The next morning, Roswitha stood on the balcony, gazing out at the courtyard behind the Castle.

Noa and Muen, the two sisters, were down there playing a snowball fight with the maids, their innocent and carefree smiles glowing brightly.

As for the Queen, confined to her chambers, she could only watch such a scene silently from where she stood.

*Sigh.*

In the past, when others invited her to join a snowball fight, she dismissed the idea with disdain.

Now, when she wanted to join in herself, she found she couldn’t even step out of the Castle’s gates.

How infuriating! It's all Leon Casmod’s fault.

If not for him, she wouldn’t have been pregnant; if she wasn’t pregnant, she wouldn’t have been confined to the Castle by the head maid during this beautiful winter to focus on nurturing the baby.

Roswitha fumed inwardly. If she ever got out, she swore to build a snowman named Leon, then fiercely kick it apart and stomp it into slush!

*Ughhh~*

Just thinking about it brought an odd sense of satisfaction.

Roswitha closed her eyes and mentally pictured the scene, and suddenly felt her mood improve.

Still, speaking of Leon, she hadn’t seen him all morning. What kind of mischief could he be scheming now?

As she mulled this over, the sound of the door opening reached her ears.

The footsteps seemed uneven—a group of three, perhaps.

Roswitha walked toward the door, and, sure enough, it was Leon and Anna, accompanied by one of the members of the Maid Squad.

Her name was Milan, a soft-spoken girl with a gentle disposition and a keen attention to detail.

Before Roswitha could ask what was going on, Anna approached with a form in her hand, a somewhat guilty expression on her face.

“Your Majesty, so you’ve always wanted to try yoga, haven’t you? It was my negligence not to notice your needs!”

Roswitha froze, blinking. “When did I ever say I wanted to try yoga?”

“Hmm? Your Majesty doesn’t remember? Didn’t you and His Highness sign up for a prenatal yoga class when you visited Sky City a while ago?”

As Anna said this, she handed over the registration form for the yoga class. “I glanced at the date, and it seems the two of you signed up just about two months into your pregnancy, right?”

“Ah… yes, but—”

“Well then, it seems His Highness was right after all. Who else would understand you better than your husband?”

Anna’s tone carried a trace of envy, paired with the slight regret of a maid unable to match the intimacy of her queen’s spouse.

No matter how attentive or concerned Anna was for her queen, it could never compare to the connection shared between true lovers.

Roswitha narrowed her eyes at Anna’s comment: "His Highness was right after all."

Leon! What kind of nonsense have you been spewing now?

She cast a sidelong glance at Leon, who stood there with his arms crossed, wearing a smug, unbothered expression that all but screamed he took delight in the unfolding scene.

Fine. Alright. Casmod, that look on your face says it all—you’re openly admitting to pulling the strings here, aren’t you?

Just wait until tonight—I’ll shut that loud mouth of yours once and for all!

“Since Your Majesty began her maternity leave, I’ve been handling all major and minor affairs for the Silver Dragon Clan,” Anna explained. “This morning, His Highness mentioned to me that you’ve been concerned I might be overwhelmed, which is why you didn’t bring up the yoga matter.”

“However, Your Majesty,” Anna stressed, “no matter how busy I am, I would never neglect your needs. Please don’t hesitate to tell me anything.”

“This morning, after His Highness reminded me about yoga, I immediately thought of Milan here. Before she joined the Maid Squad, she had years of yoga experience and is fully capable of meeting Your Majesty’s needs.”

“Traveling to Sky City is quite the journey, especially in the dead of winter. It’s inconvenient to go back and forth. I thought studying at home might be a better option.”

When it came to more private aspects, Anna, as a maid, naturally could not match a husband like Leon in understanding Roswitha’s deeper needs.

But when tasked with a clear objective, Anna would execute it flawlessly. Her meticulous attention to detail made her standout as the head maid, surpassing many other exceptional candidates.

The maid named Milan stepped forward, lowered herself into a curtsy, and greeted Roswitha with perfect decorum. “It is an honor to study yoga with Your Majesty.”

“Well, Your Majesty, what do you think?” Anna asked.

