The next morning.
Rory stirred awake, still half asleep, when a hushed conversation drifted in from outside the door.
It sounded like Nix’s voice.
"Yuel, you... you..."
Outside the room, Nix stared at Yuel’s outfit in disbelief, his raised finger trembling as he pointed at him.
Mindful of Rory still sleeping inside, he deliberately lowered his voice.
"Rory is pregnant right now, and you’re actually dressed... dressed like that to seduce her. How can you do that?"
Seduce?
The word hit Rory like a splash of cold water.
Her sleepy mind instantly cleared.
She immediately turned toward the doorway.
The door hadn’t been fully closed. A narrow crack remained open.
Through it, Rory could clearly see Yuel standing outside in his sleepwear.
"Oh..."
She nearly swore out loud.
That shameless man had actually worn the sleepwear she bought him out into public.
How had he dared?
Rory abruptly sat up, causing the blanket to slide from her shoulders and reveal the matching black silk nightgown she was wearing.
The moment she realized Nix might suddenly walk in and see her dressed in the companion piece, panic shot through her.
She immediately dropped back onto the bed, yanked the blanket over herself, and wrapped herself up tightly from head to toe.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and continue pretending to sleep, she heard Jasper’s deliberately lowered voice.
"Yuel, under normal circumstances, it would be one thing. But Rory is carrying a baby now. You really shouldn’t be dressed like that."
Earlier, through the crack in the door, she had only seen Yuel and heard Nix speaking.
She had not expected Jasper to be there too.
Yuel really was fearless.
He was standing there dressed like that while facing both Nix and Jasper at the same time.
Outside the room, Yuel glanced down at his sleepwear.
Despite the accusations being directed at him, not a trace of embarrassment appeared on his refined, handsome face.
In a calm voice, he asked, "What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? Everything that should be covered is covered."
Nix fell silent.
Jasper fell silent as well.
Technically, Yuel wasn’t wrong.
The necessary parts were covered.
The problem was that everything else seemed even more noticeable.
Watching the corners of their mouths twitch, Yuel continued serenely.
"This outfit was a gift from Rory."
He paused briefly before adding,
"And she was the one who wanted me to wear it."
If he hadn’t sensed unusual activity outside the room first thing in the morning, he would not have come out before changing clothes.
Unfortunately, the moment he stepped outside, he ran straight into Nix and Jasper.
Truthfully, Yuel had no desire whatsoever to let anyone else see this outfit.
After all, it was matching sleepwear that Rory had personally bought for him.
The others didn’t have one.
"What?"
Nix stared at Yuel in shock, disbelief written all over his face.
"You’re saying Rory bought that for you?"
There was no way.
"I don’t believe you."
He shook his head vigorously.
"Rory is a respectable person. Even the clothes she wears are perfectly proper. There’s no way she’d buy something like that for you."
His gaze swept over Yuel’s outfit.
"Besides, your wardrobe doesn’t contain a single respectable piece of clothing."
In Nix’s opinion, Yuel had obviously bought it himself.
Now that everyone was calling him shameless, he was trying to drag Rory into it.
Not a chance.
Nix refused to believe it.
Jasper glanced at Yuel before calmly looking away.
Unlike Nix, he believed him.
After all, Rory had once given him a particularly... memorable set of sleepwear as well.
Noticing Jasper’s reaction from the corner of his eye, Yuel turned back to Nix.
"If you don’t believe me, you can ask Rory yourself after she wakes up."
"Fine."
Nix folded his arms.
"I’ll wait right here. The moment Rory wakes up, I’ll ask her personally."
Knowing Rory was still asleep, he did not dare enter and disturb her.
So he simply planted himself outside the room.
Yuel glanced at him, then checked the time on his communicator.
"It’s getting late."
He looked at Nix and said, "Why don’t you and Jasper go make breakfast for Rory first? Once she wakes up, I’ll send you a message, and you can come ask her directly."
Hearing that, Jasper also turned to Nix.
"Let’s go."
"We should prepare breakfast for Rory first."
He added calmly, "You wouldn’t want her to wake up hungry, would you?"
