The autumn sunlight shone on the fluffy ears, making what had appeared pitch-black like their father now gleam with a warm brown. The reflection cast a warm glow in those eyes, and the baby's unique cozy scent spread with the warmth.

*How can something be so small and light?*

Perhaps God accidentally dropped this creation while molding a person? How else could a human with so little blood and flesh exist?

"Awoo..."

Perhaps because I stopped moving, Peanut squirmed in my arms. Ten tiny, plump fingers wiggled impatiently. As if enchanted by those short, chubby demands, my arms began to move.

When I gently rocked the baby, a bright, silent smile returned to me.

The swelling had subsided day by day, and now, almost two months later, a cute face with plump baby fat had emerged.

Looking at that face, I found myself falling in love with the child all over again.

I'd been like this for thirty minutes already, but I wasn't tired at all. Rather, it felt like hidden strength was flowing through my body, giving me energy.

It wasn't just because Peanut was light.

At the same time, I felt the weight the child carried. The weight of being precious to so many people. There were plenty who would make a fuss if the baby got even the slightest scratch.

While I was happy the child was loved, I also felt sorry for Peanut.

It didn't seem right to me that expectations would pile up on a child who couldn't yet speak or walk.

Those shoulders were too small to bear such burdens.

I had mixed feelings about a child born carrying the radiance of their parents from birth.

There was no need to worry about that now. I really am someone who creates worries out of nothing.

A child both light and heavy.

When Peanut fell into my arms, a huge ripple spread through our home.

As is the way of all things in the world, larger and heavier objects create greater waves. The upheaval Peanut caused overturned relationships both big and small.

"Hazel, a little lower. Here, here, sit down while you do it."

Liya changed the most.

She had been strangely awkward during my pregnancy, but after Peanut was born, she acted like a completely different person.

The quiet child wrapped in a thin layer of gloom disappeared, and in her place emerged someone whose smile suited her age.

Her impression changed dramatically.

It was a transformation best described as "blooming brightly."

The way she perked up her ears and wagged her tail vigorously, acting as if only she and Peanut existed in the world.

I worried that I might have been just as obvious when dealing with Jiwoon.

There was one more person who revealed an unexpected side: Meredith.

During the not-so-short time staying at our house, Meredith had been secretly following Peanut with her eyes.

When offered to hold the baby, she would grumpily reply, "No, I'm fine," but eventually she would reluctantly take the child and her expression would melt.

To be honest, it was somewhat shocking.

The feeling of seeing an even higher level of intimacy from someone I thought was already showing me their greatest affection.

It's similar to thinking the maximum affection level was 100, but suddenly seeing it rise to 103—would that comparison convey my impression without loss?

She looked like a girl who had discovered love.

Though that love wasn't directed at Peanut, it was clear that Meredith's values had changed after witnessing the next stage of love beyond romance.

The reactions of others weren't particularly surprising.

Claire made all sorts of fusses and was quite noisy, while Elysia somehow seemed deeply moved, as if holding her own grandchild.

Despite being unmarried herself. Whether she was a well-prepared elderly person or simply born to be a grandmother—the way she gently rocked the baby to soothe them looked quite familiar.

And then there were four who showed behavior beyond what I could have expected.

"Ah, so it's a healthy boy? Congratulations. I wanted to come on the day itself, but at least I made it the next day..."

The minstrel Fey, who arrived a few days after the birth, his whole body creaking.

"Ah, I'm dying. Got anything to eat? Oh, Chosen of Knowledge, congratulations."

"Senior... Hah, I don't even have the energy to say anything."

And the two angels who showed up around the same time.

I don't know what happened behind my back, but the three of them who offered their belated congratulations looked utterly exhausted. It was truly puzzling.

And the remaining one was... Jiwoon.

From my perspective, Jiwoon was caught in complicated emotions.

Too gentle and delicate to be called jealousy, but certainly not purely warm feelings either.

When I caught a glimpse of that subtle emotional thread, I immediately understood what feelings held Jiwoon captive.

After all, I had once harbored the same feelings in my heart when carrying Peanut in my womb.

