It was like an eternity till their last encounter. They had... went all out that day, your hitched breathing and how you had felt under her that day. So different from the consorts... So soft.

Then she snaps out of the thought.

You had been acting weird for a few days. Refusing to eat, sometimes wanting to eat weird stuff. Such as, "Ice Icecream", "strawberry and banana milkshake" and what not.

Then, vomit.

Romano house's maids had burst into gossips. "Think they are finally getting along and young mistress is definitely having a child!" — "Yes! Drastic mixture, no? I mean, we are talking about the Estelle Romano's and the Romano's child! I'm pretty sure the child will be beautiful and very rebellious. Witted, too."

The maids crowd and gossips had been echoing through the whole duchy walls.

"There is no way they did that! Let alone her being pregnant by just one time. I don't believe it. It has to be a joke." Mireya said, they were in their own residency given to them, separate from the estate of Romano, under it, but it was in the back. All three consorts had gathered for a tea party. Rare. They don't really get along that much.

"She had always been meant to bear her grace's heir." Linelle replies, sipping on her tea. Thalia chimes, "So what? We can too!" Linelle just shrugs, "Let the adults talk, Thalia."

On the other hand, word had reached Estelle. She thought it might be that you are just sick. Yes, that. But still called the physician. Just in case. Plus, she was worried and... excited. What if you were really pregnant? Imagine their little baby...

The physician’s gloved hands pressed against the silk-draped divan, his voice steady but laden with the weight of his proclamation. "Your Grace," he announced, bowing deeply toward Estelle before tilting his head toward you. "The Duchess carries your heir. The heartbeat is strong, the signs favorable."

A ripple of silence followed. Estelle sat motionless in her carved chair, fingers curled around the armrests, the faintest tightening of her knuckles the only sign of anything beneath her composure.

An heir. Expected. Inevitable.

And yet—why does it feel like a blade at my throat rather than a triumph?

The physician continued, detailing precautions—lightened schedules, increased nourishment, a rotation of attendants. As if I need a stranger to tell me how to safeguard what's mine.

Estelle cut him off with a single raised hand. "Understood." The dismissal was absolute, the door sealing shut behind him, leaving only the quiet and the unspoken thing between them.

Across the room, you sat with far less armor, and Estelle found her gaze lingering without permission.

Is she afraid? Relieved? Does she realize this changes everything?

Six hours later, the estate was alight with murmurs. Servants whispered in the corridors. Messengers had already ridden to the farthest territories. The news had reached every corner, every noble house—including the three consorts, each left to digest their sudden irrelevance in private.

Night draped the grand staircase in blue shadow when you descended, your hand skimming the banister, thoughts clearly elsewhere—until your slipper caught.

A gasp. The lurch of imbalance.

Estelle, emerging from the shadows of the lower hall, moved without hesitation. Her arm shot out, fingers wrapping around your wrist, wrenching you backward with such force that your bodies collided—your back pressed flush to Estelle's front.

Too close. Too weak. Too precious.

Her pulse hammered against Estelle's palm, rapid as a bird's.

If I hadn't been here—

Estelle's grip tightened. "Careless," she murmured, voice low, edged with something too raw to name. "One misstep could undo everything."

Servants froze mid-step nearby, eyes averted, but none dared interfere. This was between the Duke and her wife.

Does she see how my hands refuse to let go?

In the dim light, Estelle's thumb traced an absent, fleeting circle against your wrist.

"You walk with me from now on," she said at last, steel threaded through the quiet. "Wherever you go." A pause. "Wouldn't want you and our child getting hurt."

Our child... She glanced down to your belly.