerhard immediately kissed me on the lips and rubbed his lips together until his lips became blistered. gellerhard started to move slowly behind me and i started to wriggle my bottom little by little in response. we took a break for a while and did it once more while overlapping against each other over and over again. his bed was all a mess, crumpled and wet, so i figured that i would eventually have to make the bed again before taking a bath for both myself and gellerhard and finally went back to bed again. while we called the maid to prepare the bath water, gellerhard and i just sat huddled on the dirty bed while being draped over in gowns as both of us were soaked in sweat and possibly, in other fluids through those several climaxes earlier as well. it was hard to sit with my back straight, so i leaned against gellerhard¡¯s body instead. ¡°whaa¡ª¡± involuntarily, a large yawn soon escaped. my lips parted wide open and tears began to well up in the corners of my yawning eyes as gellerhard¡¯s fingertips wiped them away. i became embarrassed for literally nothing and belatedly covered my mouth with my hand as i made up an excuse. ¡°i feel so sleepy right now. gellerhard, what about you?¡± ¡°¡­so am i.¡± that was a lie since there had not been even a hint of sleepiness in his purple eyes. well, gellerhard, who would be going out without knowing the future ahead, and me, who was aware that he would still be alive until the end of the war anyway. the tension between the two of us couldn¡¯t be the same after all. i patted his chest, which i had scratched with my fingernails just earlier. if he was young like carl, i would definitely hold him in my arms and pat him on the back to sleep, but gellerhard was far too big for that already. ¡°didn¡¯t you always have some sleep?¡± on the nights before leaving? i didn¡¯t specifically ask that, but he could understand what i was actually trying to say. ¡°absolutely not.¡± i sensed that he actually wanted to hide from those ambiguous words. if it wasn¡¯t really like that, then he would have briefly answered with a curt ¡®no¡¯. ¡°i was going to pat you while singing you a lullaby if you can¡¯t sleep though.¡± ¡°ah¡ª¡± ¡°lying down on a clean blanket after taking a bath as i relax myself next to you while patting you like this¡­¡± i gently patted gellerhard¡¯s chest with my hand. the fingernail marks from earlier had already disappeared. it was rather fortunate since i didn¡¯t want to be a wife who hurt her own husband¡¯s body, which had been unscathed even amidst war. ¡°when i was little, my mother would sometimes do it if i couldn¡¯t sleep¡­ would you like me to as well?¡± ¡°yes.¡± ¡°okay, then i¡¯ll do it for you¡ªhuaa.¡± a second yawn leaked out without warning. gellerhard, who had wiped away the tears from my eyes, rang the bell and sent the maid off. after taking a bath in the warm bathtub, i was finally able to lie down on a clean bed just like the first time. as promised, i began to sing the lullaby that i sometimes crooned to carl as i lay down next to gellerhard while still patting his chest. i never thought that a day would come when i would put an adult husband of mine to sleep like this, but since the situation was quite special, i just had to accept this kind of childishness. gellerhard¡¯s chest began to rise and fall slowly at some point due to my patting hands. as i gazed at the handsome face, which had become completely asleep, i seemed to have dozed off as well. knowing that my husband along with that handsome face of his would come back to me unscathed had made me feel at ease. the next day, right at the end of the ceremony, gellerhard held carl in his arms and kissed me on the lips just like before. even if he didn¡¯t deliberately hug carl like previously, he could already hug his heir naturally now. young carl wasn¡¯t aware of anything as he reached out his hand to touch his father¡¯s armor, mantle and whatever else he could find since his father appeared to be wearing a set of different clothes today. as he would soon leave such a child behind, gellerhard continued to kiss me on the lips one after another. then, a sad sigh eventually escaped his lips. ¡°do it again when you come back later.¡± he nodded his head as i spoke while covering his lips that were not yet ready to leave mine. i took carl from his arms again before putting him down and rearranged his clothes, which had been disturbed by carl¡¯s touch before. how troubling it would have been if a child had messed it up, which eventually made my hand move just like that for no real reason at all. ¡°gellerhard, you will be coming back to me in good health.¡± ¡°yes.¡± ¡°and i¡¯m telling you now. think about what you¡¯d like to do as soon as you get back.¡± ¡°okay.¡± ¡°now, go ahead.¡± ¡°yes.¡± my hand soon moved away from gellerhard¡¯s collar and he turned before going through the ranks of all the knights. i hugged carl as he tried to chase after his father. even though i had become close with gellerhard, carl was still whom i liked the most and he proceeded to stay quietly in my arms. gellerhard did not look back at us. instead, gellerhard demancier, who had the authority to command the war, was leading the knights and soldiers with an upright attitude that had been the most befitting of a commander. carl¡¯s little dog was roaming around us as it whimpered at people¡¯s strange movements. that afternoon, carl had cried as he searched for his father, who was now nowhere to be seen. as i soothed the crying carl while knowing that he would return in half a year, knowing that he would definitely return safely, i started suppressing the feeling of wanting to cry as well. it was such a bitter, depressing and gloomy afternoon. the fourth plan. to increase the intimacy between the father and the son¡ªsucceeded. Chapter 44 the fifth plan: to protect the child (1) carl had been looking for gellerhard for quite some time now. the unanswered call eventually reverberated hollowly throughout the castle. and every time that happened, i comforted him by saying that dad would soon come back when it had gotten cold and also, when he had finally returned, he would then ride a sleigh with carl while building a snowman as they played catch together. fortunately, carl¡¯s dog had lingered around its disappointed owner before it rushed towards him, which diverted carl¡¯s mind to another place. in the end, carl, who had kept looking for his father, slowly understood as time passed that he could no longer see his father easily. carl would constantly urge the people around him to play just like how he did with his father who had good strength and stamina since carl had enjoyed himself playing with him during the winter. after tugging on their clothes with his small hands, he would then dash away and everyone would have to run along trying to catch the young master. and eventually, even the escort knights would often become the ones tagged as well. ultimately, the 2nd knight commander recommended him to start his swordsmanship lessons. and for that time, more than a swordsmanship lesson, it was actually more like a physical education class as well as playtime. the nannies were able to secure some free time as the active children, like carl himself, took swordsmanship lessons together, but i still had to watch over carl and the dog at that time since carl never wanted to stay apart. that was how gellerhard had fallen out of our daily lives as his vacancy began to get filled little by little. as the duchy calmed down once again and i gradually got used to the duchess¡¯s work, i suddenly felt some strange symptoms appearing in my body little by little. my energy had been running low and my digestion was not going well too, so i eventually lost my appetite. at first, i thought that i might have gotten sick after sending gellerhard away while preparing for the war, but after seeing that i was actually upset at the smell of food i usually ate well, one could already guess the reason. ¡°mandy¡ª¡± carl, who was still eating on my lap, began to look at me with a tearful look on his face. the maid instantly put away the soup that she had quickly brought in, but the smell still lingered behind. so, i suppressed my grumbling stomach and put carl down from my lap. ¡°carl, you should carry on eating with your grandmother today. mother, uwook! do tell them that you¡¯d continue to eat with carl¡­!¡± my mouth soon watered and my stomach started churning at once. after barely speaking to carl and the maid, i ran out of the dining hall and could hear carl¡¯s voice trailing behind me while calling out; ¡®mandy!¡¯. nevertheless, i just couldn¡¯t turn back at all. right after i emptied my stomach, mother-in-law then came over to me as she knew that i had skipped meals and just drank some cold water instead along with a doctor. ¡°i heard that you couldn¡¯t eat because you were feeling sick. your physical condition has been quite bad lately, so let¡¯s get you a formal diagnosis.¡± ¡°yes, mother. thank you for caring.¡± ¡°what?¡± although she seemed to be trying hard not to show it off at me, the duchess dowager¡¯s expression was filled with such anticipation that couldn¡¯t be hidden at all. her mouth drew into a strange arc as she tried to force down the corners of her already widely curved mouth. ¡°mandy!¡± the puppy hurriedly trailed behind carl. the child, who started reaching his arms out for my embrace, was automatically pulled back by his grandmother. ¡°carl, wait a moment.¡± ¡°the doctor will look after mandy for a while to make sure that she is not sick. so, carl, please wait for a moment.¡± ¡°ugh, uh uh.¡± carl puckered her lips and quietly stood in one place. carl¡¯s dog gently took a seat next to him as well and the doctor began to ask me about my symptoms calmly before questioning this and that as she finally took out a small tool from her bag. something that was like a stethoscope slowly touched my chest as well as stomach and just within minutes, the doctor had confirmed my own pregnancy. still, it wasn¡¯t that visible yet. on top of that, gellerhard and i had already slept so much together that i couldn¡¯t even guess the specific time when i had become pregnant. ¡°carl will soon have a younger sibling!¡± the duchess dowager was very happy as she squeezed my hand. carl didn¡¯t seem to understand her words at all, but since he could notice the joy in his grandmother¡¯s voice, he started smiling broadly. the doctor then took about two steps away from me and carl instantly tried to mount onto the couch where i was still half-lying. he put his hands on the couch and groaned before his puppy proceeded to push his bottoms up with its head, which eventually gave carl a nudge. in fact, i also gently lent my hands to him as well. carl eventually came up on top of me as if he was rolling over and i immediately hugged him in a familiar embrace. even after he had weaned off, carl still had a scent like that of such sweet milk. and even though the doctor said that i was pregnant, it didn¡¯t really feel true at all. however, it straight away turned real when i had carl in my arms. Chapter 45 the fifth plan: to protect the child (2) ¡°our carl, your little sibling will soon be born~¡± ¡°huh!¡± ¡°if you have a younger sibling, will you then become a dignified and cool older brother?¡± ¡°huh!¡± carl smiled with that round face of his and nodded his head eagerly. our carl was always good at answering like this and i proceeded to pat him on the butt, but the doctor then cautiously added. ¡°it¡¯s still in the early stages, so please take care of yourself¡­ and i think that you should also be careful when hugging the young master.¡± since i was still half-lying on the couch, carl¡¯s body began draping over from my chest to my stomach. duchess dowager became startled and she straight away reached her hand out to carl. ¡°yes, you are already carrying a life in you now, so i have to be careful at all times too. in other words, carl, please come here.¡± the duchess dowager groaned as she took carl away. carl, whose second birthday had long passed, became quite heavy already. therefore, whenever i or the duchess dowager held him, it turned out to be quite tiring indeed. carl then quietly moved into his grandmother¡¯s arms before extending his arms to me once again. a very brief conflict flashed through my mind, but my hands still reached out for carl. i raised his upper body and put my hands under the child¡¯s armpits to bring carl back into my arms. certainly, holding carl had become very difficult these days, but it was all because carl had still wanted to be held by me. ¡°carl! amanda!