Chapter 10
“W–Wait…! You’re taking her to the Grand Duke’s Castle?!”
Rahar took a step forward, shouting in disbelief.
“She’s my woman. I’ll be taking her back.”
“Caldeon, but bringing Enria to the Grand Duke’s Castle is—!”
“Since when,”
Caldeon cut him off, turning his gaze toward Rahar.
No—he wasn’t just looking. He was glaring at him, his expression so cold and sharp it sent a chill through the air.
“Since when did you start calling my woman by name so freely?”
Rahar fRosee for a moment at Caldeon’s words, then regained his composure and replied in a steady voice,
“When was she ever your woman, Caldeon?”
Just as Caldeon was about to snap, Enria frowned and spoke to him instead.
“You abandoned me, and now you show up acting like this?”
At her words, Caldeon’s cold glare shifted from Rahar to her.
“I didn’t abandon you.”
“You did.”
“I hid you. There were plenty who wanted you dead because of my marriage.”
“Thanks to that, I nearly got killed by someone from the Tower.”
All color drained from Caldeon’s face at that.
He hadn’t even considered that the ones who’d attacked her might have been from the Magic Tower, not Count Dalbreon’s side.
Because of that oversight, his so-called protection had been careless—and it had nearly cost her life.
“When the mansion caught fire, it was Rahar who saved me.”
“……”
“If it weren’t for him, I would’ve burned to death in Groen’s flames.”
Caldeon turned toward Rahar at that.
“I wasn’t informed of that.”
He growled lowly, and Rahar’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“If you’d just told me where Enria was, it wouldn’t have taken this long.”
Rahar clenched his fists and shouted back, “You were supposed to be busy preparing for your wedding!”
“……!”
“You were about to become my sister’s husband—how could I tell you to abandon the ceremony and come running here?”
Enria turned toward Rahar, startled.
For over a year, she’d thought Caldeon’s silence meant he’d forgotten her.
That he was happily enjoying married life with Roseanne, too busy to even remember she existed.
Every time she saw Hayden’s face, she was reminded of him, missing him, hurting because of him.
But now—Caldeon had been looking for her all along.
And Rahar had deliberately kept her hidden.
The man who’d helped her hadn’t done it out of kindness—he’d done it to protect his sister’s “happy marriage” from a potential scandal.
A bitter realization.
Enria let out a quiet sigh before she could stop herself.
‘Well… I shouldn’t be upset. Thanks to Rahar, I learned plenty about runes and even how to draw summoning circles.’
As she thought that, her eyes drifted toward Hayden, laughing carelessly as he stuck his hand into Windel’s mouth.
Then suddenly—Caldeon grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
Her eyes went wide in shock.
“I’ll be taking my woman.”
“Caldeon!”
“Graum.”
In an instant, a gigantic turtle-like creature appeared before them—its size rivaled Windel’s, though its face bore a faint resemblance to a dragon’s.
[It’s been quite some time since I’ve visited another spirit’s village.]
Graum’s deep voice rumbled as it looked around.
“Open the gate. We’re returning to the Grand Duke’s Castle.”
“Caldeon!”
Enria’s eyes widened.
She already knew—ever since her pregnancy—that to leave the Spirit Village, the “door” had to be opened by Lonn, the earth spirit.
Graum was of earth too, but his form was so different that she couldn’t help but stare.
Then Rahar shouted, “Roseanne is at the Grand Duke’s Castle!”
“And?”
“And?! You’re out of your mind—dragging your mistress back into the castle where your wife lives?!”
At his words, Enria looked at Caldeon.
He was already married to Roseanne.
If she returned to the Grand Duke’s Castle now, it would only repeat the original story—where she died a tragic death.
Even Rahar’s desperate objection showed how dangerous this path was.
Maybe if she didn’t anger Roseanne, she could avoid that ending.
After all, she’d grown quite close to Rahar lately, thanks to his help.
‘But still, with Hayden here… I can’t go back to living branded as his mistress.’
Though honestly, “mistress” wasn’t even inaccurate—she’d shared a bed with him before his marriage, and she’d borne his child.
To Roseanne and her circle, that was exactly what she was.
“I’m perfectly sane.”
“Caldeon!”
Rahar shouted again, but Caldeon ignored him and turned his gaze back to Enria.
“Let’s go home, Enria.”
“Home? Did you not hear Rahar? Your wife is at the castle—”
“I’ll speak with the Grand Duchess.”
“‘Speak with her’? You think words will fix this?”
“They will.”
His curt tone made Enria’s face twist in anger.
“A married man with this much confidence—how shameless can you get?”
Caldeon’s brow furrowed in irritation.
“I’m done letting my woman live out here like this. Enough. We’re going home.”
“Enough—?!”
