And beyond all those anxious emotions, to an overwhelming degree, the child’s existence was lovely.

Because it was Alisa and his child.

Since he loved everything about her, he couldn’t help but love their child too.

There was nothing more to stumble over since Alisa told him everything would be fine, that they could work through it together. They could match and fill in for each other. That belief gradually filled his heart.

So now everything was alright. It would be.

* * *

Alisa soon started having morning sickness.

She avoided even smelling foods she normally ate well, saying she disliked them, and later she stopped going to the dining room entirely saying everything felt greasy and made her nauseous.

Her eating consisted only of eating small amounts of food with less fragrance and soft textures, making Macy and Anna pace around together in worry.

Not only that, she would suddenly lie down saying she felt cold despite it being midsummer, and complained of being sleepy and tired at all hours.

Naturally, Rashid started hounding the physician like catching mice.

At the duke’s reception room.

Penvernon’s physician hunched his body like prey before a predator with slumped shoulders. He dared not raise his head at the duke’s fierce gaze directed at him.

“Well, morning sickness is a normal symptom that appears in pregnant women……”

“She’s suffering, isn’t she?”

“It usually disappears naturally as time passes……”

“So you’re saying to just stay like this until then?”

“Then medicine……”

“It is a safe medicine that can be taken, right?”

“Yes, yes. I will do my best……”

Bang! Rashid’s fist struck the desk. The poor physician bowed his head while making his already small curled shoulders even narrower.

“Do your job properly.”

“Yes, Your Grace……”

The physician who was already taking care of the duchess with all his heart and soul had to work hard making medicine good for morning sickness while racking his brains with his apprentice physicians under him.

The servants including the butler and head maid also became very busy.

In the past they would have been surprised at the duke showing such uncharacteristic behavior because of Alisa, but that time had already passed. Now not just the ducal mansion but everyone in the capital knew how much Rashid cherished and loved Alisa.

Therefore, they had to diligently focus on properly serving the duchess before their master’s fussing got worse.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason they worked hard. The duchess had always paid special attention to the servants’ lives, so repaying that was only natural duty for them.

“There’s something I want to eat.”

Then one day, the duchess expressed wanting to eat something for the first time. Hearing those words, Rashid replied with genuine joy asking her to say what it was.

“Mm…. No, you won’t be able to get it anyway.”

“What nonsense is this? Whatever you want, I will prepare it in the name of House Penvernon, so tell me.”

Rashid said with a serious face. He was truly sincere.

Then Alisa carefully opened her mouth.

“I want to eat something spicy.”

“Something spicy?”

“Yes.”

At Alisa’s answer, Rashid fell into thought for a moment. He worried it wouldn’t be good for her body.

But thinking that what Alisa wanted to eat was most important right now, he answered that he understood. Her already small and delicate body seemed to have grown even thinner, making his heart ache just looking at her.

“A very spicy… pasta.”

“Will pasta do?”

“No, originally it’s not pasta but… for now yes. Strange, why am I like this? I, I’ve never had issues with the food here before. I didn’t even particularly miss food from there.”

Alisa who was sitting on the bed leaned weakly against Rashid. Rashid quickly caught and held her body.

Food from there. Rashid felt his heart sink. After she stayed by his side, this was the first time she had brought up missing her original home. Until now she had told countless stories but never shown such feelings.

Seeing the shadow of homesickness cast on her face, Rashid firmly resolved that he had to do something.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Thank you, Rashid.”

She expressed her gratitude in a weak voice without any strength.

Soon the kitchen was put on emergency alert by Rashid’s pressure. The chefs each tried to recreate the spicy pasta my lady imagined using various ingredients.

“This isn’t it……”

But Alisa drooped her eyebrows after trying each diverse pasta one bite at a time.

“I’ll still eat it though.”

“No. You don’t have to force yourself.”

When Alisa said that out of concern for the chefs’ efforts, Rashid soothed her saying he would bring more. His determination to somehow perfectly recreate the food in her memories grew even firmer.

Fortunately, as they made it again and again and again, the chefs finally succeeded in recreating a dish somewhat similar to the food in Alisa’s memory.

“This is good enough.”

Having gotten the taste she wanted, Alisa smiled brightly at Rashid.

That smile was so dazzling and made his heart peaceful that Rashid strengthened his resolve again.

I will definitely make you happy somehow, no matter what it takes.

“By the way, Rashid.”

After cleaning her plate completely, Alisa wiped her mouth with a napkin and said.

“I want strawberries.”

“……Strawberries?”

“Yes, strawberries.”

Alisa looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Her hands tightly gripping his clothes looked desperate and pitiful.

“Is it not possible?”

“……Please wait a little.”

“Wow.”

Alisa smiled broadly.

And so Rashid began shaking down the entire continent beyond the empire. He also pressured mages at magic towers, shaking their necks to somehow produce strawberries.

After those tremendous and varied efforts, Rashid finally succeeded in presenting late summer strawberries to Alisa.

“Wow, real strawberries.”

Alisa happily ate the strawberries and thanked Rashid.

Therefore, his desperate efforts finally gained meaning.

* * *

The child grew little by little with the flow of time. Alisa’s belly began swelling just as much. Her belly that was so flat at first you couldn’t tell she was pregnant had now become round enough to show even through clothes.

Her morning sickness subsided and she now ate well, selecting her diet even more meticulously than before for the child’s health.

“Prenatal education is important for the baby.”

She invited musicians every day saying the baby needed to hear good music. Thanks to that, music never ceased in the ducal mansion in the capital.

In autumn when leaves began turning red, even servants passing through corridors listened to the gentle melodies while waiting for the young master’s birth.

The Duke and Duchess of Penvernon did not return to their territory, reasoning that the pregnant duchess needed to stay in a stable environment. Instead, Rashid decided to handle work while traveling between the capital and territory. The emperor was quite inconvenienced but tolerated it given the situation. Princess Jeanne’s persuasion also played a part.

Princess Jeanne and Countess Spendal made a fuss over Alisa’s pregnancy as if it were their own business. Countess Spendal began buying all sorts of rare toys, while the princess personally visited the ducal mansion to check on Alisa’s wellbeing.

“Have you decided on a name?”

One day in the midst of winter.

Jeanne asked Alisa with sparkling eyes. It had been about half a year since she became pregnant.

“My husband is still thinking about it.”

“Husband, huh.”

Jeanne drew out the end of her words at the title referring to Rashid. She was scheduled to marry the heir of House Pentroff next spring.

Originally she was supposed to have a state marriage with the king of a kingdom located in the south of the empire last year, but it fell through during condition negotiations, and only around this summer was her current marriage decided.

Jeanne laughed it off saying ‘I didn’t want to live in a foreign country anyway, so it worked out.’ She said it was the same either way being a loveless marriage, and it was better for her to keep living in the empire than as queen of a small kingdom.

“You know what? Looking at you gives me vain hopes about marriage. The hope that… even a political marriage could work out well somehow.”

“It’s not vain, Your Highness. The heir of House Pentroff is such a wonderful and reliable person. I’m sure you’ll get along well.”

“Well, that would be nice.”

Jeanne let out a long sigh.

Count Legentia, Alisa’s father, also visited her often until just before returning to his territory.

Alisa did not confess to Count Legentia that she was actually not the Alisa he knew. Just, because it felt like that’s how it should be.

Instead, as promised with ‘Alisa’, she treated him as affectionately as possible and paid him much attention, and Count Legentia gladly accepted her sincerity. He had now cut ties with gambling houses and focused on raising an adopted child from relatives as his heir.

Time flowed like that, and the child gradually began revealing their existence more clearly.