I Had the Enemy's Baby (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
“Clovel should see this. Right away.”
“Yes. Of course.”
The butler placed the guest list and a sample invitation on his desk and stepped back a pace.
Kai An, unusually hurried, headed toward Clovel’s room. The maids scrubbing the floor startled with cries of “Oh my!” at his brisk pace, as though driven by urgent business, but he paid them no mind.
‘How long has it been since I last saw her?’
Ever since the day Clovel had said she couldn’t attend the banquet due to poor health, she had been bedridden for several days.
Thus, she hadn’t come out of her room even for meals.
He had hoped for some natural chance encounter where he could strike up a conversation, but no such opportunity had arisen.
‘It must have been about a week.’
Clovel’s doorway stood empty and desolate.
Temnes and Vermonde were locked in mutual hostility—after all, it takes two hands to clap.
Clovel was Vermonde’s hand refusing to meet the other.
Kai An knew full well—and so did the servants—that by the next day, he’d already felt uneasy, thinking, “Clovel doesn’t seem like a Vermonde at all.”
If she had responded to their pressure and cold treatment with fiery defiance, baring her claws like a cornered animal, at least it would’ve been stimulating. But only her fiercely combative handmaiden flared up, while Clovel remained quietly unresponsive—boring, they must’ve thought.
‘Still, she should’ve had guards.’
At this rate, anyone could barge into the lady of the manor’s room without anyone noticing.
Deciding to reprimand the castle’s captain of the guard later, Kai An knocked on Clovel’s door.
Silence reigned inside.
‘Could she be out?’
Curious, Kai An quietly opened the door without making a sound.
Though it was midsummer, the room—enclosed by thick stone walls and smoothly plastered inside—felt pleasantly cool.
Yet it was eerily quiet, devoid of any sign of human presence.
“She must have gone for a walk.”
His grip on the guest list and invitation slackened, as if all the energy had drained from his hand.
He’d come intending to casually bring up the hunting tournament under the pretense of catching up, since he hadn’t been able to see Clovel for so long.
But with no one present to receive him, the situation grew awkward again.
Should he just leave?
Or wait for her return?
He turned toward the sofa—then froze, eyes wide.
Clovel was in the room after all, though he’d assumed it empty.
Curled up on the large, plush bed, her small, slender frame was neatly tucked beneath the covers.
‘Was she here the whole time, and I didn’t even notice?’
Usually, someone lying in bed would cause the blanket to bulge noticeably.
But nestled among thick, fluffy goose-down quilts and cushions, Clovel was so perfectly concealed that one might mistake the bed’s fullness for mere opulence rather than human presence.
Kai An approached the bed stealthily, careful not to wake her.
‘Was she always this tiny?’
He instinctively held his hand over her face.
She looked so small that her entire face fit within his palm.
She seemed even thinner than he remembered—so much so that he studied her intently, as if her frame had somehow shrunk.
The sleeping woman breathed so faintly that her breaths were nearly inaudible.
Her flawless, porcelain-white skin, closed eyelids fringed with lashes, and gracefully arched eyebrows—all matched the vivid red of her hair.
The peacefulness of her appearance made him fold his arms and settle into the chair beside the bed, simply watching her.
At the same time, he wondered what he’d say the moment she opened her eyes.
Kai An had never bowed to anyone.
Given the tangled circumstances, it was plainly her place to extend a hand and ease the tension.
Yet the real difficulty lay in his inability to voice such words—he simply couldn’t bring himself to say them.
A head of house drew his dignity from never bending.
Facing something he’d never done before, in real time, left him utterly flustered.
“Mmm…”
Suddenly, Clovel rolled over toward where he sat.
Kai An shot up, thinking she’d awakened—but it was merely a quirk of her sleep.
He quietly sat back down and rested his chin in his hand, gazing again at her sleeping form.
Then something caught his eye.
The very button that had started all this trouble still adorned her finger.
Considering how much time had passed since the incident—why was she still wearing it?
Yet, seen now, it looked no different from a delicate ring—and if not for that one event, it would have suited Clovel rather well.
‘Does she like rings?’
Looking at it now, his mother’s blue diamond would have been far too large for Clovel’s slender fingers—even on her thumb, it would have spun loosely.
Of course, everyone’s finger size differed.
But having never considered giving anyone a ring before, Kai An had no notion that such gifts should be resized beforehand.
Yet, contrary to his earlier excitement at finally having a chance to talk with her, seeing that she still kept the ring made his mood sober.
“I’ll give you another ring—just take this one off.”
Just as Kai An reached out carefully to remove the ring from her finger—
Click.
The door opened.
Hanna entered, carrying a large vase filled with thick clusters of white freesia—and froze in shock upon seeing him.
“Your Grace.”
At the maid’s hurried voice as she quickly set down the vase and bowed, Clovel’s eyes fluttered open.
Freshly awakened, her expression sharpened instantly, drowsiness evaporating like mist. Wide golden eyes instantly clouded with anxiety.
Seeing that look immediately soured his mood. What had he done that she made such a face the moment their eyes met?
Kai An leapt to his feet and snapped,
“You seem utterly indifferent to the dignity befitting the lady of this manor.”
“…Your Grace.”
Clovel hurriedly rose from the bed and stood, bowing her head.
In that moment, as she pushed aside the blanket, her ankle—so slender it seemed smaller than Kai An’s wrist—made him frown involuntarily.
Apparently, touching her in the dark of night and seeing her in daylight were two very different things.
Again and again, he felt the woman before him appeared far frailer than the one in his memory.
“What is the meaning of this?”
He hadn’t expected her to greet him warmly. But seeing Clovel flinch as if frightened rendered useless all the carefully rehearsed lines he’d mulled over all week.