He wasn’t helping Yuel.
He simply knew something Nix didn’t.
The sleepwear Rory had bought was part of a matching set.
She was almost certainly wearing the matching set herself right now.
When she was alone with them, Rory could be surprisingly bold.
The moment more people were involved, however, her courage vanished.
Jasper was worried that if Nix stayed here and rushed into the room the moment he heard movement, Rory might not have enough time to change.
That would be incredibly embarrassing.
And Rory would definitely be mortified.
Nix glanced at the partially open door and finally nodded.
"Fine."
Breakfast for Rory was more important.
As for the sleepwear, he could always ask about it later.
And if Rory really had given it to Yuel, then he was absolutely going to ask for one too.
Though, knowing Rory, he probably would not even have to ask.
She had always been fair.
If Yuel had one, then surely he would have one too.
Once Jasper and Nix left, Yuel turned around and quietly pushed open the door.
Inside, Rory lay on the bed with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
The door clicked softly shut behind him.
Yuel walked to the bedside and glanced at her.
Just as he was about to quietly climb back into bed, Rory suddenly opened her eyes.
"Yuel, you’re awake."
Her gaze still carried the hazy confusion of someone who had only just woken up.
She looked at him and asked, "Why are you standing there?"
As she spoke, she crooked a finger at him.
His Rory’s acting skills were getting better and better.
Suppressing a smile, Yuel leaned closer.
"What is it, Rory?"
The moment he got close enough, Rory shot forward and wrapped an arm around his neck.
Yuel raised a brow.
For a moment, he had thought she intended to steal a kiss.
Instead, she had gone straight for a chokehold.
"Rory, are you using me as part of your morning workout?"
Yuel allowed her to keep her arm around his neck, his expression filled with indulgence and affection.
"Though if you’re going to do this, won’t that position be uncomfortable for you?"
He lowered his voice slightly.
"Maybe we should switch to a more comfortable one."
"Be quiet."
Rory lowered her head and lightly bit his ear.
Yuel’s breath caught.
His long fingers instantly tightened around the bedsheet beneath him.
"Rory, don’t..."
His voice turned strained.
"I was wrong."
Morning was already difficult enough without this.
"And what exactly were you wrong about?"
Rory shot him a look.
Yuel answered obediently.
"I shouldn’t have let Jasper and Nix see what I was wearing."
The moment Rory had awakened, he had known.
He simply had not exposed her act because he wanted to play along.
"You knew that, and yet you still walked out wearing it?"
Rory honestly admired him.
How thick was this man’s skin?
"Rory, you’re truly wronging me this time."
Yuel looked innocent.
"I never intended to walk outside dressed like that. I’m not some kind of pervert."
He paused before explaining.
"A little while ago, I sensed unusual energy fluctuations outside the room, so I went out to investigate."
A helpless smile touched his lips.
"I didn’t expect to run into Jasper and Nix."
Rory’s expression immediately turned serious.
"Unusual energy fluctuations?"
She released him and sat up straighter.
"What happened?"
"There are probably some insectoids that slipped into the area."
Yuel’s tone remained calm.
"The fluctuation wasn’t particularly strong, so there shouldn’t be many of them."
He reached up and smoothed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Vangar already went after them. We should have an answer soon."
Rory nodded.
Then something suddenly occurred to her.
She immediately grabbed one of the dark blue ribbons around his neck.
"Did Vangar see your outfit too?"
A look of alarm appeared on her face.
Surely everyone in the household had not seen him dressed like this.
"Fortunately, no."
Yuel shook his head.
"By the time I went out, Vangar had already chased after the disturbance."
Rory instantly relaxed.
"Good."
She let out a breath.
"Do not let him see it."
She had never prepared a gift like this for Vangar.
After all, they had not officially become mates yet.
She still did not know him well enough to be certain how he would react.
The sleepwear Vangar had worn before had been nowhere near this daring.
Even the set she had given Jasper had not been nearly as bold as Yuel’s.
For a moment, Rory found herself wondering what Vangar’s expression would look like if he ever saw Yuel dressed like this.
The image was so vivid that she almost laughed.