Chapter 126
“What is all this?”
It was one evening. Kirine was startled by Reilly’s sudden visit, but what really shocked her were the items piled up in front of her.
“What do you mean ‘what’? They’re presents, of course.”
“But… who gives this many presents?”
“I do.”
Reilly nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then gestured for Kirine to move aside.
“Move so I can get in.”
“But what about all of these?”
“What do you mean? We’re obviously taking them inside.”
“All of this?”
The gifts were stacked in four or five rows taller than she was. How on earth were they supposed to bring all this inside?
More importantly, she wondered if there would even be space to put all the presents.
“What, should we leave the presents outside?”
Reilly insisted that was absolutely not an option and used magic to levitate the presents one by one into Kirine’s house.
“What did you buy exactly?”
“Well, you’ll find out when you open them.”
Humming cheerfully, Reilly finished moving all the presents and then led Kirine inside.
“Quick, open the presents!”
Eager to show them off, Reilly stuck close to Kirine’s side and urged her on. Kirine stared at the gift boxes now placed in front of her before deciding to open the one wrapped in the most ordinary paper.
“This is…”
“Isn’t it absolutely adorable?”
It was a dress perfect for a little girl.
“Ah, well… it is cute.”
“I ordered this directly from the most popular designer. How do you like it? Do you love it?”
As soon as they received permission from the Emperor for the marriage, they had told Reilly the news. At the same time, they had told only Reilly about the pregnancy.
Upon hearing this, Reilly had smiled brightly, told them to trust her, and suddenly brought all these presents.
“This is another dress?”
“There’s also a headband next to it. And baby shoes too.”
Kirine couldn’t help but laugh in amazement as the gift-giver seemed more excited than the recipient. While she was surprised, not having expected to be cared for to this extent, she felt more grateful than anything.
“But they’re all items for a girl.”
“Yes, why?”
As she opened the gift boxes one by one, they were all clothes, shoes, and toys suitable for a baby girl.
“We don’t know if it’s a girl or boy yet?”
Reilly had brought only items for a girl, as if she had been told it was definitely going to be a daughter.
“Isn’t it a girl?”
“I don’t even know that yet.”
“…”
“…?”
Reilly’s face, which had been sparkling with excitement, fell in despair.
“No. It absolutely has to be a girl.”
“Why?”
“If it’s a boy, he’ll grow up to be like your boyfriend’s brother.”
“…?”
For a moment, Kirine stared in confusion, not understanding what Reilly meant, but then she burst out laughing as she finally got it.
She meant that a boy would grow up to be like Ares, which was horrifying to her.
“Well… it would be nice if the baby resembled Ares.”
“No way. The baby has to look like you. Absolutely must look like you.”
Reilly was so adamant about this, declaring it non-negotiable, that Kirine just went along with it and opened another gift box.
“But why did you buy so many things? It’s even tiring just to open them.”
“This is actually modest. I wanted to buy more but held back because I thought you might feel burdened.”
“…”
This? This was holding back?
The words almost escaped her throat, but she held them in and fiddled with the baby shoes instead. Seeing all these baby items made the reality of her pregnancy finally sink in.
“These days, everyone’s talking about you and Ares.”
“I’m sure. I’ve been bombarded with questions yesterday and today too.”
The marriage news alone was causing such a commotion; she couldn’t even imagine what people would say when they found out about the baby.
‘It’s probably better to keep this fact hidden for now.’
Not wanting to deal with more harassment, she decided to keep quiet about it for now and examined the various gifts Reilly had given her.
“I don’t really care if it’s a girl or boy.”
She would be happy either way, as the baby would be cute and adorable regardless. Deep down, she hoped the baby would look more like Ares. Since her own appearance could be intimidating at first, she thought Ares’s relatively gentle impression might be better.
But Reilly was adamant.
“No way. I want to see a daughter who looks like you.”
Her tone made it clear this was absolutely non-negotiable, making Kirine smile as she put the baby shoes back in their box.
***
Not long after the palace had been turned upside down by news of Kirine and Ares’s marriage, another rumor began to spread.
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
Kirine was cleaning laboratory equipment and responding half-heartedly when her nearby colleagues exchanged glances, and one of them carefully asked:
“Well, I heard in passing that the tower mage bought a huge amount of baby items.”
“Oh, really?”
Kirine nodded noncommittally, keeping her eyes on the equipment. Her colleague sighed in frustration and continued:
“That mage was Reilly Arensis…”
“And?”
Kirine still hadn’t caught on to what her colleague was implying, and looked at them with an expression that asked ‘what’s the problem?’ But seeing all eyes suddenly on her, she finally realized.
“Ah…”
A sigh escaped her involuntarily.
Too shocked to even deny it, Kirine awkwardly avoided their gazes. Her colleagues gasped and muttered:
“Really? Truly?”
“Is it what we’re thinking?”
“The reason Reilly Arensis bought baby items…”
They glanced furtively at Kirine, urging her to answer quickly. Seeing their expressions eager for confirmation, Kirine let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“Yeah, it’s true. So just congratulate me.”
“Wow, it really was true!”
“When did this happen?”
“But you’re not even married yet!”
“Aren’t you two moving too fast?”
“Oh my, oh my, this is huge!”
“So what about the baby? Girl or boy?”
“Who cares about the gender? Look at the parents’ faces. This baby’s set for life in the looks department.”
“Right? I’m already excited about how beautiful they’ll be.”
They were squealing and rejoicing as if they were the ones having a baby. Though Kirine clicked her tongue, she couldn’t hide how pleased she actually felt.
“What about Lord Arensis? What did he say?”
“Does he want a daughter or son?”
After all their chatter among themselves, they crowded around Kirine again with questions. Though Kirine pushed them away, complaining about the attention, she readily answered.
“He says he wants a daughter who looks like me.”
“Did you hear that? ‘He wants a daughter who looks like me,’ she said!”
“Wow, I still can’t believe you two are getting married.”
“And now there’s already a baby.”
Though they all made teasing sounds at Kirine, their eyes clearly showed their genuine joy and congratulations.
Nous_Defions
Vincent mist already be at hid boiling point at these pieces of news…