Chapter 39
Peaceful days at the Eisengard estate, bathed in warm spring sunlight.
It was the season when pale-green shoots sprouted from every branch and nameless flowers burst into bloom.
But unlike the fair weather, my heart felt as precarious as though I were walking across thin ice.
“Big Sis! Look over there! That’s the Ironwall Tower, the symbol of Eisengard!”
“Wow! It’s really tall! Can you see the whole territory if you climb up there?”
Two girls were walking ahead of us...
No, my feelings were complicated as I watched one girl and one woman.
Alina was running around energetically, as though she had never been kidnapped.
Perhaps it was thanks to the grapefruit tart that had restored her strength, or perhaps it was simply a child’s remarkable resilience.
Her eyesight had not fully recovered, so she had to watch her step, but there was not a trace of gloom on her face.
The problem was the person beside her.
The princess, Elysia von Croa.
She was holding Alina’s hand tightly and carrying on like a country girl out on a picnic.
“Miss Alina, what flower is that? The color is so pretty!”
“That’s a tulip. Daddy planted it for Mommy.”
“Oh my! How romantic! The count is such a romantic, despite his appearance!”
Giggle, giggle.
Laughter rang through the garden.
It was a heartwarming sight that anyone would have mistaken for close sisters, or perhaps an aunt and niece.
But inside, I was burning up.
‘...Haa.’
I swallowed a sigh as I rubbed my face.
It only looked peaceful on the surface. In reality, it was no different from the calm before a storm.
First, there was the dormitory problem.
Count Eisen had sent a letter to the dean, but there had still been no reply.
With the academy entrance exam right around the corner, not having a place to stay with my pregnant wife was an enormous source of stress.
And then there was that woman.
Elysia.
A human time bomb that could go off at any moment.
‘Could that innocent expression really be genuine?’
I kept watching her warily.
The mastermind behind the kidnapping: the Kingdom of Slokina.
And the Sun God’s power she possessed, 「Incineration」.
Despite harboring all these dangerous elements, she was smiling innocently as though nothing had happened.
Was it a meticulously crafted mask for survival?
Or was she genuinely missing a screw?
The heroine’s every move made me fret until my head felt ready to split.
Just then, Kara, who had been stuck to my side like a burr, poked me in the arm.
“Varg, relax your expression. You’re getting wrinkles between your brows.”
“......Did it show?”
“Yes. A lot. Anyone would think a debt collector was after you.”
Kara snickered and slipped her arm through mine.
As Kara and Yeppi’s warmth reached me, my stiff shoulders seemed to loosen a little.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”
“...I hope so.”
We followed the two people walking ahead of us.
Alina led Elysia toward the underground ice cellar behind the estate.
“Big Sis! Here! This is it!”
Alina excitedly pointed at the iron door.
“What is this place?”
“This is where our ‘Yeppi’ was born!”
“Yeppi?”
Elysia tilted her head.
Alina strained as she pushed against the massive iron door.
Creeeeak—.
The door opened with a heavy groan, and a blast of icy air poured out.
And inside, a figure standing proudly in the chilly darkness came into view.
“Ta-da! It’s a ‘Yeti’!”
A lumpy, muscular snowman.
It was a creation made from Norheim snow by Kara, Alina, and me a few days earlier.
Even amid the Empire’s spring weather, it had not melted and stood proudly in all its imposing grandeur.
“Oh my! Good heavens!”
Elysia covered her mouth in amazement.
“This is a snowman? Those muscles... Its trapezius is positively furious! It’s so cute!”
Cute?
She was calling that muscle-bound pig of a snowman cute.
It was a mask.
Or did she simply have unusual tastes?
Elysia approached the snowman and ran her hands over its forearms.
“Wow... It’s solid. They really feel like a man’s forearms. I can practically feel the maker’s desires.”
Then she glanced at Kara and gave her a meaningful smile.
Her eyes seemed to say, ‘This is modeled after Sir Varg’s body, isn’t it?’
Kara cleared her throat and looked away.
‘...I’m tired.’
How much of that ditzy act was I supposed to believe?
Was she really thoughtless, or was every bit of that behavior calculated, too?
My thoughts grew tangled.
Had the letter arrived safely?
