The Baby Isn’t Yours

Louismond was inwardly surprised, but he skillfully hid his expression and looked up at the sky.

Sharp and cool golden eyes were probing for his answer, but Louismond wasn’t the one to feel pressured by such things.

It had been years since he manipulated the political scene with the snake-like nobles.

Being the Crown Prince, a pawn of the Empire since birth, was useful at times like this.

He could stay calm even under Simon’s penetrating gaze.

‘Such a quick-witted fellow…’

As he raised his glass slightly and wet his lips with whiskey, the whiskey seemed to become a devil’s beverage, delightfully dominating his taste buds.

‘He didn’t realize Kalia was about to leave everything behind.’

Which meant Kalia’s decision must have been that sudden.

“I’m going to have a family.”

‘A family. What the hell does that mean?’

It was a famous story known by all the citizens of the Empire.

A poor girl from a back alley saved a kidnapped young Duke, and that girl eventually became a war hero who saved the Empire… such a legendary true story.

The poor girl was an orphan, with no family.

It was said that she was abandoned when she was very young, so young that no one knows when she became orphaned.

‘… It doesn’t seem like she found her birth parents.’

There were more than a few people who made great efforts to find her parents.

Simon, the Crown Prince, and even Kalia herself tried, but they couldn’t find any leads.

‘So… is it her lover after all?’

Louismond, with a pale complexion, lowered his gaze and stared at Simon, who was standing by his side.

Those golden eyes staring coldly at him as if to ask why he was looking at him like that.

He himself was surprised by her decision and lost strength in body and mind. What will happen when Simon finds out?

‘He might become a mad magician from a story…’

At that thought, Louismond felt his head throb, and his fingertips trembled.

His heart was disturbed, and his chest was suffocating. It was a long time since he felt such surging emotions.

As he sighed heavily with a crumbling heart, Simon’s expression turned cold.

“Kalia must be involved, right? What’s going on? Tell me.”

But Louismond couldn’t easily spill everything to Simon, who was questioning him.

Because he had made a promise with Kalia.

Louismond disguised his complicated feelings and said,

“…Nathan has proposed marriage. They asked for the future Empress’ position as a reward for their support in the war.”

During the previous Salt War, Nathan invaded Rojas, but quickly surrendered due to lobbyist activities.

Swiftly, Nathan proposed an alliance to Rojas as soon as they surrendered, and instantly transformed from an invading country to an allied country, thus tasting victory.

Rojas, although irritated by Nathan’s behavior, let it slide because an alliance with them was not entirely unfavorable. That’s how politics worked.

Since it was a reward that had been anticipated at the time, Simon wasn’t particularly surprised and responded,

“You expected them to aim for the vacant Crown Princess position, didn’t you?”

“I know. Even though I know, I can’t help but feel disturbed, Simon.”

“No matter how disturbed you are, I know you won’t reject it.”

Without denying it, Louismond gave a snide laugh and drained his whiskey.

Simon, who had been staring at him, added slowly,

“Well, if you don’t want it that much, you can reject it. I can always create a reason for you.”

Louismond turned his head and stared hard at Simon.

Simon sat on the railing, shrugging his shoulders.

“Or, I could set up a situation that would completely drain Nathan of their pride.”

At the affection for him contained in Simon’s careless words, Louismond laughed.

It was always like this.

His cousin seemed cold in everything, but he wasn’t a cold person.

A man who would willingly sacrifice himself for others, as if it were nothing.

Cold to enemies, but warmer and kinder to his people than anyone else.

And perhaps a very blind and dedicated person.

‘…In retrospect, I’m probably the coldest one.’

Neither Kalia, who wields the sword, nor Simon, who uses magic that leads to death, but Louismond, who moves them from behind.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass. I don’t want to bring disgrace to my dear cousin, just to avoid my duty.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Simon, who answered indifferently, didn’t forget to return to the main topic.

“So, what did you and Kalia talk about?”

‘Persistent guy.’

Louismond, who bit his tongue inside, closed his mouth awkwardly when he realized that this damn interrogation wouldn’t end.

The person who knew Simon’s feelings for Kalia the best was Louismond himself.

