Chapter 164.
Asiel was mulling over Herdin's firm answer when Jamie, who had been quietly listening beside her, asked Senika.
"Doesn't the night fairy bring babies?"
"No, silly. Mommy and Daddy make them."
"How?"
At Jamie's innocent question, the children's curious gazes turned to Senika.
Senika shrugged at her friends' attention and shared what she knew.
"I read it in a book. First, Mommy and Daddy have to sleep in the same bed."
"And then?"
"And then if they hug tightly and kiss, a baby is made."
"Gasp. Just from kissing? Then I kiss Mommy every day, will a baby be made?"
At Liliana's wide-eyed question, Asiel answered in her place.
"No, one time isn't enough. You have to kiss really, really a lot for it to happen."
It was something described in the book she had read last night.
The children's eyes sparkled at this newfound knowledge as they nodded their heads.
Liliana asked.
"Then Asiel, do your Mommy and Daddy sleep in the same bed?"
"Yeah. Every single day."
"And kissing?"
"That's..."
Once, she had accidentally walked into the greenhouse and seen Herdin and Blair pressing their lips together. She could still vividly remember her mother's face turning as red as an apple back then.
But she hadn't seen them do it even once since then.
Asiel's expression darkened at the memory.
"I don't think they do it much."
Then Senika clapped her hands and shouted as if she had found a solution.
"Then let's make Mommy and Daddy kiss a lot!"
"How?"
Not only Asiel, but the other children's eyes also gathered on the confident Senika.
"That's..."
* * *
"Hello, Lucy. Happy birthday."
When Blair carefully took the child's small hand and offered her congratulations, the baby smiled sweetly in response.
Blair's eyes softened more than usual as she looked at the child. Just like when she saw Asiel in her childhood.
Johan, holding his youngest daughter in his arms, expressed his gratitude to Blair.
"Thank you for making the precious trip when you must be busy, Duchess."
At Johan's greeting that completely left out his old friend, his wife Monica beside him added with a smile.
"And the Duke, too."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Madam."
"It's my honor to be invited to such a lovely young lady's birthday."
While they exchanged light pleasantries, Blair's eyes never left the child in Johan's arms.
Her actions—making eye contact with the baby and stroking her tiny hand—revealed an unhideable love for the child.
Around the time Herdin noticed Blair's interest, Johan offered.
"Would you like to hold her, Madam?"
"May I?"
"Of course. She's a child who loves people, so she'll probably like it."
Even the child's mother Monica chimed in, so there was no reason to refuse.
Blair carefully received the child Johan handed her and held her.
The soft milky scent unique to babies transferred into her arms. The small yet weighty warmth she felt at the same time seemed to warm her heart.
"She's so pretty. She doesn't cry even though I must be unfamiliar to her."
The baby smiled brightly as if understanding she was being praised. A smile spread across Blair's lips as she watched the child.
Suddenly, a memory from long ago came to mind.
'Asiel was this small once too.'
It was a memory that wouldn't fade even after years passed, no, even after decades. But it was also a past that would never return.
As she was recalling Asiel, who must have grown up and was playing with friends by now, the child in her arms reached out toward Herdin.
"Da-da!"
The child who supposedly loved people also showed interest in her daddy's unfamiliar friend. At that, Johan exclaimed in shock and glared at Herdin.
"Oh my, our daughter already has excellent aesthetic sense. But that man is just a smooth-talking bad guy, Lucy."
The child herself seemed uninterested in what her daddy was saying as she squirmed toward Herdin. Herdin, who had been staring at such a child, picked Lucy up. Despite not having held a child since Asiel, his movements were skilled.
Finally, the child in his arms burst into gleeful laughter.
"This is embarrassing. It seems the little miss likes that bad guy better than her daddy."
"Lucy...!"
Monica, watching her husband's despair, chuckled and said to Herdin.
"You'd be a good father even if you had a daughter, Duke. I'm a bit curious what a Duke who's wrapped around his daughter's finger would be like."
"Right, give my daughter back."
Johan snatched Lucy from Herdin and asked.
"Since we're on the topic, do you have plans for a second child? If you're thinking about it, it'd be good not to have too much of an age gap with Asiel."
