“Roshan.”

Yerena pushed him away in alarm. Or rather, she appeared to push him away. The two drew closer together. But just then, a small hand pushed the slightly open door.

“Mom!”

“Louis!”

It was Louis, the younger of the twin princes. The child, who had inherited his mother’s blonde hair, glared at his father and ran to his mother. Naturally, Yerena opened her arms to the child, leaving her husband behind.

“Umm…… Mother.”

“Cairo.”

As Yerena lifted the still-small child, another child hesitantly emerged from the open door. It was Cairo, the elder of the twin princes. The child, who closely resembled his father with his black hair, pretended awkwardly, unlike his brother. He had a cute, sly expression, as if he had just woken up and had no intention of disturbing his parents.

“You’re awake too. Come here.”

Yerena spoke while holding Louis. Cairo was about to rush to his mother like his twin brother but stopped. The child’s eyes fell on his mother’s slender arms.

“Father. Please hold me, Father.”

The child couldn’t hide his disappointment but spread his arms wide toward his father. Roshan tousled his son’s hair as if proud of him, then lifted him up and sat him on one arm.

“You’ve grown again. You’ve gotten much heavier.”

Roshan was speaking affectionately to Cairo when Louis, who was clinging to his mother like a cicada on a tree, stuck out his tongue at his brother and then kissed his mother’s cheek. Cairo briefly showed an angry face toward his brother but soon raised his head with a dignified expression.

“Louis. Don’t do that to your brother.”

Yerena spoke sternly to Louis in her arms. Louis’s expression crumbled as if his world had collapsed at his mother’s face, and he began to whimper.

Yerena didn’t soften her expression even seeing her son about to cry. Instead, she put the child down. Only after Louis apologized to Cairo in a small voice could he be held by his mother again.

“Now, both of you should go. Your father has something to discuss with me.”

But Louis soon had to leave his mother’s arms again. Roshan made eye contact with Cairo and put him down, speaking warmly but firmly to the children.

“I hate it! I want to stay with Mom.”

Louis shook his head in refusal and buried his face in his mother’s neck. Yerena could only put him down after coaxing her son who didn’t want to let go.

“Louis. Come here. Mother, Father, we’ll be going now. See you at dinner.”

Cairo reached out to his brother. Louis, though whimpering, obediently took his brother’s hand.

The emperor called for the princes’ nanny who was waiting outside. Soon, a group of nannies and palace staff took the princes away.

“We should arrange separate quarters for the children. They can’t stay here forever. They need to study more and start learning swordsmanship.”

Roshan spoke as he led Yerena to a long couch. He thought the children, growing day by day, were now too big to be held in their mother’s arms.

“It’s still too early. They’re only five years old. Besides, Your Majesty, even you stay here.”

But Yerena thought differently. In her eyes, the children were still close to babies. Moreover, wasn’t he fully grown man, much larger than her, abandoning his own palace to stay at the Ivory Palace? She sat on the couch and spoke playfully, and the man sitting beside her asserted proudly.

“It’s natural for a married couple to share the same space.”

“I’m not sure. Lady Shantus was saying the other day that such rules only apply to common citizens.”

“I’ll have to dismiss the countess. She only teaches you unnecessary things.”

Though she now displays excellent etiquette, Yerena had many shortcomings as an empress in the early days of her reign. Above all, due to the aftereffects of a carriage accident, she had lost her memories and forgotten many things that a noble lady should know.

Fortunately, her language skills were unimpeded, and she quickly learned etiquette as if her body remembered it. Roshan would say that the empress was perfect even if she knew nothing. But Yerena wanted to be as perfect an empress as her husband was a perfect emperor. So even now, she called in a teacher about once a week for lessons.

“By the way, Roshan. What do you think this time?”

“About what?”

“Do you think it will be a girl? Or a boy?”

“A girl.”

Roshan answered his wife’s question without hesitation. Of course, he had no talent for determining the gender of the child in her womb. He was just following his intuition.

“Really? You must be happy. You said you wanted a daughter.”

However, Roshan had correctly guessed the gender of the twin princes before. So Yerena made a fuss over his words. Roshan murmured as he looked at his brightly smiling wife.

