If there's no escape, enjoy it.

  I was briefly disoriented and despairing, but on reflection, this situation could be very favorable.

  "Tatiana, the difference between men and women is..."

  I promptly began a lesson in sex education.

  With our bodies.

  Very directly, and thoroughly, from the basics to the intricacies for couples, I taught her carefully and at length.

  It was an immensely enjoyable time.

  My wife was adorably clueless.

  "To think it's like this... that's unbelievable. It's nothing like what my teacher taught me."

  Tatiana covered her face with both hands.

  Her face and hands were blushing, as was her entire body.

  We did everything that should and shouldn't be done, and yet she was still embarrassed.

  I lay back, propping my head with one arm.

  As I watched her, Tatiana began to squirm with her hands still covering her face.

  She shook her body wildly from side to side.

  What is she doing?

  Regardless, she looked as cute as a shivering squirrel.

  It is adorably to die for.

  'One could die from too much happiness, I suppose.'

  It felt like my heart was overloaded with joy, puffing out strange steam like a coal-powered train engine.

  Basking in the warmth of my heated heart, I mulled over my happiness and then asked my adorably cute wife.

  "Are you feeling alright?"

  My dear, my dear.

  Heh heh heh heh.

  I couldn't help the strange laughter that spilled out.

  "...Yes."

  Tatiana responded in a small, retreating voice.

  Her body, which had been flailing, calmed down.

  It seems she's embarrassed about the convulsions.

  Why are you so adorable, my wife?

  Wife.

  Heh heh heh.

  Tatiana's hair stuck to her sweaty forehead.

  Just as I reached out to peel it off, a strange noise came from the window.

  Tap, tap, tap, tap.

  "...What's that?"

  As I wondered, Tatiana peeked through her fingers and murmured.

  "What's that?"

  Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

  The noise continued, growing stronger.

  Tap tap tap, tata-tat-tat-tat, tap-tap-tap-tap.

  The intervals shortened as if filled with anger.

  "...Maybe... could it be?"

  Tatiana wrapped herself in the sheet and sat up, tilting her head.

  "Could it be Rella...?"

  "...No, that's not likely."

  It's true that Rella and her mother come to the inn every night.

  It's also true that they slip in and out of the window every night.

  So, we had no choice but to leave the window slightly open every night.

  We left it slightly open today too.

  So they could enter and rest even in our absence.

  But that's the rundown inn on the other side.

  Those creatures would have gone there if they had any conscience.

  "...Or maybe not, since they're birds."

  So they came looking for us today.

  Maybe they were angry that we moved lodgings without telling them.

  Why didn't we inform them?

  While I was pondering, the window tapping intensified like a woodpecker pecking at a tree.

  It's Rella. It must be Rella.

  "Haah."

  Can't we ignore it?

  Tonight is our first night as a couple.

  But the noise wouldn't stop.

  Finally, I heard the faint sound of birds chirping beyond the shutter.

  Peep! Peep-peep! Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep!

  "Quiet, you rascal."

  I reluctantly got up from the bed.

  "Ra, Ra, Rafa! Your pants! Your pants!"

  Tatiana, flustered, covered her face with her hands.

  As she did, the sheet slipped, and she yelped, grabbing it with one hand.

  She still covered her eyes with the other.

  I chuckled lightly as I approached the window.

  Sorry, Tatiana, but I have no sense of shame anymore.

  We've seen it all; what's there to be embarrassed about?

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  In fact, her embarrassment makes me want to show off more.

  Look! Ha-ha-ha!

  When I opened the wooden shutter, Rella burst in like a bullet.

  "Peep!"

  Apparently very angry, she climbed onto my shoulder and started pecking like a woodpecker.

  "Ouch, you rascal."

  I gently grabbed her as she flapped her wings and lifted her head proudly.

  It seemed as if she was boasting, perhaps about catching a seven-layered wolf.

  But that was me.

  As I was about to close the window, a phoenix stealthily appeared from somewhere and poked its head in.

  Looks like I'll have to sleep with these critters tonight as well.

  "..."

  A long sigh escaped me.

  I wanted to kick them out, but Rella would keep tapping on the window until I opened it.

  I couldn't send her away.

  My shoulders slumped.

  Watching Rella peck angrily at my head, Tatiana started to laugh.

