The Baby Isn’t Yours

Kalia’s face turned bright red in an instant.

Simon’s intimate and earnest touch warmed her entire body as if it had been immersed in warm water.

“Why are you like this, Simon? You’re so strange.”

She tried to pull her hand away from him, but Simon didn’t let go. Instead, he spread his palm and started kissing it.

His gradually ascending kisses reached her wrist, where her veins were pulsating.

Simon’s warm breath slowly began to conquer the inside of her wrist.

Warmth turned into heat and engulfed her.

Thump, thump. Hum. Thump, thump.

With his lips pressed against her wrist, Simon looked at Kalia with raised eyes, gazing intently at her from a very close distance.

Kalia felt her heart race under his gaze.

Simon’s pupils slowly moved down.

‘Ha.’

It was only then that Kalia realized she had stopped breathing and was frozen in place.

With her breath so light that Simon couldn’t even see it, Kalia was once again taken aback.

Simon continued to plant soft, jelly-like kisses on the inside of her wrist. He whispered softly with a low voice.

His lips met the skin, and the sound of moistness and warmth lingered in the air.

“I’ve decided to change my strategy.”

“What?”

‘…Strategy? What strategy?’

Simon looked at Sasha, sleeping peacefully in Kalia’s arms. A soft smile, like down feathers, spread across his face.

He gently kissed the baby’s forehead as well.

The scent of baby skin, mixed with the smell of milk, filled the air.

Simon slowly lifted his head, looking at Kalia, who was staring at him in astonishment.

“Forget playing around, spinning around, and waiting for you to notice.”

“…”

“I love you, Kalia.”

Her pupils expanded very slowly, seemingly unable to grasp the meaning of his words.

Kalia stared at Simon, wide-eyed, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Simon, to her amazement, looked lovable, even to this extent.

“I’m going to show you all my petty jealousy, beg you to look at me, and wait until you believe me. Until you accept me as your husband and lover. Until I get acknowledged as our child’s father.”

“…”

“I’ll tempt you.”

Simon pressed his lips to Sasha, and even more gently, he kissed Kalia’s lips that were slightly parted in shock.

Simon’s breath caressed Kalia’s lips.

Her heartbeat felt irregular without the influence of alcohol or scrolls.

Simon’s lips remained pressed against Kalia’s and he spoke in a sweet voice.

In a very soft voice, as if singing a lullaby to Sasha, who was sleeping between them. With a voice that seduces her like a spell…

“You… Just have to fall in love with me.”

Simon penetrated through Kalia’s defenseless lips. Kalia froze as she felt his tongue enter her mouth.

Simon mumbled something inaudible.

‘…That’s my plan, Kalia.’

* * *

“General Kalia?”

The moment Buford recognized someone’s face projected in the darkness, he unknowingly called out the name.

“…Why is that woman here?”

After ordering to bring the dragon’s egg, the darkness brought back not the egg but an unusual image.

Buford lay back loosely, watching the image for a while, and couldn’t help but laugh in amazement.

When had he seen her before…? Was it when he met her in a neutral zone for the procurement of military supplies?

A face concealed by a crimson uniform, tight to the neck, and a shady face underneath the military hat.

The sharp eyes that seemed to have never softened, contrasting beautifully with her unusually green irises. Even the fact that her lips were sealed so tightly, and her relentless gaze, which was so endlessly cold.

What did General Kalia say to him as he took off her hat to take a closer look…?

“I’ll cut your wrist if you don’t stop.”

The voice that made the renowned Buford Adio, who never flinched, unable to even flick his finger.

He chuckled at how amazed he was when he first met her, wondering if it was that time, then.

“And she!”

Although it didn’t bring the dragon’s egg, the image that darkness had provided was unexpectedly quite a fruitful discovery.

Buford couldn’t even recognize her at first.

Everything was too different, from her unfamiliar attire to her painful expression.

Buford laughed bitterly and glared at Kalia, licking the rough inside of his mouth with his tongue.

Another unexpected person was seen next to her.

“Hmm… Why is the Duke of Magic here too?”

Buford’s eyes at the image on the screen twisted maliciously.

‘Oh, is that how it is?’

It was only then that he put two and two together and realized that the child might be the child of the Duke if Magic.

After all, the rumors about their unconventional relationship had been circulating for a while.

The woman who used to be so stern and unyielding might indeed have such emotions, but who knows, human hearts are unpredictable.

Didn’t someone say that even demons are subject to the irresistible power of love?

