Her husband suggested that they should take turns taking care of their daughter Lyrie at night everyday.
She stared at her husband’s face, wondering if he was going insane.
“You’re making me embarrassed if you looked at me like that.”
“I’m just trying to figure out if you’re in your right mind.”
“Look at that.”
Her husband smiled and replied like it was normal. It took zero convincing.
“How dare you suggest that we take care of the baby on a daily basis when you have a job to do?”
“Hermina-sama seems to be in too much pain.”
“I’m fine.”
That was a very strong statement, and her husband was looking at her as if she was pitiful. …it was true that she had a limp than usual, but she should be well after a few days. Maybe.
“So, how about taking turns with the nanny on the night shift?”
“No.”
“Is that so?”
When the conversation stopped and the room went quiet, her daughter, who had been sleeping in her cradle, started crying.
She thought it was time to change her diapers, so she got up, but her husband was faster.
He checked the condition of the diaper, and when he realized it was wet, he changed it quickly. She just stood next to him and helped him.
“You are so used to it, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’ve been practicing at a friend’s house.”
What the?! My husband is training to change diapers (?) for our daughter?
“Well, did you do that?”
“Yes. I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
The baby didn’t stop crying after changing her diaper, so her husband picked up their daughter and began to soothe her.
His face seemed to be full of compassion.
Maybe or maybe not; her husband loves children.
When she finally stopped crying, her husband sat down on the couch with their daughter on his chest.
Seeing this, Hermina had to change her mind.
“—I understand.”
“Yes?”
“I thought you might want to help me with the nightly chores.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. We’re a couple. We have to share our joys and sorrows, don’t we?”
“Yes, of course.”
Her husband’s expression didn’t look good when he heard that she was taking their child away from him. She felt bad about letting him raise their child. However, she could see that her husband wasn’t opposed to the idea because he thought well of the child, so she decided to accept the proposal.
“Shall we start today?”
“That’s right. As you were saying, it’s a daily thing.”
“I understand.”
“However, I want you to bring your bunk into the room next to Lyrie’s bedroom then wait.”
Her husband nodded his head at her words.
Hermina would explain in detail soon.
“I will still sleep beside Lyrie. It would be very helpful if you could come over every few times to the crying girl and soothe her.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
She couldn’t let her husband, who had to work the next day, take care of their daughter all night. So, she decided to give him an auxiliary role in taking care of her.
“Is that all I have to do?”
“That will be all, but I’m grateful.”
Her husband was reluctant, but when she asked him to repeat the request, he broke off.
“Well then, I hope you’ll start today.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
Thus, her daughter, Lyrie’s Night Crying Prevention Committee was adjourned.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
At night, Hermina gave her daughter a bath. She was still limping today, so she and her nanny had to finish the bathing process with a lot of effort. After that, she left Lyrie to her nanny and took a bath.
As Hermina soaked in the warm water, she let out a loud sigh.
Every day she was keenly aware of how hard it was to raise a child. But more than that, she was happy to see that her children were adorable like angels and that she could watch them grow up day by day.
Then, she felt like she had grown a little closer to her husband through their daughter.
… it wasn’t that they needed to get to know each other as a man and a woman, but she hoped that they could support each other as lifelong partners.
After getting out of the bath, she dried her hair with the help of a maidservant, then put on her silk loungewear and thick gown and headed to her daughter’s room.
The moment she opened the door, she jolted. Because her husband was there.
At the same time, she remembered that it was her who asked him to spend the night in this room.
”
”
Her husband’s bed had been brought into the room by a servant.
“…Really, you’re going to keep me company.”
“Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”
Our daughter is asleep, he says. She moved to the bedroom, which was connected by a single door, to make sure she was sleeping properly in the dim light. When she put her face close to her, she could hear her breathing peacefully.
Hermina wanted to see her sleeping face, but it would be a disaster if she woke her up, so she held back.
She walked back to her husband’s place, said good night to him, and went to sleep.
She closed her eyes, but she couldn’t seem to sleep.
She didn’t know if it was a habit or not. Throughout the night, her sleep had been shallow. It was partly because she was worried about her daughter.
After spending about an hour of sleeplessness, she was dozing off when her daughter suddenly started crying.
”…Well, well, Lyrie, what’s wrong?”
She whispered dryly and tried to get up, but the door to her room opened.
Her husband arrived before she did and began to stroke their daughter.
She put all her strength into her arms and tried to get to her daughter, but she couldn’t get up. In the meantime, her husband walked out of the bedroom with their daughter who was crying loudly.
Oh, her body can’t keep up with her feelings.
She apologized in her heart to her husband and fell asleep.
What a shame.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Her husband ended up taking care of their daughter the most last night. She could only say that it was pathetic.
Her husband, who was suspected to have slept little, went to work with a smile on his face, not showing any fatigue.
Hermina saw him off with heavy makeup to hide her complexion.
Today, Helk-onee-sama came to see her daughter.
It had been a long time since they had tea together.
Hermina loved when her sister and her daughter were in the cradle. The two of them loosened their cheeks in a cute little way.
The maidservant would bring them tea and sweets and they would take a seat and rest.
Her sister asked her if things were going well with her husband.
She couldn’t give her a clear answer. She asked Hermina why, and she decided to tell her what happened last night.
“-and so, I’ve been very annoyed with my husband because of my poor judgment.”
“Hermina-san, that’s not a good idea.”
“Eh, yeah. I’m sorry for what I did.”
Hermina learned yesterday that if she tried to do too much, she could be a pain in the ass to those around her.
So, she was going to ask her nanny to take care of her at night.
“That would be wise.”
“Yeah.”
Helk-onee-sama said she should do something to apologize to her husband. What in the world was she supposed to do?
“Give him a gift to commemorate the event.”
“I think it will be my husband’s birthday soon.”
“So, why don’t you host a birthday party?”
Her husband’s birthday was a week later, she thought.
A birthday party. Well, that sounded good.
“There’s not much time to prepare though, so it’s going to be just a small family affair.”
“That’s enough. I’m sure he’ll be very pleased.”
Prepare a gift, have them cook a feast, decorate the room with flowers….
The more Hermina thought about it, the more Isheenjoyed it.
“Thank you, Helk-onee-sama,”
“Yes, I’m happy to help.”
She declared that she would do her best for her husband.
Finally, her sister squeezed her hand.
“Hermina-san,”
“Yes?”
“Do me a favor. … Show your respect and gratitude to Erich-san every day. And please, please cherish him. Don’t take it for granted that he is there for you…”
“Eh, yeah, I get it.”
Hermina responded to her sister’s unprecedentedly serious manner, and had to respond with a revised attitude as well.
Well, she kept that in mind, and decided to start preparing for the birthday party right away.