¡± right at the duchess dowager¡¯s sudden stern voice, carl instantly pursed his lips and cried out. ¡°hie¡ª¡± i patted carl on the back as he buried his face in my shoulder. it didn¡¯t seem like the young carl had fully understood what i said about having a younger sibling for himself. however, it still seemed that carl noticed that something had already changed and that it would still continue to change in the future. ¡°i will be more careful in the future. today¡ªjust for today, it seems like carl still wants to play around¡­¡± they said that older children would tend to get lonely when they were to have younger siblings and perhaps, carl was feeling like that as well. carl still continued to hug me tightly. the duchess dowager looked at us as she let out a small sigh before she finally changed the subject. ¡°i have to find a nurse first before i start to decorate the birthing room and i still have a lot of work to be done. ah, before all of that, we should inform gellerhard and viscount bentta as well.¡± the duchess dowager quickly counted things that needed to be done. and as she had said, there was really a lot of things to do. while i was still in a daze, the duchess dowager began to stroke my shoulder gently before she continued. ¡°anyway, congratulations, mandy. you will definitely be a good mother to both of your children.¡± ¡°thank you.¡± ¡°and i bet gellerhard would be delighted as well. so, hurry up and tell him the good news.¡± ¡°wouldn¡¯t he be busy right now? plus, i don¡¯t think that i¡¯ll be having the baby before he returns¡­¡± it wasn¡¯t even an emergency, but when she thought of sending out a call to the battlefield separately, she suddenly became worried that she might eventually be seen as being particularly unusual. to notify my husband who had already gone to the battlefield of a confirmed pregnancy. it was only natural since there had been a means of contact, but i was already scratching my head about how the others would then judge me for my actions in return. the duchess dowager soon shook her head as if she was wondering what in the world was i truly talking about. ¡°his wife is now pregnant¡ªwhat other news could be more important than that? but it must be a little bit harrowing to come back so soon too.¡± ¡°perhaps.¡± but would he be happy with my news of pregnancy? although we had already spent many passionate nights without any contraceptives as a couple before, we never really talked about the issue of pregnancy. as she saw me with a faint smile as well as rather vague affirmation without readily saying that i would soon contact gellerhard about it, the duchess dowager instantly retorted. ¡°leave it then. i¡¯m the one who will be going to inform my son that my daughter-in-law is pregnant, so who is to say anything anyway? they had to eventually say that a precious baby would soon be born to the duke of demancier. so, don¡¯t you worry and just relax. this mother of yours will do everything for you.¡± it was such a reassuring statement as if she had peered straight into my head. i didn¡¯t even want to imagine what it would have been like if madame blone had still been here instead¡ªand if the duchess dowager hadn¡¯t been called over. ¡°i¡¯m so glad that you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°yeah. therefore, don¡¯t worry and take a good rest in return. do take good care of yourself.¡± ¡°yes, i will.¡± her concern was really so sweet that i instantly smiled and nodded in response. ¡°what about carl?¡± ¡°i¡¯ll just hug him a little more before taking him to the nursery soon.¡± the duchess dowager was really concerned about me, who had been pregnant, but she soon nodded for she was also a grandmother who absolutely loved carl. both the doctor and the duchess dowager eventually cleared out to let me rest while leaving me and carl behind together. carl¡¯s dog was wagging and barking under the couch, but carl didn¡¯t go to the puppy as usual. instead, he burrowed himself into my arms even more. as i patted the chubby butt of the child who still had his face buried in my chest, i hummed along with my nose the lullaby that i often sang to carl. Chapter 46 the fifth plan: to protect the child (3) ¡°mandy¡ª¡± ¡°yes, carl.¡± ¡°i like mandy.¡± ¡°yes, this mandy loves carl very much as well.¡± ¡°yes, i like you¡ª¡± carl hugged me tightly before he soon went down the couch. the child¡¯s tiny hand had stroked past my stomach. it might just have been brushed a little, but it still felt as though carl¡¯s gesture was like a welcome greeting to his new sibling to me. i stroked the puppy which had been waiting for its owner¡¯s touch. then, as i saw that carl was already entangling together with the puppy, i began to caress my lower abdomen softly with my hand in which i still could not feel any presence of the baby in my belly just yet. * * * news of my pregnancy spread instantly like wildfire. gellerhard immediately replied with a letter full of joy and concern along with some thick and fine fur too¡ªeven though it was still spring. i received many letters and congratulatory gifts for my pregnancy from all my family members too as the news spread even faster to my parents¡¯ house, which was much closer than the north en d where he had been. my mother sent me her maternal grandmother¡¯s necklace as a gift as she said that she would soon come over to the duke¡¯s castle when it was just in time for the baby to be born. the necklace was a treasure that had been handed down to the daughter from generation to generation and she said that she would hand it over to me¡ªthe only daughter. however, when i got married, she refused to give it to me all because she was opposed to the marriage. it had been a necklace with an unbelievable legend where a distant ancestor had received it as a gift from the god of fertility in order to help with conceiving. on top of that, it turned out to be a very reliable legend based on this era since my mother herself had given birth to three sons and a daughter¡ªme, the youngest. even the count of petrika and his wife had sent me some gifts. it was a tiara that had been smaller than my palm which girls born into a noble family would be using during their childhood. the idea of bestowing a daughter¡¯s gift to an unborn child meant that they wanted me to give birth to a daughter who would therefore match with this tiara. even if i were to give birth to a son, would i actually threaten carl, who had always been raised with love? there was no way to feel regretful towards count petrika¡¯s move. ¡°keep the tiara aside, please.¡± madame may bowed to my words that had flown out with a sigh. amanda would give birth to a son. this upcoming baby would not be using that tiara. ¡°whoa, i don¡¯t feel very well.¡± ¡°may i bring you a cup of tea?¡± ¡°yes, please.¡± my bottom was sore since i had been sitting down for quite a while, but i felt very weak when i got up as i had walked a little. perhaps due to the fact that i had found out that i was pregnant, my condition became an utter mess as various pregnancy symptoms began to stand out as if they had always been waiting. the morning sickness cropped up violently and the fatigue was even worse. moreover, it weighed heavily on my body too. i thought that it would soon be okay, but after i started to feel quite full, my stomach would stand out and my whole body felt like it was being dried up as if all the nutrients in my body were heading straight to my stomach instead. no, it could have been that my body was actually too thin for it to stand out even more. the clear green tea drink smelled rather differently from usual, which eventually caused me nausea. ¡°the tea smells quite different.¡± ¡°madam, the duchess dowager has sent you some herbs. she said that it should be mixed with the usual tea leaves¡­¡± at first, the duchess dowager, who thought that the morning sickness period would pass quickly and i would therefore gain weight soon before getting chubby, became stunned when she saw that my morning sickness was getting even longer and i became dried up. so, she began to look into chefs, clinics and even wizards. this tea was also thought to be an effort, which couldn¡¯t be ignored in other words, so i proceeded to suppress my disgust and started to drink the tea little by little. ¡°do tell her that i¡¯ve finished it.¡± ¡°i will send out something for lunch in just a minute.¡± ¡°i don¡¯t feel that well. so, a light stew should be enough.¡± shortly after the empty teacup had been cleared, a bowl of gently boiled stew was brought in. the mushy vegetables didn¡¯t stimulate my appetite very much and i didn¡¯t feel like eating anything at all, but i still held up the spoon. ¡°whoa.¡± i tried to take a bite, but my stomach began to churn and all i could do was sigh in the end. after all, i was just lying on the bed since i had no energy even after eating the dish. and suddenly, i could hear the sound of the door opening abruptly. ¡°the madam is still feeling unwell.¡± ¡°i want to see mandy!¡± ¡°but still¡­¡± the voice that replied to the whisper belonged to carl. when i beckoned the maid who was standing by near the bed, she instantly made her way to the door. ¡°mandy¡ªare you sick?¡± in the meantime, carl¡¯s hand, when he had already crawled up on the bed, touched my face. carl¡¯s face as he was lying beside me face to face appeared to be stained with some sadness and anxiety. ¡°are you here because you¡¯re worried about this mandy, carl?¡± the small rose-colored lips slid upwards and he seemingly could burst into tears at any moment. when i saw carl, in fact, when i looked at the sad child¡¯s face, my stomach became much heavier while my body was getting weaker and weaker¡ª oh¡ªand sometimes, a surge of indescribable anxiety and sadness would crop up too. Chapter 47 the fifth plan: to protect the child (4) the smell of winter that day when the embers of merilyn¡¯s life were gradually extinguishing that seemed to have come out from somewhere, when the fire in that fireplace was hot even though it was still winter. would i be able to live or even raise a healthy child? such a fear eventually crept out of nowhere and bound me to it. what would happen to carl if i were to just go away like that¡ªlike merilyn? merilyn as well as my child, would another woman be able to love and raise our pretty carl too? could she love carl like i did? what about my own child who would grow up to be a naughty boy as well? what if there were to be another girl just like agatha? what if a stepmother just like the original amanda turned up instead? carl¡¯s little hand slowly touched my face. ¡°mandy¡ª¡± ¡°yes, carl.¡± i held carl¡¯s hand as i brushed away his eyes that were bursting with tears. carl¡¯s hands were all soft and plump. carl had his lips pouted out and his green eyes became filled with tears that seemed could fall at any moment now. my heart instantly twinged and ached at the look on carl¡¯s face as though my sadness had already been transmitted. ¡°carl, mandy is totally fine. i¡¯ll get well soon¡ªright in no time.¡± ¡°mandy¡ª¡± now that he had grown quite a lot, i immediately sneaked away the tears with my fingertips without the child knowing while still holding onto carl in my arms. since my body had turned weak, my mind became weak as well. but i just couldn¡¯t collapse like this all because there was a baby crying simply at the sight of my own sad face. gellerhard suddenly came to mind when i gave carl a hug. i missed him dearly as he was still fighting on the battlefield at the border. i wanted to see the man who would hold carl in one hand while embracing my body affectionately with his other arm before he would grow panicked just because he didn¡¯t know how to wipe tears away. as i swallowed back my longing, i patted carl on the back before holding in my tears and pushed him inside. this was not the time to cry at all. ¡°would you like to eat with mandy, carl?¡± ¡°yes.¡± i didn¡¯t feel like eating something, but since i felt somehow energized, i tried to cheer up a bit more. if i didn¡¯t eat because of my morning sickness or if i didn¡¯t have an appetite, i¡¯d only get weaker instead. carl clasped his hair tightly as he fiddled with my messy hair as he lay down. the maid who noticed me eventually proceeded to approach me. ¡°please prepare a meal for me to dine with carl and bring some water for me to wash my face. oh, also, prepare some clothes for a change.