Eilika woke up in the late afternoon, her head feeling light. As she stretched her arms out, she scanned the room, realizing she had fallen asleep in Roman’s room.

"What time is it?" she murmured, stepping down from the bed. As she exited the room, she saw Damian walking in her direction. Roman wasn’t with him.

"How was the sleep?" Damian asked, stopping in front of her. "I can see the exhaustion has left your body. The bed wasn’t comfortable last night."

"Hmm. Did you take some rest? Also, where is Roman?" Eilika inquired.

"With Maurice and Louis," Damian replied. "I can’t sleep during the day," he added. "I will ask the maids to set the table for lunch for you."

"It’s already afternoon!?" Eilika exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"It is past two," Damian answered.

"I slept far too long. You should have woken me up," she murmured, lifting her hands to smooth her stray hairs.

Damian shook his head. "You needed the rest after yesterday. Besides, Roman was quite firm; he strictly instructed everyone in the cottage not to disturb his mother."

Eilika felt a surge of warmth, moved by how deeply the boy cared for her.

"Let’s go down," Damian said. He turned and walked ahead of her, leading the way to the ground floor. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, he signaled the maids to begin setting the table for the Duchess.

"We will be leaving for Varos tomorrow," Damian informed her as they moved toward the dining area.

"I see. In that case, we should buy something for Mother from the market, a souvenir from Netham. What do you think?" Eilika asked.

Damian paused, glancing back at her. "Are you suggesting that we go to the market ourselves?"

"Yes, if it is possible. Mother will appreciate a gift more if she knows we handpicked it together," Eilika answered. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

They entered the dining room, where the sunlight of the late afternoon slanted through the windows. Damian stepped behind her and drew out a chair, waiting for her to be seated.

~~~~~~

"Uncle Louis, I don’t want to go. I want to play more," Roman insisted, planting his feet firmly in the grass.

"But I am exhausted, Young Master," Louis said, clutching the leather ball against his chest. "The sun has drained my last bit of energy. At this rate, I might actually faint." To punctuate the point, he let his head loll back and leaned his weight against Maurice’s shoulder.

Maurice quickly reached out an arm to steady him, playing along with a stoic expression. Roman’s stubbornness vanished instantly, replaced by a look of genuine concern. He hurried over to Louis and grabbed his hand.

"Uncle, let’s go back to the cottage right now," Roman said, tugging at him urgently.

Louis looked over at Maurice and offered a small, triumphant smile. Maurice simply shook his head at the theatrics, though he didn’t let go of Louis’s arm until they were moving.

When they finally reached the cottage, Louis collapsed onto the sofa with a dramatic sigh. He gestured weakly toward a passing maid. "Water, please, quickly, before I wither away."

Roman stood by the sofa, watching Louis with a concerned gaze.

"Why are you acting like that?" Damian’s voice cut through the room.

"Father, Uncle Louis got sick from playing," Roman said, his eyes shifting to see his mother standing beside his father. He hurried toward them, stopping just in front of Eilika. "Did you sleep well, Mama?"

"Yes, thanks to you," Eilika replied, placing a gentle hand on his head. She then turned her worried gaze toward the sofa. "Louis, how did you get sick?"

"I made Uncle Louis play a lot. I thought he was a strong man, but he can’t stand the sun for long," Roman explained solemnly. "Father, you should call a doctor for him."

"Louis is perfectly fine," Damian remarked, seeing right through his friend’s theatrics. He knew Louis had likely invented the ailment just to get a reprieve from the energetic boy.

"Duke, I am truly unwell. Can you not see my pale face?" Louis muttered, gesturing to himself as a maid returned with two glasses of water on a tray. He reached for one with a trembling hand, maintaining the act even as Maurice looked on with a raised eyebrow.

"Sir, for you," the maid said, forwarding the tray toward Maurice.

"Your uncle loves to act. Ignore him," Damian told his son. "You should rest for some time in your room," he suggested.

"Okay!" Roman focused his gaze on his mother. "Mama, can I have a sibling?" He suddenly asked, causing Louis to choke on the water. He smirked and glanced at his friend.

"Roman, I told you not to make such demands," Damian said in a stern tone, and looked at Eilika, who was clearly flustered.

"But no one wants to play with me for the entire day. Uncle Louis said only Mama and Father can give me a sibling," Roman said, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. "Mama, can’t you give me one? Then, I will not ask for anything else."

"Roman, this is—"

Before Damian’s sternness could fully return, Eilika interrupted him with a soft touch on his arm. She knelt on the rug, so she was eye-level with the boy and held his tiny shoulders.

"Getting you a sibling is no easy quest, Roman. Also, I want to focus on my one son only. If I have a second child, my entire focus will be on them because they will be very tiny and need constant care. If Mama is unable to give you her time, you might not like that. Do you want that to happen?" Eilika asked gently.

Roman paused, the gears in his mind turning as he imagined a world where his mother was too busy with a crying infant to read him stories or walk through the gardens. He slowly shook his head.

"We cannot give you a sibling yet. We both want to focus on you, Roman," Eilika said, her hand moving to the top of his head to caress his hair. "We want to shower all our love on you for now, because you are so very precious to us."

Roman leaned into her touch, his stubbornness melting away. He looked over at his father, who remained standing, but his posture was less rigid than before.