Chloe looked at the chamberlain at the elder’s words she didn’t know. The chamberlain slightly nodded, understanding her gaze asking ‘Is that true?’

“You also know that in case of a tie vote, the motion is rejected, right?”

The elders now had confident expressions, and Chloe clenched her fist under the table.

She didn’t even know about the voting rules for meetings called by the king. She was such an inadequate ruler, yet it was this difficult to put a more prepared person on the throne.

However, rules were rules, and just because she was the king, she couldn’t decide everything as she pleased. As Chloe nodded, the voting finally began.

Thirty minutes later, the chamberlain picked up the last ballot.

So far, there were 10 votes in favor of abdicating to Grand Duke Karl, and 9 votes against. With 10 elders, that last ballot was likely from one of them. If it ended up 10 to 10 as expected and the motion was rejected, Chloe would have to keep the throne.

Chloe’s face was stiff in the face of the anticipated defeat.

The chamberlain unfolded the paper and announced.

“In favor.”

For a moment, not even breathing could be heard in the meeting hall.

Everyone was shocked. One of the elders had deviated from their line. Soon, anger and bewilderment spread across the elders’ faces, while joy and a sense of victory appeared on the faces of the noble and commoner representatives.

But regardless of what emotions were on whose face, the voting results had already been announced. The abdication was decided, and the throne of Tigrium was no longer the exclusive property of beast-people.

Nine months had passed since Chloe abdicated to Grand Duke Karl and returned to Royzen. Chloe was smiling down at Hugrey, who now slept and woke up in the same bed every day. He was still asleep. For some reason, he had been oversleeping like this for the past few days, despite always waking up precisely on time before.

Hugrey hadn’t said whether it was right or wrong for Chloe to give up the throne and come back, but he no longer had nightmares or sleep-talked saying ‘don’t go’. Just for that alone, Chloe thought her decision was right. What was important to her wasn’t the unwanted throne of Tigrium, but this man sleeping soundly before her, and the sense of fulfillment she felt when she was with him.

Chloe looked at the clock and, thinking it was about time to wake him up, brushed his bangs aside and kissed his cheek.

“Mmm, you’re already up?”

He mumbled, pulling her into his arms.

“It’s not that I’m up early, you overslept again. By 30 minutes.”

“Strange, why do I keep feeling sleepy?”

Hugrey chuckled at her scolding and hugged her tighter. Chloe wriggled out of his arms like a caterpillar and poked his cheek, which still had his eyes closed but with upturned corners, with her fingertip.

“You’re not a baby, but you’re sleeping more and more. Ah!”

Chloe, who had been playing with his cheek as if it were a soft baby toy, flinched when he suddenly grabbed her finger and bit it.

“That’s why I said not to provoke me in the morning. Hmm?”

Hugrey laughed as he released her finger.

“What provocation…”

Chloe couldn’t finish her sentence as his lips came down on hers. Suddenly, Hugrey was looking down at her from above. Chloe barely caught his hand moving lower and tried to push his shoulder, but his heavy upper body didn’t budge.

“Why are you doing this? If you do this in the morning, really…”

Chloe pushed against his shoulder with more force, conscious of the maid who would soon come to prepare the wash water.

“Well, I wonder why? Maybe… because… I’m not a baby?”

He whispered, his lips barely parting from hers.

Knock knock.

Finally, the knock was heard.

“Oh, Mainy, could you come back later?”

Chloe called out towards the door and pushed Hugrey away with all her might. She really could push him away if she was determined. Barely, but if she drew on the tiger’s strength, even a wolf could be pushed back.

“Okay, you’re not a baby, what baby! So now…”

Hugrey, pushed to the side by Chloe’s strength, grabbed her hand and rubbed it against his face, laughing. Looking at him like this, she thought this man seemed more like a dog than a wolf. Well, where else would you find such a big dog.

“…”

Hugrey, who had been grinning, suddenly looked at Chloe with a stiffened face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait, just a moment.”

As Chloe hesitated at his suddenly strange behavior, Hugrey flipped her hand he was holding and gently pressed two fingers on her wrist.

