I Had the Enemy's Baby - Chapter 62

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. You’ll be staying at one of my mansions.”

“What?”

Turning her head again, she saw an elegant and antique-looking mansion.

“This belongs to you too?”

“Yes.”

Kaian had never stayed at an inn before heading to the battlefield.

As the heir of Temnes, there were naturally family-owned mansions wherever he needed to go as the young lord.

Bermonte was fundamentally so isolated that it didn’t even pay taxes to Oberon.

Rather than leisurely touring with the family, only the Duke of Bermonte moved from the northern edge to the capital, so there was no point in buying unused mansions in the royal territory, so they used high-end inns instead.

Anyway, when Claude just blinked and looked at the mansion, Kaian pondered what she had just said.

‘Normally when traveling, don’t you stay at inns?’

Did she want to stay at an inn?

‘Last time when going to Rowen, I didn’t get to properly look around, so I was looking forward to it.’

She had been eager to travel, and it seemed her ideal was quite specific.

“The travel schedule wasn’t tight. We’ll stay here today and plan to stay at an inn tomorrow.”

“Really?”

Seeing Claude hop and clap her hands, Kaian inwardly sighed.

‘So she wants to stay in a shabby, run-down lodging where anyone can enter and exit after paying money.’

It was exactly the same idea that had gotten her scolded by the butler when going to the garden cafe.

“Wow. I’m looking forward to it.”

Only then did Claude smile brightly and enter the mansion entrance with lively steps, and Kaian found himself smiling inadvertently.

Like with the menu, he couldn’t understand why she liked shabby inns.

‘Are all women like this?’

It was truly an incomprehensible thing.

Still, because of what happened at the garden cafe, he felt somewhat proud that he had correctly guessed the right answer without disappointing Claude.

“Kaian! There’s a golden lion here!”

Kaian moved his feet, watching Claude who was acting as if she was going to introduce him to a mansion he had visited many times.

The journey was truly enjoyable.

A proper journey, that is!

Even after Herzol recovered, Claude still had to convalesce for quite a while.

She had spent a lot of time lying in bed, and apart from taking medicine and sleeping or staring blankly out the window, there wasn’t much to do, so all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

Amusingly, once the cruel pain that clawed at her chest disappeared, she found herself regretting the things she had only glimpsed in passing on the way from Balmond to Rowen.

The sweet smell wafting from the night markets lined up outside the small carriage window, and the dried fruits strung up in rows.

The savory meat pies that people were lining up for early in the morning, claiming they were the specialty of the inn they happened to stay at.

The ice cream that Hannah had bought for her to try when Claude showed curiosity, but which she had to spit out without swallowing a single bite because the icy coldness made her cough, only sensing the vanilla flavor.

In the icy northern lands, pasture is scarce so there’s no grass to feed cows. Cheese and butter aren’t produced in Balmond, they’re all imported.

Vanilla spice is also from hot regions, so she had only read about ice cream in books and was curious about its taste, but when the rare opportunity came, her body wouldn’t cooperate and she couldn’t properly taste it.

Eating is also one of the pleasures of travel, but Claude was in the position of being forcibly carried away as a sacrifice for an arranged marriage.

And that while harboring a secret illness.

However, the journey to the capital with Kaian was different.

“Mmm. Are we already here?”

When he woke her up with a gentle pat, telling her to get up, she rubbed her eyes and rose to find it was already lunchtime and they had arrived at a village to rest.

Claude, now awake, got out of the carriage, opened her parasol, and placed her hand on Kaian’s arm.

“This place is quaint.”

“Didn’t you see it when coming to Rowen?”

“It was raining continuously from when we entered Rowen territory until we arrived.”

Claude was busy looking around here and there, unable to contain herself.

As they walked slowly through the market, arm in arm with Kaian, the people who had been busy haggling, packing goods, and handing them over fell silent, staring at them intently.

‘It’s happening again.’

Claude had been treated like an invisible person throughout her stay in Balmond.

She was the wallflower straight out of a romance novel, who had never received a dance invitation after dancing with her uncle, the Duke of Bermonte, at the debutante ball.

Anyway, everyone had been uninterested in her, but strangely, whenever she was with Kaian, people would stare at them with their mouths shut, which gave her an odd feeling.

‘Well, Kaian is strikingly handsome and good-looking.’

Claude thought the reason was because he was handsome. And because he was the lord of Rowen.

Because nothing like this happened when she was alone.

However, that was only within Balmond Castle, so it couldn’t be compared, but in Claude’s mind, that’s how she had concluded it.

The man who had become her husband was truly an eye-catching man.

‘Come to think of it, they said he was quite a playboy.’

She hadn’t thought about it while staying at Rowen Castle because she had been preoccupied with various things, but she had never seen him meeting other women.

Although Antyone had acted as if she were his lover, Hannah had firmly declared it was a complete lie.

Given that it was a marriage by royal decree, and judging by Kaian’s attitude towards her on their wedding night, it didn’t seem like he would have bothered to end things with an existing lover. It seemed he had no intention of treating Claude as a wife.

‘Still, I hope he’s not meeting other women.’

His attitude towards her had changed little by little since the crocodile hunting incident, but in any case, they were now getting along quite amicably.

Almost like a couple with a good relationship.

