As if she should know to restrain herself from something unhealthy. He looked at her with a stern face as though she were childishly begging, and she couldn’t help but resent him.

Florencia felt truly wronged. This wasn’t it!

Her initial intention to be angry about him being alone with Saintess Elisabeth had long since faded.

She merely knew something was clearly troubling him, but he showed no intention of talking about it, and he looked unhappy, yet she couldn’t do anything to help, so she had done her best to think of something. Of course, she couldn’t say she felt no impulsive desire to provoke him because she was annoyed that he wouldn’t tell her anything.

“It’s natural for women to have stronger desires in that area during menstruation. Try to think of other things even if it’s hard to endure, Laura.”

“That’s not what I meant……”

“Or would you like to read something? In the study, there are books that you might enjoy……”

Florencia’s face looked like she might cry at any moment. Really…… how unfair!

In this world, what woman would just sit still when her lover was lost in thought with such a gloomy face? She just wanted to……

“Laura, are you embarrassed?”

“That’s not it……”

“It’s alright, it’s natural.”

“It’s really not, I just……”

Tears threatened to fall embarrassingly, so she quickly lowered her head.

“I just wanted to comfort you because you looked so unhappy, Father……”

Why am I always so clumsy?

“……I only wanted to comfort you, Father.”

As she whispered her true feelings, tears fell drop by drop. It wasn’t because she felt wronged. She cried because she was angry at herself for not even knowing how to properly comfort her lover.

“But I didn’t know what to say, sob, I, when I’m in your arms…… it feels good…… I thought maybe you would feel better too after……”

Hic, in the end, a sorrowful sob mixed with her words. Every time she had been upset before, she had leaned on him countless times, but when the situation was reversed, she felt pathetic for not being able to offer even one mature word of comfort.

He silently stared at her for a while.

He’s not saying anything, so he must be disappointed in me…….

But after a long moment, what came was his incredibly gentle and soft voice.

“Florencia.”

Ludwig sighed deeply and reached out his arms to comfort her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing, Father……”

“I wonder how such a sweet Laura ended up meeting someone as bad as me.”

He embraced her carefully, as if she might turn into foam and disappear somewhere at any moment.

“You’re not a bad person, Father.”

“That’s not true.”

“I’m sorry, Father, because I still don’t know much……”

“Laura, you might hate me if you knew how immature and terrible a human I am.”

Ludwig wiped away the tears remaining around her eyes with his fingertips.

“When I think of you, I mostly lose my composure.”

“……”

“Sometimes I’ve even resented you. Even while knowing that I’m the bad one.”

At that calm confession, Florencia clutched his sleeve with her small hand.

“Sometimes I want to protect you, but other days I feel like ruining you completely and tormenting you.”

“……Father Ludwig.”

“I’ve comforted you whenever you cried sadly, but truthfully, I hoped you would cry more often. Because then you would come to me.”

He thought she might look at him with contempt after hearing this, but the small fingers that had been holding his sleeve moved down and firmly grasped his hand.

“I feel the same way, Father.”

“……”

“Even when I kept bothering you by visiting, you always greeted me warmly saying, ‘Laura, you’ve come.’ I loved that so much that I might have become more of a crybaby, freely indulging in being spoiled.”

Florencia, you really…….

“You are the best person to me, Father. I promise that no matter what you do, I could never hate you.”

Ludwig felt some indescribable emotion welling up from deep within as he tightly embraced Florencia.

No more words were necessary. Without checking the clock, they could tell considerable time had passed as they remained still, bodies pressed together. On days when the heart is complicated and difficult, the warmth of someone close by is most likely the greatest help.

“How are you feeling?”

Florencia was sitting in Ludwig’s arms, leaning against him. Perhaps because she had been worried about it all along, her abdomen was cramping and hurting again. Instead of preparing a hot water bottle as usual, today he placed his large, warm palm on her lower abdomen and continuously massaged it.

“I’m fine now.”

“That’s good. I was worried because your menstrual cramps seem worse than usual this month.”

A light kiss that made a small sound landed on her round forehead.

“By the way, Father, are you using holy power right now?”

“No.”

He reached out his other hand to tousle Florencia’s hair and mouthed, “Why?”

“Just…… your hand is so warm……”

I thought you were adjusting the temperature with holy power, she said shyly. Florencia always acted bashful even when saying trivial things and blushed at random times. Though this was an incredibly lovable charm unique to her in Ludwig’s eyes, the person herself didn’t seem to realize it yet.

“That’s actually…… because of you, Laura.”

“W-why?”

“Well, because you tried to seduce me so aggressively earlier, even going so far as to take off her clothes?”

