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

The wind outside the curtain suddenly stopped.

The air seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, even the blades of grass hanging under the eaves were frozen in mid-air, motionless.

Klein's hand was still beside Ophelia's ear, and the moment his fingertips touched that warmth, he froze.

He was all too familiar with this feeling. Space folded, and time was gently shifted at a certain point.

Ophelia noticed it too. Her hand instinctively went to her lower abdomen, her brow furrowed slightly, and her golden eyes sharply scanned the view out the window.

A shadow appeared out of nowhere on the stone path in the courtyard.

A black robe. A wide hood obscured most of his face, and the hem of the robe reached his ankles, its edges embroidered with dark silver star trails. Sunlight fell upon it, refracting into extremely faint shimmering light. The person stood at the foot of the wall, like a piece of dark ink embedded in a painting.

Pekkal poked half his head out of the laboratory, saw the dark figure, and dropped the glass rod in his hand with a "clatter" to the ground.

"Who goes there—"

Before she could finish her question, Klein had already raised his hand and pressed down on her shoulder.

"One of our own."

Pekkal stared with his mouth agape, glancing left at his teacher and right at the black-robed figure outside the window, his eyes conveying the message, "Teacher, are you still half asleep?"

The man in the black robe raised his hand and removed his hood.

The moment that face appeared, Pekka's breath hitched.

Their eyes are exactly the same as Ophelia's.

Pekka's gaze darted back and forth between the two, her mind buzzing, vaguely piecing together a conclusion that sent chills down her spine.

"You, you are...?"

The girl in black robes ignored her and walked straight to the door of the living room.

Klein released his grip on Pekkal, turned his head to Ophelia who was standing there stunned, and whispered, "She's here."

Ophelia removed her hand from her lower abdomen and stood up. Her face showed little expression, but her breath hitched for a moment.

The door was pushed open.

The girl in black robes stood outside the threshold, backlit, with a corner of her robe lifted by the wind.

She didn't rush in. Her golden eyes first fell on Ophelia, then swept over her flat stomach, paused for two seconds, and then moved to Klein's face. The corners of her mouth curved almost imperceptibly, as if she wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to laugh too obviously.

"...Did I come at the wrong time?"

His voice was soft, slightly hoarse from traveling, with a slight upward inflection at the end. It was less of a question and more of a way of making conversation.

"Why did you suddenly come?" Ophelia asked in a flat tone, as if she were asking what she wanted to eat today, but her fingers, hanging at her sides, unconsciously twisted together.

I miss you all.

The girl in black robes stepped across the threshold, the hem of her robes brushing against the stone slabs, stirring up faint, stardust-like particles of light. She walked to the table, her gaze glancing again at Ophelia's lower abdomen. That glance was extremely brief, yet it seemed as if she were confirming whether some priceless treasure was still in its place.

Klein handed him a cup of warm honey water: "Have a sip to hydrate yourself first."

"Um."

She took the cup, holding it with both hands, but didn't drink immediately. She rubbed her thumb back and forth on the rim a couple of times, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Ophelia raised an eyebrow at her awkward expression.

"Just say what you have to say."

The girl in the black robe placed the cup on the table, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. It was as if she was releasing all the courage she had gathered along the way.

I want to hear it.

"What are you listening to?"

The black-robed girl's gaze remained fixed on Ophelia's lower abdomen, not looking away.

"...Listen to her."

His voice was very low, with an unnatural, guilty tone at the end, and his ears were quietly turning red.

Rosalind herself was curious about her fetal state... Even she found it a little strange.

Klein paused for a moment, holding the honey water, then lowered his head and chuckled softly.

Ophelia's ears were also burned.

She stared at the girl in front of her for three seconds. This was her future daughter, standing right in front of her, saying she wanted to hear how she was moving inside her.

"...Whatever you want."

She lowered her arms from her chest, leaned back in her chair, and relaxed her waist slightly.

The girl in black robes didn't hesitate any longer. She crouched down, her black robe spreading out in a circle on the stone slab, her movements cautious, as if afraid of startling something. She turned her face to the side and pressed her ear against Ophelia's lower abdomen, so lightly that it was almost as if she were suspended in mid-air.

The entire living room fell silent.

Pekkal clung to the doorframe, barely daring to breathe. Klein stood by the table, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of his glass.

The girl in the black robe applied it for a long time.

