Side Story – Special Love, Special Person (1)

 It had already been about five years since I married Ethan and officially became his wife. 

 These days, Blackwood Mansion was quite bustling, unlike before. 

 It was natural for it to be noisy with three children in their prime, but today, besides our own children, even the Hero’s children were running around the mansion. 

 “Alright, Leonhardt! This is magic!” 

 “Lady Eris, dangerous magic in front of Prince Leonhardt-nim…!” 

 “Huh? This isn’t dangerous at all? I’m just making a whirlwind with wind….” 

 -Wheeeeeeeeng! 

 “Woah, woahhhhhh~!!” 

 “Prince Leonhardt-nim!!” 

 With a nonchalant expression, Eris created a cyclone and demonstrated Levitation Magic with Prince Leonhardt, riding the wind. 

 Setting aside her absurd level of magic proficiency for a 6-year-old, her courage alone was remarkable. Making the Empire’s Prince ride an airplane-like whirlwind was an idea that no ordinary person could even imagine. 

 “H-hold on, Eris! Playing too dangerously is….” 

 “Ugh, noona! Stop it!!” 

 Just as I was about to intervene, feeling uneasy, Kenneth abruptly rushed out and snatched Leonhardt. 

 Although he was two years younger than Eris, he was the second child and closer to a person of common sense than Eris, so he quickly came down, holding the blonde Prince. 

 “Well done, Young Master Kenneth-nim.” 

 “Fun~!! Again, again, I want to do it again~!!” 

 “See? Leon says it’s fun too. This time, even higher….” 

 “No, I said stop, noona!” 

 Leonhardt, who had flown several times his height, laughed giddily without showing any fear. 

 Perhaps because he was the child of Seraphine and Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot, his courage alone was extraordinary. To be honest, even I, watching, felt a little intimidated. 

 I surmised that nothing major would happen since Sei was there, but regardless, it was still quite a heart-stopping sight to behold. That was also why Head Maid Marceline was voluntarily acting as a nanny and watching the children play. 

 “Ah, ugh…. Wh-what should we do, dear…? I-I think we should make them play without using magic after all….” 

 “It’s alright, Celista. Leonhardt is two years old now, he should know what magic is. They say that’s when Eris first started using magic too.” 

 “…I think it would be good to consider that Eris had a provisional contract with the Wind Spirit even before she was born, Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot Hwangbu-nim?” 

 “If anything were to happen to Leonhardt, Seraphine would have informed us through her foresight, so you don’t need to worry, Duchess Lilith Blackwood-nim.” 

 Watching the children play in the yard, the Hero’s couple and our couple sat at a table in one corner of the garden, enjoying a light social gathering. 

 Although they were a couple, Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot had two wives. In fact, he originally had three, but because Seraphine, the Emperor, was too busy to come, only Celista and Silena were present, making it two. 

 It was a gathering they hadn’t had in quite a while since their marriage. It seemed both sides had been quite busy with childcare and various other matters for some time. 

 About two years after Celista’s wedding, when Cecilia turned one, the Hero and his wives finally had time to meet again. It was only after Leonhardt, who was born in the same year, had grown to some extent that they had the leisure to travel outside the Imperial Capital. 

 Of course, their travels outside were mostly at Seraphine’s request, for the purpose of inspecting various territories across the Empire. However, Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot had recently made it a habit to visit acquaintances’ territories if they were along the way. 

 …Though Celista and Silena were practically just accompanying him. In this world without a Hero Party, there was no particular need for a Saint or a Divine Archer. 

 ‘Celista is pregnant now, so her Divine Power has weakened considerably.’ 

 Looking at her visibly bulging belly from the side, it seemed she was about seven months pregnant. Perhaps because she had already given birth to three children, I could now infer the stage of pregnancy just by looking. 

 The fact that her Divine Power hadn’t completely vanished after her pregnancy, with a little remaining, might be the Goddess’s own consideration for her long efforts as a Saint. 

 ‘Honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange if it had disappeared long ago.’ 

 Considering she was still wielding power not much different from her Saintess days right up until her pregnancy, it’s presumed she remained a virgin for a while even after marriage. In a way, that Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot fellow is even more of a perverted bastard than Ethan. 

