I Had the Enemy's Baby (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
Clodel held out her hand in front of Hanna.
On her left ring finger sat a simple wedding band. Plain as it was, it suited Clodel’s slender, pale finger—thinned by illness—surprisingly well.
“Oh my! Did the Duke really give you this?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it pretty?”
She sat by the windowsill, holding it up to the softly pouring morning sunlight.
No matter how small or thin, it was still gold.
As she moved her hand, sunlight danced along the curved surface of the yellow precious metal.
Watching Clodel gaze at it contentedly, Hanna said with a flushed face,
“See? There’s no man who dislikes a beauty like you.”
Clodel didn’t answer.
Hanna’s words were flawed.
For one, she wasn’t beautiful—and it couldn’t even be said that Kai An didn’t dislike her.
Didn’t ordinary people usually show some flicker of emotion on their faces?
By that standard, Kai An didn’t seem like an ordinary person at all.
With cold, slightly irritated eyes, his eyebrows and eye corners raised, he’d glare at her with those vivid red irises.
In any case, it absolutely wasn’t affection—but it also couldn’t quite be called dislike.
‘I’m stuck with this because I’m Vermonde.’
It was a marriage without love.
Thus, she’d never expected tenderness.
When forced to spend the night with her—a redhead he clearly despised—he seemed ashamed of becoming aroused by her.
In his excitement and heated eyes, contempt and coldness coexisted.
Unable to bear meeting that gaze, Clodel tightly shut her eyes the entire time Kai An held her.
So, when no gift came after their wedding night, she simply accepted it.
She thought he must have deliberately avoided giving anything because he hated it that much—enough to break custom.
Yet, hidden within Clodel’s heart—just having turned twenty—was an expectation she herself hadn’t known existed.
She’d imagined hundreds, even thousands of times in her mind the possible humiliations awaiting her through marriage to Temnes.
Walking into Rowen Castle in her wedding dress soaked in mud and rain had merely been an extension of the cold treatment she’d envisioned.
But the sense of loss from surrendering something so precious as a woman—having been raised so modestly—was another matter entirely.
Learning there’d been no gift made her feel as though something inside her had been stripped away.
The Duke of Vermonde had sold her for a month’s worth of grain, and she was left with nothing.
All Clodel had wanted was a wedding-night gift from him.
Even a single flower would have satisfied her—just knowing she’d received something.
She’d started tidying the crumpled clothes scattered on the floor only because the awkward atmosphere was unbearable and she needed to do something.
When something fell from his clothes, she’d been startled, fearing she’d ruined them by meddling unnecessarily.
But seeing how perfectly it seemed to fit her finger, she suddenly felt an urge to try it on.
The ring looked unmistakably like a ring—not something one could mistake for merely a button bezel.
That’s why Clodel liked it.
‘Can I keep this?’
Even as she asked, she didn’t expect him to grant permission.
Still, since he’d come back to see her again after their first night—something she hadn’t thought he would do—
she suddenly found a small courage in his casual remark that he’d dropped it several times before.
She told herself she wouldn’t be hurt even if he said, “There’s nothing for Vermonde.”
‘Fine, then.’
Though his words were cold, his permission was unmistakably clear.
“Last night wasn’t just duty, was it? Yet you came to see the young lady—you clearly liked her.”
Hanna seemed even happier than Clodel herself.
“You’ll keep getting better and better gifts from now on.”
Clodel didn’t answer her.
She didn’t want anything better anyway.
Receiving even this much was enough.
“I’ll bring breakfast. Will you eat?”
As her illness worsened, Clodel had barely been able to eat.
Every deep breath or bite of food worsened the clawing pain in her chest.
But today, in a better mood, she felt she might manage something, so she nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll eat.”
“I’ll run to the kitchen and bring it right away.”
Cheerful and brisk, Hanna disappeared excitedly.
Alone in the quiet morning air, Clodel gazed at the gleaming gold band on her finger.
“…I got it.”
[This is the timeline separator]Hanna hummed a tune as she headed toward the castle kitchen.
It was her third day at Rowen Castle.
Her need to go to the kitchen herself meant the maids on Clodel’s floor had all ignored Hanna’s requests.
Thus, every visit to the kitchen left her so furious steam practically rose from her head.
“Hmph. Heh heh.”
Yet today, a cheerful melody floated from Hanna’s nose.
“If she’s this happy over it, imagine how delighted she’d have been if he’d given it yesterday!”
While Clodel lived as a noble daughter at Valmont Castle, Hanna had mingled with the maids.
The castle maids pitied Hanna—having lost her parents in an accident at a young age and drifting into this unfamiliar place.
She’d been only ten.
Too young, they thought, to handle menial chores in the castle.
Most of the castle’s maids came from large peasant families. Seeing Hanna reminded them of younger siblings left at home, so they often slipped her sweets and cookies.
But they couldn’t always restrain themselves from gossiping crudely in front of the still-childish Hanna.
At that age—brimming with curiosity—the maids, who often suffered abuse within the castle walls, were always eager to hear news of someone taken to spend the night with the lord.
Unfortunately, Valmont Castle lacked the handsome, passionate young lord they secretly desired.
The Duke of Vermonde was older and enjoyed a notably harmonious relationship with his duchess.
Though they had only one daughter, Irena, their bond was so strong and principled that the lack of a male heir never became a succession crisis.
It was clear that dramatic scandals simply didn’t originate in Valmont Castle.
After spilling all manner of society gossip and rumors without filter, the maids would notice young Hanna blinking innocently and, embarrassed, exchange giggles among themselves, saying, “She’ll understand someday.”
