How Are Children Made?

“Haah…….”

A sigh escaped Cassia’s lips.

If she had to choose the single worst thing about her ten years of married life, it would undoubtedly be her relationship with her husband. Cassia had never once experienced any joy from marital relations. From what she had overheard from the married servants, such relations were apparently not solely for the purpose of having children, but that certainly did not apply to the young couple of Greze Castle.

Jester was a man whose level of desire was difficult to determine—whether he had an abundance of it or none at all.

The reason Cassia suspected he might have had no desire at all was because, in their ten years of marriage, he had never once initiated their relations. Of course, neither had Cassia. As a result, the couple only shared a bed on their designated nights.

The act itself had been extremely obligatory. Since it was painful for her to recall the details, Cassia had erased most of those memories from her mind.

But that did not mean Jester was a man without desire.

There were two reasons Cassia had come to dread their marital relations. First, they felt like completely emotionless, obligatory, and painful acts. Second, whenever Jester did it, he would torment her for an uncomfortably long time. It was almost as though he restrained himself until their designated night and then released everything at once. On those nights, Jester seemed less like a man and more like a beast.

Cassia had no experience, so she had assumed that marital relations were simply supposed to be like that. Even when she was in pain or uncomfortable in bed, she merely endured it, thinking that perhaps that was how things were supposed to be.

Later, after picking up bits and pieces of information here and there, she realized that there was something seriously wrong with their relationship. But by then, it was already too late. She and her husband were barely even close, and their relationship was more awkward than that of anyone else in the castle.

In other words, they were not close enough for her to suggest, “Would you like to try being a little more intimate and affectionate when we do it?”

So she had simply decided to give up on marital relations altogether. Since it was merely an obligatory act they performed on their designated nights, there was no reason for her to worry or agonize over it.

Even so, the obligatory act had borne fruit.

In the summer of her nineteenth year, Cassia became pregnant with her first child, Rael.

When she told Jester about the pregnancy, his reaction had been absurdly disappointing. He stared down at Cassia with an expressionless face for a full ten minutes. Then, perhaps because he wanted to send his wife away after saying at least something to her, he finally uttered a single sentence.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Naturally, whatever little affection Cassia had possessed for him—which had already been practically nonexistent—vanished in an instant like a handful of sand scattered before the wind.

What on earth did I expect from that man?

It was not as though she had somehow conceived a child on her own. This was unmistakably a Greze heir, a child carrying his blood as well. Could he really not even pretend to be a little happy?

‘Enough.’

Cassia decided not to dwell on those suffocating memories with Jester any longer. What mattered was this: her husband Jester, whose emotions were as dry as a squid dried under the scorching sun, had never welcomed or loved his children.

It would be nice if they were there, but if they weren’t, so be it.

That was probably exactly how he felt.

Still, he did dutifully come to his wife on their designated nights. In the spring of her twenty-second year, Cassia conceived their second child, a daughter named Lucy.

The cold-hearted father, Jester, did not even bother to think of names for his children. Both her first child, Rael, and her second, Lucy, had been named by Cassia.

Ah, enough.

Cassia shook her head firmly.

The more she dwelled on the past, the more she was left with regret and anger, while the only thing that kept resurfacing was the indifference of her terrible husband.

In any case, the reason she could not simply march up to Jester and demand a divorce was because of her unborn son, Rael, and daughter, Lucy.

She could not separate from Jester without giving birth to her children again.

Which meant that until the spring of her twenty-second year, when she would safely become pregnant with Lucy, she had to remain in Greze Territory as the baroness and Jester’s wife.

What a life…….

Cassia, who had been sitting before her dressing table, dragged herself back toward the bed with weary steps.

When she lay down, she felt the rather unsatisfying softness of the mattress beneath her. When she had first arrived at Greze Castle, it had taken her quite a long time to adjust to a place that was inferior to Ruberno Castle in almost every way.

Now, however, she had lived here for more than ten years, and it had become more familiar to her than anywhere else.

She was tired.

The moment Cassia lay down, she succumbed to the exhaustion washing over her and closed her eyes.

Once she woke up, she would think more about how she intended to recklessly enjoy the new ten years she had been given.

And if, after waking up, she found herself properly in heaven, that would be even better.

With such thoughts wandering through her mind, Cassia fell asleep for the first time in this newly awakened life.

Even after she woke up, hell remained exactly as it was.

Cassia calmly dressed herself.

Her plan for her second life was simple.

Having no plan was the plan.

She encountered Paul, who looked ten years younger, when she left her room without hesitation to go find Jester.

Paul had been about to announce his presence when the door opened from the inside, startling him slightly. He soon greeted her with his usual kind smile.

“My lady, I am Paul, the butler of Greze Castle. As a matter of fact, I was just on my way to see you. I was planning to show you around the castle and arrange for some maids you might like to attend you.”

A tour of Greze Castle!

As the mistress of Greze Castle, it was only natural that she should learn her way around. She would also have to take over the various household affairs that Butler Paul had been handling, meet the servants, and inspect the territory with Jester at least once.

