The Baby Isn’t Yours

With a slightly flushed face, Kalia leaned on Simon with a confused expression and looked back at Kalexia.

Only then did Kalia realize Kalexia was there.

She was absent-mindedly gazing at Simon.

“…Ha-ha.”

He had an expression that was hard to tell whether he was laughing or grimacing as he looked at the two of them.

It was a complex and subtle expression.

“Troubling.”

He was the King of the elusive fairies who were known for their reclusive nature.

He had lived for hundreds of years, but there were no signs of wrinkles on his face.

Nevertheless, his ancient wisdom was evident in his deep and thoughtful eyes.

While in the midst of childbirth, Kalia had sensed a strange presence from the neighboring room, where Sasha was sleeping.

As soon as she woke up and encountered Simon, she was already a bit flustered, so she couldn’t quite determine what it was. But it was Kalexia.

“A human named Kalia Takscate… Consumed my blood.”

The voice of the Fairy King that she heard during her labor pains.

“How did you obtain my blood?

I obtained the blood of the Fairy King?

Doesn’t that mean there’s a fairy among her parents, perhaps even among the Fairy King’s lineage? But how could that be possible?

Wouldn’t a fairy need a fairy stone and possess the essence of a fairy?

Kalia looked at Kalexia, searching for answers, but it didn’t seem like his gaze alone could provide the complete answer.

Instead, he spoke further.

“A newly born fairy can receive the blessing of the Fairy King only once in their lifetime.”

“The blessing of the Fairy King?”

“Yes, that’s right. Every child of the fairy race receives my blessing. Even though it may seem trivial… it’s a blessing that parents look forward to, wishing for their child’s health.”

Kalexia gazed warmly at the baby in Simon’s arms with his stern face.

His eyes gently scanned the baby with warmth, and he spoke in the language of the ancient spirits.

[Noah Rium De Xarkar.]

As the warm yellow light enveloped the baby. Kalexia gently spoke to the baby while his hand touched its rounded cheek.

“You shall have limbs that never tire as you advance towards your desires, a sharp intellect that is never clouded by ignorance, the eyes of a sage that see through the essence, and a sweet voice untainted by the filth of words.”

Whaaah!

The light, infused with Kalexia’s words of power, gradually concentrated on Sasha’s forehead and took on the shape of leaves.

Sasha, who had been squirming as if sensing a warm energy, wriggled and smacked his lips.

Kalexia pressed his lips to the baby’s forehead and whispered:

“And lastly… You should never be unfilial by leaving before your parents, child.”

Kalexia, whose lips touched the baby’s forehead as they separated, saw the shape of leaves briefly change to green.

Surprised, Kalexia stared at Sasha with narrowed eyes as the light turned golden again.

At that moment, Sasha opened his eyes and looked at Kalexia. It was quite early for a newborn to open his eyes, and the vision of a baby wasn’t fully developed.

But Sasha was different.

He gazed at Kalexia’s face, shining with the purest of green eyes that resembled his mother’s.

His eyes sparkled as clear as the sky, and his wriggling lips seemed to express his desire to say something.

Kalexia looked at the child as if captivated.

The struggling child took his hand out of the swaddle and placed his hand on Kalexia’s cheek.

He felt around, checking if it was difficult to keep his hand under control, but… This hand, smaller than a pebble, but soft and round, like a cotton swab, touched Kalexia directly on the cheek.

As soon as he saw the child’s smile, Kalexia’s chest tightened and started pounding.

‘Oh, baby…!’

The lovely light green round eyes, which closely resembled his mother’s, sparkled, and the rosy cheeks accentuated his endearing smile, igniting a fire in the Fairy King’s heart.

It was cuteness beyond description.

Kalexia watched as the child’s lips trembled with such a foolish expression that the world had never seen before.

“Oh my… I have never seen such a perfect cute baby.’

The sense of wonder that overflowed from Kalexia’s murmured words was so profound that Kalia and Simon could also feel it.

Overwhelmed by this upsurge of emotion, Kalexia reached out his trembling hand and lifted the baby. Kalia watched quietly as he carefully held Sasha.

“Abu, abuwu…”

Sasha, without any fear or worry, made clumsy baby noises in Kalexia’s arms.

If Allen had seen this, he would have been amazed.

A baby who was only a day old, opening his eyes with such intelligence and making noises…

Sasha was undoubtedly a genius of the century.

Kalexia, with a benevolent smile different from his beast-like appearance, held the baby affectionately several times.

