Chapter 27

The hand of Caldeon, which was caressing Enria’s neck, moved toward her shoulder.

Surprised by this, Enria abruptly sat up.

“I-I really think it’s time to get up now.”

She quickly got out of bed, stepped back, and spoke, thinking that if she stayed any longer, she might melt completely under his touch.

Caldeon, who was staring intently at her, slowly sat up and ran his hand across his face, which was still heavy with sleep.

“I should wake Hayden up too.”

“Just leave him. He hasn’t been asleep for very long.”

Checking the grandfather clock on the wall, Caldeon said Hayden had only been asleep for about 20 minutes.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. He fell asleep while playing with my clothes the whole time.”

Caldeon nodded once in response to Enria’s question and looked down at the hem of his shirt, which was wrinkled because Hayden had been clutching it.

“It seems Hayden has a bit of separation anxiety.”

Caldeon raised his head and said this to Enria.

“Pardon?”

When Enria’s eyes widened in surprise, Caldeon raised his hand and continued.

“No, it’s not a very serious matter. It’s just that he doesn’t like to be separated.”

“Ah, I find that strange too…”

Enria nodded as if she understood what he meant, paused for a moment, and then looked at Caldeon and continued speaking.

“I think that’s only the case for you, Caldeon.”

“Hmm?”

“Hayden doesn’t tend to be shy, so he doesn’t particularly reject anyone he feels is safe. And he’s generally not very scared of being alone.”

Enria’s gaze went to the sleeping Hayden.

“But when it comes to you, Caldeon, something is different.”

She said she had often seen Hayden cling tightly to Caldeon’s clothes, refusing to be held by others when he was with him, as if afraid Caldeon might leave him behind.

“I don’t know the reason why, but…”

“It seems he likes me.”

As Enria trailed off, unable to find an easy answer, Caldeon provided a simple reply.

“Since he is your child, I can understand why he would like me.”

“Understand what?”

When Enria asked, frowning slightly at Caldeon’s words, Caldeon shrugged again and said,

“Something like instinct.”

“So, what kind of…”

“You love me. So, your child also instinctively…”

“My heavens, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Enria interrupted Caldeon, dumbfounded.

“Does it make sense that just because I love you, Caldeon, Hayden loves you too?”

“Doesn’t it make sense?”

“Of course, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not some kind of guilt by association; hearts don’t just get passed down…”

“It’s certain that you love me.”

Caldeon nodded and continued.

“Well, that’s enough.”

Instantly, Enria’s face flushed bright red.

He had been casually spouting such ridiculous things, and it seemed he had only wanted to confirm this.

Caldeon, who had stretched his lips into a smile as if he had heard a satisfying answer, suddenly stopped smiling, cocked his head, and asked, as if something had just occurred to him.

“But why did you give birth to another man’s child?”

At that question, Enria’s face immediately twisted.

“Perhaps there was someone in my mother’s family who looked like me?”

The thought that Enria loved him made it impossible that she would meet another man, so he wondered if perhaps someone who looked like him had deceived Enria.

“If that fellow tricked you into mistaking him for me…”

“What kind of ridiculous thing are you saying?”

Enria’s face contorted in disbelief at Caldeon’s words.

She was baffled by the kind of mind that could conjure up such absurd fantasies.

“Why would I confuse you, Caldeon, with someone else? Furthermore, there couldn’t possibly be someone in this world who looks like you. God wouldn’t bestow such a handsome face on two people.”

Although Hayden, who looked exactly like Caldeon, was sleeping next to them right now, that was natural since Caldeon was the child’s father.

Of course, a child born to Caldeon’s parents might have a similar appearance, but unless they were twins, it would be difficult for that perfect face to be perfectly reproduced.

In the first place, Caldeon’s half-siblings all took after their father, with rounder features.

That’s why Enria had once seen his father and brothers who had visited the grand duke’s castle and thought he must resemble his mother.

“Does that mean, in your eyes, there’s no man cooler than me?”

“It’s not just in my eyes; it’s a reality. Your appearance, Caldeon, must look handsome not only to me but to everyone in this world.”

“I don’t care about the people of this world. I only need to look handsome to you.”

At Caldeon’s words, Enria’s face instantly burned hot.

The somewhat embarrassing, confession-like words made Enria’s heart pound.

Trying not to let her flushed face be seen, Enria turned her head away and said to Caldeon,

“Please, don’t harbor such hopes, as you are far from having a ‘pretty’ face.”

At that, Caldeon let out a soft, deep chuckle.

The extremely pleasing sound of his laughter made Enria’s face blush again.

“Enria.”

Caldeon called her name in a gentle voice.

