Chapter 44

At Eva’s words, Silri, Roseanne, Rahar, and Enria all simultaneously turned their gazes toward Eva.

“When the mansion burned down, I saw someone take Caldeon’s woman and I informed Caldeon.”

“Ah…!”

A small exclamation escaped Rahar’s lips.

He instantly realized that the “someone” Eva mentioned was himself.

“That…”

“It was a situation where he couldn’t possibly think Hayden was his son.”

Before Rahar could say anything, Eva cut him off and spoke to Silri.

Silri looked at Eva and crookedly curved the corner of his mouth.

“When the mansion caught fire… did you come looking for me?”

Enria asked Caldeon cautiously, and Caldeon nodded with a calm expression, as if to say yes.

“It was Rahar.”

Undy, who had been quietly eating his meat, suddenly chimed in.

The attention of everyone sitting at the table focused on Undy.

“That was Rahar. Lonn, don’t you remember? When I arrived at the Spirit Village almost half-dead.”

Undy leaned forward and asked Lonn, who was sitting next to Silri, and Lonn nodded faintly instead of answering.

At that, Caldeon looked at Rahar, and Rahar spoke to Caldeon as if he felt wronged.

“I already told you. And you got angry because I hadn’t reported it.”

At his words, one of Caldeon’s eyebrows twitched.

Now that he thought about it, Rahar had said he rescued Enria when the mansion burned down.

That meant the man Eva saw was Rahar…

Caldeon finally reorganized the chaotic circumstances in his mind.

Just then, Roseanne began to elaborate on the situation at the time.

She, too, must have felt that further explanation was necessary since she hadn’t told Caldeon herself.

“At that time, I received news that Groen from the Magic Tower was personally moving to kill Enri, so I hurried and sent my brother.”

“…”

“The reason I couldn’t tell you right away was…”

“There were plenty of opportunities to tell me even afterward.”

Caldeon, tensing the tendons in his jaw as if suppressing his anger to the utmost, looked at Roseanne with a chilling expression.

If she had told him properly back then, he wouldn’t have at least thought Enria was involved with another man.

Of course, it was also his fault for not linking the situation and Rahar together, even though Rahar had already told him.

“I’m telling you now why I couldn’t tell you back then. Please stop looking at me like you’re going to kill me. You’re seriously scaring me.”

As Roseanne frowned and spoke, Enria lightly squeezed Caldeon’s arm as if pressing down on it.

Caldeon looked at Enria and relaxed his expression as much as possible.

Roseanne glanced at Tearen, then let out a long sigh and began to explain to Caldeon why Rahar’s presence with Enria in the Spirit Village was not reported to him.

“You’ll remember that until Lord Tearen came to us and offered to perform an illusion for a fake wedding, Lord Caldeon was planning to make our situation as bad as possible, weren’t you?”

“…”

Roseanne’s gaze, which had been on Caldeon, shifted to Enria next to him.

“He was going to send you to Endelie Village and kill Count Dalbreon to firmly convey his intention not to marry into our family.”

Caldeon turned his eyes away and pretended not to notice, awkwardly shifting his eyes as Enria gasped and turned her head to look at him.

“Besides, after you went to Endelie, the Magic Tower started targeting you, and I was going through a lot of difficulty myself. I sincerely swear to God, I barely slept trying to find the best solution for everyone in that situation.”

She explained that then Tearen appeared like a savior of the century, offering to arrange a fake wedding, giving her a valid reason to stay in the Grand Duke’s castle as the interim Grand Duchess.

“In that situation, the news of your pregnancy was like a bolt from the blue. Because I knew that whether the child was Lord Caldeon’s or not, he would immediately bring you back to the Grand Duke’s castle as soon as he learned the news.”

She added that if she had told Caldeon about Enria’s condition then, the illusion of the fake wedding that Tearen had painstakingly prepared, and her chance to enter the castle as the interim Grand Duchess, would all have been for naught.

Enria, who now knew Caldeon’s personality very well, nodded slowly, agreeing that it would probably have been the case.

In any case, because Roseanne didn’t tell Caldeon about her pregnancy, the marriage issue at the time had passed without much trouble.

“Because of that, I couldn’t see my son being born. How do you plan to compensate for that?”

“Seriously, you’re asking me for compensation right now?”

Roseanne looked dumbfounded and serious at Caldeon’s words, and Caldeon let out a long sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

It was obvious that he was trying his best to suppress the anger that was boiling up inside him.

“Well, it seems only natural that Roseanne had no choice but to hide it. If I were in her shoes, I probably wouldn’t have told you about the child either.”

When Tearen crossed his arms and defended Roseanne, Rahar also nodded and said that it was indeed unavoidable at the time.

In fact, Rahar could have told Enria about Caldeon looking for her, if not Caldeon, but he intentionally kept silent due to his personal desire.

