"Your Majesty, you know I'm in the early stages of pregnancy, right?"

Lyle brightly smiled at Medea, who proudly stretched her thin shoulders and spoke. Now that he decided to love her freely without reservations, everything Medea did looked adorably lovely in his eyes.

"Of course I know."

"Then you know we can't have sexual intercourse in the early stages of pregnancy, right?"

"What?"

Lyle's face cracked at her words as if lightning struck through a clear blue sky. Medea grinned.

"It's for our baby. Your Majesty, will you safeguard us?"

Lyle looked like his world had collapsed as Medea spoke with a smile.

"Oh—uh, uh, of course. For how long? Don't tell me we can't do it for all 10 months?"

"Isn't it for 3 or 4 months?"

'I don't know for sure,' thought Medea.

Lyle deliberated.

"4 months? Since you said it's been 3 weeks......."

Some answered that they had to abstain for almost three months and a week. Lyle became dizzy for a long moment just imagining it.

"A year ago, we weren't as close as we were these days. We've only been close for little over a month....."

She couldn't help but be sheepish seeing Lyle so explicitly disappointed. It had only been less than two months since Lyle and her started to frequently sleep with each other.

But Lyle didn't even pretend to hear her words.

"I need to check with the doctor!"

He jumped up from his seat and left the room. Medea was left alone, speechless.

"I think I should protect my child."

She shook my head in disbelief and ordered a maid to bring more apple juice.

'What does it have to do with me whether or not the baron is a woman or not? Let's not worry about it. She's simply someone my sister entrusted to me...... The person I need to worry about is......'

Luke was deeply troubled by his heightened misgivings.

Even if Medea entrusted her to him, the baron was only a lord in the countryside at the edge of the empire. The heir of the dukedom did not need to be so concerned over a mere baron.

However, since he discovered Seira was a woman there were several problems that plagued him.

Firstly, there was the servant problem; there was no one to attend to her.

Although Seira refused personal servants to avoid being caught, housekeepers frequently came and went in the name of assisting her.

No matter how well Seira is good at locking the door, there would be a day when she would make a mistake because she was a person.

If a housekeeper caught her while she was changing clothes or bathing.......

Servants of the ducal estate knew how to keep a secret but human nature was to serve one's self interest.

Ample rumors circulated about the Barony of Hestia acquiring a large investment sum from the Empress in the near future.

If there was an attendant who was aiming for the money, they could easily blackmail Seira using her disguise as a weakness......

'What are you so concerned about, Luke Francis Card! Clear your mind!'

Luke was tormenting himself by imagining the 50,000 ways things could go wrong and attempted to hide from his worries by reviewing documents he had already processed again.

It was a measure he took just in case he missed something while being preoccupied about something else.

Fortunately, no mistake was found..... he really needed to stop thinking about the Baron, and clear her out his mind.

Outside the window of the office, knights of the dukedom were training. Luke was alarmed when he spotted Seira, amongst the knights, doing drills.

What if someone is suspicious of the Baron and interrogates 'him' to take off his clothes?

Even the Knight Commander praised Seira's sincerity and talent, but such acclaim disturbed Luke even more.

The more he watched her, the more she looked like a woman, not a slender man. He didn't know if his eyes were flawed or if everyone else had holes for eyes— but in Luke's eyes, she was a beautiful woman.

"Damn it."

Rather, Luke started to desperately wish that the Baron was a man. If that had been the case, he wouldn't have worried like this.

"9 weeks..."

The doctor's answer was better than four months, but he advised not to have sex for nine weeks. Medea was only three weeks along, so there were six weeks left.

A month and a half.

Now he had to be celibate for a month and a half.

'Me?'

Would that be possible?

It had already been a long time since he felt the joy of embracing Medea. Medea pointed out that they had only spent a little over a month getting close, but Lyle had already fallen in love with her.

A thought occurred to him that couldn't live without touching Medea.

'A kiss would be fine but.......'

Right. Kissing is okay. Hugging. Touching.......

Lyle unconsciously smiled cheerfully as he recalled Medea struggling under his hands and climaxing several times. Then...

'.....Can't we just not put it in?'

He wondered.

Even if he put it in there, he didn't need to put it all in. He would just put in half of it.

"Half... Is that possible?"

He could do it, but it would be quite painful. It would be torturous holding it in and being so patient.

"I can't believe the day has come when I'm worried about my sexual desires....'

However, he had no intention of embracing a woman other than Medea. It was irritating just imagining it.

What Lyle wanted to see, touch and feel was Medea. He still felt other women were disgusting.

"......."

Lyle, who was speculating about how to have fun without penetration, suddenly thought of Medea's ass. He wondered if it mattered if she was pregnant if they played there.

'I think Medea will resist a lot.'

Medea was now sensitive to Lyle's touch, but considering her preliminary temperament, the backlash towards such an approach would probably be formidable.

'For now, I'll have to think of another way.'