¡± right at my words, the maids immediately moved in perfect order. with the help and care of the maids, i washed my face again with my hands and equipped myself with some easy set clothings. then, i also put on my grandmother¡¯s necklace, which i had received from my mother after a very long time. if the mysterious ability of this necklace really existed, i hope that it would eventually give me enough strength to give birth to this child safely and even if it never did, it would still give me some kind of a little mental support. there was no dramatic change in wearing that light blue jewelry, but i felt a little relieved since it appeared like i was already prepared for something. the soft, easy foods had been put on a tray before they were placed in front of carl. i was quite full, so i couldn¡¯t have carl on my lap like before, but we still sat side by side and shared a bite of those ripe vegetables as well as the moist stew. after brushing carl¡¯s teeth for the first time in a while, i eventually went outside just for a moment and walked under the afternoon sun. i could feel that my body¡¯s condition was actually feeling much better than i had thought. carl kept holding on to my skirt before he started running around me as if he was fond of me for the first time in a while and ran out without overcoming the temptation of his barking dog under the warm sun. both the dog and carl had been running around as if they were playing catch together before the other children came out one by one and started running around as well. ¡°please prepare something cool to drink in advance.¡± ¡°yes, madam.¡± ¡°hoo, bring some chairs as well. it¡¯s getting a bit tough now.¡± i thought that i¡¯d just return to the room, but i still wanted to keep on looking at carl running around freely for the first time in a while. so, i finally decided to sit under the shadow while watching carl, who kept on looking back at me as he played along with his friends. the servants eventually brought out a fairly large chair and the maids filled the seat with some fluffy cushions and pillows. i plopped down in the chair and one of the maids proceeded to bring me a drink. i shook my head since i was not feeling thirsty otherwise and she immediately placed the glass of drink on the armrest of my chair appropriately. i was worried that it would become a source of distraction, but as i smiled and waved at carl, who called out my name loudly; ¡®mandy!¡¯¡ªthe drink straight away moved away from my mind. Chapter 48 the fifth plan: to protect the child (5) carl waved at me before he started playing with his dog and friends once again. as i leaned against the cushion while stroking my stomach with my hands, other than breathing in the air outside, i gradually saw viscount desmond and margaret walking slowly towards me from a distance. her children had found their mother and began waving at her while the youngest of the children immediately waddled up to margaret instead. margaret then came up to me with her arms still coiled around the child. margaret, who had approached me under the bright sunshine, bent her knees slightly while shaking her hands as if to say no. she then grinned and placed the child down before moving up closer to me as she had already held me back from standing up. ¡°amanda! i heard that you were somewhat ill. so, let me lower myself instead.¡± ¡°thank you, margaret. it¡¯s not that easy to move since my body is getting heavy now.¡± afterwards¡ªi didn¡¯t mean to sigh at all, but perhaps due to my heavy body¡ªi became out of breath just like that. i was now lacking in strength because my energy had not been as good as my stomach was all swollen. margaret tactfully came close to me and bent her knees. it was actually fortunate that neither herself nor i had been wearing a large inflated skirt. margaret¡¯s child eventually came out of her arms and began to mingle back with the other children. ¡°i¡¯m glad that i can see you like this. i really wanted to see amanda before i left.¡± ¡°you¡¯re leaving already?¡± i opened my eyes wide at the first news that i had just heard. indeed, carl was no longer breastfeeding, so she did not need to feed him anymore. however, her youngest child was still carl¡¯s age as well as the other children who grew up in the nursery with him, so she thought that she would have to stay at least until he was five years old¡ªwhen he could be properly aware of his own ¡®friends¡¯. the north was a region where a competent knight could ultimately win a title due to the annual border war, but it had been natural for carl¡¯s pair of nannies to stay in the castle for as long as possible¡ªas much it was determined by the blood and connections within the aristocratic community. ¡°it has already been a while since i¡¯ve been away and young master has grown up a lot as well.¡± margaret said so with a grin, but both herself and i knew that it was just an ostensible reason after all. carl had two babysitters, but it was still a great pity since she considered margaret to be much more special because it had been margaret herself who put up a fight with agatha¡ªa candidate for the duchess¡ªby the hair before. on top of that, she was the one who had given me advice when i tried to drive mrs. blone away afterwards too. and above all else, it made me sad that she actually gave me a rather formal reason¡ªnot an actual one. ¡°i see. carl must have felt very upset.¡± ¡°my children are very sad too.¡± as long as the children had already been informed that they were leaving the duchy soon, it was unlikely that margaret would rescind her opinion. ¡°what if i happen to miss margaret so much?¡± margaret smiled broadly at my sincere joke as she pretended to be depressed in response. ¡°then, it would have been a real honor. since i, too, would definitely miss amanda very much in return.¡± there was no sign of deception in her expression at all. in fact, there was no other reason to make a guess, but from margaret¡¯s way of smiling and replying, it appeared that any problem between myself and her own was not the actual cause. the reason why she was truly leaving¡ªmargaret then gave me a hint since i didn¡¯t really have a clue. ¡°nevertheless, now that a new person will soon arrive, one will then have to vacate their seat.¡± the duchy had already been wide enough and there was plenty of room for margaret as well as her children to stay¡ªno matter how many baby hairs were attached to the soon newborn child. therefore, the reason why margaret was leaving must have been because of the new baby. still, the reason in reference to the new person was already clear. ¡°¡ªi see.¡± the desmans planned on leaving in order to distance themselves from me while expressing their stand that they were solely for carl¡ªonly. i suddenly felt a bitter feeling in my stomach. for others, my pregnancy might have meant even more than a purely new, conceived life between a fine couple. the birth of the new demancier child, which could ultimately threaten the position of carlos merlin von demancier¡ªthe former duchess¡¯s breath of life. i understood it in my head, but even margaret, who had been seeing carl and i for a long time, had thought so too. to the others, did my love and sincerity for carl seem to be just like that of an evil stepmother who had no children in her own belly? margaret and i eventually turned our heads towards the children in silence. it was so disappointing that i no longer felt like talking to her and she didn¡¯t speak up to me either. on the other hand, after running for a long time, the dog suddenly attacked carl¡¯s stomach as he had been lying on the floor just like he was rolling around on the floor. licking people was something dogs were very fond of doing, but the puppy listened very well and instantly sat quietly while sticking out its tongue when carl shouted; ¡®stop!¡¯. carl stood up and looked back at me once again. i waved my hand slightly at carl with his rosy cheeks that were all smiling and round. the child soon began to run around with the other children once more. ¡°my husband¡¯s opinion is extremely strong. men who had never actually raised a child properly would think very lightly. if he had ever truly raised a child¡ª¡± ¡°mandy¡ª!¡± carl, who had been running to avoid the tagger, suddenly ran towards me instead. margaret¡¯s words were instantly cut off, but the running child still needed the prior attention. Chapter 49 the fifth plan: to protect the child (6) ¡°oh, carl!¡± carl crept into my skirt as if he was trying to hide with it. however, it had just been a simple and thin dress, so carl¡¯s butt was exposed completely. i straight away clasped my hands tightly at that cute sight. i was curious about what margaret was actually going to say, but carl¡ªthis cute guy¡ª had taken all of my attention. the tagger eventually found carl without any difficulty and even dared to give a little slap to his cute butt. ¡°carl is the tagger now!¡± ¡°wow~¡± unlike the child who ran away quickly right after a new tagger was chosen, carl peeked his face from the hem of my skirt and looked absolutely puzzled. oh, my god¡ªdid you think he wouldn¡¯t be able to see it because you had covered your face earlier? ¡°carl is now the tagger. you should hurry up and catch him then.¡± i wanted to cup over carl¡¯s bewildered cheeks, but my stomach was already so swollen that it became rather hard. ¡°go ahead, young master carl.¡± on my behalf, margaret gently patted carl on the back and nudged him slightly as if encouraging him to run out once again. ¡°carl, there you are!¡± ¡°over here!¡± the children screamed out as if to let him catched them, but when carl ran up to them, they simply laughed and darted away. ¡°if he had ever truly raised a child, he would know how much they needed to be loved for them to simply smile like that.¡± my surprised eyes instantly turned to margaret, but she noticed that her child was now running towards her and instantly spread her arms. margaret¡¯s child came sprinting before jumping right into her arms. margaret kissed her child on the cheek and the red-cheeked baby laughed and hugged her mother tightly around the neck. her child¡¯s expression was so bright that anyone could already tell how clear and happy she looked like just from her wide smile. ¡°your cheeks are all hot. i think the kids should get some rest for now.¡± ¡°oh, carl! come on!¡± carl, who had switched from being a tagger and ran away, turned his head at my voice and looked at me before he immediately jumped towards me. certainly, carl¡¯s cheeks were also red and beads of sweat appeared to trickle down his forehead. the puppy came running after carl and margaret called out to all her children. carl then climbed onto my chair and plopped down while i brushed across carl¡¯s cheek. it had certainly been hot and lush while his forehead and the nape of his neck were all damp with sweat. ¡°oh, wow¡ªit¡¯s very hot.¡± ¡°it¡¯s hot¡ª¡± i hurriedly reached out and grabbed a drink from my armrest. the surface of the glass had already been wet and slippery, but it was still very cold. i should let carl drink some of it and cool down his reddened cheeks with its cold surface. it was just then¡ª ¡°my lady!¡± startled by her loud voice, all of us; myself, carl and even margareta, who was calling out to her children under the shade, turned our heads to the source of the sound with surprised faces. there was a maid standing by with an urgent expression. her hurried gesture seemed to be reaching out to my hand as if she was trying to bump the glass from my arm. ¡°sera! i apologize for the rudeness, my lady.¡± just in time, mrs. may, who was bringing out some drinks for the children, lowered her body in astonishment just as if she was all out of breath. the maid, who had raised her voice earlier, also shuddered before falling down to her knees. i thought that she would apologize right away, but sera had responded with something that seemed just like an excuse instead. ¡°that, that drink¡ªit contains things that are good for pregnant women¡ª¡± ¡°and so?¡± ¡°m-madam must consume¡­¡± the escort knight, who had been silently watching over carl, soon approached closer. the maid¡¯s words were extremely questionable and even the children had kept their mouths shut at the sudden unusual atmosphere. carl was hugging my arm tightly while both the escort knight and mrs. may awaited my decision over this suspicious maid. ¡°take her away and let her drink this. we will see what happens after that and then only decide only on the punishment.