  She couldn't even meet my eyes before out of embarrassment, but now she seemed okay.

  Rella must have helped us in her own way.

  But just when I thought things were fine and tried for a second round, Tatiana refused.

  She said it wouldn't work with Rella watching.

  "..."

  These critters, should I return them to the wild this time?

  Thinking this as I looked at Rella and the phoenix, Tatiana suddenly murmured.

  "Ah, by the way, when do they molt? My teacher said that birds molt."

  Laughing, Tatiana looked at the phoenix.

  "Then we'll be rich, right? I hope it molts soon."

  Alright, let's give up on sending these creatures back to the wild.

  ***

  'Only one remains.'

  Duke Valther sighed deeply as he boarded the carriage.

  Another long-held grudge against Helga was resolved today.

  Only one lineage remains.

  It felt like a heavy load had finally been lifted from his heart.

  'The last one is the biggest problem.'

  He sank deep into his seat as the carriage began to move.

  Over the years, he had met with the heads of various families at New Year's banquets and various family balls, discussing and persuading them, while the operatives worked out compensation conditions underwater.

  Originally, the grudge against Helga was no different between them and the ducal family.

  The past incident was a disaster caused by Helga, and the damage was even greater to the ducal family.

  While other families lost one of several daughters, the ducal family had its heir kidnapped.

  Because they were in the same situation, other families were rather sympathetic to the ducal family.

  Naturally, there was no need for compensation.

  The grudge was all against Helga.

  If it had simply been about Klaus's return, there wouldn't have been a need for such arrangements.

  It became completely different because of the grandson, Rafa.

  From the moment they suspected that the spirit's blood continued through Rafa, it had been about twenty years, and the duke had persistently persuaded the other families.

  The heir to the ducal family was always Klaus, then and now.

  If they lost him, the ducal family would falter, so they had no choice but to accept Helga into the family, he argued.

  It wasn't just a few years, but over twenty years of effort finally began to bear fruit gradually.

  Offering compensation and good terms to Taga was effective, but it wouldn't have worked if the period had been short.

  He steadied his impatient heart and whipped his patience, stepping through the stages methodically.

  And when the final stage of the covert dealings was about to conclude, the duke personally visited that family.

  It didn't matter whether the counterpart was an earl or even a baron; he made the effort himself.

  If he hadn't taken this final step personally, there might still be families unwilling to agree out of concern for public perception.

  For the nobility, face is as important as practical benefits.

  'It's all over now.'

  Though it had dragged on for over twenty years, now there was only one family left.

  The family of Klaus's deceased sorceress wife.

  'Phew.'

  He sighed automatically as he thought of their status.

  Their patriarch is a courtly earl without a fief.

  But they possess a power that cannot be underestimated.

  They are the largest family of magic tool makers in the country.

  Klaus's deceased wife was also a sorceress.

  A considerable talent, involved in magic tool development since her youth.

  'I thought it would be a good connection.'

  He recalled his daughter-in-law's face and let out a small sigh.

  Sorcerers and magic tool makers are inseparable.

  Unless one is as powerful as the duke himself, most sorcerers use magic tools, and without sorcerers, magic tool makers are meaningless.

  Most magic tool makers do not have enough ability to become sorcerers.

  Klaus couldn't use magic, but that didn't mean he couldn't use magic tools.

  His son was an elemental in himself, unable to use the accompanying spirit.

  So he had connected explicitly with that family.

  He thought it would empower Klaus.

  Of course, it was a connection for the benefit of the ducal family, but Klaus's situation was also considered...

  But now, he knew it was the worst choice.

  The presence of an ordinary lover wouldn't have been a problem, but for a daughter-in-law raised as a magic tool maker, it seemed unbearable.

  The ducal family's unique status was also problematic.

  Unlike other families, the duke's or his heir's lovers also get their names recorded in the family's annals.

  Their children too, if their lineage is unblemished.

  They're given rights of succession.

  To maintain the lineage of the spirits.

  Children born with purple eyes aren't determined by the mother's status, whether she's a wife or a lover.

  Naturally, their names also appear in the noble registry issued by the royal family.

  The royal family and the ducal family have long intermarried to maintain the lineage of spirits, securing its legitimacy was also necessary for the royal family.

