"Y-yes, that is right! Lian, would a different color ribbon be okay?"

"A different one?"

Lian tilted his head, then rummaged through his pocket and pulled out several ribbons.

"These?"

"..."

Pink.

It had somehow gotten worse.

Out of all the options, why that one?

Qiong Xing fell silent, while Rohen looked apologetic.

"...Let us stick with red after all."

Realizing there was no escape, Qiong Xing gave up.

Lian smiled brightly and held out the red ribbon, and Qiong Xing gently patted his head.

"...By the way, I just realized, why does this child call you Mama?"

Ah, he had forgotten to explain.

The shock of the ribbon had been so great that no one had questioned it until now.

"I gave birth to this child."

"What?"

Qiong Xing said it so casually that not only Rohen, who had asked, but also Sergei and Narka, who had been listening nearby, were stunned.

If it had been someone else saying it, Qiong Xing would likely have reacted the same way.

"Various things happened, and I gave birth to this child. So to this child, I am what you would call Mama."

"..."

They were left speechless.

There was little point in saying anything more to the three who had fallen silent.

After finishing their greetings, Qiong Xing picked up Lian and began heading home with Katarina and the others.

"...Should he not have said it?"

The shock they experienced must have been considerable.

However, Qiong Xing did not regret giving birth to the children, nor did he feel it was something shameful, so he had no desire to hide it.

That was also because they were people who had always treated him well.

"No. You are a proud Mama to those children. There is no need to hide anything. Hold your head high."

"That is right. If those fools say anything, come tell us. We will show them a hell far worse than today."

Sarin and Katarina laughed softly, and though it was somewhat frightening, Qiong Xing felt happy and grateful to be cared for so deeply.

...

"I gave birth to this child."

"Various things happened, and I gave birth to this child. So to this child, I am what you would call Mama."

He could not process it.

He almost said it must be some kind of joke, but seeing Qiong Xing smile sadly and walk away, he could not bring himself to say it.

Several days had passed since then.

He continued his work as usual, yet that moment lingered constantly in the back of his mind.

He had not even realized it until Rohen brought it up.

But thinking back, that child had called Qiong Xing Mama from the very beginning.

It had sounded so natural, and Katarina and the others had simply accepted it, eating together without question.

Yes, nothing had felt strange.

Even knowing that Qiong Xing was a man, the way he cared for the child with such tenderness felt so natural, like that of a loving mother, that it never seemed out of place.

"I am coming in."

As he kept turning the unresolved thoughts over in his mind, a carefree voice interrupted, and the man entered without waiting for a response.

"I do not recall giving permission."

"And I do not recall asking."

He cursed the old man inwardly, and with a small clink, a familiar little bottle was placed on the desk.

As he reached out toward it, something he was beginning to feel he could not afford to lose—

"Hold it right there. I have not received payment yet. You will need to sign this first."

Payment?

Qiong Xing had never once asked Sergei for money before.

"...An invoice? What does this mean?"

He had no memory of ever writing such a thing.

Those candies had always been something Qiong Xing made for Sergei, and in return, he had been asked to look after the prince.

There had been no contract involved, only mutual trust as friends.

"I will not be charging you. Qiong Xing said he would pay."

That was not the issue.

Why was there even a payment involved in the first place?

Even if there were, it should have been Sergei who was charged, not Qiong Xing.

More importantly, it made no sense for Qiong Xing to suddenly bring this up now.

"Explain."

"Is that how you ask someone for something? Well, I am not exactly satisfied either, so I suppose I can tell you. I got word from Sarin yesterday. Qiong Xing said he wanted to request that I make the usual candies for you."

"...Why?"

Qiong Xing had always made them himself.

There was no reason to suddenly ask Mr. Paulo to do it instead.

"He said you might not like it."

Not like it?

Sergei did not understand what that meant.

A deep sigh escaped Paulo as he looked at Sergei’s furrowed brow.

"It seems you heard about the child."

"..."

The words struck directly at what had been weighing on his mind, leaving him unable to respond.

"I only heard it from Sarin, but apparently Qiong Xing thought you might distance yourself from him because of it, so he asked me to make them in his place."

It did not make sense.

Why would he distance himself from Qiong Xing?

"Because he gave birth to that child even though he’s a man. He thought you might find that unpleasant and wish to keep your distance."

Mr. Paulo explained, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"...I do not think that at all. I was just... a little confused."

Yes, that was all.

He had simply been unsettled by something unfamiliar.

The thought of denying Qiong Xing’s character or personality had never even crossed his mind.

Nor did he have any intention of severing their connection over something like that.

"Then you should tell him that yourself. It seems the boy had already resigned himself to the possibility that you might distance yourself because of this. Even so, he still asked me to make the candies for you out of concern."