It’s already been 4 years since I married Jade. So much has happened during that time.

We had a lavish wedding that made every invited guest gasp in admiration and envy at its scale.

Blanche has now grown noticeably to the point where she no longer calls herself ‘Shu Shu’.

Though in my eyes, she’s still just a little child who loves macarons.

Above all, the event that had the biggest impact was undoubtedly that incident.

After the day Viscount Iskal mistreated Blanche and went abroad to study, the disparaging remarks about Blanche from the collateral line significantly decreased.

However, in the Senate, the atmosphere of rejecting Blanche still prevailed.

The main reason was that since there was ‘Gloria Rowe’ who would become the future Marquis Rowe, there was no need to curry favor with the adopted daughter ‘Blanche Rowe’.

It was because they thought only Blanche’s wolf shapeshifted form was ‘Gloria Rowe’.

So Jade, after consulting with me, bribed a professor at Romer Academy.

We had him submit a thesis stating that children could be born even from parents of different species.

As a result, it was revealed through a paternity test that Blanche was Jade’s biological daughter.

There was some confusion in the Senate about why this wasn’t disclosed earlier, but from the day Jade said he would handle it himself, they belatedly recognized Blanche as Rowe’s successor.

Afterward, Blanche became ‘Blanche Gloria Rowe’.

I often received letters saying she was enjoying life with Lirin, as the children who looked down on Blanche as the next Marquis Rowe disappeared from the academy.

In Rowe, a gentle breeze that had completely melted winter brought the warm scent of spring.

I stayed in bed with Jade until noon, ate a late lunch, and saw him off as he left for the imperial palace.

“I don’t want to go.”

Just before getting into the carriage, Jade turned around, pulled me into an embrace, and buried his face in my shoulder.

Whenever Jade had to go to the imperial palace, he would cling to me, saying he didn’t want to go.

Most of the time I would coax and cajole Jade to leave, but sometimes we really did end up going back into the mansion.

‘He’s heavy…’

Honestly, Jade, who was taller than me and had a solid build, was burdensome.

I was already sore and lacking energy from being tormented by him until dawn, so I didn’t even have the strength to endure.

“Jade, I’m tired.”

“…Tired?”

Jade, who had been rubbing his cheek against my nape ticklishly, pulled away slightly.

“If you’re tired, should we go back inside and rest?”

“Yes. I need to rest. You go to work.”

I sensed danger in Jade’s eyes as he licked his lips. I widened the gap between us, creating distance.

“Come to think of it, I don’t have anything to do at work today. I should just rest with you, Larien.”

It was a lie. I had run into Jade’s aide just the other day, who had practically begged me to make him come to work.

I couldn’t forget the haggard look on his face from processing documents in Jade’s place.

‘Why am I so tired?’

Moreover, if I were alone with Jade, we would keep clinging to each other, and in my current state, it was overwhelming to handle him.

‘I need to send him off quickly today.’

I deliberately cleared my throat and spoke in a firm voice.

“Jade, you said the same thing yesterday and didn’t go.”

“I don’t have to go if there’s no work.”

I was dumbfounded by Jade’s brazen reply.

“Don’t you feel sorry for your aide at the palace who’s complaining about the pile of documents?”

“Why should I feel sorry when I’m faithfully paying for their labor? Larien, are you saying you pity another man in front of me?”

It was absurd yet cute how Jade would get jealous over trivial things, and it was quite consistent.

‘He’s almost thirty. How can he not change with time?’

Unlike other husbands who become neglectful of their wives after marriage and take mistresses.

Jade remained unchanging in his attention to me alone, disliking even brief separations.

“Jade. If you have any conscience. Shouldn’t you quietly get into the carriage?”

The relief of not having to worry about women issues. The satisfaction of being loved by him alone.

I was happy, but there were also days when I wanted to be alone.

‘I still like Jade too. I hope he keeps loving only me.’

It wasn’t a slump. The occasional fluttering of my heart when I saw Jade proved this.

“Didn’t you know I have no conscience?”

“…Jade.”

Even so, I was starting to feel irritated. At the same time, I was surprised at myself.

‘What? Did I just get annoyed? At Jade?’

Lately, I had been inexplicably sensitive, getting irritated by trivial things.

I was overwhelmed by the feeling of not being able to control my emotions properly.

