"Y-you! If I’m pregnant tomorrow, then what then?!"

The blonde screeched with such passion that Kyle, the apparent suspect, had to do a double-take just to make sure he heard right.

"For starters, that’d be worth celebrating for our new family," Kyle replied, his voice still low and raspy. He leaned in, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"But... well, if that could happen, then I guess, on top of being the cutest mechanic alive, you’d also be the cutest medical miracle?"

The adjutant, who’d turned his life around in a single night, cleared his throat before adding, "But if you wanted to try for it using such a method... as your husband, I’d gladly help you."

"Anytime, anywhere."

"Hic—!"

To the blonde, it definitely sounded like a threat! But how come his abdomen tingled upon hearing that?

"?!"

Moreover, how come that massive weapon was up again?!

"KYLE!"

The night wasn’t even young anymore, but even then, for one blonde, the supposedly short moments before daylight could be measured in thrusts, spurts, and unbelievable love marks.

Oh, and the number of possible children he’d imagined having after his husband had finally called it a night.

Four.

That was so much more than the number he’d originally announced (not). But at the same time, he wondered if Kyle was strong enough to do it again tomorrow.

"..."

"..."

__

Meanwhile, just as a newly bonded couple was finding themselves in each other, somewhere back in the Kyros Manor—and more or less appropriately behaved—were two adults in the middle of the third bout of what was supposed to be a cycle of reassurance.

Now, while the scene was somewhat questionable, especially for the tearful father who owned the manor, there was no doubt that it was well within the boundaries of appropriate behavior.

Well, mostly because the golden-eyed young man who hadn’t been caught sneaking into the room of another cadet made sure to only infiltrate the room of his very own husband.

And really, considering the fiasco that happened at the banquet, the fact that they weren’t doing some greater form of gymnastics as a courtesy to the innocent residents permanently living in the manor should’ve already added a stamp to their non-existent achievement cards.

So, given their current mindfulness, why were the two who could’ve met up in the morning like everyone else, or maybe gone to the dungeon space to relax, meeting up in the Imperial Crown Prince’s room?

Well, allegedly, it was all thanks to the golden-eyed cadet worrying about his good brother not being back yet.

Then again, it would’ve been ultimately believable had this not been the third time he’d gone to ask his husband a question.

See, since coming back from the banquet—which closed with the ultimate high of DG winning the most popular booth award after the awarding got pushed back by everything else—Luca had actually come over twice prior.

Yes. Twice.

The first time he knocked on the door, the young heir seemed to have been momentarily spooked.

But eventually, he managed to ask, those earnest golden eyes trained on his husband, about the status of the foreign delegates now that the Expo had finally concluded.

A valid concern, really.

Though in reality, it came out less like a proper question and more like something he blurted, because the moment the door to his husband’s room opened, Luca gasped, rushed forward, and fired it off without hesitation.

Nonetheless, Xavier listened attentively as his little wife worried about the returning elves in particular.

"We can’t possibly send Marin back to her brother just like that, right?" Luca asked, his voice now thick with anxiety.

Xavier, placing a gentle hand on his wife’s cheek, responded with a reassuring calm. "Of course not. At least not until they’re ready to remove their sibling from power. For one, King Garrick will definitely want to have a word with Elior, so that’s one legitimate way to keep him away for some time."

Luca looked up with a hopeful, thankful expression that made the Prince want to kiss his face right then and there.

But surprisingly, before he could even invite his little chipmunk in, the same critter thanked him with a quick bow and ran away with a frantic, "...I see, thank you! Goodnight!"

"...?"

The white wolf, who was also an actual prince, ended up standing by his doorway, wondering what that was all about.

But with no one left to talk to now that Luca had retreated at lightning speed, the Prince could only shake his head and head back inside to prepare for the night.

However, after his bath, just as he was in the middle of changing into his pajamas, he heard his wife’s door open again. The timing struck him as odd, so he set aside his top and stepped out to check on Luca.

The curious and mostly concerned husband exited his door in less-than-ideal attire, only to be met with Luca, who was already taking a step in his direction.

Sure enough, his little wife had gone out!

Xavier, as one could expect, was about to ask what was wrong, but just before he could, he stopped in surprise.

See, his wife, whom he’d seen day in and day out, and had been alright for the most part earlier, was suddenly flushed deep red and wide-eyed.

Could he possibly be sick? Xavier wondered.

"Luca, is everything—"

But his little chipmunk, who’d definitely had a foot forward toward him a second ago, didn’t really respond. Instead, he turned back as if he were on fire, practically running back to his room.