¡± ¡°yes, madam.¡± mrs. may politely took the drink from me with her hands and the knight simply lifted the kneeling maid by the arm. the maid followed after him with an unexpected sense of calmness. the sight convinced me that the drink was not poisoned at all. but perhaps there was something else that had not been good for pregnant women or maybe something that was not really good for children like carl. and judging from the fact that carl was the one who had not been allowed to drink, there was a high possibility that count petrika could be behind it. if it wasn¡¯t count petrika, someone from the forces which supported carl would probably agree with him instead. i immediately had goosebumps all over my back. ¡°mandy¡ª¡± carl clung to me and whined since he had probably been scared. carl¡¯s presence lifted me from all the fear. i suddenly came to my senses and changed my voice in order to soothe the child. Chapter 50 the fifth plan: to protect the child (7) ¡°oh, my carl, did you get scared? are you okay? mandy just scolded her a little. it is still hot. shall we have some cool drinks? you¡¯re sweating a lot and your cheeks are all hot.¡± i glanced at the maid and she handed me a small children-sized cup that was already filled with some sour-looking red drink. this time, no one had shouted out to stop it. i took the drink and gave it to carl before carl started grabbing the glass with both of his hands as he drank it coolly. ¡°give the dog some cold water and let me have a glass of juice too.¡± the same drink as carl¡¯s was then placed into my hand. as i drank the cool, sweet-and-sour drink, margaret¡¯s eyes eventually met mine. after drinking some cold drinks as well as cooling themselves off, the kids proceeded to play outside again and we decided to let them run around for a bit longer. no matter how much children said that they had to grow up by playing outside, as the afternoon progressed, the sunlight became much brighter and more intense. margaret, who had been looking at the children with such gentle eyes, softly spoke up once again. ¡°it is a beautiful necklace.¡± ¡°oh, i had recently inherited it from my mother.¡± at her words, i unknowingly fiddled with the said necklace. my body heat kept the blue jewel that was embedded on the necklace warm. ¡°it¡¯s the freyr¡¯s necklace.¡± ¡°ah! it¡¯s that famous necklace¡­¡± the necklace, which freyr, the god of fertility herself, had bestowed it to her lover, was passed down from her mother to her married daughter. therefore, unlike any other famous jewels, the family who owned it would then change every time. margaret had asked during a brief chat about the famous jewels as well as the families that possessed them. ¡°did you say that you have three older brothers?¡± ¡°yes and i am the youngest.¡± ¡°surely, that¡¯s one of the reasons for the fame.¡± to give birth to four healthy children was quite the unusual feat by the standards of this current era. ¡°i¡¯m also expecting it to show off its power as well as its reputation too.¡± ¡°it definitely will.¡± margaret smiled as she encouraged me. after a small laugh, i signaled for the children to be brought to the castle and the children, who had been running around under the sunlight, soon returned. with the help of the maids, i got up and carl immediately tugged on the hem of my skirt. ¡°blood ties are simply amazing.¡± margaret blurted out some words that were out of context and raised herself up with the child still in her arms as if it wasn¡¯t hot at all. the child and herself were quite alike, but carl and i, of course, had no resemblance in any way. ¡°¡ªthe son usually resembles the father and the daughter takes after the mother a lot. carl definitely resembles the duke a lot and this child also looks a whole lot like my husband as well.¡± ¡°ah, yes. yes.¡± i agreed as i glanced down at the top of carl¡¯s head, which seemed to echo his father¡¯s¡ªeven with all the disheveled shape of his sweaty curls. carl also bore the resemblance of gellerhard more than merilyn herself. ¡°i even have a similar period of morning sickness like my mother too.¡± huhu¡ªi nodded my head at her with a somewhat bewildered feeling at the words that she had said while smiling slightly. margaret eventually moved on while taking care of her child as if that had been all she was going to say. i also started walking slowly towards the castle along with carl. even though i was outside longer than i had thought, my condition actually became much better than before. * * * even after returning to the castle, i continued to spend time with carl since he never wished to leave my side. although i had shared dinner with carl before patting the child¡¯s stomach to sleep and despite being with carl all day long, i still felt that i was not that tired. in fact, i even had more energy to spare. it was a feeling that i could feel after a long time. it had been a long time since i got to be with carl all day just like today because i wasn¡¯t feeling very well for the past few months. carl, who played for a long time in the middle of the day before continuing even in the room with me in the afternoon and evening, finally fell asleep with a satisfied face. when i kissed his rosy cheek that was just like a cherub softly and ordered the maid to take carl back, mrs. may came inside as if she had been waiting since before and stood by my side. the maids quietly became aware and soon stepped out of the room. ¡°have you consumed it all?¡± ¡°yes, i drank all of it. and so far, nothing really happened.¡± mrs. may bowed her head in response. when mrs. may said that she seemed fine even after drinking that strange concoction, i felt both relieved and strangely disappointed. if it had been the poison to be used against me, she would have been afraid and it would therefore become a poisoning attempt. at the same time, she would have had a piece of direct evidence of the attack against me too. ¡°i guess¡­¡± carl shouldn¡¯t drink it, but i really had to. no one would believe that it was a good drink for pregnant women as sera¡ªthe suspicious maid¡ªhad claimed. if it truly was so, what had it been? margaret¡¯s words that son would resemble the father while daughter took after the mother echoed strangely in my mind. Chapter 51 the fifth plan: to protect the child (8) ¡°give her the wages for the time she has worked so far and send her out.¡± i would rather catch her and make her vomit herself if the maid¡¯s condition became so bad when she got caught trying to poison me. whatever she did, i just couldn¡¯t keep the maid due to her own suspicious behavior. ¡°and all those who are related to the maid by blood or even from the same area. in fact, even the person who wrote the letter of her recommendation.¡± i didn¡¯t want to keep the people who might be in even a slight partnership with the maid. ¡°yes, madam.¡± it was a bit of a stretch, but mrs. may didn¡¯t ask me back twice. she took care of my bed and left before i slowly stroked my stomach while reminiscing about my conversation with margaret. even though she was going to leave the office at her husband¡¯s will, she still knew about my true feelings for carl and did her very best to inform me of some information that she had known. the daughter had the resemblance of her mother. margaret even took after her mother¡¯s period of morning sickness. it was common knowledge that daughters would resemble their mothers. in particular, for any gynecological diseases, the mother¡¯s family history proved to be much more important than the father¡¯s line. and back in my maternal family, my mother, my maternal grandmother and even my great-grandmother; all of them had such healthy fertility. i didn¡¯t know since i never heard of the ancestors before them, but they must have been healthy and prolific as well. it was not known whether the necklace that had been gifted by the god of fertility really blessed her, but since the family history was just so good, there had been a possibility that such a legend became embedded in the jewelry of the necklace that she passed on to her own daughter. however, my health had been deteriorating ever since the beginning of my pregnancy¡ªwith the exception of today. a rather unusual start of the day when it was different from ordinary in many ways had been the tea that the duchess dowager had prepared with special care as well as a meal with carl. on top of that, in consideration of the suspicious maid who had presumptuously stepped forward when carl tried to drink from my glass, the conclusion was simply obvious. it was hard to believe that i had just noticed that there had been something in the food which i was to eat as well in the drink that i was going to drink. the person behind it was also obvious after all. count petrika. he was trying to hurt me and my own child. moreover, it had also been directly at the duchy of demancier under the hands and eyes of the godmother of the north who had arrived here recently. * * * the fastest and most accurate thing that i could choose for a safe birth was to stick close to carl and eat only what carl was actually eating. carl, who had tried to give me anything ever since i was with a baby, never knew anything about it and he liked the fact that he could share every meal with me. the meal for the young master had been a little boring, but it was soft and easy to digest. plus, the meat and vegetables were generously added and it was definitely nutritious too. after sharing a meal with carl, the duchess dowager had guessed something from my improved health, but she didn¡¯t say anything nor did she take any actions towards me. it had been obvious that count petrika was truly the force behind the scenes who did not mean to harm carl, but only targeted me¡ªthe pregnant one. nevertheless, he was still a count with considerable power and also, he had been carl¡¯s maternal grandfather as well. that and nor was the evidence strong enough to blow away any strong base support of the said grandson whose birth mother had passed on earlier. in fact, even if she was carl¡¯s grandmother, as the duchess dowager of the north, she still had to think about her own family. therefore, her silence was actually expected. even so, i simply couldn¡¯t help but to feel a little bittersweet. carl had played very hard during today¡¯s swordsmanship lesson, so after eating a large dinner, carl rolled around with the dog on the rug and soon fell asleep. the maid carefully hugged carl and placed him on the sofa where i was sitting. then, after moving around a few times, carl took a hold of the hem of my dress in his hand and left for dreamland once again. i stroked carl¡¯s plump and soft cheek softly and opened the letter with a paper knife from which the wax had already been removed. [ my beloved daughter, mandy. ] it was my mother¡¯s reply. after talking with margaret, i asked mother if she had any gynecological diseases or if she had been tired during her pregnancy and she replied with this. my mother¡¯s love was really evident at the beginning as she asked how i was doing now. [ as the legendary necklace that was blessed by god had proved it, me and my mother¡ªthat is, your maternal grandmother¡ªreceived our monthly guests on a fixed date for every month. as you already knew, your older brother came to us half a year after i¡¯d gotten married and i finally gave birth to four healthy children¡ªand you, my sweet youngest daughter, mandy. they had all been perfectly healthy and absolutely beautiful children. ] the three older brothers above me were all like that and so was myself. all of them grew up very healthy without any common minor illnesses. i never remembered ever seeing a doctor back at the viscount¡¯s house, except for my second brother who let go of his hands and blew it as he was trying to ride a horse before falling off of it while he had gotten hurt in the process. Chapter 52 [ i had a little bit of morning sickness during my pregnancy, but i didn¡¯t really gain or lose much of my weight. i didn¡¯t have any special food to cover for, but mandy, when i was carrying you, i ate quite a lot¡ªespecially my craving to eat chicken had been strong as well. i heard that morning sickness would be rather poisonous for a long time. therefore, i¡¯m sending you a chicken recipe that you