The Baby Isn’t Yours

Mental magic had the potential to come with side effects that could, in extreme cases, shatter a person’s mind. Simple spells and suggestions were usually safe, but forcibly digging through someone’s memories or attempting to control their mind was a very dangerous form of magic, almost akin to rummaging through their brain.

‘Simon wouldn’t go that far, would he? Especially when the target isn’t even an enemy,’ Kalia thought.

Simon, despite his unconventional methods, was not the kind of mad psycho who would destroy the mind of an imperial temporary general just to find a single friend.

Or at least, that’s what she wanted to believe.

‘We’re not even that close; we’re just friends.’

The fact that one friend was gone, and Simon’s actions in destroying his friend’s estate, was starting to slip her mind. After ending the communication, she returned to the carriage.

If Simon was back and destroying her mansion, it would be unwise to delay her journey any longer. She’d be placed in an even more difficult situation if the Prince of Akan had recognized her. So, leaving as soon as possible seemed like the best course of action.

She looked at the small crystal bottle in her hands.

‘…is this really alright? Will they be okay?’

However, her concerns for the kids didn’t allow her to move forward. She felt compelled to check on them.

After some internal struggle, Kalia opened the communication device again to contact Brik.

“Brik, there’s one more thing I need you to do.”

Seeing Kalia’s somewhat serious expression, Brik responded with equal seriousness.

-Yes, please tell me.-

Kalia took a deep breath before she retrieved the teleportation scrolls Simon had given her from her bag. They allowed her to move up to 180 kilometers at once.

It seemed like now was the time to use them.

Pulling one of the scrolls from her bag, Kalia said:

“Right now, I need you to contact Simon and tell him that I’m in Antik.”

Once the call was ended, Kalia immediately had Hemmie and Allen get on the carriage. Then, without any delay, she tore apart two scrolls.

Kalia requested Hemmie’s permission before tearing eight scrolls that day.

To ensure Hemmie didn’t collapse, she administered recovery potions at intervals.

In just a day, using the scrolls, they had moved a whopping 500 kilometers, including Simon’s scroll. Kalia was meticulous in erasing their traces and moved with great caution, disguising their identities. That night, even though Hemmie was exhausted, Kalia took the reins herself and drove an additional 60 kilometers while Hemmie and Allen were incapacitated.

So, in just two days, they had moved over 900 kilometers. Finally, Kalia decided to take a rest in a small, out-of-the-way village that didn’t even seem to appear on the map.

The village was inhabited by people who raised horses and sheep. They welcomed Kalia, who was traveling with her ‘older brother’ and ‘little sister,’ offering them a small room to stay in.

The first thing Kalia did in the dusty, dimly lit bedroom was to consult a pale-looking Allen about her baby. He examined her abdomen with a face as white as a sheet and used mana to scan the area beneath it.

“Luckily, it seems like the baby is growing well,” Allen said with a smile, his face still pale.

Kalia’s heart raced as she looked at the tiny bump on the plain white cloth.

It had grown considerably since the last time she saw it. You could almost see something like arms and legs, and there was something else that was even more fascinating.

It was astonishing to think that it had grown so much in just ten days.

“Kalia, you should be grateful for having an appetite. It’s best not to overdo it, but whatever you eat, see it as the baby’s food. Everything you eat, see it as something that will affect the baby.”

Despite feeling exhausted, Allen, who had just woken up, delivered his warning with a very strict expression and then slowly left the room as if he were crawling.

Kalia couldn’t help but feel that his frail figure resembled that of an undead created through forbidden magic.

Coincidentally, as he passed through the doorway, Allen collapsed, crying out with strange sounds like ‘Aah.’

‘Is he this exhausted?’

Compared to the soldiers she used to serve with, this level of fatigue was quite surprising. 

‘Allen is weak.’

With a click of her tongue, she turned her head to look out the window, she thought that if there was an opportunity, she should take care of his physical health.

The stars floating in the sky glittered and winked. It was as if someone had poured a whole pot of stars into the dark night sky.

‘Did Simon find the children yet?’

Others didn’t know but Simon would be able to see the children. Those with Elven blood could see fairies and it was thanks to the child in her belly that had Simon’s flowing through it that she could see the fairies too.

‘I hope everything’s okay and there’s no problems.’

In their hectic journey over the past 2 days, her unease had unconsciously faded a little but even then, there was still a little bit of anxiety and unpleasant feeling remaining.

Tossing and turning on the bed, Kalia eventually sat up.

