After spending a day in the fields, we immediately headed to a nearby city.

It was to confirm whether a new life had truly come to us.

Fortunately, as a bustling city, there were many skilled healers there.

We sought out the most renowned among them, and he used his ability to check for pregnancy.

The result of that confirmation was—

“Congratulations. The Lord has bestowed a precious life upon you two.”

It was pregnancy.

Since the healer had used his ability to directly tell us, it was certain.

An indescribable emotion soon began to pound in my heart.

Not knowing what to say, I was in a daze when the healer asked me.

“Are you perhaps a knight?”

“I am.”

“Then it would be best to refrain from strenuous duties for a while. Live blade training, or even sparring with wooden swords, is dangerous. Besides that, it’s better to avoid excessive labor and horseback riding if possible.”

“To that extent…?”

Surprised that there was more to be careful about than I thought, I asked uncertainly, and the healer replied firmly.

“Carrying a life is not easy to begin with. You need to be careful about everything. By the way, are you an awakened one?”

“I am.”

“And your husband?”

It was embarrassing to call the commander my husband when we hadn’t even held an official wedding ceremony yet, but I nodded anyway.

“We’re both awakened.”

“Then it’s good to sleep together frequently.”

The healer’s face was expressionless, but regardless, a flush of heat rose to my cheeks.

To think I’d hear instructions to sleep together from someone else.

In place of my flustered self, the commander asked the healer.

“What’s the connection between us being awakened and needing to sleep together?”

“When an awakened couple shares a bed, the father’s magical power can be transferred to the child in the mother’s womb.”

This was new knowledge.

To think the commander’s magical power could be passed on to the child.

I carefully asked the healer.

“So, if we have relations frequently, our child will receive magical power, and thus have a higher chance of becoming awakened?”

“Precisely. So if you want to pass on magical power to your child, you should make more of an effort.”

In that case, I was willing to go to bed three times a day.

After all, it had long been my dream to raise a child with strong abilities like mine.

After hearing various other things, we left the healer’s place and headed for our lodgings.

We had secured lodgings close to the healer’s, so we didn’t expect anything unusual to happen on the way, but unexpectedly, something did occur.

I quietly asked the commander, who was behaving somewhat strangely.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m protecting you so you don’t bump into anything.”

“Protecting?”

For some reason, the commander was walking very close to me, almost as if embracing me.

Moreover, he was blocking the space between me and other people passing by, as if to protect me.

At first, I just thought it was strange behavior, but it seemed he was moving like this to protect me in his own way.

It was cute, but separately, it made walking a bit difficult, so I gently pushed him away.

“It’s hard to move… You don’t need to protect me like this. My body isn’t made of foam, you know.”

“Wait, it’s hard to walk?”

“I meant it’s hard to walk because you’re too close—”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? Is your leg hurting?”

He seemed to have only heard the part he wanted to hear, despite my meaning that it was difficult because he was too close.

After looking at my perfectly fine legs with concern, the commander suddenly picked me up.

“Co-Commander?”

“I’ll carry you to the lodgings. Just relax and lean on me.”

“No, I can’t relax at all. I think people are staring at us?”

As I said, the gazes of all the passersby on the street were now directed at us.

It’s no wonder attention would be drawn when an already eye-catching tall man suddenly lifts up the woman he was with.

Unlike me, who was conscious of people’s gazes, the commander spoke nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

“Is that the problem right now? Your legs are hurting.”

I wondered when I had ever said my legs were hurting.

While I was dumbfounded, he anxiously looked around.

“Should we get a carriage? No, the vibrations of a carriage would be too dangerous for a pregnant woman. I guess I have no choice but to carry you myself.”

“…”

He was already in no mood to listen to me.

I just gave up and pulled the hood of my outer garment down deeply to cover my face.

Even with my face covered, it was still embarrassing, but fortunately, the lodgings were close so we could arrive quickly.

The only problem was that the commander’s excessive protection continued even after we arrived at the lodgings.

“Can you bathe alone, my lady? Should I help you?”