That part bothered him in several ways, which is why Rahar became even more supportive of Roseanne’s choice at that time.

“Anyway, since it’s all in the past, what’s the use of debating right and wrong now?”

As Tearen spoke calmly and began eating his share of the food again, Caldeon clicked his tongue but picked up his wine glass and brought it to his lips, seemingly having no intention of mentioning the matter further.

Silri, who had caused this situation, swung her crossed legs and playfully poked at her food with a fork, resting her chin on her hand.

Windel, watching Silri, frowned and muttered.

“That nasty temper never changes, even with the passing of time.”

“I heard that, Windel.”

Silri, who was poking a vegetable with her fork, glared at Windel and continued.

“What did you say was wrong with my temper?”

“You heard me, why ask? Are you showing off that you’re slow-witted?”

“I’m slow-witted? Are you kidding me?”

Silri, who had been leaning back in her chair with her legs crossed, let out a scoff and sat up straight.

“I am the smartest spirit among the High Wind Spirits. Are you perhaps unaware of that?”

“I know you’re the one with the worst temper among the Wind Spirits.”

“Hey, Windel.”

“Stop stirring things up. You might be doing it for fun, but the humans who have to deal with it…”

“Ha, since when did you care about humans?”

Silri cut Windel off and raised her eyebrows, and Windel shrugged, saying, “I’ve always been on the side of humans.”

“That’s hilarious. You didn’t even care about humans before you made a contract with a human who has dark mana.”

Silri scoffed and frowned at Windel’s words, and Blizzan, who had been watching them with his chin resting on his hand, chimed in with a strange interjection.

“Hoo-oh, how attractive human women are, yet you say you don’t even care.”

At that, Graum, who looked like a ten-year-old child, frowned at Blizzan and said, “Didn’t you always say you weren’t interested in human women?”

“Of course I’m not. The problem is that human women are interested in me.”

“When is he going to get rid of that ‘too-good-looking’ complex?”

Silri said, sounding annoyed as he watched Blizzan smile knowingly and playfully.

Then Eva, who had been eating her food with a listless expression, looked at her and said, “I guarantee that fellow will have that complex until he’s extinguished.”

“That’s harsh, Eva. Calling it a complex… In fact, you’re interested in my looks too, aren’t you?”

“Are you insane? Get a grip. That’s absolutely never going to happen.”

Eva looked serious and put down her fork and knife at Blizzan’s knowing smile.

She said she’d lost her appetite, got up, and walked out the door, and Blizzan, watching her, laughed, saying she was just embarrassed.

“That’s not it.”

“I don’t think so.”

Graum and Lonn shook their heads simultaneously, speaking to Blizzan.

Enria, who was smiling as she watched them, felt anew a sense of remorse for the past days when she misunderstood that Caldeon hadn’t come looking for her. Of course, she had heard it from Roseanne before, but the pure and devoted affection Caldeon had for her touched her heart again, making her glance at him to check his expression.

“What is it?”

Caldeon looked at her and smiled tenderly.

“Nothing, just…”

Enria mumbled, spearing the meat on her plate, putting it in her mouth, and chewing.

She wondered what the use was of dwelling on the past, but she regretted the situations where she hadn’t contacted Caldeon because of that misunderstanding.

However, she also felt that the current situation existed because of that misunderstanding, and now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, she felt more lovely and affectionate feelings toward Caldeon than anyone else, so she decided that was enough.

“Are you tired?”

“No, not at all.”

Caldeon looked at her with a worried expression, as Enria’s face didn’t look well.

Enria forced a smile at him and turned her gaze toward Hayden.

Roseanne was feeding Hayden baby food and talking with Rahar and Tearen.

The way Roseanne looked at Tearen made it obvious to anyone that she liked him, which made Enria’s heart flutter lightly.

The relief that Roseanne and Caldeon did not see each other romantically, unlike in the original.

And the certainty that Roseanne and Caldeon would not end up together as in the original, at least for now.

With those feelings combined, she briefly wished in her heart for Roseanne and Tearen’s relationship, along with her and Caldeon’s happiness.

Watching them, she then shifted her gaze to the side and took in the sight of Silri, Undy, Lonn, Graum, Windel, Eva, and Blizzan chatting cheerfully.

She was happy.

So happy that she wondered if she should be this happy, especially in the current situation where the Magic Tower was targeting her and Hayden.

Caldeon’s love for her was definitely the biggest reason for this happiness.

If he had loved Roseanne instead of her, as in the original, she and Hayden would definitely not be here like this.

Enria was relieved that she wasn’t in such a grim and disastrous situation, and she looked at Caldeon and called his name.

“Lord Caldeon.”

“Yes?”

Caldeon’s eyes, as he immediately looked at her when she called, were tender.

Her nose tingled at Caldeon’s action of slightly bending down, eager to listen, with a face that showed he was happy she called him.

Enria smiled at him as brightly as she could and whispered, “I love you.”