“……Whether it’s a daughter or a son doesn’t matter. I only need you to be safe.”

In truth, Roshan hadn’t particularly wanted children. Of course, the children born between him and his wife were too beautiful, and he could give his life for them. However, having directly seen how dangerous pregnancy and childbirth were for women, he hated the very idea of his wife being in danger.

“Roshan. What did I tell you before?”

At her husband’s words, Yerena made a stern face, just as she had when scolding Louis. Unlike his son, Roshan immediately showed a repentant face and opened his mouth.

“I’ll correct myself. I only need you and the child to be safe.”

“Well done.”

“……”

“And don’t worry too much. Both of us will be healthy.”

Yerena immediately relaxed her face at Roshan’s words and showed a bright smile. Roshan stared at his wife’s smile with a blank face and slowly reached out to her.

“Hmm…… The baby will be born in winter. Will that be all right?”

“Don’t worry about such things. The servants will prepare everything. And you should also stop holding the children. Isn’t this a time to be careful?”

Roshan said, placing his hand on Yerena’s belly. Though it didn’t show yet, in a few months it would swell with the growing child.

“But when this child is born, I won’t be able to hold them as much……”

“They’ll understand. Our children are mature.”

Though she agreed with Roshan’s words, Yerena drooped her shoulders, feeling sorry for the twins. Watching his wife, Roshan pulled her into an embrace and suddenly laid her down on his side. Caught off guard, Yerena ended up lying on the couch with her husband’s knee as a pillow.

Roshan looked down at his lovely wife’s face from above. Eyes as blue as the sky, without worry or concern. When he saw himself reflected in them, he felt a happiness too deep to express.

But at the same time, he felt equally anxious. He felt the urge to strangle himself into unconsciousness right then. Why? Because he had seen the opposite. He knew she would never look at him like this.

‘If you’re truly sorry for me, end my life just as you killed my family. So I won’t have to see you anymore!’

The past and present stood in stark contrast. Thus, Roshan felt how undeservedly fortunate he was at every moment.

The current Roshan had fully obtained the love of the person he had so desperately longed for, and they had exchanged rings. They had children together. They lay in the same bed and looked at each other with the same gaze.

And yet…

Six years had passed. But Roshan knew clearly that the happiness he currently enjoyed was obtained by deceiving his wife. His original sin hadn’t disappeared at all. No, rather, his sins were piling up relentlessly on top of it.

So he felt terribly anxious. What if the goddess truly existed and punished him for deceiving his wife? What if his wife regained all her memories? What would he do? He had already tasted it. What if she never looked at him this way again?

Roshan felt himself being eaten away by anxiety. It felt like thousands of needles were rolling inside his heart. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, he barely managed to say to his wife.

“……I love you. Yerena.”

“Me too. I love you. Roshan.”

Yerena responded immediately to his confession. Her natural and unaffected attitude was nothing but sincere. Roshan felt infinite joy at this sight, yet he found himself disgusting for feeling that way.

“……You’re doing it again.”

Roshan felt himself smiling, but the observer didn’t perceive it that way. Yerena, looking up at her husband’s face from below, reached out. She held his cheeks with both hands and stroked them with her thumbs, asking.

“What are you so afraid of?”

At his wife’s question, Roshan’s heart sank. He looked down at his wife, unable to say anything. Yerena, reading something in his expression, burst into laughter and said.

“Oh my. You don’t know. Roshan, do you realize that sometimes, especially when you’re with me, you make the same face as Louis on thundery days?”

Like most children, the couple’s second son, Louis, feared thunder. On thundery days, the child would stick close to his brother but would soon burst into tears and look for his mother.

“I don’t know what’s bothering you, but don’t worry. Nothing bad will happen. Okay?”

“Yerena.”

His wife, with her eyes wide open, was stroking his cheeks. In a moment of rising emotion, Roshan grabbed her hand. And immediately asked a question he would soon regret.

“……Aren’t you curious about why I’m anxious?”

Roshan wanted to bite his tongue for bringing up the subject. Why had he asked such a question? If his wife said she wanted to know, if she asked him to tell her the truth, would he tell her everything?