“When did the form of address change? And of course I can bathe alone.”

“But it could be dangerous… What if you slip on the bathroom floor while bathing alone…”

At this point, I wondered if he was teasing me, but judging by his serious expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.

He asked in a voice as serious as his expression.

“If it’s burdensome to receive help one-sidedly, shall we bathe together? I’m worried about you, my lady.”

“Bathing together is fine, but… are you really going to keep calling me ‘my lady’?”

I wasn’t displeased, but feeling somewhat awkward, I asked that casually.

Unlike my awkwardness, he replied with an indifferent face as if wondering what the problem was.

“Of course. You’re carrying my child. Even if we haven’t held a ceremony, you are now officially my partner and the mistress of the Habicht estate.”

“Ah… What should we tell the squad members? I think they’ll all be quite surprised.”

“Why bother explaining? We’ll just inform them and they’ll accept it. More importantly—”

He came close and started unbuttoning my shirt.

“Now you should bathe, with me.”

Perhaps because it was the first time hearing him speak formally to me, an unfamiliar excitement tickled my stomach.

He undressed me slowly with delicate and careful hands, as if I were his subordinate.

Feeling the heat rising, I muttered softly.

“You don’t need to go this far…”

“I want to do this for you.”

Having no response to that, I quietly let him undress me.

With his delicate touch, he quickly removed my shirt and pants, then pulled down my underwear as well.

His deepened gaze persistently touched my newly revealed pale skin.

However, without touching me, he also undressed himself.

Just as I thought, “Surely he won’t carry me to the bathroom too?”—making my thoughts seem foolish—he lifted me up and carried me to the bathroom.

There was a fairly large bathtub in the bathroom of the expensive hotel we were staying at.

We carefully entered together into the warm water that filled it.

Although his extremely attentive behavior was still a bit embarrassing, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

Because it was clearer than ever before that I had become someone’s precious person.

Thinking up to that point, I suddenly remembered something and said to the commander.

“This situation suddenly reminds me of advice I heard from my father in the past.”

“Advice?”

“Yes, he advised me about the mindset I should have when I have a child.”

I opened my mouth again, recalling a memory from long ago.

“He said that half of my life exists for the empire, and the other half exists for the family.”

“…Hmm?”

“So if I succeed as a knight, half of my life is successful, and if I succeed as the head of the family, the other half is successful too.”

“…”

“Therefore, he said that if I have a child, I should do my best to raise them as the head of the family. He said that raising an excellent successor is the most important role of a family head, and only by fulfilling that role can my life truly be considered a completely successful one.”

Facing him, who had somehow taken on a hardened expression, I carefully said.

“Even though I gave up the position of head of the Schneestern Viscount family to Johannes, I’m still a bit afraid. Will I be able to raise our child to be an excellent talent suitable for the position of the next head of the Habicht Duchy?”

After hearing all my words, the commander let out a heavy sigh.

“No, my lady. That’s wrong. The success of life isn’t determined by such things.”

“Then what?”

He seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.

“More important than the empire, more important than the family, is whether you yourself are satisfied and happy. If we must set a standard for success, a happy life would be a successful life.”

“Happiness…”

Until now, a heavy pressure had been occupying a corner of my heart.

The pressure to become an excellent knight protecting the empire, a respected head leading the family, and a reliable daughter satisfying my father.

The commander’s words that my own happiness and satisfaction were more important somewhat liberated my heart that had been so weighed down.

Leaning my forehead against his broad chest, I whispered.

“Then I guess I don’t need to be too obsessed or scared about child-rearing. Since I’m feeling overwhelmed with happiness right now, my life must already be splendidly successful.”

The commander stroked my head as if in agreement.

Then he leaned in to my ear and whispered in a somewhat playful voice, “Shall I make you even happier?”

When I nodded in permission, he slowly lowered his hand.

Soon, his large and firm fingers were teasingly and tenderly tickling my sensitive spots.

Until all the water in the bath had cooled, he conveyed secret pleasures and happiness to my body.