The Duke's Passion

Law, Adam, and I tried the arcades in the street fair of Minowa as soon as we reached the downtown. At first, the two young boys were anxious. Who wouldn't? We snuck out, and I felt bad for instilling that we were being 'mischievous' right now. 

So, my job was to erase that anxiety. After playing a few games and winning some stuffed toys, Adam and Law relaxed and gradually forgot about their worries. Since we've played enough, I took them to the sweet stall where my mouth had been watering ever since I noticed it.

"3 cotton balls please." The merchant smiled at me and prepared three cotton balls. I gazed down at Law and Adam, giggling with them. 

"Here are the two cotton balls for those lovely sons of Madam!" 

"Heh. Wait, I'll get them for you," I said, releasing Adam and Law's hand to receive the cotton balls in a stick. With a smile, I handed them to the two boys, who accepted it with delight.

"Thank you, Mother," expressed Law, with his cheek painted with light pink. 

"Thank you, Madam Roux," Adam also spoke happily.

I darted my eyes between them, covering my lips. They looked so cute and my heart was melting! I felt like weeping, especially when their eyes twinkled at their first bite. 

"So cute..." came out a murmur, holding my breath at this level of cuteness. My brow raised when Charlotte, who was hugging the stuffed toys, suddenly stepped beside me. I leaned closer to her as she whispered in my ear.

"His Majesty is here," she informed, making me freeze on the spot with eyes dilating. I looked at Charlotte, aghast that Sam had already found us. She perked her chin in a certain direction while I swallowed down a mouthful of saliva. 

'I should act normal,' I told myself, thinking how to avoid Sam's scolding. I cleared my throat and sported a bright smile before turning my head in my husband's direction. 

My eyes searched for him and when I caught him standing from across the street, my heart warmed up. He was looking at us lovingly with a gentle smile on his lips. 

'Ahh... that's my husband right there,' I thought as the side of my lips curled up, raising my hand up and waving it without care.

"Sam~! My husband~!" I waved and waved excitedly until I felt Law and Adam's gaze. I glanced down at them and they were already looking in Sam's direction. 

"Quick, wave your hands!" I urged the two. They cast me a look but said nothing as they waved at him as well. 

"Sammy~!" this time, I raised both my hands and waved them sideways. I giggled when I saw him chuckle and shake his head. Sam then jogged his way towards us and my initial fear gradually vanished.

'He wasn't angry, right?' I wondered, studying Sam when he stopped in front of us. 

Sam let out a shallow breath, staring at me and then at Law and Adam. "What should I do with you three?" came out a helpless remark, giving me hope that he wouldn't tell us to come back. 

"Husband~" I skipped a step and hooked my arms around him. "Since you're here, you will naturally spend more time with us. Everyone is busy preparing for the festival. There's a lot of stalls we haven't even tried yet."

Sam looked at me while I fluttered my eyelashes coquettishly. I don't recall acting cute in front of him, so I was a little awkward.

"Father, will you come with us?" asked Law, tugging the hem of Sam's tailcoat while gazing up at us. Sam and I instinctively looked down to see Law and Adam staring at us adorably. It was as if once Sam said no, their eyes would well up immediately.

"So cute..." I whispered, leaning closer to my beloved husband. "Husband, if you break their hearts, I would break all the bones you have."

Sam let out a chuckle and glanced at me with narrowed eyes. "My wife, you make me wish I was also a child."

"But you're fine this way..." I pouted, blinking countless times, so the three of us were attacking him with our charms. 

"Goodness..." he let out a defeated sigh before he nodded. "Fine."

"Yes!" The side of my lips stretched even wider as I gazed at the two bundles of joy who were grinning back at me. I winked at them as we succeeded in taking Sam with us and avoided being scolded. Now, we didn't have to worry about anything.

"So, where do you plan to go?" asked Sam, cocking his head to the side while darting his eyes from me to Law and Adam. 

"Father, there is this challenge with a huge pot money as a prize," Law answered after a second of pondering, spreading his arms as to highlight how huge the prize he was talking about. I thought about which game he was referring to and rocked my head when I realized which game it was. 

Arm wrestling!

"My son, you like that sort of game?" I gasped while gazing at Law. My son pressed his lips together as if thinking if he said something wrong. 

"Ah, no." I squatted down, releasing Sam from me. "I mean, you could've told me earlier, but well, it's not like we can win against that buff guy, right?"

The reason I didn't even bat an eye on the pamphlet earlier was that I thought they wouldn't like it. But I guess boys were boys. I didn't mean they liked violence, but more like they liked challenges, especially to prove how 'manly' they were.

"My son, how huge is the prize money? I will triple it." I frowned at Sam's reply and glared daggers at him. "I mean, sure. Let's do that."

"You will?" Law inquired curiously. "It is a battle of strength, father."

'Oh, son... it pains me that you don't know what is your father like in the past,' I uttered internally, looking at my curious son. 'But well, I guess it's better that he doesn't know what his parents like before him.'

"Yes." Sam nodded and planted his palm on Law's head. "Your father likes everything about money."

Since when? That was what I wanted to ask, but oh well, perhaps money now had a special place in his heart. 

"That's settled then. Let's go?" I tossed all the unnecessary thoughts I had in my head and smiled at Law and Adam. Once I got up, I held Law's hand, and he held Adam's. Adam then gazed up at Sam when my husband offered his hand. 

"We can't let you feel out of place, can we?" he inquired in a knowing tone, making the young earl smile warmly. So, Adam took my husband's hand as we headed to this arm wrestling challenge.

With me on the left, then Law, Adam, and Sam. We're more like a family of four now, and I was glad to see that Adam could have this beautiful memory.

As I looked at them, I caught Sam's gaze and smiled. He smiled back at me gently.

'It feels warm...' I thought, thinking that we weren't just imagining starting a family anymore. Sam and I.... already had a son and we're a family now.