Chapter 53

As the air grew chilly and the signs of winter began to appear one by one, those who had gone to war finally returned. In the meantime, I, who gradually became a healthy mother, enveloped my swollen belly and trod with heavy steps. Other than that, the Duchess Dowager also came out to greet her son with me for this time. Mrs. May as well as the maid, who remarked that she had been as strong as she was, watched my steps anxiously on either side while Charlotte watched over the Duchess Dowager’s steps carefully. On the other hand, Carl just dashed out with the dog and returned to me with red cheeks before repeating it through. Before Gellerhard could even enter the castle, Carl’s cheeks were already burning bright red and his breathing was all rough.

“Carl, is it good that your father is coming home?”

“Huh! Good!”

Carl, whose chubby cheeks were all puffy, responded instantly with a wide grin. The puppy with the size of a grain of rice before had now been twice as big as Carl, who was smiling brightly enough to reveal those tiny teeth of his. Ah—I cried out. Carl, who was beaming with excitement, had been very cute and lovely, so everyone simply waited for Duke DeMancier’s return along with a smile on their face. Even while his cheeks were all frozen red from the cold wind, the thrill of meeting him had made his heart pound. I wondered how he would react when he could see his wife with a huge bulging belly as well as his chirping son along with those tiny teeth.

The knights, who had been led by Gellerhard, gradually entered the castle in pride and Gellerhard immediately got off his horse before he hurriedly approached us.

“Dad!”

The child whom I once had to hold and bring into Gellerhard’s arms before was now running to his father on his own while opening his arms wide. Gellerhard snatched his son up with his left arm and pulled him into his strong arms. My heart ached at the sight of the two of them hugging each other tightly.

“Amanda.”

“Gellerhard.”

Gellerhard stepped up to me with the child in one arm before he grabbed my shoulder with his right hand. The purple pair of eyes that was visible through the long, tousled black hair, the high nose bridge, the cheeks that were etched with a rather dark beard and even the lips—all of them had been intact. His gaze went all over my body as well as myself.

“I’m glad that you’ve come back safely.”

He just smiled at the added stiff acclaim.

“Both Carl and Amanda had grown a lot in the meantime.”

“It got bigger!”

“Yes, our Young Master has grown a lot~ His younger brother has grown a lot as well.”

Carl nodded his head broadly at the words that he said while stroking his nearly full-sized stomach. I wanted to brag about how the dignified older brother Carl had been and how kind he was to his younger brother in my stomach, but I held back since everyone appeared to have been exposed to the cold wind for quite too long.

“Mother had also come out to greet as well.”

“Mother.”

“Come on then.”

It seemed that the emotions that had been buried deep between the two of them were swirling around. The Duchess Dowager appeared to feel very very complicated at the return of her young son, who had left for the battlefield right after the death of her husband, whom she had still loved. And amidst all that, Gellerhard just faced such a mother in silence. I could feel an intense pressure that surged to lead the conversation between these two.

“Echwi!”

At that moment, Carl sneezed with his red-cheeks and all the adults hurriedly headed into the warm castle. Phew—I was so glad. As I became relieved internally, Gellerhard’s other arm instantly wrapped itself around my waist. His hands were still very hard with the gauntlet, but I simply wrapped my own hands around his.

Winter had come along with his appearance.

* * *

Gellerhard had gone to take a bath and the Duchess Dowager went off to prepare for the banquet. Therefore, Carl and I returned to my room instead. Carl, who was excited to see his father after such a long time, said that he would like to show what he did to Gellerhard and piled his blocks up high while the maids began helping Carl as well.

With the sound of the hastily opened door, Carl’s tower collapsed, but the child was just as excited before darting towards the sudden visitor.

“Mandy, are you okay?”

“Dad!”

It had been Gellerhard, who was quite lightly dressed. When he appeared, I instantly raised my body and in the meantime, he lifted his son who had run towards him with just one arm. A joyful laugh leaked out from the child whose field of vision had been raised as he was being held in his strong arms.

“It has improved a lot actually. Would you like to touch it?”

Was it because my hands had been constantly stroking my stomach or due to it appearing like a very large swollen part of my body? Gellerhard’s eyes seemed to glaze over my bulging belly. He nodded his head nervously and began to stretch his hand out willingly.

“—That’s really big.”

“Really big!”

“You speak quite well now.”

After stroking my stomach once and admiring its size, Gellerhard smiled at Carl’s words.

“Sure, he does. He’s going to be three years old soon and what a wonderful older brother he has been too. Right, Carl?”

Since Gellerhard had picked Carl up, it became easier to see Carl’s green eyes. Carl, whose eyes twinkled while his cheeks lit a smile, gave him a nod.

“Huh!”

“But why is it a brother? Couldn’t it be a sister instead?”

Since it had been clear that I was going to have a son, I would often assume that the baby to be born in this manner would happen to be a son too. Since it was impossible to determine the sex of a fetus over here, people seemed to always wonder why I had been so sure that a boy would eventually be born without asking me outright.