Endymion laid Julia down and covered her carefully with the blanket. Then he lay down on the bed next to her and spoke to her while facing her.
"I think it would be good to sleep like this until the baby is born."
As if he were making a promise to himself.
"Really, separate rooms, no, separate beds?"
What kind of self-restraint is needed when sleeping together?
Julia took Endymion's hand with a regretful expression. Although they were separated, the two beds were still close together.
"The last time you did it, you passed out. Your doctor also strongly advised you not to get excited."
So, the idea was to completely eliminate the risk factor: none other than him.
"Hmm."
Her heart was pounding, and she felt regretful. She whined while fiddling with the strong hand that she was holding.
"Once things settle down, sometimes they say it's okay."
Then Endymion's brow furrowed, and he bit his lower lip.
"...Don't provoke me."
Endymion held her slender hand tightly so as not to hurt her.
Julia, who was giggling, seemed to have realized something new and spoke while examining her husband, who was physically much bigger than her, from all angles.
"You're really big."
"..."
"You're tall, and you have big hands. Um... what else is big about you?"
"...Stop talking now."
Endymion closed his eyes tightly and snuffed out his luminous orb. The last thing she saw was the tips of his ears turning a little red.
Julia tilted her head, but soon became drowsy and said goodbye regretfully before going to bed.
"Then sleep well, Mion."
"Yeah, you too."
It was unfamiliar because it was the first time she had ever used two beds. However, the warmth from her lightly held hand gave her a sense of stability, like when she was sleeping in an embrace.
Julia yawned lightly and quickly fell asleep. She didn't even notice Endymion biting his lips alone in the darkness, as he was aroused by even the slightest stimulation.
The warm night deepened.
Fortunately, after hearing the regular, gurgling sounds of breathing for a long time, Endymion's unsteady breathing also returned. After about an hour. Endymion, who was unfamiliar with sleeping alone like Julia, also slowly fell asleep.
So peacefully midnight passed, and dawn came, and everyone was asleep.
"...Ugh."
Endymion's nerves tensed for a moment. Endymion reacted quickly and wiggled his eyebrows while still sleeping.
The moment when he unconsciously thought, Is this a dream or an illusion?
"Ugh."
Flash.
At the obviously wet sound, Endymion opened his eyes automatically. His body, with its highly developed motor skills, moved before his head and turned on the night light.
A soft, dispelling light spread.
"Julia?"
Endymion called out, taking her hand that had been lightly touching him again. Then, a pretty face soaked with tears appeared under the light, along with her hand that was trembling faintly.
"Mion..."
"What? Why are you crying? Where does it hurt?"
The face that had been bright and cheerful until she went to bed was now filled with sadness. Endymion crossed over to the bed next to her, feeling his blood run cold.
"Mion, dark."
Julia immediately threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, sobbing.
Endymion became lost in thought when a person who normally did not cry suddenly cried in the middle of the night and clung to him like a child.
"It's okay, don't worry. Should I call the doctor right away?"
The words came out so quickly that he didn't even realize his own voice was trembling. Endymion patted Julia on the back and reached out with his other hand to urgently pull the bell rope.
"Where does it hurt? How much?"
"I want to... Sob."
Her voice was unclear, blurred by tears. Endymion pulled hard on the bell cord that signaled an emergency, then asked her urgently again, trying to soothe her.
"Easy. It's okay. Don't cry. What did you say?"
"Ugh... I..."
"Wow, Your Majesty!"
The resident chief chamberlain and the chief maid rushed in. At the same time, Julia sobbed and said.
"I want to eat bread."
The panting chief chamberlain, the chief maid, and even the pale Endymion all stopped moving for a moment.
"..."
"..."
Julia, breaking the peace of the deep dawn, spoke again in a sobbing, crawling voice.
"I really want to eat it... But I'm so sad that I can't eat it right now."
Endymion thought Julia was whining in her sleep. He heard that some women suddenly become moody when they get pregnant.
He sighed in relief, thinking that it was fortunate that she was not sick anyway.
"Yes. I'll have them bring it right now."
Endymion gestured to the chamberlain, wiping away the tears on her lovely face with his lips.
"I will prepare it right away."
"I will bring you what you usually enjoy, Your Majesty."
The chief chamberlain and the chief maid were about to leave, smiling. At that moment.
"No."
"Yes?"
Julia suddenly shook her head stubbornly.
He had also heard that when you get pregnant, you suddenly have an unbearable craving for certain foods. Endymion, who remembered this knowledge, accepted Julia's complaint affectionately.
"Want something else to eat? Just ask and I'll get it for you."
"Your bread."
"Bring me that bread right now."
Endymion immediately gave the order. Then Julia grabbed Endymion by the collar and spoke clearly.
"No, I want to eat the bread you made."
"...What?"
"Yes?"
"Yes?"
There was a burst of bewildered reactions from all sides. Endymion asked cautiously, slightly frozen, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"The bread I made, you've never had it before."
He had never cooked, let alone baked bread.
Of course. Would a being born as a noble Crown Prince and occupying a high throne have ever touched food? It was absolutely impossible.
But there was someone who made the impossible possible.