 “Is there something you wish to say, Duchess Lilith Blackwood-nim?” 

 “…I was just wondering how Leonhardt has been doing lately. Usually, children of Imperial family status receive Imperial education from a young age, rather than wandering around outside like this, don’t they?” 

 I evaded his question with a suitably prepared one. If I seemed too friendly conversing with the Hero, Ethan might interrogate me later. 

 As time passed, my subtle conversational skills like these were steadily improving. It was truly frustrating that even having a single conversation between reincarnators was this difficult. 

 “Well, Seraphine and I have discussed that, and our common conclusion was that it’s best for children to act like children at a young age. Teaching them about responsibility can wait until they understand what responsibility is; it won’t be too late then.” 

 “Oh, restricting them too much from a young age is just pitiful, no matter how I think about it…. I-I don’t think there’s a need to even take away their right to innocence just because they’re Imperial family….” 

 Both Seraphine and Celista seemed quite sensitive about early education, perhaps because they had grown up bearing heavy responsibilities from a young age. 

 I don’t know Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot’s true intentions, but if he thinks like a normal person, he wouldn’t actively want to teach a two-year-old anything. Even if he’s been transmigrated for over 10 years, he would fundamentally still have the common sense of a modern South Korean citizen. 

 Since this was a world without a Demon King, Seraphine had no reason to ignore the Hero and Celista’s words and push for early education. And Silena…. 

 “Waaah, waaaaaaaah~!!” 

 “…Why, are you hungry?” 

 “Waaaaaaaaah~!!” 

 “…I guess I wasn’t rude. You are hungry, right?” 

 She was still caring for the green-haired baby girl in her arms with an almost emotionless expression. 

 ‘Given Silena’s personality, there’s no way she’d care about other children’s education besides her own.’ 

 She probably wouldn’t care how many children Seraphine and Celista had. She would likely dote only on ‘Silvia,’ the child she had with the Hero. 

 Normally, even after having a child, that expressionless face would loosen up a bit, but she remained calm. Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot once told me that you could discern subtle changes in her expression from her eyebrows or the corners of her mouth, but honestly, from my perspective, I couldn’t tell at all. 

 In the original game, Silena wasn’t even my favorite character. I’d only seen her ending once. 

 “Just a moment. I’ll give it to you now.” 

 -Sleek. 

 “Kyaaak?! L-Lady Silena! Wh-what are you doing right now?!” 

 “Hey, hey, Silena! Put your clothes back on, quickly!” 

 “……Why?” 

 Why, you ask? Because you’re openly exposing yourself in the middle of the yard to breastfeed, that’s why. 

 Not only Ethan, who was sitting at the same table, but also the servants of our family were walking around, yet she was incredibly oblivious. Or perhaps she simply lacked basic common sense. 

 “Other people are watching! Pull it up quickly!” 

 “…Silvia is just having her meal, so why?” 

 “Haa, seriously! Anyway, just put it on quickly if I tell you to!” 

 “…I didn’t see anything, so rest assured, Hero.” 

 Still, perhaps because they weren’t completely without interaction during their Academy days, Ethan had quickly turned his head away long ago. 

 “Lilith just explained that if you’re going to breastfeed, you should do it in a private room!” 

 “…It’s far. And if I go, I’d have to be separated from you.” 

 “Waaah~~!! Aaaaaaaah~!!” 

 “Silvia says she’s hungry too. And it’s annoying, so just here….” 

 “Haa, fine! I’ll go with you, so quickly put your clothes on and….” 

 “W-we’ll just go inside for a bit! W-we’ll see you both at dinner time later!” 

 “…Alright, I understand.” 

 Ethan nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on the opposite side of Silena, ensuring he wouldn’t accidentally see anything until the very end. 

 Seeing the Hero and his wives quickly exit after forcibly pulling Silena’s half-loosened clothes back up, their relationship remained unchanged from their Academy days. 

 ‘Well, at least it’s a relief that they seem to be living harmoniously in their own way.’ 

 Considering he has three wives, there don’t seem to be any issues in their marital relationships, and seeing that each wife already has a child, they’ll probably manage just fine going forward. 

 Thanks to building a friendship with the Hero Party, being able to subtly witness the story after the happy ending of 『Luminor Academy』 like this was a pleasure in itself.