had especially liked, so have the chef make it for you. it will taste much better than simple baby food. ] i was blown away and surprised by the unexpected remark. it seemed that some information about me was spreading in much more detail than i had thought. it was stating that my period of morning sickness had been rather long. even so, i never thought that my own mother would have heard about the fact that i was eating carl¡¯s baby food together with him. [ i heard that your morning sickness is getting longer and that you haven¡¯t even been able to eat lately. so, countess petrika seems to be worried sick. i tried to think that it would have been much better for me, your own mother, to take care of you. however, the situation is not going very well and i became so anxious. ] as i wondered where my mother had heard of all this, it seemed that countess petrika actually was the source. i didn¡¯t think that she would relay the rumor to my mother in a very nice way since she was quite distressed about the news of my pregnancy. [ your father is very busy these days with that new job of his. and so are your brothers. in the meantime, since i¡¯m away, there are many things that will bother me in many ways. ] my eldest brother, who had now been married, was taking care of the viscounty on behalf of his parents and my two older brothers as well as father had both worked for count petrika in the county itself, which my mother came to know about. the new job that my father and older brothers had taken on was not that of a very good one. things must have been going rather bad that even a mother couldn¡¯t come to see her own pregnant daughter, but she wouldn¡¯t tell me what was really going on and there had been no way that i could actually find out about the family now. i had been worried about my family and was terribly offended by count petrika, but since i wanted to coexist with him as much as possible, i endured it all while looking at carl¡¯s face. carl¡¯s face was as innocent as an angel who had fallen quietly asleep without knowing anything at all. and since this child was not an angel who fell right from the sky, but a child who would later become the duke of demancier, i needed the help of his mother¡¯s family. i calmed myself down by stroking my swollen belly as i finished reading the letter. my mother¡¯s greetings had conveyed both her concern for the approaching winter as well the anticipation of seeing me and my unborn child. how reassuring her words had been when she remarked that she would definitely visit and offer her strength when i was to give birth soon. i ran my finger over the letter¡¯s signature, which gave away my mother¡¯s unique trait before putting the letter back down with a slight sigh. ¡°i miss you, mother. send over the enclosed recipe to the chef and ask him to think whether or not carl can really eat it.¡± ¡°yes, madam.¡± ¡°and put my mother¡¯s letters inside the mailbox.¡± ¡°yes.¡± the two maids took the piece of paper that had the recipe as well as the letter, respectively, before they eventually walked away. at my glance, another maid instantly tore off the wax on the next letter. [ mandy, how are you feeling? ] the handwriting of the content that had been filled with worries about my body¡¯s condition without any sort of greetings was simply familiar. i whispered softly to carl who would be the other person that might have been curious about gellerhard¡¯s news as well. ¡°your father has sent you a letter, carl. i¡¯ll read it to you once you wake up later.¡± ¡°ugh¡­¡± i brushed against carl¡¯s soft cheek while he was in a deep sleep and stroked his hair tenderly. soft black locks gently fluttered across my fingertips and over the plump, red cheeks of the child who already slumbered in his sound sleep with such red lips. [ is carl bothering you, perhaps? ] not at all, how nice our carl had truly been. carl still thought that i was in pain, so he didn¡¯t behave like before and even after learning that his own little brother had been in my swollen belly, he would quietly put his face on my belly and talked to it in soft whispers. not only that, he even stroked it with his own tiny hand. it was simply so cute that even gellerhard wouldn¡¯t have been so concerned if he had seen it. carl¡¯s mischievous laugh of running around with his little younger brother had already come to mind. even the big daddy was there as well. gellerhard could even hold both of his two sons, one in each arm. even if the two brothers were to cling onto his arms one by one, he would still be able to lift them high without flinching at all. [ i¡¯ll get there as soon as possible. as soon as the winter starts, i will definitely be the fastest to go to you. ] gellerhard would also be unable to deal with count petrika actively since he was carl¡¯s maternal grandfather. nevertheless, i would still stand upright as i opposed count petrika¡¯s family and the family of duchess demancier who pretended to be, but still¡ª i didn¡¯t want to pretend that i wasn¡¯t aware of it, like i did right now and i just wanted to let him know the threat that i had been through before i would like to be comforted in his arms. i really wished to be protected in those big arms of his. in the end, i simply hoped for his safe return. * * * Chapter 53 as the air grew chilly and the signs of winter began to appear one by one, those who had gone to war finally returned. in the meantime, i, who gradually became a healthy mother, enveloped my swollen belly and trod with heavy steps. other than that, the duchess dowager also came out to greet her son with me for this time. mrs. may as well as the maid, who remarked that she had been as strong as she was, watched my steps anxiously on either side while charlotte watched over the duchess dowager¡¯s steps carefully. on the other hand, carl just dashed out with the dog and returned to me with red cheeks before repeating it through. before gellerhard could even enter the castle, carl¡¯s cheeks were already burning bright red and his breathing was all rough. ¡°carl, is it good that your father is coming home?¡± ¡°huh! good!¡± carl, whose chubby cheeks were all puffy, responded instantly with a wide grin. the puppy with the size of a grain of rice before had now been twice as big as carl, who was smiling brightly enough to reveal those tiny teeth of his. ah¡ªi cried out. carl, who was beaming with excitement, had been very cute and lovely, so everyone simply waited for duke demancier¡¯s return along with a smile on their face. even while his cheeks were all frozen red from the cold wind, the thrill of meeting him had made his heart pound. i wondered how he would react when he could see his wife with a huge bulging belly as well as his chirping son along with those tiny teeth. the knights, who had been led by gellerhard, gradually entered the castle in pride and gellerhard immediately got off his horse before he hurriedly approached us. ¡°dad!¡± the child whom i once had to hold and bring into gellerhard¡¯s arms before was now running to his father on his own while opening his arms wide. gellerhard snatched his son up with his left arm and pulled him into his strong arms. my heart ached at the sight of the two of them hugging each other tightly. ¡°amanda.¡± ¡°gellerhard.¡± gellerhard stepped up to me with the child in one arm before he grabbed my shoulder with his right hand. the purple pair of eyes that was visible through the long, tousled black hair, the high nose bridge, the cheeks that were etched with a rather dark beard and even the lips¡ªall of them had been intact. his gaze went all over my body as well as myself. ¡°i¡¯m glad that you¡¯ve come back safely.¡± he just smiled at the added stiff acclaim. ¡°both carl and amanda had grown a lot in the meantime.¡± ¡°it got bigger!¡± ¡°yes, our young master has grown a lot~ his younger brother has grown a lot as well.¡± carl nodded his head broadly at the words that he said while stroking his nearly full-sized stomach. i wanted to brag about how the dignified older brother carl had been and how kind he was to his younger brother in my stomach, but i held back since everyone appeared to have been exposed to the cold wind for quite too long. ¡°mother had also come out to greet as well.¡± ¡°mother.¡± ¡°come on then.¡± it seemed that the emotions that had been buried deep between the two of them were swirling around. the duchess dowager appeared to feel very very complicated at the return of her young son, who had left for the battlefield right after the death of her husband, whom she had still loved. and amidst all that, gellerhard just faced such a mother in silence. i could feel an intense pressure that surged to lead the conversation between these two. ¡°echwi!¡± at that moment, carl sneezed with his red-cheeks and all the adults hurriedly headed into the warm castle. phew¡ªi was so glad. as i became relieved internally, gellerhard¡¯s other arm instantly wrapped itself around my waist. his hands were still very hard with the gauntlet, but i simply wrapped my own hands around his. winter had come along with his appearance. * * * gellerhard had gone to take a bath and the duchess dowager went off to prepare for the banquet. therefore, carl and i returned to my room instead. carl, who was excited to see his father after such a long time, said that he would like to show what he did to gellerhard and piled his blocks up high while the maids began helping carl as well. with the sound of the hastily opened door, carl¡¯s tower collapsed, but the child was just as excited before darting towards the sudden visitor. ¡°mandy, are you okay?¡± ¡°dad!¡± it had been gellerhard, who was quite lightly dressed. when he appeared, i instantly raised my body and in the meantime, he lifted his son who had run towards him with just one arm. a joyful laugh leaked out from the child whose field of vision had been raised as he was being held in his strong arms. ¡°it has improved a lot actually. would you like to touch it?¡± was it because my hands had been constantly stroking my stomach or due to it appearing like a very large swollen part of my body? gellerhard¡¯s eyes seemed to glaze over my bulging belly. he nodded his head nervously and began to stretch his hand out willingly. ¡°¡ªthat¡¯s really big.¡± ¡°really big!¡± ¡°you speak quite well now.¡± after stroking my stomach once and admiring its size, gellerhard smiled at carl¡¯s words. ¡°sure, he does. he¡¯s going to be three years old soon and what a wonderful older brother he has been too. right, carl?¡± since gellerhard had picked carl up, it became easier to see carl¡¯s green eyes. carl, whose eyes twinkled while his cheeks lit a smile, gave him a nod. ¡°huh!¡± ¡°but why is it a brother? couldn¡¯t it be a sister instead?¡± since it had been clear that i was going to have a son, i would often assume that the baby to be born in this manner would happen to be a son too. since it was impossible to determine the sex of a fetus over here, people seemed to always wonder why i had been so sure that a boy would eventually be born without asking me outright. Chapter 54 ¡°why¡ªwould you like a daughter instead?¡± ¡°i don¡¯t know. i never really thought about it¡­¡± whether he felt that he had to answer it, gellerhard began to think much more seriously. carl, who was simply idle in his father¡¯s arms, slowly grabbed a tiny handful of gellerhard¡¯s hair and tucked it into his ear. why would children love having their noses and ears stuck with hair like that? suddenly, it appeared that gellerhard¡¯s hair was still wet. ¡°why is your hair so wet? let it dry first before you come over.¡± if the water that got left in his hair were to go into carl¡¯s ears, it would be a big deal. i removed carl¡¯s small hand that was holding onto his hair. carl¡¯s hand then began to grip my finger tightly. ¡°it¡¯s all because i just want to see you soon.¡± he answered without any hesitation this time before gellerhard reached out and cupped my cheek. his purple eyes thoroughly scanned both my face and body closely. ¡°i was worried since it must have hurt a lot.¡± ¡°huh. quite a lot.¡± it did hurt a lot, so i immediately agreed to his words. carl also added by following after my words as well. ¡°mandy, it hurts a lot¡ª¡± gellerhard¡¯s hand caressed my back as well as my waist before i slowly took a step closer to him and kissed carl on the cheek, when he suddenly burst into the conversation. carl, who had become speechless even in the midst of it, was constantly copying people¡¯s words and his vocabulary kept increasing day by day. ¡°i got much better thanks to carl. thank you for protecting me.