“It’s okay, Delphine. The child is safe.”
“Haa…”
“According to the doctor who came for the examination, it’s because they received too great of a shock.”
Muttering that it was truly fortunate, Delphine dropped her head again with a thud.
For a moment, silence fell over the room.
No one could rashly speak up.
Even Betty, as if she had not anticipated this situation at all, had a troubled and apologetic expression.
After hesitating for a while, Betty finally carefully parted her lips.
“Delphine. That child’s father…”
“…”
When Delphine couldn’t give any answer, great despair passed over her colleagues’ faces.
“Then could it be, even from the time you were on the run from the Empire?”
This was why I couldn’t tell you beforehand…
Delphine sobbed and wrapped her arms around her lower abdomen as if protecting it.
“Why on earth did you not tell us until now…!”
Seeing that, Marianne trailed off the words she was about to say.
She also knew.
The difficult circumstances that she couldn’t bear to speak of.
Delphine’s feelings of not being able to rashly tell her colleagues that she was pregnant with the child of their enemy and a demon contractor.
“…I’m sorry for yelling. I’ll go clear my head and come back.”
Marianne and Betty wore devastated expressions and quietly withdrew.
Esmeralda, who had been watching the situation, also left, saying she would bring some food.
Only Lin and Delphine remained in the quiet room.
How long had the two of them been continuing this awkward silence?
“The child.”
Lin, who had been quietly lost in thought, finally opened his mouth with a calm expression.
Delphine looked at him with vigilant eyes full of wariness while being very tense.
He always reacted sensitively when it came to Delphine’s safety.
Just as she was looking at him tensely, worried that he might say something extreme about the child,
Completely unexpected words fell from his mouth.
“…I will raise them together with you.”
A great ripple passed through Delphine’s eyes.
For none other than Lin to say such a thing?
It was so clear whose blood flowed in the child inside her womb…
To Lin, Ioan was a lifelong enemy.
The one who had crushed the dreams he had hoped for and drove him and his colleagues to the brink of death several times.
Yet he was proposing to raise Ioan’s child together?
“What do you…”
“The child will also need a father, won’t they?”
Bluntly replying in his usual tone, a look of realization flashed across his face.
Then, trying to speak more gently, he added,
“And you will also need someone to raise the child together with.”
“Lin. You don’t need to make such a sacrifice.”
Delphine stopped Lin’s words, unable to bear it any longer.
She was grateful for his consideration for his colleague, but this was her responsibility, her matter.
In any case, she had willingly given herself to Ioan, and although she realized it belatedly, her feelings at that time were clearly love.
So she intended to take responsibility for and love this child, the result of that love, to the end.
No, she already deeply loved them.
“I will take responsibility for giving birth to and raising this child.”
“No, that’s not what I meant… Damn it. I’ve never said anything like this before. …So, Delphine.”
Lin swept back his black hair and muttered with a troubled expression.
No. Perhaps, quite uncharacteristically, he even seemed to be acting shy.
Delphine noticed that the tips of his ears peeking out between his long hair had turned bright red.
“…Lin?”
“I mean… Half of the child to be born is yours, aren’t they? Surely they will take after you a lot.”
“And so?”
“Then I…”
Lin hesitated to continue.
But it was only for a moment.
Raising his head again, he softly recited while directly meeting her gaze with his characteristically distinct and unwavering eyes,
“I think I could love that child too.”
Her heart pounded loudly.
Delphine had a premonition that Lin would utter words she shouldn’t hear.
Words that a colleague who had gone through life and death together shouldn’t hear.
A confession that might shatter their current relationship if she wasn’t careful.
Delphine hurriedly waved her hand and opened her mouth.
“Lin. I…”
“And that’s because I love you.”
Lin recited in a very calm tone.
It was a clumsy but very plain and honest confession.
One that revealed his personality as it was.
Locking eyes with Delphine, who had momentarily lost her words at his fully exposed sincerity, he calmly continued,
“I love you.”
“…”
“Enough to be convinced that I could love anything that resembles even a little bit of you, not just half of you.”
Something surged up in her chest.
Delphine hurriedly lowered her head so as not to reveal her moistening eyes.
The emotions that suddenly rushed in, making her heart waver, were certainly not excitement.
Gratitude towards him for conveying such pure sincerity, fear of possibly losing a colleague…
…And regret towards him.
“Lin. I’m sorry. I… I can’t accept your feelings.”
Still with her head lowered, Delphine slowly opened her mouth.
But this wasn’t enough.
Lin had honestly revealed his feelings as they were.
Delphine, who had been hiding her pregnancy from her colleagues until now, knew best how much courage that took.
It wouldn’t be respectful to his feelings if she didn’t answer honestly as well.
Gripping the blanket tightly with her small fists, Delphine uttered the true feelings from deep within her heart that she had been unable to confess until now.
“I… I haven’t been able to give up on Ioan yet.”
Without realizing it, the end of her words trembled a little.
“A contractor will sacrifice others for their own greed and sell their soul anyway.”
The high priest said so with a very cold and resolute face.
At that time, she couldn’t find the words to refute him.
Even if everything Ioan did was for her sake, it didn’t erase the wrongs he committed.
So what could she say?
That the contractor was actually her husband?
That even if the whole world cursed and hated him, she still loved him?
That the father of the child in her womb was none other than that cruel demon contractor?
…So please, spare his life?
It was the same now.
“I… I still love him…”
It pained her heart and made her feel sorry to confess her feelings for Ioan to none other than Lin.
He had barely overcome the crisis of nearly being killed by Ioan not long ago…
But contrary to her expectations, Lin wasn’t surprised at all.
As if he had somewhat guessed it, he merely nodded his head calmly.
“I know. That’s why I tried to hide it as much as possible. I didn’t confess out of a selfish desire to have you.”
He added with a darkened expression,
“…But the timing isn’t good. War will break out.”
At those words, Delphine’s heart sank.
Without realizing it, she wrapped her arms around her lower abdomen.
“And very soon. Forces will gather from all over the continent for the Holy War.”
“…”
“The tide of the era has already turned, and there is no way to stop it now.”
“I…”
“Think about it, Delphine.”
Lin’s gaze turned to the lower abdomen she was embracing.
“Forget everything and live with the child here. That would be the path befitting both you and the child.”
Forget everything and live here?
‘…Forget Ioan too?’
As if reading her inner thoughts, Lin’s expression grew even more resolute.
“You can do it. Because you are a strong enough person. Think of the child more than anything else.”
Delphine bit her lower lip.
There was truth to his words.
At this rate, the war would break out faster than expected.
Her belly would surely swell uncontrollably now, so how could she go to war in this state?
It would be a problem even if the war broke out after giving birth.
Could she leave a nursing infant behind and go to the battlefield?
“…”
“I will continue to stay by your and the child’s side. Protecting you and loving you.”
“…”
“Please, think about having such a future too. …Then, rest for now.”
Leaving those words behind, Lin left the room.
Delphine buried her face in the messy blanket.
Another future given to me.
Forgetting Ioan and living happily here with the child…
The lower abdomen she held ached.
[This is the timeline separator]Esmeralda, who had said she would bring food, opened the door not long after.
Raising her tear-stained face, Delphine burst into laughter.
Seeing the appetizing fruits and food on the tray, unbelievably, her appetite returned.
‘Even in this situation, I can still eat.’
Perhaps it was because she couldn’t properly take in nutrition while on the run during early pregnancy.
Unable to resist the rumbling hunger, Delphine eventually forgot about crying and hurriedly ate the food.
And so, as the meal was coming to an end,
Esmeralda, who had been looking down at her with a pitying gaze, suddenly opened her mouth.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
