“Do not worry too much. I will take good care of this child.”
The maid gently patted Pepe’s shoulder, as if she had never been angry at all.
Though that kindness was likely insincere, it was clear Pepe had avoided the anger about to erupt.
Pepe, seemingly aware of this, sent a grateful glance toward Yerpi and turned away with her senior.
As they walked away, Yerpi faintly heard the maid whispering something to Pepe.
Most likely, she was inquiring about what had happened with the Duchess.
The maid’s attitude toward Pepe seemed rather cautious.
For now, the tension between Pepe and the maids appeared to have settled.
Back in her chamber, Yerpi undressed and tidied her clothes alone before heading to the bathroom.
The bathroom’s greatest advantage was its large bathtub, clean and filled with a pleasant fragrance.
Hot water gushing directly from the pipes—rather than carried and heated by servants—was a luxury rarely experienced.
Even in the mansion where Yerpi had lived, such comfort had not existed.
The small bathroom attached to her room did not provide hot water.
In winter, she had no choice but to use warm water, and without a personal maid, she had to carry buckets of water boiled in the kitchen, shuttling back and forth multiple times.
As the tub filled, her toes, then her slender ankles and calves, gradually submerged into the water.
Once her entire body was immersed, a deep weariness spread through her, making her sigh.
More than the oils and scents that softened her skin, or even the touch of a maid, she cherished the time she could bathe alone.
The absence of guilt made this luxury all the more soothing to her heart.
Water droplets clinging to her long lashes blurred the ceiling light into a hazy, distant glow.
Yerpi leaned her head against the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.
Then, thoughts that had briefly drifted away in the warmth returned, settling once more in her mind.
“Am I doing this right?”
Her manner toward the maids, her handling of fine furniture and delicate tableware—everything was, in truth, a kind of performance.
A performance based on imagining what a proper duchess would do.
Fortunately, the servants perceived Yerpi’s actions as natural. Perhaps, even more so, they saw her as a generous superior.
This pretense was proving helpful to Yerpi as well.
“At least I don’t appear insane.”
Because regardless of status, a woman deemed mad faced severe restrictions.
At least, that was how it was according to the memories of another life within her dreams.
She didn’t need to be a perfect duchess, but she had to appear sane and natural.
Only then could she seize an opportunity to obtain what she wanted and leave this place.
Still, that goal felt impossibly distant.
For that length of time, Yerpi would have to remain in Growen Castle.
During this period, could she grow closer to Dante?
In the original story.
After Yerpi fell into a coma, Raymond ended up with the female lead.
Yet throughout that process, Dante was barely mentioned.
Why?
“Because he’s not the protagonist.”
Characters surrounding the main couple rarely received proper attention.
No one cared whether they were happy or unhappy.
That was simply how novels were.
Both she and Dante were merely side characters in someone else’s story.
“After I leave, will that child still be unhappy?”
Would he, even in the distant future, continue to avoid people and hide away?
That was why she wanted to help.
Before she left, she wished to secure a proper place for Dante.
Most of all, she hoped the relationship between Raymond and Dante could be restored.
Though their appearances differed, the two shared eyes that shone with the same golden hue—as if proving they were family.
Since arriving here, Yerpi had gained a new wish.
“I hope he learns to love himself and finds stability, receiving recognition and acceptance.”
That he would feel it natural to be loved, be encouraged even in failure, and stand proudly as a rightful member of the family.
Because she herself had never experienced that.
She saw her own past reflected in Dante.
Not the past of this body, but of her previous life—the one who had read the original novel.
Back then, her name had been Kim Ji A.
Yerpi let out a wry smile, recalling that lonely and arduous life.
A bitter taste lingered on the tip of her tongue.
Yerpi rose from the tub and pulled the plug that had been holding the water.
She watched silently as the water swirled and drained away.
Perhaps because her fatigue had been washed away by the warm water,
Yerpi went to bed early that night.
Only her soft breathing faintly echoed through the quiet chamber.
She fell into a deep sleep—
so deep she failed to notice the careful movements beyond the darkened window.
Soon, a small black paw slipped through the slightly opened window. Then, with a single push, a round head and body squeezed in together. The dragon unfolded its wings and landed lightly on the carpeted floor.
Tap. Tap.
Its cautious footsteps, nearly inaudible, soon reached Yerpi’s bed.
The young dragon climbed onto the headboard and quietly observed the sleeping duchess.
“Nice smell.”
Closed eyes with glistening golden lashes. A delicate nose, flushed cheeks. Slightly parted lips. Skin as pale as snow, visible even in the dark.
From all of it came a sweet, honey-like fragrance.
As the young dragon was entranced by the scent,
“Hmm….”
[…!]Seeing Yerpi stir slightly, Dante panicked, straightened his back, and leapt wildly from the headboard.
[Ouch! It hurts—!]He tumbled off the bed, landing headfirst, then rolled across the floor.
The loud commotion woke Yerpi, who had only been shifting in her sleep.
“…Ah.”
Yerpi absently rubbed her eyes and blinked, vision still blurry.
But Dante, who had been completely focused on her, snapped to attention at even that slight movement.
Before the woman’s eyes could adjust to the darkness, Dante silently located the window he had entered through and slipped out of the chamber.
Yerpi, rising belatedly, looked around the dim room.
“…Something felt like it was here.”
A voice—like that of a child.
But the room was silent, and only the breeze from the slightly open window gently tickled the curtains.
Though her eyes were open, her drowsy body soon pulled her back toward sleep.
Was that presence just a dream? Or had it been real?
Such doubts themselves seemed like illusions, and Yerpi sank once more into deep slumber.
***
Inside the office where Yerpi had disappeared.
The crimson twilight had long since been replaced by deep indigo.
Raymond stood in the dimly lit room, moonlight filtering through the glass, staring down at his own hands—the very spot where he had let the duchess go.
Even after a considerable amount of time, the sweet lingering scent remained in the air, filling the office.
The scent of spice.
The rich, sweet fragrance of honey seemed etched deep into Raymond’s very core.
Perhaps that was why his body felt unusually warm.
No—his warmth had begun the moment he touched the duchess.
“It seems I truly do have dragon blood flowing through me.”
He knew well that dragon blood and spice were inseparable.
Yet he had tried to deny it.
Only now did he realize how difficult it was to resist the instincts carved into his blood.
That must be why.
He couldn’t look away from those moist green eyes, glistening as if holding back tears.
And the reason he had allowed her to approach such a sensitive part of him—surely because she was spice.
For a young dragon-blooded individual, what they needed most was the embrace of spice.
Perhaps the reason Dante remained in dragon form and could not transform into a human was because he had never received the love and connection he should have from spice.
If Yerpi could truly open Dante’s heart, perhaps the moment he longed for would finally come.
After his brother’s death, once Raymond had managed the castle and territory, his sole obsession had become Dante’s transformation into a human.
But Dante’s existence was unprecedented in history, and all Raymond knew was that his nephew was a sudden mutation.
Whether a child born with such a body could truly become human, or how long such a being—absent from history—might live, was utterly uncertain.
There was only one thing he had never tried.
Direct contact between spice and Dante.
Perhaps this was for the best.
And yet, the irritation he felt toward Yerpi stemmed from how overly gentle she appeared.
The look in her eyes, as if ready to accept anything.
Those green eyes, floating above a face as pure as untouched snow, had been tearing through Raymond’s mind ever since.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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