¡± ¡°huh! mandy is all better!¡± gellerhard smiled at his son¡¯s elated face as well as mine. it had been clear that he thought it was a good thing to say to a child. as i even knew that it was true, i eventually changed the topic with a smile. carl wouldn¡¯t be able to understand everything that i said to gellerhard, but i still didn¡¯t know how a child would remember what i spoke about, so i should tell him the truth of the incident while carl wasn¡¯t there. ¡°are you going to come here right after the banquet?¡± ¡°is that okay?¡± ¡°hmm. oh, but i often wake up even after sleeping for a while, so gellerhard might be tired instead.¡± after having this full stomach, it became hard to walk around and lie still for a long time. even when i was sleeping, i would toss and turn to sleep several times. in fact, even after i fell asleep, i would often wake up. it was actually gellerhard, who had just returned from a long journey, that i had been afraid of since he might not be able to get enough rest. ¡°are you okay? still, i¡¯d like to sleep next to you.¡± gellerhard lowered his purple eyes slightly and spoke in a deep voice in response. he nodded his head more reluctantly because he had missed the sense of security that came through his large body, even if he couldn¡¯t have sex as of the moment. ¡°carl wants to sleep with you too!¡± carl, who had been sleeping together with me for the past few months, exclaimed instantly. since he had been a child who slept so well that he would not even know if he was being carried off, carl had shared the bed with me for the past few months without any sort of discomfort at all. he then asked while stroking carl¡¯s soft hair. ¡°will carl sleep with us as well?¡± at my words, carl responded loudly with a nod. ¡°it is. then, carl sleeps here too.¡± another kiss landed on the cheek. during the time i was full, i could no longer hug carl like before, but i started kissing him as much as i could instead. carl immediately held out his lips and raised his head. when my cheeks were brought closer, his small pair of lips brushed against me before it fell off. ¡°me too.¡± the moment i lifted my head while laughing at gellerhard¡¯s words, i could see that carl was already sticking out his lips and raising his head towards gellerhard¡¯s chin. gellerhard, who was actually waiting for my kiss, smiled at carl before lowering his head to look at his son and eventually smiled after him. just as carl had been waiting for, he was finally able to kiss gellerhard¡¯s stocky chin. ¡°i¡¯m glad that you came back only after shaving.¡± i also stroked his smooth cheek as i gave a kiss on top of it. out of consideration for my heavy body, gellerhard didn¡¯t even raise his bottom until carl and i finally had our dinner. ¡°i just wish that we could have a meal together over here¡­¡± the banquet that was held after returning had not been a matter that could be easily missed by the duke himself. with a faint sigh, gellerhard then rose from his seat. his hair was still half dried. ¡°don¡¯t get up. i will come back as soon as possible.¡± gellerhard stopped me from trying to stand up. as i sat back down, i suddenly thought of him coming back to my bedroom while smelling like alcohol later. ¡°have a good meal. and don¡¯t drink too much.¡± ¡°yeah, i will.¡± gellerhard nodded his head earnestly and put down carl, who never tried to escape from his arms even for just a moment. ¡°carl, our young master. your father says that he is going to eat now.¡± ¡°are you going to eat?¡± ¡°yes, see you later.¡± ¡°okay. then, later¡­¡± carl calmly sat next to me and waved to gellerhard. ¡°see you later!¡± ¡°okay.¡± ¡°bye.¡± Chapter 55 i also waved slightly next to carl. gellerhard smiled at us before he soon left the room. after leaving like that, he hurriedly returned even late that night while carl struggled until just then to endure his sleepiness. only then did he fall asleep in gellerhard¡¯s arms like he had wished before. gellerhard¡¯s purple eyes shone with emotions at his son¡¯s face as he slept peacefully in his arms. the three of us then lay on the bed together in order and his hand was placed right on top of mine as i continued to soothe carl. ¡°thank you, mandy.¡± ¡°what?¡± a low voice suddenly flowed out quietly. in all calmness, i could hear carl¡¯s loud breathing today probably because he had been awake all day long just to wait for gellerhard. under the light of the small lamp in the bedroom, the dense black eyelashes trailed along the slender pair of eyes as they cast long shadows in tow. his eyes sparkled even in the midst of shadows. ¡°for everything.¡± no other words were truly needed. as i faced his eyes, i could feel a sense of solidarity that he was my husband as well as the fact that we were truly husband and wife even more than ever¡ªright at this moment. * * * the morning of the castle where its lord had returned began slowly, unlike its usual. since i had to go to the bathroom, gellerhard woke up three times. and around dawn, he woke up because carl, who awoke from his good night¡¯s sleep despite the noise in the middle of the night, had started running wild. ¡°get some more sleep. you are tired.¡± ¡°yes¡­¡± ¡°carl, let your father sleep more. you should eat your breakfast instead.¡± ¡°yes!¡± after waking up with such a grubby face, i left gellerhard on the bed and moved along with carl to have breakfast. carl was sent to the nursery first and when he had finished washing up as well as grooming himself with the help of the maid, gellerhard came out of the bedroom with a dazed face plastered all over. ¡°did you sleep well?¡± ¡°yeah¡­¡± hoam¡ªhe yawned loudly without any considerable feelings. gellerhard¡¯s purple eyes were still hazy and he began stretching out his tall and big body before he leaned it back out and swept through his disorganized hair back. plop¡ªhe took a seat next to me while simply sprawling his back against the backrest. ¡°sleep some more.¡± ¡°hoam, i still have to get up.¡± in contrast to what he had just said, he proceeded to slump onto the sofa. it reminded me of carl when he clung to my side while lazily lounging around. he had been as big as a mountain, but looking at what he was currently doing, he appeared just like his small son. so, it reminded me of a large dog that clung to its owner while forgetting its own puppies. i stroked gellerhard¡¯s back as if i was petting a dog and he leaned his head gently in response. i stroked his hair softly and gestured to send all the remaining maids out of the room. not long after that, they had quietly exited the room. as soon as the maids left, gellerhard¡¯s lips grazed over the nape of my neck. the kisses continued one after another as if he was fishing for the strings of a necklace and since the maids weren¡¯t sent out in order for us to have that kind of time, i dodged¡ªever so slightly. ¡°why?¡± ¡°wait a minute¡ªwait, talk to me first.¡± ¡°okay¡­¡± with my words, he obediently nodded his head and straightened his body. i stroked his sullen face and slowly began to choose the things that should be said to him. i refrained from making guesses on top of having any personal assumptions as much as possible and said that there was a strange maid at the picnic. then, i proceeded talking about the event after eating with carl before i got better and finally, i only ate with carl from then onwards. as the story progressed, gellerhard¡¯s eyes instantly widened, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth became contorted. trailing after his flushed face, numbers of swollen blood vessels stood up all over his neck as well. gellerhard was absolutely furious. all of the muscles in his body swelled up and he could feel a certain chill¡ªgoosebumps right on his back. as i suppressed an instinctive fear, i eventually gave a slap across his forearm. ¡°don¡¯t be afraid and don¡¯t be angry as well.¡± ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡± he apologized as he tried to calm his mind somehow, but it was in vain. his snort was still wild with seething rage and his muscles were taut all over, so at long last, gellerhard was asked to take his leave. i thought that he couldn¡¯t hurt me, but his rage was so strong that i still had to hug and calm myself down right after he had left. gellerhard returned only a little while later. gellerhard¡¯s skin was utterly cold as he quietly took a seat next to me before he proceeded to look at me. ¡°did you wash up with cold water?¡± ¡°yes.¡± droplets of water dripped from the tips of his wet hair and soaked his shoulders. it was cool when i placed my cheek while avoiding the already dampened place. i hugged my stomach before i leaned against him a little bit more. ¡°it¡¯s very cool.¡± gellerhard¡¯s shoulders rested firmly behind my head, followed by his arms carefully wrapped around my back and waist. gellerhard kept holding onto me securely. it was a little strange to compare a person with a cushion, but gellerhard had been much more comfortable than the soft cushion. the heat spread all over his skin, which was cooled with cold water, and it gradually warmed up. since we were all alone in the room while talking about secrets, the only sound that could be heard had been the crackling of wood burning in the fireplace as we both kept our mouths shut. Chapter 56 ¡°what the hell¡ª¡± gellerhard¡¯s shoulders shook as he chose his next words. in the sense of calming down, he hit his chest and the rest of his words began pouring out in line with his exasperated sigh. ¡°are there even people like that?¡± for a moment, i wondered if gellerhard was actually testing me. in this situation, the only force that could target this pregnant self of mine were carl¡¯s supporters¡ªstarting with carl¡¯s own maternal family, count petrika. why would you even ask that if you know? did you really ask because you had no idea? i straightened up and ttok a step back. ¡°there is no evidence that someone was playing a trick on my meals.¡± there had only been circumstantial indications and since it was not uncommon for my health to deteriorate during pregnancy, everyone just knew that my health had worsened before it gradually recovered. ¡°what about the maid who had stopped carl from drinking?¡± ¡°i just let her out of the castle. i made her drink from it, but nothing really happened, so¡­.¡± ¡°i¡¯ll tell them to catch her again.¡± when he turned his head, gellerhard had a very serious expression on his face. i guessed from his tight mouth and big eyes that he wouldn¡¯t let go of the maid whom he would be holding on to later. ¡°if you do catch her, what are you going to do then?¡± ¡°of course!¡± gellerhard, who had been raising his voice with excitement, suddenly closed his lips. the sound of his teeth grinding away as well as the sharp eyes eventually made me guess the words that he had just swallowed back. ¡°¡­i will kill the person who instigated it right after getting her to confess. everyone¡ªfrom the person concerned up till the next of kin!¡± the words that followed were all bloody, up to the point that i didn¡¯t even want to know what the hell he had swallowed before. the purple eyes under his furrowed eyebrows were utterly menacing. as if he was going to catch the maid at any moment once again, he jumped up in a hurry. ¡°mandy, don¡¯t worry.¡± i¡¯ll take care of everything¡ªi immediately caught him as he tried to run away while leaving behind such a heavy phrase. ¡°gellerhard! wait, wait! i know who actually did it!¡± ¡°what? who is it?¡± it took a lot of courage to tell him the culprit whom i had guessed. i was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t believe in me¡ªmaybe he thought that i might have other intentions instead. my lips did not open up that easily along with full of worries when i saw the concern for me within those purple eyes that were ultimately seething with anger. ¡°count petrika.¡± ¡°this¡ª¡± sh¡ªsomething strong was just about to flow out, but he bit his lips hard and stopped. gellerhard, who was about to jump out with a very angry expression, suddenly paused his movements and turned to me. ¡°count petrika? carl¡¯s maternal grandfather?¡± his eyes met my face as well as my huge bulging belly. his face, which was once again contorted with anger, eventually turned crimson. ¡°what a bastard! how nice mandy has always been towards carl!