So much that it felt strange to imagine that the Empress Dowager, who now maintained a distant relationship with her son, once cherished Leian this way.

What exactly was the parent-child relationship? How could it be ruined despite such love? Why did they torment each other and suffer so much? The child was so lovable that one wouldn’t mind dying in their place, so why?

Did Duke Lucaen truly love Galbert Lucaen? If so, why did he raise him so terribly?

Did Her Majesty the Empress Dowager love the young Leian with the same heart that I now love Ivenia? If so, was even her urging her only son to commit filial impiety ultimately an act born of love?

She couldn’t know. She couldn’t understand it all. Even though she had now become a parent herself, or perhaps because of that, there remained questions that were more puzzling than ever.

She would never know exactly what feelings the late Duke and Duchess Lucaen had while raising their son. Or whether that garbage Galbert Lucaen truly cherished his son Oliver.

Leaving the mysterious past behind, Calie focused on the present. She was confident that she would be a much better parent than the Duke and Duchess who had ruined their biological son and abused their fake daughter, and she prided herself on clearly walking that path even now.

Her only regret was that her daughter would never see the scene of playing with siblings throughout her life. But she didn’t express this to her husband.

“If you’re still bothered about ejaculating inside, I’ll give you plenty of opportunities to make it right.”

Calie smiled seductively and caressed Leian. Her hands, which had been stroking his chest tightly woven with muscles, gradually moved down to stroke his firm abdomen. As her hand slid even lower, Leian moaned deeply.

“This time, you can do it outside. Then since one time went your way, you shouldn’t have any more complaints, right?”

“Haah, Calie……”

Leian already frowned around his eyes as if in agony from the mischievous hand kneading his already stiffening manhood. He had no chance to methodically refute his wife’s nonsensical claim.

Right now, he just felt his entire body heating up again. As if he hadn’t already *jaculated inside her earlier.

“Ah!”

He easily lifted her slender body and laid her on the bed. Then he spread her legs and pushed his fingers into her soft entrance, causing her to cry out in pleasure.

“Ah, mmm, Leian…!”

Soon her plump br*asts were roughly engulfed. Her n*pples, already standing *rect, were pressed by a warm tongue. Calie writhed ecstatically with tears in her eyes at the persistent teasing that seemed to have been waiting all along.

It was another long night. Shared by a couple who no longer had any secrets between them.

* * *

Time had come again for the Emperor and Empress to depart on their national tour. This was their second time since the couple had reunited.

During the previous tour, Calie had remained at the imperial palace to recover after giving birth, serving as the Emperor’s proxy. This time, however, she joined her husband on the journey.

The Empress Dowager agreed to serve as regent. In principle, if both the Emperor and Empress were to meet with misfortune during the tour, the Empress Dowager would act as regent until Princess Ivenia came of age.

The Empress Dowager gladly took on this role. Of course, she didn’t wish for anything to happen to her only son and daughter-in-law during the tour.

But if such a terrible thing were to occur, she was capable of protecting the throne until her young granddaughter reached adulthood.

Still, she sincerely wished for her son’s safe return. The same applied to her daughter-in-law.

The Empress Dowager had disliked Calie for a long time. She found Duke Lucaen’s daughter distasteful, as he had quickly turned from ally to enemy, and after discovering she was an impostor, the Empress Dowager was outraged that a commoner’s illegitimate child had dared to impersonate nobility.

Even after Calie became Empress again, the Empress Dowager kept her at a distance. It was difficult for their relationship to suddenly become warm when she had never viewed the girl favorably before.

But much changed after Ivenia’s birth. The Empress Dowager, who had been distant with her daughter-in-law and maintained a strange love-hate relationship with her son, unreservedly adored her small, soft, and lovable granddaughter.

Moreover, the Princess’s existence further solidified the Emperor’s position. For years after his ascension, Leian’s greatest flaw had been the absence of an heir. Now, however, the existence of a child to continue the line strengthened his legitimacy.

So her granddaughter appeared even more precious. Beyond the fact that the fluffy baby was insanely adorable, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but love the Princess as someone who further secured her son’s—and by extension, her own—position.

Her feelings toward her daughter-in-law had also softened considerably.

If nothing else, the Empress Dowager herself knew well how dangerous pregnancy and childbirth could be.

