Chapter 16

Enria opened her eyes long past morning.

Hayden was still asleep, breathing softly, not yet awake.

Caldeon, who had slept beside them, was nowhere to be seen — she assumed he had gone straight to his office, as usual for a busy man.

As she slowly sat up, rubbing her still-heavy eyes, she wondered if Hayden might be hungry — and just then, the door opened quietly.

“Oh my, you’re awake already?”

It was Chavel, whom Enria hadn’t seen in a long time, looking slightly surprised.

“Chavel!”

Her voice rose involuntarily from delight, and Hayden stirred in her arms, blinking his eyes open.

“Ah, and Master Hayden’s awake too. It’s well past the time for his baby food — I was wondering what to do since he was still asleep. I’ll prepare it right away.”

Before they could exchange greetings or ask how each other had been, Chavel hurried downstairs to tell the kitchen to prepare Hayden’s meal.

Since she’d lost her memories, everything she knew about Hayden must have come from others.

Enria felt a pang thinking that Chavel no longer remembered the days when they had read books about pregnancy and childbirth together after she found out she was expecting.

Still half-drowsy, Hayden rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands. Enria lifted him up.

“Did you sleep well, Hayden?”

She pressed her lips to his forehead, smoothing his messy hair, and he whined softly.

“Abya, heh, abya.”

“Mm? Are you hungry? I’ll feed you soon. Just wait a little, okay?”

Enria carried the fussy Hayden out of bed, trying to soothe him, but he only clung to her neck and kept whining.

“Gone, abya. Abya Gone.”

“There isn’t any? You mean there’s no food? My poor baby, you must be really hungry. Just wait a bit — Chavel will be here soon…”

Bang.

Without knocking, Caldeon entered.

He looked perfectly neat, as if he had been up since early morning.

Facing his overly handsome face first thing in the morning was oddly refreshing and uncomfortable at the same time. Her brows knit instinctively.

“You’re awake.”

Striding toward her, Caldeon pressed a brief kiss to her forehead as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Startled, Enria’s eyes went wide, and Caldeon said calmly, “I was waiting so we could eat together. The child will need to eat too — let the servants take care of him and come down.”

“Pardon? No, I—”

“Abya, abya.”

At that moment, Hayden stretched out his short arms toward Caldeon and spoke the word he’d been repeating since he woke.

‘Wait… could it be…?’

When Caldeon effortlessly took Hayden into his arms, the boy wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and laughed brightly.

‘Abya… he wasn’t saying food, it was dad.’*

[*T/N: Hayden says 아뱌 (abya) when he means아빠 (appa) which is gibberish but Enria mistakes it as 밥 (bap), not sure how they sound similar to her but… yeah.]

Come to think of it, no one here called meals “bap” anyway — Hayden couldn’t have meant that.

‘He called him dad… how…?’

Enria’s face stiffened slightly.

Perhaps blood ties truly carried a pull—Hayden, who had never been treated especially tenderly by Caldeon, was still drawn to him so naturally.

‘If he were to mistake any grown man for his father, shouldn’t it be Rahar rather than Caldeon?’

Rahar had been the one to play with and care for Hayden since he was a baby, to the point the child could spend whole days with him even without Enria.

They had grown close—Rahar adored Hayden, and Hayden followed him everywhere.

Surely, if he ever came to understand the idea of a father, he would see Rahar as that figure rather than Caldeon.

But Hayden had never once called Rahar “appa.”

‘Well, it would’ve been awkward if he did—calling an unmarried man that would have caused all sorts of trouble.’

Still, this situation was hardly any less troublesome.

Whether it was the power of shared blood or something else, seeing Hayden adore Caldeon made her oddly uneasy.

She could already imagine the future—if Hayden were ever asked, “Do you want to live with your dad or your mom?”—would he answer “Dad”? The thought alone made her feel strangely sad.

“Ah, Your Grace.”

Chavel returned to announce that Hayden’s meal was ready, then fRosee when she saw Caldeon holding the boy. She bowed quickly.

Caldeon glanced at her briefly, his face composed, and gently patted Hayden’s back.

“You need to eat too, Hayden.”

Hearing his name from Caldeon’s lips for the first time made Enria’s eyes widen.