¡± in the end, such cursings came out of the duke¡¯s lips. the subject of asking how the late count petrika had been doing was actually very interesting. bang! he rolled over to his own feet and began to throw swears all over before gellerhard slumped down right next to me. he crouched down in anguish and grabbed a hold of his hair with both hands. right at the tip of the seething anger, gellerhard eventually came to a realization. all because count petrika was carl¡¯s maternal grandfather, he tried to hurt me while i was still pregnant. and neither himself nor i could readily retaliate against count petrika, who was ultimately carl¡¯s own maternal grandfather. ¡°ugh!¡± gellerhard, who wanted count petrika to learn back decency and courtesy from his dead parents once again, became frustrated and looked very distressed in return. ¡°gellerhard.¡± he raised his head at my call and his eyes were already bloodshot from blood pressure that kept rising in anger while his lips were swollen red from being chewed. his face contorted as soon as he saw me. his black eyebrows, which had been raised fiercely with anger, drooped down and his purple eyes glistened with sadness. ¡°mandy, i¡¯m sorry. i¡¯m so sorry, mandy.¡± with a bottomless continuous apologies, gellerhard lowered himself and buried his face against my thigh. his pain of not being able to be completely for me, his desire that i would not be disappointed in him and leave him as well as his wish to be comforted by me in the midst of his pain were all jumbled up together. it reminded me of carl who hid behind the hem of my skirt while being chased by the tagger previously. my heart throbbed as i felt severely dejected for gellerhard, who was several times bigger than the small and plump carl. ¡°it¡¯s okay, gellerhard. until the baby is born, i will just have to be careful like i am right now.¡± ¡°mandy.¡± ¡°i¡¯m okay. rather, i¡¯m just glad that you actually believed in me.¡± what i said as i gently patted him on the back was really sincere. gellerhard had believed my words without any evidence¡ªwithout any question even. in fact, he would have already found and killed him if it hadn¡¯t been count petrika himself. ¡°gellerhard, please hug me now. and promise me that you will protect me from now onwards.¡± with my words, gellerhard instantly raised his head. ¡°i¡¯ll be sure to knock him down¡ªthat bastard.¡± gellerhard swore out harshly before he took me into his arms. as i leaned against his chest, the tension began to ease. ¡°those who bully you will have to pay the price. certainly.¡± gellerhard once again promised to retaliate against count petrika. and that was it. anytime, as long as it had been for me, that was just fine. * * * Chapter 57 i heard that the duchess dowager and the duke quarreled with each other, but i had no idea that it had anything to do with me. after sending the asleep carl to the nursery and leaving me alone in my bedroom, gellerhard told me that he had already ordered some people to find the maid who had tried in getting me to drink that strange concoction as he told me about his day. the first ones to face his fiery wrath were his aides. gellerhard got mad in honor of his wife, amanda, for letting a suspicious maid try to feed her a strange drink and his aides eventually set about finding the maid right away. the aides then told me that in order for them to find the maid who had been kicked out, they needed the documents which got filled out when the maid was initially hired. during the process of unearthing the documents, gellerhard found out that all the work that had been related to the duchess¡¯s maids and servants was the work of the duchess. his anger then shifted to mrs. may, the head maid, who was now acting in my place. unlike mrs. may, who apologized for committing a mortal sin by lying flat right away, the duchess dowager raised her voice by asking why he was talking loudly instead and the two started getting into a heated argument. gellerhard did not say what he and the duchess dowager had talked about during the fight though. ¡°what if i got into a fight like that with mother then? she stayed in the south because of me and had now come back on purpose while continuing to work as well¡­¡± i became so nervous that my heart was already pounding and beating fast. it was true that i felt sorry for the duchess dowager who had to pretend not to know that i was in danger, but she still had been a mother-in-law who welcomed me quite warmly. she had already been doing everything for me for over a year¡ªfor me who couldn¡¯t really play the role of the duchess just yet. what if they misunderstood that i had manipulated gellerhard into fighting with her? at that moment, some pompous thoughts began crossing my mind. anxiety and irritation welled up within me, but i was rendered speechless when i saw gellerhard had his head down along with his drooping shoulders. he said that he was doing it for me, but how embarrassed he must have been to hear such criticism right away. ¡°i¡¯m sorry, mandy. i will go and apologize to my mother right now.¡± with an addition to the dejected voice, it also sounded very sad, so i hurriedly comforted him. ¡°gellerhard, i know what¡¯s in your heart. you were only trying to protect me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°thank you. no one will dare to hurt me now, even if gellerhard were to be afraid.¡± as i patted his large hands tightly with both of mine, gellerhard raised his head. there was a sullen look inside those beautiful purple eyes of his. ¡°i know i am stupid.¡± ¡°huh?¡± ¡°what i¡¯m really good at is just ignorantly wielding a sword on the battlefield while decapitating monsters. mandy, i wish that i could protect you with something like that.¡± ¡°what do you mean?¡± with an end to his unexpected self-deprecation, gellerhard pressed his lips together once again. a sense of disappointment in himself leaked from his tightly pursed lips. he was born as the only heir to the duke of demancier, the ruler of the north, and he was raised as a duke¡¯s successor before he eventually became a duke himself. he had always been told that he was a knight as well as a general on the battlefield, so he was in good shape. on top of that, his swordsmanship was excellent and he had been good at planning strategies as well. during the winter, he would work as the lord while preparing for war yet again. gellerhard, the current duke of demancier, was an outstanding and handsome man even to me, his own wife. i moved my head to follow the gaze of his dark purple eyes. as his eyes met mine, gellerhard turned his head slightly to avoid me. after repeating that hide-and-seek game for a couple of times, i then put my hands around gellerhard¡¯s head. ¡°gellerhard. you¡¯re just silly and that is definitely a stupid idea.¡± i forced him to raise his head and meet his eyes again. ¡°gellerhard is good at swordsmanship as well as planning many strategies. since you are always mobilizing the knights and the soldiers. oh, yeah. gellerhard must have been good at great things like moving so many people around. i¡¯m not good at that.¡± i ran my thumb through his hair and tickled his ear. gellerhard¡¯s shoulders twitched when i did that, which made me wonder if the fact was the same for carl too. ¡°don¡¯t you think like that and don¡¯t say that. i¡¯ve never thought of you that way. there¡¯s no other man like you at all. so, that self-criticism of yours¡ªit¡¯s nonsense, really.¡± ¡°yes¡­¡± gellerhard¡¯s hand slowly covered mine. i had to pretend that i didn¡¯t see his eyes were already moist when he gave a nod. ¡°i want to apologize to my mother.¡± ¡°would you like me to go with you?¡± ¡°no, i can do it on my own.¡± he put my hand down as if to hide his face and jumped up. i hoped that they would reconcile amicably as i watched his back when he walked away courageously. fortunately, the duchess dowager took care of him and sent him back after saying that she knew too well that gellerhard was only worried about me. she also felt sorry for me, but when her son pointed it out and raised his voice, she was moved to tears right away. Chapter 58 such a tumultuous day finally passed and perhaps thanks to gellerhard¡¯s previous riot, my prestige in the duchy became very high. everyone from the lower ranks of the castle right up to the head maid and aides slowly looked up at me. my meal would be watched over by a maid or servant who had quite a bit of seniority within the duchy while the cooks and the head chef who had the same seniority were always in charge. gellerhard¡¯s threat was so strong that if the duchess were to cough at all, everyone from the overseer right to the cooks that day would be decapitated. in fact, it was so strong that one of the servants fainted with a single sneeze. time eventually passed day by day. fortunately, my body didn¡¯t get worse and nothing ever happened or anything. my parents couldn¡¯t come to visit the duchy of demancier for a long time, probably since they were tightly held off by count petrika and the baby seemed like he could not wait for his maternal grandparents. signs of childbirth suddenly developed in the morning and i was straight away moved to the birthing room, which had already been decorated as best they could. a full and a half day later, the baby was eventually born during the middle of the night. the long delivery was extremely painful and exhausting, so i fainted even before i could hold the newborn baby in my arms. when i opened my eyes, a maid, who was watching over me, handed me a glass of lukewarm water. as i quenched my dry throat, my voice could finally come out. ¡°baby¡­?¡± ¡°the princess has now fallen asleep right after drinking the nursemaid¡¯s milk.¡± ¡°princess¡­?¡± ¡°she was a very pretty little princess. she was delighted with the duke, the young master and even with the duchess dowager as well.¡± the maid explained calmly as if it had been to soothe me, but i was so surprised that i began to ask again. ¡°a daughter¡­¡± ¡°yes, my lady has given birth to a daughter.¡± daughter¡ªa girl. so, it was carl¡¯s sister! the child who was born to ¡®amanda¡¯ had been a son and carl¡¯s only sibling was his half-brother, so i never thought that i would give birth to a daughter instead. i idly questioned several times at the maid who had brought me the news and the question-and-answer session eventually ended when carl and gellerhard came to me as soon as they heard that i had woken up. ¡°mandy!¡± ¡°mandy.¡± both of their pairs of eyes were equally red. gellerhard embraced carl as he suddenly tried to climb onto the bed. carl, who thought that his father would carry him to my side in his arms, began to struggle as he pulled up the chair next to the bed and sat down instead. ¡°carl, gellerhard.¡± ¡°mandyyyy¡ª¡± carl struggled against him before he soon burst into tears. gellerhard continued hugging that kind of carl tightly, but there was no way that carl could actually understand that he should not bother a sick person. when i was about to stop gellerhard from trying to forcibly handle carl by handing him over to the maid in order to let him out, carl had already mounted onto the bed and crawled over to me before he then crouched down. i didn¡¯t have the strength to pat the child who was all curled up while weeping nor the energy to kiss him on the forehead for him to cease crying. ¡°hey, carl. are you surprised? mandy is all fine now.¡± ¡°uh-uh¡ª¡± ¡°it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay now.¡± it was very pitiful to see his face that had been dripping with tears along with that runny nose of his. whatever baroness may was actually doing, she, who had been carl¡¯s other nanny, seemed to be acting coy. i would have to tell her to take care of carl properly later. ¡°gellerhard, please wipe carl¡¯s face.¡± ¡°uh, uh!¡± gellerhard, who only knew how to play with the child but couldn¡¯t really take care of him, hurriedly tugged on the sleeve of his clothes and tried to touch carl¡¯s face. oh my, i felt exhausted once again trying to dry him all by myself. ¡°what about the child?¡± ¡°she is healthy. and she is a pretty girl too.¡± ¡°small!