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

And by his side, there was a warlock who had fallen under the spell of that irresistible force.

“Rather than someone I know, she seems like someone I’ll have to get to know in the future…”

Buford, with a crooked smile, languidly raised his eyes.

The face of the Fairy King was etched into his hazy retinas.

Buford’s blood-red pupils flickered with life.

‘Why is he over there?’

Although darkness couldn’t penetrate inside due to the Spirit King’s power, it observed the interior every time the door opened.

Thanks to that, Buford learned about two individuals who appeared when Kalia was about to give birth.

The Fairy King and another fairy standing by his side.

Buford’s eyes were filled with greed as he spied on them through darkness.

Gulp.

His throat was parched.

How delicious would it be to devour that arrogant Fairy King?

What if he were to sink his teeth into that tough skin and drink the sweet blood that lay within?

With centuries of power accumulated, the sweetness seemed immeasurable.

Buford chuckled cruelly and mumbled to himself.

“…This seems to have become interesting, doesn’t it?”

As his eyes narrowed, his ruby-like irises grew even redder. His demeanor was pure and savage, like a true demon.

His sharp mind worked swiftly.

‘But why is that woman giving birth related to the Fairy King? And who is that fairy next to her, who strangely resembles General Kalia?’

It was difficult to deduce all the connections from the fragmented images, but one thing was clear: Kalia’s childbirth was related to the Fairy King.

Perhaps it had something to do with her baby?

‘A child with the most destructive power in the Empire, a quarter-elf magician referred to as the genius of the century, and now, even the fairies? Hmmm.’

With an extremely interested expression, Buford watched the images in the darkness.

Darkness removed unnecessary scenes and only paused in the video shown to Buford.

A small fairy popped out and pushed a black-haired human male into the room.

Except for the man who entered a moment ago, everyone else was chased out.

After some time had passed, the Duke of Magic appeared with his head held high and hurriedly entered as soon as the door opened.

In the moment the door closed, a newborn baby was visible.

‘Ah.’

Buford’s red tongue moved greedily behind his dry lips.

It was just a glimpse, but Kalia, who had been resting earlier, was looking at the baby with an unexpectedly beautiful smile.

‘She knows how to make such an expression…? It seems she had emotions too.’

Buford chuckled with satisfaction, and Damon lying beside him furrowed her brow and spoke.

“What is our prince so excited about?”

Damon in his arms, who had been snuggling lazily, glared with narrowed eyes.

It seemed that she knew roughly why Buford had been so captivated by the image. She also became interested when he saw the Fairy King and the Duke of Magic.

While the attempt to bring the dragon’s egg failed, it seemed that something more interesting was happening.

‘But I still don’t like it.’

Damon glanced gloomily and saw Kalia holding a baby.

Although only once, Buford had mentioned that woman before.

‘She’s an interesting woman.’

It was that kind of smile back then too.

A smile filled with a growing interest and curiosity that made her shiver.

Afterward, Damon secretly followed General Kalia of the Rojas Empire. There was hardly any information available about her, and the information that was shared publicly was minimal.

However, she had seen plenty of her pictures.

Maybe she could recall her face even more clearly than Buford, her lover.

‘…But still, it doesn’t sit well with me.’

Damon reached out to cover Buford’s eyes, who were looking directly at the image.

Then she leaned over and whispered a warning into Buford’s ear.

“You know that if you betray me, you’ll die too, Buford.”

She knew that she couldn’t trust the ambitions of Buford and Lirik.

Although Buford had contracted with the higher demons, she was the only warlock who could command the demons as his subordinates.

Her dark magic was the most suitable means for Lirik’s ‘experiments’ and ‘goals’.

Buford was like Lirik’s clone, and he couldn’t afford to discard a useful tool.

When Damon’s hand covered Buford’s eyes, Buford grabbed it and lowered it, smiling.

“How could I ever betray you? There’s no one more attractive in my eyes than you.”

He kissed her lips, forcefully pulling her close to him.

Damon seemed pleased with his response and responded passionately, with her hands on his throat.

Buford, who had been engaged in the kiss as if nothing else mattered, suddenly raised his eyelids.

He stared intently at the image that had stopped behind Damon he was hugging.

Kalia was shown, holding the baby in her arms, her body trembling and crying with the baby, her face swollen with tears as she gazed at the baby with a tearful smile.

Buford’s pupils stared at it intently, as though he wanted to etch it into his memory.

“Buford.”

Buford, who tightly hugged his lover’s body, focused on the kiss as if he had never been distracted.