There was silence for a moment at Shellard's words. Then, once again, Shellard broke the silence.
"Daddy? Daddy!"
His father called out happily, leaving Saiki's arms to run towards Clint this time. He seemed to truly consider Clint his father.
The defenseless Clint unknowingly wrapped his arms around Shelard as he walked towards him.
“Daddy!”
Shellard happily moved his arms in his father's arms.
Interestingly, even Clint's ears seemed to turn red.
Psyche couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. It was funny to her that a man like Clint, who didn't hesitate to kill people as a loyal duke, wasn't sure what to do with a few words from Shellard.
“Shelly, this is not good. Come here.”
Saiki tried to hold back her laughter as she spoke, when she saw Clint holding Shelard with a puzzled expression.
Clint looked embarrassed and confused as he held Shelard, and Saiki couldn't help but smile.
Shellard ran to Psyche and hugged her tightly.
"Can baby hear me okay? How about we all sleep here tonight?"
Psyche ignored Clint, who was standing stiffly, climbed onto the bed, lifted the covers, and patted him. Shellard's face brightened noticeably as he got into bed.
As Shellard lay in bed, looking up, he spoke loudly.
“Daddy too, come!”
“…”
With that, Clint and Saeki exchanged an awkward look. Without saying a word, their faces quickly turned red.
“Okay, I'll come tomorrow... I'll go...”
"Where are you going? Daddy! Daddy!"
When Clint tried to sneak away, Shellard started calling out to him loudly.
He looked ready to cry if Clint didn't come to bed right away.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Shillard began waving his hands constantly, and began to call out to Clint, and Psyche told him, with a direct observation, “Hurry up, or he might start crying.”
“…”
Without a word, Clint approached with awkward movements.
In fact, he didn't like Schildard.
When she thought about it, her reaction was natural. Who would be happy with the appearance of a son other than him?
It was a huge mistake, but he couldn't help but hate it.
But the child was innocent.
"Giah! Daddy!"
When Clint approached, Shelard cheered and waved both hands in the air.
“Here, here!”
Shellard imitated Psyche's previous actions. It was an invitation for Clint to lie down next to him.
“…”
Clint seemed very disturbed.
“What are you doing? Lie down,” he said.
“…”
Psyche had never seen Clint look so embarrassed.
The man who was able to say anything in front of the Emperor was now struggling to speak. It was an amazing sight.
Clint had no choice but to lie next to Shellard, who was demanding it.
That night, the three of them had to sleep in the same bed.
❖ ❖ ❖
When they woke up in the morning, Clint was already gone.
The bed was now occupied only by Psyche and Shillard.
She didn't expect him to stay until the morning, but if he did, that would be another problem in itself.
After taking a short nap, Saiki woke up with a plan in mind.
“I need to get birth control quickly.”
She wanted to obtain contraception safely without attracting Clint's attention through a route that did not reveal her intentions.
But this was not Aleister's land, nor was it a kingdom under her direct control. It wasn't easy to avoid his gaze in such a place.
“Hmm.”
At first it was impossible to pass through a doctor or servant in this state.
"Yes!"
Then I suddenly remembered that small amounts of wormwood leaves and other herbs can be used as a contraceptive.
“It may cause dizziness, but it's not severe, so you should be OK.”
Since this was not a real method of making contraceptives, and was an unofficial method known among the women in Alister Territory, it seemed that there was no need to worry about being caught.
The problem was…
“Where can I get wormwood leaves quickly?”
As she was muttering to herself, she suddenly remembered the wormwood leaves that Rachel had brought as a gift to the Duke earlier.
'Where did I put this? '
I picked it up and put it somewhere.
Since the management of gifts such as those entering the castle was the responsibility of the duke's wife, Psyche tried hard to remember where she had placed the wormwood leaves.
“Okay, let's go buy some herbs then.”
As she got out of bed and put on her robe, I heard a knock on the door at the same time we opened the door.
It was none other than Clint who revealed himself.
He was followed by another person, whom I immediately recognized as Psyche with joy.
“Alexa!”
"Mrs!"
