Fio, wearing an apron, picked up a ladle and tasted the soup she was making.
“Mmm, delicious~ Hubby should like it, right?”
She wasn’t tall enough to cook without a little stool, so Fio stood on one as she made dinner. The silver-haired girl hummed a happy little tune and put the lid on the pot.
She hopped down from the stool, untied her apron, and set it on the sofa. Then she rested a hand on her slightly rounded belly, her face glowing with happiness.
Fio was already some time into her pregnancy. For the sake of the man and child she loved, she’d given up the throne of the Ice Dragon Clan and retired to a quiet life as a full-time housewife.
“I’m home, Fio.”
“Hubby! I’ve been waiting for you forever!”
At the sound of his voice, Fio hurried over to the door. There stood the black-haired, red-eyed Sword Saint, home after a full day at work.
The man before her was none other than Fio’s master—and the father of her child—Leon.
“Fio, have you been doing your chores properly today?”
Leon bent down and gave Fio’s nose a playful flick. The silver-haired girl’s cheeks turned red.
“Mm. I’ve been waiting for Master to come home the whole time… I get so lonely when you’re not here, hubby.”
Fio leaned close to Leon and left a feather-light kiss on his cheek.
That little tease only made Leon more eager. He suddenly put an arm around Fio’s waist and pulled her into a hug.
“H-Hubby, what are you doing?”
Fio squirmed shyly, looking pretty nervous too.
“You said you were lonely all by yourself. I’m just giving you a hug.”
“Hubby, can we stop doing these weird things for now? I’ve already made dinner!”
“I’ve been lonely too, while I’ve been away working…”
“Huh… Hubby! Then what should we do…?”
Fio’s snow-white face turned as red as an apple, and her protests grew weaker and weaker.
“We’ve been married for so long, and we have a child now. There’s nothing wrong with being a little more affectionate…”
……
“What am I doing—!!”
Fio jolted awake with a scream. Her clothes were soaked with sweat.
The scene from her dream still lingered before her eyes. Every detail had felt so real that Fio hugged herself, a chill running down her spine.
Hah… hah… Thank goodness it was only a dream.
Fio looked around and realized she was in bed in her bedroom. She felt a little more at ease.
“I-I was with Leon…? Don’t be ridiculous! How could that happen?”
Remembering the dream made Fio feel sick. She’d actually imagined getting pregnant with Leon’s child and being so head over heels for him she couldn’t think straight—there was absolutely no way that could happen!
Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not! There wasn’t even a one-in-a-hundred-million chance! Even if every other man in the world died, she still wouldn’t fall for Leon!
Fio clutched at her own thoughts, murmuring them under her breath.
Once she’d calmed down, Fio pieced together what had happened. She seemed to have fainted on the street, and at some point Leon had brought her home and put her in her own bedroom.
Ah… right. Leon made me do those things earlier.
Her calm vanished, and her thoughts became a mess again. Now Fio understood that the dream hadn’t come from nowhere—it had been brought on by Leon’s “training” earlier.
“If I keep staying by Leon’s side like this… This is bad. The things in that dream might become real!”
If that really happened, she’d rather die! But Leon was so strong, and she couldn’t beat him. What was she supposed to do…?
Fio shoved her head under the pillow and knelt on the bed with her butt sticking up, hiding from reality like an ostrich.
She felt so miserable she was about to cry. Just as she was despairing, Fio thought of someone.
That’s right! There’s still someone who can help me!
Fio’s birth mother, Feilin, had broken free of her seal a little while ago. Since they were mother and daughter, they could naturally sense each other.
Fio slowly poked her head out from under the pillow. She saw the bright moon hanging in the night sky outside the window, got out of bed, and leaned against the window with her eyes closed, praying—
Mom, please save me! Beat Leon to a pulp and take me back to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain. I swear I’ll never slack off again. I’ll study hard and learn how to become a proper Ice Dragon King.
“…?!”
Something soft and smooth seemed to brush across the tip of Fio’s nose, leaving a faint fragrance behind. She opened her eyes—and froze.
There was a mirror. Reflected in it was a silver-haired, silver-eyed little girl who looked exactly like her.
……
……
Fio stared at the “mirror” version of herself. They both blinked at the same time, perfectly mirroring each other.
“Huh? Is there a mirror here?”
Fio was about to reach out and touch it when the person in the mirror suddenly moved, breaking into a cheerful smile.
“Gaa-woo!”
“Wah!”
It was a real person!
The girl’s adorable cry startled Fio so badly that she landed hard on her butt. The other girl hopped in through the window, and Fio finally got a good look at her.
She had silver hair tied into twin tails and wore a sleeveless sailor-style top, a plaid skirt, and black thigh-high stockings.
She was super cute, like a girl who’d stepped straight out of an anime.
But after making that assessment, Fio looked at her and had the strange feeling that she herself was wearing that outfit. They looked so alike, almost like copies.
Fio knew exactly who she was.
“Mom!”
“It’s been a long time, Fio.”
Overjoyed and in tears, Fio threw herself into the arms of her mother, Feilin.
“Waaah… Mom, I missed you so much.”
After so long apart, Fio finally saw her mother again and let out all the feelings she’d been holding inside.
Feilin lovingly stroked her daughter’s head, soothing her excitement just like a real mother would.
“After all these years, you still have that same silly look on your face, daughter.”
“I’ve been through so much, you have no idea… I was kidnapped by some weird guy.” Fio looked up, her face covered in tears and snot. “Mom, I really need your help this time!”
