"That was a joke, right?"

​"The orphanage part may have been, but my impression of kids is the same. But do you like kids?"

​Quash’s response made Gabriella go quiet for a moment. Her smile slowly disappeared.

​"...Yes. I do. But there are no children back home and the ones that are there are too respectful to me..."

​She said with a small voice. Quash could feel her emotions this time clearly. She liked kids so much that she wasn’t averse to having one for herself, even though she was so young.

​’Holy hell! Isn’t she like 18!? How does she want kids at such a young age while my combined 30-plus age is still in the beginner phase!? Am I the problem for not liking kids at my age!?’

​"What stupid thing are you thinking again, dummy?"

​Gabriella said with a bonk on Quash’s head, which made him come out of his sudden panic of being an abnormal entity.

​"Liking children or not is purely based on personality. It has nothing to do with anything else. I like children no matter how annoying they are. You don’t like them because they can be annoying. Which is fine. If—just if—I actually end up pregnant, then I will take care of the child and make sure that it doesn’t bother you."

​Gabriella said with a serious face. And her emotions were crystal clear as well. But she really thought that if he ever became a father, he would bunk all responsibility and run away because they are annoying. He wanted to laugh so hard at that but realised it wasn’t the moment.

​But he couldn’t hide his emotions from her because of their evolving bond. She knew that he wanted to laugh for some reason. She grumbled, feigning extreme anger, and she tried to hit his head again.

​"Ay! Ay! Ay! No matter how strong you are, husband beating is still not allowed!"

​He said when he caught her hand. Her eyes were wide, wondering if she had pissed him off or something. She couldn’t feel his emotions; he was blocking her from feeling them. She felt her heart skip a beat for no reason.

​Quash pushed himself up and pushed Gabriella back, making her fall back. Because of that, his member came out of her as well.

​He pinned her beneath him with a smug smile, like a villain preying on an innocent Princess. He towered over her body.

​She was looking at his face like she was possessed.

​Quash leaned closer and inhaled her scent with a deep drag of air.

​"You need to be taught a lesson."

​He whispered into her ear. His warm breath sending chills down her spine. She knew what was about to happen. Her heart started to beat faster involuntarily. Her lower region trembled in anticipation.

​Waiting for her husband’s strength to fill it to the brim.

​Without making her wait, Quash entered her once again. Gabriella bit on his neck involuntarily. Not to drink blood, but the pleasure was so great that it made her eyes roll back. She was still sensitive from their day-long encounter.

​But blood flowed into her mouth regardless of her intentions, and the pleasure shot up a notch.

​They continued their lovemaking until midnight, until both of them lay on the bed, breathing heavily. Tired but satisfied.

​They lay separated from each other, but Gabriella scooted closer to him and snuggled into his embrace, wanting to feel his warmth. She was a creature of the night. She especially didn’t like warm places. All her clothes had temperature-regulator Formations on them, making sure she would always feel the same temperature she liked.

​But Quash’s body heat was something she came to involuntarily love. Another feeling she wasn’t familiar with, which she didn’t hate either.

​It was like she was rediscovering herself. She was getting to know sides of her she never knew existed.

​Quash turned to her and pulled her even closer. Both rested their heads on one pillow, gazing into each other’s eyes and getting lost.

​Getting closer without them knowing, they started kissing. They just cuddled and kissed. Both of them were very tired. It was a very impressive feat that they lasted this long at their level.

​"Quash. Let’s have tons of children after we graduate."

​Gabriella suddenly spoke between their kisses. They paused. Quash looked at her face for any insincerity but he could feel that she was being sincere.

​He also pulled off the blockade he had previously put on just to tease her a bit. And it was worth it.

​He got to know that she cared about his opinion and he wanted to show that he cared about her opinion as well.

​"Are you sure? By the time we graduate, we will be a lot stronger. And conceiving will become a lot harder. And we are already from different races. Mixed-race children are already notoriously rare because of the DNA mismatch. Are you sure?"

​Quash asked to make sure. If things came to it, both of them could drop out to take care of the children. He had no problem with it.

​Gabriella felt his sincerity and smiled sweetly.

​"Yes. I’m more than sure. Right now, we both need to focus on getting stronger."

​Gabriella said, her voice sweet and full of tenderness. Her flat voice was nowhere to be seen. Quash smiled as well. He felt the same. Parenting at this stage would be highly disadvantageous for them.

​"Is this your choice or is it because of me?"

​"No. I thought it through. And even if we can’t have children of our own, then we can just adopt one!"

​She said with determination. Quash chuckled at her response. He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear with a fond smile.

​"If we have to adopt a child when I have such a beautiful wife, I might as well hand over my proud man card."

​Quash said as he wrapped himself around Gabriella’s body. She looked confused for a moment before she got what he meant and she blushed hard. She wrapped her arms around him as well and buried her face into his chest. Feeling shy but good at the same time.