Chapter 50

“Are you truly not going back to the Imperial Palace?”

Enria asked, watching Caldeon playfully take Hayden’s hand, put it in his mouth, and then pull it out. Caldeon, who had been smiling while watching Hayden giggle uncontrollably at his antics, turned his gaze to Enria.

“Yes, I don’t have to. You don’t need to worry at all.”

‘Even if he says I don’t need to worry…’

A slight shadow crossed Enria’s face. He had rushed back as soon as he learned a dark wizard had infiltrated the Grand Ducal Castle, so Roseanne, who had gone with him, must be in a difficult position. Although he said he sent a replacement, sending a substitute to a discussion attended by the Emperor himself was disrespectful, so it was possible that all the fallout was landing on her.

Suddenly, a natural question occurred to Enria, and she asked Caldeon, “Who did you send as a replacement? Rahar?”

“No. Rahar couldn’t go, as he was dealing with urgent matters in the territory with Count Kaznaren. So I sent Tearen.”

Caldeon finished speaking, then playfully bit Hayden’s finger as the child brought it to his lips, asking for another game. Hayden’s delightful, breathless laughter filled the room. Enria instinctively gave a small smile watching them. She felt relieved that Tearen, at least, was with Roseanne right now. She figured that if Roseanne was with the man she liked, she would feel a little bit of pleasure even while cleaning up the mess Caldeon had carelessly left behind.

“His smile resembles yours.”

While she was thinking this, Caldeon’s unexpected words tickled Enria’s ears.

“…Pardon?”

Thinking she might have misheard, she asked again, and Caldeon, with his exquisitely beautiful face, smiled at Enria and continued, “Hayden’s smile resembles yours.”

‘What are you talking about? You two look exactly alike, as if you were stamped out of the same mold.’

“He resembles you much more, Lord Caldeon, than me.”

“I’ll concede that.”

Caldeon nodded instantly, and although it felt vaguely annoying, there was nothing more she could say, as Hayden, held in his arms, looked so much like Caldeon’s mini-me that anyone would think so.

“But he resembles you, too. Though I suppose that’s natural, as you’re his mother.”

Caldeon left a feather-light kiss on the forehead of Hayden, who was looking up at him, and then looked at Enria again, continuing, “It feels strange, somehow, that he resembles both you and me.”

“…Ah. Yes, that is…”

She, too, had once felt a momentary wonder at Hayden’s appearance while they were in the spirit village, as his face showed features of both hers and Caldeon’s. No, to be more precise, she saw her original face and Caldeon’s face, not the face of Enria’s possessed body. This was partly because the possessed body’s face had somehow grown to resemble her original face, and also because, with time, the features of her original self and the possessed Enria had become ambiguous.

In any case, it was something she had also found wondrous, so she could fully understand Caldeon’s sense of fascination.

‘Still, he looks much more like Caldeon.’

No matter how she looked, the resemblance between the two of them—who looked like father and son, or brothers with a large age gap—was overwhelming; only the area around the mouth seemed to reflect her own appearance. Thus, she couldn’t help but feel not only surprised but also a little embarrassed that he had found her likeness in Hayden’s smile.

This way of confirming his affection for her felt somehow good, yet subtly worrisome. She trusted Caldeon’s love without a doubt, but the reason she felt a subtle unease when looking at Roseanne and Caldeon was because her current existence was nothing more and nothing less than the woman who bore Caldeon’s child. Therefore, even while she was certain that Caldeon and Roseanne would not end up together as they did in the original story, she unconsciously felt anxious that Caldeon, the male lead from the book she had read, was always in the presence of Roseanne, the female lead and his fated partner. Of course, she knew that the current situation was not right for announcing a marriage or holding a wedding ceremony, but the anxiety and worry were unavoidable.

“Mommy, Mommy.”

Hayden, who was pulling Caldeon’s hair with his small hand, called Enria. When Enria instinctively approached Hayden, he stretched out his two arms, trying to hug her.

Caldeon naturally passed him to Enria and smiled at the two of them.

“But when will he be able to speak proper words?”

He looked slightly worried because Hayden was saying “Mommy” and “Daddy” quite clearly, but could not say any other words.

“Soon, perhaps. He’s hearing more human conversation than he did in the spirit village.”