“……!”

“Perhaps my body is still hot and burning because I couldn’t properly release then……”

Florencia’s face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple. Soon realizing she was being teased, she attacked with her cotton-soft fists…….

“Father, you’re really mean!”

Though she hit him with genuine force that must have hurt a little, he paid no mind and laughed lightly.

“You’ve grown a lot, quickly catching on when I’m teasing you now. Our little one.”

Even his playfully smiling face was so handsome it made her heart flutter again. Florencia tried her best to look angry as she said:

“Father, you seem to live for the pleasure of teasing me.”

Her cute lips pouted primly as she looked away.

“Perhaps that’s true.”

“You’re eight years older than me, I wonder what you found amusing before I came along……”

That’s right, Laura.

How did I live before knowing you?

And…… if you were to disappear from my side, would I, at that time, be able to go on living?

He smiled bitterly, careful not to let Florencia notice.

“Ah! The chocolates!”

Just then, Florencia suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something, her eyes wide.

“The chocolates are right here. Since you didn’t eat any, I thought maybe you didn’t like raw chocolate.”

“How could that be! I just didn’t eat them earlier because I was angry with you, Father.”

In truth, she had wanted to eat them for a while now. Florencia looked at the chocolate box in his hand with sparkling eyes.

“……You were angry? Because of me?”

“Uh…… um…… I thought so for a moment, but actually, I wasn’t.”

The startled rabbit rolled her eyes in panic. He wanted to probe further, but suspecting there was probably some very cute reason behind it, he stopped. I’ll have to properly tease it out of her later when there’s more time.

“Father, where did the chocolates come from?”

It was obvious she was trying to change the subject hastily, but Ludwig pretended not to notice.

“I made them.”

“What? You made these yourself?”

“Didn’t you know? Everything I’ve fed you until now was all made by me.”

Did you think I would use someone else’s hands for something meant for you? This time, he lightly pinched her cheek as if feeling hurt.

“Last time, you also gave me chocolates as a gift.”

“……”

“You always eat sweet things better when you’re menstruating.”

“Father…… what exactly can’t you do?”

“Nothing.”

Florencia rolled her eyes at him in mock annoyance as he answered nonchalantly, then popped a chocolate into her mouth.

“But the outside is dusted with cocoa powder, so it might taste a bit bitter, is that alright?”

Sure enough, as soon as she put the chocolate in her mouth, Florencia grimaced.

“Ugh…… it’s bitter, Father.”

Ludwig clicked his tongue knowingly and pressed her cheeks to make her open her mouth.

“Give it to me.”

The soft lips touched and parted, and somehow the chocolate had already moved to him.

“Aren’t you bothered by the bitterness, Father?”

“I’m fine. The sweetness that follows the bitter taste always feels more intense.”

Just like now.

Ludwig, having melted away all the bitter powder on the chocolate’s surface, passed it back into Florencia’s mouth. Her soft lips at the end of the bitter taste were truly, extremely sweet.

“Now it only tastes sweet!”

Her bright smile beaming with happiness was sweet enough to make his heart ache. By the time the first chocolate had melted away, he picked up a second one.

“Eat more, Laura. I’ll eat the bitter outer part first and pass it to you.”

Florencia.

Though I’m committing unforgivable wrongs against you, I actually wanted to give you only good things.

If I were an ordinary man who could welcome you as my rightful life partner…….

I wanted to swallow all the dark and bitter parts of life myself, and gift you only sweetness.

As he put a rather large chocolate in his mouth and worked diligently to melt its surface, Florencia, who had been thinking deeply, said:

“But this seems too unfair.”

“What do you mean?”

“Making you keep eating the bitter chocolate while I get all the sweet centers alone…… Somehow it makes me feel like a bad woman.”

“It’s alright, Laura. I know better than anyone that you’re a good woman.”

Here, eat. As he tried to pass the second chocolate to her, she showed no intention of pulling away, instead lovingly whispered as she wrapped her slender arms around his neck.

“……We can eat it together, Father Ludwig.”

The soft lips met his as a small warmth, sweeter than chocolate, clumsily entered. That awkward seduction was so thrillingly powerful that Ludwig willingly chose to surrender.

Between the mingling of their tongues, the softly melted chocolate blended smoothly, sweet and gentle. Even sweeter were their hot salivas, and even after the rich, sweet liquid had completely disappeared down their throats, they couldn’t part for a long while.

That chocolate they ate together that day became a bittersweet memory that would make them smile when recalled even after much time had passed—more delicious than any chocolate they had ever eaten in their lives.