Celia's elf ears twitched slightly upon hearing his words.
Her cheeks instantly burned, the flush spreading all the way to the roots of her ears.
In Liam's eyes, that redness was particularly striking.
"So... you were awake all along..."
Her voice trailed off, gone completely soft, utterly deflated.
Liam's large, well-defined hand gently stroked the fragrant hair of the girl in his arms, a smile of ambiguous meaning on his face.
"So my foolish wife did know."
"Just now, I was desperately trying to suppress the effects of the wine through meditation, Celia—my adorable wife. I don't know if you were in heat or what."
"Constantly, constantly..."
"You made it impossible for me to find peace."
"And you got your wish."
"You successfully distracted me, making me barely suppress most of the natural mana, only to be left with this restless heat all over my body."
Liam lowered his head again, his teeth gently nibbling her reddened, pointed elf ear, and whispered, "Celia, tell me... what should be done about this?"
Celia went limp like a deflated balloon, her warm body softening as she played dumb.
"I... I don't know..."
As if fulfilling the promise of the morning's gloomy weather, rain began to fall.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter – a light rain began to fall against the square window of the incubation room, and within moments, the rain grew increasingly violent.
Bang! Rattle!
It sounded as if it might tear the roof off.
BOOM!!!
Sure enough, the rumble of thunder followed immediately.
Sure enough, a thunderous roar followed instantly. Beyond the window, a bolt of lightning arced across the forest, its image so vivid it felt scorched into her vision.
Startled by the thunder, the girl held captive in Liam's embrace flinched violently, her petite frame trembling.
Thunder.
In her previous life, during holidays, if she encountered a heavy storm with thunder, it was actually the most comfortable.
No need for air conditioning in summer; the room would be cool.
Not only was it perfect for playing games quietly, but even falling asleep to the sound of thunder felt like a lullaby.
But in this life, Celia, who once had dreams of conquering the world,was now so fragile as to be frightened by mere thunder on a stormy day.
Could it be that she'd been spoiled rotten by the man?
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
"It seems it's thundering."
Liam's sharp, perceptive eyes didn't soften as he comforted the frightened girl; instead, his gaze intensified, growing more distinctly possessive.
"It truly is fine weather."
His hold refused to loosen, as if he had seized the most important treasure of his life.
His sharply defined chin rested gently on the fragrant crown of the girl's head in his arms as he said slowly,
"Today, when I was drunk, you brought me home, Celia."
"As your husband, I was truly touched. Naturally, I won't hold anything against you."
"Mmh..." She let out a soft whimper.
"But, this feeling of gratitude shouldn't be wasted. After all, you are my beloved wife. How about transforming it into a reward?"
Celia nuzzled her head against his chest, a mixture of embarrassment and indignance coloring her movement.
She knew what the 'reward' referred to.
Sigh—
"Rainy days... I find that everything feels clearer. No fog clouding the mind, everything is just... more. For instance—looking at my silly little wife, she seems even more pitiable and lovable than usual, more tempting to torment."
As Liam spoke, the strength binding the girl finally eased somewhat.
Then, with a pivot of his hips, he smoothly maneuvered his wife—who was as soft and pliant as a little rabbit—into a position beneath him.
Celia let out a light gasp, raising the back of her hand to cover half of her burning, shy face.
Her emerald-green pupils shimmered with a moist, timid light as she flusteredly said, "B-but this morning... we already..."
"You can't! If this continues, your body will suffer, Husband!"
"Even in this state, you're still concerned about me?"
Liam grabbed her boneless wrist, brought it to his nose, and took a deep breath, then placed it before his thin lips for a kiss.
She turned her head away.
The warmth and moisture of his breath on the back of her hand, and having her hand pulled away every time she covered her face—it was utterly mortifying.
Forget it.
She gave up.
It wasn't as if she didn't know her husband was a pervert...
...
His large mouth enveloped her small hand.
Even though it felt somewhat warm, this was so strange...
"Don't cover your face. Have I not said it before?"
"What I love seeing most is this blushing face of yours, Celia."
Of course she knew! That's why she was covering it!
2 AM.
Originally utterly exhausted, Celia, along with the man, lost track of time.
By the time she nestled securely in his arms to sleep, it was already this late again.
If they didn't sleep properly next time, her sleep schedule would be completely messed up.
If Mom's schedule is messed up, the babies won't get their nourishment and will surely feel unwell.
"Husband..."
Celia had already closed her eyes, her voice mumbling.
"Next time... it's better to finish earlier."
After she said this, the man in front of her showed no reaction.
Puzzled, Celia opened her drowsy eyes and looked at him blurrily.
?
She saw his crimson eyes were still open, staring blankly into space as if he had lost the will to live.
"Husband, what's wrong with you?"
"Heh..."
He chuckled, a sound so weary it seemed to carry the weight of ages, and said darkly.
"Natural mana... it truly is poison."
???
???
..........
..........
Celia was deeply puzzled by her husband's words that night.
But as the days wore on, she began to perceive subtle shifts, and in a flash of insight, she finally understood.
Her husband...
Had grown weaker!
On ordinary days, as the mother, aside from feeding the babies to supplement their nutrition, whenever her husband wasn't home—off studying the uses of that crystal ball—she would take the initiative to shoulder the housecleaning duties.
After all... she was his wife now.
In her previous life, even though she wasn't a girl, she understood from societal experience
that a wife at home, If a wife stays home and does nothing all day, content to be fed by her husband, she'll surely be looked down upon by him.
Celia didn't want Liam to look down on her.
Celia wanted Liam to always pamper and love her. Even if his methods were wrong, she absolutely did not want to see him adopt a cold, strange attitude towards her.
Lately, the babies' movements had grown much stronger, as if ready to break out of their shells. But Liam had said the incubation period
would take at least three months.
The fact that the incubation would take at least three months left her feeling quite disheartened.
When she felt bored, she could only chatter to the babies, but how could they understand?
If only the babies could grow up quickly and call her "Mommy" just once.
Because, from the very first night she slept with Liam and gave birth to the first elf egg,regardless of whether she had adapted to being a girl or to the role of a mother, a deep maternal love for the baby inside that egg had naturally blossomed in her heart.
It was an instinct carved into the bones of an elf mother.