Sarah made a complicated face for a moment, then, with a gentle smile, she hugged Claude tightly.

“You thought that since Ethan and I are so busy, we need to make time to be together, didn’t you, our Claude?”

“Yes! That way, a sibling will be born!”

“Fufu.”

Sarah could easily tell what kind of feeling Claude had when he said he wanted a sibling. Claude was a child who didn’t know how to throw tantrums. He never had, and after the series of events that had unfolded, he had become even less inclined to do so. When he wanted something, he would speak up without hesitation, if it was something that Sarah and Ethan could easily grant. But on the other hand, if he thought his request would put Sarah and Ethan in an awkward position, he would remain silent and hold it in.

‘He’s too smart, our Claude.’

It was endearing, but at the same time, it was somewhat unfortunate that he was so quick to pick up on the adults’ circumstances, especially when it made him suppress his own desires.

“But still, good children should be going to dreamland now. That way, you’ll grow big and tall.”

“Really? Like Dad?”

“Of course. You want to grow tall like your dad, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, if you keep staying up late like this, every day will make you grow a little bit less tall.”

“Huh? No way!”

Claude immediately dove into his blankets. Elexa, who still had a long way to go before reaching the palace, looked on sadly.

“The Crown Prince will also sleep here tonight. I will send word to the palace.”

“Wow!”

“Yay!”

Claude and Elexa cheered joyfully, lying down together on the bed. Seeing them giggling and whispering to each other, Sarah felt it might have been a little too early for them to be asleep, but she smiled and placed a chair by the bed.

“I’ll be reading here until both of you fall asleep, so don’t play for too long.”

With a snap of her fingers, the book she had left by the bed suddenly appeared. Elexa, staring at it in amazement, lowered his voice and asked Claude.

“Hey, Claude. Do you see something like this every day?”

“Yeah. Yesterday, you know, Mom made bread with magic……”

The two children, although supposed to be sleeping, began whispering to each other. Sarah pretended not to hear their soft voices as she turned the pages of the book. Time passed like that, and after a while……

“……”

“……”

The murmuring quieted, and soon only steady breathing could be heard. Sarah, still holding the book in her lap, looked at the sleeping children’s faces.

“They’re cute, aren’t they?”

It was surprising that the two children, who had been thinking so hard, had come up with something so simple—to spend time together to alleviate their loneliness.

“……I wonder if it’s because they both have busy parents that they get along so well.”

Sarah kissed Claude’s forehead. A small smile appeared at the corner of the sleeping child’s mouth. It seemed that he was having a good dream. To ensure they both had even better dreams, Sarah cast a sleep spell before carefully leaving Claude’s room. As she walked down the hallway toward her and Ethan’s bedroom, her face set in a resolute expression.

“Sarah.”

As soon as she opened the bedroom door, Ethan came up to her. He briefly assessed her expression before immediately pulling her into his arms. Sarah, as though accustomed to it, wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his broad shoulder.

“It seems Claude is feeling lonely.”

“What did Claude say?”

At Ethan’s question, Sarah lifted her head and looked him in the eyes before speaking.

“He said he wants a sibling.”

“……”

Ethan said nothing in response. For a moment, he blinked slowly, and seeing this, Sarah waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Ethan?”

“Ah.”

Ethan moaned softly at her call, his ears reddening. Ethan eased Sarah onto the bed and climbed on top of her, then lifted her hand and kissed each finger.

“If he wanted that, you should have told him that it could be done starting today.”

“Oh my.”

Sarah’s cheeks were faintly flushed. Ethan’s face, smiling with the corners of his eyes, was even more captivating than usual. The fingers he kissed felt ticklish. As he pressed his palm to his lips and then to her cheek, Sarah held her breath for a moment.

“If Claude truly wanted it, I would have said the same.” 

Sarah said, gently tracing Ethan’s face with her hand as she continued. 

“Not just today, but anytime.”

At her words, Ethan smiled joyfully and bent down to kiss Sarah. His kiss was tender and sweet, but Ethan often seemed as if he was thirsting to swallow every breath of hers. To soothe him, Sarah cupped Ethan’s face with both hands, gently pulling him closer, whispering words of love in the brief moments when their lips parted. That alone was enough to calm Ethan’s urgent heart.

“Hah.”

He finally released Sarah with a satisfied sigh. Sarah gasped for breath for a moment, then quickly regained her composure and spoke.

“But still, what Claude really wanted wasn’t a sibling…… it was……”

“Time spent with us.”

Ethan, having anticipated this situation, let his shoulders drop a little, looking somewhat downcast.

“I wish he could grow up without ever knowing loneliness.”

He had wanted to do better, but it seemed that his efforts had backfired, leaving him feeling disappointed. The path to being a good father was so long and difficult. Compared to the past, things had certainly improved, but when it came to Claude’s issues, Ethan still felt uncertain.

“You’re doing well.”

Sarah smiled and encouraged him.

“Is there anyone who has never felt loneliness in life? Those negative feelings and situations are things we can’t completely shield him from.”

“But it’s our responsibility to try to prevent him from experiencing them as much as possible……”

“To do that, should we lock Claude up in the Ambrosia mansion and only let him meet those we approve of?” 

Ethan blinked in surprise, momentarily speechless at her suggestion. Sarah, finding him cute, reached out and stretched his cheeks with both hands, continuing.

“What we need to do is teach Claude how to wisely overcome the loneliness, sadness, despair, and anger he will experience in life.”

“……!”

“If we prevent him from experiencing any of those things, it might feel better for us, but when those situations eventually come, he might not know how to handle them and could end up falling apart, searching only for us.”

Ethan fell silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. The intensity in his gaze revealed how seriously he was considering this issue.

“It seems like preventing everything would be the easier way, but I guess it’s only by walking the difficult path that Claude will grow better.”

“Fufu. That’s what raising a child is about. But just imagine how wonderful it will be when Claude grows up. That’s because we raised him that way.”

As Sarah spoke, Ethan, who had been imagining Claude’s future growth, narrowed his brow slightly and said.

“He’ll probably turn out better than me.”

“Still, to my eyes, Ethan will always be the most wonderful. So don’t worry.”

“……Well, that’s good enough. I can’t give this up to Claude.”

Ethan and Sarah shared a smile, gazing at each other. They were a couple who got along perfectly.

“The idea of solving the loneliness by making him a sibling was pretty cute, but we’ll have to let Claude realize for himself that what he truly wants is time with us.”

“That’s why we’ve spent these busy days like this. It worked out well.”

Before heading to Claude’s room, Sarah took one last look at the booklets she had been browsing with Ethan.

[Introducing the famous landmarks of the Crombell Empire.]

[15 tourist cities every citizen of the Empire must visit!]

[If you want to relax, come to our Nakvil beach, where you can enjoy delicious drinks while watching the beautiful sunset……]

“Claude, really…… he’ll probably want to stay glued to us for at least a year. What if, later on, he pushes us away and tells us to go off and play separately?”

Sarah sighed at the thought of the inevitable separation that would come. Ethan, seeing her so wistful, wrapped his arms around her.

“Then you can play with me. When that time comes, even if Claude says he doesn’t want to, there will be a bothersome younger sibling around to annoy him.”

“Oh my.”

Ethan leaned down again and kissed Sarah, this time more intensely and openly than before.