Had Kairen met his brother?
What about the dormitory?
What events from the original story awaited us?
As one thought chased another, my chest began to feel tight.
“Phew....”
A deep sigh escaped me before I knew it.
A heavy sigh, as though it could make the earth cave in.
Whoosh.
Kara, who had been beside me, roughly tugged at my collar.
“Huh?”
When I lowered my head in surprise, Kara’s face suddenly came close.
Smack!
A soft, warm sensation touched my lips.
It was a passionate surprise kiss, loud enough to make a sound.
“......?!”
I stared at Kara with my eyes wide.
Alina and Elysia were right in front of us!
Of course, they were too absorbed in admiring the snowman to look behind them, but still—how could she do something so bold outdoors in broad daylight?
“Huh? W-why all of a sudden?”
When I asked with my face flushed, Kara shot me a sharp look and snapped back.
“I told you last night, didn’t I? I’d kiss you whenever you sighed.”
“...Ah.”
Only then did I remember.
That intimate promise we had made in the bedroom the night before.
* * *
Going back to last night.
I had finished a long conversation with Count Eisen and his son about the princess’s accommodations and the aftermath of the kidnapping, and was returning to the main-house bedroom.
Only silence flowed through the hallway.
When I looked outside, I saw lights heading toward the detached quarters.
Elysia’s back as she returned with a bright smile, guided by the servants.
It almost seemed as though I could hear the princess’s laughter fading into the distance.
I leaned against the windowsill and watched her go.
It was complicated.
The princess’s appearance had tangled everything.
My plan to quietly enter the academy, curry favor with the Grand Duke, gain an ally in Eisen, and then live happily with Kara had been blown to pieces.
The kidnapping.
The Kingdom of Slokina, the force behind it.
The still-unresolved dormitory problem.
And the danger that my identity might be exposed at any moment.
‘Haa....’
Suddenly, I thought of a few days earlier.
The night Kara had woken me because she wanted strawberry juice.
Back then, I had been unable to sleep and had to run the blender in the kitchen, but at least my heart had been at ease.
My only worries at the time had been things like,
How could I make Kara and Yeppi happy?
How could I find even sweeter strawberries?
They had been small, ordinary, happy worries.
‘Things were better then.’
I would make a hundred glasses of strawberry juice if only things could be peaceful again.
If nothing happened and our family could simply live together in peace.
But I knew.
In the maelstrom of the original story that had only just begun, such peace was a luxury.
I let out a deep sigh and reached for the bedroom doorknob.
‘...Relax your expression. Kara will worry.’
I forced up the corners of my mouth and opened the door.
Creak.
The dark bedroom.
Just as I stepped inside quietly, thinking Kara would be asleep—
Wham!
A shadow hiding behind the door pounced on me.
“Guh?!”
As I stumbled, losing my balance, the shadow wrapped around my waist and shoved me straight onto the bed.
Flump.
A familiar scent descended over me as I fell onto the bed.
Kara’s scent.
Kara was straddling me, looking down at me with moonlit eyes that gleamed even in the darkness.
“...What are you doing awake?”
When I asked in bewilderment, Kara reached out and rubbed the space between my brows instead of answering.
Press, press.
“I can see your wrinkles even in the dark. You look troubled, Varg. It doesn’t suit you.”
“......”
“It’s because of Her Highness the Princess, isn’t it? You’re worried that Yeppi and I might get dragged into something dangerous.”
I flinched.
She was exactly right.
She did not know the original story, the precise source of my anxiety, but she had accurately grasped its nature.
Even without me saying anything, Kara sensed it instinctively.
The weight of my sighs.
Because we were husband and wife.
Because we loved each other,
“...My wife, you’re a mind reader.”
When I gave a wry smile, Kara lowered her head.
Then Kara’s lips touched mine.
Smack.
This time, it was not the surprise kiss from earlier, but a soft, lingering caress as our lips brushed together.
Our breaths mingled, and we shared each other’s warmth.
When Kara pulled her lips away, a sticky strand still refused to let our lips part completely.
“This one’s for Yeppi.”
Smack.
Then Kara kissed me again.
This time, she did not tilt her head; she simply rubbed her lips against mine.
