Chapter 41

“What a relief.”

Enria grabbed both of Roseanne’s hands and rejoiced.

Roseanne smiled brightly back at her.

“I know. I thought Father would be more stubborn, so I’m really glad he consented so readily.”

Roseanne, who then added that Caldeon and Rahar probably put in a lot of effort behind the scenes, pulled her hands away from Enria’s grasp and hugged Enria’s neck.

“I’m so happy. To be able to stay by your side and watch Hayden grow up…”

“Get away from my woman, Lady Kaznaren.”

Just then, Caldeon’s sharp voice from behind Enria cut Roseanne off.

Enria instinctively turned her head, and her eyes met Caldeon, who was holding Hayden in one arm, his eyebrows twitching.

“Lord Caldeon, Hayden.”

As Enria flashed them a bright smile, Roseanne, who had been hugging Enria’s neck, released her arms and stepped back.

Then, she frowned at Caldeon, who was approaching Enria, and said, “Would you please not look at people like that? It’s really scary.”

“I don’t recall looking at the Lady in any particular way.”

Caldeon said, without even looking at Roseanne, as he immediately approached Enria’s side and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“I heard Hayden’s walking practice area is complete. Care to go see it together?”

When Enria asked, “Oh, really?” at Caldeon’s words, Roseanne’s eyes widened slightly and she also asked him, “Already? Didn’t you say they were repairing an entire floor?”

“I did.”

“But it’s already complete?”

As Roseanne looked puzzled, wondering how it could be completed already when it had only been a few days since construction began, Caldeon, who had tilted his head down for Hayden who was starting to play with his hair, replied, still looking at Enria, not Roseanne.

“Hayden’s walking stage passes quickly, so I told them to finish it as fast as possible.”

A little while after Hayden’s walking party ended, Caldeon had ordered an entire floor of the Grand Duke’s castle to be completely cleared out and converted into a space where Hayden could walk freely.

Roseanne, acting as the interim Grand Duchess, consulted with the butler who managed the household affairs as soon as his order was given, and had one floor vacated.

“I asked them to paint it in primary colors and include baby stairs so Hayden would like it, are those things finished?”

Roseanne, who explained that she hadn’t been able to pay separate attention to the construction floor because she had been racking her brain to continue Tearen’s illusion magic and her interim Grand Duchess duties, looked at Enria and asked if she remembered the wooden toys they had chosen separately along with the crib back then.

“Ah, those wooden slide-like things?”

“Yes. I had all of those brought in. After all, the more he walks and moves, the faster he’ll get used to it.”

Enria nodded at Roseanne’s words and looked at Hayden, who was playing with Caldeon’s hair, saying, “Shall we go take a look, Mommy and you?”

“‘Mommy and Daddy together,’ you mean.”

Caldeon corrected Enria’s words.

Embarrassed, Enria looked at Caldeon, and when their eyes met, her face slightly flushed, and she avoided his gaze.

It was because she was still very awkward with the idea of Caldeon and herself being grouped together as Mommy and Daddy.

The fact that Caldeon was the child’s father would never change, and she would soon marry him, so she knew she should get used to it, but it still felt foreign and new, making it difficult to acclimate easily.

Caldeon showed a tender smile as he watched Enria, who couldn’t lift her flushed face and was fidgeting.

Roseanne, looking at Caldeon and admiring to herself that he was capable of making such an expression, then seemed to remember something and raised her hand as if taking an oath, asking Caldeon, “Can I be included in that ‘together’?”

At Roseanne’s words, Caldeon, as expected, immediately made a displeased face and looked at her.

“Why would the Lady be?”

“I’m still the interim Grand Duchess, could you change the title?”

She pouted, asking why he was still calling her ‘Lady,’ and Caldeon raised one eyebrow and asked again,

“Why would the interim?”

“Isn’t ‘interim’ alone a bit strange? Why not call me ‘Interim Grand Duchess’…”

“It’s too long. And Enria will soon be the Grand Duchess, so I can’t attach the Grand Duchess title to the Lady.”

When Caldeon said this, Roseanne shook her head, asking why he was so strict about just a title, and Caldeon firmly stated that it wasn’t just a title, but the title that Enria would be called in the future, so it was out of the question.

While they were bickering over the titles, Hayden stretched out his short arms and squirmed, trying to be held by Enria.

When Caldeon handed Hayden over to Enria, Hayden leaned against her chest and rubbed his face.

“Hmm? Is he getting sleepy?”

As Enria spoke tenderly, gently stroking Hayden’s head, Hayden immediately pulled his face away and shook his head, looking at her.

“Mmnya, mmnya.”

“No? Not sleepy?”

“Yes.”

