Chapter 30

Their pleasant laughter caused Enria’s eyes to widen slightly as she entered the room.

She blinked rapidly, seeing Caldeon seated on the sofa, holding Hayden and smiling more brightly than ever before.

“Ah, you’re here?”

Caldeon greeted Enria with a still-smiling face.

“Um-mma, um-mma.”

Hayden also babbled towards Enria, as if asking if she had arrived.

“I would have made a wasted trip if I had gone to your office first.”

Enria said as she sat down on the sofa opposite Caldeon.

She had intended to go to his office to find him for a serious conversation after finishing her chat with Roseanne.

But she had come up to the room first, feeling she should see Hayden.

“I came here because I had something to discuss with you, but I got caught by Hayden.”

Caldeon gently kissed Hayden’s head, who was continuously murmuring “Um-mma-mma” toward Enria in his arms.

Enria quickly blinked her eyes again, seeing Caldeon, who seemed to be especially fond of Hayden.

“I also have something to say.”

“Yes.”

“Could you please give Hayden to me first?”

When Enria spoke, holding out her arms toward Hayden, Hayden also reached out his arms to her and tried to get out of Caldeon’s embrace.

Caldeon felt a little disappointed as he handed Hayden over to Enria.

He had secretly hoped that since the child usually clung to him in front of others, he might refuse to go to Enria.

Of course, since a baby loving its mother most is an absolute, unchanging rule, the possibility of that happening was close to zero.

Caldeon stared intently at Enria, who was holding Hayden, kissing his chubby cheek, and quietly asking him what they had played and if he was hungry.

Just watching the two of them seemed to bring a sense of peace and a pleasant satisfaction.

He never imagined that the anticipation that Hayden might be his child would generate such a strong emotional reaction.

Caldeon’s lips naturally curled up, feeling a sense of fulfillment as if he were already looking at his wife and his child.

Enria wiped the drool from Hayden’s lips, which was there from laughing so much, with her hand and looked at Caldeon.

“Did something good happen?”

Considering the laughter she heard even before entering and the way he was smiling at her and Hayden now, Enria asked, sensing he seemed particularly happy today.

Caldeon shrugged his shoulder once in response to her question and answered.

“Well, is it because Hayden is so cute and you are still beautiful today?”

At that, Enria immediately frowned and said,

“What’s with the slyness? It doesn’t suit you.”

“Haha, really? I thought it suited Blizzan quite well.”

“Surely you weren’t trying to imitate Lord Blizzan…”

Swoosh.

Suddenly, Blizzan appeared at the name that came out of Enria’s mouth.

He was in his human form.

“Hmm?”

Blizzan’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

“What is it?”

Caldeon frowned at Blizzan, showing his displeasure.

At that, Blizzan frowned, as if feeling wronged, and said to Caldeon,

“What do you mean? I was summoned because I was called.”

‘Ah, a mistake.’

Enria cautiously bit her lower lip.

Since she learned that any spirit whose name she spoke would be summoned unconditionally, she had tried her best not to speak the spirits’ names, but she had momentarily forgotten.

“When did I call you…”

Suddenly, Caldeon’s gaze turned toward Enria.

Blizzan also turned his head to look at Enria and let out a small “Ah.”

Seeing her with her lips tucked in, both of them realized that Blizzan’s summoning was because of her.

“I’m sorry. I kept trying to be careful not to say the names, but…”

“It’s something I’ve experienced before, but it’s still surprising.”

Blizzan chuckled and shook his head at Enria’s apology.

Looking at him, Blizzan shrugged his shoulder and said to Enria, who wore a sorry expression.

“Well, isn’t this also the will of the gods to protect the owner of the oracle? It’s fine, call me whenever you want. Ah, except, of course, when I’m eating, trying to sleep, resting, or tired.”

He said to call him whenever she wanted, but the times to avoid calling him covered most of the day.

It was confusing whether he really meant to call him or not.

“Wouldn’t it be less brazen to just honestly say not to call you?”

Caldeon, who seemed to have the same thought as Enria, said, raising one eyebrow.

Blizzan laughed softly at that and turned his head to look at Hayden, who was nestled in Enria’s arms.

Hayden was staring intently at him with black eyes similar to Caldeon’s.

“So, can this one summon me too?”

When Blizzan asked with bright eyes, curious about the situation, Hayden babbled as if answering.

“Bwi-dya.”

“…”

“Bwi-da-aa.”

Blizzan, who had been listening to Hayden’s repeated babbling, eventually turned his head to look at Caldeon and said, “It would be good to teach this fellow human language quickly.”

“He’s not old enough for that yet.”

