The Baby Isn’t Yours

That way, the carriage disappeared completely.

The remaining people gazed at the momentarily empty space and continued their interrupted conversations.

“Ah, so the Duke of Magic is in this city now? That Simon!”

“Yes, it’s definitely him! The one who bought the pink pearl! Isn’t it amazing? I wonder who the lady receiving the pink pearl will be? Maybe General Kalia, as the rumors say?”

“That’s just baseless rumor! My cousin working at the imperial palace said it’s just wild speculation because of their strong friendship!”

“Oh, I see… Hahaha! Ma’am, you don’t believe that much, do you?”

Soft laughter filled the spot. Soon, the other group they had been waiting for arrived, and the idle chatter ceased. They, too, used scrolls to leave the place.

The teleportation spot was now completely empty, as if no one had been there.

* * *

After tearing three scrolls consecutively for two days, something unusual happened.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

But it wasn’t Kalia who said this; it was Hemmie.

The burden of using scrolls mostly affected the one activating them, but the people traveling with them were also influenced by the magic.

Having traveled several hundred kilometers in a short time using scrolls, Hemmie began to feel queasy.

Kalia, observing Hemmie’s motion sickness, occasionally opted to use the carriage for short distances. Originally, the plan included using the carriage intermittently, but due to their haste, they had ended up using only scrolls one after another.

Allen provided Hemmie with motion sickness medicine, allowing them to reach the city of Antik by nightfall.

The city was about 570 kilometers away.

The landowner of this territory was Marquis Carpetio, a pacifist who had managed this place quietly for three generations. In other words, it was a peaceful, uneventful, and ancient city.

It was an ideal place to stay for the night.

To pass through the security checkpoint, Kalia offered a substantial sum to purchase the nobility badge of ‘Baron Organ,’ who had mysteriously gone missing, and then used it to obtain the title of ‘Count Nartia’ before acquiring the title of ‘Baron Collins.’

She went to great lengths to change her status, just in case there were any traces to follow.

With these false documents, they entered the city without any issues. The three of them made their way to the central square, where inns were clustered.

“Wow, such a huge tree! I’ve never seen a tree like that. What kind of tree is it?”

“It’s an old Poporico tree. It’s a sight to behold when it’s covered in white flowers during the summer.”

Allen, holding the reins of the carriage, pointed in amazement at the enormous tree that dominated the central square.

During summer, it was filled with white flowers, and the round, cherry-like fruit it bore was very sweet and fragrant, making it a popular fruit among people of all ages.

Kalia gazed at the enormous tree through the carriage window. Thinking of the sweet, tangy fruits, her mouth watered. She wondered just how many fruits such a large tree would bear.

“Why are those children playing…”

Three children were playing on the tree, even though it was well past sundown.

Some shops had closed their doors, and the city was mostly asleep, but these young kids were playing on the square at this late hour.

“Kalia, what are you looking at so intently?”

“Those kids are playing over there, and it seems a bit dangerous… Will they be okay?”

“What? Kids?”

To see where Kalia was looking, Hemmie leaned over, and at that moment, the carriage jerked to a sudden stop. Due to the sudden motion, Hemmie’s lower lip collided with the carriage window frame.

“Ouch.”

In an instant, Hemmie let out an odd sound and clutched her lips. It seemed like she had a small cut and tasted the slight metallic flavor of blood.

“Ouch! Ouch! Oh, it hurts!”

She exaggeratedly overreacted, whether her tongue or her lips got hurt; Hemmie didn’t like pain.

Then, the cool touch of Kalia’s fingers reached the whining Hemmie’s quivering chin.

“…”

Hemmie, taken by surprise, opened her eyes wide and saw the long, delicate eyelashes that cast shadows beneath her gaze.

“The inside of your lips were busted a little. I have a good ointment for wounds. Apply it and it’ll be fine. Does it hurt a lot, Hemmie?”

‘…I can’t tell if it hurts anymore but I can’t breathe Kalia. If you come this close, I’m so overwhelmed that I can’t breathe. Does my breath smell bad? What do I do? What if it smells bad? Looks like I won’t have a voice anymore.’

Despite her inner ramblings, Hemmie held back what she wanted to say and simply nodded her head.

Kalia smiled in response and Hemmie felt her face heat up at the mere sight of her smile.

What could I say? Kalia’s beauty wasn’t doll-like as a princess, but it had its unique charm.