“Hugrey?”

“Shh…, just a moment.”

Hugrey silenced her as if deeply concentrating on something, even closing his eyes slightly. Although Chloe thought his behavior was strange, she waited silently for now.

“Chloe.”

Finally, he called her. She thought his eyes seemed to be trembling somehow.

“What’s wrong?”

“Here, place your fingers here and awaken your senses, feel what you can sense.”

Hugrey pulled one of her hands and placed her fingers on the wrist he had been holding.

Although wondering what she was supposed to feel, Chloe focused her senses on her fingertips.

“…”

“Do you understand?”

Hugrey smiled broadly. Chloe could only blink her eyes.

“Can you feel another, weaker pulse besides your heartbeat?”

Chloe suddenly felt like her heart was beating twice as fast. It was true. At the spot where her wrist pulse could be felt, she sensed a pulse that wasn’t hers.

“Is this really… the baby’s heartbeat?”

“Yes, with a very high probability, it seems so.”

“Oh, my goodness…”

“We’re having a baby. Our baby.”

Our baby? Chloe trembled. Our baby? To think that a baby had been conceived between Hugrey and her.

“How do you… feel? Looking at your expression, it seems like you might cry at any moment.”

Hugrey carefully examined her face as he spoke.

“Sob!”

Chloe finally burst into tears.

“Why, why are you crying?”

Hugrey asked with a frozen face, cupping her face with both hands.

“Because I’m… so happy. I’m crying because I’m so happy.”

Chloe ended up sobbing loudly. How long she had been waiting for this baby. How long she had been waiting for a baby to come, both when she was on the throne and after abdicating and coming to Royzen. Although Hugrey and she were always together to the point where it would be unnatural for a baby not to come, there had been no news of the awaited baby even as their second wedding anniversary approached. In fact, she had started to feel anxious a few months ago.

The curse-like words that Reina Tilbeth had once said to her seemed to stick, and she even began to think that she might really be unable to bear children. Fearing that her body might have become unable to conceive due to the side effects of taking suppressants, she had never once voiced out loud that she wished for a child or that she was worried about not having one. For fear that such words might sow seeds of misfortune. She had been that anxious.

“Sob sob sob, waaah.”

Chloe was now almost wailing. One hand was already placed on her belly, which showed no change at all.

“If you’re happy, why are you crying like this?”

Hugrey smiled as he wiped away her tears.

“Hugrey, aren’t you happy?”

“I usually smile when I’m happy.”

Chloe cried out loud again. It seemed like she could cry freely when she was too happy. Until now, she had tried not to even worry, let alone cry out loud, for fear that the baby might really not come. She had been afraid to even think negative thoughts.

“It seems the baby in your belly is a crybaby. It’s even made its mother a crybaby.”

Hugrey pulled her into his arms and patted her back.

“I, I was worried that I might not be able to have a baby. That there might be something wrong with my body.”

“That couldn’t be. What a cowardly tiger we have here? Besides, having a child or not, it’s all the same. I was fine with just you alone. Seems like you weren’t satisfied with just me?”

Hugrey kissed the top of her head and nuzzled her face. Really, what kind of dog-like wolf is this? And making such unreasonable claims.

“Having a child makes it even better!”

“Okay, I got it. I’m happy about the baby too.”

“Will it be a boy or a girl?”

Chloe, who had stopped crying by now, asked as she pulled away from his face.

“You were crying just now and suddenly you’re curious about that? We can’t know that. No matter how much we awaken our senses, we can’t know that.”

“I see.”

“Still, I’d like a daughter. She’d be really pretty if she takes after you.”

“I think it would be nice to have a son. He’d be handsome and cool if he takes after you. But how did you notice that I was pregnant?”

Now, the tears had completely dried on Chloe’s face.

“It’s rare, but it’s also a characteristic of wolves.”

“What is?”

“Not all wolf beast-people are like this, but very rarely, with about a 5 percent chance, there are wolf beast-people who experience their imprinted partner’s pregnancy symptoms instead. Usually, it seems the man experiences all the symptoms that the woman should experience.”

“What?”

To think such an absurd case exists.