When Psyche called her name, Alexa responded with a respectful greeting.
Alexa, after a few years, hasn't changed at all. She was known for her superior swordsmanship, matching Alexandro's, among the few female knights in the ducal palace.
Although Clint seemed somewhat upset when Saiki greeted Alexa so warmly, he quickly adjusted his expression and stepped between them.
“I will probably be away from the castle for a few days. Since Alexandro will accompany me, Alexa will take care of the lady during that time.”
"Yes."
As Saiki looked at the two standing in front of her at the same time, she remembered the past when she had a fight with Alexa, who was assigned to take care of her.
“Yes, that's good.”
“…”
The sight of Psyche's quick approval seemed rather unpleasant to Clint, who was probably expecting her to refuse.
Saiki's quick acceptance may have conveyed hidden emotions that only she could sense due to the subtle changes in her expression.
“Alexa, please take good care of me.”
Psyche, who was even shaking hands, looked relieved.
Calmly, Clint opened his mouth.
“And the night I come back, I will go to the lady’s room.”
“…”
“…”
The meaning was so clear that both Saiki and Alexa opened their mouths in astonishment.
“Why are you saying that? Bon voyage.”
Saiki tried to act as if everything was normal, but her face looked troubled as she understood the intent behind his words.
Clint, who thought it was just “contract fulfillment,” casually left the room with an indifferent expression.
“Why do you say such things with that kind of face...”
Saiki muttered to herself, realizing too late that Alexa was there. She immediately closed her mouth.
Alexa smoothly changed the subject, “I'm really happy that my lady is back safely.”
“Haha, yeah...”
The feeling of returning to the ducal palace, which she had thought she would never return to, was somehow new.
But since everything was familiar, adjusting was not as difficult as I expected.
“It seems that your relationship with His Highness has improved.”
“Well...it's something like that.”
Saiki, who couldn't outright say that she was looking for another way, smiled awkwardly.
“By the way, I would like to go out and get some fresh air with Shelard. Can you join us?”
Thinking it wouldn't hurt to go out for a while and buy the necessary herbs, so Saiki suggested this.
"It's very cold. Are you okay?"
“Yes, let's take a cart and go back quickly. It's not far.”
"Understood. I'll get ready."
❖ ❖ ❖
The bustling market was lively despite the cold weather.
And the most interesting person was none other than Shelard.
He seems to enjoy being with Saiki constantly.
“This place is fun!”
He kept repeating his words, even though no one understood them. His words were probably expressing how much he liked her, how amused he was, and how Saiki was the best.
On her way back after purchasing the necessary herbs from the herbalist she knew, Psyche asked Shillard about something.
“Where should we use wormwood leaves?”
"dad?"
“Yes, do you want to go to the castle?”
At a strange moment when Shellard was looking for Clint and making strange noises, Psyche stopped, surprised.
The three of them sleeping together would create a misunderstanding, especially if anyone heard it.
“Shillard, um, can we be a little quieter?”
“Why?”
Shellard asked curiously.
Saiki blushed unintentionally. Alexa pretended not to hear, and continued walking indifferently.
“I want to see my father!”
“This father...”
Psyche suddenly had a headache.
“That father.” What did he mean? If Clint is Shellard's father, does that mean there are other fathers as well? First, Clint is not Shellard's real father.
Shellard seemed to like Clint very much, which Saiki found rather embarrassing.
Saiki glanced at Alexa's expression without realizing it.
There were already rumors circulating in the Duke's palace that the reason the Duchess had fled from the Duke was because she had given birth to a child elsewhere.
Clint dealt mercilessly with employees who spread such rumors, but it wasn't easy to completely erase the growing rumors.
But Alexa never asked about Schildard, on the contrary, she treated him kindly.
Although she didn't seem like a different person before and after, Saiki was secretly grateful for her attention.
“Well, Shelard, if we're not quiet, do you want to stay home?”
"Oh, I see! I'll shut up."
“Good boy.”
And so, with Chillard, they retraced their steps to the ducal palace.
At that moment, Saiki's eyes met a familiar man.
I recognized him immediately. He was the Crown Prince.