As Enria slowly turned her head to look at him, Caldeon’s face, looking at her with an expression as affectionate as his gentle voice, filled her vision.

Her heart started pounding so loudly her ears hurt, and just as she felt her already hot face grow even hotter, Caldeon asked her, “So, is it really not someone from my mother’s family?”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean Hayden’s biological father.”

At that, Enria’s face instantly crumpled.

“If there is someone who uses the same black magic as me, it must be an unknown relative of my mother. Was it a man with the same surname as my mother? Ah, perhaps you don’t know my mother’s surname? My mother’s surname is…”

“You…!”

Enria yelled at Caldeon with a completely twisted expression.

“You! Idiot!”

Then, without looking back, she stormed out the door.

Caldeon, left alone, was wide-eyed in surprise.

‘…Idiot…?’

Just then,

“U-bwaa.”

Hayden woke up and grabbed the hem of Caldeon’s clothes, sitting up.

“Ah, did you wake up?”

Caldeon reflexively picked Hayden up and asked him.

Hayden rubbed his face against Caldeon’s shirt and mumbled something.

“U-bwa-oo. Oo-woong. Oo-boo-eu.”

Unable to understand the baby babble, Caldeon patted his back and headed towards the door.

“Yes, yes. You want to see Mommy?”

He provided his own plausible interpretation and left the room to find Enria, who had called him an idiot and run away.

“Where did your mother go?”

“Mommy.”

“Well, I don’t know either.”

As Caldeon checked the rooms and drawing rooms on the bedroom floor searching for Enria, he kept talking to Hayden and providing his own answers.

Having confirmed that Enria was not on the bedroom floor, he thought she might have gone to the Grand Duchess’s room and headed towards the stairs.

Walking down the corridor with long strides, Caldeon felt a little stifled and looked at Hayden in his arms, saying, “I am your father.”

“A-ppa.”

“There is no such thing as a biological father. You must remember that.”

“Bwaa-aa.”

“Even if you find out the truth later, remember that I am your only father.”

“A-ppa-ppa.”

As Hayden babbled continuously as if answering Caldeon’s words, Caldeon gently tapped his head and smiled.

“If you knew how to sign, I could turn this promise into a contract right now.”

Muttering quietly to himself, Caldeon’s eyes, as he looked at Hayden, were softened with affection.

“Caldeon said that?”

Roseanne’s eyes widened to the point of popping out when she heard Enria’s words.

Enria, frustrated by Caldeon’s endless ridiculous speculations, was sitting in the drawing room with a good view of the window.

Feeling parched, she had asked Chavel to bring her some cool tea and was staring blankly out the window when Roseanne entered.

Roseanne had been on her way to find Enria because she wanted to see Hayden, and seeing Enria sitting in the drawing room, she had come in.

“That’s right. In all my life, I’ve never met anyone with such a vivid imagination.”

“My goodness, so he could actually think that.”

She was simply amazed that he could be suspicious like that just because Hayden resembled him.

“Well, I guess I can understand why he might think that. Hayden also uses the same black magic that Caldeon is the only one to possess in the current generation.”

“…”

“Still, to think it might be his mother’s hidden family, I wouldn’t have thought of that at all.”

“I know, right.”

Enria sighed deeply and crossed her arms at Roseanne’s astonishment.

“But anyway, since Caldeon’s mother doesn’t have family, maybe he just asked that question?”

“She doesn’t have family?”

“Ah… you didn’t know?”

In response to Enria’s words, Roseanne said that she only found out herself when she looked at the records of the former Grand Duke’s family after becoming the acting Grand Duchess.

“Other families are the same, but the Jupiter family, in particular, keeps detailed records about their family members.”

According to Roseanne, Caldeon’s mother was the world’s only possessor of black magic and had no parents or siblings. And his father had found her in the Monster Forest when she was very young, lived with her, and she became his mistress.

“Ah…”

“Anyway, Lord Caldeon inherited his mother’s power, which is why he became the next Head of the Jupiter family, even though he is an illegitimate son.”

“Ah, yes.”

She knew this part well because it had appeared in the original story, and she had met Caldeon’s father and other children who had visited the Grand Duke’s castle shortly after she was transmigrated.

As Enria nodded, Roseanne also nodded once and continued.

“So, the important thing is that Lord Caldeon’s mother was a human found in the Monster Forest when she was very young, so she couldn’t possibly have parents or siblings.”

“Does Caldeon not know that?”

“He must know, surely? I believe the next head of the family is supposed to review, edit, and store the records concerning the former Head and their family.”

As Roseanne tilted her head and spoke, Enria’s brow immediately furrowed.

“He knows that, and he still imagines such things?”