Special case: When pranking goes wrong.

''...I have something to share with you three.''

Sitting solemnly before my three unofficial lovers, I spoke in a serious tone. Perhaps sensing that earnestness, they all focused their full attention on me, even though they usually fought with one another a bit with their gazes.

I took a few deep breaths.

Slowly, very slowly, I reached for something in my pocket, the other hand gently touching my stomach.

'''' ...! ''''

And, blushing, eyes to the side, I brought up the pregnancy test to my mouth. It should be showing two stripes, which meant...

''...I'm pregnant.''

Give it a brief yet nerve-wracking silence, and when I glanced at the three again, I barely held in a chuckle at how uniform their reaction was—round eyes, hanging mouths, and a lot of words clogged up.

''Um... so... what should we do now?''

It took a bit, but at that question, my beloveds finally snapped out of it. The first to give any sort of response was Rachael, who looked a bit lost.

''Do you know whose it is?'' She asked, grunting as if finding her own question absurd in the first place. ''Look, try to... search your memories.''

''I actually don't remember that much...'' I replied, feigning a troubled expression.

At this point, Penelope, who seemed a bit enthusiastic, chimed in, ''Cecilia, you and I only did it without protection a few times, and you said it was your safe day on every occasion, yes?''

''Ah, of course. That doesn't mean it couldn't happen at all, though...''

''So it could be my child, too,'' Rachael muttered.

Suddenly, a tense air fell between the two. Yet, as sparks flew when their eyes met, another person's mood drooped considerably. It was Kiara who began to sulk like a child without her Christmas present.

''I made sure to finish outside every time...'' She sighed.

That appearance of hers was just too much for me, so I quickly went over and silently consoled the royal princess, holding her hands and all.

''Don't worry, you can have the next one... maybe,'' I whispered.

''...Really?''

Ah, I was such an evil woman.

Another amazing thing was that despite my blatant flirting attempt, neither Rachael nor Penelope reacted to it. Instead, they were busy glaring at one another. It wouldn't be strange if a glove were thrown at any moment.

Still, as it was, there was no way to know if the child in my belly was Rachael's or Penelope's. Realistically speaking, whoever made it should have the best chances to take me as their wife first. An offspring was the best proof of love and bonding, after all.

''Ah, it could just be both, too.'' I unknowingly uttered.

'''' ... ''''

Wouldn't it be amazing if the child carried both Rachael and Penelope's genes?

''I wonder if we could add Kiara's now... is it too late?''

'''' ... ''''

Lost in that dream-like train of thoughts, I randomly snapped back to face three pairs of eyes intensely staring at me.

As expected, suddenly announcing something like this when our relationships hadn't been sorted out yet was not the best idea. I saw lots of emotions swirling around these three, ones that would take much longer to resolve, perhaps.

Well, it was still good as a joke, I suppose.

Maybe it was time to stop now. Um. Just a bit of fun on April Fool's, right?

''Guys, it's actually... a... joke...''

'''' ... ''''

In an instant, all three's expressions crumbled. Beyond disappointment, some sort of rage brewed up, and, of course, just by the looks of it, I would be the one getting 'punished' later on.