“Well, just… a light military personnel rights issue.”

Realizing that later on, when he found out about this lie, he might make a fuss threatening to take the life of the only Crown Prince in this country.

No, he will definitely do that.

Simon will surely take his life, or perhaps even blow up the palace itself.

“A light personnel rights issue? So… Is that the end? Was there nothing else to say?”

Without realizing it, Louismond rubbed his cold neck and glanced at Simon.

He was looking at Louismond with a lukewarm suspicion still in his eyes.

Yes, he forgot that even if this guy is warm-hearted, when it comes to ‘Kalia’, his attributes change.

Suddenly, a vivid headline of a daily newspaper gossiping about the palace’s story came to Louismond’s mind.

[The mad Archmage. He destroys the palace and drives the Crown Prince to death!]

‘…Ah, no. It can’t happen.’

At the dreadful but possible imagination, Louismond put on a mask over his face with effort.

In this situation, he must never be caught.

Louismond drove him on with an intentionally annoyed voice.

“Simon… Please, stop it. If you’re so curious about every little thing about Kalia, why don’t you just make her small with magic and live with her?”

‘Small?’

…In the world, a small Kalia. It’s too cute just to imagine.

Simon looked at Louismond as if he had made some great discovery, his eyes sparkling with praise.

Then he immediately pondered whether there was a magic that could change a person’s size among those he could implement.

Looking at his figure, Louismond stuck out his tongue at Simon’s deepening ‘Kalia disease’.

Looking at him, he thought he really needed to take good care of his neck.

No, he’s a magician, a guy who fires fireballs and lightning when he gets hot… Not only the palace but also the capital itself might be in danger.

‘…I need to reinforce the capital’s defense magic circle.’

A Crown Prince worrying about the palace flying away due to his cousin, who is also the Duke of the Empire, and a young Archmage with unparalleled talent…

‘What should I do with this pitiful situation?’

Even so, he didn’t think that his beloved cousin would be a threat to this country.

It’s because Simon and Kalia have shown great dedication and attachment to building the Empire’s current reputation.

Moreover, it was these two people who provided the most active support for Crown Prince Louismond to gain the upper hand in the fight with the nobles.

More than the Emperor, more than any other brother, the support of these two people put him in his current position.

“Well, if you didn’t say anything, it’s fine. I have some urgent research to do, so I’ll go.”

“Simon.”

Without realizing it, Louismond called out Simon’s name in desperation. As he turned around, his last conscience and hesitation held him back.

‘Really, is it really best to keep my mouth shut like this?’

What if, later, very later, a moment of regret for the past time when he hid this matter comes?

“Well, it’s about the business trip the day after tomorrow.”

As if listening, Simon lightly nodded his head.

Louismond opened his lips with a blank face as if to hide his complicated feelings, but closed them tightly.

At that moment, he thought of Kalia’s smile, as if she had everything in the world, which he saw a little while ago.

The blush on her cheeks and the waves of happiness, Kalia’s smile that Louismond had never seen before.

The knight who had saved his life several times, and the warrior who had fought until she was exhausted.

‘…What about not going?’ Those words sprang to his throat, but Louismond had to swallow them down.

As he swallowed the dry words like dry bread, he smiled faintly and shook his head.

“Take care. It’ll be boring without you.”

“How sweet.”

Simon, with a slight curl to his lips, smiled and said goodbye as he left the office.

Bang—

The heavy wooden door closed.

Watching the door fully close, Louismond’s head fell onto the desk with a thump.

“…Oh God. Why do you give me such an ordeal?”

For the first time since he ascended to the Crown Prince, Louismond wanted to cry.

He wanted to open the closed door and rush out right away, shouting, ‘Kalia is leaving us! You have to stop her!’

But he couldn’t, he was just in agony.

‘Kalia, Kalia.’

Louismond closed his eyes and imagined her lemon-colored hair always protecting him.

His heart was heavy, but his hesitation eventually became his last permission.

So the next day came, and the next day, and a group of eight magicians, with Minister of Magic Simon at the forefront, set out on a two-week business trip to inspect the defensive magic circle.