I Had the Enemy's Baby (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
“You seem quite pleased with the place chosen for your eternal rest, don’t you?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Clodel turned around abruptly.
“Send the groundskeeper a gold coin through the butler. It seems the Duchess is very fond of her tombstone.”
“Yes, yes, my lord.”
The butler gave a subtle nod to a guard standing behind him, and the man immediately bowed and dashed off.
“…….”
Clodel remained silent, unable to utter a word. Under Kai An’s cold and seemingly irritated presence, not only she but everyone else held their breath and dared not make a sound.
“Come here.”
At his commanding tone, Clodel stepped back and stood beside him.
“It’s your left side, not the right. Don’t you even know such basics?”
Scolded, she instinctively moved from her spot as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to stand on his left.
A rich, masculine scent emanated from the man holding her.
It was the same scent that had enveloped Clodel tightly the previous night—undeniably his.
He had been remarkably skilled.
Kai An was strikingly handsome and exuded such formidable charisma that rumors spread as far as the distant northern Valmont: every night, a different maiden supposedly slipped into his bedchamber.
His harsh words earlier, spoken as if displeased with her nervousness during their first time, contrasted sharply with the tenderness of their physical closeness.
It was a great relief to Clodel that her husband—the man who had taken her innocence—was not clumsy in the slightest.
Otherwise, pinned beneath his robust frame, she might well have broken an arm or leg.
She had awakened this morning to find he had already left the room, so this was the first time she’d seen him since their night together.
‘So, there was no wedding-night gift.’
Tradition dictated that if a groom was satisfied with his bride on their first night, baskets and boxes overflowing with flowers and presents would be delivered to the lady’s chamber and the adjoining corridor.
Though it was a useless custom in the Oberon Kingdom, noblewomen would eagerly boast to each other about what gifts their husbands had given them after consummation—the item often carrying symbolic meaning.
Expensive jewels to flaunt wealth, war trophies granted by the king to display honor, or even heirlooms passed down from the groom’s mother as a pledge of pure devotion to his bride.
This morning, however, Clodel’s doorway stood entirely empty and desolate.
There was so much she could infer without a word being spoken.
She was certain she wouldn’t see him in her bedchamber again from tonight onward.
Truly, her situation was pitiful.
Yet, even amidst this, she felt grateful upon seeing the gravestone bearing her name—reason enough to believe Kai An had no intention of casting her out.
Hiding her sorrow, Clodel calmly placed flowers and wine upon the tombs of the Temnes family ancestors.
She never even dreamed that Kai An was stealing glances at her profile from beside her.
[This is the timeline separator]Following their visit to the underground crypt, the celebratory banquet continued into the next day.
Yesterday, the gathering had been filled with the esteemed blood relatives of the famed House Temnes, all drinking heavily; today, it was the vassals who had sworn loyalty to House Temnes taking their turn with the wine.
Only the identity of the barking dog had changed—from blood kin to retainer.
The mood remained as tense as the previous day, with drunken lords openly voicing their resentment toward the marriage alliance with House Vermonde. Kai An, showing no emotion, merely sipped wine slowly from his seat at the highest table.
‘What a strange woman.’
He was still pondering Clodel from their encounter in the crypt earlier.
Kai An had descended into the underground with several armed guards. Given their heavy armor, their arrival must have echoed loudly through the crypt—but Clodel had stood there dazed, as if lost in thought.
She gently stroked the cold tombstone with unfocused eyes.
Her expression had been so serene, as if the gravestone were something truly exquisite and pleasing to her, making her seem lost in a dream entirely separate from the world around her in the midst of the graveyard.
That look had irritated Kai An.
She should have worn that same expression last night, when her hands were allowed to roam his body.
Not with tightly shut eyes and lips clenched in dread, silently waiting for an ordeal to pass—but rather, nestled in the arms every maiden longed for yet could never attain.
In fact, Kai An had been far more satisfied with his unexpectedly chosen bride than he’d anticipated. After Clodel had collapsed into sleep, he’d slipped out of the bedroom and even gone so far as to prepare flowers and gifts belatedly.
He remembered having told his butler, who’d insisted on tradition, “There are no flowers in Rowen lands fit for giving to a Vermonde.”
Clodel had, after all, become his bride—and his wife.
Moreover, contrary to his initial dread and disgust over whether he could even endure their wedding night, he found her presence surprisingly comfortable—even with a clear head after sobering up.
Because she was no longer a Vermonde.
She was now a Temnes.
Even glancing at the woman who had been granted a place beside his own tomb—built when he first became head of House Temnes, engraved with her name—didn’t feel unpleasant to him.
Considering he’d been forced into marriage with that cursed Vermonde, that was saying something.
Yet seeing that she hadn’t accepted his gift had wounded his pride deeply.
Tradition held that the wedding-night gift should be worn immediately the next day during one’s toilette.
Had Clodel accepted him as her husband, she would have pinned his flowers to her hair and worn the ring he’d sent on her finger.
The gift Kai An had given her was a large blue diamond ring—the very same one his mother had received as her wedding-night present from the late Duke of Temnes.
It was one of the treasures passed down through generations of House Temnes, though Clodel had no way of knowing that.
‘Could it be that she finds even such extravagance insufficient?’
He vaguely recalled Clodel on her wedding day, bedecked head to toe in jewels.
From tiara to rings, necklace, brooch, even her girdle—each piece as precious as if plundered from a royal treasury.
Perhaps to a woman accustomed to such finery, a ring featuring a rare blue diamond set in a simple setting might seem underwhelming. Regardless, his male pride had taken a blow.