I didn't hear anything.

The lower abdomen was flat and completely still. A fetus only a little over a month old, its heartbeat hadn't even formed yet, so where would it make any noise?

But she didn't get up immediately. She stayed there for a while longer before slowly straightening up, her face expressionless, but her eyes were a little red.

"No," she said in a muffled voice.

"It's only been a little over a month." Ophelia reached out and smoothed the fabric of her clothes that had been ruffled by the girl, her voice softening slightly. "You'd be lucky to hear me."

"I know." The girl in the black robe stood up, patted the hem of her robe, her movements a little flustered, as if trying to cover something up. "It's just... I always wanted to come and listen for myself."

Klein came over and put the honey water back into her hand.

"What's the rush? It's not like it won't grow."

"I'm not in a hurry." She took the cup, lowered her head, and took a big gulp, the sweetness of the honey water spreading through her. Her eyes were downcast, her eyelashes casting a small shadow on her cheekbone, and after a long while, she said softly, "It just feels...too quiet."

Ophelia did not respond.

She glanced down at her lower abdomen, her fingers unconsciously tracing its surface.

She was quiet because she was so small. So small that she was barely noticeable, so small that she herself would sometimes forget about her.

But this quiet thing will grow into the girl in front of me who has traveled an unknown distance, squatted down and listened to her mother's belly for a long time, and had tears in her eyes when she stood up.

It's absurd to think about, yet so absurd it makes your heart melt.

Klein sat down beside them, looking at his two "daughters," one big and one small, unable to suppress the smile in his eyes.

"Alright, stop standing there. Since you're here, stay for dinner—"

"Father."

The girl in black robes suddenly spoke, her voice soft and sweet, as if she were pleading.

Klein felt a chill run down his spine from the shout, sensing something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"How long have you been married?" The girl asked, holding a glass of honey water, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. Her golden eyes sparkled, the slight disappointment from before completely gone. "From the wedding until now, it's been less than a year, isn't it?"

The air in the living room suddenly became very subtle.

Klein coughed lightly, picked up his glass, took a sip, and looked out the window. Ophelia also turned her face away.

The girl in black robes took half a step forward, her voice brimming with barely concealed amusement: "In less than a year... Father, you're quite capable."

Klein nearly choked on the honey water, and the cup made a clattering sound when it hit the table.

Ophelia's ears burned. She turned back and glared at the girl in black robes—the same look she gave Klein, cold and tinged with unvented annoyance.

"What's it to you?"

"It has a lot to do with me." The girl in black robes lowered her head and took another sip of honey water, her eyelashes drooping, her voice soft and gentle, like a feather brushing across the surface of water, "After all, the one in your belly... is me."

After these words were spoken, the living room fell silent for a moment.

Pekkale let out a very soft "Ah" at the doorway, the string in her mind finally snapping back to reality. Her gaze darted back and forth between Ophelia's lower abdomen and the girl in the black robe, her mouth agape in a perfect circle.

The girl in black noticed her expression, turned her head to look at her, smiled, and winked at her: "Don't be nervous, I'm not going to steal all of your teacher's precious potions."

Pekka's face flushed red, and he stammered, "I, I, you, how could you—"

Klein sighed helplessly: "You start teasing her the moment you see her."

"I'm just greeting my own family." The girl in black robes said matter-of-factly, placing the empty cup back on the table. She took two steps closer to Ophelia, sat down against the armrest of the chair, and tilted her head. "Mother, aren't you right?"

Ophelia's ears burned again at the address of "Mother," but she kept a straight face. She raised her hand to brush aside the girl's stray hairs, her fingers lingering for a moment on the face that resembled her own.

The girl in the black robe rested her chin on the armrest of the chair, looking up at Ophelia. Her golden eyes reflected the warm afternoon light, and the emotions she had felt while squatting on the ground listening to her stomach were completely gone, leaving only a look of peace.

"Mother."

"Um."

"I'm really happy to be here."

Ophelia looked down at her. The young face was only a foot away, her brows and eyes still showing signs of travel, but the light in her eyes was so bright that it made Ophelia's throat tighten.

She reached out and ruffled the girl's hair, her movements a little stiff, as if she wasn't quite used to such intimacy.

"understood."

The sound was very soft.

Klein watched this scene from the side and silently closed the pharmacopoeia that he had only flipped through halfway.

He felt this page was worth writing down.