What do I think?

Do I even need to think about this?

Anyone with half a brain could tell Leon was behind this, deliberately setting this up to mess with her.

Of course, Roswitha also understood Leon’s reasons. No doubt it was because she had been bossing him around relentlessly over the past few days, taking full advantage of her pregnancy. This was clearly his way of exacting revenge.

However, Leon wasn’t entirely unprincipled. Any ordinary form of retaliation that might hurt a pregnant woman was off the table, leading him to devise this kind of move—one both harmless and easily rationalized.

If challenged, he could declare, “I’m doing this for your benefit, my love!”

And if accused, he could cry, “Oh, you just don’t understand how much I care for you!”

Such was their cohabitation—a life filled with subtle battles and unspoken truces.

Roswitha was tempted to reject Anna’s proposal.

But on second thought, if she truly refused, her confined maternity leave would boil down to days of “eat, eat, eat, sleep, sleep, sleep.”

Such idleness would surely add unwanted pounds.

She recalled how, after giving birth to Noa and Muen, she’d been humorously betrayed by the scale.

Though the maids found her slight weight gain charming—claiming that the Queen’s fuller figure only made her more enchanting—it wasn’t their bodies carrying the extra weight, so of course, they didn’t mind.

It had taken Roswitha a tremendous amount of effort to restore her current physique.

There was no way she wanted to go through that ordeal again.

So… fine. She’d go along with Leon this time. Yoga it is, to stay in shape.

“Alright, thank you, Anna, for the trouble,” Roswitha finally said.

“No trouble at all, Your Majesty. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have other needs in the future.”

“Yes, I will.”

Anna nodded. “Then I won’t disturb you and His Highness any further. Milan, please coordinate with Her Majesty on the schedule and make sure everything goes smoothly.”

“Yes, Head Maid,” Milan replied with a bow.

Once Anna had conveyed her instructions, she left them at ease.

Seeing his plan come to fruition, Leon obediently took a seat off to the side, playing the part of an uninvolved observer.

Roswitha shot him a glare but refrained from speaking her mind, aware that doing so in front of Milan might be misinterpreted as the playful squabbles of an affectionate couple.

No matter. She could wait until they were alone to interrogate her captive thoroughly.

Redirecting her attention, Roswitha turned to Milan.

“Shall we begin now?” Roswitha asked.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Milan briefly stepped out to the door and returned holding two yoga mats—one black and one blue.

Her preparations seemed meticulous.

Laying out the mats, Milan looked up and asked, “Which color would Your Majesty prefer?”

“The black one,” Roswitha answered.

She did have a particular fondness for black.

Leon knew this well.

During the preparatory exercises for Noa’s entrance exam at Saint Hiss Academy, the two had coincidentally named “silver” and “black” based on each other’s hair colors.

Of course, that didn’t mean anything—it was just a fluke. Or so both Leon and Roswitha always insisted.

After selecting the black yoga mat, Milan inquired, “Does Your Majesty have any breathable, form-fitted pants for the session?”

“Yes, give me a moment,” Roswitha replied.

She opened her wardrobe, retrieved a sports tank top and a pair of legging-like maternity pants suited for yoga.

When she returned, her long silvery hair had been tied into a ponytail swaying softly behind her.

Her shapely legs, snugly outlined by the pants, were as mesmerizing as ever, and her slightly rounded belly only added a maternal charm without detracting from her alluring curves.

This was a look far more sensual than the athletic appearance she once sported during their preparations for the school’s sports day.

Leon watched quietly from his corner.

Normally, he’d have all sorts of quips about his partner’s flaws or little habits.

But when it came to her figure and face, he had nothing to criticize.

On this point, the two of them were oddly alike.

After all, the moment Roswitha had laid eyes on Leon back in the dungeon, her first thought had been, *What a strikingly handsome man.*

Case closed—these two were both shamelessly shallow (not really).

Leon averted his gaze, unwilling to linger too long on Roswitha’s assets.

Finally, the yoga session began.

Leon exhaled quietly. At last, she had something to occupy her time with—no more tormenting him, for now.