"Yeah. But I want to eat it. I ate it in my dream and it was so, so delicious."
Julia said earnestly. It was pitiful to see her swallowing hard and looking around with a slightly sleepy face.
"Huh? Mion."
The bright purple eyes were so pretty that they made his heart pound. In the end, Endymion bounced up from the bed again.
"I'll make it."
That dawn, the kitchen of the main castle was opened in a hurry, and the royal chef came running without even putting on his shoes properly at the shocking news that the King himself was baking bread.
'His Majesty really cooks?!'
'You're baking bread at this hour of the morning?'
While the servants were shocked by the news, the King, with the help of the chef, really baked his first bread in his life. And the result was...
"A morning roll flavored with the finest butter."
The chef wiped away the cold sweat and served the King freshly baked bread on a plate.
"Can you call this bread?"
The King, with flour-stained hair, looked down at his creation coldly.
The beautiful plate was made with the finest ingredients...
'Oh, it's ruined?'
'That's not bread!'
The flour lumps were neatly packed.
"Uh, uh, Your Majesty. I will quickly re-bake the roll. With that..."
He was a King who could do everything, including swordsmanship, politics, trade, and even ballroom dancing, but he had no talent at all in cooking.
It was clearly butter with a deep flavor and fine flour, but in the end, the carefully selected, top-quality ingredients were turned into an ambiguous lump in the hands of a novice cook who had never even cracked an egg.
"I think she'll notice if I make it."
"Ha, Your Majesty, I wonder if it will suit Her Majesty's taste..."
Suddenly, the chef tried to recreate the King's masterpiece, which had become a great challenge, into something appetizing.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't save it.
In the end, that which was too embarrassing to be called bread was taken to the bedroom on a fancy plate before it cooled down.
"Julia. I tried my best, but..."
"It's so delicious!"
The moment Endymion hesitated, Julia quickly took a bite and was delighted. The eyes of the chamberlain and the chief maid, who were secretly looking at each other, had dilated.
'That monster...'
'It's delicious?'
But really, Julia ate it clean to the last piece, slept soundly with a happy expression on her face, and felt very good the next day.
'What's good is good.'
What if the bread was a little unusual? Julia likes it. That would be a greater honor than any famous bread.
Endymion quickly became confident. In fact, he was a man who only had Julia in his mind, no matter what others said.
Endymion refused the chef's offer to make it for him and instead baked his own bread every morning.
"Wow, that's unusual. It seems like morning sickness manifests itself like this."
The attending doctor examined her and gave her some advice.
Julia felt embarrassed that she was being greedy, so she forced herself to suppress her appetite. However, after a few days, she eventually gave in to her appetite again and cried and begged Endymion.
"Mion, I want to eat it again..."
"Yes, just wait a minute."
Julia was so embarrassed that she could hardly stand to nag her husband about something so trivial. He was already busy running the country!
But in fact, Endymion was very satisfied with having his pretty wife cling to him and pester him even when he was just breathing. So, without a single complaint, he baked bread and offered it to her every morning.
The changes after pregnancy were quite unusual and impressive.
Julia, who had been naturally innocent, gradually became more sensitive and felt at ease when she ate the bread baked by Endymion.
"Really, do you two really show off how close you are?"
Even Anna, who gets a checkup every day, was amazed.
"The weird food that His Majesty made, no! That bread isn't the only thing Her Majesty eats these days?"
"That's right. The Queen's taste is truly unique! I really wonder what kind of person the baby will be."
At first, the servants were worried about whether they could feed that strange food to a pregnant woman, but they were delighted.
In this way, the King's homemade bread became a special food and a symbol of love for the royal couple.
"What should I grill today?"
"Well, well. Honey, what kind of bread do you want to eat today?"
And watching the bread grow along with the baby in the Queen's stomach has become a small pleasure in the palace.
***
Three months later, Iris gave birth to a daughter. She was a beautiful Princess who looked exactly like both Duke Hyde and Iris.
"You are so lovely. How can you be so cute?"
Julia clung to her crib, her eyes sparkling.
She already liked children, but the baby looked just like her favorite people, so she was as cute as a doll.
Iris laughed, patting both the baby and Julia at the same time.
"Julia's baby will be beautiful, just like Julia."
"Is that really true?"
Julia asked expectantly, unable to take her eyes off the baby Princess. But soon her spirits died down a little.
'I wish I could tell if you're a Princess or a Prince.'
Originally, at this point, it would have been possible to use a gender detection magic tool to know the baby's gender in advance. However, Julia's magic power to protect the baby was very extreme, resembling Endymion's.
It was already powerful, but the golden magic repelled all external intrusions, so the magical tools did not work at all.
Ultimately, Julia became the first royal to give birth to a child whose gender was unknown.
'It seemed like Mion was quite excited.'
After spending time at Duke Hyde's residence, Julia returned to the palace.
Unable to withstand Endymion's overprotective polarity, she now heads towards her home, where shock-absorbing carpets cover all sides.
"Hmm. Just in case, should I try using the magic tool one more time?"
Seeing Ed unable to take his eyes off the baby Princess and her younger sister, she began to feel a sense of regret. She wanted to know if she wouId be a lovely daughter or a cute son.
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