Knowing that once a child’s ears open, their mouth naturally follows, Enria wasn’t too concerned. Caldeon, too, seemed to be more eagerly anticipating a situation where he could converse with his son than actually worrying.

“Is that so? I wish I could have a proper conversation with him soon.”

Enria’s lips curved slightly upward, thinking that once Hayden started talking, he and Caldeon would likely bicker non-stop. After all, both were stubborn and liked to have things their way, so once they started talking, they were bound to clash in various ways.

‘Well, that might be enjoyable in its own way.’

Smiling contentedly as she thought of the not-yet-arrived future, Enria wondered how happy she would be if they could continue to live a peaceful life without any major problems.

However, with the story less than halfway through, there would be an overflow of dangers awaiting her and the protagonists. The exploits of Caldeon and Roseanne, who overcome countless hardships and adversity against the Magic Tower and its Master, ultimately saving the empire, had not even begun. Although many parts of the original story had changed, judging by the current situation, the major framework would likely remain the same, so the conflict between the Magic Tower and the Emperor’s side seemed destined to begin.

‘Right now, it seems the catalyst for that conflict is the Master of the Oracle.’

It was unclear whether she was the Master of the Oracle or if Hayden was, but either way, she had to stay vigilant and try to avoid exposure to danger. At least, unlike the Enria in the original story, she had gained the power of the spirits, and through the combination of her naturally acquired summoning ability and divine power, she could summon various magical creatures. This meant her ability to counter the villain from the original story had significantly increased. Perhaps because of this change, the villain’s side had pulled Panz, who wasn’t in the original, into their ranks, but even so, she didn’t think there was much to worry about. She assumed Panz, being just a higher spirit and not a host of numerous spirits, would not be as threatening as the dark wizard.

She was thinking this, oblivious to the dark wizard’s true intention to strengthen Panz’s power.

While Enria was lost in thought, Caldeon spoke an abrupt, out-of-the-blue remark.

“I will probably be able to do anything.”

Enria’s eyebrows rose slightly at the meaningless statement, and Caldeon lightly kissed her on the forehead and continued, “Anything for you and Hayden.”

“Ah…”

“I feel like I would gladly divide my body into several pieces and give it to you if you asked.”

“Your example is strange.”

Enria frowned slightly, showing her displeasure, and Caldeon chuckled softly.

“It just means that you are beings I want to protect that much. Even at the cost of my life.”

“I would be grateful if you would maintain your life while protecting us. Because Hayden and I need you, Lord Caldeon.”

Enria’s words instantly changed Caldeon’s expression in a subtle way. He leaned in and gave Enria a thick, deep kiss on the lips before pulling back. Enria, slightly flustered by the kiss while holding Hayden, flushed, and Caldeon touched her cheek gently with his thumb, sporting a wonderful smile.

“How far do you intend to make me fall for you?”

When Enria looked up at him with a puzzled expression, another feather-light kiss landed on her lips.

“I love you, Enria.”

With the sudden confession, Enria’s already flushed face grew hot enough to ignite.

“I will protect you and Hayden, no matter what it takes.”

“Then I will protect you, Lord Caldeon, no matter what it takes.”

Caldeon let out a pleasant, low laugh at Enria’s words, spoken without hesitation.

“Then our family will be safe.”

At that remark, Enria’s already burning face felt like it was about to explode. The destructive power of the word family, coming from Caldeon’s mouth and not her own, was immense.

‘Family…’

Since they hadn’t had a wedding ceremony yet and their status hadn’t been formalized on the register, the word “family” felt unfamiliar to Enria. It also felt like a dream-like word.

Of course, the situation with Roseanne living in the Grand Ducal Castle as the acting Grand Duchess had been naturally resolved, and the issue of officially registering Hayden as a Jupiter family member would likely happen before a wedding. Perhaps the wedding would be an issue for later.

In any case, thinking that Caldeon, herself, and Hayden would inevitably be bound as a family, a lump of poignant emotion spread through a corner of her heart.

“Daddy, dy, dy.”

At that moment, Hayden called Caldeon, wiggling his waist. As Caldeon’s face drew near, Hayden pursed his lips like a bird’s beak and clumsily kissed Caldeon’s lips, just as Caldeon had kissed Enria.

A soft laugh escaped Caldeon’s mouth. Hayden then gave Enria the same kiss and continued to babble unintelligibly, like “Abu-bu, Ah-bya-bya.”