¡± gellerhard stroked carl¡¯s head. it had been obvious that he was joking around while remarking that; ¡®you¡¯re such a small subject too¡ª¡¯. as if carl had never cried before, he burst into laughter and began clinging to my arms. oops! i understood the feelings of the boy who had come running in out of concern and both of them were really tired as well. however, to see that he was still sniffing with a face that seemed like he had been crying bothered me again and while i let the two of them be like that, the duchess dowager eventually came to my rescue. ¡°what are you doing to a child who is already so exhausted!¡± at the exclamation of the duchess dowager, gellerhard got up and she eventually took the place where he had been sitting previously. right after her, charlotte brought in a tray in tow. after reprimanding her son with such bitter eyes, the duchess dowager gently held my hand and put on a benevolent expression. ¡°it was a lot of hard work. you¡¯ve been asleep for half a day already. now that you¡¯re up, you need to fill your stomach right away.¡± gellerhard helped me in lifting my upper body a little¡ªas per the duchess dowager¡¯s order. charlotte then got on the bed as she rested some of the soft cushions behind my back as well as my head. the savory smell from her slowly stimulated my hunger. ¡°it¡¯s a kind of soup that is eaten by new mothers back in my hometown.¡± ¡°from preparing the ingredients right up to cooking itself, charlotte had done everything by herself.¡± what the duchess dowager added just then meant that neither countess petrika nor anyone else had any hand in this dish. Chapter 59 ¡°thank you, charlotte.¡± ¡°congratulations.¡± she greeted me with a soft smile and scooped a little bit of the soup with the spoon before she blew on it. i was really grateful since, frankly, i didn¡¯t even have any strength to lift a finger, but this felt a little burdensome still. ¡°allow me.¡± then, gellerhard suddenly snapped in. ¡°me too!¡± carl also ran for the candidacy and charlotte immediately turned her head towards the duchess dowager with a face that asked; ¡®what should i do?¡¯ ¡°well then, i will ask the duke. i think it would be okay for the two of you to spend some time together now.¡± charlotte¡¯s intervention was considered even by gellerhard, who hated her, so gellerhard took charlotte¡¯s place instead. a tray was put on his thigh and carl, who had been sitting next to me, was eventually pulled down by charlotte. ¡°eat the soup and get to sleep once more. don¡¯t worry about anything else.¡± ¡°yes, mother.¡± ¡°i have also sent a message to viscount bentta, so they will be here soon enough.¡± ¡°thank you.¡± ¡°now, rest up.¡± the duchess dowager, who was concerned that carl would ultimately annoy me, picked the child up and went out with charlotte. only a single maid had kept her place by the door while all the other maids had gone away. then, gellerhard began stirring the soup with a spoon. ¡°it doesn¡¯t look very appetizing though.¡± heh¡ªgellerhard snorted as he made a rather pointless quibble. i saw his dissatisfaction with charlotte that had melted into the poor soup. ¡°i¡¯m hungry, oh¡ª¡± as i pressed my lips together, the soup finally entered my mouth. it was a bit hot, which made me simply swallow it whole, so i didn¡¯t even know what it really tasted like. ¡°do chill it a bit more.¡± ¡°sorry. hoo hoo¡ª¡± as if he was showing off his superior lung capacity, the soup that he had blown on for a long time became lukewarm. he was a man who knew nothing of any middle ground. well, when did he ever nurse and feed someone like this? i calmly accepted and ate whatever that he fed me. his treatment was so clumsy that he had scooped out too much soup which eventually ran down my mouth and he also moved the spoon incorrectly that made a noise as soon as it hit my teeth or lips. still, the look of gellerhard, who seemed to be very apologetic whenever he made a mistake while still trying to be cautious and careful, was a bit cute. i eventually emptied the soup and with gellerhard¡¯s help, i sat back on my back. the bed seemed to have cooled down a bit, so i changed the hot water bath and slowly buried myself in the warm, fluffy bedding before letting myself fall asleep. in my sleep, i thought that i could slightly hear the lullaby which i usually sang to gellerhard and carl before. * * * the next time i woke up, it was already morning. the maids wiped my face and body with towels soaked in water and mrs. may vigorously excused her absence by saying that the duke left this morning on urgent business and that he had originally intended to stay by my side the whole time. i knew that gellerhard was busy, so i wasn¡¯t really annoyed by his absence, but he just kept letting mrs. may keep her eyes on me. on top of that, she had been actively making excuses for him while knowing the fact that the other maids would prick their ears and overhear it. it was only after eating breakfast and moving around the room two or three times with the help of the maids that my vitality returned to my body little by little. ¡°what about the baby? i want to see the baby.¡± now, i could already hold the baby in my arms. a maid hurriedly went outside and soon after, the duchess dowager as well as carl came in with the baby. carl was smiling broadly as he grabbed the hem of my clothes. ¡°did you sleep well last night? i¡¯m so happy to see that you¡¯ve woken up from a good night¡¯s sleep. charlotte¡¯s soup must have worked quite well.¡± ¡°i guess so. i slept well and i felt rather light in the morning too.¡± ¡°mandy, hello!¡± ¡°hello, carl. are you here with the baby?¡± ¡°i was so happy that i wanted to see my younger sister ever since the morning. i came with her because mrs. may brought her.¡± ¡°oh, my goodness.¡± when a second child was born, it could be said that the first child would feel a lack of attention as well as a sense of loneliness, but she was also carl¡¯s half-sister. therefore, i became worried, but fortunately, carl seemed to like his sister. carl, who had cheeks just like ripe apples, urged me while tugging the hem of my skirt. ¡°mandy, quickly¡ª¡± he urged me to sit down quickly and see the baby. i climbed onto the bed and sat with my back against the cushioned head and carl instantly took the seat next to me. the duchess dowager, who was already sitting on the bed, slowly held the baby out into my arms. ¡°oh, my god¡­¡± the baby had the scent of warm milk and was startlingly little. her hands and feet were surprisingly small, with her all five fingers and five toes each as tiny as a millet. the baby¡¯s pink soles and palms were all soft and mini too. the child¡¯s eyes were closed, perhaps because her eyelids were all swollen or perhaps since she had been asleep, but her lips were constantly munching around. ¡°she was named with theodora.¡± the duchess dowager said to me as i was quietly looking at her child¡¯s face. when a baby was born, they would usually be named by the eldest person within the household, so it must have been come up by the duchess dowager herself. ¡°theodora.¡± ¡°theo-do¡ª¡± somehow, she even had a very lovely name. as i carved my baby¡¯s name in my heart, i smiled at the duchess dowager and thanked her before she responded with a smile on her face to me in return. carl called out his sister¡¯s name after me, but the name ¡®theodora¡¯ seemed to be too long for carl to pronounce all at once. ¡°theodora¡ªyour sister¡¯s name is theodora. theodora.¡± ¡°yes, theodora.¡± Chapter 60 when he heard it over and over again, carl began to call out the child¡¯s name eagerly. ¡°theo-dora!¡± his pronunciation had been rather clumsy, but i could feel the welcoming tone and affection in the voice that was calling out the name. theodora appeared to have brown hair just like me. dark brown hair that covered the baby¡¯s head and a set of light, fluffy brown hairs settled as her eyebrows. theodora¡¯s eyes narrowed as if she was answering her brother¡¯s call. ¡°she has the same eyes as gellerhard!¡± her purple eyes, which were just like him, had been very thrilling. her pretty purple eyes glinted for a moment before she squinted with an ooh and a sob trailed after. my heart was so relieved by her healthy cries until tears welled up in my eyes. i had also been concerned about the health of the baby whom i was carrying since i seemed to have eaten something strange in the early stages of my pregnancy before. fortunately, the baby seemed to be very healthy. i poked my finger on the baby¡¯s cheek and theodora followed my finger as she turned her head. oh, she was actually hungry. ¡°you¡¯re hungry. shall we have you drink your mother¡¯s milk?¡± the duchess dowager helped me to unfasten the buttons that secured my breasts. she undid my dress before she held theodora into my arms and the baby hurriedly pressed her lips against my breasts, which were absolutely swollen with milk. as she filled her stomach to the fullest, the child opened her purple eyes brightly and i smiled as i met with her eyes. yes, this was her own mom. she should eat a lot and grow up well. ¡°you eat well. the milk seems to come out well too.¡± ¡°yes, i guess.¡± the voice of the duchess dowager seemed satisfactory as well. as i was feeding the baby, i felt a kind of heavy weight tugged on my arm. when i looked up, carl was already standing up while holding my arm. carl then asked with his green eyes that had been full of curiosity. ¡°theodora drinks milk?¡± ¡°yes, carl also had milk when you were very little.¡± ¡°me too?¡± ¡°yup. and now, you grew up. babies still need milk.¡± as it was his first time seeing the act of breastfeeding, carl even tried to suck on his own hand too. they said that it was not really good to only feed one side too much, so when i removed her to the other side, she started sucking on it as well. she seemed to have such good eating habits and it was really good for the baby to eat well. the maid held out a soft towel and the duchess dowager began to wipe my breast, which was already stained with saliva and milk, with her own pair of hands. when i said thank you with my eyes and looked at carl once again, he genuinely gave a shout in return. ¡°i want to taste it too!¡± ¡°a grown child can¡¯t just drink it like that.¡± carl¡¯s wish was stopped by the duchess dowager, but carl sucked his finger adorably and looked up at me with those teary green eyes of his. ¡°mandy, please¡ª¡± i never knew where he had learned that kind of word and again, when she was already full, theodora let go of my breast before the duchess dowager slowly took the baby from me and patted her on the back to make her burp. after receiving the towel and wiping off the remaining excess on my breasts, i stretched out her hand towards carl. ¡°only this once.¡± to me, carl was still a small baby just like theodora right now, exactly like when i first held her in my arms. carl was being held excitedly in my arms as the duchess dowager began to sigh and shook her head. she thought that i had been spoiling carl a bit too much, but carl was still just a baby. the weight of carl who had been held in my arms was quite heavy. i gently grabbed carl¡¯s nose and tugged on it, followed by a kiss on the cheek and carl finally let out a chuckle. as i was faced with carl¡¯s green eyes while he was breastfeeding, the child simply smiled brightly. it seemed that carl just wanted for me to hold him in my arms and make eye contact with him rather than being breastfed. ¡°looks like you still want to pretend to be a baby. now that you¡¯ve become an older brother, you should be more dignified.¡± tch¡ªcarl clicked his tongue sulkily, but i still liked it anyway. this dignified older brother had become just like a piggy as soon as he grew up. it was all because this baby¡¯s hands and feet are still too tiny as well. ¡°carl is still a baby to me. baby. my baby~ our young master~¡± as he laughed while tickling his armpits and the sides with my fingers, carl laughed as he twisted his body in return. i adjusted my clothes once again as carl, who had just come down from my bosom, rolled on the bed while laughing around. the duchess dowager held out theodora back into my arms before carl started to roll over and came towards us. ¡°theo-dora!¡± theodora, who was in my arms and met her eyes with mine, turned her gaze towards carl slowly. ¡°theodora is pretty, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°yesh! pretty!¡± ¡°will carl love her a lot from now on?¡± ¡°yes!¡± carl nodded vigorously while rolling over the bed yet again before he kept on coming back to look at the baby¡¯s face as he touched the baby¡¯s hands and feet once in a while. these two fuzzy little ones had made my heart even softer than ever before. * * *