“….”

She couldn’t sleep.

It seemed there was caffeine in the tea she had in the afternoon.

Selina blinked as she gazed up at the faint light filtering in through the window. It had been a while since she experienced a sleepless night. Even during pregnancy, she slept like hibernating in winter, but after giving birth, her sleep patterns didn’t decrease.

Tonight was exceptionally long, and she felt unusually clear-headed.

Back when she was an actress, she could sleep with ease as long as she closed her eyes because of her busy schedule, despite drinking coffee or caffeinated drinks. After giving birth, her body seemed to have changed, or perhaps today, the effects of caffeine hit her more than usual.

Turning her head outside the bed, she spotted Kalcion pacing with Magna in his arms. Despite promising to put Magna to sleep before handing her over to the nanny, it took quite a while.

Selina was so focused on watching him struggle with Magna that she didn’t notice Kalcion looking her way for quite some time. Much later, he cautiously handed Magna to the waiting nanny who had been sitting in the corner. Then, the nanny greeted him with a nod and moved to the next room with a door in between.

This was a bedtime routine Selina hadn’t witnessed before, as she usually fell asleep first.

“You’re still awake?”

Kalcion, entering the room, noticed Selina, who was lying wide awake.

“I had tea after a long time, and it seems to be affecting my sleep.”

“Oh. Would warm milk help?”

“No, an empty stomach would be easier to sleep with.”

“Really? What do you do when you can’t sleep?”

“Just stay like this.”

As she leaned against his warm body instead of having warm milk, Kalcion’s hand automatically wrapped around her shoulders.

Would they chat in bed after a long time and then fall asleep? Selina smiled and playfully curled her finger over Kalcion’s chest.

“Sitting like this makes me think of the time we shared the same bed at the inn.”

“Aahh.”

“At that time, it was so awkward, and we couldn’t even look at each other’s faces…”

“Yes…”

“…Kalcion?”

The conversation was cut off in the middle of a conversation.

“Ung?”

However, when Selina called him, he immediately responded with a clear voice.

“Did you fall asleep?”

“No, I don’t…”

Once again, the sentence wasn’t completed. It was because when Selina lifted her head, looking up at him, he had fallen asleep with a serene face.

“…You.”

“I haven’t slept yet.”

His face looked strained, but his eyes remained closed. If he was sleepy, just sleep, why go to such lengths?

Suppressing a laugh, she patted his chest.

“Alright, go to sleep quickly.”

“….”

This time, there was no response; he had fallen asleep.

Is he very tired?

Since giving birth, Selina has been focused on her physical recovery. Naturally, Kalcion took over Selina’s share of the responsibilities. Between the morning training, additional duties, and occasionally taking care of the child, it must have become overwhelming.

‘Even so, seeing Kalcion this exhausted.’

It was fascinating.

It has been a long time since she saw Kalcion in such a vulnerable state.

Occasionally, in the early hours, Selina could see his sleeping face, but it wasn’t a common occurrence. She usually had a long sleep and was a good sleep. During her waking hours, he was also awake.

Today, it seemed she was struggling to fall asleep.

As time passed, her eyes remained open.

Continuing to toss and turn like this might disturb Kalcion’s sound sleep, so Selina carefully got out of bed.

Should she take a walk until she falls asleep?

Suddenly, she became curious about how Magna was doing at night. As she gently opened the door and peeked into the room, she could see the nanny was fast asleep on the bed next to the crib.

Magna, who seemed to be sleeping well, started to twitch and move. Her eyebrows fluttered, her nose wrinkled, and her mouth moved as if she was murmuring something.

It was adorable, and Selina wanted to keep watching, but she might start crying soon.

As her movements became more restless, and she began to wriggle her arms and legs, Selina quickly picked her up. Recognizing the familiar scent of her mother, Magna opened her mouth wide but quickly closed it, cooing softly.

“Oh, even though you’re half asleep, you recognized Mom? How amazing, our little princess. If you cry at night, Dad will wake up… Huh?”

As Selina comforted Magna, turning around, she saw Kalcion standing by the door.

“Why did you wake up?”