Kara pulled away and whispered,
“Yeppi says that whenever Daddy sighs, Mommy should kiss him in his place. The sighs disappear, but the kisses remain as love.”
“......”
“Don’t try to carry everything alone, Varg. Share it with me. We’re family. Our worries, our sighs, and our fears.”
Each of Kara’s words struck deep into my heart.
Something hot surged up inside me.
I reached out and hugged her as tightly as I could.
“I understand... Thank you. I love you, Kara.”
“I love you too.”
We held each other in the darkness for a long while.
It was a time when my anxiety was washed away and replaced by steadfast trust.
Then it happened.
Amid the tender atmosphere, Kara lifted her head and flashed me a mischievous smile.
“But... what about my husband, who’s already having such a hard time?”
“Huh? What? …Gah!”
Kara gave my earlobe a light little bite.
A sharp thrill ran down my spine.
Her hot breath touched my ear.
“You’re still this full of energy... How are you going to hold out for ten months? You must be suffering terribly, having to restrain yourself for my sake.”
“Ahem, ahem!”
I cleared my throat in embarrassment.
“Th-that... I have to endure it. I’m a father. And you need to take it easy....”
The truth was, it was hard.
With my blood running hot, having to sleep while merely holding hands with my beloved wife beside me.
It was practically an ascetic trial.
But Kara shook her head.
“No. I looked it up in a book... Apparently, after twelve weeks....”
Then she whispered into my ear along with her breath.
“They say we can.”
“......What?”
“Once you’re past the stable period, a moderate amount of stimulation is good for the mother, too... and apparently it helps the baby grow up smart.”
“What?! Really? Where is this book?! Who wrote it?!”
I shouted in shock.
What wonderful doctor had said such an admirable thing?
Kara giggled and covered my mouth once more.
This time, with a kiss.
Kara’s hand traveled down my chest and stroked my firm abs.
“And... they say using your hands a lot, like knitting, is good prenatal education.”
Her loving touch gradually moved lower.
“So until then... I should use my hands a lot for my husband. To make our Yeppi smart.”
“......!”
My face flared red at Kara’s sultry whisper.
Before we were married, she had been an innocent girl who blushed even when we merely held hands.
When had she become such a bold and provocative woman?
Oh, right. My mother-in-law had said she knocked my father-in-law over and married him in the first place, hadn’t she?
“...Where did you learn something like that?”
“Secret. Oh, and…”
Kara took my hand and guided it to her chest.
A soft, warm sensation.
“Yeppi says Daddy shouldn’t let his hands idle.”
I could no longer maintain my composure.
That night, we put our hands to work very diligently for Yeppi’s intellectual development.
* * *
When I returned from my memories, my face was flushed as though it might burst.
‘L-look at that... suggestive line.’
I did not know where to look as I remembered the daring Kara from the night before.
The shameless remarks and unreserved touches that came at me without warning had turned her into a complete ‘auntie.’
‘I really want to tease her by saying she’s just like a real auntie... but I’d better hold back.’
Otherwise, I would get a smack on the back.
More than anything, that side of Kara was incredibly lovable.
I pulled Kara closer by the waist.
“...I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Kara smiled shyly and rubbed her face against my chest.
My sigh slipped away, leaving only a foolish smile around my lips.
Just then.
“Oh my! How indecent!”
An over-the-top shriek rang out from inside the cellar.
It was Elysia.
She was covering Alina’s eyes with one hand as she shouted.
“What are you doing in front of the children?! It’s bad for their education!”
Yet she herself was hiding behind the snowman, peeking out to spy on us.
And she had spread her fingers wide enough to see through the gaps.
Her golden eyes gleamed with fascination.
Like a reader watching the climax of a romance novel.
‘...Is that genuine, or an act?’
I almost sighed again, but held it in.
Instead, I gave Kara a wide grin.
So what?
I had someone I loved beside me and a child to protect.
“Let’s go. The kids are waiting.”
“Okay.”
We held hands and entered the ice cellar.
But a fervent wish still remained in one corner of my heart.
‘I hope the reply comes soon.’
The letter I had sent to Kairen.
And the dormitory problem.
Until these two keys were in my hands, my war would not be over.
Even amid the icy chill, the warmth of our clasped hands burned hot.