Not only had her daughter-in-law safely delivered such a beautiful granddaughter, but she had survived the ordeal, which made the Empress Dowager quite proud of her.

She now knew how madly her son was in love with his wife. If Calie had died giving birth, her foolish son might have lived as a widower his entire life, leaving the Empress’s Palace empty rather than remarrying.

So it was fortunate the Empress had survived. Fortunate the Princess had been born safely. The Empress Dowager sincerely believed this. Based on this belief, she had become quite a generous mother-in-law. Above all, she had been reborn as a grandmother overflowing with love.

Calie, who still harbored some awkward feelings toward the Empress Dowager, knew at least that her love for Ivenia was genuine, so she could entrust her only daughter to her mother-in-law with peace of mind.

After that, she set off with her husband. Although she had occasionally ventured outside the imperial palace, it had been a long time since she had traveled so far, so Calie felt excited from the start.

“Do you remember the first time we toured together?” she whispered to her husband sitting beside her. Leian, who had been habitually holding and fidgeting with her hand, smiled gently.

“How could I forget? Of course I remember.”

It was a memory where sweetness and bitterness coexisted. Sweet because they had been together, but bitter because they ultimately hadn’t trusted each other.

At that time, Calie had been hiding the fact that she was a fake lady, while Leian firmly believed that the woman he first loved was longing for his brother, so he felt crushed by guilt every moment he looked at her.

But now they were both free. There was no need to suffer alone with burdensome secrets, nor any reason to coldly draw lines out of guilt.

Currently, they could connect completely in both body and mind. Leian interlaced his fingers tightly with his wife’s and whispered with endless affection:

“And this time will be even more enjoyable than before.”

Because we know we love each other. He smiled with crinkled eyes and kissed his wife. Calie willingly opened her mouth. Soon their breaths, filled with affection, moistly intertwined.

As the kiss grew increasingly sensual and their bodies began to heat up, the air in the carriage gradually became sticky. When Leian’s large hand discreetly caressed her slender waist, Calie twisted her body and moaned.

“Mmm……”

“Shh, be patient a little longer. Don’t be so seductive here.”

“Really now, you were the one who started the seduction.”

Calie rolled her eyes with a flushed face. Even that expression was so lovable that Leian grinned broadly and kissed her ripened cheek.

“You won’t have to hold back tonight. Then I’ll do everything you want.”

“You’re not just saying that, are you? Promises must be kept. You’ll really do everything I want.”

“Yes, as much as you like.”

Leian firmly promised, using his smile as a seal. Looking at that beautiful smile, Calie made a somewhat petulant expression. It was difficult to wait until nighttime. The day felt unbearably long.

Still, they couldn’t suddenly press their bodies together in this bumpy carriage. Calie forced herself to be patient. Fortunately, she had many opportunities to practice patience in daily life.

The couple, anticipating their sweet night, continued forward in the carriage. Toward a new journey that would be quite different from the previous one.

The tour followed the same route as before. The couple visited various cities, meeting representatives from different sectors, visiting hospitals to comfort patients, and sharing meals with local dignitaries.

Occasionally, there were schedules solely for the imperial couple’s rest. Particularly since the Empress tired easily, they needed to rest for a full day about every three or four days.

The Emperor, who had already become known throughout the country as a devoted husband, acted as though his wife might melt away like a sugar figurine at any moment. Calie sometimes found his fussy attitude embarrassing, but not unpleasant.

She was happy to be treated so preciously. Her gratitude outweighed any feelings of guilt.

However, she did regret that she had started feeling unwell as soon as they left, despite having been perfectly fine at the imperial palace all this time.

‘I thought I had recovered so much.’

She had always felt light and energetic recently, as if giving birth and becoming weak was something from the distant past.

But had it all been her own delusion? Upon leaving the familiar imperial palace and setting out on this journey, her body became heavy again.

Meanwhile, their desires remained vigorous every night, and after passionately exploring each other, they fell into a vicious cycle where their energy was even more depleted during the day.

Leian felt guilty about being the only one who remained energetic and tried to restrain his carnal desires toward his wife.

However, his patience in such matters was quite thin, and whenever his wife made the first move by touching him seductively and nestling against him, he would pretend to give in and burn with passion every time.