“What do you plan to eat for lunch today?”

At the beginning of the trip, he seemed to have predetermined places to take her.

But when he saw that Claude was very curious about the itinerary, he brought her two books written by a traveler.

From the castle, it took about four days to reach the northern part of Rowen territory, and from there on to the capital was royal territory.

The books Kaian gave her were about Rowen territory and the royal lands, containing famous sights of major cities.

During the day while the carriage was moving, Claude slept leaning against Kaian, and after excitedly enjoying the village they arrived at, she would read the books late into the night, planning what to do in the next village or city.

“In this village, they say barbecue skewers and quail wrapped in pie are famous. But I haven’t actually decided what to eat yet.”

Kaian replied nonchalantly.

“We can try both. Why worry about such a thing?”

“But if we eat both…”

Kaian would pay for it.

Claude thought it was wasteful to buy food they couldn’t finish eating.

It would be a shame to throw away the leftovers too.

As she hesitated and mumbled, seeming to read her thoughts, Kaian spoke up.

“Let’s call Madame Marcel and Hannah too. That should work, right?”

“Really?”

Kaian instructed the servant following behind to call Madame Marcel and Hannah.

They had come in a different carriage, always checking for any items accidentally left behind after leaving a place and following later, plus their ordinary carriage was different from the one Claude and Kaian rode in, so they usually arrived about an hour later.

As her face cleared up as if her worries were over, Kaian started walking towards a suitable place.

At that moment, a small girl blocked their path. In the child’s hand was a pink cockscomb flower.

“I’ll give you this.”

The girl was shabbily dressed with dirt stains on her sleeves, carrying a flower basket on her arm.

Claude smiled and accepted the large flower with layers of petals in full bloom.

“Thank you.”

Kaian took out his money pouch from his chest and asked.

“How much is it?”

“I’m just giving it to you.”

The child looked up at Claude, tapping the ground with her toes shyly.

“Because you’re pretty.”

Claude was delighted by the sincerity in the child’s innocent eyes.

“Really?”

“Are you perhaps a princess?”

“No, princesses are much prettier than me.”

“Have you seen a princess?”

“No, but I’m sure they are.”

“Then who are you?”

Claude pondered for a moment what she should tell this child, whether she should say she was the Duchess of Temnes.

“A fairy.”

At Kaian’s words, the girl turned her eyes to him.

“She’s a fairy.”

“Wow. I thought so.”

The girl who had just been asking Claude if she was a princess was delighted at the word ‘fairy’.

“Here. This is your share. Fairies don’t like freebies.”

Kaian wrapped coins in a handkerchief and tied it around the girl’s wrist.

“A fairy’s gift disappears if you break a promise. Run home like this and show it to your parents.”

“Yes, Mr. Fairy.”

Thanks to being next to Claude who looked like a fairy, Kaian had also become a fairy. The child waved at him and disappeared into an alley.

Watching the cheerful back of the running child, Claude playfully looked at him.

“Are you a fairy, sir?”

When Claude asked, Kaian cleared his throat and took the cockscomb flower from her hand.

Since she had opened her parasol and wasn’t wearing a hat, he tucked the flower behind her ear where her red hair was neatly braided up, and it matched quite well with her red hair.

“You act quite naturally as a fairy. You must be something like the Fairy King.”

“A child’s imagination is precious.”

As they walked towards the restaurant again, Claude asked.

“I thought you’d dislike children.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you dislike disorder and are so proper.”

Children were beings on the opposite side of order and norms.

For a child to grow up meant gradually shaping what was born freely by God’s will into a mold created by humans.

“Is that a reason to dislike children? If an heir is born, I’d have to be strict at times.”

“What were your parents like? Were they strict?”

“They were both noble people.”

“I thought so. Since Lady Elise was a princess.”

“Mother was elegant but quite resolute.”

Kaian put his arm around Claude’s shoulder and walked slowly.

“Basically, I don’t think they coddled or made excuses for me because I was young.”

“Then did you feel wronged or hurt?”

“No.”

In his childhood, after gaining awareness, Kaian saw both his father, the head of Temnes, and his mother, the duchess who was a former princess, faithfully carrying their own burdens.

They calmly handled big tasks without mistakes, resolved problems whenever they arose in the territory, and took care of the people.

“I just think I felt I had to do my part too.”

Even when young, it seems he felt that if there was something difficult, he couldn’t show it or talk about it.

Watching his parents, that is.

There were also rarely any occasions for him to get scolded.

Claude listened attentively to Kaian’s story.

‘He doesn’t dislike children.’

Why did she think Kaian wouldn’t want children?

Because he had a scary side to him.

She couldn’t imagine such a man holding a child in his arms, and somehow the image of a fragile life and the pinnacle of martial arts seemed far apart.

A baby and Kaian.

But it was also one of the most important things a duchess had to do.

Giving birth to an heir.

‘What would it be like if a child resembling him was born?’

A child with black hair and beautiful red eyes would be incredibly pretty and cute, whether a boy or a girl.

Claude found herself lost in such thoughts without realizing it.

…Having a child.

That too was the abandoned duchess’s duty in the face of Herzol’s predicted death, something she hadn’t even considered.

Her face darkened.

‘But I probably can’t have children.’