He carefully handed the boy to Chavel, who bowed again and hurried out.

Enria worried Hayden might cry in Chavel’s unfamiliar arms, but he only yawned, perfectly content.

‘Who did he inherit that easygoing nature from?’

Of course, she didn’t want him to become overly attached to her like most children did, but seeing how indifferent he seemed stung a little—as if she weren’t needed at all.

Still, it was a familiar ache, one she had often felt while living in the spirit village, so it faded quickly.

“Caldeon, were you the type to let just anyone hold you when you were little?”

She couldn’t help wondering if his childhood had been anything like Hayden’s.

At her question, Caldeon raised a brow immediately.

“Who would dare hold me?”

“……”

“I didn’t often let even my parents do so.”

“Ah.”

‘Yeah, I could’ve guessed that one.’

In her mind, she pictured a young Caldeon, brows furrowed in indignation as adults tried to scoop him up, his tiny face set in deadly seriousness.

It was so vivid she almost laughed — though she was glad Hayden hadn’t inherited that particular temperament.

“Anyway, let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

“You could’ve eaten first, you know.”

“I told you—I waited to eat with you.”

“But why bother? I mean, it’s practically lunchtime now… you could’ve at least woken me up instead of waiting—”

As she followed him out, muttering her mild protest, Caldeon suddenly stopped and turned toward her.

She halted too.

Because she wasn’t even tall enough to reach his shoulder, she instinctively tilted her head back to look up—and fRosee at the sight of his quiet smile.

It was a gentle, tender smile she had never seen before.

“W-Why are you smiling…?”

Her face burned crimson, and her head dropped automatically.

Above her, Caldeon’s low, pleasant laughter scattered softly through the air.

Thump.

Her heart pounded.

Just that single quiet laugh was enough to make her pulse race.

The sound filled her ears, overwhelming everything else, and she blinked rapidly, trying to steady herself.

“It sounds like nagging.”

“…?”

She looked up, confused, and he smiled — a smile full of warmth and affection.

“Which makes me happy, for some reason.”

“Who on earth feels happy being nagged at?”

“Maybe because it makes me realize you’re really back.”

Caldeon took her hand and started walking again.

She followed, flustered, saying, “For the record, I’ve never nagged you before.”

She didn’t know what the old Enria had been like, but ever since she’d possessed this body, she had always been careful with him.

And once she’d fallen in love, she’d only wanted to show her best side— always nervous in his presence.

She had laughed, cried, rejoiced, and despaired at his every word — falling deeper and deeper for him.

“Whatever it is, I like hearing you talk. Keep doing it.”

Because it sounds nice.

He murmured the last words almost under his breath and tightened his hold on her hand.

Enria couldn’t bring herself to look at him, lowering her gaze to the floor instead.

Her face felt so hot it might burst; she wished she had the power of wind to cool it down.

‘Wait — didn’t Silri share her wind power with me? Couldn’t I summon wind like Caldeon now?’

The thought flickered and vanished quickly.

Though she had learned much about magic, she hadn’t yet learned how to wield elemental powers directly.

‘I should ask Rahar next time I see him… Speaking of which, I wonder how he and the spirits are doing.’

The spirit village had felt almost like home—the place she had lived the longest since awakening in this world.

She decided she would visit with Hayden sometime soon.

Just then—

“Enria.”

A familiar voice called from a distance.

She turned instinctively—and there was Rahar, the very person she’d just been thinking of.

More precisely, he was looking at her hand, held tightly in Caldeon’s.

“Rahar!”

Her face lit up as she called out to him, but Caldeon’s grip on her hand tightened, forcing her gaze back to him.

“Why are you smiling like that—and at him, of all people?”

His expression and voice turned icy, sending a chill down her spine.

Then he shifted his cold gaze toward Rahar.

“The Grand Duke’s manor seems to have grown lax with its security.”

Rahar frowned and approached quickly, stopping before them.

“I have every right to be here.”

“Oh?”

Caldeon arched an eyebrow.

After a brief pause, Rahar replied, “I’m the Grand Duchess’s brother.”

Caldeon’s face stilled for a heartbeat before one corner of his mouth curled upward in a small, sharp smile.

“Ah, that’s right.”