I know. It’s not a wise choice.

The curse may continue to the child, and the child will grow up without a father.

She will have to bear everything alone, and at the same time, she may have to watch the pain the child will go through.

Nevertheless, an undeniable greed gripped her.

Perhaps this was the reason she was afraid to see the doctor.

If she thought she might be pregnant, and turned a blind eye to it, the child would grow in her womb to the point of no return.

Then she would have no choice but to hold the child in her arms under the pretext of inevitability.

Only then did Leah realize her selfish true feelings.

She was lonely.

She had lived in silence and lies, embracing sin alone.

She had always been alone.

She was starved for warmth. She needed warmth.

Someone to laugh with, talk to, sometimes get angry with and forgive, someone she could love completely and humanly.

It was her first and last chance to have a family.

“May I… raise this child?”

Leah lowered her head, tightly clasping her hands on her knees.

Even though she knew she was betraying his goodwill, she couldn’t give up the child.

It was the first time in her life that she had wanted something so deeply.

She couldn’t bring herself to kill this life with her own decision.

She no longer wanted to kill and harm people.

At Leah’s words, Egon was silent for a moment.

Leah couldn’t even look at his face.

She was prepared to humbly accept it even if he drove her out of this house and this island.

But then.

“Of course.”

A gentle voice flowed from Egon’s mouth.

“I’ll help you.”

At his words, Leah slowly raised her head.

Egon smiled as he looked at her tearful eyes.

“Let’s raise that child as my child.”

Leah’s eyes wavered at Egon’s smile.

“Why…?”

It was a word that came out in too much surprise.

This was not something to be asked, but Leah couldn’t choose her words as Egon’s reaction was unexpected.

Then Egon burst out laughing.

“Why? We’re husband and wife.”

Egon gently took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“But…”

It’s just a 5-year fake contract relationship.

Moreover, a child not of his blood.

He could just ignore it…

“I’ll make sure I can raise the child so well that no one will envy.”

Egon whispered affectionately.

Egon’s gaze, looking at her gently, reached deep inside her.

Leah lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

In that gaze, she cowardly thought of Sched.

The child’s real father.

How would he react if he knew of this child’s existence?

If he knew that one impulsive night during mating season had become a child he had to take responsibility for.

Leah bit her lip hard.

She would probably never be able to let him know of the child’s existence.

‘Do you really intend to raise that child?’

Eclas turned his gaze indifferently to Grita, who quietly asked in sign language.

“Then should I throw it away?”

He coldly muttered as he boarded the boat.

The child of Sched Lester, embedded in her body.

Honestly, he wasn’t pleased at all.

But he intended to raise the child properly.

He would raise the child so well that no one would envy, as his undeniable child.

Because nothing makes a better hostage than a child.

‘With that child, you won’t be able to leave me either.’

He wasn’t the type to obsess over abstract and ideological things like the child’s bloodline or another man’s child.

Everything should be done for practical gain.

Anyway, that child would become Leah’s precious thing, and that precious thing would fall into his hands.

“Please take good care of Leah for the time being. She’s not alone anymore, so be careful.”

Eclas told Grita with a cold smile.

‘Do you intend to go out?’

Grita asked Eclas, who spoke as if he wouldn’t return for a long time.

Eclas nodded.

“His Majesty the Emperor has requested support for supplies. Another war will begin soon.”

Eclas cast his gaze towards the distant sea.

War?

Grita’s eyes grew wide.

It was information that had not been conveyed to Janna Island.

And a beat later, Grita realized Eclas’s plan.

‘Will Duke Lester also go to war?’

At Grita’s quiet question, Eclas’s head jerked briefly.

Since it was news that didn’t really need to be passed on to Leah, he had been appropriately filtering out information flowing into Janna Island.

So this island was the perfect birdcage he had created.

A meticulously managed birdcage so the bird could live peacefully and happily.

“Sometimes there are things that are better off not knowing to be happy.”

Bitel muttered, looking at the small house visible in the distance by the sea.

The hot summer froze into winter under the shortened sun, and the moon wept again as spring bloomed luxuriantly many times.

Once again, golden grains and red fruits were ripening.

“Grita!”

Leah greeted Grita with her arms wide open.

A smile also spread on Grita’s lips as she was embraced by Leah.

Compared to Grita, Leah was much smaller, but still, Grita always felt good when she was held in that small embrace.

“It’s been almost a month this time.”

Leah said as she invited her in.

Then, from the direction of the garden, the sound of small, fast footsteps pattered.

“Aunt Grita!”

A tiny child, not even reaching Grita’s knees, was diligently running along the flower path of the garden.

As Grita picked up the lovely child, the child kissed Grita’s cheek.

“Eve, you’re happy that auntie is here, aren’t you?”

Leah said, looking at the child who was beaming.

