I Had the Enemy's Baby (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
“Hand it over while I’m still being nice, will you?”
Antyone bit her lips furiously, grinding them together in anger.
Finally, her eyes reddening, she thrust the hand clutching the ring toward Hanna as if it were a humiliating gesture.
Just as Hanna sighed briefly and reached to take the ring from Antyone’s hand—
Whack!
Caught off guard by the sudden shove, Hanna fell flat on her backside.
“Did you think I’d actually give it to you just because you asked? Why should I hand over something that’s mine to you!”
Still refusing to give up mocking Hanna, Antyone flapped her lips and dashed away quickly.
“That woman!”
Hanna, drained of strength, tried to get up but sank back down, staring at Antyone as she ran farther away.
“So that’s how it was. All because that wicked woman lied.”
She remembered Clodel’s dejected look when she hadn’t received the wedding-night gift—how she’d even worried when Kai An asked if she disliked it because she’d never received anything before.
‘Could this possibly be a trap?’
‘A trap?’
‘Didn’t they say it was something meaningful to His Grace? Maybe they lost something valuable and are trying to blame you as an excuse.’
Hanna herself had voiced this reasonable suspicion, but those very words must have weighed even heavier on Clodel’s heart.
All because of that stone belonging to Antyone!
“What kind of upbringing could possibly lead to such behavior?”
Lying as easily as eating rice, an unmarried young lady sneaking into a man’s bedroom—now even stealing!
“I must see His Grace right away.”
Cursing Antyone’s unknown parents under her breath, Hanna headed straight for Kai An’s study.
“He’s never been harsh toward you.”
She felt certain that if she reported it to Kai An, he would listen.
[This is the timeline separator]Clodel spent the night in a state of deep anxiety.
Kai An had every right to visit her bedroom at any moment.
Yet, apart from exactly two previous times, he had never come at night—and she certainly hadn’t expected their third meeting to be preceded by his instruction: “Wait for me tonight.”
She confided in Hanna, who returned covered in dirt and dust, that Kai An had suddenly said those words and left.
“Hmph. Really?”
Hanna, who usually took her side unconditionally, had been expected to protest passionately—“Miss, your leg shouldn’t be strained!”—but this time,
Even trusted Hanna seemed unbothered, leaving Clodel speechless and forcing her to close her mouth tightly.
“Of course. If even Hanna thinks there’s nothing wrong, then it must be fine.”
It was only natural for Kai An to come.
The overwhelming tension she felt must stem from her instinctive reluctance to become more deeply connected to him.
Living under a death sentence, already sorting through everything she owned, yet whenever she faced Kai An, she felt as though something new—and previously nonexistent—was about to emerge.
This abrupt marriage.
This sudden husband.
This first night, hurried through as if pushed by unseen hands.
Everything related to Kai An felt burdensome to Clodel—ironically, the one thing she liked was knowing that beneath this castle lay a tomb waiting for her after death.
“At least I have a grave. So even if I’m as hated as Vermonde, they won’t just toss my body out for beasts to devour after I die.”
She didn’t need to look far—Duke Vermonde himself often declared, “That black-haired Temnes bastard! The moment he catches my eye, I’ll tear his limbs apart and feed him to the beasts!” Thus, that phrase had become firmly etched into her mind.
Unaware of Clodel’s thoughts, Hanna seemed cheerful. She seated Clodel before the mirror, combed her hair with fragrant oil, and hummed continuously.
“His Grace might actually be nicer than I thought.”
But didn’t you get angry before, Hanna, when I said he wasn’t the kind of person you imagined?
“The jeweler he brought today is apparently the most famous and popular one in the south. Normally, you’d have to wait a whole year just to place an order.”
“I must’ve looked utterly pitiful. He probably thought I needed jewelry or something.”
Hanna’s expression turned stern at her words.
“How can you say such a thing? Of course he wanted to gift you something beautiful—because you’re so lovely, Miss!”
“Hanna.”
“Yes?”
“Did His Grace give you money?”
“……”
In the mirror, Hanna scowled.
“You’ve never done this before—why start now?”
“Do I look like someone who’d take money to side with someone?”
“No, but if that ever happens, make sure you demand a lot. Don’t take petty coins and offer cheap praise.”
“Hmph.”
Hanna pouted and kept brushing vigorously.
“That way, even if something happens to me, you’ll still live well.”
“Don’t say things like that. I plan to live for a thousand years—raising your heir, then once they grow up and marry a fine partner and become a great lord or lady, I’ll raise your grandchildren too!”
Having finished brushing, Hanna looked at Clodel in the mirror and gently stroked her chin.
“Whew. It’s all perfect…”
Clodel blinked and looked at Hanna.
“Except your nightgown is rather plain.”
“Why?”
“Miss, let’s change your nightgown.”
Hanna scurried to the wardrobe and returned with another nightgown.
“Wear this one.”
Clodel instantly felt her expression harden upon seeing it.
She was currently wearing her usual nightgown—thin cotton with vertical buttons down from the collar.
But the one Hanna brought was the one she’d worn only once on her wedding night—much thinner, almost translucent, and fastened in front with a ribbon-like tie.
“Why would I wear that?”
“Do you know why nightgowns like this were invented?”
Clodel shook her head.
Unlike her, who’d grown up secluded in the back rooms of Valmont Castle—spending her days reading books and secretly attending the same tutors as Irena—Hanna knew all sorts of odd trivia.
