Kaelid, holding her firmly, moved his hips in a slow rhythm. The hardness buried deep within her sank fully inside before drawing out again at a careful pace. Any other time, he would have driven himself in with reckless force, but now—aware of her condition—his movements were uncharacteristically cautious.

Reina found it almost laughable. Since when had he ever treated her with such care?

‘No… it’s not me. It’s the child in my belly that he values.’

Reina didn’t know whether Kaelid had slept with other women before. But to him, the child in her womb was undoubtedly his first. It was no wonder, then, that it felt so novel to him. By this age, an ordinary nobleman would already have had two or three children.

At any other time, he would have pressed his body against hers without hesitation, weighing her down heavily. But now, as though afraid to put his full weight on her, he kept his back straight.

It was Reina who reached out first. Surprise flickered across his face — she had almost never initiated things like this before. Her hand slid over his tense shoulder, stroking slowly before pulling him closer. Kaelid obediently bent towards her.

“Haa… mmh…”

Her breath came ragged as she wrapped her arms around his back. Hooking her legs around his waist, she pulled him in, and his groan—thick with arousal—filled the air.

“Ha… Reina.”

The hand that had been clutching her hair so tightly loosened, smoothing over the strands with sudden gentleness. Then, with a deeper thr*st, Kaelid drove himself further inside her. The pressure against her deepest place sent a dizzying pleasure spreading through her body.

“Ah… ngh…”

Reina’s waist shivered with small, involuntary movements. Unable to endure even that, Kaelid’s breathing became ragged and his hips moved more forcefully. His thick p*nis filled her, stretching her walls as he sank in and slowly pulled out again. When her wet flesh clung desperately to him, refusing to let go, he let out a low groan.

His rhythm grew steadily rougher. The sharp sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed—thud, thud—while the sofa scraped against the floor beneath them, unable to withstand the force.

“Ah—ah! Hhhk!”

Her toes curled and trembled as she clung to him. The sharp rush of pleasure made her cling tighter to his back. She felt his hand squeeze her br*ast tightly as his movements churned her insides into chaos. She held on to him as if he were the only answer left in the world.

At some point, as though he had forgotten all about the child, Kaelid drove into her with harsh, urgent thr*sts. His thick flesh pounded her depths as though trying to crush whatever lay within her womb. Gasping, Reina threw her head back.

His tongue trailed slowly up her slender, exposed throat while his hips ground into her and his p*nis rubbed repeatedly against her tender inner walls. The wetness that leaked out soaked not only their union, but also stained the sofa beneath them.

“Nnnh… ahh… haah… haah…”

“Ahh—haa… Reina… Reina…”

Kaelid’s voice mingled with her m*ans. Unusually, she clung to him even tighter, moving her hips in time with his deep thr*sts until her insides were churned to ruin. The wet, lewd sounds grew louder and louder as the sofa rattled beneath them.

Their sweat-damp skin clung together unpleasantly. Reina slowly stroked the man’s back, then closed her eyes and thought of Zephion. Imagining that he was the one she was with made enduring the moment just a little easier. Of course, none of it felt the same: not the way her hips moved, nor the shape filling her so completely, nor even the sound of his breathing. Yet she clung desperately to the image of golden eyes.

Eyes that she would never see again, shining with love. A face that had smiled at her when she knew nothing. Hands that had once caressed her with such tenderness.

“Ah—ahh…”

Although she knew it wasn’t real, the mere thought of him brought a dizzying wave of pleasure. Her swollen, sensitive flesh clung tightly and stickily to the p*nis inside her, gripping it as if it were Zephion’s own. A low groan escaped Kaelid at the fierce intensity of her arousal.

As he pounded into her mercilessly, the sensation spread through her v*gina, slowly pulling her towards cl*max. Trembling and gasping for breath, Reina’s body responded helplessly, bringing Kaelid closer to the edge. His thr*sts grew harder and deeper.

“Ugh—nngh…”

Tilting his head back with a guttural groan, the man spilled himself inside her. She felt the thick, lukewarm fl*id flooding her womb. Reina’s hand drifted down to stroke her belly, a fragile hope flickering—had the child been harmed? But she felt nothing at all.

Kaelid, perhaps realizing even rough s*x posed no danger, gave a crooked smile.

“Ah—ahh!”

Still hard, he thr*st into her v*gina once more.

***

After learning she was pregnant, Kaelid came to her every day. At times, he did nothing more than hold her as he slept. That, too, felt suffocating and dreadful.

The child, which had hidden itself so completely for five months, now seemed to feel safe—showing its presence more with each passing day. The man would lay his hand, or sometimes his cheek, against her slightly rounded belly.

In the darkness, Reina blinked. She could feel the warmth of his palm spread over her stomach.

‘Are babies really this strong by nature?’

She hadn’t been able to obtain the medicine. The apothecary who had previously supplied her with contraceptives became uneasy when she asked for a medicinal abortion. He must have thought that the baby in her womb was the Marquis of Berend’s.

Although this angered her somewhat, she could not entirely blame him. Preventing conception and ending an existing pregnancy were two different matters. If it were discovered that he had helped her to abort Kaelid’s child, it would cost him his life.

Having given up on medicine, Reina resorted to desperate measures. She deliberately rammed her stomach against hard surfaces and even threw herself down the stairs, pretending it was an accident. Yet it was always her who was injured, never the child.

‘So it’s the blood of Baltgar, is that it?’

A bitter smile tugged at her lips. Perhaps not only swordsmanship, but sheer resilience, was something inherited. Biting down hard on her lip, she froze at the faint brush of Kaelid’s breath by her ear. Whether he was awake or merely caressing her belly unconsciously in his sleep, the touch sent chills down her spine.

‘If you’re to be born, then at least… let it not be with golden eyes.’

Reina blinked slowly. Best of all would be if the child resembled her. Platinum hair, violet eyes—so no one could know who the father was.

If it were born with black hair or golden eyes, Kaelid would surely try to kill it. Yet she did not wish for red hair or blue eyes either. If the child were born with those colors, she would strangle it herself before Kaelid could.

‘Whichever way, to survive, you must look like me.’

She whispered the thought again and again in her heart. Drifting into sleep, she idly pictured a child with her features.

A rustle stirred her awake. She opened her eyes to see Kaelid dressed and armed. Unlike usual, he wore partial armor; she hadn’t seen gauntlets on his hands in a long time. As her gaze lingered on the joints of the metal, she noticed a dark stain that had never fully faded—blood from ten years ago.

‘So it’s war.’

She had wondered when it would finally break out, and now it seemed the day had come. Blinking dully, she felt cold steel brush her cheek. Though the weather had warmed, the metal was still so icy it made her shiver.

“To think I must leave you behind.”

Her gaze lowered.

‘So there is one benefit to being pregnant, after all.’

Had it not been for the child, he would no doubt have dragged her to the battlefield without hesitation. That he at least held the sense not to bring a pregnant woman with him was… unexpected.

“I’ll finish it before the child is born.”

Reina slowly lifted her gaze to Kaelid. She wanted to smile and tell him it would never happen. Because Zephion was waiting. Because he was stronger even than Yuta. Because he was the Iron-Blooded Baltgar—carrying a hatred so deep neither she nor this man could ever imagine.

“Until then, behave yourself.”

She realized he was speaking of all the things she had tried before.