It was a strange discomfort. The creaking sound of an impurity entering a previously happy life, the inevitable irritation felt until new relationships settled into place.

Jiwoon didn't openly show jealousy toward the child, of course.

He would try to see Peanut's face at every opportunity, and then make a foolishly soft expression. He clearly loved the child, no doubt about it.

He was just confused by the disappearance of what had been normal everyday life.

Like when he woke up in the morning to find me away from his embrace, nursing Peanut. Or when he returned home from outside work to find me asleep in a chair with the baby in my arms instead of welcoming him. Things like that.

I understood those feelings completely.

To tell the truth, I felt the same way.

If I hadn't been tired from nursing throughout the early morning, I might have acted as visibly as Jiwoon did.

Because when I looked at the child's face, his face came to mind.

Then I would find myself wanting to see him, circling around him until I found an excuse to approach and speak to him, and sometimes deliberately taking care of the baby to provoke that jealous feeling.

We searched for traces of each other in our child.

It became a new stimulus for our relationship. If it had been spring, if there had been no child, perhaps passionate flames would have ignited.

Maybe they still could.

◆

They say time passes slowly when you feel new stimulation.

Autumn usually feels brief, passing by fleetingly, but this year it felt exceptionally long.

Just as crops ripen and fruits mature day by day, Peanut also grew so rapidly that the development was visible to the eye. Perhaps it was due to the characteristically fast growth of Beastfolk.

Thanks to that, by the middle of autumn now, the baby had become what one would typically imagine a child to be.

Smiling naturally, babbling, moving reflexively to loud sounds, holding their head up somewhat, and even recognizing my face and smiling sweetly when our eyes met.

It might sound obvious, but when you actually raise a child, it's not.

Is it really alive, or closer to a doll? How amazing and mysterious it was to watch this fragile creature, unable to do things I had taken for granted, gradually transform into a child. I found myself wishing once again that this wasn't the modern era. If possible, I would have captured the child's entire life on camera.

The baby who had sought milk day and night had filled out differently from when there was swelling. "Pleasantly plump" would be the perfect description.

"Hazel, you've put on quite a bit of weight."

And me too.

Struggling all night, carrying and rocking the baby all day, with everything I ate being sucked away by Peanut.

It wouldn't have been strange if I'd lost my appetite and become gaunt, but I was gaining weight just like Peanut.

It wasn't postpartum weight gain. The cause was clearly different.

"It must be autumn after all," Elysia said with a smile. We were enjoying light refreshments after a meal.

"That reminds me of the old days. When we first... well, not first met, but close to the beginning of our continuing relationship? Hazel was so cute then. Ah, she still is, of course."

"The way she couldn't control her instincts and searched for snacks was truly adorable."

Without anyone saying anything specific, Elysia's, Jiwoon's, and my gazes naturally turned toward Liya.

"...?"

This little glutton wasn't even hibernating yet, but she had stuffed her mouth full of nuts. Her small cheeks were puffed out completely.

*Come to think of it, hibernation.*

I'd been so busy that I'd momentarily forgotten, but it was already that time. Each day had felt long, but looking back, it had passed in an instant.

I took a sip of tea to wash down the crumbled cookie in my mouth.

"This winter, we'll need to prepare more thoroughly than last year. Last time was fine, but this year I'll be sleeping with Peanut too. Jun, can I count on you?"

"Of course. I'll prepare everything so you can rest much more comfortably than before, so don't worry."

"Having experienced it once, we should be able to do better this time."

A warm atmosphere surrounded us. I could feel everyone's determination to ensure Peanut wouldn't experience any discomfort during hibernation.

"Umm...?"

A small voice cut through that atmosphere.

"Will you sleep for a long time again?"

"Yes. Winter comes every year."

"Peanut too...?"

"Of course, naturally."

Upon hearing the answer, the small face turned pale. She apparently hadn't expected that babies would need to hibernate too.

"Hazel, can't you sleep alone?"

Liya wobbled over and tugged firmly at the hem of my clothes.

It was truly adorable, but I couldn't openly laugh at her.