Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 108

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎𝟖

“What? Moghald-nim is critically ill?”

It wasn’t until the next morning that I heard Ren and Ernst had left the hotel together.

I couldn’t help but be flustered, as I thought all that was left was to apologize to them and honestly confess my feelings.

“He was bombarded with calls from the Magic Tower all day, and then later, the red summoning orb rang. The atmosphere was serious.”

I asked Callisto, looking at him with suspicion.

“Then why did Ernst leave without saying goodbye? Don’t tell me you chased him away?”

Callisto hesitated for a moment, but eventually opened his mouth.

“Ernst…… I think he overheard our conversation outside the door yesterday.”

What conversation……?

But after briefly recalling my memories, I could soon remember.

It was definitely when we were arguing about who the baby resembled.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t speak.

“……I knew there was a presence then. But I didn’t want to hide it anymore. The Crown Prince asked me to make an excuse for him, but I’m not going to make excuses or…… apologize to you.”

“Cal……”

Rather, I was the one who should apologize.

It was something I should have done from the moment several people simultaneously claimed to be the baby’s father.

Even if it was something Louise had done in the past, it was my responsibility to bear, as I had the happiness of carrying and raising Prillice in her stead.

So I’m not angry with Callisto. It’s just……

‘I feel so sorry for Ernst.’

And not just Ernst.

If Callisto was Prillice’s real father, he had every right to resent me.

How absurd would it be for him to know that I had considered another man as my marriage partner?

However, Callisto, on the contrary, pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

“The Tower Master bastard left a necklace for Prillice. To be honest, I wanted to just throw it away, but I put it on her as an expensive shield.”

“……Thank you, Cal.”

I had to say that in the end.

That was all I could say.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Three days have passed since then, but Ernst has not yet returned.

‘Has he become convinced that Prillice is not his child?’

Because the baby resembles Callisto’s appearance, as Callisto claims?

‘Or did Ernst secretly suspect that he might not be the baby’s father?’

I was very uncomfortable while making these various guesses, but I couldn’t bring myself to contact him first.

I couldn’t find any evidence in the diary that I had been diligently checking for a while that Ernst was the baby’s father.

Meanwhile, Ren’s voice, which called about once a day, was always subdued.

Moghald’s condition seemed to be very bad, and even Callisto was worried about him.

“……This may sound cold, but the former Tower Master is old. He should be let go, but I wonder if that Ren bastard is holding onto him forcefully. No matter how outstanding his abilities are, his magical power cannot be infinite.”

But I couldn’t say anything about it.

From the standpoint of someone who was secretly afraid of meeting Moghald, it felt too cowardly to agree with Callisto’s opinion.

‘He’s a teacher that Ren wants to hold onto so desperately, what right do I have to interfere……’

We were also having a busy time in Edessa.

It was quite difficult for me just to recover from childbirth without Ren’s help and occasionally take care of the baby.

A week later, something happy happened.

Prillice, who had kept me waiting all this time, wondering when she would finally meet my gaze, finally opened her eyes wide.

“Oh my……”

The nanny came running in a fuss when I was with Callisto.

The imperial red eyes sparkled beneath the baby’s pink eyelashes.

They were incredibly round and large eyes.

My daughter Prillice was truly like a living doll.

Of course, I had been worried that the baby might be another man’s child, not Callisto’s, so Prillice’s red eyes made me a little uneasy.

But facing those eyes that resembled mine made my heart pound with joy.

“Red eyes.”

Callisto shook his head.

“Since she’s your daughter, of course it would be prettier if she resembled you…… but at this point, can I be a little jealous?”

Despite those words, he looked so happy.

Our lips intertwined, regardless of the surrounding gazes.

Perhaps because we were always together, our body temperatures, which had become similar to mine, overlapped affectionately.

By the time he broke away after exploring my breath to his heart’s content, the nanny had taken the baby back.

Callisto spoke in a worried voice.

“Really…… This way, I’ll never be able to face His Majesty the Emperor. I think I should visit him soon and beg for forgiveness.”

“You can’t do that, Cal.”

I still remembered Callisto in the novel being killed by Lurik, so I couldn’t allow it.

There should be no chance, however small, that Lurik would harm him.

“Lou.”

Callisto affectionately kissed my forehead.

“Look at our daughter. You gave me everything. Although it took some time, you eventually forgave my rudeness……”

……Rudeness?

I couldn’t remember any moment when he was rude, so I hesitated for a moment, unable to follow the flow of the conversation.

He held my hand and said,

“If I were still a prince, His Majesty would not have forgiven me no matter what I offered…… Fortunately, he is now the Emperor. He will be more pleased with Babenberg’s sincerity than before. Don’t worry.”

I don’t think so……

To persuade him, I told him the plan I had been devising for a long time.

I explained that Lurik wouldn’t be able to harm me or the baby no matter how angry he was, so I would visit him separately and persuade him later. I asked him to just include the proposal letter from Babenberg.

“Marry me while hiding our baby from His Majesty the Emperor, who is your family?”

Callisto had always granted my requests, but this time he firmly shook his head.

“I can’t do that. I admit the order is wrong. As I said repeatedly, I’m reflecting on it. But if I had known beforehand that you came here to hide the baby to the very end, I would never have agreed.”

I breathed in without showing him.

So, the rudeness Callisto was talking about seemed to be referring to crossing the line with me before marriage.

But I had never heard an apology from him……

‘Maybe Louise was angry with Cal about that?’

Thinking back to Phoebe’s reaction when she realized I was pregnant, maybe that’s something that would be considered a big deal in this world.

Anyway, Callisto and I walked on parallel lines without concessions for several days.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Meanwhile, Prillice grew rapidly.

Her skin became whiter and whiter, and the time she spent with her eyes open gradually increased.

The baby’s mouth resembled Callisto’s more and more each day.

Prillice, with a face that anyone could see was a perfect mix of him and me, diligently gazed at the star and moon mobile that Ren had hung.

“I’m going to miss you so much……”

Helena said regretfully.

With Ernst suddenly leaving and Ren returning to the Magic Tower, Helena stayed in Edessa longer than planned, staying at the hotel.

Of course, there was also the reason that Helena didn’t want to be separated from the baby.

She had stuck close to Prillice almost as much as the nanny, but there was a limit to how much she could appease my brother who was urging her to return quickly.

In the end, Callisto decided to open a temporary gate and send Helena back to the Imperial Palace.

He insisted that he would take this opportunity to go before Lurik, reveal everything, and beg for forgiveness, but I did not agree.

Helena was a little confused, but eventually seemed to have accepted the fact that the baby’s father was Callisto.

“You’re both so beautiful, so it’s only natural, but she’s such a lovely baby. It’s like she’s a perfect blend of your most beautiful features.”

“Please take care of my brother, Helena. Tell him that I’ll visit him soon and that I’ve almost recovered.”

I repeated what I had said many times before.

‘He’s not backing down yet, but Callisto will soon give in and accept my opinion, won’t he?’

So, as soon as I recovered, I was planning to leave Prillice behind and briefly visit the Imperial Palace alone.

Unless Callisto wanted to receive the Imperial proposal instead, he would have no choice but to send the proposal when I returned to the Imperial Palace.

‘Once we’re married and I show him the baby, Lurik won’t be able to do anything, right?’

Helena said goodbye, holding Prillice one last time.

“Prillice, stay healthy until I see you again, okay?”

But at that moment, I felt a very noisy presence outside.

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