As soon as she heard Lucas’s voice, Giselle, who had been panting from contractions, instinctively reached out her hand. He held her hand with both of his.

“Hng, sniff, Lucas……”

“I’m here, Giselle. I’ll stay with you the whole time, so don’t worry.”

He pressed his lips to Giselle’s hand, which was gripping his so tightly that his fingertips turned white, then reassured her. She looked at him with tears welling in her eyes and asked.

“……Sniff, really?”

“Yes, of course.”

Lucas held her hand once more with strength and nodded. Though his posture with his back bent must have been uncomfortable, there was no sign of discomfort on his face.

Instead, he wiped away the tears that ran down her eyes and caressed her face, wet with cold sweat. And he pressed his lips to Giselle’s forehead and the bridge of her nose.

Perhaps that warmth gave her a sense of security.

A faint smile spread across Giselle’s face as she struggled through the contractions. Then, as if she had finally noticed Lucas’s attire properly, she let out a small laugh.

“What is it. You’re wearing an apron, hng, aah……”

Tears flowed down Giselle’s eyes again. Lucas wiped them away once more with the hand that had been stroking her hair.

She breathed heavily, then laughed a tearful laugh while holding his hand.

“Later, hngh, we have to tell our baby. That Dad…… welcomed our baby wearing an apron.”

“……Yes.”

Lucas kissed Giselle’s forehead and eyes once more and nodded. She looked at the disheveled appearance of the man nodding toward her and laughed again.

“I’m going to tease you about this…… hngh, with the baby for years to come.”

“Mm.”

He firmly held Giselle’s hand, which was gripping his so tightly that the blood drained from it.

“Ugh…… aah!”

The contractions started again. And Giselle’s hand, which had been holding Lucas’s hand, moving to grab his hair was certainly not intentional.

“Oh my!”

Someone exclaimed in alarm. But Lucas, whose hair was caught in Giselle’s hand, didn’t mind. No, he didn’t even have time to care.

All his attention was focused on Giselle, who was going through contractions. So whether dozens of his hairs were being mercilessly pulled out by her hand or not was of no concern to him.

* * *

“Waaaaaah!”

The baby’s loud cry erupted the next morning, when the night had passed and bright sunlight was peeking through the window, curious about the baby’s birth.

“Congratulations, President. And madam. It’s a son.”

“Congratulations, master. My lady.”

“……Giselle, you worked hard. Thank you so much. And Lucas, congratulations.”

Only after receiving congratulations from the doctor, the head maid, and Stella, who was too moved to speak easily, could they be left alone, or rather, the three of them including the baby.

Their appearance was so disheveled that it was hard to describe in words.

Especially Lucas’s. His hair, which had been pulled and tugged by Giselle’s hand all night, looked as if a magpie could build a nest in it.

But he either didn’t know or didn’t care about his appearance, and was only focused on taking in the sight of Giselle and the newborn baby in her arms.

Giselle, too, was too busy looking at the baby in her arms to tease Lucas about his disheveled state.

She gently touched the baby’s cheek with her trembling hand. Then, startled by her own action, she tightly clenched her fist.

Just touching the baby’s face once caused something hot to well up from deep inside her chest.

‘……It’s that child. The one I met in my dream.’

Giselle instinctively realized that the newborn baby in her arms was the child she had seen in her dream.

Light pink hair. And navy blue eyes looking straight at her.

Even for a newborn, one could still distinguish the color of the hair and eyes.

“……Baby.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. Lucas wiped Giselle’s eyes as she whimpered while looking at the baby, then kissed them.

“You worked hard, Giselle.”

“You too. Oh, by the way…… You, because of me……”

Giselle turned to look at Lucas and started to speak, then gave an embarrassed smile.

She had just noticed the man still wearing an apron. His hair was completely disheveled, sticking out in all directions.

‘Hmm…… did I pull his hair a lot?’

Her memory was patchy due to the labor pain, so she couldn’t remember clearly. But she did clearly remember that Lucas had stayed by her side the whole time.