"Huh?"

"Oh! I was just going to ask if you had snacks! Yes, snacks!" Luca scrambled.

"B-but it’s okay now! I remembered I have some! Thank you so much, husband!"

What?

Snacks?

Xavier, hearing the words over the sound of a slamming door, held a hand out after his runner-of-a-wife, his expression clearly confused.

While it hadn’t been obvious the first time it happened, he’d have to be that blind not to see that something was wrong now.

Because the person who had the biggest inventory of food on the planet, no, probably the Empire had just asked him—who barely snacked outside of mealtimes—if he had some.

More importantly, he’d received a thank you for doing absolutely nothing.

Hmm...

Therefore, like the responsible husband he was, he attempted to knock on Luca’s door to check on his well-being.

But the concerned cadet was instead met with an even more bizarre prompt from D-29, who simply projected a sign that said, "Currently in the bathroom," complete with animated water droplets.

"...?!"

Seriously?

Xavier raised a brow but decided it wouldn’t do him any good to interrogate D-29 unless he wanted to drive himself crazy in the end.

So he did what any sensible person would do. He chose the more logical option of asking Sid, the guardian mecha, who seriously didn’t think tattling would be part of his job description as the honest-to-goodness pride of the Empire.

"Sid."

"Master?"

"Is something wrong with my wife?" the worried husband asked, not beating around the bush.

Sid, whose life was really becoming something else, said respectfully, "Nothing extremely concerning, Master..."

"But if possible... please treat this as an experiment."

"What? An experiment?"

"Ahem. Yes, Master."

Honestly, Sid had no idea how to properly articulate the issue, but even so, he tried his best.

"...And Master, considering the current events, I may not be able to relay the specifics in keeping with the little Master’s wishes."

"What...?"

The Imperial Prince scoffed in disbelief, but after a moment’s thought, he chose to return to his room and wait until his wife was ready.

He knew better than to force someone who was already too honest to a fault and decided that, given what Sid said, it shouldn’t be too alarming, right?

Therefore, only if it took too long or progressed into something more inexplicable would he actively demand an explanation.

But what do you know, just when he’d come to such a conclusion and elected to go to bed, he heard the same door opening, coupled with extremely soft footsteps.

Truly, it was as if he were hearing a small animal walking.

This time around, the hypothetical wolf in him instinctively decided it was best to let his wife come to him instead of spooking him.

Sure enough, it proved to be the wiser decision.

He heard a soft knock at the door and even made a show of rising from the bed to greet it appropriately, but the moment he opened it, the Imperial Crown Prince—who was filled with lifelong teachings of morals and propriety—nearly fell to the floor.

"!!!"

There stood his wife, definitely topless, and only protected by a measly pillow clutched to his chest.

Luca’s skin was flushed a deep pink, and his words came out shyly. But just as Xavier pulled him inside without even bothering to ask, the little half-naked chipmunk actually managed to say, "My brother and Kyle—"

He was cut off as he was hauled into the room. "—they’re not back yet."

The door closed firmly behind Luca and Xavier. There was no doubt the husband had heard his wife’s question, but instead of answering it, he posed one of his own.

"My wife... are you actively trying to kill me?"

"Huh?"

"I don’t know what’s wrong, but walking outside like that?" Xavier wanted to continue, to say he nearly felt his heart stop, but walking out half-naked was apparently only the least of his problems.

Luca, shocked by Xavier’s question, let go of his pillow. "What? No! Never! I-I only wanted to try my hand at seduction!"

"Wah!"

Xavier’s ears rang at those words and at the vivid sight before him.

His wife immediately slapped a hand over his own mouth as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

Then again, forgive the Prince, who was usually fast on the uptake, but it took him a moment to process what he just heard and what he was seeing. Then, only after accepting he wasn’t hallucinating, had he managed to return to the events of earlier to draw the most probable conclusion.

If he were right, then clearly his beloved had been deadly serious when he’d asked those questions earlier.

Worse still, it seemed like he hadn’t given Luca an acceptable enough answer, to the point that his beloved ended up out there doing something as dangerous yet as breathtaking as this.

The husband, realizing the error of his ways, closed his eyes for a beat before opening them with a resolve that hadn’t been there earlier.

Then, like a man on a mission, he strode forward, each step more resounding than the last, until there was no space left between them.

And without another word, he leaned down and stole a firm, surprising kiss.

"!!!"