He was extremely irritable and rude at dawn.

He acted like he needed to answer her previous question immediately and had to join their bodies together.

Vivianne couldn’t refuse him because he looked somehow anxious and desperate.

Looking back, on the night she was sick from the medicine’s side effects, she had also opened her eyes to find herself in Kian’s bedroom.

That time, he had been leaning against the headboard, watching her contemplatively, but this time he seemed different.

His dark eyes and long eyelashes that followed her trembled slightly. His seemingly urgent demeanor made her anxious too. The time when moon and sun cross paths.

When the pitch-black sky took on a dark blue hue, like not being able to discern whether what showed through the window was light or darkness.

Affection and threat coexisted.

As the sun pushed away the moon, Kian’s unfamiliar behavior gradually subsided. While she couldn’t know his mind, one thing was clear—she wanted to rest. Vivianne was only able to catch some sleep after the darkness had completely lifted.

* * *

“You know what? It wasn’t an illness. They say it was a side effect of overdosing on contraceptive medicine.”

In the Duke of Larson’s bedroom, a cleaning maid whispered to her colleague while dusting the bookshelf.

“What?”

“Her. Her.”

She pointed at the bed with a sidelong glance.

The woman lying on the bed was curled up with her round back showing, buried in the bedding without moving.

“How do you know about that?”

“On the day she collapsed, my friend went on an urgent errand to get herbs. But turns out, it was apparently some kind of antidote.”

“Really? That’s crazy.”

The maid beside her added her shock, gasping quietly.

“I still don’t understand… did she hate it that much?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean getting pregnant. No matter how I think about it, I just don’t understand.”

“Shh, what if she hears us like last time?”

The other maid lowered her voice, clenching her molars.

“Who’s going to hear? She’s been lying there like a living corpse for days.”

Though saying it didn’t matter, her whispers grew a bit quieter.

“I know. I wonder if she’ll end up in serious trouble.”

“Right. I found her annoying before, but now I feel sorry for her.”

“When you think about it, it’s all her own doing. She reached for something impossible from the start. Who can she blame?”

“Sigh. Still, seeing her lying there like that makes me feel bad for her.”

The maids clicked their tongues and sighed.

“Anyway. If it were me, I’d have the master’s baby and squeeze a good deal out of it. She’s really too timid.”

“That’s not possible. For maids like us, a baby is just a burden. We’d be lucky not to get thrown out. The master would know that better than anyone, wouldn’t he?”

They didn’t forget to mention their master, who was born as an illegitimate child to a maid.

“But she was given a room and kept here. Strictly speaking, she’s not a maid. A mistress is different, isn’t she?”

The maid who had been sweeping the floor put down her broom and added:

“It could have been a mistake. I heard that people sometimes mistake those for regular chocolates.”

“I knew she was a bit slow, but did she really mistake that?”

“Well, they’re made to look like chocolates for that very purpose.”

“When you look at nobles, everything from their speech to their actions is lewd. Why do they have to be so roundabout, pretending to be elegant? ‘I want to sleep with you but don’t want you to have my child.’ Why not just say it directly? Isn’t it ridiculous how they keep up appearances even for things like that?”

“Shh! Seriously, you…”

The maid beside her slapped her back and put her index finger to her lips.

“Sigh. Anyway, I feel sorry for her.”

“Me too. She looks so young. What a sad fate. So sad.”

“If we’re done, let’s go.”

The maids finished up and left.

As soon as she heard the door close, Vivianne quietly opened her eyes.

* * *

Vivianne had known since she arrived at Larson.

She knew humans enjoyed gossiping precariously in front of their subjects, and that the whispers they thought were inaudible were actually much louder than they realized. When she opened her eyes in the morning, she had put on the negligee that had been removed and left by her pillow, just in case.

Then she pretended to be asleep. The maids probably thought she was still unconscious.

And once again, they carelessly whispered about Vivianne right in front of her.

In the end, her uncharacteristic act brought her the most useful information.

“……”

After hearing that information, she felt dazed, like she’d been hit on the head.

No, it was difficult to understand everything at once.

When she heard the word “contraceptive,” she was unsure because she didn’t know what it meant.

Vivianne carefully recalled what the maids had whispered.

“Did she hate it that much? I mean getting pregnant.”

Having a child—no, that wasn’t true. Having Kian’s child was something she had always wanted and hoped for.

“I heard that people sometimes mistake those for regular chocolates.”

To be precise, it wasn’t a mistake. Kian had given them to her, calling them chocolates. So the chocolates weren’t actually chocolates but… medicine with a clear purpose?

“When you look at nobles, everything from their speech to their actions is lewd. ‘I want to sleep with you but don’t want you to have my child.’ Why not just say it directly?”

This part was the most difficult to understand. Mating was for the purpose of having children. The concept of mating while not wanting to have children was completely incomprehensible to Vivianne’s common sense.

“I… want to have your child.”

In the carriage, she had honestly revealed her desire to have Kian’s child.

“Then I should put it in you, Vivi.”

Kian hadn’t shown any signs of refusal either. Did he secretly not want a child? Then why didn’t he just say from the beginning that he didn’t want to have a child?

Even this dawn, he had clearly embraced her, and he hadn’t fed her chocolates.

“It would be best not to take any medication for a while.”

Why? Thinking about it now, she recalled what the physician had said while she was half-asleep.

How should she fulfill the contract? If Kian didn’t want a child, should she try to get pregnant anyway, even forcibly? Her head felt like it would explode. She thought it might have been better before she woke up.

Wanting to escape somewhere, anywhere, Vivianne buried her face in the pillow and squeezed her eyes shut.

* * *

After the physician’s examination, Matilda was thoroughly massaging Vivianne’s body on the bed.

“…Um, Matilda.”

After hesitating for a moment, Vivianne cautiously spoke.

“Yes, Vivi.”

Matilda paused from massaging her arm and met her gaze. She was still kind.

Always smiling, affectionate, and gentle—she was the most dependable person in this house.

“Matilda, you said I sometimes remind you of Sophie, right?”

Was it a bit random? Matilda’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yes, I did. Why do you ask, Vivi?”

“I think if I had a mother, she would be like you. I don’t have any memories, but I’m certain of it. I’ve thought about it a lot on my own.”

“…My goodness.”

Vivianne looked at her with a faint smile.

“Thank you for always loving me like a daughter and taking such good care of me.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

Matilda’s face grew complicated at the sudden expression of gratitude.

She took Vivianne’s small hand with the same hand that had been massaging her arm.

“Having you around has been a comfort to me too. And seeing you sick like this makes me sorry I couldn’t take better care of you. I’ve grown quite attached to you while looking after you like a daughter.”

It weighed on her heart to bring up something uncomfortable to Matilda who loved her so much, but she had nowhere else to turn.

Vivianne’s lips trembled before she swallowed hard.

“I… I know Matilda is Kian’s person, but in this mansion, you and Theo are the only ones I can trust.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“I would appreciate it if you could answer my questions honestly.”

Vivianne held Matilda’s hand in return and looked straight into her eyes.

“You don’t need to hide things, comfort me, or be considerate because you’re afraid of hurting me.”

“Alright, Vivi. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

The hand holding hers tightened slightly.

“The chocolates I ate… they weren’t really chocolates, were they?”

“…What?”

“Actually, I overheard some of what you and the physician were saying. I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping. I just happened to regain consciousness briefly at that moment. So please be honest with me.”

Vivianne took a deep breath and asked again, “Does Kian… not want me to have a child?”