The baby, which had sparkled and smiled several times, soon began to whine as if annoyed.

“Hyuh, hyuhuhuhu!”

Sasha’s crying caught the attention of Hemmie, who had been dozing off in a side chair next to the baby’s crib.

“Uh, um…? Wait, when did you all come?”

Hemmie’s face turned bright red as he realized Kalia, Simon, and even Kalexia were already in the room.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t sleeping… I mean…”

“Hyuh, hyuhuhuhu!”

“Oh, Sasha! Why are you crying? Oh! Are you hungry? Allen said the baby needs to eat every two hours!”

Upon Hemmie’s words, Kalia quickly took Sasha into her arms.

“In that case, I’ll take Sasha to the room.”

Meanwhile, the baby’s cries grew louder, and Kalexia stood there, looking flustered.

Kalia, heading towards the door with the baby, paused as Kalexia urgently said:

“May I visit again?”

With three pairs of eyes quickly turning to him, the Fairy King felt awkward for the first time in his life.

Clearing his throat, Kalexia looked at Kalia, who nodded slowly.

“Sure, come again.”

She replied briefly, then quickly left the room, with Simon following her.

Hemmie also excused herself, saying she had some preparations to make, leaving Kalexia alone in the room. Only then did Kalexia seem to relax, letting his broad shoulders sag.

He recalled the baby’s face that had smiled at him a while ago and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

But soon, the smile faded, and he gazed at the darkest corner of the sunlit room. He extended his hand toward the motionless darkness.

“Come out here.”

At his command, the shadow that had shown no movement at all began to stir and slowly moved toward his outstretched hand, as if drawn by his words.

“Have you been watching me all along?”

The entity that had rolled like a ball on Kalexia’s palm, now resonated with a low vibration, responding to his question.

Kalexia chuckled and spoke to the darkness.

“Come on, try this.”

Kalexia’s fingertip glowed like mist, and the shadow, which had been coiled into a ball, swallowed his finger without hesitation.

Inside the deepest core of the blackness, the light of the Fairy King permeated and then disappeared.

“You are now one of my limbs.”

Kalexia’s finger had vanished in an instant, but he paid it no mind.

Losing a single finger wasn’t a significant loss. Although it would take several decades to regenerate, it would eventually grow back as new flesh.

“Now, return to your previous owner. Go and convey everything you’ve seen in detail. Except for this moment.”

The darkness, which had trembled, fell from his hand with a guttural sound, and it began to move quickly beyond the window, heading towards the darkness sorcerer who awaited it.

Watching this, Kalexia smiled contentedly and turned away.

In the blink of an eye, the place where the Fairy King had stood was empty.

* * *

“Burp.”

A cute sound emerged from Sasha’s mouth after finishing his milk.

As Kalia, who had followed Allen’s instructions and patted Sasha’s back after feeding him, looked down at him with a surprised expression, Allen raised his eyes to them.

“Well done. After feeding, you should burp the baby by patting his back like that. If you don’t do it properly, babies often throw up what they’ve just eaten.”

“I see. Babies are really amazing.”

Kalia, holding Sasha closely on her shoulder as she patted his back, looked at her face intently. Even after looking at him again and again, it was still unbelievable.

The fact that she gave birth to a baby, and such a beautiful one at that. How can he be so cute, with those eyes, nose, and mouth? It’s amazing how he can be so adorable.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Kalia lost herself in gazing at Sasha’s face, who had fallen into a good mood after feeling full.

“Kalia, look at this! Sasha’s making a weird expression!”

Sasha, who seemed to have felt better after being full, smacked his lips and soon made an ‘oh’ expression on his face.

‘No, what kind of expression is this?’

It wasn’t a smiling face; instead, it was a slightly frowning one, but it was strangely cute.

Allen, who was watching them, burst out laughing.

“Newborn babies sometimes make this expression when they are feeling well. You won’t see it anywhere else except when they are newborns, and you will have to watch it a lot.”

“Do they really make that face when they’re in a good mood? Oh my God…”

How could he be so adorable?

Finally, Kalia laughed.

‘How can babies make this expression when they are happy?’

His cuteness was deadly. She could die from the cuteness of her baby.

While Allen and Kalia were laughing at Sasha’s peculiar expression, they heard a knocking sound from outside the door.

Before they could ask who it was, a voice came from the other side.

“It’s me, Kalia. Can I come in now?”

It was Simon, asking if he could come in. Simon had been waiting for Kalia as she was breastfeeding.