When Hayden nodded and replied, Roseanne, who was looking at Hayden with slightly surprised eyes, clapped her hands softly and said in a voice filled with emotion,

“I think Hayden can communicate properly now. Right, Enri?”

When Roseanne asked, Enria nodded, and Hayden turned his head to look at Roseanne and said,

“Dyahe. Baby dyahe.”

“You’re good? The baby’s good?”

When Roseanne interpreted Hayden’s words and asked again, Hayden bobbed his head a couple of times.

“Oh my, Hayden just called himself ‘baby’.”

Since Chavel and most of the servants who cared for Hayden called him ‘Baby Lord,’ Hayden seemed more familiar with the title ‘baby’ than his own name.

Of course, he was a smart child who knew his name was Hayden.

“He pronounced ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’ quite accurately a while ago. It seems his speech has taken off since then.”

Enria, who added that Chavel frequently talking to Hayden and making him imitate her probably played a big part, and said he would soon be able to express himself well, looked at Roseanne, who was gazing at Hayden in her arms with a truly loving expression, and a smile naturally spread across her face.

“I’m so happy that I get to be here and watch Hayden grow up.”

Enria nodded and smiled at Roseanne’s words.

“Me too. I hope many people can witness Hayden growing up. Because this stage is a sight that can only be seen right now.”

“That’s right. I think so too.”

Enria, who told the nodding and smiling Roseanne that while more happy memories would be built as he grew up, she hoped his current baby appearance could also remain a happy memory for many people, then added that she hoped many people would see Hayden as he is now.

At her words, Caldeon, who had been contemplating something while looking at Hayden in Enria’s arms, finally asked Enria, “Should we invite the others to the walking floor too?”

At that, Roseanne’s eyes popped out even wider than Enria’s.

“Really? Are you inviting Lord Tearen then?”

Roseanne, who shouted at Caldeon a little excitedly, saw Caldeon slightly frowning at her and couldn’t hide her disappointment, realizing, ‘Ah, that’s not what he meant.’

“That fellow will not be coming to my castle.”

“No, why on earth is Lord Tearen banned from entering the Grand Duke’s castle? Lord Tearen really wants to see Hayden too.”

“Why would that fellow want to see my son.”

“He’s a friend. It’s natural to be curious about a friend’s son…”

“Enough. Tell him to drop it.”

Caldeon cut off Roseanne’s words and replied firmly, making Roseanne dramatically frown and exclaim, “Oh, really!”

She grumbled that she truly didn’t understand why only Tearen was banned from the Grand Duke’s castle, then asked Caldeon who he was going to invite instead.

In response, Caldeon began calling out the names of his spirits.

“Windel, Graum, Blizzan, Eva.”

As soon as he called their names, four dazzling lights of different colors suddenly popped up behind Caldeon.

The white light on the far left turned into a large white tiger, and the second brown light turned into a giant tortoise.

And the red light turned into a firebird, and the blue light into a dolphin, materializing Caldeon’s spirits.

The moment Hayden spotted Windel, who was in the form of a white tiger, he reached out his hand and puckered his lips towards him.

“Choo-choo, choo-choo-choo.”

Hayden calling out to Windel with the exact same gesture as when he first met him caused confusion to spread across Windel’s face, and Blizzan and Eva burst into laughter.

Graum only slightly curled the corners of his mouth up and down without anyone noticing.

[Hayden seems to completely mistake you for a pet, doesn’t he?]

Eva, in the form of a blue dolphin, flapped its fins and tail in the air, seeming pleased.

[That guy does look a bit like a cat.]

Blizzan the firebird also let out a voice mixed with laughter, slightly moving his fiercely burning wings.

Windel glared at them and said,

[Cats are Silri, though.]

Hearing that, Hayden clenched and unclenched his small, fern-like hand toward Windel as if asking him to come, and said, “Baby come. Baby come, nyaa-yaa.”

[What is he saying?]

As Windel slightly furrowed his brow, unable to understand Hayden’s words, Graum, who had been standing silently and patiently stretching his neck unlike the other two spirits, said to Windel,

[He’s telling you to come to the baby, Cat.]

[Who’s a cat? I’m a white tiger.]

Windel immediately scowled at Graum, who had interpreted Hayden’s words.

“Come. Nyaa-yaa, come te baby.”

Roseanne smiled at Hayden, who was trying to form a sentence, and instead of Graum, interpreted Hayden’s words exactly for Windel.

“Kitty, come to the baby.”

At that, Windel looked at Roseanne with scary eyes, and Roseanne offered an awkward laugh, pointing at Hayden with her index finger.

“That’s what Hayden said. Haha.”

In the end, Windel sat down next to Hayden, who was calling him with a sour expression, and Hayden climbed down from Enria’s arms, hugged Windel’s neck, and burst into cheerful laughter.