Cassia frowned.

There was absolutely no way she intended to go through all that trouble again after regressing ten years.

It was not as though she needed to learn or discover anything new, either. She already had every bit of that information stored in her head.

“We can talk about that later. Right now, I need to go see the baron.”

Paul was not the sort of person to do such a thing, but Cassia hurried her steps just in case he insisted that she could not postpone her duties and dragged her around the castle.

She instinctively turned toward Jester’s room, but Paul’s gentle voice stopped her.

“Yes, my lady. Shall I escort you to wherever the lord is now?”

Come to think of it, Cassia had only arrived at Greze Castle yesterday.

Other than her own room, she had never walked around the castle.

How could she possibly know where Jester’s room was?

Cassia turned around and gave him an awkward smile.

“Then I’d appreciate it.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Paul walked ahead in the direction Cassia had been heading.

Since Jester spent so few days at the castle, there were only a handful of rooms where he might be found—the bedroom, the study, or the library.

It seemed he was in his study at the moment.

When Paul reached the study door, he gave Cassia a slight bow.

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, my lady.”

Cassia took a deep breath before opening the door to the study.

Jester was sitting behind a desk piled high with documents, scribbling away with a black quill. He looked up at the sound of the door opening.

Perhaps the unexpected visitor had caught him off guard, because he froze for a moment.

“……What is the matter?”

Did they really only need to seek each other out when there was some matter concerning their marriage?

Cassia clicked her tongue inwardly at Jester’s unwavering reaction.

It had been exactly the same in her previous life. Every time Cassia went to see Jester, he had reacted like this.

Of course, Cassia herself had only sought out her husband when she had something specific to discuss.

“Whew!”

Cassia believed that establishing the upper hand was important.

The things she was about to say to Jester were not exactly fitting for a quiet and dignified noblewoman.

Cassia glanced around the study before grabbing an old wooden chair nearby and dragging it over.

Drrrreeek.

The chair scraped loudly across the floor as she pulled it over and planted it directly in front of Jester’s desk.

After dragging the chair over with rather unladylike movements, Cassia plopped herself down, crossed her legs, and folded her arms firmly across her chest.

She did not forget to raise her chin arrogantly, either.

Jester watched every bit of this in stunned silence.

“I have something to tell you.”

“……What is it?”

“The butler came to see me just now. Since I became the mistress of Greze Castle as of yesterday, I suppose I’m expected to take over the household affairs he has been managing, right?”

Jester put down the quill he had been diligently moving across the documents and looked at Cassia seriously.

“I suppose so?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not suited to managing household affairs. I’m not interested in it, either. If I take charge of the castle’s household, I’ll probably bankrupt Greze Territory before long. As you know, this wasn’t a marriage that was prepared in advance, and I have no motivation for it. I would prefer it if you didn’t expect me to fulfill the duties of the mistress of the castle.”

Cassia spoke with unwavering eyes.

In her previous life, she had done her best to fulfill her duties as the mistress of the castle even without anyone pressuring her to do so.

Whenever Jester was away from the territory, which was often, she had capably acted in his place as its lord.

She had been inexperienced at first, but she had always been sharp and capable by nature, so she adapted quickly. She had also been full of motivation.

As a result, she had even received the tremendous praise of being called “the best lord” by the people of the territory.

But in the face of death, all of it had been meaningless.

Perhaps the reason she had contracted an incurable illness of unknown origin was because she had worked herself to the bone day and night, neglecting her own health.

She would never live such a foolish life again.

She would live a life that was enjoyable for her and comfortable for her body.

That was Cassia’s resolve.

Although Jester’s unwavering gaze made her a little nervous, she decided to remain confident.

“Is that not to your liking?”

“……No, no. Do as you please.”

Jester’s hesitant answer was unexpected.

Even in her previous life, he had never hounded Cassia to work. Still, she had not expected him to so readily agree when she had openly declared that she would not fulfill her duties.

It surprised her.

Noticing a hint of confusion on Jester’s normally expressionless face, Cassia added,

“You really don’t mind? You can’t change your mind later. Well, even if you do, I have no intention of working anyway……”

“It’s fine. I was just surprised. You seem like a completely different person from yesterday.”

“Ah.”

Cassia gave a small sound of understanding.

The Cassia of yesterday had been a timid seventeen-year-old who had just set foot in Greze Territory for the first time.

Now she was twenty-seven, a woman who had experienced all sorts of hardships and was no longer someone who could easily be pushed around.

Of course she seemed like a different person.

“So you’re the sort of woman who can plainly say when she dislikes something. Then why didn’t you say you disliked it yesterday? There was no need for you to force yourself to spend the night with me.”

As he said this, Jester picked up the pen he had set down.

For some reason, his tone sounded almost hurt.

Cassia thought over his words for quite some time before speaking.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

Jester merely raised his eyes and met Cassia’s gaze.

“I had no experience, so I didn’t know whether I would like it or dislike it. I didn’t know I would hate it until after I had done it.”

At Cassia’s brutally honest assessment of their first night together, Jester was left completely flustered.