Hanna, sharp-minded, grasped these things early—but to Clodel, she shared only the sweet cookies and candies received from the maids.
She believed she’d learned the world’s grim, cruel underbelly early because of her own harsh circumstances.
Clodel, raised so delicately as a “young lady” in this grand and magnificent castle, felt like a sacred being to Hanna.
Therefore, Clodel shouldn’t—mustn’t—know such things.
Even though they’d lost their parents on the same day, Clodel would live a life entirely different from Hanna’s.
She’d meet a handsome, respectable noble husband—crucially, one who wouldn’t lay a hand on young maids, a point of great importance to Hanna—and live happily, loved abundantly.
But to marry into Temnes!
Hanna understood all too well what this marriage meant.
In fact, having grown up closer to the Duke and Duchess of Vermonde than any other castle servant, she understood it better than most.
“That old raccoon—I should’ve killed him myself.”
The Duke of Vermonde had sold Clodel.
He’d traded Hanna’s young mistress for a mere month’s worth of food for his people.
When Hanna heard the news, her blood boiled.
Fully aware of how vital blind loyalty was among noble servants, she still stormed into the Duke’s office and shouted, “How could you do this?!”
Perhaps guilt-stricken, the Duke didn’t punish her for such audacity. Instead, avoiding her eyes, he simply said, “If you wish, you may accompany her to Rowen Castle.”
Grinding her teeth, Hanna left the lord’s office that day determined to grow stronger.
She trained every night after everyone had fallen asleep, swinging heavy wooden beams.
Hanna knew better than Clodel how wives endured abuse from their husbands.
Especially since, unlike commoners like herself, noble marriages were harder to dissolve due to the entangled interests of their families.
Even if the daughter—the very party to the contract—suffered cruelty leading to death,
the marriage, once committed to paper, endured. The woman, its greatest victim, remained bound to the name of the husband’s house that had driven her to her death.
Between Temnes and Vermonde, clashes were so frequent—even ordinary townsfolk with black or red hair would fight upon meeting, often leaving injuries or deaths.
If someone died or was injured in such a fight, the head of house would reward the victor, praising them for avenging their kin.
In such an environment, delicate, flower-like Clodel stood no chance of survival.
That’s why Hanna herself had to protect Clodel.
Yet ever since the marriage was decided, Clodel’s appetite declined sharply, and she grew thinner by the day.
Watching this, Hanna burned with helpless frustration.
True to its political nature, the wedding was hastily arranged and held within a month. By the wedding day, Hanna feared Clodel might wither away and die before Temnes could even harm her.
The castle physician kept insisting she was healthy and showing no abnormalities, and Clodel herself claimed she was fine—leaving Hanna to only guess that this dreadful union with Temnes was causing her immense stress.
In any case, knowing how devastating the lack of a wedding-night gift could be for a noblewoman, Hanna had been at a loss for how to comfort her.
To think Clodel would be so overjoyed by such a tiny ring!
Hanna decided to raise her evaluation of Kai An—currently scowling on the floor—by about five points.
The moment she entered the castle kitchen, the chatter abruptly ceased.
Though unsettled, Hanna ignored it, found a tray, placed a bowl for soup on it, added a plate for bread, and headed toward the hearth.
“So Vermonde has no pride at all, huh?”
A mocking voice suddenly cut through the air.
“What?”
“That redhead who keeps calling you ‘young lady’—didn’t she steal a decorative button from the master’s clothes yesterday?”
“What are you talking about?”
The maids narrowed their eyes and sneered at her.
“This morning, that woman showed you a button ornament, claiming the Duke gave it to her, right?”
“But the tailor said it fell off the Duke’s coat.”
Crash!
The tray slipped from Hanna’s hands, shattering the dishes on the floor.
[This is the timeline separator]Kai An headed toward Clodel’s room.
Tonight, on their third day, there was to be a banquet where they’d share a seat.
He wondered if preparations were going well—and briefly considered sharing a simple lunch together.
‘Is this pointless?’
Despite being Vermonde, Clodel wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable to be around.
His anger from before the wedding had significantly faded.
“Thievery?!”
“What did you say, you lunatic! How dare you speak such nonsense!”
Yet right outside Clodel’s door, a fierce scuffle erupted among the maids, pulling each other’s hair.
“So Vermonde turns a blind eye even to sticky fingers, huh?”
Seeing Kai An suddenly appear amid the chaos, servants and maids instantly recoiled, eyes wide.
Clodel stood by her door, and before her knelt her handmaiden—hair and clothes thoroughly disheveled.
“My lord! Why are these people spreading such ridiculous lies!”
“What’s going on?”
One maid quickly replied in a tattling tone,
“She stole a button ornament from your coat and claims you gave it to her—as if it were a ring—wearing it on her finger!”
At this, a servant shouted loudly,
“Our Duke would never stoop so low as to mock us like this! Do you think he’d offer such a trinket as a gift?!”
Clodel looked at him with an embarrassed expression.
But Kai An was just as flustered.
He was their sovereign lord.
The head of Temnes was on the verge of becoming a laughingstock among servants.
“Of course I’d never give something so trivial as a gift.”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (106)
If Kai An declared something right, it was right; if he declared it wrong, it wa
I can’t even find the right words to express how hateful he is in my eyes. Behaving like a small child and not like a man.
Soon, as dawn approached, the door creaked open and someone stepped out—causing
It’s that black haired butch isn’t it. This s gonna cause such a misunderstanding
Her expression, usually as still and doll-like as if carved from porcelain, now
My poor baby!! Why do you place your trust in him?
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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.