The word made Enria flare up, but before she could shout again, Caldeon looked to Windel.
“Windel, take the child.”
[Understood.]
With that, Windel promptly clamped Hayden gently in his mouth and vanished.
In his place appeared a round portal, shimmering faintly.
“Ha—Hayden!”
Enria’s eyes went wide.
Before she could think, she broke free of Caldeon’s hold and dove into the portal Windel had entered.
Everything went dark for a moment—then light flooded back in.
And when it did, she found herself in a familiar bedroom.
The room she had stayed in before she was abandoned.
Enria was back at the Grand Duke’s Castle.
***
“Well, well… they’re gone.”
As Enria and Hayden disappeared through the portal, Silri sighed.
“What the hell are you thinking, Caldeon?!”
Rahar shouted, grabbing Caldeon by the collar.
Caldeon’s eyebrow twitched. Then he smacked Rahar’s hand away with a sharp crack and spoke in a chilling voice,
“This isn’t your concern. I’ll explain things to the Grand Duchess. You stay out of it.”
“What?”
“The child of prophecy is safer with me than here.”
Rahar’s face twisted.
“Well, that’s true enough,”
Silri said, crossing her arms.
“This place can still be accessed by those Tower bastards. My home’s high up, so it’s relatively safe—but if the Tower starts actively searching the Spirit Village for Enria and Hayden, they’ll find them sooner or later.”
Caldeon frowned, puzzled.
“And why are you calling Enria by name?”
“Oh, I may have shared some of my power with her.”
That made Caldeon’s brow crease slightly.
“Anyway, she’ll face plenty of trouble because of that child. She can protect herself to a point—but with you helping, she’ll be much safer.”
“……”
“So take good care of Enria and Hayden.”
“Silri!”
Rahar shouted, his voice rising in protest, but Caldeon was already turning toward the portal Graum had made.
“Of course.”
He said it in a low, steady voice—and stepped through.
***
Enria didn’t even take a moment to take in her old room.
She immediately looked around for Hayden.
He was sitting on the sofa by the window, glancing around curiously at the unfamiliar surroundings.
Windel was crouched before him, grooming itself like a cat.
“Hayden!”
Enria ran over and scooped him into her arms, frantically checking him for any marks or injuries.
[I do not harm the child of prophecy.]
Windel spoke calmly, as if to reassure her.
Just as he said, there wasn’t a single scratch on Hayden’s body.
Only then did she let out a breath of relief.
“You can go now, Windel.”
Then Caldeon appeared, striding toward her as he ordered Windel away.
At his command, Windel vanished in an instant.
Hayden reached out toward the spot where Windel had been and whined softly.
“It’s all right, Hayden,” Enria murmured, patting his back.
“You’re quite used to holding him, I see.”
Caldeon sat across from her, watching.
Enria shot him a cold glare, and he met it unflinchingly.
His gaze soon drifted to the child.
Caldeon studied Hayden, one eyebrow lifting in faint displeasure.
“I wish he’d taken after you more.”
“……”
“He looks rather arrogant.”
Enria’s brow furrowed deeply.
‘That’s because he looks exactly like you, idiot.’
The resemblance was uncanny—anyone could see it but him.
“In any case, I’ll find the boy’s father and kill him myself.”
‘There it is again.’
The same nonsense—him having to die by his own hand. It was beyond absurd at this point.
“So don’t even think about going back to that man.”
“……”
“I’ll stop you, no matter what it takes.”
‘Please do.’
She almost laughed bitterly.
Being back here—of all places—was torture enough.
If he was going to stop her from running, at least that meant she didn’t have to pretend to come back to him willingly.
‘Though once he realizes Hayden’s his own son, that attitude will vanish fast enough.’
Enria sighed quietly and hugged Hayden a little tighter.
Caldeon watched her for a while, then rose to his feet.
“First, we’ll see the Grand Duchess. Complicated as things are, she’s still the lady of the castle. She deserves to know you’re here.”
Her expression fRosee.
So he was going to parade her and her child before his wife—branding them as the mistress and the bastard.
The gall of him.
He was married, and yet stood there like a man with nothing to hide.
What in the world gave him that kind of confidence?
“I’m not living with you again.”
“……”
“You were the one who threw me out. Because you didn’t need me anymore, right?”
“I told you—I never abandoned you, Enria.”
“Call it what you want. You still kicked me out to marry another woman. And now—”
“Let’s discuss it after we meet the Grand Duchess.”
He turned toward the door as if the matter were settled.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
He paused, hand on the doorknob, glancing back at her.
“Don’t think that having power from a spirit means you can escape this place.”
Then he smirked—an infuriating, arrogant smirk—and said something that would make even a child roll their eyes.
“My spirit will win.”
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Torryy
The FL is not assetive enough and it’s grating on my nerves.