“I truly hope this year passes quickly.”
One of the vassals muttered under his breath.
“As soon as the marriage term is over, we must drive Vermonde out of our Rowen lands as soon as possible.”
“Indeed. Only 364 days remain.”
Kai An remained silent, and they took his quietness as tacit approval that Clodel would surely be expelled from the castle in a year—chattering excitedly about it.
“Your Grace, congratulations on your marriage.”
Among them approached a gaunt, middle-aged man with dark auburn hair and a beard, rubbing his hands together—Burbrook Quanden, who managed the orchards in the domain.
“Is this truly something to celebrate?”
“Of course it is! After all, you didn’t marry the daughter Duke Vermonde dotes on. Disowning an adopted daughter is something even Duke Vermonde could overlook.”
Burbrook carefully watched Kai An’s reaction.
“Who doesn’t know Clodel is that family’s troublesome burden? Had you married Princess Irena—the duke’s beloved daughter, as rumors claim—you’d have faced reprisal yesterday, perhaps even soldiers dispatched to Rowen Castle.”
“You seem rather well-informed about House Vermonde.”
Kai An’s response delighted Burbrook.
Until stepping into the bridal chamber last night, he hadn’t even known the name of the woman he’d married.
He’d only known that, thanks to that damned King Oberon, he’d been abruptly forced into marriage with a Vermonde woman—and had no intention of taking the matter seriously or with any real interest.
Clodel was the Duke of Vermonde’s adopted daughter.
The duke had a younger brother, but fearing succession disputes, he’d banished him to the outskirts of his lands, where he lived like a commoner.
Clodel was the daughter born to that brother and a commoner woman.
In truth, however, because marriages between nobles and commoners weren’t recognized under Oberon law, Clodel had grown up without any official status until she was over ten years old.
After her mother died in an accident, her father returned with young Clodel to Valmont Castle, entrusted her to his elder brother, and then left a will stating he’d joined his beloved wife in death.
Fortunately, Clodel possessed the distinctive red hair and golden eyes that appeared only in direct descendants of House Vermonde.
Rumors swirled that the Duke had paid an enormous price to the Duchess just to register Clodel into the Vermonde lineage.
Kai An intended to utterly annihilate House Vermonde through this domain conflict.
He aimed to erase the name ‘Vermonde’ from Oberon’s future entirely—it was House Temnes’s long-held ambition.
However, the King of Oberon was too shrewd in politics to desire House Vermonde’s complete extermination.
Yet, as Burbrook had pointed out, choosing not the current Duke’s biological daughter but his adopted one as a political pawn was precisely the cunning, calculating move one would expect from such a king—effectively signaling to Kai An that divorce or annulment would be quietly permitted.
Standing beside the brooding Kai An, Burbrook lingered with an unspoken request, unable to leave.
“So, Your Grace—once the marriage term ends and you cast out Vermonde, please grant her to me.”
“What did you say?”
“In my youth, I once had a connection with a Valmont woman. Hah! I’ve longed to meet her again, but how could a red-haired northern woman ever marry into Rowen lands, where she’d be treated like an enemy? I’ve remained a bachelor all this time.”
A crude smile creased Burbrook’s wrinkled eyes.
“She’s as good as discarded by House Vermonde already. If Your Grace casts her out, she’ll have nowhere to go—so please allow me to take her in.”
“As you wish.”
Kai An raised his wine cup indifferently.
“Thank you!”
Burbrook, overwhelmed with gratitude, was shoved aside by another drunken vassal who knelt before Kai An.
“This marriage is an insult! Just give me your permission, and I’ll ride north immediately to crush those Vermonde vermin like the insects they are….”
Pushing through the commotion before Kai An, the butler announced,
“Your Grace, Duke Vermonde has just arrived at the castle.”
“Now?”
Kai An sneered knowingly.
“He comes running like a debt collector the moment it’s time to collect his bride’s price.”
Now that the marriage had been consummated, it was time to deliver the promised grain shipments to the starving Valmont.
Emptying his cup, Kai An rose to his feet.
[This is the timeline separator]The Duchess of Temnes’s chamber was both ornate and vibrant.
Pink-hued jade, carved into roses, adorned the white pillars throughout, and framed with gold trim, the room gleamed especially brilliantly in the bright daylight.
Seated there, Clodel appeared even paler and more wan.
“Damn those Temnes—they’ve sunk deep into a swamp of luxury.”
In truth, her uncle, Duke Vermonde, was a man who shared her striking red hair and golden eyes.
The sole reason he’d formally acknowledged Clodel into House Vermonde was that she fully exhibited the lineage’s defining traits—traits exclusive to direct descendants.
Had she not possessed both red hair and golden eyes, she never would have been sent to marry into Rowen.
After all, this alliance had always centered on sending a daughter of House Vermonde.
Ignoring Clodel entirely, Duke Vermonde spent a long while cursing House Temnes and inspecting the room before finally sitting on the sofa opposite her and lifting his teacup.
“How is your health?”
When Clodel didn’t answer, he pressed further,
“Or should I ask—if you’re well prepared for death?”
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (118)
‘Should I go to the bedroom now? No. It’d look as if I’d been waiting for nightf
Just say that you love sleeping with your wife; you don’t need to please your assistants
Her face brightened instantly.
Wealth? Please—your wife is living like a beggar, and you say you have a fortune!
But ever since her father’s death, she couldn’t sleep at all.
My poor little one—she is truly suffering and going through a very hard time
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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.