It was something beyond the worldly beauty that gave a transcendent feeling. Hemmie decided once again that she would pledge her unwavering loyalty to her, whether in life or death.

At that moment, Allen stretched his head out from the window on the opposite side, pointing towards the entrance of a hotel.

The entrance of the building was visible from where Kalia had looked before. Though the building was old, it had an elegant and clean appearance.

Most importantly, there were few people around, and the atmosphere was serene.

Without further ado, Kalia grabbed her belongings and stepped out of the carriage.

* * *

Kalia entered the hotel, checked in, and immediately took a shower before lying down on the bed.

The bed was much softer than she expected, and the bedding had a crisp, sun-dried feel and a pleasant fragrance that put her mind at ease.

It seemed like the kind of environment where she could fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Or, at least, she thought so.

“…I can’t sleep.”

But that wasn’t the case. No matter how she tossed and turned, sleep was eluding her.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t experienced a nomadic lifestyle before, but surprisingly, she couldn’t fall asleep. If this were a different time, she might engage in some light physical activity to tire herself out, but that wasn’t the situation now.

Kalia changed her position several times while lying down, thinking.

‘Simon is coming back tomorrow…’

He must be feeling disappointed that she left without saying anything. It made her feel a bit sorry and frustrated, but Kalia believed it was the best course of action.

Looking back now, it seemed a bit strange. Why was the urge to stay and protect the child so powerful?

Even if she decided she wanted a child, who could stop her?

But Kalia felt she needed to move as far away as possible to protect the child.

That wasn’t all; from the moment she thought about having a child, vague imagicians of a small city had been popping into her mind. It was quite unclear, but for some reason, she felt like she needed to leave the capital and go there.

It was a gut feeling, something deeply rooted within her.

‘Come to think of it, Simon said he had something to say when he came back…’

She was curious about what that was, but now it was already too late.

She’ll have to ask later, but later.

Come to think of it, Simon has been talking about marriage lately…

He mentioned that someone, who seemed to be in love with him, had proposed, and that living with someone you loved under one roof seemed quite happy. He even said that if he loved someone, he wouldn’t mind not having children…

He stated he had no intention of inheriting his family line, so he could do without children.

‘Why does he dislike children so much?’

Speaking about that, Simon really didn’t like babies.

He found them annoying and irritating, saying that the sound of a baby crying scratched at his nerves.

What if she told him, ‘I’ve had your child’?

She could almost hear him say, ‘Erase it. It’s better that way.’

“Ugh.”

Kalia let out a sound at Simon’s imaginary voice, cursing him without realizing it. She grabbed her blushing cheek a moment later.

“What a bastard…!”

Unknowingly, Kalia clenched her fists and glared daggers at Simon in her mind before belatedly coming to her senses and patting her reddened cheeks.

“Get a grip. Simon didn’t say anything. Don’t blame innocent people.”

Phew.

Kalia took a deep breath and caressed her flat stomach out of habit. She opened the wide window after sipping a glass of warm milk and gazed out at the square below.

Even though it was dark outside, the enchanting ambiance of the city square was accentuated by the imposing tree and the softly lit lamp posts.

Enjoying the breeze brushing against her face, Kalia watched the tree with a contemplative look.

A puzzled frown appeared on her face as she realized she was seeing the same sight as earlier.

“…Children?”

The children she had seen just before entering the hotel were still playing and climbing the tree.

After briefly observing the scene, Kalia went out of the hotel room.

* * *

In the quiet streets, everybody was asleep.

Five streets radiated out from the square’s center, but there was no one to be seen on any of them.

Kalia passed by the half-asleep innkeeper behind the counter and walked outside. She walked along the deserted streets with her loosely tied hair swaying in the wind.

Due to her unusual hair color, she often wore a hat during the day, but it was early morning, and there were hardly any people around, so she walked freely outside.

-Hehe!-

The clear laughter of the children pierced the silent darkness of the square, creating an unusual atmosphere.

Drawn by their laughter, Kalia approached the children.

Although they seemed like they were around seven or eight years old, the children were tall and moved freely on the massive tree as if they were squirrels.

Kalia watched them from beneath the tree. The children, who had been playing on the tree, stopped and gazed down at Kalia as they noticed her.

Curiosity shone in their sparkling eyes.

-Look! I think that human can see us!-

-Looks like it. A half-elf, maybe? Look at her her hair. It’s lemony, like a citron!-

-Yeah, yeah! She’s so pretty!-

Kalia, listening to the children, spoke in a quiet voice.

“Are you fairies?”