A girl with shining golden hair and green eyes.

“You’ve worked really hard. You’re a pretty princess.”

Leah remembered the day the midwife placed the child in her arms.

The child with skin as white as the snow-white feathers she had once seen in a dream.

Eve was now a small treasure that could not be left out of her life.

“Yes, I love auntie.”

Eve showed her cute milk teeth and smiled brightly.

At that moment, someone knocked on the garden gate and peeked his head over the fence.

Upon seeing the man with a soft impression and brown hair, Eve raised her arms high in the air.

“It’s Dad!”

‘Egon’ entered, smiling at Eve’s enthusiastic welcome.

As always when he came here, Egon was dressed in plain and worn clothes.

A shabby shirt, brown pants, and slightly worn-out boots.

He looked so casual that one could not see him as the Viscount of the Bitel family.

“Eve, I told you to call him uncle, not dad…!”

“Why? If she calls me dad, then I’m dad. Right, Eve?”

“Yes! Dad said it’s okay!”

Although Leah tried to correct Eve’s way of addressing him, Egon just laughed as if it didn’t matter.

“But…”

This marriage is just a contract.

The words lingered on her lips but were swallowed.

She couldn’t bring up that story in front of Eve, who was laughing merrily.

Egon smiled, looking at Eve clinging tightly to his leg.

Under the autumn-colored tree, Egon with Eve looked like a real family.

Although he couldn’t come often due to his busy work, when Egon visited this place, he devoted his time to the child.

He never hesitated to provide financial support so that Leah and Eve would not lack anything while living together.

When he couldn’t come, he took care of things meticulously through Grita.

And before she knew it, Eve was calling him ‘Dad’.

Does she want to have a ‘Dad’ like other children have?

It bothered her that the child insistently called him Dad even when told to call him uncle.

Would the absence of a father make the child sad?

But shouldn’t the way of addressing be properly corrected in this relationship that will end?

Just a little more time and the contract will soon come to an end…

But Egon seemed to have a different idea.

He let Eve freely call him Dad.

‘…Yes. Someday it will naturally be corrected.’

She was still three years old. It was an age when she could not fully understand family and relationships.

Leah didn’t want to ruin the child’s happy moment by trying to correct the way of addressing.

“Dad, did you buy presents?”

Eve shouted, looking at the large luggage Egon was holding in both hands.

“Of course. Dad bought a lot of presents for our Eve. Shall we go in together and open them?”

Eclas held Eve in one arm even with his hands full of luggage and rushed into the house.

Whenever Egon returned to Janna Island, he always bought delicious food and interesting and fun things.

Because of that, Eve looked forward to the days when Egon would come.

“Mom! Mom, come quickly too! There are so many presents!”

Eve, who had already taken a seat on the chair, called Leah, fluttering her maple leaf-like small hands.

Leah nodded and sat with them at the table.

Eve excitedly opened the gift wrappings one by one with Egon.

A smile naturally spread on Leah’s lips as she watched the scene.

She had never been as happy in her life as she had been these days.

It’s not easy to raise a child alone, but it was fulfilling.

To the point where she thought the decision to give birth to Eve was the best decision of her life.

Eve was her life and daily routine, a miracle that made her exist as a complete human being.

‘…Is it okay to be like this?’

Sometimes anxiety crept in at the excessive happiness.

Life on Janna Island with Eve was perfect, but that’s why it was scary.

She felt that she would have to pay the price for this happiness someday.

If there was a god, he would not let her, a heretic, be so happy.

But she wanted to surrender herself to this happiness, pretending not to know the uneasiness.

For Eve’s sake, she wanted to be truly happy.

‘I’m glad. That Eve didn’t inherit my curse…’

Leah thought as she looked at the small, flushed cheeks puffed up while opening the gift wrapping.

When the midwife first placed the small life in her arms, Leah was afraid.

That the curse of black magic might have permeated this small, precious life.

But the moment she held the child in her arms, Leah could feel that there was no trace of black magic in the child.

The crescent-shaped symbol she carried was not visible on the child’s body either.

She still remembers how tears poured out that day in relief.

How grateful she was that the fear she had continuously harbored for nearly ten months while carrying the child in her womb did not become reality…

“Mom! Look at this!”

Eve held up the telescope Egon had brought.

Eve turned the telescope this way and that, then with Egon’s help, she put her eye to the end of it.

“Mom’s eyes are so big!”

Eve laughed in amusement as she looked around the distorted world through the telescope.

“That’s an interesting thing, Eve.”

“Dad bought it for me!”

“How is it, Eve? Isn’t Dad the best?”

“Yes! Dad is the best!”

Eve gave Egon a thumbs up.

Leah saw the word ‘Dad’ naturally flowing from Eve’s cherry-like lips.

Very unfamiliarly yet naturally, a husband was by her side.