“I don’t need it.”

Fearing that he would issue a troublesome order, Anne dismissed his words at once.

“Then, why don’t you pick up a day and go on a picnic? I heard that the vast fields on the upper bank of the Carroll River are quite beautiful. Because you like flowers…”

“As you can see, my body is uncomfortable. There’s a lake right here.”

“Right…”

He tried to talk to Anne, but she refused everything and the conversation stopped. Normally, he would have just greeted her and left, but he kept looking at Anne’s stomach.

Regret gripped his feet. He couldn’t bear to leave with the expectation that she would kindly ask if he would touch it just once. It was pitiful, but it was strange that a child of his own blood was in that small stomach.

It was not until six months that he noticed that Anne’s stomach had bulged a little. He felt bitter at the same time because he had never seen it before. If it hadn’t been for his foolish words, they would have been able to drink tea together while stroking her stomach.

Among the women chatting, the Grand Duke remained in his place. Anne stopped a handmaid who was about to stand up to bring a teacup for him, but Anne stopped her. She was leaving soon, so it was unnecessary. As a result, the head of the family had to stand by the pillar, unable to sit down, like an uninvited guest at a gathering.

Why isn’t he leaving?

It was also uncomfortable for Anne to keep him standing. She felt uncomfortable with his gaze, but more than that, she was embarrassed because the passing knights and servants kept glancing at their direction.

“Aren’t you busy? The tea is about to taste bad…”

In the end, the Grand Duke’s face blurred at Anne’s words. Even so, she couldn’t stand to dismiss him any longer, so she asked him to warm up his body and go.

* * *

The Grand Duke’s castle in the middle of the night.

Among the windows that had been curtained off, only one window in the west wing remained lit.

Daymond stayed up late in his office, looking over boring numbers and piles of paperwork, trying to get the work done. Since appearing in public, he has been concentrating on managing the Northern Territory.

Until now, he hadn’t cared about the future, so he generously gave away wealth for the people of the territory. However, with the birth of the child, it was necessary to properly manage the territory’s management for the child’s future.

But even in the middle of his hard work, other thoughts intervened from time to time.

He had never assumed that he would ever have a child, and he still could not realize that Anne was carrying his child. Even so, the fact that he had a child of his own blood made his heart swell, as if it would explode.

It was a strange feeling he had never had in his life. Even though it felt good to have his heart beating like crazy, his insides became hot enough to make him upset.

Is it a boy or a girl?

He was already curious about the unborn child.

It would be nice if it was a girl who looked like Anne.

He had no desire for a boy to carry on the family line. He just wanted a girl who looked more like Anne than him. He wanted to give the child a stable life where it didn’t have to care about family name or anything. A life completely opposite to his long, lonely life.

“Both a son and a daughter will be pretty.”

It was a useless idea. No matter what gender it was, as long as it resembled Anne, it would be very lovely.

Then the second hand of the clock on the wall ticked to midnight. Quite a bit of time had passed since Ashton was sent back.

“Is it already time?”

There was a laugh. Since when did I work so hard? The past days, when he left everything to his aide, seemed rather distant.

He left the office to cool his head for a moment. And he looked at the scenery outside from the aisle corridor connecting the west building and the main building. It was dark everywhere, but the blue greenery glimpsed through the lights made it easier for the eyes.

Thinking of leaving, his gaze naturally turned to the building behind it, which was hidden by the main building.

She must be sleeping.

She must have gone to bed already.

When the Grand Duke suddenly came to his senses, he was unintentionally standing in front of Anne’s bedroom door. He definitely thought he had gone down the stairs from the main building, but he had just walked to the east building.

No sound could be heard in the room, nor a single light. Of course, she must have gone to bed already.

Still, eager to see her sleeping face, he put his hand on the doorknob and fiddled with it. However, he raised and lowered his hand, thinking about knocking, but it was difficult to knock.

A deep sorrow settled over his always calm face. It was a room where, not too long ago, he had kicked in the door without hesitation. But recently, it has become possible only with courage.

After standing in front of the door without a word for a long time, he eventually gave up his lingering feelings and turned around.