Has the knight lady who married into the countryside fallen into depravity today?

The two jogged with their heads down until they turned a corner and could no longer see the master bedroom. Then they leaned on the stone pillars, panting heavily, their faces as red as ripe berries.

"It's all my fault, I didn't hear clearly and just kept yelling."

Martha patted her chest, feeling both ashamed and regretful. "This is so embarrassing."

Daisy blushed and whispered, "No wonder...it was just that the sounds in the room were so strange. But it's good that nothing's wrong. Mr. Klein knows what he's doing, so we worried for nothing."

The room remained quiet.

Ophelia remained tilted to the side, looking out the window, her back ramrod straight, like a javelin standing in a training ground.

The redness on the tips of her ears hadn't faded at all, and even the back of her neck was tinged with a light pink, clearly indicating that she hadn't recovered from her embarrassment.

Klein put down his water glass, walked back to the table and sat down. Looking at her stiff back, his eyes were full of laughter, but he didn't dare to laugh out loud—if he did, this strong-willed knight lady would probably be angry for half a day.

"Don't be angry, they meant well."

He spoke softly, ladled a bowl of warm oatmeal porridge for her, and pushed it in front of her, "It's my fault for not being careful this morning and getting too close, which made them misunderstand."

Ophelia finally slowly turned her head back.

The blush on her face had faded a bit, leaving only her ears burning. Her brows were furrowed, and her tone was harsh, tinged with a hint of unvented embarrassment and annoyance: "They dare to say anything."

That's what she said, but she didn't mean to blame Martha at all.

She knew in her heart that Martha and Daisy genuinely cared about her.

But this private misunderstanding was brought into the open, and no matter how composed she was, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

What stirred her heart even more was that Klein had already kept all these taboos in mind. He had secretly investigated things that she herself hadn't even paid attention to.

"I thought you hadn't noticed these things."

She lowered her head and scooped up a spoonful of porridge, her voice becoming softer.

"How could that be?"

Klein looked at her gently. "I just felt there was no need to say it out loud, so you wouldn't feel restricted or uncomfortable."

Ophelia didn't respond, and slowly drank the porridge spoonful by spoonful.

The oatmeal porridge was cooked until soft and sticky, with a hint of honey sweetness. It warmed my stomach and made me feel much better, even easing most of my earlier embarrassment.

After a long while, she whispered, "...There's nothing uncomfortable about it."

The sound was very soft, like morning dew falling on flower petals, which would be scattered by a gust of wind.

Klein smiled, reached out and brushed a crumb of bread off her shoulder, his fingertips brushing against her earlobe, causing her to tremble slightly.

"I know you're in good health, but you still need to be careful."

He said in a low voice, "Let's talk about other things after the first three months, once the pregnancy is stable."

Ophelia looked up and glared at him, but it wasn't very forceful; it sounded more like a reproach.

She turned her face away, her ears burning even more: "Who was talking to you about that?"

The little incident during the day didn't cause much of a stir.

However, this can't go on forever.

Ophelia didn't want to "mistreat" Klein.

……

……

An ordinary afternoon.

Sunlight filtered through the honeysuckle vines, casting dappled shadows on the stone surface of the washbasin.

Ophelia had just come out of the bedroom and felt a slight bitterness in her mouth, so she got up and went to the side hall, picked up a silver mouthwash cup, and poured a little bit of mint mouthwash into it.

She lowered her head, took a sip of water, tilted her head back slightly, and moved her throat gently. Just as she was about to spit the water into the white stone pool, the curtain was suddenly lifted open.

"Lady Ophelia! Look at the dew-covered grass I've purified this time—"

Pekkal burst in excitedly, holding a small glass bottle, but stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

She opened her eyes wide and watched as Ophelia lay on her side by the pool, glistening water droplets on the corner of her lips, spitting the water from her mouth into the pool, then picking up a plain white linen handkerchief and gently dabbing the corner of her lips.

Sunlight fell on the tips of her light golden hair, even the tips of her ears had a faint pink tint.

Pekkal's mind went blank for a moment as he instantly recalled the pregnancy symptoms that Martha had mentioned countless times.

"Are you...are you feeling unwell?!"

She rushed over, her face filled with anxiety, even forgetting to put away the herbs in her hand. "Are you feeling nauseous? Is the little one bothering you? I heard from Martha that pregnant women often feel nauseous and can't eat!"

Ophelia's movements suddenly stopped.

Her fingers, which were holding the handkerchief, paused slightly. She never expected to be seen by Pekkal. Fortunately, Pekkal was an inexperienced merman who only thought that Ophelia was having "morning sickness".

Even though she was usually calm and composed, her ears started to burn uncontrollably at this moment.

She straightened up, casually placed the handkerchief on the edge of the table, her expression still indifferent, and her tone revealing nothing unusual: "It's nothing, my mouth felt dry, I just rinsed it off."

"Really?"

Pekkal clearly didn't believe her. He circled her halfway, his eyes full of concern. "You're just too strong-willed. Don't force yourself when you're not feeling well! Should I go and call the teacher back? His anti-nausea medicine is really effective!"

As she turned to run towards the cellar, Ophelia quickly called out to her, "No need, it's really alright."

Pekkale had already automatically categorized these words as "the knight's stubbornness," and she nodded vigorously, as if to say, "I understand, I understand. Don't worry, I won't say anything more! I'll go find the teacher right now and have him secretly prepare the medicine and send it over!"

Before the words were even finished, the person had already lifted the curtain and run away, their footsteps clattering even faster than when they arrived.

Ophelia stood there, staring at the empty doorway, her fingers tightening around the mouthwash cup, the blush on her ears lingering for a long time.

It's both infuriating and hilarious, but these kinds of things just can't be explained in the slightest.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Klein returned with Pekkal.

He held a small white porcelain medicine bottle in his hand, a hint of a smile he couldn't suppress hidden in his eyes. Pekkal followed behind him, looking smug, as if he had done a great job.

"I heard from Pekka that you weren't feeling well?"

Klein walked over to her, speaking gently. His gaze swept over the mouthwash cup on the table and then fell on her reddened earlobes. Instantly, he understood.

"It's nothing serious, don't listen to her making a fuss."

Ophelia turned her face away, her tone slightly awkward, as if she had nowhere else to vent.

Klein turned to Pekkal and said, "Understood. I'll leave the medicine here. You go back to the lab first. I'll go see the purified dew grass later."

"Okay!"

Pekkal nodded obediently, and before leaving, he turned back to add, "Lady Ophelia, please rest well! Call me anytime if you feel unwell!"

Once the curtain fell again, leaving only the two people in the room, Klein chuckled softly.

He took two steps closer, gently brushed a bit of grass off her hair, and said in a low voice with a mischievous smile, "Missed out as morning sickness?"

Ophelia looked up and glared at him, but it wasn't very forceful; it sounded more like a reproach: "It's all because of you."

Klein readily admitted his mistake, his fingertips gently brushing against her still-warm earlobe, his voice soft and husky, "I'll be more careful in the future, so you won't have to go through all this trouble."

Ophelia turned her face away and did not respond, but she did not avoid his touch either.