“Were you planning to laze about idly in Rowen Castle?”
He tossed the guest list and invitation he’d brought onto her bed.
“The butler has already prepared everything. Just write a note on the invitation specifying that attendance is mandatory, sign it, and bring it to my study by tomorrow. Hand it to the butler if you prefer.”
He stormed out of her room and slammed the door shut.
And instantly regretted it.
“…Am I a madman?”
The Vermondes had always been foxes with fire on their tails—cunning, crafty, masters of manipulation through words, effortlessly causing trouble.
They were invaluable in diplomacy, wielding their silver tongues for the benefit of the Oberon Kingdom. But when it came to deceiving the straightforward, hot-tempered Temnes clan—generation after generation of warriors—they were utterly incompatible.
Where Temnes killed with a blade to the heart and a sword to the neck, Vermonde could kill with mere words, driving a man to death by sheer rage.
Yet none of that venom existed in Clovel.
And yet, Kai An couldn’t understand why he kept blurting nonsense—it frustrated him to the point of madness.
“That’s not what I meant to do.”
His usually sharp mind replayed the scene just moments ago.
He realized his senses had gone blank the moment he saw her bare, pale, slender leg exposed as her nightgown rode up when she pushed aside the blanket to rise.
And then, like a fool possessed, he’d barked senseless words and stormed out like a ghost.
“Why did I do that? Why?”
If only he’d managed to speak a few kind words and ease her mood, that leg he’d just seen might now be wrapped around his waist tonight.
Kai An roughly ran a hand through his hair and headed back to his study.
[This is the timeline separator]Kai An’s visit had been like a bolt from the blue.
Brief and intense.
So much so that after he left, Clovel stood dazed for a while.
“What on earth was that about? Suddenly barging in, accusing me of loafing around. Honestly.”
The moment Kai An left, Hanna’s demeanor instantly turned insolent.
“Well, it’s true I’ve been lying around. Think about how Duchess Vermonde usually spends her days. She’d probably find me pathetic.”
Hanna sighed as she tidied the bed.
“Pathetic? You haven’t slept properly for days—you only managed a short nap this afternoon! It would’ve been better if you’d slept longer.”
Duchess Vermonde, mistress of Valmont Castle, was famously meticulous in managing her domain.
Her support had been essential for people to survive in Valmont, where more than half the land remained frozen year-round.
Especially around Ice Valley Moghill—where Valmont Castle stood—she personally visited every household with newborns to offer her care.
Normally, the lady of Temnes Castle should have been just as busy as Duchess Vermonde, yet Clovel had received no instructions or handover whatsoever.
Though she sometimes felt bitter, as if her very existence were being ignored, she also felt relieved—after all, as someone who would soon leave, she preferred not to be handed responsibilities.
“At least he gave me something to do.”
Clovel picked up the guest list and invitations tossed onto the bed.
“Don’t do it. It’ll be utterly disgraceful.”
“He said to finish it by tomorrow.”
“Like I care. Want me to do it for you? I’ll write it with my feet.”
Hanna spoke with genuine seriousness.
Clovel sat by the window, pulling invitations neatly from their envelopes and stacking them beside the guest list.
‘…Temnes.’
She still hadn’t truly felt the reality that her name had changed from Vermonde to Temnes.
Could that be why he gave her this task?
To make her acknowledge that she was now Temnes?
One by one, the name “Temnes” flowed from the tip of her pen onto each invitation.
[This is the timeline separator]The day of the crocodile hunt arrived.
Kai An was in an exceptionally foul mood.
Clovel had personally delivered the invitations he’d asked for—without using the butler’s hands.
And of all times, it happened just while he’d briefly stepped away with Burbrook to thank the villagers who’d brought fruit tributes for the castle.
If she’d sent it through the butler, he wouldn’t be this irritated.
Whenever he thought of Clovel, his thoughts and words both spiraled into chaos, so he stopped trying to pinpoint exactly why he felt so agitated.
No matter what he thought, it always tangled back to that woman.
Accepting it as it was helped ease his frustration somewhat.
Clovel wore light brown doe-skin boots, a white dress reaching just below her knees, and a matching leather vest.
Her long red hair, flowing down to her waist, was gathered into one thick braid, and the large white hat perched atop her head gave her an unexpectedly girlish look.
Since she hadn’t appeared at the banquet, many present saw her for the first time today—and stared eagerly in her direction.
Kai An felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to abandon the crocodile hunt entirely, take her to the tent he’d prepared for her rest, and just talk.
‘Stop with the distractions.’
Normally, hunting a crocodile alone was considered reckless.
But Kai An could manage it—so he’d usually stir up excitement among the hunters, catch a suitable one, and then call it done.
Yet today, his mind kept wandering—surely because Clovel had unsettled him.
—Just as that thought struck him—
“Get down!”
Clovel, standing beside him, shoved him hard. He stumbled off the raised platform overlooking the hunting grounds and fell to the lower level below.
“What in blazes are you—”
As Kai An rose to his feet, his eyes fell upon a massive crocodile snapping shut its jaws—right where he’d just been standing.
The beast’s eyes locked onto Clovel, and its savage maw gaped open with cruel intent.
“No!”
In an instant, the hunting grounds erupted into chaos, filled with screams.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (103)
…liked me?
Delusional much? >.< He is professing Typical male-lead behavior
“Then tonight—don’t sleep. Wait for me.”
Dude are you fucking serious, just because it doesn’t hurt doesn’t mean you won’t worsen it
“Hey! Don’t you dare move!”
Is she going to get the ring back for clodel. I love hanna
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Every time I see the FL, I feel like crying! Also, I laughed so hard when I learned about the emperor’s feelings for the ML; I expected their relationship to be brotherly. It’s funny how he hates him.