“Since he’s the owner of the oracle, shouldn’t he be faster than an ordinary human?”

At Blizzan’s words, Enria looked down at Hayden.

She was worried that he might be a little slower than an ordinary human, not faster.

Chavel, who occasionally read books on childbirth and parenting and often sought advice from servants with children, had said that fast children at this age usually knew a couple of frequently used words.

Furthermore, his walking was even slower than his language.

Perhaps because he had been carried so much since they were in the Spirit Village, Hayden only started taking small steps well after the time for walking had passed.

Of course, since the developmental stages of children cannot all be the same, it was something to patiently wait for, but as a mother, she couldn’t help but worry about the parts where her child lagged behind others.

“We still don’t know whether the owner of the oracle is Enria or Hayden, or both.”

Caldeon said to Blizzan, tilting his head slightly.

Blizzan shrugged in response.

“If he isn’t the owner of the oracle, then he’s the child born to the owner of the oracle, isn’t he? Either way, he should be faster than an ordinary human.”

“Please discard the prejudice that the owner of the oracle must be outstanding from a young age. On the contrary, children who are late starters sometimes grow up to be geniuses. Furthermore, our Hayden has only been born for a year.”

When Enria suddenly interjected and spoke to Blizzan, Caldeon looked at her with slightly widened eyes.

He looked like he wanted to say something, moving his lips, but eventually agreed with Enria’s words and nodded.

“That’s right. The genius I know was similar. He couldn’t speak well until he was six, so everyone thought he was an idiot, but later he became a genius illusionist.”

Enria’s eyes widened, thinking of Tearen, the genius illusionist who came up after Caldeon’s words, and she asked him,

“Lord Tearen?”

Then Caldeon frowned severely and looked at Enria.

“Why are you calling that fellow by his first name? Did you perhaps meet that damned fellow?”

“Pardon? No. Rose calls him that, so…”

“Don’t call him by his first name, Enria. I’m already putting up with you calling Rahar by his first name.”

At that, Enria blinked her eyes widely.

‘No, if I don’t call people by their first names, what should I call them? And he’s putting up with me calling Rahar by his first name—what is he putting up with exactly?’

Feeling dumbfounded, she let out a sigh that was close to a scoff, and Caldeon spoke as if he had read her mind.

“Call him by his surname. His surname is Gradei. It would be good if you called Rahar ‘Kaznaren’ while you’re at it.”

Caldeon added that she should avoid calling any man other than him by their first name, then raised an eyebrow at Blizzan, who was looking at him with a grin.

“What.”

“Just tremendous jealousy, that’s all.”

“Shut up.”

“But what to do? We, whom your woman calls, don’t have surnames like humans.”

“You aren’t human in the first place, so it doesn’t matter whether you are male or female.”

Caldeon scoffed, and Blizzan brightened his eyes, saying, “Oh?”

“Then, if I get close to your woman…”

“Go back, Blizzan.”

Instantly, Blizzan vanished at Caldeon’s command.

As soon as Blizzan disappeared, he looked at Enria and said, “From now on, if you absolutely must call a spirit, call Eva or Rahar’s wind spirit.”

“Is that because they are both female spirits?”

“Yes.”

“You just said it didn’t matter whether they were male or female.”

“It doesn’t matter, but since they are also male, it is better not to get close to them.”

‘That means it does matter.’

Enria’s eyes narrowed.

“So, what did you want to talk about? I also have something I need to discuss with you.”

“Ah, just a moment.”

At Caldeon’s words, Enria pressed the gold bell on the table to summon Chavel.

When Chavel entered, Enria handed Hayden to her and said, “I need to have a conversation with Caldeon for a moment, so please look after Hayden.”

“Yes, Lady Enria.”

“Hayden, will you play with Chavel for a little while?”

Enria spoke soothingly to Hayden, who was meekly being held by Chavel. Hayden leaned his head deep into Chavel’s embrace and let out a short sigh.

His expression seemed to say that he didn’t want to leave but felt he had to for his parents’ conversation, which made Enria’s lips curl up on their own.

After Chavel took Hayden and left, Enria looked at Caldeon.

“You speak first.”

“Very well. What I want to talk about is Hayden.”

“…Yes.”

She too had sought him out to somehow make him realize that Hayden was his child, so she was pleased to hear Caldeon wanted to talk about Hayden.

If he asked about the reason Hayden used black magic, she planned to give him as many hints as possible to let him know he was the child’s father.

“Before that, there’s a crucial point we need to establish.”

At Caldeon’s words, Enria nodded once and said,

“Yes, please speak.”

Caldeon watched Enria silently for a moment, then cautiously asked her, “Have you ever spent the night with a man other than me?”