“Larien? Why are you just calling my name without saying anything?”

Fearing I might really hurt Jade if I stayed longer, I pointed to the carriage.

“Jade. If you don’t go now, we’ll be sleeping in separate bedrooms from today.”

The effect was tremendous. Jade’s eyes widened, then he glared at me.

Without adding another word, he turned and got into the carriage. I sighed as I waved to the slowly departing carriage.

Feeling the sunlight beating down on my head, I raised my hand to catch it.

The warm sensation made me drowsy and sleepy.

‘The weather’s nice, maybe I’ll take a nap in the garden.’

Too lazy to go back inside, I stepped into the garden.

There was a soft armchair in the garden. It was placed there because Blanche liked to sleep on it, and I often used it too.

‘I miss Blanche… It’s been 3 months since I’ve seen her…’

Blanche’s scent lingering on the armchair brought a surge of sadness and tears.

Blanche had consistently been achieving top grades.

Yet, shocked by narrowly coming in second in the last exam, she didn’t return home even for the holidays.

Being particularly competitive, even when I said I missed her, she was determined to come back with a report card showing she was first again.

What parent wouldn’t like their child doing their best and getting good grades?

However, I was worried about Blanche feeling pressured at times.

Even though it was announced that she was Jade’s biological daughter, not all gazes towards Blanche were kind.

Rather, most reactions were of aversion, calling her a half-breed wolf and a mongrel.

I thought it was all my fault.

Although I didn’t mention it out loud because I knew it would upset Blanche if she said she was sorry for this, the guilt remained heavy.

Blanche’s efforts to get good grades were, in the end, because of me.

Because only by achieving excellent grades could she avoid hearing in the Senate that she wasn’t intelligent due to having a mother of a different species.

“My lady. I was wondering where you went… So you were here?”

Mary came with a blanket and a basket full of various fruits, along with a smile that seemed to say she couldn’t help it.

Mary placed the basket on the table.

Perhaps because it was fully spring, the basket was filled with strawberries, oranges, mangoes, and so on.

“What if you catch a cold like this.”

“It’s spring. If anything, it’s hot.”

Mary fussily covered me with the blanket, securing it tightly.

Mary, who used to only call me ‘miss’, had now changed to addressing me as ‘my lady’.

As time passed, it seemed I had naturally blended into the Rowe marquis’ household, which made me feel good for some reason, and I started humming a tune before stopping abruptly.

‘What’s this, am I bipolar? Why was I angry just a moment ago, then sad, and now happy?’

I was worried that I might have developed bipolar disorder due to such extreme mood swings.

“Hmm, these oranges are a bit sour this time. They won’t suit your taste, my lady. Don’t eat them. I’ll give you strawberries instead.”

Mary peeled an orange and frowned after tasting the juicy, bright red pulp.

“I want to eat it. I’m feeling down, so I want something tangy.”

“I’m not sure what the connection is between feeling down and craving something tangy, but… here you go.”

Mary looked puzzled as she picked out a good-sized orange and put it in my mouth.

“It’s not sour at all?”

“Not sour, you say? That’s strange. My lady, you don’t handle sour things well, that’s why I told you not to eat it…”

I thought I had just been lucky to get an orange that wasn’t sour. So I cut another orange and shared it with Mary.

“Hmm. This isn’t sour either. I guess the one you ate earlier was the only sour one.”

“Ugh.”

However, Mary stopped chewing, held her nose, and forced herself to swallow. Then she shuddered.

“My lady, you’re saying this isn’t sour? This is beyond losing sensation in your tongue. This won’t do, we should call a doctor right away!”

“Mary. You’re becoming more and more like Jade.”

It had become a habit for Jade to worry about me and call for a doctor at the slightest thing.

“But, my lady. What if there’s really a problem with your sense of taste?”

“My sense of taste is fine, Mary. Maybe I’ve come to like sour things as I’ve gotten older. Don’t be so serious about something trivial.”

“W-wait a moment, my lady.”

Mary suddenly fell into deep thought, then clapped her hands.

“My lady, could it be that you’re pregnant?”

“…What?”

“It was the same when you were carrying Blanche. Don’t you remember? You enjoyed plums only during that time, and once the young lady was born, you wouldn’t even look at them.”