  Otherwise, they couldn't make that lineage royal.

  Now, children born with purple eyes are too few, so the royal family prefers direct physical involvement over marriage, but originally, the royal family and the ducal family were as close as one body.

  But the daughter-in-law, who encountered this uniqueness up close, couldn't bear it.

  She went slowly mad, unbeknownst to anyone.

  That was discovered only after she died.

  After the magic tool maker who came with the daughter-in-law to the ducal family left, and even much later.

  Unsuspected things popped out from unexpected places.

  The evidence is too scant for proof or deduction, but occasionally something is found that's mad enough to be suspicious.

  'Did Klaus know?'

  That his wife was going mad.

  'No, that can't be.'

  The daughter-in-law and the magic tool maker had erased their traces well.

  If it weren't for the housekeepers who distribute their attention to every nook and cranny of the house, no one would have noticed the daughter-in-law's oddness.

  It's unlikely that Klaus knew.

  She acted normal in front of others.

  'In any case, that family is troublesome.'

  The daughter-in-law wasn't just a simple daughter.

  She was a talented magic tool maker within the magic tool maker family.

  And it seems the man who came with her at marriage also holds considerable sway in that family.

  They refuse to accept Helga.

  Even the most painstaking persuasion over a long time didn't work.

  'But I can't give up.'

  If they turn that family into an enemy, the aftermath is troublesome.

  There are plenty of other magic tool makers, but few can match their skills.

  The number of magic tool makers and the magic tools they produce are the same.

  While connections are maintained with other places just in case, losing that family isn't a good direction.

  'I must persuade them to the end, even if it takes time.'

  Lost in thought, the sound of frantic horse hooves reached him.

  Looking out the carriage window, the duke saw a courier from the ducal family rushing towards him.

  This place is several days' journey from the capital, another noble's territory.

  What could be so urgent that it warranted this haste?

  'Could something have happened to Rafa...?'

  His heart raced, unable to stay calm.

  The duke disembarked from the carriage before the courier reached him.

  The courier, not slowing down until the last moment, dismounted like an acrobat.

  "What is it?"

  The duke asked, and the courier respectfully handed him a letter.

  "I was ordered to deliver this urgently."

  It was a report from the administrator sent to accompany Rafa.

  He writes one sheet a day about Rafa's daily life.

  So far, it had been normal, nothing significant.

  When the duke was away, the head butler checked the contents, but this time, they judged it too urgent to delay.

  With an anxious heart, the duke tore open the seal and unfolded the contents. His eyes widened.

  "... My goodness."

  Words slipped out without his awareness.

  'Rafa got married?'

  There was absolutely no indication of such in yesterday's report.

  Suddenly.

  Indeed, even the report stated it was sudden.

  The duke's gaze moved to the end of the letter.

  [... The young master certainly resembles Mr. Klaus, but it's clear that he also inherits his mother's blood. His temperament is as impulsive as his mother's...] Certainly.

  The duke muttered softly.

  The decisiveness and action that follow are traits he likely inherited from Helga.

  As he was lost in thought, another round of noisy horse hooves approached.

  He looked up, and again, it was a courier from the ducal family.

  Perhaps the administrator had sent consecutive reports, urging haste.

  If so, the couriers who delivered the reports must have ridden through the night.

  After reading the new report, the duke unconsciously gripped it harder.

  The report crumpled, but his heart soared too high to care.

  'They've already spent their first night?'

  The report stated that the deed was done before nightfall.

  That they had composed the report immediately afterward.

  How they confirmed it, he didn't know, but the administrator was competent.

  He must have devised some way.

  '... Truly quick-handed.'

  Indeed, Helga's son.

  'I might see a great-grandchild within a year.'

  Excitement made his hands tremble.

  With this development, they must abandon the magic tool maker family and immediately welcome Rafa and Tatiana.

  'Before the baby is born, I must prepare a safe place...'

  The duke called the captain of the guard to prepare the horses.

  It wasn't time to leisurely travel by carriage.

  He needed to hurry back to the ducal family and properly conclude Tatiana's matter.

  If possible, he should inform Klaus as well.

  'My goodness... a baby...'

  There was no sign of pregnancy yet, but his heart rushed ahead to the future.

  Suppressing a bursting laugh, the duke urged the horses even faster.