Setting that unsettling thought aside for now, Horace continued listening to his wife's whispers.
At some point, the conversation drifted toward "children."
Rellana herself grew a little embarrassed, her cheeks faintly flushed and her gaze wandering.
She lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers, her voice growing quieter. "We've been married for quite a while now. My sister and Queen Marika are both Numen. In theory, the Numen have trouble reproducing and rarely have children... but look at them. They have a whole bunch at once."
She counted on her fingers. "King Godfrey and Queen Marika have several children that I know of alone. My sister had triplets, too. Why is it that when it comes to me..."
It was not that she was eager to have children. It was just that, in this environment, with those "examples" around her, comparisons and self-doubt were inevitable.
It was common knowledge that those of Numen blood struggled to have children, yet that knowledge did not seem to hold true for Marika and Rennala.
Seeing her like this, Horace reached out and patted her head.
"Don't overthink it."
Horace's voice was gentle. "Every individual is different, and bloodline doesn't determine everything. Marika is a god, and Rennala has other factors involved (Lilith: Hehe~). Their circumstances were special to begin with. We can just let nature take its course."
He paused, a teasing smile curling his lips. "Besides, you're the 'acting queen' now. You have so many 'affairs of state' to handle every day. Maybe once you actually figure out how to govern, a child will come along."
His joke earned him a light punch from Rellana, though some of the blush faded from her face. "What are you talking about... You're the one handling all the government work. All I do is