And…… that she had practically pulled his hair out.

She looked at Lucas’s rare appearance once more and smiled awkwardly, then sighed.

“It’s so difficult…… I wonder how Elizabeth managed to give birth alone. I was scared even with you by my side.”

Giselle looked down at the newborn baby quietly, then raised her gaze again. Her green eyes trembled anxiously.

“……Will I be able to be a good mother?”

She had never received parental love. She was suddenly afraid of whether she could fully give the baby a love she had never experienced herself.

Lucas stared at Giselle for a moment, then answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Of course. You’ll be a good mother.”

“But…… I don’t know.”

What parental love is, what makes a good mother.

She had never received affection from her parents, nor had she ever seen affectionate and exemplary parents.

“I wonder if I can properly be a ‘mother’.”

Her voice trembled. She seemed so frightened that her hands holding the baby tensed up.

Lucas wrapped his arms around her and said in a low voice.

“By your logic, the same applies to me.”

He grew up under a cruel father. He couldn’t expect even a grain of affection, and never received a single affectionate glance.

Of course, his mother was affectionate, but he had no opportunity to receive her love during his formative years.

Because he thought she was already dead.

Giselle quickly shook her head at Lucas’s words.

“You’re different. You’re…… affectionate.”

Sometimes he could be mischievous, but even then, she knew there was affection for her underneath. It meant he was a man who knew how to give love sufficiently.

“You’re different too. No, you’re special.”

Lucas’s navy blue gaze turned to Giselle. He continued in a confident tone.

“You’re warmer, brighter, and smarter than anyone I know.”

“……Lucas.”

“You’ll be a good enough mother.”

“……”

Giselle quietly looked at the face of the man who was speaking so resolutely while looking at her. She was scared because she couldn’t believe in herself, but how could this man speak with such confidence?

Moved by the faith he had in her, Giselle lowered her gaze with her lips tightly closed.

The baby, who had been wriggling slightly, opened its mouth as if yawning.

At that sight, a small laugh escaped from Giselle’s lips. A being so small that she could hardly touch it with her hands was nestled in her arms.

But hadn’t she already seen in her dream how this baby would grow up to be a mischievous child?

There was no shadow to be seen in the brightly smiling child.

⟨See you soon, Mom! Let’s play together again!⟩

The image of the child waving at her with a bright smile overlapped with the newborn baby.

‘……Yes, let’s have fun together from now on.’

The child who had come to see his mother in advance was so lovable. Giselle gently touched the baby’s small hand and wrinkled her nose. The tip of her nose turned slightly red.

“Well, I am…… pretty amazing, aren’t I?”

She looked at him, sniffling softly yet trying to be playful. Lucas looked at her with an affectionate gaze and smiled.

Just as his words to her during their academy days had made her live more diligently.

She had a feeling that the faith he had just conveyed to her would once again help her become a good mother.

At that moment, Lucas looked at her with a smile and gently reached out to brush her hair aside.

‘……I must look a mess.’

Her face must be haggard, and her hair disheveled. But none of that seemed visible to his eyes, as his gaze remained only affectionate.

Then again, his appearance wasn’t much different from hers right now. His hair, disheveled from being grabbed by her all night, and the apron he was still wearing were things unimaginable from his usual self.

Nevertheless, the man before her was perfect.

As he always had been.

‘No. He looks more handsome than ever.’

Instead of telling him what she had just thought, Giselle just burst out laughing. And without either of them initiating it, their lips met.

With Lucas embracing her and the baby in her arms with both his arms.

It was a long, long kiss.

And after their lips parted, Giselle looked at the baby, who was smiling docilely, and spoke.

“About our baby’s name. Hmm, Edwin…… how about it? Eddie. Little Eddie.”

“Eddie, Edwin……”

That’s nice. He muttered the name Giselle had given the child a couple of times and smiled.

Between Dad and Mom, the baby, or rather, little Eddie, also smiled broadly as if he liked his name.

It was the birth of the young master of the Taylor family and the future most powerful figure in this household, ‘Little Master Eddie.’