Chapter 067
It became clear that Evan was aware of me, making my worries about how to approach him seem trivial since I had never experienced a proper love before.
‘Still, it bothers me that he doesn’t try to get close easily…’
Reflecting on the attitude he had shown so far, I could arrive at a somewhat understandable conclusion.
“Is he really shy?”
If someone were to hear this, they would be shocked to the point of their jaw dropping, but that was my thought.
“I want to be together all the time.”
I wanted to live my life with Evan, not just a one-year contract marriage that was formed out of convenience.
Wiping away my smile, I stared blankly at the ceiling patterns, sinking into deep contemplation.
‘To continue living with Evan, I need a bigger change.’
The development of the territory and the protective barrier of the border would never bring about the future I desired.
‘Once Delos ascends to the throne as planned, another war will break out within a year.’
In that case, Evan would naturally have to return to the battlefield, and the many who had just regained their will to live would lose hope once again.
“It’s time to really let go now.”
I abruptly stood up from my seat and took out a piece of stationery.
The recipient was Bjorn del Cargos.
It was time to provoke the man who had the power and status to change the predetermined future.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
A few days later.
“Customer! I’m here!”
A cheerful voice echoed in the quiet office.
“Joy, it feels like it’s been a while. I guess your busy days are over?”
As I was reviewing some documents, I welcomed Joy, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, with a cheerful voice.
Although he had been frequently coming and going from the castle, I hadn’t seen his face for the past few days due to his personal research and the work on the protective barrier in the border area that he had been commissioned to do.
“Yeah. Most things are almost… Huh? Wow, who’s this?”
Rubbing his stiff neck as he entered the office, Joy pointed to one side of the sofa and asked,.
Sitting there quietly, eating cookies, was a child.
Just as I was about to explain to Joy what had happened during that time.
“Oh, that’s…”
“This kid already looks sharp and handsome, but he seems to resemble someone…”
Joy seemed to be carefully examining the child’s face, tilting his head and muttering.
I wondered how much time had passed.
Suddenly, Joy exclaimed in surprise.
“Customer! Since when did you have a kid?”
I couldn’t understand how he could reach such a conclusion.
I stared at Joy with a dumbfounded expression, but he seemed oblivious to my face, chattering away as he looked at the child.
“But the kid doesn’t resemble you at all, only looks just like his dad, right? Little one, what’s your name?”
The child seemed fascinated by Joy, who was making a fuss in front of him.
Even though the castle staff had tried to get close by offering snacks or toys, the child had never given them a glance, but now he was wide-eyed with interest in Joy.
“Why is this kid so quiet? Usually, they’re noisy enough to make your ears ring.”
Joy lifted the child up with both hands, muttering in a tone of wonder.
I had felt it before, but Joy’s gruffness toward people seemed to bypass children entirely.
“Joy, please put the child down. And that child is not mine. What are you saying to someone who has been married for less than two months?”
“Oh, right.”
Upon hearing my words, Joy let out a small exclamation as if he had just remembered something he had forgotten.
“Then whose child is this really? Is it your husband’s cousin?”
“He’s the child of a complete stranger.”
Looking at the child’s face, I could guess why he kept bringing up Evan.
The light gray eyes and slightly upward slant of the child’s gaze were similar enough to Evan that it would be understandable to think they were related.
“Aires, do you want to eat more cookies?”
I offered the child a plate of cookies placed in front of him.
As the child took the plate and began nibbling on the cookies again, I pulled Joy into a corner.
“What’s going on? Where did you suddenly bring this completely unrelated child from?”
Joy looked at me with a face that showed he didn’t understand the situation and sent me a questioning glance.
I explained to him what had happened so far.
“So that’s how it is. Is the child’s mother okay now?”
After hearing my explanation, Joy glanced at the child once and lowered his voice to ask about the child’s mother.
I shook my head and replied in a voice mixed with a faint sigh.
“No. The doctor says there’s nothing wrong, but she still hasn’t regained consciousness. The servants are taking care of the child, but he’s very shy, so it’s difficult.”
The child’s mother had improved significantly since she first collapsed.
However, the problem was that, for some reason, there was no sign of her waking up.
As the days dragged on without the child’s mother regaining consciousness, I could see the child becoming noticeably depressed, so I had been taking care of him for a short time during the day.
“The child seems to talk to you. Is that kid’s name Aires?”
“The mother said the child’s name before she collapsed.”
I glanced at Aires with a complicated expression.
Since entering the mansion, the child hadn’t said a single word.
When I asked questions, the child communicated by shaking or nodding his head as if he understood everything.
“The doctor says there’s nothing wrong with his throat, but it seems he’s deliberately not speaking.”
The doctor suggested that this was a symptom that could commonly appear in people who had experienced extreme stress during the war, and we should observe him for a while.
As I watched Aires with a troubled heart, I suddenly recalled what the child’s mother had said just before she collapsed.
‘I wonder what she was trying to say at the end.’
Clearly, the child’s mother had been trying to convey something while looking directly into my eyes.
However, with just the word “Clay,” there was almost nothing to deduce, and it seemed the only option was to ask again once the woman woke up.
“Still, since there’s nothing wrong with her body, I hope she regains consciousness soon.”
If the woman woke up, I really wanted to ask her why she had looked at me with such a desperate gaze.
I finished my words while fiddling with the wrist that the woman had held onto at that time.
“It’s quite strange. If she was coughing up blood, her condition must have been quite serious, but upon examination, she was fine? Was there anything unusual before she collapsed?”
At that moment, Joy, who had been listening intently, expressed curiosity about the woman’s condition.
“What was it? I don’t know who the subject was, but she said someone had to die. I think she mentioned a curse too…”
“A curse? She said it was a curse?”
As I slowly spoke while recalling that day’s memories, Joy began to actively ask about the woman, unlike before.
“What exactly did she say? Didn’t she say anything else besides the word curse?”
Seeing Joy’s suddenly heightened curiosity, I shook my head in confusion.
“No, there wasn’t. The only things I clearly remember are her saying someone had to die and the word curse. But why are you so surprised?”
“Hmm? No, it’s nothing. Just curious…”
Joy, who shook his head vigorously in response, then approached the child who was eating cookies and plopped down beside him.
The sight of Joy deep in thought with one leg shaking seemed somehow anxious.
“…If you know that much, you don’t seem like an ordinary person.”
Muttering something faintly, Joy soon stood up restlessly.
“Ahem, I should get going now. Come to think of it, I have some unfinished business.”
Just as Joy was about to walk towards the door,
“Hmm?”
“Oh my.”
The child, who had been quietly eating cookies until now, grabbed the hem of Joy’s clothing as he was about to leave.
Not only did he grab it, but he also seemed to want Joy to sit back down, as he kept tugging at Joy’s clothes tightly.