Blair, who had been quietly smiling, stopped laughing at the suddenly shifted conversation.
Even though it was a question she had naturally received while conversing with nobles from time to time, she always flinched whenever she heard it.
It wasn't an issue she could decide on her own, and on this matter, Herdin's stance was always consistent.
And this time too, his answer was no different from before.
"We have a clear heir. Why would we need more children?"
At Herdin's words that reduced even having children to merely a part of business for the family, Johan shook his head as if fed up.
"You really are a fellow with no humanity. Children are joy and love, you know."
Noticing the subtle change in Blair's smile, Monica belatedly thought that this might have been an overstepping of boundaries.
She quickly nudged her husband's side.
"Well, it's true that children are adorable, but separately from that, pregnancy and childbirth are things a woman must risk her life for. It's something to consider carefully."
After Monica smoothed over the atmosphere, nobles came to exchange greetings with the Felix Marquis couple.
Blair slipped her arm through her husband's and whispered.
"Herdin, let's go now."
Herdin looked at her and gave a slight nod.
After offering a final blessing to today's main character, the child, Blair came out to the area where guests were gathered with Herdin.
Only then did she suddenly notice things she hadn't seen before.
In the arms of the noblewomen attending this banquet were children around Lucy's age. The arms that had held a child until just now felt cold.
Blair, staring blankly at the sight, noticed the approaching footsteps of nobles coming to greet her and put on her usual soft smile.
"Hello, Madam."
* * *
On the bed dimly lit by the lamplight, the silhouettes of two people were intertwined as one.
Though the evenings were still cool with it being spring, the heat the two poured out toward each other was more than hot—it was sweltering.
Every time the two shadows deeply overlapped, the heat intensified. Simultaneously, breathy sounds akin to faint whimpers escaped from Blair.
"Her, Din... Ah!"
As if answering her meaningless call, Herdin pressed his lips against the mouth that had called him.
As their clingy lips parted, the wet sound of friction added. The friction below grew louder in tow.
Had she been in her right mind, it would have been sounds to make Blair flush crimson to the point of bursting, but right now, she had no rationality left to think of anything else. Except for the heat that steadily dug deeper inside her.
As she agonized over sensations that seemed to reach the end yet never did, he finally pushed her to the limit. At the same time, the two let out rough breaths and collapsed into each other.
"I love you, Blair."
"Mm..."
Blair's curled toes slowly uncurled.
Herdin felt the trembling of the small body in his arms as he showered her lips and nape with tiny kisses. Yet Blair's body, as if something was lacking, kept flinching and stimulating him.
Herdin waited until her trembling completely subsided before releasing the heat he had held back outside.
Only then did Blair finally come to her senses, watching him with hazy eyes.
After Asiel was born, their relationship became an act solely for each other's desire.
When Asiel turned three, she occasionally brought up the topic of a second child with Herdin, but was firmly rejected every time.
Her husband generally followed her opinions on other matters, but on this issue alone, he refused to yield.
And today too, though she hadn't directly asked...
'We have a clear heir. Why would we need more children?'
His thoughts remained unchanged.
'Would his answer be different if I asked?'
She was pondering whether to bring it up again when an overwhelming heat encroached upon her. Before she knew it, he was covering her body again.
Herdin picked up Blair, who flinched at the mere joining, and sat her on his lap.
"You seem to have the luxury to think of other things, my wife."
"Ah..."
Just as he held her slender waist and was about to move again, Blair carefully opened her mouth.
"Herdin, how about we... have a second child?"
Herdin paused at the question. Blair didn't miss that opening and offered her opinion.
"I want to give Asiel a younger sibling before it's too late. Think about it. Wouldn't you be happy too if a daughter who looks like me is born?"
"You could suffer for ten months carrying and birthing a child only for it to be a son, Blair."
"Then Asiel gets a little brother to play with, and we get another adorable son."
Blair stroked his cheek and met his eyes. Anxiety lingered in the touch of her hand waiting for an answer.
But the answer that came back was the same this time too.
"Asiel is enough for our child."
As if he wouldn't hear any further objections, he began moving before Blair could say anything.
Herdin kissed the lips of his wife letting out shallow moans and whispered.
"I'm happy enough right now, Blair."
It was an intensely gentle autocracy.