It was strange, but after deciding to distance herself from him, Simon’s face seemed to be appearing in her mind more and more.

“…Are you thinking about your father?”

Kalia looked down at her flat belly, stroking it with a puzzled expression.

Simon didn’t love Simon.

Or rather, she did love him, but not in a romantic sense; they were old friends, or you could say they were like siblings.

However, siblings shouldn’t harm each other. They should protect and care for one another. That’s why she had decided to leave him.

Of course, that day Kalia had ambushed Simon, but… That day, Kalia attacked Simon.

“As expected, I’m the trash here…”

Oh no.

Kalia quickly covered her mouth and apologized to the baby:

“I said I’d use nice words from now on, I’m sorry, baby! Your mom is definitely not trash! It’s just that, that day was a bit messy…!”

She caressed her belly absentmindedly, letting out a sigh of relief in her troubled heart. It wasn’t easy to apologize to your baby for thinking that your mother had been messy.

‘It’s just that I attacked him because I loved him… No, but attacking is bad. No, that doesn’t mean I forcibly attacked Simon, did I?’

Except for that first kiss of hers which ignited a flame in Simon’s eyes, he became the one to lead her.

Come to think of it, it was him who put the rope in her hallway.

It was Simon who had no strength to even go to his room, so he swept everything off the table in the studio.

Simon laid her down on top of it and sucked and licked her lips like crazy.

It was as if he wanted to personally express what it meant to be coveted.

Just as Kalia at that time wasn’t the usual Kalia, the Simon at that time also wasn’t the Simon she knew.

Before that day, Simon had never touched Kalia like that.

During the long time they were together, he barely touched her…

But the Simon on that day was like a starving man; he did not let Kalia off for even a second. He had left traces of himself in the form of hickies all over from head to toe, searching incessantly for the unfamiliar pinnacle of pleasure that she didn’t even know existed until then.

The warmth of his lips, the tangle of their tongues and their hot skin pressed firmly against each other; the buildup of heat between the two was intoxicating.

The strange movement of his fingers which had fluttered all over her body, the strength of them as they held her thighs and the husky voice that restlessly called out her name.

“Kalia… Kalia.”

Gulp.

“…Hmm.”

Kalia felt her cheeks flushed bright red as she recalled that night. The more she tried to stop thinking, the more embarrassed she grew.

She coughed faintly, her face still red.

There was an angel-like child in her stomach but she still had such lustful thoughts.

As if to distract herself and deny the rising heat inside her body, Kalia muttered to her child:

“Actually, your mom didn’t really do anything wrong. Two grown adults can sometimes get carried away. I was a bit careless, thinking my body couldn’t get pregnant. Still, I consider it a blessing to have met you. You’re my miracle.”

As she whispered, Kalia finally got out of the bed she had been sitting in. All along, the heat in her body never subsided.

“Ah, it’s still hot.”

Phew.

With an upward push, Kalia left her bed and got dressed. The heat beneath her neck was suffocating. She needed to take a walk to cool down and to finally get some rest.

It was late in the night and both the flock of sheep and herd of horses were asleep.

Now it was time to rest, but as she returned to the annex provided by the farm couple, she heard someone coming out.

* * *

At the same time, in front of the ancient fairy tree.

Simon stood beneath the magnificent tree, gazing up at it. The tree, enveloped in darkness, was adorned with vibrant green leaves, yet it somehow looked feeble.

Simon extended his hand and gently caressed the trunk. A faint light emitted from his hand, seeping into the tree.

He poured the light into the tree for a while, but it didn’t react as he had hoped.

‘…I guess magic is not enough.’

Magic doesn’t have much impact when trying to heal creatures where fairies are dwelling. Healing them requires time, fertile land, ceaseless winds, and warm sunlight, or creatures made of joy, like fairy spirits.

Simon silently pet the tree a few more times.

Until he received the news that Kalia was here, he had been reading her letter while crouching in her ruined mansion.

‘Kalia, how can you leave me after writing such a letter?’

For the first time, he read her true feelings, feelings he had never heard before. It contained the thoughts he had longed to hear, and her impressions of that day, which he had wanted to know so badly.

He read it several times, as if trying to engrave each word into his mind.

In that instant, her adjutant came to see him. Simon immediately moved.

Using a simple teleportation spell, he arrived at the location within five to ten minutes. However, he found no trace of Kalia anywhere. He only saw a unknown magician harassing the fairy tree.

“What is this annoying thing?”

Simon muttered irritably.