Exhaustion was evident in his disheveled face. He had just fallen into a deep sleep, and he woke up like this after not being able to sleep much, so it was obvious. More importantly, why did he rush here before there was any sound?

It was too quick for him to dash over after Magna’s whining.

“…I sensed Magna was about to wake up.”

Saying so, he brushed back his fallen hair with a heavy gesture.

“Give her to me, and I’ll put her back to sleep. You go and sleep.”

“I can’t sleep anyway.”

“She’s heavy. It’ll tire your wrist.”

As he spoke, even holding Magna for a while made her wrist sore. Being good at exercising and carrying a child were different things. So, pretending to give in, Selina handed the baby over to Kalcion.

Not wanting to disturb the sleeping nanny, the two of them, holding Magna, returned to their room. Meanwhile, Magna peacefully fell asleep in Kalcion’s arms, as gentle as during the day.

“Umm…”

Mechanically patting Magna’s back, Kalcion let out a quiet sigh. The series of actions seemed ingrained into his body like a habit.

Observing this, Selina asked absentmindedly.

“Were you doing this every night?”

“Umm.”

He didn’t really deny it.

“Why? Even the nannies take turns, so they won’t work all night.”

“The nannies were a bit slow to wake up.”

“Huh?”

“I was going to wait for the nanny to wake up, but during that time, I felt like you might wake up due to the crying. Magna has a pattern of tossing and turning before waking up. When I sensed that, I would go and pick her up before she cried.”

Kalcion, trained to be aware of external situations even while sleeping, could detect the subtle signs of the baby waking up. Before Magna could cry, he would wake up before Selina did. If he needed to feed or change the diaper, he would wake the nanny.

For Selina’s sake, they brought formula from the other world — with one person soothing and the other preparing things so it would proceed relatively smoothly.

They said one never stopped talking about military life and parenting. It seemed Kalcion couldn’t escape even there.

“Magna tends to wake up easily at night. She’s stubborn, and once she wakes up, she keeps crying until she gets what she wants.”

“…Is that talking about my child?”

“Both yours and mine, it’s about Magna.”

She fell into a daze once again.

“I thought she never woke up at night?”

“She frequently wakes up, but it’s a bit less now.”

Selina didn’t know. She had never been awakened by the sound of the baby crying at night.

If this repeated several times in one night and continued for nearly a hundred nights, even with Kalcion’s steel-like stamina, he would undoubtedly be tired. Parenting relied on physical strength, and since Kalcion had put in his physical strength until now, it was only natural that her strength had accumulated.

“Oh, this foolish man. Why go to such lengths? Just leave it to the nanny and sleep a little noisily. Why bother so much?”

“It’s because I don’t like it when you’re having a hard time. Just giving birth was hard enough, and there’s no need for it to be harder.”

So, it was a declaration that he would take on the hardship alone.

“Uhh.”

Leaning her forehead against Kalcion’s shoulder, Selina let out a sigh.

“Princess, don’t forget the trouble you’ve caused your dad like this.”

As she warned with a firm tone while poking Magna’s cheek, Kalcion chuckled. Magna’s plump, squishy cheeks were adorable, and Selina, who spoke to the baby in such a manner, was also cute.

Selina nestled her face on his shoulder and looked at Kalcion with innocent eyes.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Still, lie down.”

“Put me to sleep.”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, her childishness increased.

“Magna is already asleep. Put her back down. And now, put me to sleep.”

Following her instructions, Kalcion gently placed Magna in the small crib and returned. As soon as he lay on the bed, Selina, with a swift motion, propped herself up on his thigh, placing her head on him.

“Pat me gently.”

He smiled and faithfully followed Selina’s instructions. She had been unable to sleep at all, but the touch of Kalcion’s warmth and the gentle patting gradually brought some sleep.

“Let me sleep next to you like this all night. If you disappear in the middle, I’ll wake up.”

“Alright.”

“Whether Magna wakes up or not, leave it to the nanny.”

“Yes.”

As if making a promise, Kalcion hugged Selina tightly and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps due to the pressure from Selina, despite Magna waking up and crying a few times in between, he only heard it from a distance and was able to sleep soundly until morning.

The path of parenting was truly long and challenging.

For every parent, the journey was equally difficult.

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