There was actually a specific reason such nightgowns existed?
“Because many people like them.”
“……That…”
Clodel started to speak but stopped.
She suddenly imagined Kai An glaring coldly and menacingly at that nightgown—and felt she ought to burn it immediately.
Even if everyone in the world adored it, Kai An certainly wouldn’t—and if she told Hanna that, she’d just insist, “All men are the same!” and force her to wear it anyway.
Lacking the strength to argue, Clodel quietly nodded.
“Fine.”
She could just change back into her usual nightgown after Hanna returned to her own room.
But the day had been chaotic—jewelers and Kai An coming and going—and she hadn’t managed a nap, so despite it being night, sleep kept pulling at her eyelids.
Normally, insomnia kept her awake at night, so she’d nap during the day while Hanna was around.
But today’s commotion had robbed her of that daytime rest.
“He told me not to sleep and wait for him…”
Clodel drifted off to sleep before she knew it.
Click.
Her eyes fluttered open again at the sound of the door closing.
“……You’re here.”
“Were you asleep?”
Kai An still wasn’t in casual attire, despite the late hour—evidently returning only recently from somewhere in the afternoon.
He wore an elegant black tunic embroidered with intricate patterns and lined with gold buttons, layered over a vest and white shirt.
“Oh—the nightgown…”
She’d meant to change once Hanna left, but now, seeing him so formally dressed, she felt inexplicably embarrassed.
Yet he seemed utterly indifferent to her nightgown, simply gathering her up in the bedcovers and lifting her gently.
“Let’s go.”
“Where at this hour?”
Where could he possibly be taking her in this nightgown?
“To watch the stars.”
She wanted to say more, but as Kai An began walking, Clodel clutched the blankets tightly from within, nerves fluttering.
Surely he wouldn’t drop her—but being carried like luggage made her uneasy.
After walking some distance through the castle’s dark, silent corridors, he stopped.
They stood before a large, ornately carved door.
He opened it with practiced ease and stepped inside.
The room was spacious and exuded an antique atmosphere.
Oddly, aside from a single, enormous bed dominating the center, there was hardly any furniture.
He carefully placed Clodel onto the bed and checked her leg, inspecting the area wrapped in bandages.
“Where is this?”
Perplexed, she asked—and Kai An replied casually.
“My bedroom.”
Clodel’s eyes widened in shock.
She’d unintentionally ended up in his bedroom?
“Where at this hour?”
“To watch the stars.”
Was that what he’d meant all along?
She vaguely recalled certain euphemisms linking “watching stars” to intimacies between men and women.
Still, the difference between receiving him in her room and entering his felt significant—both in meaning and feeling.
His visiting her was natural; her entering his private space felt utterly forbidden.
She might have managed if they’d been in familiar territory—her room—but here, under coarse, embroidered covers that felt strange beneath her fingertips, she longed to flee.
“C-can’t we just go back to my room?”
“Why?”
“It’s just… this place…”
“You can’t see the stars from that room.”
Even in the dimness, Kai An moved about confidently.
He busied himself briefly, touching various spots around the room—then came a soft clunking sound.
He approached and began turning a disc mounted on the wall beside the bed, gripping its handle.
Creeeak.
Just then, a strange scraping noise echoed from the ceiling—and the tall, domed ceiling began to move.
“Wow.”
Triangular panels decorating the dome slid together, stacking neatly as the ceiling opened gradually.
Through the widening gap, the black sky glittered with countless stars.
When the ceiling had opened about two-thirds of the way, Kai An sat down beside her.
“What do you think?”
Clodel was left speechless by the breathtaking scene.
“I’ve never seen a night sky like this.”
As a noble lady, her routine had always been: in bed by eight, lights out. Wandering at night was never permitted.
She’d always loved gazing at the night sky—but seeing stars through a windowpane was nothing compared to this direct, unfiltered view.
“It was worth it, then.”
Overwhelmed, Clodel unconsciously brushed her eyes with the back of her hand, feeling tears well up.
“Are you crying?”
“No—it’s just so beautiful.”
Though it was midsummer, the night air felt refreshingly cool against her skin—and from afar, through shafts of moonlight, she heard the wind rustling through the forest.
And countless stars overhead.
“They say when someone dies, their soul ascends to the sky and becomes a star.”
As a child, she’d often stared up at the stars, wondering if her mother and father were among them.
Now, she wondered if perhaps one of those stars belonged to her.
“You really know how to be melodramatic—even when shown something wonderful.”
Hearing his cool, teasing remark, Clodel gave a faint smile.
Had he offered comfort in an uncharacteristically gentle way, she might have burst into tears right then.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
She coughed softly—and Kai An lifted the bedcovers, tucking them around her.
“Are you cold?”
“Not cold…”
Pat. Swish.
As Kai An leaned down, the loosely tied ribbon of her nightgown snagged on one of his buttons and came undone, causing the thin fabric to slip off her shoulders.
Flustered, Clodel reached to fix it—but Kai An caught her hand.
His voice rumbled low, as if restraining something rising within.
“…May I?”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (100)
That was utterly unthinkable.
The hero and heroine live in a parallel world, oblivious to what’s happening behind their backs.
“Perhaps next month we’ll get to see quite a spectacle. I hope it’s entertaining
Wow, another villain! Welcome! What a shame, you could have been a great friend.
The marriage between Kai An and Princess Bianca?
I feel sorry for the hero, who is unaware of what is happening behind his back.
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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.