“Thank you, Charlotte.”

“Congratulations.”

She greeted me with a soft smile and scooped a little bit of the soup with the spoon before she blew on it. I was really grateful since, frankly, I didn’t even have any strength to lift a finger, but this felt a little burdensome still.

“Allow me.”

Then, Gellerhard suddenly snapped in.

“Me too!”

Carl also ran for the candidacy and Charlotte immediately turned her head towards the Duchess Dowager with a face that asked; ‘what should I do?’

“Well then, I will ask the Duke. I think it would be okay for the two of you to spend some time together now.”

Charlotte’s intervention was considered even by Gellerhard, who hated her, so Gellerhard took Charlotte’s place instead. A tray was put on his thigh and Carl, who had been sitting next to me, was eventually pulled down by Charlotte.

“Eat the soup and get to sleep once more. Don’t worry about anything else.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“I have also sent a message to Viscount Bentta, so they will be here soon enough.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, rest up.”

The Duchess Dowager, who was concerned that Carl would ultimately annoy me, picked the child up and went out with Charlotte. Only a single maid had kept her place by the door while all the other maids had gone away. Then, Gellerhard began stirring the soup with a spoon.

“It doesn’t look very appetizing though.”

Heh—Gellerhard snorted as he made a rather pointless quibble. I saw his dissatisfaction with Charlotte that had melted into the poor soup.

“I’m hungry, oh—”

As I pressed my lips together, the soup finally entered my mouth. It was a bit hot, which made me simply swallow it whole, so I didn’t even know what it really tasted like.

“Do chill it a bit more.”

“Sorry. Hoo hoo—”

As if he was showing off his superior lung capacity, the soup that he had blown on for a long time became lukewarm. He was a man who knew nothing of any middle ground. Well, when did he ever nurse and feed someone like this? I calmly accepted and ate whatever that he fed me. His treatment was so clumsy that he had scooped out too much soup which eventually ran down my mouth and he also moved the spoon incorrectly that made a noise as soon as it hit my teeth or lips. Still, the look of Gellerhard, who seemed to be very apologetic whenever he made a mistake while still trying to be cautious and careful, was a bit cute.

I eventually emptied the soup and with Gellerhard’s help, I sat back on my back. The bed seemed to have cooled down a bit, so I changed the hot water bath and slowly buried myself in the warm, fluffy bedding before letting myself fall asleep. In my sleep, I thought that I could slightly hear the lullaby which I usually sang to Gellerhard and Carl before.

* * *

The next time I woke up, it was already morning. The maids wiped my face and body with towels soaked in water and Mrs. May vigorously excused her absence by saying that the Duke left this morning on urgent business and that he had originally intended to stay by my side the whole time. I knew that Gellerhard was busy, so I wasn’t really annoyed by his absence, but he just kept letting Mrs. May keep her eyes on me. On top of that, she had been actively making excuses for him while knowing the fact that the other maids would prick their ears and overhear it.

It was only after eating breakfast and moving around the room two or three times with the help of the maids that my vitality returned to my body little by little.

“What about the baby? I want to see the baby.”

Now, I could already hold the baby in my arms. A maid hurriedly went outside and soon after, the Duchess Dowager as well as Carl came in with the baby. Carl was smiling broadly as he grabbed the hem of my clothes.

“Did you sleep well last night? I’m so happy to see that you’ve woken up from a good night’s sleep. Charlotte’s soup must have worked quite well.”

“I guess so. I slept well and I felt rather light in the morning too.”

“Mandy, hello!”

“Hello, Carl. Are you here with the baby?”

“I was so happy that I wanted to see my younger sister ever since the morning. I came with her because Mrs. May brought her.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

When a second child was born, it could be said that the first child would feel a lack of attention as well as a sense of loneliness, but she was also Carl’s half-sister. Therefore, I became worried, but fortunately, Carl seemed to like his sister. Carl, who had cheeks just like ripe apples, urged me while tugging the hem of my skirt.

“Mandy, quickly—”

He urged me to sit down quickly and see the baby. I climbed onto the bed and sat with my back against the cushioned head and Carl instantly took the seat next to me. The Duchess Dowager, who was already sitting on the bed, slowly held the baby out into my arms.

“Oh, my God…”

The baby had the scent of warm milk and was startlingly little. Her hands and feet were surprisingly small, with her all five fingers and five toes each as tiny as a millet. The baby’s pink soles and palms were all soft and mini too. The child’s eyes were closed, perhaps because her eyelids were all swollen or perhaps since she had been asleep, but her lips were constantly munching around.

“She was named with Theodora.”

The Duchess Dowager said to me as I was quietly looking at her child’s face. When a baby was born, they would usually be named by the eldest person within the household, so it must have been come up by the Duchess Dowager herself.

“Theodora.”

“Theo-do—”

Somehow, she even had a very lovely name. As I carved my baby’s name in my heart, I smiled at the Duchess Dowager and thanked her before she responded with a smile on her face to me in return. Carl called out his sister’s name after me, but the name ‘Theodora’ seemed to be too long for Carl to pronounce all at once.

“Theodora—your sister’s name is Theodora. Theodora.”

“Yes, Theodora.”